Chapter 240 - 238: Having Seen Over 1,000 Skeletons (Part 1)

Chapter 240: Chapter 238: Having Seen Over 1,000 Skeletons (Part 1)

Xu Jing has always respected those who are diligent and eager to learn. Upon hearing this, she looked toward the forensic doctor and said with a faint smile, "I’m boiling bones not to probe the cause of death of the deceased."

The forensic doctor was taken aback. If not to find out the cause of death, then for what?

Xu Jing redirected her gaze to the bones quietly lying at the bottom of the pot and said, "The things I asked Huang the forensic doctor to find, has he found them?"

This forensic doctor, surnamed Huang, is a gatekeeper at a Yizhuang outside the city. Forensic work is considered lowly, and few people are willing to take it up, especially those with skills. Many small counties don’t have a dedicated forensic doctor, so during autopsies, they can only temporarily recruit those with a sound understanding of corpses, often turning to livestock sellers or Yizhuang workers as their first choice.

For this Huang, gatekeeping at the Yizhuang is his main job, and he only occasionally helps the county government with cases. However, he is very passionate about autopsies and met Xiao Yi during an investigation of a case.

Huang the forensic doctor hesitated a bit, nodded while pulling over a bundle he had brought, muttering, "Fortunately, I’ve worked at the Yizhuang for decades and have the habit of preserving bones for research; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish what Miss Xu asked... But what does Miss Xu need so many pelvic bones of the deceased for?"

After he opened the bundle, everyone around was shocked to see that it contained human bones! There were three pieces in total, and they appeared to be from the same part of the body.

Xu Jing raised her eyebrows and smiled, "No wonder you’re Huang the forensic doctor, you’ve been a great help."

While speaking, she took out some strings of various colors prepared earlier, tied them to each bone, and threw them all into the pot.

Onlookers: "..."

Is Miss Xu thinking the broth lacks ingredients?

After finishing this, Xu Jing slowly explained, "This piece of bone is called the pubic symphysis, located at the middle lowest part of the human abdomen. The morphology of the pubic symphysis changes strongly with age. I’m boiling the bones now to remove adhering tissues and dust impurities, to reveal the characteristics of the pubic symphysis more conspicuously."

Huang the forensic doctor was taken aback, "So that’s why you asked me to select bones based on age! You want to determine the age of this deceased? But I heard this deceased was an Imperial College doctor, and his age was known to be forty-three when he died!"

"The premise being..."

Xu Jing paused and said solemnly, "That this body truly belongs to that doctor."

Everyone was shocked, instantly understanding the purpose of Miss Xu’s disinterment for examination.

Miss Xu suspects that the person lying in this coffin isn’t Doctor Cao?!

About two more quarters of an hour passed before Xu Jing had the bones taken out of the pot. The bones brought by Huang were quite old; they had almost no human tissue attached. However, the bone Xu Jing pulled from the coffin still had some human tissue remaining. Those responsible for retrieving the bones looked at the decayed flesh and bone fragments lying at the bottom of the pot and almost vomited their meals from the previous night.

Yet, Xu Jing, with an unchanged expression, walked over to the bones and thoroughly wiped them with a dry cloth she had prepared beforehand. Then, she picked up a bone tied with a red string and said, "This deceased was under seventeen years old at death."

Huang the forensic doctor was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "How do you know?"

"Look at this pubic symphysis surface, alternating ridges and grooves, with the central area being the highest, and honeycomb-like pores within the grooves. These are features of the pubic symphysis of individuals aged six to seventeen."

Having said this, Xu Jing picked up a bone tied with a yellow string and said, "This deceased was aged twenty-three to twenty-five at death. The ridges on the pubic symphysis surface start to blur or disappear at this age range, forming a slanted edge on a female’s abdominal side and a slope for males."

Again, she picked up a bone tied with a blue string and said, "This deceased was thirty to thirty-four years old. The pubic symphysis surface is noticeably flat, sometimes slightly depressed, with the posterior edges beginning to flare out."

Huang the forensic doctor was completely speechless. Miss Xu’s statements were absolutely correct! Absolutely correct!

Though he had always studied human bones, there weren’t many opportunities to research such great numbers. Even though he noticed slight differences in bones between people, he couldn’t delve deeply into the principles.

Without having seen the bones of thousands of people of different ages, Miss Xu’s skill couldn’t be attained! Who is she exactly?

"And this bone..."

Finally, Xu Jing picked up the bone retrieved from the coffin and said coldly, "Clearly, it does not belong to Doctor Cao! It’s from a man aged thirty-five to thirty-nine! Pubic surfaces in this age group sag more severely, with the posterior edges flaring out even more!"

As she spoke, she placed that bone next to the bone of the thirty to thirty-four-year-old, and the difference between them was immediately evident, causing everyone to express surprise.

The body in this coffin really isn’t Doctor Cao’s!

Where has the real Doctor Cao gone?

Xiao Yi, who had been watching quietly from the side, said at this moment, "Do you already know who the murderer is, and how to find them?"

Xu Jing nodded. She had already reasoned out the truth, and her disinterment was merely a step to confirm her suspicions.

She sighed softly and said, "Tomorrow, I’ll go to the Imperial College to apprehend the murderer."

If we delay any longer, it might be too late for everything.

Unexpectedly, early the next morning, just after Xu Jing had breakfast, Chunyang hastily reported that Zhao Jingming and Zhao Shao Hua had arrived.

Both arrived at the same time, Xu Jing slightly frowned, sensing unease as she quickly walked to the front hall, only to see Zhao Shao Hua standing up abruptly, anxious, "Jing! This morning Jing’an sent me a message, saying... saying that the Ministry of Justice people went to their Imperial College, boasting they’ve found the murderer, what’s going on?!"

Zhao Jingming also said urgently, "Did they really find the murderer? Hope it’s not another reckless arrest! I’m so anxious, I even lost interest in going to the barracks!"

These days, he needed to report to the barracks daily, making him anxious by not being able to assist in the investigation.

Xu Jing asked them, "Did Zhao Jiulang say who they arrested?"

Zhao Shao Hua shook her head, "He didn’t say; perhaps when he sent the message, the Ministry of Justice hadn’t caught anyone yet!"

Xu Jing furrowed her brow deeper and said, "Let’s head to the Imperial College first!"

The group quickly reached the Imperial College. As soon as they entered the gates, they saw a team of soldiers escorting a short, thin young boy out, while Wang Qilang and two other Ministry of Justice officials walked at the front with triumphant expressions, surrounded by onlooking students.

And the boy being escorted with a face full of despair and agitation was none other than Yu Yang!

The foreboding feeling came true. Xu Jing took a deep breath and quickly stepped forward to block Wang Qilang’s group, saying solemnly, "Lord Wang, please wait! The one responsible for this series of murders isn’t Mr. Yu in your custody!"