Chapter 181 - 181 173 The House Collapses

Words : 2045 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

181: Chapter 173 The House Collapses 181: Chapter 173 The House Collapses After speaking with Captain Lei Xin, having nearly finished a pack of cigarettes, several forensic doctors dressed neatly once more and continued the autopsy. Lei Xin had intended to help but finding no space for himself, he stood to one side, found a step to stand on, and continued to watch. Now Cao Keyang had company. An arson-burned corpse was unlike a normal autopsy. In a normal autopsy, if only a part needed to be done, it would almost be finished in two to three hours, while a slightly more complex one might take four to five hours. But with the body now incinerated, the amount of information to be gained was far too little, necessitating a more detailed dissection. Lei Xin’s special trip here was partly motivated by this consideration. The evidence left at the scene was nearly non-existent; what could be used probably amounted to nothing. Although the body was horribly burnt, it could still hold some evidence, albeit little. Lei Xin was now hoping the cause of asphyxiation was poisoning—if they could identify the type of poison, it would be an excellent piece of evidence. Jiang Yuan once again took a supporting role but was still diligent in his search. As the local forensic doctor, Niu Tang was seriously conscientious, examining the abdominal and pelvic cavities before scrutizing each limb inch by inch. Everyone knew that what they could hope for now were some minor findings. Jiang Yuan’s tall stature soon had him bending over in discomfort; during a break, he saw a bright spark falling out of the chest cavity of the corpse. Looking left and right, Jiang Yuan reached out and picked up the bright object. Zhang Ying’s Legacy—Fashion Clothing (LV2): The dazzling complexity of the big city had a profound impact on Zhang Ying, who came from a smaller place. Those attractive clothes, which represented individuality, culture, and art, repeatedly tempted Zhang Ying, causing her to linger and indulge. The beautiful clothing also gave Zhang Ying unprecedented confidence. For a time, she even caught the tail end of pop culture, gaining an audience that appreciated and admired her. Though, upon returning to the small city, Zhang Ying gradually lost her knack for fashion, she remained a trendsetter in Qinghe City. LV2 signifies a high-level professional in a city. Zhang Ying’s legacy appeared to be on the higher end of LV2. But, how could a skill like Fashion Clothing be used? Could it be used to determine a corpse’s identity and origin based on its clothing? With that thought, Jiang Yuan looked back at the body. The charred and curled corpse, which had been naked before the fire, was also a pitiable sight. The autopsy was finally completed by the dim light of dawn. Niu Tang still had to write the autopsy report, while Wang Lan, Jiang Yuan, Cao Keyang, and Lei Xin left in a car to rest separately. More precisely, the first three rested while Captain Lei Xin continued to boost morale elsewhere. The next day at noon. Having woken from a long sleep, Jiang Yuan figured that all the reports should be ready by then and tidied up before heading to the Criminal Police Team. He was dressed in completely new clothes. Still in his shining, cool police uniform, he looked very handsome and upright. Although he had acquired a new skill, Jiang Yuan wasn’t keen on changing too much. As soon as he entered the main entrance, Jiang Yuan sensed the thick and heavy atmosphere. It was like smoked bacon—once you smelled it, you knew what was for dinner. The expressions and gestures of the police officers around conveyed to Jiang Yuan that the case remained unsolved, still riddled with difficulties, and the clues had run dry. Entering the office, the atmosphere persisted. Several officers looking as worn as cured bacon huddled together, discussing in low tones about matters probably more significant than garlic sprouts. “Doctor Wang, Chief Medical Examiner Niu,” Jiang Yuan approached the corner desk, a relatively flexible work station meant for visiting detectives like Wang Lan. “Jiang Yuan,” Wang Lan nodded, her gaze still sharp but showing signs of exhaustion. People over forty aren’t usually cut out for consecutive all-nighters. Yet, this is common for police officers, especially detectives in the criminal police team, who are on standby for major cases and consider gastrointestinal medicine a necessity. Jiang Yuan asked, “Are the toxicology results out? Anything?” “Common poisons all turned up negative,” Niu Tang answered. Toxicology testing is specific. Typically, you test for one poison at a time, meaning you don’t simply insert a sample and receive all results from a single machine. For simpler cases, such as testing for cyanide, you can use phenolphthalein test paper, which is pretty much like a high school chemistry lab. As for solid-phase extraction, liquid-liquid extraction, and other methods, they each have their complexities. So, a lack of toxicology results doesn’t mean the deceased wasn’t poisoned—only that common poisons weren’t detected. A case like the famous Fudan University poisoning incident would require a separate test for dimethyl nitrosamine—only if the results were positive could the type of poison be confirmed. There are probably around 600,000 similar toxic chemicals harmful to humans. Jiang Yuan nodded slightly and said, “So we’ll have to go back to looking at personal relationships?” With virtually no physical evidence, they had to revert to the old methods used by seasoned detectives. No wonder several veteran detectives were eagerly discussing the case with grim expressions. Wang Lan merely grunted in response, saying, “The ideal scenario would be a crime of passion stemming from a romantic relationship. If that’s the case, the difficulty lies in the interrogation, to see if the suspect will confess without any physical evidence.” “Exactly,” Jiang Yuan and Niu Tang nodded together. “If it turned out to be a case of burglary or robbery that escalated into murder, then it would be troublesome.” “Indeed.” This was all straightforward deduction, not particularly challenging, but the conclusions drawn were somewhat hard to swallow. Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t there any security cameras around? Even if they’re a bit further away, like at the intersections, they might help.” “The urban villages around here are quite complicated; even if there are cameras, they’re mostly broken,” Doctor Wang said. Jiang Yuan understood and had no intention of blaming another city for its public security management problems, as issues with urban villages were common. He only thought about installing more cameras back in Jiang Village afterwards. Random crimes have always been a challenge. Theft and robbery are difficult to solve precisely because of their randomness — anyone can be a target. That means the methods for solving such crimes are very limited. The Zhang Ying case was the same. If it turned out to be a random act, the next step would be to seriously consider whether it could be linked to other cases. If it couldn’t be linked to any other cases, relying solely on the evidence from this case would be insufficient for conviction, let alone for solving the case. The pressure in the office was quite palpable, for that reason. When a case was utterly beyond control, the mood of the police in charge of the investigation inevitably suffered. Several veteran detectives finished their discussion and quickly left the office. After a while, Lei Xin entered the main office. After exchanging greetings, Lei Xin came over to the corner where the three forensic doctors were located, greeted them, and gave them an update on the latest developments, “The victim, Zhang Ying, had rather complex social relationships and knew quite a lot of people.” Medical Examiner Wang Lan asked, “Did she have a boyfriend?” Lei Xin didn’t keep them in suspense and said, “Her family back home had arranged a fiancé for her, paying a bride price of 188,000. He even came to work in Qinghe City this year. The two of them seemed to have some conflicts; Zhang Ying didn’t like him, and the man had gone to the mall to find her several times. He’s suspect number one, and our people are already looking for him.” “Suspect number two is Zhang Ying’s boss, with whom she had an ambiguous relationship, but he’s married. We’ve brought him in for questioning, but he doesn’t seem very likely.” “That doesn’t sound severe enough to lead to murder... Anything else?” Wang Lan pressed, scrutinizing Lei Xin. “Zhang Ying was attractive and knew how to dress up. Somewhat domineering, she didn’t get along well with her colleagues and had argued with customers too, although it was not severe. She also had a dispute with a courier over a delivery, and the courier compensated her with several hundred yuan,” Lei Xin explained with frustration. These were all normal social interactions and nothing out of the ordinary. He looked at Jiang Yuan, who was known for his thoroughness, and asked with good humor, “Doctor Jiang, could you have a look at the scene, if you’re free?” He was hoping to gather any clues he could. Jiang Yuan readily agreed. The autopsy he was most keen to perform was completed, but the case wasn’t over, and he knew he should still help where needed. Lei Xin quickly expressed his gratitude and then hurriedly left. Consequently, Jiang Yuan called for Medical Examiner Wang Lan and a criminal detective, and together they headed to the crime scene. After a real-life experience of the perpetrator returning to the crime scene, Jiang Yuan dared not take any chances. Even with two technicians, he didn’t feel quite secure. During a crime scene investigation, technicians are entirely focused on the ground or objects and wouldn’t notice if someone approached from behind. The safety factor wasn’t high even with two technicians together. But the presence of a non-technical police officer made a significant difference— even if he was just scrolling through short videos on his phone at the entrance, it was more reassuring than having an additional technician. The fire-damaged self-built house was dirty and blackened. The beams of the house lay in the center of the room, and the walls were a crumbling mess, looking as if they had been through a war. “The one who probably most wants to kill someone right now is the landlord,” remarked the detective who had come along, reluctant to enter the yard. As the saying goes, “a house collapsed by fire,” one couldn’t step foot in the self-built house from the outside threshold without stumbling. At the entrance stood several idle onlookers, peering in curiously and refusing to leave despite being shooed away a few times. Only when the detective took out a notebook to record their IDs did they quickly scatter. Jiang Yuan and Wang Lan put on masks and shoe covers, and entered deeper into the house for a meticulous investigation. Two hours later, Jiang Yuan essentially declared the effort futile. It was impossible to find fingerprints, bloodstains, or footprints in the aftermath of the fire. No one could blame the investigators for a lack of effort. Even trace evidence was impossible to find in such an environment. Not only could biological materials change properties, but common objects like fibers could not be preserved, and even metals could have oxidized. “We can only hope that the evidence collected from the fire’s origin can lead to some clues,” Jiang Yuan said as he collected some evidence, though he wasn’t very confident. Just as they were stepping out and removing their gloves, the police officer at the door walked in briskly. “Slow down, you’re kicking up dust,” Wang Lan quickly warned, then asked, “Is there new information?” “There’s a lead from Zhang Ying’s hometown,” the officer replied, seemingly invigorated by the news, “It turns out her family had negotiated another marriage for her, asking for a bride price of 288,000. They haven’t returned the money from the previous suitor, and when our people got there, the three families were in the midst of a heated argument.”

Chapter 181 - 181 173 The House Collapses

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