National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 639 - 583: The Small Grave

Chapter 639: Chapter 583: The Small Grave

Identifying secret graves through forensic botany is considered a relatively simple application of the field, roughly at a Level 1.5.

It doesn’t require the identification of specific plants, but rather a knowledge of how certain plants will quickly root in freshly disturbed soil, with new seeds germinating until a balance is reestablished—a process that often takes decades.

On one hand, vegetation in the disturbed area is at a different stage of growth compared to the surrounding environment; on the other hand, the composition and distribution of the new plants differ from the original plant community.

Furthermore, a buried body could chemically alter the soil, either fostering or inhibiting plant growth, or promoting the growth of some plants while suppressing others.

People often talk about the pH balance of the human body, which is useless while a person is alive, but if that person becomes a corpse buried not too deeply underground, then their pH balance indeed becomes useful.

Of course, for a regular Level 1.5 botanist, it might require extensive observation in a specific area and careful judgement to possibly identify the existence of a secret grave.

But for a Level 3 forensic botanist like Jiang Yuan, the process is much simpler.

Jiang Yuan arrived at the Zhang Family’s ancestral grave as quickly as possible.

The road was not easy, a plowed dirt track overrun with weeds in the middle, with deep ruts on either side made by the passage of off-road vehicles and tractors, essentially navigable only by such vehicles.

A cluster of graves sat at the end of the road.

"Going to work is like visiting a tomb," Mu Zhiyang waved to the distant Wu Junhao and others.

Wu Junhao hurried over and said to Jiang Yuan, "I’ve protected the scene already, Sir. I haven’t let anyone touch the spot you pointed out."

"Good. Is the city bureau’s forensic doctor notified?" Jiang Yuan was referring to Wang Lan and others from Qinghe City Bureau. By protocol, when a homicide occurs in the county, help can be requested from the city bureau. Ningtai County has two forensic doctors, making it a rather strong county district, so technically they could manage without assistance, but Jiang Yuan felt it was necessary to liaise with his city colleagues anyway.

At least he ought to let his city colleagues know what he was working on—Jiang Yuan made this judgment in a moment of emotional intelligence.

Wu Junhao responded, "They said they could be here in two to three hours."

"That’s fine," Jiang Yuan said. "In the meantime, let’s collect other evidence."

"Other evidence," Wu Junhao glanced at the Zhang Family’s ancestral tomb and then at the unfamiliar forest, murmuring, "You’re not planning to dig up everyone’s grave, are you?"

Jiang Yuan was taken aback, "Why would I do that?"

"Where else could you find evidence?" Wu Junhao countered.

Jiang Yuan gave an exasperated look at Wu Junhao’s shiny forehead and sighed, "The forest, of course."

"How do we collect evidence in the forest?"

Jiang Yuan chuckled, "Come on, I’ll show you."

Frankly, the case hadn’t even reached the investigative stage since the body hadn’t been exhumed. Who knew if there was really a body inside? What if it was just a dog?

But due to Jiang Yuan’s reputation, Wu Junhao and the others hadn’t raised this question, and the forensic doctors from Qinghe City Bureau, who had come for reinforcement all the way from Qinghe City upon a single phone call, hadn’t asked either.

Wu Junhao organized his makeshift assault team and began collecting plants alongside Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan had brought standard equipment for plant specimens, cutting leaves directly from larger plants for evidence and preserving smaller plants with blotting paper in a scattered-bag fashion. A large amount of weeds were both photographed and sampled.

All these plant evidences were placed in a field specimen folder, which was then clamped between corrugated paper and tightened with elastic bands before being transported out.

One of the reasons Jiang Yuan hadn’t used forensic botany on smaller cases previously was the cumbersome process; the evidence had to be dried and processed later, causing the overall costs to skyrocket.

Without system support and a track record of achievements like Jiang Yuan’s, an average county bureau wouldn’t even consider employing forensic botany techniques.

If standard trace evidence collection is akin to public school spending, forensic botany is undoubtedly private school expenses.

Without a sound economic foundation, one shouldn’t even touch it.

A group of people huffed and puffed as they worked on taking photographs and clipping leaves; it took a long time before the area suspected to be a grave was somewhat cleared.

Once excavation begins, these plant evidences will no longer exist, so it’s better to collect them as specimens directly.

Wang Chuanxing, feeling dizzy from the effort, stood up and took another look at the Zhang Family’s gravesite and couldn’t help but express his curiosity, "Does that mean this road is specifically for visiting the gravesite?"

Wu Junhao replied in a muffled voice, "It’s not surprising. In our family group, we constantly collect funds, which are saved specifically for road maintenance."

"How long will it last after being repaired?"

"Seven or eight years should be no problem, even twelve or thirteen can do," Wu Junhao thought for a while and continued, "In the past, people from our own family would fix the roads, or there were often people coming up the mountain, so maintaining it wasn’t difficult. Nowadays, fewer people come, which means the roads deteriorate faster. That’s why we regularly need to raise money for maintenance."

Jiang Yuan, observing the environment, commented, "In the past, when people in the village passed by these kinds of roads, they would repair them if they had time. It was common for someone to hoe the road a couple of times as they passed by. Now that’s not possible, and we have to hire a dedicated road maintenance team for regular repairs."

Wang Chuanxing glanced at Jiang Yuan to confirm he wasn’t speaking overly grand, then shook his head and said, "This road from the Zhang Family isn’t that great. Does it mean that Zhang Enfan didn’t earn much money? Or is it that he didn’t have enough time to maintain the road?"

This line of thought was rather interesting, and Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but nod. If he pursued this angle, the formation time of this grave mound became very significant.

If it had formed during the two or three years Zhang Enfan had been running the gambling den, then it would be worth considering a high correlation with Zhang Enfan—after all, running a gambling den and still entertaining thoughts of being a good citizen deserving equal police treatment would be nonsensical.

However, if the grave mound had been formed over a much longer period, Zhang Enfan’s degree of suspicion would decrease.

As Jiang Yuan pondered this, Wang Lan arrived with her team.

Wang Lan had brought along Niu Tong Niu, Forensic Doctor from Qinghe City’s Qianjin District. Normally, Chief Medical Examiner Niu would not be required to provide support, as the city bureau’s forensic doctors are for the city bureau, and the district bureau’s for the district bureau. However, considering Jiang Yuan’s recently soared reputation and the frustrations he had encountered, Wang Lan decided that he should be treated with high standards.

Lest Jiang Yuan felt he was being neglected.

Of course, there were obvious benefits to bringing more people... during the excavation process, there would be more hands to catch insects...

Once the grave mound was pried open, those little bugs that had thrived on the corpse desperately tried to scatter.

The wilderness is naturally suited for the growth of insects, and with the corpse of a large mammal serving as a food reserve, countless generations of insects had bred here...

If you don’t know, just catch them and ask!

Several young people, armed with nets and wearing gloves, surrounded the gravesite, catching insects; once caught, they stuffed them into poisonous glass bottles.

In a short while, they had collected dozens of insects, larvae, and eggs.

The full vista of the corpse was gradually revealed.

Off-white bones soaked in somewhat darkened body fluids indicated there might be waterproof material like tarps beneath, which means this wasn’t a hasty disposal of a body, but rather a planned burial.

Chief Medical Examiner Niu squatted down, carefully beginning to collect bones.

Jiang Yuan did not immediately get involved, instead watching from the side, his expression turning solemn.

Without intricate verification, Jiang Yuan could tell the body in the pit was that of an adult female.

Moreover, it is quite rare for adult females to partake in gambling, especially in these local gambling scenes.

In small-town gambling dens like the one Zhang Enfan ran, one could hardly speak of ambiance; just ensuring basic living conditions was considered good enough.

If casinos in places like Macau stimulated their patrons by pumping pure oxygen into the halls for them to gamble excitedly for longer durations, the small-town gambling dens would rely on oxygen shortages, letting gamblers’ primitive instincts take over for sustained excitement.

Ordinary women, upon seeing such a place, wouldn’t even consider participating.

If they were not involved in gambling, it would be less likely for various disputes related to money lending or behavioral conflicts stemming from temperament to arise.

Chief Medical Examiner Niu could see it too, digging and picking through the shallow grave, collecting and piecing together the white bones...

Upon confirming the body was female, Chief Medical Examiner Niu looked at Jiang Yuan and said, "To pull out a case of this complexity from a police station, it takes someone like you."