As 2025 draws to a close, the death of Chinese actor Yu Menglong remains officially unexplained, emblematic of a broader pattern of opacity that has long characterized the Chinese entertainment industry. No official explanation has been released, and no detailed investigation has been made public. What persists instead is institutional silence, accompanied by a widening constellation of unofficial narratives that now circulate largely outside the People’s Republic of China.
Among overseas Chinese communities, particularly those shaped by exile, censorship fatigue, and distrust of state narratives, Yu’s name has become a focal point for deeper anxieties. Discussions surrounding his death are increasingly framed through speculation, spiritual interpretation, and claims that situate the case within structural pathologies of China’s celebrity system rather than an isolated tragedy. These accounts do not originate from court records or official press briefings. They emerge from informal, transnational information channels—divination blogs, livestreamed psychic sessions, encrypted chats, and audiences seeking coherence where public disclosure has ceased.
Two figures recur with notable frequency in these discussions.One is Li Jingwei, a Taiwanese blogger who practices Nadi astrology. The other is Kandis Starr, an American psychic medium who conducts live sessions using a device commonly referred to as a spirit box. Though operating in vastly different cultural and epistemological registers, both advance a shared premise: that the truth surrounding Yu Menglong’s death is unlikely to surface through China’s formal institutions.
A symbolic vision of a system
On the 100th day after Yu’s death, Li Jingwei conducted a second reading using Nadi astrology. Nadi astrology, a South Asian divination tradition rooted in palm-leaf manuscripts, is believed by its adherents to preserve individual life records across centuries.. Li has described it not as fortune-telling, but as an archival system of fate—an inherited ledger of human trajectories rather than a predictive exercise.
According to Li, the central image that emerged during the reading was symbolic rather than literal. She described seeing a figure whose upper body resembled a fish, while its lower half took the form of a snake. In her interpretive framework, the fish signifies surface visibility and apparent harmlessness, while the snake denotes concealment, entanglement, and coercive control.
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Crucially, Li argues that the image does not implicate a single individual. Instead, it reflects a structure.In her reading, the symbolism points to a system that presents itself as orderly and benign, while operating through diffuse pressure, asymmetric dependence, and quiet enforcement beneath the surface. She links this imagery to the astrological constellation Ashlesha, traditionally associated with power exercised through contracts, obligation, and psychological leverage rather than overt violence.
Within this framework, Yu’s death is described as the outcome of distributed complicity rather than a singular, decisive act.. Instructions, Li claims, were not issued openly. Responsibilities were divided. Some individuals acted; others remained passive; still others benefited indirectly. When the situation became irreversible, accountability was nowhere to be found.
Why official answers may never come
Li has said that the reading suggested any evidence accessible to official institutions was eliminated at an early stage. On this basis, she concludes that no formal investigation will ever yield a public accounting—an assessment that resonates with long-standing skepticism toward internal review mechanisms in politically sensitive cases.
Instead, she points to a different trajectory.Information related to Yu’s death, she argues, is more likely to surface incrementally outside China’s information controls. She anticipates fragments emerging through overseas social platforms, statements from industry insiders operating beyond state jurisdiction, and commentary by independent journalists and researchers. In particular, she identifies YouTube and X as likely vectors for such disclosures, given their role in diaspora discourse and informal whistleblowing.
Timing occupies a central role in her interpretation. The readings consistently return to a window between March and June of 2026. She does not frame this period as one of official revelation, but rather as a moment when dispersed fragments may begin to cohere into a recognizable pattern.
During the reading, certain terms appeared repeatedly. These included references to drugs, poisoning, organs, population trafficking, and underground transactions. Li is careful to stress that these should not be read as verified claims. She presents them instead as symbolic indicators pointing toward a broader, transnational network of illicit exchange—one that may intersect with, but is not reducible to, Yu’s death alone.
She has also warned that Yu may not be the only person affected. According to the reading, three to five additional individuals may already be entangled in comparable circumstances, their situations unresolved or not yet visible.
Claims from an American psychic medium
Parallel narratives have emerged from Kandis Starr, an American psychic medium who conducts livestreamed sessions using a spirit box device. While such practices sit well outside the evidentiary standards of journalism or law, they nonetheless command large audiences within online subcultures shaped by mistrust of official information. During a broadcast on Dec. 19, Starr stated that she received confirmation indicating Yu died on Sept. 10, a date that differs from earlier online speculation.
Starr also claimed that Yu was aware of videos depicting his alleged mistreatment. According to her account, the device suggested that some individuals involved in distributing those videos were not directly responsible for his death. When viewers referenced alleged dark-web footage, Starr reported prolonged affirmative signals, a moment that rapidly circulated in clipped form across social media.
One of her most striking claims involved surveillance. When asked whether Yu’s phone had been fitted with tracking or monitoring software, Starr said the device responded immediately and continued to signal. She interpreted the sustained response as indicative of prolonged distress rather than an isolated incident.
A question that triggered controversy
During the same session, Starr addressed questions submitted by viewers about actress Dilraba Dilmurat. When asked whether Dilraba was in danger, Starr reported an affirmative response from the device.
A follow-up question raised the possibility of connections between Dilraba and individuals described by viewers as part of a Chinese elite or so-called royal lineage. Starr again reported sustained affirmative signals. She cautiously suggested that these might indicate familial, social, or institutional proximity rather than direct involvement.
No evidence was presented to support these claims, and they remain unverified. Nevertheless, the exchange spread rapidly across Chinese- and English-language platforms, amplifying speculation and placing additional pressure on an industry already marked by silence and fear.
Fear, faith, and protection in the entertainment industry
Beneath these narratives lies a long-standing pattern within China’s entertainment sector. Over the past two decades, multiple high-profile figures have vanished from public life due to sudden illness, psychological collapse, legal accusations, or unexplained absence. Official explanations, when offered, are often cursory and internally inconsistent.
This uncertainty has fueled demand for fortune-tellers, ritual specialists, and self-styled spiritual masters. The late Wang Lin—once patronized by celebrities and political elites alike—is frequently cited as a cautionary example. Known for theatrical rituals involving snakes and talismans, Wang later died after imprisonment and illness, his public standing destroyed.
Critics argue that such practices reflect desperation rather than belief. In traditional religious frameworks, ritual is meant to cultivate restraint, ethical clarity, and self-discipline—not to purchase protection or impunity.. When belief becomes transactional, its moral foundation erodes.
An unresolved ending
Yu Menglong’s death remains officially unexplained. In the absence of transparent institutions, unofficial narratives continue to proliferate, shaped by grief, distrust, and the widespread conviction that prolonged silence is itself a form of communication.
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