Chapter 433 - 431: A Bold Autopsy Style (First Update)

Chapter 433: Chapter 431: A Bold Autopsy Style (First Update)

Xu Jing’s words made Chunyang and Song Qingyun, who were following them, feel a slight tremor in their hearts.

The murderer is not alone, so how many people are involved?

Moreover, judging by the current situation, there is clearly at least one perpetrator hidden within the Full Moon Building, and that person is right beside Prince Ling and their group.

Outside the Full Moon Building, there are accomplices ready to assist.

This case is becoming more and more bizarre, and it seems increasingly dangerous.

Governor Zhang nodded solemnly and said, "That’s right, one of the reasons we haven’t moved Prince Ling and his entourage to another inn is that we don’t know if the murderer’s accomplices outside have tampered with any of the nearby inns.

Now, the broadsword hidden in the VIP room has been found by us, so it won’t be easy for the murderer to kill again."

Xu Jing remained silent.

If that’s truly the case, that would be ideal.

After carefully examining the room where Princess Ling was murdered, she asked, "Where are the bodies of the three women?"

Governor Zhang replied, "We have temporarily placed Princess Ling and the others’ bodies in the county office. Would Miss Xu like to see the bodies first, or meet the people who entered the room the day Princess Ling was killed?"

"Let’s look at the bodies first."

Xu Jing decisively said, "I want to understand the case situation clearly first, and besides, it’s still early, and the others shouldn’t be up yet."

On the way to the county office, Song Qingyun hesitated for a moment and said, "Jing, I was thinking, to completely decapitate someone, the murderer must possess extraordinary strength.

However, of the five people who entered Princess Ling’s room that day, apart from the inn attendant who went in first and Shuangrui sent by Prince Ling, the rest are women, and Consort Fang is even pregnant.

However, judging from the room earlier, the first inn attendant seems to be innocent."

From the perspective of strength alone, Shuangrui appears to be the most suspicious.

Xu Jing glanced at her and said, "Moreover, considering the inn’s guards, it seems unlikely that the murderer came in from outside; the perpetrator is very likely among those five people.

No rush; let’s first take a look at the bodies."

About a quarter of an hour later, they arrived at the county office, where a room had been specially vacated to store the bodies of Princess Ling and the others. The mortuary was filled with ice blocks to lower the temperature.

Nonetheless, even with these measures, as the case had happened almost three days ago, the bodies of Princess Ling and the others barely avoided significant decomposition, but their abdomens were slightly bloated, and a clear network of decaying blood vessels could be seen under the skin.

Their heads had been simply cleaned and were placed neatly on a tray beside their respective bodies.

Even though Song Qingyun had previously acted boldly, her face turned slightly pale when she first encountered the bodies. Had Xu Jing not earlier advised her to keep a piece of ginger in her mouth and apply some sesame oil under her nose to ward off the overwhelming stench, she likely would have been overwhelmed upon entering and had to turn and leave.

No wonder Chunyang wisely chose not to come in...

Xu Jing, however, was unconcerned with her surroundings as she switched into her forensic assessment mode upon entering the mortuary. After a glance at the three bodies, she first bent over the maid’s body, examining the neck wound intently, and said, "The wound on the neck is very clean, indicating that the murderer decapitated the victim in one strike. To accomplish this requires not only a very sharp weapon but also immense strength. The perpetrator likely regularly performs heavy labor or is a martial artist.

Judging by the wound, the victim was still alive when the murderer beheaded her."

Immediately, Xu Jing approached the maid’s head, carefully examined it, and after confirming there were no other wounds, brought the head over to compare with the neck stump, saying, "The head fits perfectly with the body. This head does indeed belong to this maid.

Chen Hu, help me remove her clothing."

At her command, Chen Hu immediately obeyed and deftly removed the maid’s clothing under the stunned gaze of onlookers.

Xu Jing thoroughly examined her body from head to toe and commented calmly, "There are no other severe injuries on the body, just one or two fresh bruises caused before death, likely from being moved by the murderer.

Given that there were three people in the room at the time, it’s likely the murderer had to subdue all of them before killing each one. He used no violence to subdue them, suggesting the use of some anesthetic or similar substance."

She then performed a quick examination of the other two bodies, finding their condition similar to the first one.

When Xu Jing offhandedly instructed Chen Hu to undress Princess Ling, Governor Zhang involuntarily twitched an eyebrow.

Fortunately, he only brought Xu Jing and her team in, not inviting others.

Otherwise, if word got out that they undressed Princess Ling, they would surely be accused of a grave disrespect.

Although he had heard that Miss Xu was skilled in forensic examination, he did not expect her approach to be so... assertive and decisive, completely overturning his perception of women.

Song Qingyun was initially hesitant to watch, but she adapted quickly and listened intently to Xu Jing, suddenly saying, "If the murderer needed to anesthetize Princess Ling and the others, arrange the scene, and decapitate them one by one, no matter how fast he acted, it would still take some time."

Xu Jing nodded approvingly at Song Qingyun and said, "That’s right. Among those five people, except for the inn attendant, the other four had stayed in Princess Ling’s room for a period.

The inn attendant only went in to deliver water. Although he entered frequently, he quickly exited each time.

The one who stayed the longest was the third person to enter, Dongyang. She said that Princess Ling asked her to stay for tea, so she stayed a bit longer. While the others didn’t stay as long, if they hurried, they could have still accomplished what you described.

Moreover, Consort Fang didn’t go in alone; she had her personal maid with her. If Consort Fang was the murderer, her maid would certainly be an accomplice, and with help, the actions would be faster."

She recognized that this woman seemed quite perceptive in investigative work.

Perhaps it would be worthwhile to train her a bit.

Song Qingyun continued with a slight frown, "Another thing I’ve found puzzling. If... the murderer was among those people, wouldn’t the ones who went in after them realize something was wrong in the room?

For example, if... Shuangrui was the killer, Dongyang, Consort Fang, and Nanny Lu, who entered afterward, would surely notice something amiss. Even if the killing took place in the inner room and they didn’t enter, they couldn’t possibly miss the smell of blood.

If Dongyang was the killer, Consort Fang and Nanny Lu, who followed, would certainly notice.

Considering the sequence of entry, the most suspicious seems to be the last one, Nanny Lu.

But if Nanny Lu isn’t the murderer, then why did those who entered after say that everything was fine with Princess Ling and the others when they went in?