The campus was unusually quiet at midnight, with only the occasional gentle breeze rustling the leaves, creating a soft, shushing sound. Inside the dormitory building of the deaf-mute school, everything seemed eerily calm. Su Wanqing stood beside the body, frowning as she observed. The victim was a middle-aged female teacher, lying in a strange position in front of the dormitory bed—her hands tightly clenched, as though she were still silently struggling.
Her face was pale, her eyes wide open, and the cause of death was apparent—poisoning. However, this simple conclusion did not ease the doubts swirling in Su Wanqing's mind. Her gaze fixed on the victim's hands, which had already stiffened but still retained a gesture. Su Wanqing slowly crouched down, leaning closer to the lifeless hands.
On the victim's fingers was a familiar sign language symbol. Su Wanqing's heart involuntarily tightened—a gesture for seeking help. Although the victim was already dead, she had tried to convey something with her hands before she died, attempting to send a critical message.
"What was she trying to say?" A sense of unease surged within Su Wanqing. She turned to look at Lu Chenzhou, who stood nearby, and softly said, "She didn't die from simple poisoning. The victim left behind a clue in sign language. We need to figure out what the real message is from these gestures."
Lu Chenzhou frowned slightly, evidently sensing that the case was unusual. He approached the body, crouched down, and carefully observed the victim's posture and the surrounding environment. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Can you understand sign language?"
Su Wanqing nodded. "Some basic sign language, I can understand."
She gently waved her arm, mimicking the victim's hand gesture, trying to reconstruct the sign language. She practiced several times, finally confirming that it was a distress signal, meaning "danger." The victim had seemingly tried to convey a message to someone, signaling that she was in peril.
"This isn't just a simple murder case," Su Wanqing whispered. "The victim seemed to want to warn someone before she died. Perhaps she was protecting someone, and that led to her death."
Lu Chenzhou nodded, his eyes flashing with determination. "We need to figure out the victim's connections and see what she was trying to protect."
Thus, the investigation entered a new phase. Lu Chenzhou led the team to interview the teachers and students at the deaf-mute school, gathering information about the victim's life. Through their investigation, Su Wanqing and Lu Chenzhou learned that the victim was a kind-hearted teacher who taught the deaf students at the school. Her work was well-liked and respected by both students and colleagues. However, recently, it seemed she had been involved in an unpleasant conflict with a school janitor.
After further inquiry, Lu Chenzhou discovered that the janitor, named Zhao Wei, worked as part of the school's maintenance staff. He was usually quiet and performed various odd jobs around the school, but he had stirred up some controversy among the students. Several students revealed that Zhao Wei had shown inappropriate interest in female students over the past few months and had sometimes followed them back to the dormitory. The victim had warned Zhao Wei several times to stop harassing the students, even publicly accusing him during a school meeting.
This clearly angered Zhao Wei, and he began to harbor a grudge against the victim. According to reports from Zhao Wei's colleagues, the victim had even privately requested the school to take action against him last month, hoping to stop his behavior. However, the school's response had been disappointing—no effective action had been taken.
Su Wanqing and Lu Chenzhou realized that the victim's death might be related to Zhao Wei's threats. Zhao Wei, possibly enraged by the repeated warnings and threats, might have decided to kill the victim. To further confirm this, Lu Chenzhou decided to investigate Zhao Wei's motive and movements.
Through surveillance footage, the police discovered that Zhao Wei's actions on the night of the incident were highly suspicious. He had sneaked into the dormitory building and entered the victim's room. The footage showed that he did not immediately kill the victim but instead began to argue with her, seemingly because the victim had rejected his demands. During the argument, Zhao Wei took out poison and secretly put it into the victim's drink.
After realizing she had been poisoned, the victim still tried to convey information using sign language. In her final moments, with limited strength, she used her hand to signal the word "danger" beside her bed. This silent cry for help became the key to uncovering the truth.
"She died in protection," Su Wanqing murmured, her eyes filled with sorrow and sympathy. "Her death wasn't just for herself; it was for the students who might face the same fate."
As further investigation revealed, Zhao Wei's motive for murder became clearer. It turned out that Zhao Wei had long been oppressed by the victim's reprimands and supervision, and his actions had violated the school's rules, possibly even leading to his dismissal. To cover up his crimes, Zhao Wei decided to murder the victim and silence her. He meticulously planned the poisoning and deliberately created a situation where the victim seemed isolated and helpless.
Finally, the police successfully captured Zhao Wei and charged him according to the law. The case was solved, but Su Wanqing could not calm herself. She knew that this case revealed more than just a simple murder—it reflected the silent suffering and oppression that still existed in the world of the voiceless, until the final, silent cry for help.
"We will bring justice for her," Su Wanqing whispered to herself, her eyes gleaming with determination.