Chapter 10

Chapter Seven

The Female Corpse Floating Upright on the Water Surface

——

"Captain Zhang, something happened?"

Lin Fei, who had rushed from the second floor to the main entrance on the first floor, saw Captain Zhang Hua of the North District Police Station, along with three police officers, hurriedly driving up and transporting something into the morgue. Lin Fei glanced over, but the items, now out of sight, were all wrapped in white cloth, making it hard to see what they were!

Zhang Hua told Lin Fei, "This is a female corpse discovered this morning at Longwang River!"

"Female corpse?"

Looking into the distance, Lin Fei realized that the two police officers had been pushing a corpse! His pores suddenly tightened: "I just got here, and this happens! What bad luck!"

Sensing Lin Fei's unease, Zhang Hua smiled casually, understanding that Lin Fei was a new recruit who had probably never been close to a corpse before. He patted Lin Fei's shoulder and asked, "Do you want to go in and take a look?"

"Or maybe..." The remaining words "not necessary" were not yet spoken.

A police officer who seemed to be contacting someone walked over and told Zhang Hua, "Captain! Uncle Hu said he's on his way and will be here in less than five minutes!"

"Okay!" Zhang Hua nodded, then turned his gaze back to Lin Fei, pushing his shoulder and saying, "Let's go! Kid, you don't need to be afraid with me around!"

"I didn't... say I was afraid!" Lin Fei quickly tried to cover up.

"You're not afraid, that's good!" Zhang Hua didn't expose Lin Fei's pretense but turned and walked toward the morgue.

"Don't be afraid!" The police officer who had contacted Uncle Hu said to Lin Fei, "The first time I saw a corpse, I couldn't sleep for days! Now that I'm used to it, it's fine!"

"Uh, uh!" Lin Fei didn't know what to say, so he just nodded dumbly.

"I'm Liu Yang, Captain Zhang's apprentice!" The police officer greeted Lin Fei politely.

"My name is Lin Fei! I am..."

"I know! You're the new forensic doctor!" Liu Yang smiled and said, "Who in our division doesn't know that!"

"Is that so?" Lin Fei could only scratch his head helplessly, thinking that it was probably because he was the first official forensic doctor in the North District Police Station in ten years! Otherwise, he wouldn't have such an unwelcome reputation...

Liu Yang, like his master Captain Zhang Hua, was quite approachable. On the short walk to the morgue, he chattered on about a bunch of useless and boring things, likely out of curiosity about the new forensic doctor. This curiosity, Lin Fei thought, was probably how most people in the North District Police Station viewed him.

When the two reached the morgue door, Lin Fei immediately stopped in his tracks!

He recalled the incident from the night he became an apprentice, and a sense of fear crept into his heart!

"Scared, huh?" Liu Yang said with a slightly gloating smile, "Go in a few more times, and you'll be fine!"

Saying that, he pushed Lin Fei into the morgue.

...

The female corpse was covered in a stark white sheet, with only a swollen head exposed, which was quite frightening.

This was Lin Fei's first close encounter with a corpse, and in the chilling environment, it was hard not to imagine the worst.

Lin Fei felt his bones go numb, and his whole body almost went limp. But in front of Zhang Hua and the others, he didn't dare show it and could only force himself to remain silent.

Zhang Hua looked at Lin Fei, patted his shoulder, and said with a squint, "Kid, you've got some guts! You're much better than Liu Yang, who almost wet his pants the first time!"

Lin Fei awkwardly rubbed his hands, which were already sweating from fear, but the more he rubbed, the more sweat came out. Fortunately, just as Lin Fei was hesitating whether to hide outside, his "Master Hu" finally arrived...

Old Hu was in civilian clothes, and his cotton slippers were particularly noticeable. He must have come in a hurry, not even changing his shoes!

For some reason, as soon as Old Hu entered the morgue, the temperature in the room seemed to rise several degrees. Lin Fei also felt the eerie atmosphere diminish significantly...

Seeing Old Hu raise his hand, Zhang Hua habitually fetched a pair of white gloves for him. This smooth action made Lin Fei realize the long-standing默契 between the two...

"Little Zhang! What's the situation, calling me in such a hurry!" Old Hu asked Captain Zhang.

"This!" Captain Zhang pointed, and the two went to the side of the female corpse. "The body was discovered at 7:00 AM today in Longwang River near the Longwang Temple in the north of the city. The scene has been recorded by the West District Police Station, which is closest to the location!"

Captain Zhang took a document from a police officer and handed it to Old Hu.

Longwang River is located at the boundary between the North and West Districts, serving as the dividing line between the two police stations. Cases in Longwang River are usually handled by the West District, but knowing the special status of the North District, Lin Fei understood that unless something unusual happened, the West District would not hand over a case to the North District. But what was unusual about this case?

"Is there anything else?" Old Hu glanced at the document and then focused on the female corpse's face, lifting the sheet covering her upper body.

She was completely naked, and it was unclear whether she had been without clothes before falling into the water or if they had been removed during the recovery. Her skin seemed to be filled with water, as if a slight touch would cause water to spill out.

"When the body was recovered, a local resident said this person might have offended the Dragon King of the temple. So..." Captain Zhang spoke hesitantly.

"Offended the Dragon King?" Old Hu snorted, "Nonsense!"

Even Lin Fei found this explanation unreliable, but before he could ask, someone else spoke up...

"Right! What Dragon King in this day and age! It's just superstition!" Lin Fei realized Liu Yang had a bad habit of talking too much, and his light-hearted manner immediately drew Captain Zhang's disapproval!

"Do you need to talk so much?" Captain Zhang glared at Liu Yang, who quickly shut his mouth. But Lin Fei knew that this intimidation would only have a temporary effect on someone who liked to talk a lot.

"Has the time of death been determined?" Old Hu asked.

"Not yet!"

"Then wait a moment! I'll check this..." Old Hu rubbed his hands, which were covered in white gloves, and prepared to start.

At this moment, Lin Fei spoke up, "Master, are you going to check for livor mortis or rigor mortis?"

He hadn't intended to ask, but his curiosity, a trait from his journalism background, got the better of him. Similar to Liu Yang's talkativeness, but with better results! Lin Fei was curious if determining the time of death was as shown on TV, and he wanted to gain more knowledge for when he entered the film industry and needed to shoot crime dramas.

"Kid, you know a fair bit!" Old Hu looked at Lin Fei and smiled.

"Learned from TV!"

"Remember, the person died in the water, so checking for livor mortis isn't very useful!" The deeper meaning of Old Hu's words was clear to both Lin Fei and Captain Zhang. Especially Lin Fei, who understood that Old Hu was teaching him, starting from the basics.

Old Hu slowly opened the female corpse's hand and continued, "Rigor mortis is still somewhat useful! The time of rigor mortis can vary based on water temperature and the duration the body was in the water, affecting our judgment of the time of death. Fortunately, it snowed heavily these past two days!"

"What does the snow have to do with it?" Liu Yang, who had just calmed down, started talking again!

"What is the temperature in the city after the snow?" Old Hu asked.

"The weather forecast says the highest is 11 degrees, and the lowest is -4 degrees!" Lin Fei answered.

"Then we can determine it!" Old Hu said to Captain Zhang and the others, "The time of death is roughly eight hours ago, around midnight!"

"Damn! How can you be so sure? How do you know?" Liu Yang stared at Old Hu with wide eyes. Fortunately, Lin Fei noticed Captain Zhang's anger and quickly pulled Liu Yang aside to make him shut up. Then he repeated Liu Yang's question, "Master, I also want to know how you determined it?"

Old Hu, focused on the female corpse, casually replied, "I'll give you a book to study at home later!"

Old Hu continued to carefully examine the body, lifting the remaining white sheet: "There are signs of sexual activity before death, suggesting the possibility of a sexual assault!"

Sexual assault! This made the case more serious. Lin Fei glanced at Captain Zhang, who remained silent, and decided not to ask any more questions.

Old Hu pointed to several obvious marks on the female corpse, "There are also these marks here, here, and here... The deceased's shoulders and knees have marks from being grabbed from different directions. Based on the different force used, it can be determined that it wasn't done by one person! If the possibility of sexual assault is confirmed, the likelihood of multiple assailants is 80%! Unfortunately, the body has been in the water for so long that it's impossible to extract useful evidence from it."

Lin Fei didn't know if Old Hu could find more evidence, but watching him analyze the body with such clarity and logic, he felt that the Old Hu from last night, who made him bow and burn incense like a Taoist priest, was definitely not the same person!

Old Hu's serious and meticulous attitude while examining the body, as Liu Yang put it, "Uncle Hu, you look so damn cool when you're serious! Maybe I should learn forensic science from you too!"

This comment made Captain Zhang unsure whether to be angry or amused. Old Hu squinted and laughed, then tapped Liu Yang's head, "This isn't a job for just anyone!"

This comment immediately shifted Liu Yang's attention to Lin Fei, probably thinking, "I can't learn it, but can he?"

Lin Fei ignored Liu Yang's jealous gaze and asked, "But why would she go to Longwang River at midnight?"

"That's for them to figure out!" Old Hu's expression darkened as he said to Captain Zhang, "Remind them to stay away from the river when investigating..."

Stay away from the river? What does that mean?

As Lin Fei pondered the meaning of Old Hu's words, a significant turn of events occurred—

Liu Yang suddenly said loudly, "Right! The colleague who brought the body in told me that the body was floating upright in the water! When they tried to retrieve her, several strong men couldn't pull her out of the water directly. They had to use a rope and a powerful car on the shore to pull her out!"

"Why didn't you say that earlier!" Old Hu, upon hearing this, became furious, and Captain Zhang was also extremely angry with his incompetent apprentice, "Can't you just say everything at once? Do you know how much a missing detail can affect a case?"

Liu Yang looked pitiful and mumbled, "I was just in a hurry and forgot!"

Captain Zhang glared at his apprentice, regretting not going to the scene himself to avoid the trouble this guy was causing!

Although Captain Zhang didn't understand why Old Hu suddenly got angry after hearing Liu Yang's words, based on his years of experience, a body floating upright in the water was impossible unless there was a more complex and inexplicable reason...

This was a significant factor in the case, almost forgotten by his incompetent apprentice!

Lin Fei looked at the furious Old Hu and Captain Zhang, then at the pitiful Liu Yang, and sighed, "Idiot!"

He then kindly stepped forward and asked Old Hu, "A body floating upright in the water, is that a big problem?"

"Floating upright in the water... that's a huge problem!"