“The deceased is female, approximately five feet and two inches in height,” “Due to the missing head, identity cannot be determined at present.”

The atmosphere in the side hall suddenly changed. Magistrate Huo Huaixin couldn’t help but say, “What do you mean by that, Lady Qin? Although we haven’t found the head yet, this person was wearing a wedding dress and following the bridal procession, so it must undoubtedly be Song Rou.”

“The Magistrate is jumping to conclusions,” Qin Wanyu calmly refuted before leaning down.

Huo Huaixin wanted to say more but was suddenly struck by the serious concentration emanating from Qin Wanyu. Despite living half his life, he found himself inexplicably intimidated by her current demeanor.

The side hall fell silent as Qin Wanyu’s gaze, almost tangible, methodically scanned over the corpse wrapped in wedding attire.

“Since we cannot perform an autopsy, we can only examine the external condition of the corpse. Those who feel uncomfortable may leave.”

Qin Wanyu’s voice was extremely calm, carrying the chilling frost of the winter moon. After her words, no one moved. Huo Huaixin glanced at Huo Ning, who stood stubbornly by the doorway, refusing to leave. Huo Huaixin sighed and returned his attention to watch Qin Wanyu examine the corpse.

Qin Wanyu didn’t immediately remove the clothing but was first observed. “Coroner Xu, have you disturbed the corpse’s clothing?”

Xu He hurriedly stepped forward, “Yes, but… but since the Magistrate instructed not to damage Lady Song’s remains, I didn’t completely remove the clothing. I only examined Lady Song’s shoulders, back, and legs for injuries, then arranged everything back as it was.” He paused briefly, “We examined the body when it first arrived and found no obvious injuries.”

Qin Wanyu didn’t acknowledge Xu He’s findings. She nodded slightly and then stated firmly, “The deceased’s wedding dress is intact, with only faint blood stains around the collar, no blood stains elsewhere.”

As she finished speaking, Yan Chi had already recorded her words.

Qin Wanyu suddenly looked at Huo Huaixin again, “Has Lady Song’s bridal sedan been examined?”

Huo Huaixin nodded repeatedly, “Yes, we checked. The bridal sedan is a proper eight-bearer palanquin with no mechanisms. Neither the carpet on the floor nor the surrounding curtains and lattices showed any blood stains. It’s very strange.”

Qin Wanyu frowned, her eyes darkening. She examined the corpse’s severed neck, then without hesitation placed her hand over it, carefully clearing away the maggots. After a moment, Qin Wanyu began removing the clothing.

Though it was a female corpse, six days had passed, and despite the ice basins, the body under Qin Wanyu’s hands had already swollen and decayed. When Qin Wanyu completely removed the wedding dress, the stench of decay intensified. What was once the body of a sixteen-year-old girl had become a bloated corpse covered in purple-green patches, truly unbearable to look at.

“Rigor mortis has dissipated, lividity covers the entire body in dark purple, non-blanching under pressure. The body has begun initial decomposition, with obvious abdominal distention. Green decomposition patches appear on the lower abdomen, private areas, and posterior thighs. No obvious wounds on the body surface except for the fatal neck injury.”

As she spoke, Qin Wanyu took out Moon Frost and cleared away the blood scabs from the corpse’s severed neck.

“The neck wound is clean, with a neat break in the spine, likely caused by a single fatal strike.”

Though the wound had begun to rot and fester, and despite wearing gloves, this beautiful young lady was calmly examining the putrid flesh crawling with maggots. She remained extremely composed, her clear eyes becoming deep and dark, reflecting the room’s lamplight, surrounded by a solemn and sacred aura.

“Time of death was approximately six days ago. The ice basins in the room have slowed decomposition, and since we cannot perform an autopsy, we cannot make a more accurate determination.”

Qin Wanyu’s emotionless words, spoken one by one, seemed especially eerie in this strange shabby room. Huo Ning stood to the side, and the more he watched Qin Wanyu examine the corpse, the more distant she seemed from him. The truth was before his eyes – he knew he had been wrong to doubt and despise her. His heart was filled with bitterness, humiliation, disappointment, and shame, leaving him watching in a daze.

“The deceased shows no obvious injuries on the neck, however, since the head is missing, there may be other injuries yet to be discovered. Nevertheless, we can initially determine that the victim was decapitated while still alive.”

This statement made everyone’s expressions tighten. Qin Wanyu pointed at the badly decomposed neck area and said, “The blood scabs are very dark, and the muscle tissue around the severed neck is extremely contracted. The blood has deeply penetrated between the victim’s spine and trachea. If the head had been severed after death, the blood penetration wouldn’t be this pronounced.”

Qin Wanyu’s explanation was systematic and logical, but to Huo Huaixin and the others, the severed neck area was too decomposed to discern anything. As she continued speaking, she suddenly made a sound of surprise.

“Bring the lamp closer—”

Yue Qing hurriedly brought the corner lamp nearer. As he approached, the corpse became even more nauseating to look at. When he glanced at Qin Wanyu again, admiration filled his eyes—

“Lady Qin, what is it?” Huo Huaixin couldn’t help asking.

Qin Wanyu didn’t answer immediately, instead saying, “Since the victim was decapitated while alive, blood would have sprayed out, but the blood stains on the wedding dress collar are very faint and minimal. This proves that the victim wasn’t wearing the wedding dress when she died.”

Huo Huaixin exclaimed, “Ah! But… but she was found wearing the wedding dress in the bridal sedan. Does this mean… the victim was already dead and someone dressed her in the wedding clothes before placing her in the sedan?”

Qin Wanyu nodded, “The bridal sedan was not the murder site.”

Huo Huaixin quickly asked, “Then where was she killed?”

This time Qin Wanyu didn’t answer. She suddenly began examining the corpse’s wounds meticulously, as if searching for something. After a moment, she suddenly changed position, coming to the side of the table, her gaze falling on the corpse’s private areas.

After death, wounds and the mouth, nose, and private areas decompose most easily. Since the victim had no head, Qin Wanyu could only focus on the private areas. Having witnessed Qin Wanyu’s previous examination of the male corpse’s genitals, everyone was now calmer.

Qin Wanyu bent down, examining the decomposed, swollen lower abdomen for a while. Suddenly, she raised her hand, holding something between her fingers. “Coroner Xu, do you recognize this?”

Xu He looked puzzled and hurried forward to look. Upon inspection, he saw Qin Wanyu holding a tiny ant between her fingers.

Xu He’s expression changed dramatically, “Is this a White-Toothed Ant?”

Qin Wanyu nodded, “White-Toothed Ants live south of Da Zhou, feeding on rotting wood, usually inhabiting birch tree groves. Earlier, I found bite marks on the corpse’s wounds, but I didn’t expect they were from these White-Toothed Ants.”

While Huo Huaixin was still confused, Qin Wanyu looked at him and said, “Magistrate, this makes things clear now.”

Huo Huaixin came to his senses but hadn’t figured it out, “How… how is it clear—”

“The killer decapitated the victim with a single strike, showing brutal efficiency, suggesting a male with martial arts training. He must have acted secretly, but on the day of the incident, the victim was brought into Jin Zhou City with the bridal procession. The killer couldn’t have murdered within the procession – there was no opportunity along the way. The only chance would have been at the rest stops from the previous night and noon.”

“These White-Toothed Ants cluster only in birch groves, and birch trees are uncommon in the south. Even when present, they form small groves. Therefore, Magistrate, if you check for birch groves near the procession’s rest stops, you can initially locate the murder site.” She continued, “The victim’s head is likely disposed of there.”

Huo Huaixin’s eyes lit up, and he immediately said, “Lady Qin is truly brilliant! I’ll send people to search right away!”

With no progress on the case for days, Huo Huaixin was greatly encouraged by this clear direction. He clasped his hands respectfully to Qin Wanyu before leaving to arrange the search party. Seeing this, Qin Wanyu raised an eyebrow and called to Xu He, “Coroner Xu, bring the white vinegar.”

While handing over the white vinegar, Xu He asked, “What else will Lady Qin examine?”

Qin Wanyu shook her head, “Since we cannot perform an autopsy, we must examine the external condition as thoroughly as possible.”

After speaking, she began applying white vinegar to the corpse, saying as she worked, “The body surface has begun decomposing, so we might not find anything, but if anyone feels uncomfortable staying here, please step out for some air.”

The room fell silent as Qin Wanyu applied the vinegar and waited. Meanwhile, Yue Qiong was the first to walk to the window and open the lattice. Once opened, the room indeed became more ventilated, and Yue Qing couldn’t help but follow.

Qin Wanyu remained still, her gaze fixed on the corpse’s surface. At one point, she suddenly frowned and bent down to examine the corpse’s shoulder.

Yan Chi had been watching Qin Wanyu’s movements and followed her over.

They saw that the corpse’s lividity had spread severely, and the shoulder area had even developed green decomposition patches due to the wound’s putrefaction. Qin Wanyu stared intently at the left shoulder where purple and green patches intersected.

After a few moments, Qin Wanyu suddenly took Moon Frost and carefully peeled away the decomposed surface skin.

This revealed the bright red flesh underneath.

Though Yan Chi wasn’t familiar with corpse examination, even he could see several small black dots among the red flesh.

Yan Chi couldn’t help asking, “What is this?”

Qin Wanyu’s expression showed surprise, but quickly, her composure and calmness suppressed that astonishment. She narrowed her eyes and spoke in a light, profound tone that only Yan Chi could hear.

“These are teeth marks.”