Miss Forensics – Chapter 8

Volume One: First Scroll

Female Corpse

Clusters of white cotton-like substance blocked the mouth and nose, known in forensic medicine as “mushroom foam”.

Lin Yan spoke without hesitation: “Such affectation, pretending to be proper, it’s just irritating to look at.”

Lin Ge pulled her aside, his face darkening: “What nonsense are you talking about! Talking about me is one thing, but how dare you…”

Lin Yan retorted sarcastically: “You’ve never lived with her, so you don’t know. She’s two-faced, and with your intelligence, if you really marry into the Lin family, she’ll have you running in circles!”

Lin Ge was fuming, but couldn’t bring himself to hit her. His face reddened as he said: “Lin Yan, when will you stop! Nothing is even set in stone yet! I don’t know what misunderstanding you have with Miss Song, but publicly criticizing someone is wrong!”

“Let me tell you this,” Lin Yan’s lips were dry from talking as she turned and continued: “The Lin family has nothing but money, oh no, that’s not right, they also have me, an annoying sister-in-law. Marriage is a lifetime commitment, don’t regret it later.”

Song Yuhang shook her head, taking a sip of water: “I think you might be overconfident. I don’t dislike you.”

“Huh?” Lin Yan’s brain short-circuited for a moment.

Those six words “I don’t dislike you” coming from Song Yuhang’s mouth sounded incredibly unexpected.

However—

The cold words “overconfident” still slapped her back to reality.

If it weren’t for her noble upbringing, Lin Yan would have slammed the table and stood up: “You, Song—”

Before the words “have some shame” could leave her mouth, both their phones vibrated simultaneously.

Lin Yan was about to unleash a torrent of curses about Song’s ancestors, but the sudden ringtone choked them back. Without looking, she angrily pressed decline.

The person sitting opposite answered the call and stood to leave, while one hand pulled out several RMB notes from her wallet and placed them on the table.

“Sorry, you’ll have to pay the bill today. If it’s not enough, I’ll transfer you more after I’m done.”

Lin Ge quickly stood up, trying to decline: “No, no need, I should be the one apologizing to you today…”

Song Yuhang wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying, her mind fully occupied by the command center’s call: “An unidentified female corpse has been discovered in the northwest section of Lotus Pond Park. The local police station has already arrived at the scene. Chief Zhao says for you to…”

“I’ll be there right away. Send me the address.”

Duan Cheng’s name kept flashing on the screen. Lin Yan, thoroughly annoyed, answered with a barrage of scolding: “Don’t you know how annoying you are? Don’t you know it’s after work hours?”

Duan Cheng was on the verge of tears: “No, Lin-jie, something’s happened, we have a case…”

Lin Yan put down her wine glass, ran a few steps, then came back for her bag: “Lin Ge, I’m leaving first. This meal’s on me, tell the owner to put it on my tab.”

“But…” Before Lin Ge could finish, both of them had already left one after another. He let out a long sigh, looking at the messy table.

“What’s all this about?”

The driver had already been sent away when they got out of the car earlier. Lin Yan stood at the intersection trying to hail a taxi, but during rush hour it wasn’t easy, as several passing taxis were already full of passengers.

Just as she was pressing her lips together, about to call her driver to pick her up, a white domestic BYD [比亞迪 | bǐ yà dí | Chinese car manufacturer] stopped in front of her.

Song Yuhang rolled down the window, being characteristically economical with words: “Let’s go.”

Lin Yan rolled her eyes, not bothering to respond.

Seeing no reaction, Song Yuhang didn’t waste any more time and prepared to shift gears. Lin Yan looked at the flowing traffic at the intersection and gritted her teeth.

“Fine, open the door.”

As she got in, Song Yuhang glanced at her, seeming to have something to say.

Lin Yan sat in the passenger seat, fastening her seatbelt: “If you have something to say, just say it, don’t hold back.”

Song Yuhang took out the police light from the armrest compartment, slapping it onto the car roof with a ‘pa’. She sat back down, shifted gears, and stepped on the accelerator, weaving left and right through the dense traffic.

“You’re quite self-aware, aren’t you?”

“Oh my, listen to you. Why waste a chance to take advantage of Captain Song?”

“The sole heir of the mighty Lin Corporation is concerned about a bit of gas money?”

“Of course, even a fly is meat when you’re hungry [蒼蠅再小也是肉 | cāng yíng zài xiǎo yě shì ròu | idiom: even small gains are worth taking].”

“I thought—” Song Yuhang glanced at her, but didn’t finish her sentence.

“Thought what?” Lin Yan pressed, but Song Yuhang just shook her head and turned on the car’s Bluetooth speaker to focus on the case details.

This left no room for further conversation.

Lin Yan’s attention was also drawn to the case, and she even seemed eager to get started.

She had been dissecting rats and rabbits for several days now, and her hands were itching for work.

Seeing her expression, Song Yuhang’s face darkened slightly, but being characteristically composed, she said nothing. Instead, she stepped on the accelerator and drove straight between two large trucks, accompanied by Lin Yan’s ghostly screams.

“F*ck, Song Yuhang, if you want to die, don’t take me with you!”

Five minutes later, at Lotus Pond Park.

Song Yuhang parked the car on the perimeter. The scene was packed tight, police lights flashing, police tape already up, and several local police officers maintaining order.

She showed her badge and lifted the police tape to enter, but Lin Yan, who arrived after her, was stopped due to her unfamiliar face.

“Hey, I—”

Song Yuhang turned back, gently lifting the police tape for her: “This is our precinct’s new forensic examiner, Dr. Lin. Let her through.”

The police officers exchanged glances before allowing her passage.

Can’t blame them.

Lin Yan, in her elegant dress and thin heels, looked like she’d stepped straight off a magazine cover, a far cry from what one would expect of a forensic examiner.

The district precinct’s staff were already busy at work, one officer questioning witnesses, another taking statements.

The forensics and technical investigation teams were also present.

Song Yuhang took a quick glance around when a sharp-featured, monkey-faced [尖嘴猴腮 | jiān zuǐ hóu sāi | idiom: having pointed features like a monkey] man in his forties approached, voluntarily pulling out a cigarette to offer her.

“Captain Song, what brings you here?”

“Thanks, but I don’t smoke. Let’s discuss the case.”

The man laughed awkwardly and put the cigarette away.

“It happened like this: around seven in the evening, a salvage worker from the Municipal River Management Office was working…”

A man in his fifties wearing a bamboo hat [鬥笠 | dǒu lì | traditional cone-shaped hat], completely soaked, stood there trembling as he recounted the incident, still visibly shaken by the memory.

“With the recent heat, many people come to the park to cool off. There’s also more garbage in the waterway. I thought I’d do one last collection before heading home. Just as I was paddling my raft under that bridge, I felt it hit something.”

Song Yuhang looked in the direction he pointed. Lotus Pond Park was a scenic park which, true to its name, featured a vast lotus pond. In this midsummer, the lotus flowers were in full bloom, and the body was discovered right under a stone arch bridge.

The bridge must have been crowded with onlookers at the time. News of the body being retrieved from the waterway spread like it had grown wings [像長了翅膀 | xiàng zhǎng le chì bǎng | idiom: spread rapidly], accompanied by several uncensored, attention-grabbing photos that caused quite a stir.

In the time it takes to eat a meal, everyone knew about it.

No wonder Chief Feng was so angry and specifically called her to come.

“I thought someone had dumped construction waste in the river again. I was so angry! I poked at it with my pole, and it was surprisingly heavy! I worried the raft might flip if I tried to pull it up, so I went into the water thinking I’d drag it to the shore and call some colleagues to help.”

“Unexpectedly, as I got closer, I smelled this stench. I’d noticed it on the raft but didn’t think much of it. In summer, with all the garbage in the waterway, that’s normal, but this smell was nauseating…”

Lin Yan rolled her eyes, thinking silently: How could anyone confuse the smell of a corpse with garbage?

“When I touched that plastic bag, something felt wrong. It was cold and slippery, but I still gathered my courage to drag it ashore. Halfway there, the bag split open, revealing a foot, and I… I…”

He trembled as he spoke, cold sweat dripping despite the thirty-plus degree summer night: “If I weren’t a good swimmer, I might not have made it back up.”

“Do you remember the exact time you discovered the body?”

The old man thought for a moment before shaking his head blankly: “I don’t remember, only that it was after seven. But I called the police right after I got to shore, and when I checked my phone then, it was around eight-thirty.”

“Alright, please leave your name and phone number. We may need your cooperation for further investigation.”

A police officer handed over paper and pen, and the old man quickly scribbled down his name and a string of numbers.

The district precinct’s forensic examiner was conducting a preliminary examination of the corpse, with Lin Yan moving closer to observe carefully.

Duan Cheng was holding equipment but hadn’t taken photos, while several uniformed officers surrounded the body.

Lin Yan casually took a photo: “Hey, found anything yet?”

The officer she addressed, wearing a mask, turned back impatiently: “Onlookers need to step back. This isn’t a place for you to enter.”

Lin Yan laughed: “No way, you’ve been looking this long and still can’t figure it out?”

“I…” the male forensic examiner’s face reddened as he raised his voice: “Cause of death is drowning, no external injuries on the body, likely suicide.”

Song Yuhang whipped her head around at this shocking statement, pressing her lips together as her gaze darkened.

“Tell me, who would commit suicide by putting themselves in a plastic bag before jumping into a river?”

Lin Yan couldn’t help but burst out laughing: “Haha, Captain Song, you’re so funny—”

Halfway through her laugh, seeing Song Yuhang’s expression, she promptly sealed her lips.

The Criminal Investigation Team captain who had offered the cigarette earlier approached with an ingratiating look [腆着臉 | tiǎn zhe liǎn | idiom: putting on a thick-skinned expression]: “Oh, Captain Song, don’t be angry. The rookie was just speaking casually. We’ll investigate this case thoroughly, absolutely thoroughly.”

She knew all too well about the working style of basic-level criminal investigation teams. The city bureau had annual case clearance rate requirements, and when they couldn’t meet these standards, they’d either put all their effort into security patrols to prevent crimes at the source, or take shortcuts by downgrading criminal cases to civil ones. Especially with unidentified body cases like this, they’d drag things out, and that’s how wrongful convictions pile up.

But unfortunately for him, he’d run into Song Yuhang, who was known for being someone who “couldn’t tolerate even a grain of sand in her eye” [眼裏揉不得沙子 | yǎn lǐ róu bù dé shā zi | idiom: strictly principled].

“From now on, the city bureau is taking over this case,” Song Yuhang ordered decisively, not waiting for him to recover.

“Duan Cheng, why are you standing there dazed? Take criminal investigation photos and videos. Fang Xin, collect scene evidence. Others, interview witnesses, redo the statements. Dr. Lin—”

Her gaze shifted over to where Lin Yan had already tied up her long hair and swiftly pulled on gloves from the investigation kit with a ‘shua’ [唰 | shuā | onomatopoeia for quick movement]. The mask covered most of her delicate features, her profile now serious and focused.

Song Yuhang lightly pressed her lips together and crouched down beside her.

The plastic bag had been opened, the body in a giant’s position [巨人觀 | jù rén guān | forensic term for a specific body position], clothing intact, most of the epidermis already sloughing off, especially the skin on the hands, which from a distance looked like rubber gloves.

Lin Yan’s touch collected adipocere [屍油 | shī yóu | waxy substance formed from decomposed body fat], the pungent smell flooding her nostrils, but she didn’t even furrow her brow as she used a flashlight to examine the victim’s eyelids.

“Petechial hemorrhaging visible in the conjunctiva.” [Petechial hemorrhaging, also known as petechiae, is a condition where small red, purple, or brown spots appear under the skin. It’s caused by bleeding from tiny blood vessels. The conjunctiva is a thin, clear membrane that protects your eye.]

Duan Cheng hurried over to photograph and document.

“Lividity is faint and pink-colored [屍斑 | shī bān | post-mortem discoloration].”

The flashlight beam moved to the victim’s mouth and nose.

Clusters of white, cotton-like substance blocked the airways, known in forensic medicine as “mushroom foam” [蕈狀泡沫 | xùn zhuàng pào mò | forensic term for frothy fluid found in drowning victims].

Lin Yan made her decisive conclusion: “Consistent with ante-mortem drowning characteristics.”

Song Yuhang, wearing gloves, roughly examined the victim’s clothing, finding nothing that could identify the person.

“Fang Xin, come collect DNA samples for database comparison with missing persons records.”

“Yes, Captain Song.” Fang Xin, who was lifting suspicious fingerprints from the plastic bag, acknowledged and ran over with the investigation kit.

Song Yuhang looked up at the bustling crowd around them. This was an open area with constant foot traffic – if someone had dumped a body, there should have been witnesses.

“Dr. Lin, time of death?”

Lin Yan didn’t answer her, instead asking Duan Cheng for a body thermometer.

She inserted the long probe into the victim’s rectum, leaning down to look: “Rectal temperature 25.80°C. Duan Cheng, go measure the water temperature. The average temperature for the past week is…”

Duan Cheng scurried off with the thermometer, while Lin Yan muttered to herself – she couldn’t exactly reach into her bag for her phone with hands covered in adipocere.

Song Yuhang: “Average temperature 30°C.”

In forensic medicine, determining time of death based on body appearance, decomposition stage, and environmental temperature involves a complex calculation process, but Lin Yan spoke without hesitation.

“Estimated time of death is approximately 3-5 days. For specifics, we’ll need to examine stomach contents and liver temperature during autopsy. Time of death estimates for bodies dumped in places like this depend on environment, water depth, location, and other factors. Don’t get your hopes too high.”

She was quite meticulous.

Song Yuhang stepped back, indicating they should put the body in a body bag first – letting onlookers continue staring would just create tomorrow’s headlines for Jiangcheng City.

After transporting the body to the funeral home, the next step would be extensive and detailed canvassing work.

Lin Yan and Fang Xin took the biological samples back to city bureau for further testing.

Zheng Chengrui began reviewing surveillance footage, rubbing his eyes.

Song Yuhang walked through the park alone, at least that’s how it appeared.

It was now past ten at night, the summer heat dissipating, the park gradually becoming quiet.

Lotus Pond Park wasn’t large, a recent municipal project built in the past few years. With no entrance fee and 24-hour access, the foot traffic was extremely heavy. While this complicated the criminal investigation, it also meant dumping a body would have been extremely difficult for the perpetrator.

Because they would likely be seen.

If it were her, she would never choose to dump a body here – too easy to expose.

As long as the police put in the effort, solving the case was just a matter of time.

Song Yuhang placed her hand on the stone arch bridge’s railing, looking down at where the body was discovered not far below.

Beside it was a thick patch of reeds, now trampled chaotically by the waterway workers and first responding officers. She walked down the steps.

The first time she saw the body, one question arose: too clean.

Modern people might go without ID cards, driver’s licenses, wallets, or bank cards, but surely they’d carry a phone.

Especially adult women, except for those in special professions like herself, would have at least some personal accessories.

Luxurious like Lin Yan, wearing a Rolex watch.

Simple like Fang Xin, who’d at least wear earrings or a bracelet.

This was female nature, with few exceptions.

She shone her flashlight while wading through waist-high weeds, trying to find some clues.

Most robbers would take the victim’s valuables, but if it were just robbery, why put the body in a plastic bag? This type of criminal usually commits crimes of passion, and victims would leave traces from either struggling or calling for help.

Someone familiar with the victim?

What was the motive?

A big question mark formed in her mind.

The late-night dew had soaked her clothes. Song Yuhang swept her flashlight around – this area saw few visitors, as most people admiring flowers would stay on the stone bridge rather than come down. The reeds where the body had lain were pressed into a distinct shape.

No cameras around, and the willow branches hung low, creating a natural blind spot.

She crouched down, stepping into the riverbank mud, put on gloves, and searched inch by inch.

She firmly believed there was no perfect crime, and certainly no perfect crime scene.

If this was the primary dump site, something must have been left behind.

Persistence paid off. When her phone rang, Song Yuhang had pulled a ring from the half-inch-deep mud. She shone her flashlight on it – the ring was smooth, likely pure silver, undecorated except for a small letter “S” engraved on the inside.

Song Yuhang placed it carefully in an evidence bag, removed her gloves, and answered the phone: “Hello?”

Lin Yan cleared her throat: “We’ve found the victim’s family.”

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LP: Re-translated on February 25, 2025

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