Insights Chapter 109: Bloody Corpse

Chapter 109: Bloody Corpse

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

In the early morning, Gu Yanchen woke up earlier than usual. He glanced at Shen Junci, who was sleeping soundly beside him. The medical examiner had buried his face in the blanket, sleeping peacefully. Gu Yanchen calmed himself down, took a cold shower, changed his bandages, cleaned Snowflake’s litter box, and decided to take Wuliang for a walk downstairs.

In the morning sunlight, Captain Gu lit a cigarette for himself. Contemplating how long he had to strictly follow the doctor’s orders, he feared he might suffer from insomnia if things continued like this. Captain Gu muttered to himself as he smoked, “I wonder if Junci is awake yet?”

At the mention of Shen, Wuliang immediately looked at him, perking up his ears and showing a human-like understanding in his eyes. He pushed against Gu Yanchen with his hind legs.

Gu Yanchen knew this was Wuliang seeking affection, so he reached out and patted his head. “What do you think Junci would like for breakfast today?”

When he was alone, Gu Yanchen would also talk to Wuliang, but mostly in passing. After asking the question, Gu Yanchen instinctively fed Wuliang some dog food. Why was he even talking to the dog? And he was a neutered single dog, at that. Wuliang seemed mature for a dog, and for a moment, Gu Yanchen felt like he understood him and his intentions. His eyes brightened suddenly, he licked his tongue out twice, and then pulled Gu Yanchen along.

Former police dogs were naturally strong. Gu Yanchen, still recovering from his injuries, didn’t dare to resist. Wuliang led them outside the community and squatted in front of a fried dough stick stall, refusing to move. Gu Yanchen rarely brought the dog to such crowded places.

The black-back looked a bit fierce, and a girl behind them exclaimed and moved away, seeming a little afraid. Gu Yanchen quickly tightened the dog leash and said, “Sorry, retired police dog, won’t bite.” He pulled Wuliang back. “Let’s go, let’s go back home.” The dog had been walked for quite a long time, it was time to go back.

Wuliang remained motionless.

Gu Yanchen pointed ahead and asked, “Do you mean I should buy this for breakfast?”

The dog squatted, howled, and wagged his tail, as if answering his question. Seeing that it was still early, Gu Yanchen joined the back of the line. He hadn’t seen Shen Junci eat this before and didn’t know if he liked it. But with so many people queuing up early in the morning, it seemed that these fried dough sticks were quite popular.

It took more than twenty minutes to queue up, and Gu Yanchen bought soy milk and fried dough sticks, then Shen Junci just got up. Wuliang achieved his goal, hiding his achievements modestly, not taking away any credit, and went back to his bed after eating some dog food.

Shen Junci took the breakfast handed to him by Gu Yanchen with some delight. He casually pierced the soy milk and said, “Thanks, I quite like the fried dough sticks from this place.”

The fried dough sticks from this place were well made, crispy on the outside and filled with a bit of salted egg yolk inside, giving it a crunchy texture. However, whenever Shen Junci woke up late, he had to wait in a long line, so he tended to eat less.

“It’s good that you like it,” Gu Yanchen said, deciding to give Wuliang a chicken leg for dinner.

Before they finished their breakfast, Director Ding called. “Captain Gu, I wanted you and the medical examiner Shen to rest for a few more days, but we received a report this morning about a tricky case.”

Gu Yanchen replied, “It’s okay, I’ve rested enough these past few days, my injuries are almost healed. We’ll go over there together later.”

“I’ve sent three teams ahead, you can meet up with them when you arrive,” Director Ding said, sighing, “this case is really strange, it might end up making headlines. I trust only you with handling it.”

Then the former chief reminded him a few more things.

After hanging up Director Ding’s call, Gu Yanchen packed up and said, “Let’s go, the case is here.”

Shen Junci nodded, finished his fried dough sticks, wiped his mouth with a tissue, and followed downstairs.

The scene of the crime was a forest park near Penang. The Criminal Investigation Team had arrived first and set up a cordon. Some physical evidence had already been collected. Because the case fell under the jurisdiction of the Special Criminal Division, the initial medical examiner didn’t move the corpse.

Bai Meng, Lu Ying and the others had set off from the City Bureau and arrived first.

Yu Shen’s transfer had been approved, and he had come along today. Qi Yi’an, holding the investigation kit, had already started working. It wasn’t until they got out of the car that Gu Yanchen understood why Director Ding had said it was strange.

It was a somewhat eerie dumping ground. There was a lot of vegetation on the scene, all one could see was patches of green. Due to yesterday’s rain, today the forest was covered in a thin mist under the sunlight, making it look like walking in the fog.

The first thing Gu Yanchen saw was a huge tree, a camphor tree, also known as the Yao Ren firewood, which had stood here for many years. The trunk was very thick, with a diameter of more than three meters, requiring several people to encircle it to hug. Climbing up the thick trunk were layers of vines, a huge wisteria, the flowers of which had just fallen.

Many red ribbons and colorful wind chimes were tied to the trunk and various vines, making a tinkling sound when the wind blew. If it weren’t for the body lying under the tree at this moment, this place would have looked like a fairyland from a fairy tale.

A forest ranger was briefing the police not far away. Nearby, a frightened couple was giving their statements to the arriving police. The two had come to pray, arriving early in the morning only to witness a horrifying scene, leaving them almost scared out of their wits.

Shen Junci looked up at the red rope tied to the tree and asked, “Is this tree famous?”

Lu Ying had heard some legends and explained, “This place is a somewhat famous scenic spot called Lover’s Tree. Legend has it that a tree and a vine have been entangled for hundreds of years. Despite being struck by lightning, neither the tree nor the vine died. Instead, they grew denser. Later, there was a saying that the tree and the vine were lovers from ten lifetimes, undergoing tribulations, and both became immortals. So people often come here to propose or pray, believing they will receive blessings.”

Shen Junci looked closely and saw a severed limb of a young girl placed under the vines of the tree, specifically from the head to the chest, with both hands hanging on either side, tangled with messy long hair and nearby branches. The corpse looked like a fruit growing out of the tree, almost merging with the trunk.

Part of the corpse’s face and skin were completely damaged, a mass of flesh and blood, resembling a bloodied corpse. The rotting flesh attracted flies in the forest, buzzing around, and the smell was nauseating, making the scene extremely shocking. The dumping ground was crucial, often containing a large amount of criminal information. And the on-site examination by the medical examiner was often the starting point for criminal investigation work.

Qi Yi’an had already taken out his camera and started taking photos, then took out the medical examiner’s on-site investigation form, ready to fill it out.

Bai Meng observed the scene for a while and summarized, “The time of abandonment should be after midnight, during rain. There are tire tracks at the scene, indicating that the perpetrator drove a car.”

Yu Shen, also searching nearby, found some traces for the forensic team to collect. “The footprint suggests a male, not very old, with a height of over 1.75 meters. There are signs of a fall under the tree, and some broken glass from a flashlight in the bushes.”

Gu Yanchen remarked, “This method of abandoning the body is very unusual.”

The reasons why killers commit murder are varied. After committing the crime, if they have enough time, there are generally several ways they handle the aftermath.

First, some killers are aware that murder is a bad thing and try to hide the body. These killers are usually guilt-ridden and fearful. They will store the body in a hidden place, encase it in concrete, bury it underground, purchase a freezer, dismember it, burn it, or sink it in a lake. They do everything to avoid detection. This method of abandonment is also common in cases where the perpetrator knows the victim.

Second, some killers consider murder inconsequential and are confident they won’t be caught. After killing, they either leave the body directly at the scene or discard it casually, in old luggage, trash heaps, abandoned houses, or even inside a doll’s stomach. They dispose of the body as if it were trash, without any care.

Third, some killers believe murder is a remarkable achievement, feeling a strong desire to show off. They deliberately place the body where it’s easily visible to others, on footbridges, school entrances, in crowded areas, markets, or even deliver it to the victim’s family…

These are the three most common methods of body disposal. Occasionally, there are exceptions. For example, sometimes killers alternate between these psychological states, leading to abnormal methods of body disposal. Some may even move the body around, but generally, their actions are logical.

The female corpse before them, with her facial skin dissolved and her body dismembered, was done to conceal the victim’s identity, meticulously. However, the body was left under the Lover’s Tree in the forest park, as if the perpetrator feared it wouldn’t be found.

Gu Yanchen couldn’t explain these contradictory actions either. The others from the Special Criminal Division were discussing the strange scene.

Bai Meng interjected, “Could it be… the man was rejected by the girl, so he killed her in revenge and deliberately left her here? A warning of revenge?”

She offered another perspective.

Shen Junci added, “Perhaps the situation is much more complex than we imagine. Maybe it’s very simple, but we don’t know some prerequisites.”

Gu Yanchen nodded in agreement with Shen Junci’s statement. When things are abnormal, there must be a demon, and there must be information in this case that they don’t know.

Lu Ying crouched down to search for traces, feeling somewhat regretful as he said, “It’s a pity the heavy rain has washed away most of the traces.”

There were only partial footprints on the ground. If there were complete footprints or bloodstains, there might have been more information. Shen Junci walked up, skillfully put on gloves, reached out, and gently lifted the woman’s head from below, turning her face towards him, meeting her gaze. He carefully looked down as if holding a piece of art.

The skin on the face and head had completely dissolved, eyelids lifted, eyes mutilated, chemicals damaging one eye while the other was preserved, half-opened with a very pale pupil. The cornea becomes opaque with time after death, and now it’s completely opaque, indicating death occurred more than two days ago.

Shen Junci said, “From the skeletal structure of the head, she should have been very beautiful in life.”

As Shen Junci gazed at the corpse, Gu Yanchen watched him. Others were hesitant to look at the bloody head, let alone see any beauty in it. Shen Junci, however, remained unusually calm. Holding a head with visible bones, it was already a somewhat eerie scene. Then Shen Junci stood up. His figure under the Lover’s Tree looked like a thin piece of paper.

Shen Junci stared at the corpse on the ground for a moment, then spoke up, “I’ve noticed something strange.”

Gu Yanchen stepped forward, asking, “What is it?”

Shen Junci pointed to the corpse, “All her teeth have been pulled out, not one left. And the method was very professional.”

Gu Yanchen considered a possibility, “Is it possible that the person who disposed of the body is not the same as the killer?” He paused, “Is it the work of a cleaner?”

Shen Junci nodded, “It looks like something they would do.”

But if the body was handled by a cleaner, then who was the one abandoning it? And what could be their motive?