Chapter 36: Forensic Examiner Turned Ghost Story

(Begging for support, fifth update)

At this moment, everyone's most genuine thought was: what on earth was the current situation?

Weren't we here to observe the forensic examiner? How did it turn into this?

Old Liu, on the other hand, was very calm.

"Generally, on our side we rarely care whether the person is still alive. Basically, once they enter the crematorium, it's just a matter of going through the procedure."

"At the time, when the other party's family brought them over, because they needed to queue, they had people waiting outside. The body was placed in the morgue, and then they prepared to throw it in."

Xiang Qinqin seemed to be telling a very plain, unadorned story, but as a result, the people present gradually grew tense along with her.

In the observation room, everyone unconsciously deepened their breathing. Wait, hold on—chotto matte, isn't this development moving a bit too fast?

"When I went to do the numbering, I found the old person still had a bit of breathing—very faint. I went straight to our person in charge. The person in charge was startled too. After coming over, they also discovered this."

Cheng Ruofei said: "This is murder."

Xiang Qinqin said: "So, we called the police at the time, but… we got scolded, scolded terribly, and even had all kinds of garbage thrown at us."

Old Liu said: "I can understand. Sigh, it's all the illness acting up."

Cheng Ruofei didn't know how to answer.

Xu Xintong said: "I roughly understand what you mean. The family couldn't hold on anymore, couldn't keep burning money, so they planned to let the old person go first, right?"

Xiang Qinqin said: "Mm, that's what they all said. But in the end, when it came to closing the case, it got tricky. The victim had already lost consciousness, but the victim was still alive."

"Whether to go through the public prosecution route or what, no one knows. Anyway, after that, we never heard about it again."

"Later on, I saw that old person again, a year later. The old person was skin and bones, dead. But the one brought in wasn't that son, but the daughter-in-law."

Daughter-in-law?

Xiang Qinqin nodded and said: "Mm, the daughter-in-law. Then, after the old person was cremated, the woman drank poison right there in our funeral parlor and died."

"Later I also heard that the old person's son also died—by suicide."

The entire scene fell silent.

For a moment, no one knew how to pick up the topic.

The suffering of the world is mostly like this. Perhaps, this is what it means to be alive, and also the unwillingness of those who are alive. Why does Heaven treat one so?

"What did you see?"

Xiang Qinqin said: "I don't know. I just… didn't dare go look again. I helped the old person, but I brought suffering to the ones still living."

Back at the studio, Chen Fan had run off at some point without anyone knowing.

And in the scene itself, Chen Fan appeared beside Xiang Qinqin, patted Xiang Qinqin's shoulder, and said: "The ones throwing garbage and dirty water were the relatives, not the son and daughter-in-law, right?"

"How did you know?"

"Because of guilt. The man took one wrong step, and the woman took one wrong step too. The man died of guilt, and the woman died too. In truth, neither of them could say thank you to you—you stopped them from continuing to make mistakes."

Xiang Qinqin looked up and said: "Really?"

"Of course it's true. Trust me, I'll fool plenty of women, but you are the only one I won't fool."

"Oh, thank you."

Chen Fan said nothing more, gave Xiang Qinqin a piece of candy.

And left.

'Dammit, there's sand in my eyes.'

"I think Chen Fan is lying. That son might really have had complaints."

"The son's suicide might also have been because of the pointing fingers and whispers from the nearby villagers."

"But the son did try, damn it. No matter how you look at it, there's no way to argue about it."

Old Liu said quietly: "Actually, what Chen Fan said is pretty right. Things that are half good, half bad—we only need to think of them in a good light. You don't need to blame or torment yourself."

Xiang Qinqin said: "Actually, this is also why I wanted to become a forensic examiner. I don't want to work at the funeral parlor anymore. I can't bear to see so much sorrow. On the forensic side, I can help these dead people, but at the funeral parlor, I couldn't help those people at all."

Ideals, original intentions—they exist only because one is kind, only because one wants to help others.

How could a girl like this not be likable?

"My brain is slow. Studying from books, I try hard but still can't understand. Memorizing things, I spend ten hours and still don't match what others do in one hour. But I will work hard."

Old Liu said: "Got it. No need to talk about ideals. Forensic medicine demands strength to speak. If your skill is weak, put in more effort."

Old Liu's face was cold.

Sympathy simply did not exist in Old Liu. Although he knew Xiang Qinqin never needed anyone's pity or special treatment.

Xu Xintong said: "I haven't taken part in any major cases before. I've only helped the teacher with bloodstain trajectory analysis and determining time of death. At the time, I found that many people wanted to conceal the time of death, but actually, no matter how you conceal it, you can't hide it. Not only that, you can even leave behind clues."

Chen Ti said: "The biggest case I've handled was catching an underwear thief over at the school."

Everyone looked at Cheng Ruofei. Cheng Ruofei said: "I… haven't come into contact with any cases. I've just been studying, just learning… most of the time, I've been poring over books."

Old Liu nodded and said: "Alright, stop dwelling on these things. What you've said, I already have a good sense of in my mind. Now I've simulated a case. Today's assessment is on-scene investigation and case handling. Everyone get ready."

Just as he finished speaking, the phone rang. Old Liu picked up the phone, thought for a moment, and said: "Mm, confirmed?"

"Confirmed. Come on over. We're short on hands, everyone pitch in."

Old Liu said: "Alright, you don't need to go to the lab. That scene can be canceled. I'll take you straight to the site to help the police look for things."

"Um, Teacher, what kind of case is it?"

Old Liu said: "Not sure, but they found a leg at the scene."

?????

Wait, can a case really be this absurd?

P: Begging everyone to give lots of flowers and evaluation votes.

P: Begging for more data, thank you.