The Law of the True Murderer

As soon as I thought about the murderer being right outside the door, possibly still holding the murder weapon, my back was instantly drenched in cold sweat!

I struggled to swallow my saliva as my mind raced to think of what to do. Deng Chao disguised as a female ghost was waiting for me right outside the door. If I stuck my head out to check, he would definitely stab me.

But staying here wasn't safe either. It was only a few steps from the door to where I was. He could easily kill me before Huang Xiaotao charged in to help. He was willing to go down fighting.

The window was wide open, so I could jump out, but that seemed too cowardly. My goal tonight was to catch him!

So I slipped my hands into my pockets and called Huang Xiaotao.

As the phone was ringing, I pretended to be afraid and yelled loudly, "Sister Xiamo, don't try to scare me. I'm leaving right now, leaving immediately..."

Then I took a couple of steps to make some footstep sounds and quietly snuck behind the piano. If Deng Chao charged in, at least I could use the huge piano to maneuver around him for a bit.

Just then, Deng Chao appeared in the doorway. Seeing me hiding behind the piano, he revealed an ominous sneer, "Kid, why keep pretending?"

I could clearly see a dagger in his hand, and his hands were as delicate and fair as a woman's.

"Who are you? Why are you dressed like that?" I feigned ignorance, trying to get him to talk more to buy some time.

"Still playing dumb with me? What exactly was written in that letter?" He walked towards me as he spoke.

"The letter said..." I retreated several steps to the other side of the piano, "It said you're the murderer."

"I knew Zhang Kai wasn't trustworthy. I shouldn't have felt guilty for killing him all this time."

He took another step forward. I was so nervous my palms were sweating. My heart felt like it would jump out of my throat at any moment.

I said, "You brought this upon yourself. If you hadn't killed him, how could the suicide note have fallen into my hands?"

"Enough useless chatter, hand over the letter!" He yelled hoarsely.

"I don't have the letter. I gave it to the police long ago." I replied.

"You son of a b*tch, trying to trick me!"

Just as Deng Chao was about to charge at me, Huang Xiaotao kicked the back door open, holding up her gun with both hands. She sternly shouted, "Don't move! Put down your weapon!"

Deng Chao turned pale with fright. His first reaction was to rush at me - I guessed he wanted to take me hostage!

I immediately ran to the back of the classroom. Deng Chao chased me from the other side. Huang Xiaotao fired a shot just then. The deafening gunshot echoed in the classroom.

The shot didn't hit anything. I heard police guns are loaded with blank rounds for warning shots. But the gunshot did have an intimidating effect. Deng Chao turned and ran, dashing out the front door, his wig falling off.

Huang Xiaotao immediately gave chase down the corridor. I followed close behind, running out. Although the corridor was a dead end, classrooms lined both sides, easy to hide in.

When I got out to the corridor, Deng Chao was nowhere to be seen as expected. Huang Xiaotao yelled for me to keep up as she kicked open a classroom door, waving her gun around inside. I said, "He's not here!"

We searched three classrooms in a row before hearing the sound of a window opening. I cried out, "Crap, he's jumping out the window!"

We rushed into a classroom to see Deng Chao standing on the window ledge, about to jump down.

Huang Xiaotao stood firmly, hands on her gun, ready to shoot him dead.

Just then, Deng Chao let out a horrible shriek as he fell from the ledge, screaming in terror, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" I looked up and saw a ghastly pale woman's face in the window pane, but it was gone in an instant.

I didn't expect Xiaomo to give us a hand!

Huang Xiaotao immediately stepped forward to kick the knife away and handcuff Deng Chao's hands behind his back. She then said to me, "Song Yang, you were completely right. This punk did get plastic surgery on his hands."

I heaved a sigh of relief, feeling my whole body go limp.

Just then, Wang Dali came running in from outside, "Holy crap, awesome, you caught him so fast! Let me see what this punk looks like."

As he walked over, Huang Xiaotao suddenly stomped on his foot without warning. Wang Dali yelped in pain, hopping on one foot. Huang Xiaotao snarled, "Stopping to tie your shoelaces at a critical moment, I've really witnessed what a useless partner is!"

"My laces just came loose suddenly, it wasn't my fault! Little bro, help me out here." Wang Dali said aggrievedly. I just shot him a look of contempt.

Huang Xiaotao made a call to headquarters, then prepared to take Deng Chao away.

Wang Dali seized the chance to get back on her good side, "Hey, so you're the famous Deng Chao? Killed two and disguised as a ghost to scare us, you're pretty badass, but still not as badass as my bro Song Yang here, right?"

No one paid him any attention. Wang Dali smiled awkwardly as Deng Chao suddenly looked at me ominously, "What exactly did the letter from Zhang Kai say?"

"The letter was fake. You still don't get it? I set a trap to catch you." I sneered.

"Impossible. That was clearly Zhang Kai's handwriting. With my genius murder methods, if you didn't read the letter, how could you have seen through me?"

It turned out that even now, Deng Chao still arrogantly believed himself to have the best mind in the world. That's why he was certain the letter was real. It was that arrogance that had done him in!

I sighed, "I synthesized the letter using Zhang Kai's class notes. You said no one could see through your methods, but I have to say, you just ran into the wrong opponent this time."

Deng Chao suddenly burst into sinister laughter that echoed eerily in the corridor, chilling me to the bone. He said, "Song Yang, I'll remember you. This time I lost utterly, a crushing defeat that I fully concede!"

"Let's go, move it!" Huang Xiaotao shoved him roughly.

I called out to stop him, "Wait, you said you lost?"

"What, I've fallen this far and you still want to say I won?" Deng Chao sneered repeatedly.

"No one lost, no one won, because this wasn't a game. You committed murder! Two hardworking students died because of you, two families plunged into grief forever because of you. Yet you dare measure this with winning and losing." I scolded.

Deng Chao sneered coldly, "In my eyes, this was just a game! A contest of intellect and courage!"

"A twisted psyche beyond salvation!" Huang Xiaotao said in disgust.

We escorted him outside. Soon the police car arrived and took Deng Chao away.

"Case cracked. Come on, sis will treat you to a late night snack." Huang Xiaotao said breezily.

"Awesome, let's go off campus for skewers and beer. We're getting smashed tonight, no doubt about..." Wang Dali said excitedly, gesticulating wildly.

Huang Xiaotao glared at him fiercely. Wang Dali clammed up, hanging his head low. Huang Xiaotao was probably still pissed about him slipping up earlier.

I was naturally relieved to have this huge weight off my chest. Just then, mournful piano music drifted from the old classroom building behind us. Wang Dali shivered, "You hear that? I told you the cursed piano is real!"

Huang Xiaotao muttered to herself, "How strange, they say ghosts fear evildoers, yet this evildoer fears ghosts too?"

"That's because he's haunted by the ghosts within. Come on, let's head back for a bit. There's still someone we need to thank!" I said.

"Who?" They both asked.

"Sister Xiaomo!" I replied.