Insights Chapter 151: Do Me a Favor

Chapter 151: Do Me a Favor

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Near dusk, in the cornfields near Changxi County. Since Qi Yi’an wasn’t present, there was only one particularly old medical examiner at the local police station. He appeared to be an apprentice from many years ago, without formal education, unable to offer much help, and a bit clumsy.

Shen Junci was afraid he might tamper with the evidence, so he dared not let him touch the corpse. Most of the work was done by Shen Junci alone. He had to measure, fill out forms, and take photos, feeling as if he had returned to his days as a medical examiner’s assistant.

There were several wounds on the corpse, with a particularly grim cross-shaped wound on the chest. The clothes had been pulled up, with not much bloodstain visible.

Shen Junci carefully examined the corpse. When he saw the girl’s arm, he furrowed his brows slightly. On the inner side of her armpit, there was a faint bloodstain.

It was a spot the girl would hardly touch herself. He suspected it was a bloodstain left by the perpetrator when holding the girl down.

The bloodstain was semi-dry, showing half a fingerprint. Shen Junci carefully took the impression of the ridges.

The forensic personnel nearby were also busy. They found some shoe prints nearby. Based on this evidence alone, they couldn’t catch the perpetrator, but they could confirm that the perpetrator was a man of average height.

Gu Yanchen had been conducting investigations on the case. As the girl’s face was easily recognizable, someone identified her as a girl named Wen Qiaoqiao from a nearby town.

Soon, the girl’s mother arrived, crying.

The deceased’s name was Wen Qiaoqiao, fourteen years old this year. Her parents were divorced, and a few days ago, the girl had a quarrel with her mother. She packed her things and said she was going to stay at her father’s house for a few days.

The mother had a bad relationship with her ex-husband, thinking that the girl was just angry and not contacting her. It wasn’t until she heard that the child had not been going to school that she realized the girl hadn’t been staying with her father, prompting her to report her missing.

Judging from the time of death, the girl was probably killed on her way to her father’s house.

As the sun gradually set, the cornfields were tinged with a layer of yellow.

Shen Junci started by squatting down to observe, but his legs became numb, so he knelt down. Finally, he finished examining the body, took the photos, and straightened up with a sigh.

Gu Yanchen had just finished questioning a few villagers when he asked, “Are you done?”

Shen Junci’s throat was sore, so he didn’t speak, just nodded.

Gu Yanchen walked over and helped him up slowly. “Take it easy.”

It was almost dinner time, and he was afraid Shen Junci might feel uncomfortable and faint.

Shen Junci leaned on Gu Yanchen and stood up slowly. Gu Yanchen then called a few people over to help put the body into a body bag and onto the car.

They wouldn’t be able to return today, so they decided to grab a meal first and then head to the police station in town to complete the forensic work.

They had some food at a nearby farmhouse. The murder case in town drew curious and wary glances from the locals towards the visiting police officers. Especially towards the medical examiner in white clothes; some children even came over specifically to look.

Gu Yanchen asked the owner to make some millet porridge for Shen Junci.

Shen Junci couldn’t eat much else. The millet was freshly harvested last year, kept by the farmhouse, and cooked to a thick consistency, much tastier than the usual city porridge.

Shen Junci was usually aloof. Now, unable to speak, he exuded an aura of coldness, quietly finishing his meal in a corner.

Afterward, Shen Junci went to the autopsy room at the nearby police station. There were few murder cases here, and the autopsy room was rudimentary, with drafts everywhere. Only a raised platform was in the middle, with an old-fashioned fan for ventilation.

Gu Yanchen worked in the outer room, separated by a non-soundproof door.

Shen Junci felt the old medical examiner here couldn’t offer much help, so he let him go back first. He dissected the corpse inside while listening to the detective’s questioning outside.

Gu Yanchen went through everyone, from the girl’s mother to the person who reported the case, to the tenants in the area.

The crime occurred the evening before last. The people working in the fields had gone back for dinner, leaving hardly anyone around, except for two kids playing football nearby who lost track of time.

According to the children’s testimonies, they heard several vague cries for help but didn’t dare to go and see. After a while, they saw a young man hastily running out of the cornfield.

At this point, the children heard a slight noise coming from the autopsy room behind them, their eyes curious, wanting to go and see.

“Don’t look, you’ll have nightmares tonight,” Gu Yanchen kindly reminded them, then asked the two children, “Do you recognize that man?”

The children looked at each other and shook their heads. The older child whispered, “Don’t know.”

Gu Yanchen asked again, “What did he look like? Do you remember?”

The child said, “Remember a little…”

They asked about some of the man’s physical features. Shao Zhen’en, standing nearby, looked somewhat concerned. “It’s a bit difficult to find someone just based on this… There are no surveillance cameras in the fields. It would be great if we could capture something.”

Gu Yanchen said, “We have a sketch artist at our station…”

Shao Zhen’en interjected, “Our sketch artist’s skills are limited; it’s a waste of time. I once had a sketch made, but when we caught the suspect later, I compared it with the eyewitness testimonies, and none of it matched.”

Meanwhile, Shen Junci was in the midst of dissecting. With a pair of hemostatic forceps in his left hand and a scalpel in his right, he had just confirmed that the cause of death for the girl was internal bleeding from the spleen. He trembled at the words from the outer room, lifted his head to speak, but then felt the pain in his throat.

Setting the tools aside, he sent a message to Gu Yanchen, “We might need external assistance for this.”

Gu Yanchen’s phone beeped, and upon checking, it was a message from Shen Junci. Knowing he didn’t want to speak, they communicated through text.

Captain Gu asked, “Who?”

Shen Junci typed, “Song Wen.”

Gu Yanchen remembered. He had seen that name in a report from the domestic public security; he remembered that Song Wen was the head of the Criminal Investigation Division in Nancheng, skilled in making facial composite sketches. “I’ll give it a try.”

They were all part of the public security system, with colleagues and classmates scattered all over the country. In no time, Gu Yanchen got Song Wen’s contact information. After arranging for someone to convey the message, he called Song Wen, and a clear male voice came from the other end, “Hello, I’m Song Wen.”

Gu Yanchen quickly briefed him on the situation.

Song Wen was accommodating, “I’m free tonight; I can give it a try. Are the eyewitnesses there with you?”

“Yes,” Gu Yanchen replied quickly.

It wouldn’t be feasible to go over there in person at this point.

Song Wen said, “Then let’s start a video call for remote projection.”

In Nancheng, at Song Wen’s home.

Having just finished dinner, tonight’s menu prepared by Lu Siyu included stir-fried bamboo shoots, scrambled eggs with Chinese toon, pigeon soup, and a dessert made of mashed peas, giving the table a vibrant spring atmosphere.

As he put down his chopsticks, he received a call from Gu Yanchen.

Lu Siyu turned and asked, “Who’s calling so late?”

Song Wen explained, “It’s a case; they want a composite sketch.”

He briefly explained the case, and Lu Siyu said, “Four years apart? Generally, serial killers don’t have such long intervals.”

Song Wen said, “I’ll try to sketch it; if I can help, that’d be great.”

Lu Siyu said, “Then you’re busy; I’ll take Little Wolf for a walk.” With a wave of his hand, their white Samoyed leaped off the sofa and bounded towards him. Lu Siyu leashed the dog and went out.

Song Wen got up to fetch paper and pen, then opened his computer to start the video call.

On Gu Yanchen’s end, everything was set up too. He brought out his laptop, exchanged a few words with Song Wen, then asked the children to start providing details.

Song Wen drew an outline, and with a reference, the children were able to describe more accurately. The older child spoke up, “Make him a bit thinner.”

Song Wen adjusted accordingly.

Gu Yanchen felt a bit useless, sitting on the side, and it was a bit awkward. He was concerned about Shen Junci’s health, so he poured a cup of hot water and went in to check on the progress of the autopsy.

Shen Junci happened to be in distress. He had thought that Changxi, at the very least, would have a cranial electric saw, but upon arrival, there was only a bone saw, and not the sharp kind.

At this moment, Medical Examiner Shen had already removed the victim’s hair and had been sawing at the skull for quite some time, but had only managed to open less than a third of it. In the process, two chains of the saw broke.

Suffering from a cold, feeling weak all over, and with the saw being difficult to use, progress was slow.

When Gu Yanchen walked in, Shen Junci felt like he had been saved. He took off his gloves and accepted the hot water.

Gu Yanchen asked him, “Feeling better from the cold?”

Shen Junci looked at him pitifully, then typed out, “Just a sore throat. Can you do me a favor?”

Gu Yanchen frowned, “What favor?”

Shen Junci pointed at the bone saw, then at the corpse lying on the dissecting table.

Gu Yanchen, “…”

He took the saw, “You mean you want me to help saw it open?”

Medical Examiner Shen nodded repeatedly.

Gu Yanchen put on gloves and asked, “How should I do it?”

Shen Junci gestured with his hands and then showed him the instructions on his phone.

He mustn’t apply too much force to avoid damaging the brain tissue, but also not too light, or it wouldn’t saw through. It required extreme caution.

Gu Yanchen followed the instructions, positioning the saw and starting to saw.

He had strength, but he always felt the sensation was strange. Gu Yanchen wasn’t usually afraid of corpses, but touching one and seeing one were different experiences, and dissecting one was even more so.

Captain Gu focused, knowing it was for the sake of solving the case and helping Shen Junci. He continued with determination.

The saw rubbing against the bone produced a grating sound, clear and eerie in the quiet town at night, sending shivers down one’s spine.

Captain Gu’s hands ached, and he had never been this nervous, not even when sniping criminals. His back was covered in sweat, and smelling the odor from the nearby corpse, Gu Yanchen felt his dinner churning in his stomach. He realized that being a medical examiner wasn’t a job just anyone could do.

Halfway through, Gu Yanchen looked up at Shen Junci.

Shen Junci saw a new benefit of having his boyfriend at the scene. Not only could he help move the corpse, but he could also train others. He used a praising strategy, giving a thumbs-up gesture to signal that Gu Yanchen was doing well and encouraging him to continue.

As Gu Yanchen sawed, he couldn’t help but think that this was his first time going out of town with Shen Junci, and yet they ended up sawing a victim’s skull at the local police station. It was quite “romantic” in an unconventional way.

He focused on the task at hand and didn’t look at the nearby corpse.

In no time, he sawed through most of it. Captain Gu, strict with himself, checked and said, “Seems a bit off, let me adjust.”

Shen Junci nodded, sitting down to drink water, gazing at the side profile of Gu Yanchen intently. Medical Examiner Shen marveled at how handsome Captain Gu looked when he was completely focused, his jawline tight.

Gradually, Gu Yanchen got the hang of it, and the terror gradually dissipated, replaced by a sense of achievement.

After completing a circle of sawing, the pale white skull was taken down, revealing a complete brain resembling jelly.

Task completed, Captain Gu’s heart finally returned to normal. He breathed a sigh of relief, took off his gloves.

Shen Junci still couldn’t speak, so he sent a text thanking him. Then he deleted it, feeling that being too calm might dampen his enthusiasm. He changed it.

Shen Junci typed, “Captain Gu, you’re amazing! You have real talent.”

Since it was text and not spoken, Medical Examiner Shen wasn’t worried about exaggerating and ruining his image.

Gu Yanchen, “!!!???”

Receiving this sudden praise, Captain Gu was pleasantly surprised, as if fireworks had exploded in his mind. He glanced at Shen Junci beside him; Medical Examiner Shen showed no expression, typing on his phone. Sensing his gaze, Shen Junci looked up at him.

Seeing Gu Yanchen’s stunned expression as he stared at his phone, Medical Examiner Shen found it amusing, smiling faintly with a twinkle in his eyes.

At that moment, Gu Yanchen was reminded of the legendary “bewitching smile” from “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. His heart raced, but he retained his composure and modestly said, “I still feel… a bit off.”

Medical Examiner Shen replied, “It meets the requirements. It’s quite good for the first time. Practice makes perfect.”

Captain Gu felt a sense of accomplishment. He completely missed the fact that “practice makes perfect” was a huge trap and proudly said, “If I were to learn to be a medical examiner, I’d probably do well too.”

He received another message, “I’ll note your merit and reward you later.”

Gu Yanchen felt as if he had just drunk a can of honey in one gulp and typed back, “Call me if you have anything difficult to handle later.”

Shen Junci replied with an “okay” and lowered his head to concentrate on examining the girl’s brain.

Gu Yanchen walked out, wiping the sweat from his palms with a tissue.

At that moment, he had no idea that this was not the end of it all.

Several months later, while helping to shovel the pieces of the victim stuck to the ground at the crime scene, Captain Gu remembered that this seemingly peaceful night was actually the beginning of Director Shen’s “pitfall” journey.