Chapter 406

Hou Lejia had his hands in his pockets, standing before the village group office in Yuguang Village, waiting while scanning the small village around him.

To maintain secrecy, they hadn't contacted locals in advance—only brought along officers from the township police station and summoned people on the spot.

The village group as an entity is rarely mentioned nowadays; it was essentially the former production team, usually corresponding to a natural village, hamlet, or similar settlement.

The state-recognized administrative unit is the administrative village, which contains multiple natural villages; previously, the administrative village was the production brigade, and the natural village was the production team, with the brigade leader holding considerable authority.

Jiayuan Township, where Yuguang Village lies, has sixteen administrative villages and over two hundred—nearly three hundred—natural villages like Yuguang; along the upper reaches of Lishou River, at least three or four such townships, totaling nearly a thousand natural villages, could be potential dumping sites.

Thus, after the most basic missing persons check, Case No. 122 remained stalled.

Hou Lejia had once suspected the victim was from elsewhere—if so, the chances of identification would be even slimmer.

In fact, Yuguang Village was indeed remote; to reach the nearest bank of Lishou River required crossing a mountain, making it highly likely the body was dumped there. Of course, it was also possible the victim was taken to the riverbank and killed on the spot.

"Captain Hou, this is the village chief of Yuguang Village, Zhang Xuejie," said the police officer who had come with them, leading over a man in his fifties.

At fifty, he was considered young in the village; Zhang Xuejie looked sharp, though visibly nervous, and asked Hou Lejia upon approaching: "What kind of case is this?"

He had seen the officers—last time more than three police came was when two villages clashed in a brawl, leaving several seriously injured; now, there were multiple police cars.

Hou Lejia naturally didn't answer; instead, the officer beside him pulled out a photo and asked Zhang Xuejie: "Do you recognize this person?"

"This is... my eyesight's poor..." Zhang Xuejie held the photo farther away, then said: "Isn't this Li Fang, Zhang Lü's wife? Have you found her?"

He glanced around at the officers and frowned: "This isn't good news, is it?"

"Is Zhang Lü at home? In the village?" Hou Lejia asked first.

Zhang Xuejie thought a moment: "He should be home—he was here the past few days; they have a motorcycle, sometimes he goes down to the market... I've ridden with him."

"Take us to his house." Hou Lejia led the way, asking: "How many people live in Zhang Lü's household? How many are currently at home?"

"Just two—his wife ran off, so it's just him and his son."

"Li Fang ran off? Why say she ran off?"

"She took all her clothes and jewelry, abandoned her husband and son—what else would you call it?" Zhang Xuejie said dismissively. "Their son's in elementary school, they have no money, so he attends the nearby central primary school. Zhang Lü refuses to work outside, just does farm chores around the village. Nowadays, farming brings no income—only old men like us do it. His wife kept arguing, so she left."

"If a woman packs up her clothes and jewelry and abandons her husband and child at home, what else could it be but she ran off?" Zhang Xuejie said dismissively: "His son's in elementary school, the family has no money, so he goes to the nearby central primary school. Zhang Lu won't go work in the city, so he stays in the village doing farmwork. These days, farming in the countryside doesn't pay much—only us old folks do it. His wife kept complaining and complaining, so she left."

Zhang Xuejie spoke as if it were perfectly natural. "How common is this?" Hou Le asked. "What kind of situation?"

"There are plenty who can't find wives at all; those who do, after a few years, can't bear it and leave. Some go to the city, some find better matches—it's all the same. Some even take their kids, but that's not allowed—the husband's family will come after the wife's family." Zhang Xuejie sighed at the village's reality.

"There are plenty of men who can't find wives. Those who do find one often stick around a few years, then can't take it anymore and run off. Some go to the city, others find someone better—it's all the same. Some even take their kids with them, but that's not allowed—the husband's family will come to the wife's family to cause trouble." Zhang Xuejie sighed as he spoke of the village's current state.

To confirm further, Hou Lejia asked: "What does Li Fang's husband say? Did he look for her?"

"He just says she ran off. If she ran, there's no point looking—this happens all the time here. Why bother?" Zhang Xuejie grew more talkative, as if something had just occurred to him.

Hou Lejia asked deliberately: "He says she ran off, so she's gone?"

"Did they divorce?"

"No, divorce is asking for a beating—impossible. These days, bride prices are so high, who'd want to divorce?" Zhang Xuejie paused, then added: "Couples who work outside often divorce, but Zhang Lü lives in the village—he'd never agree to one."

"No, talking about divorce is asking for a beating—it's impossible to divorce. These days, the bride price to marry a wife is so high, who'd want to split up?" Zhang Xuejie paused, then added: "Young couples who work outside the village often divorce on a whim, but Zhang Lu lives in the village—he'd never agree to divorce."

"We couldn't reach her phone. We figured she'd found a better life..." Zhang Xuejie's voice lowered—he was starting to sense something was wrong.

As Hou Lejia continued questioning, the criminal investigators arrived at Zhang Lü's house and surrounded it, then began knocking loudly.

Zhang Lü's house was a bare concrete slab building, four stories tall, with no tiles on the exterior, the red paint on the door peeling off in chunks, looking haphazard and neglected.

Zhang Lu's house was a bare, featureless slab building, four stories tall, with not a single tile on its exterior walls. The red paint on the front door had peeled off in chunks, giving it a casual, neglected look.

The faded red door swung open, revealing a disheveled middle-aged man rubbing his eyes.

"Zhang Lü?" A detective stepped forward. "What's this about?" The man seemed dazed.

"Are you Zhang Lü?" As the detective asked, two colleagues slipped past him, blocking the doorway to prevent him from slamming it shut and turning a routine arrest into a chase.

"Yes." The middle-aged man frowned but, faced with so many officers, remained timid and dared not stand his ground.

"Anyone else at home?" The detectives entered. "No."

"Where's your son?" "At school."

"Any relatives? Arrange for someone to come." Hou Lejia frowned—this was a complicated situation.

Zhang Lü hesitated a few seconds, then asked: "What's this about?"

"We're from Longli County Criminal Investigation Unit. Do you know why we're here?" The lead detective, seeing Zhang Lü's cowardly demeanor, suddenly fired the question.

Zhang Lü squinted, his expression dazed, as if trapped in a pressure cooker, unable to speak.

He had rehearsed this conversation in his mind, but the stern faces, crisp uniforms, and harsh voices silenced him.

Too much time had passed—over a year. The tension had loosened; now, to steel himself was difficult.

The induction cooker was on high heat, bubbling steadily.

The boiling broth was milky white, far cleaner than the water in the steel pot used for boiling bones; occasionally, whole, plump pieces of pig stomach and intestines surfaced.

The induction cooker was the same model used in the autopsy room—bought years ago by Ye the forensic doctor, still working after more than a decade, so he bought extras for his home, his in-laws', his parents', and even his office.

It had a simple button: press "hot pot," and the water would boil vigorously, quickly turning anything inside into mush.

Hou Xiaoyong added cabbage and radish to the pot of pig intestines, stomach, and chicken, then began blanching quick-cooking ingredients: Gongcai, sea mustard shoots, and more.

Even though Forensic Doctor Zhai had worries on his mind, eating made him feel warm and comfortable.

The basement was still chilly; though it had air conditioning, human bones and cooked bones were different—stay too long, and you'd feel stiff.

After a few more bites of pig intestines, Forensic Doctor Zhai felt half-full, put down his chopsticks, and said: "You mentioned three skull reconstructions—what were the other two cases about?"

"The other two are from Changyang City. Two people likely fell off a cliff together, but their identities remain unknown." Jiang Yuan spoke briefly, then added: "They've been stored in the cold chamber for over a year. Since the case resembles Longli County's, and heard I was making progress, they called."

More than half of Jiang Yuan's cold case team were originally from Changyang City—it was about time they repaid the favor with a few cases.

As the provincial capital, Changyang City had the highest number of cases in the province. Jiang Yuan had previously helped them clear confirmed criminal cases; this time, the cases handed to him,

As for the number of cases, Changyang City, as the provincial capital, undoubtedly leads the entire province. Jiang Yuan had previously helped them clear backlogged cases—those were all confirmed criminal cases. This time, the case that came to them was—

After all, a cliff fall could be accidental, suicide, or murder.

The fact that two fell together was unusual, but one could have pushed the other. So despite no grieving family, Changyang City had preserved the bodies in cold storage.

Forensic Doctor Zhai wasn't interested in the case itself—he cared only about skull reconstruction.

Recalling the intermediate image of the skull reconstruction he'd just seen, he felt a pang of curiosity: "If you don't mind, may I assist?"

"Well... I suppose so," Jiang Yuan replied reluctantly.

Forensic Doctor Zhai was too old—he had passed the age for learning magic... or skull reconstruction. Some things can be learned from scratch, but "learning skull reconstruction with zero foundation" was absurd.

Leaving aside the numerous prerequisite skills, Level 1 skull reconstruction was practically useless—reconstructing a skull from a photo where the victim's face was unrecognizable, only to say "it kinda looks like" after the case was solved—what practical value was that?

Teaching Zhai to Level 2 or 3 skull reconstruction wouldn't just disrespect the technique—it would disrespect the sacrifices of the orchid and Miaohé County criminals!

"I rarely perform skull reconstruction myself—I can't do it fluidly. If you're helping, you'll have to follow my pace," Jiang Yuan said more gently.

Forensic Doctor Zhai agreed immediately: "Will we do it in Longli County?"

Doing Changyang City's case in Longli felt odd.

"Let's start a few cases here, then move the equipment," Jiang Yuan paused. "If you find it inconvenient..."

"No inconvenience. I know Old Hou well—he's stingy, sometimes foolish, his thinking isn't sharp, he can't make decisions easily—but... when it comes to cases, he listens." Forensic Doctor Zhai gave a fair assessment.

Those eating the pig intestines and chicken, especially the Longli County officers, nodded silently—including Hou Xiaoyong.

"Then I'll begin. What should we start with?" Forensic Doctor Zhai wasn't hungry anymore—he didn't intend to master skull reconstruction, but understanding how it truly worked was essential.

Jiang Yuan hadn't expected such enthusiasm—he'd underestimated how compelling skull reconstruction was to senior forensic doctors.

After a moment's thought, Jiang Yuan said: "Why not first review the photos I've done before? That'll help you follow the later steps. I might have other matters this afternoon—shall we start properly tomorrow?"

"Fine. Even if I don't sleep tonight, I'll keep up." Forensic Doctor Zhai, an old-school man, remained eager to learn.

"I can do it—I'll stay up all night if I have to, just to keep up with the pace." Forensic Doctor Zhai, being of the older generation, still maintained a very proactive attitude toward learning.

That night, Forensic Doctor Zhai truly didn't sleep.

That night, Doctor Zhai truly did not sleep.