Chapter 363

Everything in the county town was low-spec.

The administrative level, equipment, vehicles, and even the bars of the county town were all low-spec versions of big cities.

Even criminals felt like low-spec versions—petty thieves who couldn't steal in big cities, gang bosses who couldn't make it in big cities, and perverts who couldn't stay in big cities all settled down and started families in their hometown county towns.

Only homicide cases in small counties often innovated, reaching or even surpassing the levels of big cities. Cases like Lu Tihai beating Zhen Guanxi to death with three punches, Pan Jinlian poisoning Wu Dalang with a single bowl of poison, and Sun Erniang's chain murders and dismemberments were all honed in small towns.

Jiang Yuan felt the corpse before him was anything but ordinary.

He wore a handmade casual suit, a Jaeger-LeCoultre Moonphase Master on his wrist, and a piece of jade with intense gel-like texture hanging from a gold chain around his chest—and he wasn't from Jiangcun.

The total value of his outfit was enough to cover two months in an ICU for an ordinary person—with no health insurance.

You could say this man died with a strong sense of class.

Jiang Yuan's Level 6 death time identification was a tier-down advantage for this case.

A normal forensic doctor would be considered excellent if they narrowed it to a 2 to 5 a. . window; many just said "died at night," which was useless.

Wu Jun, who arrived at the scene at the same time, immediately accepted Jiang Yuan's judgment, jotted it down in his notebook without asking why, and said: "The bar at 3: 0 a. . I wonder if it's closed yet."

"Our county's bars usually stop letting people in at 2 a. ., and by 2: 0 a. ., they're pretty much cleared out," Mu Zhiyang replied casually.

He was standing beside Jiang Yuan, assisting him and trying to atone.

Wu Jun let out a surprised "Huh?" and said: "You go to bars? You're awfully familiar with the scene. Can your salary even cover that?"

"When I was with my Master, I spent a period specializing in catching thieves who picked up drunks in bars," Mu Zhiyang said.

Wang Zhong was making backups in the corner; though his trace evidence skill was only Level 0. , he was a legitimate trace evidence officer, waiting for Jiang Yuan to lead so he could assist.

Mu Zhiyang had worked many major cases with Jiang Yuan—solved homicide cases, cracked the notoriously difficult Hulongshan serial killings—and faced with this single death case in Ningtai County, he felt zero psychological burden, speaking casually: "In big cities, picking up drunks is about taking them back for fun. In our county town, sometimes people want both money and body—especially when picking up male corpses. Many just want to steal the hotel bill. That counts as theft too."

Wang Zhong's face changed, as if imagining something terrifying.

Mu Zhiyang looked at him with an expression of disbelief and said: "Anyone under 180 pounds could get picked up. What's so strange about that?"

"So pickers don't like fat guys?"

"Mainly because they can't carry them. Two people picking up one guy means three people have to be involved. In our county town, we don't play that fancy."

"Isn't that fancy enough?"

"Cough, cough, cough, cough…" Wu Jun cleared his throat four times: "Enough fooling around? The corpse is still here."

Wang Zhong and Mu Zhiyang immediately shrank their necks.

Wu Jun continued: "The bar closes and clears out by 2: 0 a. . at the latest. The victim's time of death is 3: 0 a. . We'll need to check the locks—if there's no sign of forced entry, we'll have to look into the hotel owner and staff."

"We've already sent people to find the hotel owner and staff," Huang Qiangmin said as he walked in, glanced at Jiang Yuan, and asked: "Can you solve this case?"

Mu Zhiyang involuntarily rolled his eyes. This question was excessive—even if you're Director Huang… even if you're asking Jiang Yuan… even if Jiang Yuan is capable of solving cases, this is a homicide. Normally, hundreds of officers would need to mobilize together to crack it. You've barely seen the corpse and you're already asking if it can be solved…

"Probably." Jiang Yuan replied.

He had previously cracked backlog cases in other cities, tackling them one by one—that was his confidence.

Now, facing a current case in his own county, Jiang Yuan was naturally even more confident.

Huang Qiangmin was delighted, beaming: "Good, good, good. Let's try to solve it before the New Year, so we can have a peaceful holiday. Of course, I'm not setting a deadline—just saying."

Jiang Yuan nodded and added: "The weapon is a dagger, about 4 centimeters wide at its broadest point. The killer is covered in blood—send the dogs to track the scent. Mainly find out which direction the killer went, then check the surveillance."

The newly installed surveillance network in Ningtai County was, by current standards, impossible for anyone to evade.

Liu Jinghui also arrived, stepped forward to examine the corpse, hands in pockets, and asked: "Is the dagger sharpened? At four centimeters wide, it should count as a controlled weapon, right?"

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"Definitely sharpened. The stab went deep, hitting the guard. There should be trace evidence on the wound," Jiang Yuan replied.

"This case has some substance," Liu Jinghui said, straightening his coat with his hand in his pocket, frowning slightly. "At 3 a. ., there'd be no customers in the bar. Either it was a staff member who had a conflict with him, or it was someone close to the victim—someone who brought their own dagger and showed up at a closed bar at 3 a. . to deliver a fatal strike. Most people wouldn't do that."

Wu Jun straightened up and said: "Anyone willing to kill isn't ordinary."

"I mean, both the killer and the victim seem professional. Don't you think?" Liu Jinghui took a pair of tweezers, tugged gently at the victim's gold chain, and said: "An 18k gold chain with an ice-type jade pendant—he didn't tuck it deep. It's clearly visible above the collar. Even a greedy bar hooligan would've snatched it. The watch looks expensive too, yet the killer didn't touch it."

"There are real professional hitmen?" Mu Zhiyang was genuinely surprised.

Liu Jinghui glanced at him: "There aren't any who take jobs worldwide, but plenty are willing to kill for money—though none are truly professional. At least, I've never seen many. This one's different. Someone who kills for money."

Jiang Yuan nodded slightly: "So it's murder, but not for money. Then it's personal?"

"Possibly. Or it could be for profit—then the profit must be huge, at least seven figures. Or maybe it's over love?" Liu Jinghui looked at the victim's face and added: "He's actually kind of handsome—looks like the kind of man someone would kill over love."

Jiang Yuan said: "The killer is most likely male—he used tremendous force. We can't see inside yet, but pay attention during the autopsy. I suspect the ribs were cracked open."

Women are vastly weaker in absolute strength than men. Even Zhang Weili, the UFC women's champion, delivers punches around 500 pounds—far stronger than the average man's 400 pounds—but still comparable to trained amateur male fighters.

So from force alone, the killer's gender can be reliably determined.

Liu Jinghui remained unmoved, studying the victim's face again: "With this face, having a male lover isn't surprising."

Those who believed Liu Jinghui and those who didn't both fell silent.

…

The funeral parlor.

Jiang Yuan and his Master Wu Jun performed the autopsy together.

Wu Jun hadn't worked alongside Jiang Yuan in a while and was in good spirits. When they began, he slipped a red talisman into Jiang Yuan's collar and stepped back into assistant position.

Jiang Yuan guessed its purpose but asked anyway: "Did you draw this?"

"I got this one specially from Mount Sining," Wu Jun said. "They say it's quite effective."

Mount Sining was the mountain behind Jiangcun. Jiang Yuan thought a moment: "Was the master there the one with a birthmark on his neck?"

"That's right. Have you been there?"

"He's practically my uncle," Jiang Yuan said.

Wu Jun waved his hand: "No great men by the pillow. He's humble and approachable in the village—that's his cultivation. But when he preaches in the temple, that's a different kind of ability."

Jiang Yuan bowed in reverence.

"Begin the incision," Wu Jun handed the scalpel to Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan nodded, made one swift cut, and opened the corpse from sternum to pubis.

"Subcutaneous fat is very thin—extremely low body fat. He must have exercised regularly," Jiang Yuan said first.

Wu Jun patted his own belly and agreed: "Indeed, a very healthy corpse."

"The heart is fine too. Cardiovascular system is healthy—no signs of arterial hardening." Jiang Yuan had autopsied many young corpses; atherosclerosis was still alarmingly common.

Wu Jun nodded: "Except for being easily stabbed, this heart has zero issues."