To tell the truth, every time Lin Sui’an watched Fangke conduct an autopsy, she had to engage in an enormous amount of psychological preparation โ and this time was no exception.
Before entering the Corpse Repository, she had imagined all manner of possible scenarios: dissection, removal of the brain, extraction of stomach fluids, cutting of intestines, and so forth. Yet she never in a thousand years anticipated that what Fangke would do first this time was to examine the intimate areas of the female corpse they had discovered.
Hua Yitang and Ling Zhiyan turned around in alarm, presenting their backs to the autopsy table.
Lin Sui’an, being a woman herself, also could not bear to watch and averted her gaze.
Ling Zhiyan broke out in a sweat. “Doctor Fang, when it comes to examining a woman’s lower body, it should be done by an experienced midwife on behalf of โ”
“She’s already dead. What does it matter if she’s a man or a woman?” Fangke’s voice was as flat as a dry well. “Midwives deal with the living. They’d be useless with a corpse.”
“โฆIs this even within the rules?”
“A coroner has only one rule: find every clue that remains on the body.” Fangke said. “Moreover, for young female victims, the most common cause of death is sexual homicide.”
All three fell silent.
The Corpse Repository grew quiet. All that could be heard was the sound of Fangke’s autopsy instruments clinking together. All the tools were made by Fangke himself, fashioned entirely of iron: some resembled a carpenter’s tools โ scissors, saws, tweezers, pliers, chisels, each type in three sizes: large, medium, and small. Others looked as though they’d been seized from a butcher โ cleavers, slicing knives, daggers, small blades, hatchets, lancets, and more. Still others seemed to have come from an embroidery room โ needles and thread of varying lengths and thicknesses. In addition, there were yellow paper for writing spirit-calming talismans, cinnabar, writing brushes, charcoal pencils, ink pouchesโฆ and ceramic bottles and jars that no one ever dared to imagine the contents of.
From the corner of her eye, Lin Sui’an glimpsed Fangke setting aside some of the smaller instruments and beginning to examine the female corpse’s skin inch by inch.
She had already noticed something strange about the corpse’s skin color before, but now, looking again, it seemed even more uncanny. The skin all over the body was a pale pink color. On the back and outer sides of the buttocks were red blotches that looked, at first glance, like scattered petals of peach blossom scattered across the skin. Around the waist was a ring of white marks, and there were similar marks at the backs of the knees and on the calves.
Fangke then examined the female corpse’s head carefully, his interlaced fingers running over nearly every inch of the scalp. When Fangke pulled open the corpse’s eyelids, Lin Sui’an took the opportunity to look once more. Sure enough โ her golden ability did not activate.
The external examination complete, Fangke withdrew the dissecting knife from his case and glanced at Lin Sui’an.
Lin Sui’an immediately stepped back several paces and stood facing the wall, matching Ling Zhiyan and Hua Yitang’s posture.
From behind came a faint slicing sound โ that must have been Fangke’s knife cutting through skin and flesh โ followed by the sound of a saw cutting through bone. Lin Sui’an felt the hair stand up on end all over her body. The entire Corpse Repository was thick with the foul smell of decay. Hua Yitang pressed a handkerchief into Lin Sui’an’s hand, and the two of them simultaneously covered their noses and mouths. The pale-faced Ling Zhiyan looked over at them, and Hua Yitang shrugged to indicate he had only brought two handkerchiefs โ none for Ling Zhiyan.
After a long while, the sound of ceramic vessels clinking came from the autopsy table โ presumably Fangke collecting samples of stomach fluid or blood. Then silence fell, as though the process had ended.
Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang turned around simultaneously โ then both gave a full-body shudder and whipped their heads back around at top speed.
Fangke was stitching up the dissection incision, stitch by stitch, his expression as earnest as if he were embroidering a masterwork to be passed down through generations. After a good while, he finally completed the autopsy procedure and picked up a brush to begin writing the examination record.
The young woman’s body lay on the cold autopsy table, eyes closed, expression peaceful โ as though she were merely asleep. A clean white shroud covered her, one that Fangke had just exchanged for her: the previous one had been soaked crimson with blood. Fangke had even tidied her hair for her. The woman’s hair was black and lustrous, clearly well-cared for.
“The deceased is female, approximately seventeen years of age. No external injuries anywhere on the body. No bone fractures. No ruptured internal organs.” Fangke’s voice had the quality of a wooden fish drum in a Buddhist hall, capable of bringing a calm stillness to the heart. “Estimated time of death: upward of five days.”
Hua Yitang pressed his fan to his chin. “But if she had truly been dead that long, there should be signs of decomposition. Yet this body shows absolutely none.”
Ling Zhiyan: “I had previously heard a coroner say that more than six hours after death, a body would grow rigid โ yet this body’s muscles are still soft โ”
Fangke raised his eyelids and looked at Ling Zhiyan. “Director Ling, that coroner โ best dismiss him.”
“Eh?”
“A waste of money.”
“I seem to recall something,” Lin Sui’an dredged up what little forensic knowledge she possessed. “The body first goes rigid, and then becomes soft again โ”
Fangke continued to roll his eyes. “That is called the Rule of Three Sixes of Rigor Mortis.”
Lin Sui’an: “โฆ”
What three sixes? She only knew that three times six was eighteen.
“After death, rigor mortis appears after six hours, persists for six hours, and then recedes over the subsequent six hours, during which the body’s muscles go limp and slack. The Rule of Three Sixes is only useful within the first eighteen hours after death. Moreover, rigor mortis can vary depending on changes in the environment where the body is kept โ especially this body, which had been submerged in water for quite some time. It would be very difficult to determine the time of death based on rigor mortis.” Fangke’s stiff voice came at them like a hammer. “I do not wish to say any of this a second time!”
Hua Yitang said smugly, “Just look at that โ it really does take our Doctor Fang’s expertise! Far better than those rice-bucket coroners from whatever court and whatever bureau.”
Ling Zhiyan rubbed his nose. “Then how did Doctor Fang determine that she had been dead for more than five days?”
“Because the body was floating on the surface of the water,” Fangke said. “Whether a person drowns in the water or is thrown in after death, the body will initially sink. As time passes, decomposition produces gases which gradually fill the abdominal cavity, chest cavity, and other areas of the body โ like air filling a leather ball โ and the body will then gradually rise to the surface. But this is precisely the most peculiar aspect of the case. Based on the temperature of the Eastern Capital’s waterways this season, it would take at least twenty days for a body to float to the surface after entering the water. If the body had been submerged that long, it would have become grotesquely bloated, with skin and fingernails detaching, and would be unrecognizable.”
Lin Sui’an: “In other words, although this body’s exterior is intact, the internal organs had already begun to rot long ago โ hence the body floated to the surface relatively soon after entering the water?”
“Generally speaking, the stomach and intestines of a corpse decompose first, followed by the liver, lungs, and brain. In this body, decomposition has already spread to the lungs. It is therefore very likely that the body was left to decompose for a period of time in a warm environment before being thrown into the water. As for the body’s exterior โ” Fangke glanced at Lin Sui’an, “โ it was probably subjected to special treatment, just as Lin Niangzi said.”
Lin Sui’an was stunned: could it be that this era already possessed a technique as sophisticated as embalming?
Hua Yitang tapped his fan to his chin. “What was the cause of death?”
Fangke: “Carbon monoxide poisoning.”
Lin Sui’an’s eyes went wide: carbon monoxide poisoning?
“Those who die of carbon poisoning show pale pink skin post-mortem, bright red blood, and rose-red lividity patterns. Their expression is peaceful, as if in slumber.” Fangke said. “One might call it the most beautiful of deaths.”
Hua Yitang: “In other words, the killer first used carbon gas to kill, then used some method to treat the body and preserve its external appearance from decay, kept the corpse for several days, and then dressed the body up beautifully before casting it into the water. Disgusting โ is this killer actually sick in the head?!”
Fangke looked at all three of them and continued: “Lividity on the back and outer sides of the buttocks indicates that for three to four hours after death, the body lay flat and was not moved into a significantly different position. The white marks at the areas on both sides of the navel within three inches, at the back of the knees, and at the calves indicate that these areas were pressed down or constricted by some object. The absence of blood or injury in the intimate area indicates that the victim showed no resistance at the time of the assault. In summary โ” Fangke paused, then made a gesturing motion with his hand, “โ someone performed a bestial act upon the body after the victim’s death.”
All three changed color with horror.
Suddenly, from outside came a thunderous crash, as though a bear had fallen to the ground, followed immediately by a string of anguished cries.
Ling Zhiyan burst through the door. “Who’s there?! Sneaking around in the Court of Judicial Review โ you dare cause a disturbance here โ Chief Justice Chen? Junior Justice Zhang?!”
Lin Sui’an and Hua Yitang poked their heads out and looked. Sprawled every which way in the shrubbery outside the Corpse Repository were two people, pinned under a wooden ladder and howling in pain. One was Zhang Huai, and the other โ
Hua Yitang clicked his tongue. “My, my โ Chief Justice Chen Yanfan truly lives up to his reputation. He really is bald.”
Lin Sui’an gave a sideways glance: “โฆ”
By this person’s standards, at least two-thirds of modern people would qualify as bald.
“Why are Chief Justice Chen and Junior Justice Zhang here? And in this condition?” Ling Zhiyan hurried over to help them up, baffled. “Could it be that villains have attacked the Court of Judicial Review?”
Chen Yanfan and Zhang Huai brushed the dust and leaves off themselves chaotically. One stared at the sky; the other looked at the ground. Both mumbled evasive nonsense, and neither dared meet Ling Zhiyan’s eyes. Though Ling Zhiyan was candid to a fault, he was not foolish. Seeing their expressions, he figured out at least a portion of what had happened โ and could only sigh helplessly with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. The atmosphere was mystifyingly awkward.
Lin Sui’an felt this was a golden opportunity. She elbowed Hua Yitang and signaled him to return to the Corpse Repository immediately. Hua Yitang couldn’t resist her, and followed along helplessly.
Fangke had already begun examining the second body โ the other female corpse discovered in the Yishui canal on the second day of the eleventh month. Although several days had passed, its external appearance was no different from that of the body discovered yesterday.
This was Fangke’s first examination of this particular body, so naturally he began with the external examination. Lin Sui’an had closely observed the process a number of times and had the autopsy procedure memorized. She found a suitable spot and waited specifically for the moment Fangke examined the eye sockets. Her sleeve was tugged twice โ without turning around, she knew it was Hua Yitang, and immediately gave him a thumbs-up to indicate he needn’t worry.
Just then, Fangke pried open the female corpse’s eyelids.
Lin Sui’an gave a start. A familiar flash of white light passed before her eyes โ and then there was nothing but pitch-black darkness.
She heard the sound of wind. She smelled the scent of sugar. There was also the clopping of horse hooves, the cacophony of a crowd, the laughter of children, the gurgling of boiling water, the snapping of fluttering pennant banners, and from a distance came a loud, resonant work chant: “Hei-luo-ei โ oh โ luo โ”
ใLin Sui’an!ใ
A bright voice transformed into a beam of light and suddenly illuminated the darkness. Lin Sui’an saw Hua Yitang’s face. His lashes trembled ever so slightly, his gaze locked unwaveringly upon her. A warm palm enclosed her entire fist. She had, without realizing it, clenched her fingers into a fist so tight that her fingernails had dug into her palm and were causing a slight pain.
“It’s over,” Lin Sui’an breathed in sharply. “I didn’t see anything.”
Hua Yitang’s eyes went wide.
“Only sounds. No images.”
Hua Yitang frowned and looked sharply at Fangke.
Fangke closed the corpse’s eyelids and sighed. “This deceased โ was blind.”
Lin Sui’an: “โฆ”
You’re kidding.
When researching, my desk was piled with forensic science texts, books on corpses, anatomy, crime scene investigation, criminal encyclopedias, abnormal psychologyโฆ Even the cleaning lady started giving me strange looks. (hides face)