Chapter 64 - 63: The True Cause of Death (Third Update)

Chapter 64: Chapter 63: The True Cause of Death (Third Update)

Wu Wuzuo, standing by the side, felt his eyebrow twitch and his knees go weak; he almost fell to the ground.

Heavens! What is this woman doing?!

She... she actually dissected Zhu Dalang’s corpse?!

Even Chen Hu, who was mentally prepared, watched with his heart pounding wildly.

Miss Xu’s technique is just too skillful!

He, a county government bailiff who carried a knife, admitted that he couldn’t calmly cut open a deceased’s abdomen like she did.

Even Xiao Yi could not hide his surprise as he looked at Xu Jing, his eyes darkening as if a storm was about to break.

Every time he thought the shock this woman brought him was at an end, she would always bring a new surprise.

For the first time, a question, as if directly striking at his heart, emerged in his mind—was the woman before him truly the fourth lady of the Xu Family, his former wife, Xu Jing?

Already immersed in her work, Xu Jing didn’t even glance at the people beside her.

The purpose of her autopsy this time was very clear—to investigate what the small dot above the navel of the deceased was.

Thus, she only opened the section of the abdomen, then, using forceps, she lifted the abdominal wall and carefully cut open the peritoneum with a knife, finally opening the abdominal cavity.

As she opened the cavity, Xu Jing noticed that there seemed to be more blood inside than usual. Once she fully opened it, she discovered that there was, in fact, an unusually large amount of blood!

The fatal wound of the deceased was indeed here!

She quickly located the area corresponding to the small dot and used forceps to gingerly lift the intestines, which were somewhat melted. She meticulously examined them, trying to find something to confirm her suspicions.

To the others beside her, it seemed like she was stirring through a bloody mess of intestines. Given Zhu Dalang’s obese figure, the intestines had a lot of greasy, yellow substance on them. Chen Hu couldn’t help but gag, immediately turning around, one hand tightly covering his mouth.

Wu Wuzuo was completely stunned, silently sliding to the ground, unable to utter a sound for a long time.

Only Xiao Yi managed to maintain a calm expression, though his face turned slightly pale.

Finally, Xu Jing’s eyes darkened, and she exhaled lightly, saying, "Found it!"

Xiao Yi immediately stepped closer, pursing his lips as he drew near to examine the section of intestine she held. He was momentarily stunned.

Beneath that section of intestine, on something that looked like a membrane, there were many dark red line patterns resembling veins. One of the thicker veins had a very tiny incision!

The incision was about the width of an adult’s pinky nail, invisible unless inspected closely!

Xiao Yi frowned and asked, "What is this?"

"This is the abdominal aorta, to put it simply, it’s where cutting can cause massive bleeding."

Xu Jing paused, trying to explain, "You should know that when some martial artists strike, they know where to cut the human body to cause the fastest death, like the neck – hit the right spot and massive bleeding will occur, leading to swift death; these are arteries.

And the incision here is on an abdominal artery."

Chen Hu was taken aback and immediately said, "I know! When we learn martial arts, they teach us where to strike to cause the most bleeding, and where people won’t bleed or easily die, commonly known as false cuts. So those are arteries."

Xiao Yi, enlightened, turned to Xu Jing and asked, "You mean, this was the cause of death? Someone inserted a needle into the deceased’s abdomen, directly severing this... artery."

Seeing Xiao Yi’s rare expression of hesitation, a slight smile appeared in Xu Jing’s eyes, and she nodded, saying, "That’s correct. The murderer made this small dot in the deceased’s abdomen not to damage the intestines, but to rupture this artery, causing the deceased to go into acute hypovolemic shock and die within a short time!"

Seeing the amusement in the woman’s eyes, Xiao Yi focused his gaze as she continued, "However, ordinary needles generally have a very fine point, and even if they penetrate an artery, they would hardly cause acute hypovolemic shock.

The incision on the deceased’s artery suggests that this wound couldn’t have been caused by a regular needle.

This is a needle with a relatively large point, similar to a knife tip. The murderer can simply make a slight cut after insertion to easily rupture a vessel in the deceased!"

Chen Hu immediately emerged from the shadow of witnessing the autopsy, clapping his hands and saying, "If it’s such a special needle, there wouldn’t be many who have one. Once we find someone with such a needle, we could find the murderer!"

Xu Jing calmly stated, "Not many? Absolutely none. The murderer is likely a doctor. Only a doctor would be this familiar with the human body and know how to kill someone quickly with a tiny needle.

However, the needles doctors use are typically very fine, meant for acupuncture."

Chen Hu became even more excited, "Then it’s even simpler! Find the doctor with that kind of needle, and you find the murderer! Vice Minister Xiao, didn’t we previously narrow down a few suspects?"

Xiao Yi, much more composed than Chen Hu, pondered briefly before saying, "The murderer never expected us to investigate this deeply, so we should not alert them prematurely at this stage.

Chen Hu, you find someone to check which craftsman made the needles for those suspects and have someone inquire with those craftsmen if they ever made a similar needle for them.

If such a needle is not commonly used by doctors for acupuncture, the craftsmen should recall it."

After all, the murderer would never have imagined them dissecting the deceased’s abdomen, directly examining the wound they caused.

"Yes, sir!"

Seeing a glimmer of hope in solving the case, Chen Hu was unusually eager, responding quickly as he went to carry out his task.

Xu Jing remained very composed.

This, to her, was merely a part of her routine forensic work: finding evidence related to the case and presenting it to the public security authorities, who would then take action.

She had experienced similar situations hundreds of times, becoming numb to them.

After finding the crucial clue, Xu Jing tidied up Zhu Dalang’s intestines, and took up the needle and thread nearby, carefully sewing up Zhu Dalang’s abdomen.

It was only at this moment that Wu Wuzuo confirmed that what the woman just did was indeed an autopsy.

However, such an autopsy method was something he could never learn!!

He had a foreboding feeling that when he returned home, he would have nightmares again, and this time, it might last a whole month...

After Xu Jing skillfully sutured Zhu Dalang’s abdomen, she moved on to Old Master Fang’s corpse and opened it up using the same method.

Old Master Fang’s internal organs were more severely decomposed than Zhu Dalang’s, but fortunately, the intestines and blood vessels were still discernible. She quickly found the same incision at the same location, which further confirmed that the murderer indeed used this method to kill!

In ancient times, when autopsy was not practiced, this method could practically execute a perfect crime. If not for her unexpected intervention, the murderer might indeed escape the law, leaving the case an unsolved mystery for the ages!

After completing her examination, Xu Jing then stitched up Old Master Fang’s abdomen, leaving only a faint suture line visible, making it seem as though these two corpses had never been dissected.

Xiao Yi stood quietly by, watching Xu Jing’s actions, and only spoke once she began to remove her gloves and mask, "Thank you, Miss Xu."

"Vice Minister Xiao, no need to be polite, I’m doing this for myself as well."

Xu Jing placed her gloves and mask on an empty tray nearby and carefully washed her hands with strong liquor she had prepared in advance. Looking at Xiao Yi, she said, "I’ll leave the following matters in your hands, Vice Minister Xiao. I hope to hear good news soon."

Xiao Yi nodded, saying, "I’ll accompany Miss Xu out."

Xu Jing assumed Xiao Yi had more to discuss and did not refuse.

However, Xiao Yi remained very quiet along the way, only stopping near the back door and saying, "I will be working at the county government tonight and may return very late; if it’s convenient for you, Miss Xu, please allow Chang Xiao to stay with you for another night."

Xu Jing raised an eyebrow slightly.

Though this man was temporarily acting as the County Magistrate of Anping County, he was still the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and it was obvious he had a lot of duties.

She smiled slightly, saying, "Since Vice Minister Xiao trusts me so much, I, of course, have no inconvenience. By the way, when does Vice Minister Xiao plan to return to the Western Capital?"