Insights Chapter 13: Drowning

Chapter 13: Drowning

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

In the afternoon, inside the City Bureau’s autopsy room, Shen Junci and Qi Yi’an faced the body of Fang Zhenrong. Due to being soaked in water, the texture of the skin and flesh had changed, and it could be felt even through gloves. Within the incision, half-decomposed internal organs were exposed. After cutting through the peritoneum, the abdominal organs were laid bare, followed by the opening of the chest cavity. Qi Yi’an took bone-cutting forceps, preparing to break the rib cage.

Shen Junci said, “Don’t use that; a smaller one is sufficient. You need to learn finesse, not brute force.”

Qi Yi’an changed to a smaller one and handed it to Shen Junci, who carefully observed. Shen Junci’s movements were gentle, almost without any sound. Later, Shen Junci handed the smaller bone-cutting forceps to Qi Yi’an to practice, and they quickly uncovered the sternum, revealing the chest cavity.

The lights illuminated the autopsy room. The lungs were inflated, the stomach filled with water, the heart’s left side was lighter in color than the right. All signs pointed to drowning.

Time passed by. The dissecting knife cut through the flesh, making a faint sound. Hemostatic forceps lifted the internal organs, manipulating the membranes.

Shen Junci remained composed, summarizing, “Waterlogged lungs, rib impressions on the lungs, depression formed by finger pressure, indicative of drowning marks. Bleeding in the respiratory accessory muscles. Bleeding in the temporal bone. The stomach contains a large amount of water, estimated time of death approximately one hour after a meal.”

Qi Yi’an, in collaboration, took pathology samples on a nearby table. The corpse’s fluids dripped down the grooves into the cleaning pool beneath. Blood, internal organs, drowning fluid – everything needed for examination was soon extracted. Finally, the head: after Shen Junci shaved Fang Zhenrong’s hair and examined the back of his head, there was a small abrasion, so superficial that it wouldn’t be noticed without careful observation.

The dissection concluded, and the body was sewn up again. By the end of the afternoon, microbial analysis results were available. Qi Yi’an received the information and brought it over, saying, “The drowning fluid is similar, matching several types of diatoms, and it has entered the major circulation.”

Shen Junci made a soft sound of surprise and took the report. Fang Zhenrong had indeed drowned. The critical question now was where he had drowned.

Shen Junci had dealt with cases of bodies being thrown into water after An Nanomalous drowning. Different water sources could be distinguished by analyzing diatoms in the drowning fluid. Now, the diatoms from the fishing ground had already entered Fang Zhenrong’s major circulation. This was an unshakable piece of evidence. Was there something they still didn’t know among all this?

The workday was over, and the two medical examiners packed up to go home. Gu Yanchen wasn’t around today, and Shen Junci had no carpool option. He walked home alone. Upon entering his home, Shen Junci habitually lit a stick of incense. The white smoke filled the air, bringing a quietude to the space. After dissecting a body in the afternoon, Shen Junci went into the bathroom. Instead of rushing to take a shower, he opened the cabinet and examined the water valve. It was leaking more today than before.

He turned on the shower, and as the water pressure increased, the leak got worse. He quickly turned it off. This situation undoubtedly required the attention of the landlord.

Shen Junci took a photo and sent it to Gu Yanchen’s WeChat, saying, “Landlord, there’s a leak in the bathroom.”

At this moment, Gu Yanchen was on his way home from work. As soon as he parked his car downstairs, his phone rang. Gu Yanchen picked it up, glanced at it, and replied instantly, “Wait for me; I’ll be right over.”

Shen Junci opened a book of scriptures to copy a passage, but before he could write two lines, Gu Yanchen arrived. Having just finished work, he changed into casual clothes and carried a toolbox, looking very professional.

Shen Junci gave him a pair of spare slippers, inviting him inside. Gu Yanchen said, “I’ve handled pipe issues at home before. Don’t worry; it won’t take long.”

He shut off the water valve and went to the bathroom. Various wrenches and tools were neatly laid out on the floor, and he skillfully repaired it for about ten minutes. Shen Junci felt a bit guilty and went to the living room to pour him some water, asking about the situation.

Gu Yanchen said, “A part is damaged, and I can’t fix it. I’ll contact the property’s plumber for you.”

In front of Shen Junci, he made a call to the property. Since the plumber had already finished work, he said it wasn’t urgent and could be dealt with the next day.

Shen Junci said, “Then help me schedule it for tomorrow after work.”

After hanging up the phone, Captain Gu, for the first time, felt a bit embarrassed. He explained, “The strange part about the broken water pipe took me a while to figure out.”

Doctor Shen shrugged, “I just moved in, don’t know anything.”

“The Teacher bedroom’s bathroom has a separate water pipe. I closed the shut-off valve, so it won’t affect washing and using the toilet,” Gu Yanchen said while packing his things. “Why don’t you go shower in my room?”

Shen Junci wasn’t fond of showering outside. He believed that showering required personal space, and medical examiners often dealt with strong-smelling corpses. Despite the medical examiners’ building having a shower, he rarely used it, preferring to wait until he got home. It was now past seven in the evening, and if he didn’t go to the neighboring room, he would have to find a hotel. Besides, it was Gu Yanchen’s home.

Shen Junci wasn’t polite and picked up the freshly prepared change of clothes, saying, “Thanks for the trouble.”

With that, Gu Yanchen led him to the next room, opening the fingerprint lock with a distinctive sound. Gu Yanchen didn’t rush to open the door but said to Shen Junci, “I have a dog at home, a retired police dog. Very gentle, won’t bite, just has a big head and looks a bit fierce. Don’t be scared.”

Shen Junci replied, “No worries, I quite like dogs.”

The door opened, and a large German Shepherd walked over, holding its leash, signaling that it wanted to go for a walk.

Gu Yanchen patted the dog’s head, “We’ll go for a walk later. Today, there’s a guest at home.”

The dog seemed to understand, looking at Gu Yanchen behind him, sniffing and instantly brightening his eyes. Then, the dog began wagging his tail, sticking out his tongue, circling around Shen Junci, even trying to climb onto him.

Gu Yanchen had never seen his dog so enthusiastic about someone. Afraid of scaring Shen Junci, he pulled the dog away. Gu Yanchen explained, “He’s not usually like this; he’s usually quite aloof.”

This dog was usually very proud and dignified. He ignored both people and other dogs, making the dogs in the yard tremble in fear. But today, he was as lively as a Husky.

Shen Junci patted the overly enthusiastic dog, “It’s okay. What’s his name?”

Gu Yanchen said, “His name is Wuliang.”

Shen Junci commented, “That name sounds quite Buddhist.”

Gu Yanchen replied, “His original name was Wuliangye.”

Shen Junci said, “…”

Gu Yanchen explained, “The caretaker of our police dog team is a heavy drinker. Every police dog he raises gets a name, starting from Maotai, going down the list—Wuliangye, Jiannanchun, Xinghuacun. When the liquor names ran out, he started naming them Lafite, Château Mouton Rothschild. Later, when there weren’t enough red wine names, the ones we got last year were named Qingdao and Budweiser. This year, Director Ding said it didn’t look good to bring them out, so we stopped naming them like that.”

Shen Junci remarked, “It must be quite a spectacle when you take the police dogs out.”

Gu Yanchen agreed, “Yes, once a female officer couldn’t hold onto a police dog, and it ran around the street while she shouted ‘Jiang Xiaobai.'”

Shen Junci facepalmed.

Gu Yanchen gave the dog some food, saying, “This one has made significant contributions. After retirement, I brought him back. He’s ten years old this year. Wuliangye doesn’t sound good, so I renamed him Wuliang. He still understands.”

After looking at the dog, Shen Junci finally had time to survey the room. The layout of the neighboring unit was a bit different; it had three rooms, but the decoration style was similar, and the room was neatly arranged. Shen Junci looked around, and his gaze fell on a picture frame on the wall. The frame was quite formal, a bit out of place with the room’s decor. Inside the frame wasn’t a painting or a photo but a common one-yuan coin.

The shiny silver coin was clamped in the center of the frame, looking somewhat peculiar.

Shen Junci pointed at the framed coin on the wall, “This decoration is quite interesting. Does it have any special meaning?” He paused and added, “I’m quite interested in modern art. It looks like a piece of modern art with some profound meaning.”

“It’s not an artwork, and it doesn’t have any deep meaning,” Gu Yanchen said, “Someone made me a promise, and since I believe in actions, not just words, I asked for a written agreement. He assured me he wasn’t deceiving me, so he gave me this coin as proof.”

Shen Junci chuckled, triggering a memory. “Why does this sound like you were being placated like a child?”

“I was serious at that time. I took it as a solemn promise,” Gu Yanchen said, taking a step forward.

It was given to him by Lin Xianglan when he assigned him the case involving Xu Chenghuang, telling him that after completing it, he could make a request. Promotion, salary increase, or anything within his professional capabilities—whether it was playing matchmaker for a girl in the City Bureau or anything else—he was willing to do it.

As they talked, Gu Yanchen recalled those difficult times. Complicated relationships, various transaction networks, delving layer by layer into the case and turning half of Penang upside down. Sometimes, tired and lost, he would return to his place at night, take out the coin, and look at it carefully, as if infused with infinite strength.

Shen Junci became interested and asked, “What happened later? Did you use it to get something from him, or did you not decide what you wanted?”

Gu Yanchen looked up at the coin on the wall and said, “Neither.”

“Who fooled you like this? Your ex-girlfriend or your family?” Shen Junci imagined a story, surprised that someone as smart as Gu Yanchen would fall for it. He couldn’t resist chatting a bit more. “Don’t believe in empty promises; always keep a written agreement.”

Gu Yanchen turned to look at him, his gaze making Shen Junci feel uneasy.

After a pause, Gu Yanchen said, “That person passed away; it’s the Captain Lin I mentioned to you last time.”

Shen Junci’s heart sank suddenly, his gaze seemed to plunge into the deep sea. He hurriedly lowered his head, picked up his clothes, and said, “I’m going to take a shower.”

Gu Yanchen nodded, “Same as across the hall, hot on the left and cold on the right.”

Shen Junci turned around, somewhat numb, and walked to the bathroom. From the beginning of the story, he should have sensed something. By the middle, he should have guessed the outcome. He never expected that the coin was a gift from Lin Xianglan. When his father was alive, he never broke the habit of casually promising things to people.

“Hold this candy, and next year, Dad will definitely celebrate your birthday at home.”

“Keep this medal, and when we have time, I’ll take you to the amusement park.”

“This pen is for you, and next time, Dad will buy you a cake.”

He gave whatever he picked up, creating a pile of promises that were all over the place, and he couldn’t remember what each one represented. As he grew older, he stopped believing in promises. Every time his father wanted to give him something, he would directly refuse, determined not to be fooled. But why did his father’s colleagues still trust him, saying he was reliable and could be counted on? In the end, he died, leaving unfulfilled promises. Wasn’t that the behavior of a fraud?

A fraud…

Entering the bathroom, Shen Junci restrained himself for two seconds but couldn’t hold back the tears. He quickly undressed, reached for the shower, and turned it on.

Under the falling hot water, he silently cried, unable to stop.