C6 Power of a Sideplot

"How is that possible? Just this..." Tang Zhong was skeptical. The wounds on the body were horrifying, making the cut on the wrist seem almost insignificant, yet it was the cause of death.

"Wrist slashing usually involves a cut about half an inch deep. The killer must have hated the victim intensely to cut so forcefully down to the wrist bone. Severing the artery like that would cause unstoppable bleeding, leading to death in about half an hour."

Tang Zhong couldn't help but exclaim, "To flay the face first and then bleed them out—what kind of hatred drives someone to do that?"

"You think just saying it makes it true? I don't believe it." The post-mortem examiner glared defiantly at Tang Wan'er, who simply smiled brightly back and said, "You can try it yourself if you want."

The examiner shuddered and hid behind Tang Zhong, still unwilling to concede. "Forget that. How can you be so sure the killer is a middle-aged man around forty-five, standing six feet tall?"

Tang Wan'er gave a cold look, speaking as she approached the victim, then turned to Lee Yi and instructed, "You, write down everything I say."

"The victim is a young woman, approximately seventeen years old, about four and a half feet tall. For the killer to move the body efficiently, he would likely be a six-foot-tall male."

"Although this isn't the primary crime scene, it was cleaned up meticulously, indicating a calculated act rather than a crime of passion. The killer's meticulous nature suggests he's around forty-five years old."

The body was stiff, and the kneeling position might have been caused either shortly before or within a few hours after death, as joints stiffen during this time but begin to relax after a day. The snow started this morning, and based on the body's rigidity, the time of death was around yesterday evening.

"The killer deliberately positioned the body in a kneeling stance, which likely holds some specific meaning."

"The head shows no signs of fracture, and the face..."

Tang Wan'er's words were abruptly cut off by the post-mortem examiner, who excitedly pointed at the uneven wounds on the victim's face and exclaimed, "Wait! Look at the face—it's clear that someone inexperienced with a knife did this. So, why do you think the killer is skilled with one?"

Tang Wan'er crouched beside the body, pointing to areas of varying color. "You're right; at first glance, these wounds aren't smooth. But the other half of the face is as thin as a cicada's wing. Someone not used to handling a knife couldn't achieve that. That's why I suspect the killer is accustomed to using a knife but was clumsy when peeling the face for the first time."

The examiner was left speechless, and the surrounding officers had gathered to listen to Tang Wan'er's examination, their eyes filled with admiration and awe.

Tang Zhong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, proudly puffing out his chest, feeling a sense of shared honor.

"The internal organs have been cleaned; there's water residue around but no blood, and no footprints at the scene, indicating the killer took precautions." Tang Wan'er felt around the snow surrounding the body, breaking off a piece of ice nearby. The soil underneath was damp and dark brown, but there were no traces of blood.

"There are no signs of a struggle here, so this isn't the primary crime scene."

Lee Yi was taken aback. "The body was moved here by the killer?"

"That's impossible. How could anyone move a body here without leaving footprints? It must be the work of spirits," the post-mortem examiner insisted, further unsettling Tang Zhong, who was already unsure.

"There are no blood traces on the organs; they were cleaned after she died. Would spirits go to such lengths?" With that, Tang Wan'er crouched down, picking up the victim's organs that had been removed, showing them to the others. Then she lifted the victim's left hand, saying, "The most useful clue the killer left us might just be this."