Insights Chapter 31: Habitual Offender

Chapter 31: Habitual Offender

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The corpse was quickly transported to the medical examiner’s dissecting room at the Penang City Bureau. Shen Junci’s first step with Qi Yi’an was clothing inspection. Under the quiet and soft light of the medical examiner’s dissecting room, things appeared clearer than at the scene. Qi Yi’an observed and took photos while Shen Junci checked the deceased’s clothing.

Due to rigor mortis beginning to set in, it was somewhat difficult to remove the clothes without damaging potential evidence. They spent some time struggling with this. After removing the clothes, the next step was examining the body surface, mainly through observation, smell, and touch. Qi Yi’an took photos while filling out the examination form.

These preparatory steps took about half an hour to complete. After the second body temperature measurement, Qi Yi’an made a note, “Body temperature dropped relatively quickly.”

“Because she was previously in seawater, her body temperature was already low, plus there was significant blood loss,” Shen Junci explained. After observing the deceased’s eyes, nasal cavities, and facial features, especially the lips, he noticed something. Then, Shen Junci gently exclaimed, pointing to the inside of the corpse’s mouth, “There are abrasions on the lips, and there are some small wounds on the tongue side and inside the mouth.”

These wounds were very small and obscured by blood stains. Without careful examination, they might have been overlooked. The diving respirator was typically held in the mouth, and under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t cause these injuries unless forcefully pulled.

Qi Yi’an quickly grabbed a flashlight and leaned in to look. The injuries were located on the inner wall of the mouth. he exclaimed, “Does that mean her diving respirator might not have fallen off naturally?!” 

Shen Junci carefully examined again, “Strictly speaking, these injuries only suggest abrasions inside the mouth caused when the respirator fell off. Underwater situations are complex, and it’s hard to say if it was intentionally removed.”

After examining the body surface, they extracted blood for analysis. Once Qi Yi’an completed the body surface examination, he changed the form. The work of a medical examiner is not just about dissecting. Every time a corpse is found, there’s on-site investigation, followed by body surface examination, autopsy records, leaving behind a thick stack of files for each corpse.

Without Qi Yi’an, Shen Junci would have been quite overwhelmed. All the equipment was ready.

Shen Junci said, “Let’s start the dissection. You do it this time.”

To see more clearly, they rinsed off the blood from the surface of the corpse.

Qi Yi’an used a scalpel to cut open the woman’s chest. As soon as the skin was cut, blood spilled out from the body, filling the dissecting room with a strong smell of blood. Qi Yi’an rarely saw so much blood coming from a corpse like this. Worried about making a mistake, he subconsciously looked up at Shen Junci.

Shen Junci remained calm. “It’s postmortem bleeding due to decompression,” he said. He then explained, “After decompression, the rupture of those alveoli is a process that may continue for some time. Postmortem bleeding doesn’t clot around surrounding tissues, nor does it form blood clots.”

Once the incision was made, the internal organs were exposed. Qi Yi’an used his hands to hold open the abdominal wall and used bone forceps to pry open the ribs. He leaned in to look at the woman’s lungs. The entire lungs were filled with countless points of explosion, and the delicate organs were torn inch by inch.

Even Qi Yi’an, who never cursed, couldn’t help but swear, “Damn, this is too gruesome.”

At that time, Gu Yanchen had already contacted Liao Yinghan’s ex-wife, a woman named Zhao Yushan, who was an independent designer. Since she was just a witness, Gu Yanchen didn’t call her to the police station but went directly to her office to inquire. The more relaxed the conversation, the more likely they were to obtain more information.

Zhao Yushan had her own office on the second floor of an office building. She wore a white casual suit with a black camisole underneath. Her hair was long, and her lipstick was plum-colored, giving her a strong aura. Gu Yanchen looked at her and felt a similarity to Zhong Xiaoke’s type, both being young women who were economically independent and successful in their careers.

After Lu Ying briefly explained the situation, Zhao Yushan ushered them in and poured two cups of coffee for them. Then she sat opposite them and listened as Gu Yanchen and Lu Ying recounted the detailed case.

Zhao Yushan raised her eyebrows and asked, “This happened at noon today?”

Lu Ying nodded, “Yes, around eleven thirty in the morning. We asked Liao Yinghan first thing and then came to find you.”

Putting down her coffee, Zhao Yushan sighed, “What accident? This is clearly a murder!”

Gu Yanchen asked, “How did you confirm it?”

“Because three years ago, almost the same thing happened to me. If I hadn’t been alert, I might have been the one who died,” Zhao Yushan said.

Listening, it seemed there was more to the story. Lu Ying adjusted the recording pen, and Gu Yanchen said, “Could you tell us in detail about the whole process, including how you and Liao Yinghan met and the process of your relationship?”

Zhao Yushan ran her hand through her hair. “I met this man at a high-end gym. Although I chose a female personal trainer, I still knew him. Then he actively pursued me, complimenting my looks. I like traveling, and he would travel around too. We had a lot in common. Later, I happened to see him volunteering in my community. He greeted me, and I suddenly had a good impression of him. He had a good figure and appearance, and we became boyfriend and girlfriend for a while. During our relationship, he seemed like a well-behaved lapdog, making a sumptuous breakfast every morning, driving me to work, picking me up after work. He was gentle and considerate, very romantic. He was very submissive to my demands, even when I got angry at him, he remained unchanged.”

“When I got drunk while entertaining clients, he took care of me all night without any infringement. At that time, I thought I had found my Mr. Right.” At this point, Zhao Yushan smiled bitterly. “Looking back now, he didn’t really love me. He was just trying hard to please me and created his own persona according to the type of man I liked.”

Gu Yanchen asked, “Including volunteering?”

Zhao Yushan nodded. “I might have mentioned casually that I liked men who cared about public welfare, and that’s why he did it. After we got together, he never did it again. Later, he suddenly proposed to me and gave me a grand proposal ceremony. I wasn’t prepared at the time, but facing many friends and family members, I agreed. After we got married, he constantly persuaded me to go out with him, including diving. He said diving was his childhood dream, showed me many videos, and described the beauty of the underwater world to me

At this point, Zhao Yushan seemed to be lost in memories, her speech slowing down, “At that time, I suddenly realized a problem. We were underwater, with no one around except for us. Under the sea, it’s basically silent, the sunlight isn’t as bright, and it’s all water around. I was suspended there, relying on a small oxygen cylinder for survival. Can you imagine that feeling? Helpless, with no one to turn to. My mind flashed with a thought: I might be killed by this man here.

“At that moment, I was in a panic. Scenes from my past, from childhood to adulthood, flashed like a carousel in my mind. I swam desperately towards the shore. Luckily, I remembered what my coach had said, so even though I was panicked, I didn’t make any mistakes. After I left him, I swam ashore and found people. I argued loudly with him, asking him to stay away from me. He seemed a bit aggrieved, saying he was just checking the oxygen content in my tank. But I didn’t believe a word of it. From that day on, I was afraid of him. I avoided being alone with him, and I asked to sleep in separate rooms. He didn’t say anything, and a month later, he asked for a divorce. I signed, and that ended our marriage.

“That experience gave me thalassophobia, and I never wanted to go diving again.” With a sigh, Zhao Yushan concluded, “I can almost be certain that the poor woman you mentioned may have encountered the same thing, but she didn’t have my vigilance or my luck.” With her gaze lowered, she added, “These men not only take women mountain climbing but also persuade you to go diving.”

Following the procedure, Lu Ying had her sign, ensuring that what she said was factual.

Gu Yanchen asked, “If needed in the future, would you be willing to testify in court?”

Zhao Yushan replied, “I can, but I don’t think my testimony would prove much. After that incident, I researched a similar case that happened in 2003 in Country O. A 26-year-old woman died while diving with her husband, and her family suspected her husband of murder. But the final verdict was that her husband failed to fulfill his duty to rescue her and was sentenced to five years. Not to mention this is in our country, and it sounds like Liao Yinghan has been actively seeking assistance.”

Gu Yanchen nodded. “I understand.”

This was both a straightforward and complex case. It was straightforward because they could almost confirm Liao Yinghan’s possible involvement through various clues. It was complex because it was difficult for them to find direct physical evidence and a complete chain of evidence to convict Liao Yinghan.

After bidding farewell to Zhao Yushan, Gu Yanchen returned to the City Bureau. He asked Bai Meng, “Any progress here?”

“We’ve met with the deceased’s parents.” Bai Meng replied.

Gu Yanchen asked, “Did they provide any clues?”

“Zhong Xiaoke’s parents are both teachers, very well-mannered, and didn’t say anything extreme.” Bai Meng explained, “But I could tell they also suspect it might be the husband who killed his wife.”

“Do they have any specific reasons?”

“Nothing substantial. Zhong Xiaoke’s parents mentioned that this marriage was a flash marriage, and they were strongly against it at the time. Liao Yinghan is younger than Zhong Xiaoke, has been married before, and comes from a poor family. During the wedding, almost no one from Liao Yinghan’s family attended except for one uncle; hardly any other relatives were present.”

“What about others?” Gu Yanchen asked, “Have you questioned other relevant individuals?”

Bai Meng said, “There are some miscellaneous clues. Zhong Xiaoke’s diving instructor finds it hard to understand why such a tragedy happened. According to his description, he said Zhong Xiaoke was very cautious every time she went diving.” She paused, then added, “There’s also a piece of information provided by the lifeguard who participated in the rescue. He said when they rescued Zhong Xiaoke, he seemed to have seen something floating on the sea surface, about the size of a palm. At that time, he was eager to rescue the person and didn’t have time to fish it out to see what it was. But the lifeguard also said he didn’t look closely, so it might have been garbage.”

After discussing these matters, Gu Yanchen asked again, “What about her phone and various accounts? Did anything seem unusual?”

Bai Meng shook her head. “We’ve checked the recent ones, and there’s nothing significant. But some records from before their marriage reveal some issues. After Liao Yinghan divorced his ex-wife, he practically juggled eight women. He was more active than an octopus. It was only after he pulled Zhong Xiaoke out of the pond that he gradually distanced himself from the other women.” Bai Meng thought for a moment before adding, “Zhong Xiaoke liked making VLOGs. Their recent travels were all recorded into VLOGs, and some were even posted online. I downloaded them and can show them to you.”