She used the same method as before, wiping camphor wood juice all over the white bones, then wrapping the entire corpse with white paper soaked in white vinegar.

Like a mummy!

After about half an incense stick’s burning time, five areas that showed red appeared on the paper that had originally been pure white and clean when stuck to the skeletal remains.

Specifically, they were on the facial bones of the skull, the collarbone area, the ulna and sternum, and another place—the back of the head.

How could perfectly white paper turn red?

Since they weren’t bailiffs from Jinjiang Yamen, naturally they didn’t know what this meant. Everyone could only stare wide-eyed, unable to figure it out.

Ji Yunshu removed the papers one by one while explaining, “The method I just used verifies whether the deceased was injured before death. Camphor wood juice wiped on the skeletal remains, plus paper soaked in white vinegar covering them—if there are places on the paper that turn red, it means the deceased had just been injured before death. If the color on the paper turns blue, it proves these five wounds on the deceased’s body were inflicted even earlier before death. But now these five places on the paper have turned red, which is sufficient proof that before the deceased was pushed to the bottom of the well, there were traces of having struggled with someone.”

So that’s how it is!

She asked Master Yu, “Master, a year ago, did anyone go missing from the academy?”

Although Master Yu was advanced in years, his memory was remarkably good. He counted on his fingers and thought for a bit—rather similar to a fortune teller—then shook his head. “No, all the students of the academy are here. I presume the person at the bottom of the well shouldn’t be from our Mingshan Academy.”

“Then it was an outsider?”

“But that’s not right either. The academy has long established rules that outsiders are not allowed to enter or leave. How could an outsider be in the academy? And even if they were in the academy, how could they have died in that abandoned well?”

Ji Yunshu pondered, then turned her attention to the pile of completely assembled skeletal remains before her.

She didn’t speak for a long time!

Master Yu then asked, “Master Ji, can you determine anything?”

“First, we need to figure out who the deceased was.”

“They’re already a pile of white bones—how can we know?”

Her lips parted. “Paint the bones!”

Paint the bones?

Everyone started discussing in low voices.

She continued, “The most difficult bones to paint are corpses that have been burned for more than two years, while corpses soaked in water for one year are the easiest to paint. However, there isn’t enough time. I can only roughly paint a general likeness. You all can take a look and see if you recognize them.”

Having said this, she had someone bring some writing brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone. She spread out the paper flat and picked up the brush to begin painting.

The surrounding people held their breath and watched curiously. They saw Ji Yunshu measuring the width and length of that skull with her fingers while painting each small bone piece on the paper, scattering many pieces, then finally combining them bit by bit.

Her brushwork flowed smoothly; she painted extremely fast.

Soon, an uncolored portrait appeared on the paper. Although it wasn’t refined, the general likeness had emerged.

After the ink dried, she picked up the portrait and handed it to Master Yu, saying, “There wasn’t enough time, so it’s not very accurate, but at least it’s about thirty percent similar. Take a look—do you recognize this person?”

Master Yu took the portrait and squinted to look at it. His wrinkled brow pressed tightly together. After a moment, he shook his head. “There’s no such person in the academy… However, these eyes and brows do bear some resemblance. I just can’t recall at the moment.”

He simply handed the portrait to his students. “Come, you all take a look too. Do you recognize this person? My eyes are nearly blind; I can’t see clearly.”

Those people crowded around!

“This person isn’t from our academy, right? Never seen them.”

“Don’t recognize them.”

But some people said, “They do look somewhat familiar.”

“The eyes and brows are very familiar!”

They discussed in rustling whispers for a while.

Suddenly, someone cried out in surprise, “It’s Guo He!”

Wow!

A name was spoken!

Guo He?

Everyone looked hard, suddenly astonished. “Right, it’s Guo He! The person painted in this portrait is Guo He.”

Someone handed the portrait back to Master Yu. “Teacher, look—this person is Guo He.”

Master Yu pulled the portrait close to look again and clicked his tongue, nodding. “That’s right, it’s Guo He.”

Ji Yunshu immediately asked, “Who is Guo He?”

“He was one of my students, but he left the academy a year ago. How could he have fallen into the well and become this pile of skeletal remains?”

“Can you explain in detail?”

Master Yu sighed. “He was the most unruly student in my decades of teaching, often stirring up chaos throughout the entire academy, giving people headaches. But he was also an extremely clever person—his studies and coursework were excellent, just unruly. I disciplined him several times, but each time I couldn’t bear to expel him from the academy, considering his fundamentally good nature. However, one time he secretly drank wine in the academy and I caught him red-handed. I severely reprimanded him. After that time, he left a letter and departed, and there was no news of him again. I remember that day clearly—it was June 13th of last year. Until today, it’s been one year.”

Guo He had the most agile mind in the entire academy. While others could read ten lines at a glance, he could read twenty lines at a glance, and he could remember everything he saw, not forgetting a single word. If he hadn’t left the academy, he would definitely have made the top three in this year’s imperial examinations. So after Guo He left with his letter, Master Yu fell seriously ill at the time, lying in bed for a full half month before getting up!

Everyone knew that Master Yu valued Guo He highly.

But—

Master Yu shook his head and pushed the portrait away. “How could he be dead?”

His heart ached!

He was unwilling to accept it.

Some people also questioned, “This portrait shows what the deceased looked like before death—how is that possible? What’s lying here is clearly a pile of white bones. How could anyone in the world paint what a dead person who has become white bones looked like before death? Besides, the person in this portrait only resembles Guo He—it’s not necessarily him.”

Such questioning wasn’t without reason!

Five years ago, when Ji Yunshu first arrived at Jinjiang Yamen, she painted a portrait of a corpse with a rotted face before everyone, showing what they looked like before death. Everyone was both amazed and very skeptical, until the deceased’s mother came to identify the body and discovered on the deceased’s wrist the bracelet her daughter had always worn. Only then was it confirmed that the deceased was her daughter, and the woman in the portrait was exactly identical to her daughter. Thus, everyone deeply admired that Master Ji who had just arrived at the yamen.

On the first day, Ji Yunshu gained fans.

And her first fan was none other than County Magistrate Liu Qingping!

At this moment, she said calmly and coolly, “This painting was rushed out, so naturally it’s not precise. But no matter what, it bears thirty percent resemblance to the deceased. And since you’ve recognized it as that person called Guo He, then the deceased must be him, without a doubt.”

“Nonsense!”