Chapter 112: Surrender

Over the weekend, a group of them drove up to the mountain. Aside from Chen Xin, the party included Yi Bai and his colleagues.

I am not sure what they did up on the mountain, but by the time they descended, Chen Xin noticed that two or three of them wore expressions of inexplicable anger.

Chen Xin did not return with them; she genuinely intended to use this opportunity to forage for ingredients and gather content for her blog.

Bamboo shoots are available year-round, but people generally prefer spring and winter shoots, with those harvested after the beginning of spring being the best. The mountain was filled with bamboo forests, and the locals enjoyed digging up spring shoots to sell to tourists. Beyond fresh shoots, the locals were also skilled at making pickled bamboo shoots to extend their shelf life.

The pickled bamboo shoots made here were different from those in other regions; they possessed a clean, fragrant aroma without any of the pungent, off-putting odors found elsewhere. The chef at the hot spring resort was a master at this. Upon learning that Chen Xin was willing to write a feature article about him, he personally taught her how to pickle the fresh mountain shoots.

From digging the shoots on the mountain to carrying them back, peeling away the husks, and extracting the tender flesh, every step was done by hand. Afterward, the bamboo shoots were rinsed in clean water, boiled for five minutes, and then submerged in cooled boiled water to lower their temperature. This process effectively removes the bitter, astringent taste. Finally, the processed shoots were placed into a clean container, covered with enough cooled boiled water, and sealed to allow for natural fermentation.

Once fermented, the pickled shoots can be stir-fried directly or used in hot pot. Chen Xin’s favorite preparation was braised pickled bamboo shoots with soy sauce, cooked with diced pork belly; served over a bowl of white rice with a sprinkle of scallions, it was incredibly delicious. Seeing that Chen Xin had taken photos and even included the address of their resort on her blog, the landlady was delighted and personally had the chef prepare a feast of mountain delicacies.

Aside from bamboo shoots, there were also small amounts of bamboo fungus and bamboo flowers on the mountain. Everyone knows the nutritional value of bamboo fungus, but fewer people are familiar with bamboo flowers.

Bamboo flowers are also a type of fungus with potent medicinal properties; they are exceptionally effective in treating coughs, rheumatism, and pain. They are typically harvested around the Qingming Festival, dried, and then used in medicine. A local herbalist in the town possessed ancestral techniques for processing these flowers, selling a portion each year at his apothecary. Guided by one of the resort staff, Chen Xin found the apothecary and bought some to experiment with, hoping to see if they could be paired with tea for daily consumption.

The mountain folk had many folk remedies, all derived from nature yet remarkably effective in preventing and treating illnesses. Chen Xin collected these, preparing material for her next book.

After her blog post about the pickled bamboo shoots was published, many readers left comments, taking the opportunity to introduce similar delicacies from their own hometowns. In particular, people from the regions known for snail rice noodles mentioned that their pickled bamboo shoots were different—so sour they were nearly foul-smelling—yet the locals insisted that if it didn't smell, it wasn't good pickled bamboo. This was clearly a matter of regional taste; not many outsiders could fully appreciate that heavy, pungent flavor.

After completing a full series on bamboo shoot cuisine, Chen Xin planned to leave the resort and return to her studies. However, before she could depart, she saw police cars arrive, bringing Tao Min and the father of the deceased along with them.

"What’s going on?" Chen Xin didn't want to go out and gawk, so she leaned over the balcony railing on the second floor to ask a staff member who was watching the commotion below.

"I heard that the woman turned herself in. She said that after an argument with her boyfriend, she caught him off guard and pushed him off the mountain, causing his death," the staff member shared the news they had gathered.

When the body was first discovered at the bottom of the waterfall pool, everyone knew about it. The police had hiked up the mountain several times to investigate the scene, but found nothing else, and the case was closed as an accident. Suddenly, the woman—perhaps having had a change of heart—went to the police station to confess that her boyfriend’s death was caused by her own momentary anger, admitting she had pushed him from behind. The police were now escorting her to identify the scene.

Chen Xin couldn't fathom how Yi Bai and the others had managed to make Tao Min turn herself in. There were no witnesses; if Tao Min had held her ground, no one could have definitively linked her to the death.

"Do you think she’s lost her mind? No one was even accusing her, yet she went to the police station to confess." The resort staff couldn't understand her reasoning. In their eyes, if the police had no evidence, you would stay as far away from the situation as possible. Who would ever voluntarily turn themselves in?

Chen Xin knew a little something, but she couldn't possibly say that Yi Bai and his group were behind it. She had no idea what methods they had used to break Tao Min’s resolve, and she didn't want to ask. She suspected the tactics might not have been entirely above board.

As the police headed up the mountain, Chen Xin grabbed her luggage and boarded the bus back to the city. People on the bus were also discussing the incident.

"I heard the deceased appeared in his family’s dreams, saying he died unjustly. His family started investigating and found out the woman was trouble. While talking marriage with him, she was having an affair with someone else and was plotting to seize her fiancé’s assets. Now, his family is demanding she be held accountable. If she really was the one who did it, she’s likely looking at the death penalty."

The speaker had a close friend in the criminal investigation unit and had heard the details from him. Since the evidence was essentially airtight, they only needed her to identify the scene to seal the case. Everyone sighed, lamenting how one can know a person's face but not their heart, noting that the woman looked so fragile and weak—no one would have expected her to be capable of murder.

After arriving home, Chen Xin called Yi Bai. When she mentioned seeing the police escorting Tao Min up the mountain, Yi Bai explained that it was the cousin of the deceased who had figured out a way to investigate, eventually getting Tao Min drunk and extracting the truth from her.

"Tao Min didn't actually intend to kill him at the time; they had just argued, and in her anger, she pushed him while it was dark and he couldn't see. She thought he’d just take a tumble, but she didn't know that the cliff was over thirty meters high and nearly vertical. Because of the roar of the waterfall, no one heard his cries for help, and he died on impact from a head injury. Tao Min was terrified, wandering the woods all night until she fell down a slope and fainted from panic and exhaustion. When she was rescued, she didn't know he was dead, which is why she told the rescuers there was still someone on the mountain."

Regardless of whether it was intentional, she had confessed to causing his death. How the legal proceedings would unfold would now depend on the wishes of the victim’s family.