Insights Chapter 76: Prodigal Son

Chapter 76: Prodigal Son

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

In the morning, at the Penang City Bureau. Shen Junci and Qi Yi’an arrived at the medical examiner’s building one after the other. As they entered the autopsy room, they saw that several autopsy rooms were already occupied. 

Qi Yi’an approached Wen Wan for handover. She was on duty last night and had signed for the reception of the corpse. Qi Yi’an glanced around and noticed there were several additional records in the medical examiner’s room. He asked, “Wen-Jie, why are there so many incidents recently?”

Wen Wan had just finished examining a corpse, her eyes still dark from lack of sleep. “Don’t mention it. There have been several cases recently. I was on duty last night and had to stay up all night to examine someone who drowned. Then another one who hanged themselves was brought in this morning.”

Qi Yi’an politely said, “Wen-Jie, you’ve worked hard.”

He truly admired Wen Wan; the job of a medical examiner was not only dirty and tiring but also demanded almost year-round work. He hadn’t been in this profession for long, whereas Wen Wan had been working tirelessly on the front lines for many years.

“It’s nothing. Just help me take the tissue samples to the lab later,” Wen Wan said, glancing at the forms and then pointing them in the right direction. “The one you’re looking for is in the fourth autopsy room.”

After signing the handover documents, Shen Junci walked to the adjacent room and skillfully put on rubber gloves. The elderly person seen in the video was now lying on the autopsy table. 

As Qi Yi’an prepared the equipment for recording, he suddenly realized that this seemed to be the first “celebrity” he had dissected. The elderly person’s clothes were still on, and the plastic bag used for suicide was neatly placed in an evidence bag along with it. Qi Yi’an checked the records brought by the sub-bureau. “The old lady’s name is Fu Lijuan, 78 years old this year, 159 cm tall, weighing 85 kg.”

The old woman had a sallow complexion and silver hair, indicating that her health was not very good. Her petite figure was frail, which was why her son had been able to carry her on his back in the past. Since they hadn’t been to the scene, they could only rely on the on-site inspection report and the photos taken by the sub-bureau’s medical examiner.

Shen Junci first flipped through the files. The first few pages were photos of the scene, depicting it from various angles. The incident occurred in the master bedroom. From the photos, it was evident that the house was newly built, with freshly painted walls and new furniture, indicating that their lives had improved due to the live streaming.

Due to the old woman’s partial paralysis for many years, various daily necessities were placed on the bedside table, along with a water glass and commonly used medications, as well as a television remote control. Shen Junci carefully examined the items on the bedside table, his brow furrowing slightly. He noticed something that didn’t make sense.

There was no mobile phone visible anywhere he could see. Such a situation is not very common nowadays. Even if paralyzed, the elderly would still need a phone to communicate with the outside world. Otherwise, lying in bed would be no different from being on a deserted island. Especially for such a paralyzed elderly person, they wouldn’t even be able to call for help in case of emergency.

When the old woman was found, her body was half-leaning against the head of the bed, with a white plastic bag over her head. The bag was thick, completely covering her facial features. Because she had been struggling to breathe before death, her mouth was wide open, and the plastic film was tightly pressed against her face, making her look like a masked monster, somewhat terrifying.

The plastic bag was tied tightly around her neck, with two handles combined and looped around the bedpost, ensuring that even if she struggled, she couldn’t free herself from the restraint. Underneath the plastic bag, near her neck, there were some scratch marks from her nails, but ultimately, she hadn’t managed to tear the plastic bag. And so, the old woman suffocated to death at the head of the bed.

There were also some photos of a farewell letter, which was not very long, only half a page in total. Farewell Letter:

My name is Fu Lijuan, and today I’ve decided to end my life. My 

son has helped me a lot. That’s why I’ve been able to live for so long. My illness 

killed me, and I’m sorry. If there truly is an afterlife, I hope everyone will hear

me sing one last time.

Fu Lijuan

The handwriting in the letter was a bit sloppy. Qi Yi’an glanced at it and said, “This farewell letter doesn’t sound quite right. It’s written so coldly, without mentioning what to do afterwards, and the wording is incoherent.”

Shen Junci said, “Let’s take a look at the corpse first.”

Only then did Qi Yi’an gather the documents. The two of them approached the autopsy table, removing the old woman’s clothes. The corpse lay on the autopsy table, and Fu Lijuan had died less than twenty-four hours ago, with lividity and rigor mortis present. Her mouth was slightly open, her face noticeably swollen, with lips and fingertips turning purple. A faint red mark could be seen on her neck.

Shen Junci conducted an external examination. “Hypoxia caused cyanosis of the face, swelling, and the corpse has significant dark red lividity. There’s more lividity on the back and buttocks, with pressure sores from long-term bed rest on the buttocks. Severe varicose veins are present in both legs.” He used his fingers to open the corpse’s eyes and used a medical flashlight to inspect them. “The pupils have already started clouding, and there’s extensive bleeding in the conjunctiva.”

Considering all the signs, Shen Junci also checked the sub-bureau’s medical examiner’s measurement of the body temperature after the report of death. “Overall, the time of death should be around four o’clock yesterday afternoon. The whole process likely lasted about an hour.”

Qi Yi’an compared it with the case file. “Yesterday afternoon at two o’clock, Qiu Wenhui went out, leaving only the old woman at home. He didn’t return until around six o’clock. The old woman was already dead, and he subsequently called the police.”

Shen Junci took a blood sample from the corpse for examination and began preparing for the autopsy with a dissecting knife. The old woman’s skin was dry, with little fat, so the dissecting knife cut through with little resistance. After opening the abdominal cavity, the next step was to open the rib cage. They first checked the heart, and there were small bleeding points on the pleura and epicardium of the deceased.

Shen Junci’s voice was clear as he continued, “Visible Tardieu spots, it is indeed death by mechanical asphyxia.”

Qi Yi’an asked, “Then, based on this, the judgment made by the sub-bureau is correct?”

Shen Junci replied, “We still need to see the results of the pathological examination.”

Then he looked at the lungs of the corpse. Suddenly, Shen Junci made a soft sound of surprise… Qi Yi’an sensed that something was amiss and leaned in. The young medical examiner examined the internal organs but didn’t find any obvious abnormalities. However, Shen Junci’s reaction told him that this corpse might have a problem.

Facing a freshly dissected corpse, Shen Junci held a scalpel in his left hand and hemostatic forceps in his right, carefully observing the various internal organs of the elderly person. For a bedridden elderly person suffering from chronic illness, their organs wouldn’t be as lively and healthy as those of a younger person.

Qi Yi’an couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher, is there something wrong?”

Shen Junci said, “The organs of the elderly person have some degree of necrosis. Although it’s only partial, such a condition is uncommon.”

Qi Yi’an speculated, “Could it be organ failure due to long-term illness?”

Shen Junci, with a serious expression, straightened up, “Doesn’t seem like it.”

The ventilation fan in the autopsy room hummed, and Shen Junci furrowed his brows slightly before pressing the pause button. The room fell into an extreme silence. After a few seconds, the smell of the corpse began to permeate the air.

Qi Yi’an also noticed, covering his nose. “This smell doesn’t seem right.”

In theory, a freshly deceased corpse would smell like fresh meat unless contaminated with excrement, but the smell from this elderly person’s corpse, in addition to the faint smell of blood, had another peculiar odor mixed in. It was strange and indescribable.

After careful examination, Shen Junci looked at the stomach of the corpse and touched the gastric pouch with hemostatic forceps. “The stomach is empty, with no apples or lunch inside.” He then manipulated the intestines. “The intestines are relatively clean. She probably hasn’t eaten for a long time.”

For a suffocated person, it’s unusual for them not to lose control of their bowels, indicating that the intestines had likely been empty for some time, which didn’t make sense. Then Shen Junci began to examine the lungs. Since the cause of death was asphyxiation, there were also bleeding points on the lungs, and several lung lobes appeared noticeably contracted.

“The deceased’s lungs show atelectasis, interstitial infiltration, and minimal bleeding…” Shen Junci cut off a small piece of lung lobe, carefully examining it with hemostatic forceps. “There’s also some pulmonary fibrosis…”

Asphyxiation doesn’t cause lung lesions.

Qi Yi’an stopped recording and asked, “Is it due to illness? Could a disease affect appetite? Is it emphysema?”

For a bedridden elderly person with chronic illness, it would be normal for such symptoms to occur without timely medical attention.

Shen Junci shook his head, refraining from drawing conclusions. “I need to observe further.”

Doctor Shen couldn’t be sure; it was the first time encountering such a situation. Qi Yi’an, holding the autopsy report, didn’t know how to write it up. Shen Junci felt that the elderly person in front of him seemed to have presented the medical examiners with a puzzle using her own corpse. He adjusted his gloves and asked Qi Yi’an, “Are the results of the blood routine tests out?”

Qi Yi’an quickly responded, “Let me check.”

Blood routine tests were the fastest to yield results. Qi Yi’an opened the computer; the samples sent earlier had already produced results. He quickly printed out the report.

Shen Junci took it, looking at various indicators. “Elevated white blood cells, decreased platelets…”

The autopsy had only reached this point and wasn’t complete yet when they heard someone knocking on the transparent glass window outside the autopsy room. Shen Junci raised his head and saw Gu Yanchen, who had arrived at some point, standing in the corridor. He walked out, took off his gloves and mask, and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Gu Yanchen held a piece of evidence bag in his hand, containing the letter written by the old person. He said to Shen Junci, “Take a look at something interesting; maybe it’ll help with your autopsy findings.”

Shen Junci hadn’t examined it carefully before, but now he took the original copy and carefully read it again, blinking his eyelashes. “This is…”

After looking at it again, he also noticed the strangeness within. Although the handwriting in the letter was sloppy, the arrangement was very neat.

Gu Yanchen reminded him, “It’s an acrostic poem.”

Shen Junci softly read the first word of each line, “My, Son, Killed, Me…”

A corpse doesn’t lie. It seemed he wasn’t overly suspicious; indeed, there were hidden truths in this case.

Gu Yanchen said, “The filial son on the surface might actually be a prodigal son.”