National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 758 - 701: Becoming Ordinary

Chapter 758: Chapter 701: Becoming Ordinary

After handling numerous cases, Jiang Yuan finally had a rare day off. He granted the whole Cold Case Squad a holiday and even distributed extra bonuses from the Zhengguang Bureau.

Jiang Yuan took this opportunity to invite his father Jiang Fuzhen, Master Wu Jun, and others to Beijing for what amounted to a vacation.

Jiang Fuzhen was quite willing. After receiving Jiang Yuan’s call, he quickly got ready, and had Jiang Yongxin send him to the airport. He left after lunch and arrived before dinner.

Jiang Fuzhen and Wu Jun arrived together, both carrying the aura of ritual as they entered, with Wu Jun especially taking care to cross the threshold with fire in his fingers, at his feet, and on his chest—a significant practice. It was apparent that Ningtai County had been relatively peaceful lately.

After washing his hands, Jiang Fuzhen looked with respect at Master Wu Jun moving around the room and said to Jiang Yuan, "Your master really takes good care of you. He packed a suitcase full of things for you and only brought two changes of clothes in his backpack for himself."

"I’ll buy some clothes for Master." Jiang Yuan immediately replied obediently.

Only then did Jiang Fuzhen nod, looked around the house, and sighed, "When I bought this house years ago, I felt a bit cheated, mainly because the salesperson’s attitude was too good. They took us on a city tour and even brought us homemade bean sauce, making it awkward not to buy a second apartment."

Mu Zhiyang, who had settled into one of the bedrooms, felt an impulsive urge to speak upon hearing Jiang Fuzhen’s nostalgic words. The words reached his lips, and he said, "Uncle Jiang, if you want to stay here, I can just move into the accommodation provided by the Zhengguang Bureau."

"No need, I’ll just stay upstairs." Jiang Fuzhen waved his hand.

Mu Zhiyang: "Upstairs?"

"The upstairs was bought at the same time, and they even gave me the rooftop garden. I previously rented it to a company as a guesthouse, but I spoke to their boss and moved them to a unit in the second phase, so now I can use this place myself. Later, I’ll have someone fix it up a bit so it’s more comfortable for you all."

Mu Zhiyang’s lips twitched, but he then uttered words of gratitude, "Thank you, Uncle Jiang."

"What’s there to thank? Like this, I’ll go up and tidy it up a bit, have it cleaned, and then you all come up for dinner tonight," Jiang Fuzhen rolled up his sleeves, ready to get down to business.

Wu Jun chose the right moment to return and said to Jiang Yuan, "Your dad really takes good care of you. He even brought a pot of the old broth used for cooking meat. The pot was checked-in luggage, saying you haven’t had his cooking in a long while... "

Jiang Yuan chuckled and said, "I’ll make sure to eat well at dinner."

Wu Jun nodded and handed him a sachet, saying, "You can wear it while you’re off work. A person’s scent is also very important."

Jiang Yuan accepted the sachet without any resistance and casually hung it at his waist, not caring whether it looked good or not.

Two days later.

Zhengguang Bureau.

Jiang Yuan arrived at the office a bit later than usual. After taking a few sips of tea, he was called over by Tao Lu.

Upon entering the small meeting room, he could feel a low pressure spreading.

The office desk, which could seat about eleven or twelve people, was fully occupied. Liu Cheng, Cui Qishan, and others looked somewhat restless. Qi Changye wore a calmer expression but was also frowning. They all managed a forced smile when they saw Jiang Yuan.

When Jiang Yuan entered, Tao Lu greeted him first, then addressed the squad leaders below, saying, "Why so anxious? You’re not always this eager... Alright, everyone go back to work. If you have time, organize the case files so you don’t scramble to find them when you need them... "

Soon afterwards, only Tao Lu, Qi Changye, and Jiang Yuan were left in the small meeting room.

Qi Changye smiled and asked, "Is it just us now?"

"If you have a case, you go first," said Tao Lu with a cough before turning to Jiang Yuan, "Commissioner Huang must’ve told you, Qi here has a case that he wants you to look at... "

"Commissioner Huang mentioned it," Jiang Yuan answered, then looked toward Qi Changye.

Qi Changye, after a customary glance around, took out an envelope and handed it to Jiang Yuan.

Upon opening it, it indeed contained a stack of photos.

"Let me take a look," Jiang Yuan said quietly as he spread out the photos to examine them one by one.

Compared to the theft case of the rolling shutter door from a few days before, the photos Qi Changye presented were far more shocking.

The second photo that Jiang Yuan opened depicted a man with a massive facial injury.

To say it was a massive injury wasn’t just a simple adjective; his lips and surrounding area had burst open in large radial wounds, with muscle tissue flayed and fragments of teeth and gums starkly visible, resembling a ghastly bloom that all but obliterated the lower half of his face, while the upper half remained relatively intact, presenting a grotesquely unsettling sight.

Not only that, but the body had also been burned, to the point where it was charred and curled up, the face a mix of black and red.

Qi Changye, seeing Jiang Yuan examining the burned skin, added, "When we found him, the fire had just started. After we quickly extinguished it, this is what was left."

Jiang Yuan nodded and continued flipping through the photos without pausing. He soon came across a close-up of the oral cavity. From here one could see that the osseous support within the mouth had completely collapsed. The so-called upper jawbone and lower jawbone were nothing but shattered bones now. The soft tissues in the mouth were even less recognizable, with the tongue, inner walls, and so on, all broken and unidentifiable, along with a large amount of charring.

"The wounds are very complex, and it’s not very convenient to judge just by the photos. If possible, it would be best to have videos or something like that..." Jiang Yuan mentioned as he reached this point.

Qi Changye immediately said, "That’s what I was about to say. We’d like to invite you to perform an autopsy. The body should have been sent to the dissection center already."

"Oh, it’s a current case," Jiang Yuan remarked and looked at Tao Lu.

Tao Lu nodded and said, "You can just bring someone with you. It’s mainly technical support, right?"

His last comment was directed at Qi Changye.

Qi Changye smiled and nodded in agreement.

Without anything more to say, Jiang Yuan gave Huang Qiangmin a call to confirm, then called over Mu Zhiyang and the two got into Qi Changye’s car, heading to the dissection center.

Before they left, Tao Lu pulled Qi Changye aside and said a few more words before sending the group out the door.

Upon returning to the office, Tao Lu closed the door and leisurely started to sing an Andy Lau song that older people love: "Chilly rain like ice hits the face slapdash...".

The recent work had given him a sense of accomplishment that he had not felt in a long time.

Solving current murder cases was a relief, and cracking cold murder cases brought joy. With resources becoming abundant, a large number of cases that had accumulated over the months were swept away, especially those involving property crimes that ordinary people were most likely to encounter. The large number of cases solved had garnered praise from the public and social media.

Someone like Qi Changye, who had now come to seek assistance and was even willing to subsidize the Criminal Police Brigade’s expenses, was clearly at his highest emotional value.

Tao Lu felt he had finally found the correct way and method to work.

...

Qi Changye also brought a forensic doctor to help.

Qi Changye himself changed into his clothes and entered the autopsy room. He introduced the doctor to Jiang Yuan, saying, "Medical Examiner Gong heard that you would be performing the autopsy and requested to be present, seeing it as an opportunity to make the most of the dissection..."

Medical Examiner Gong, a man in his thirties with a chubby face and greasy skin, held the scalpel with his plump fingers, while arranging his instruments and smiling, "I just thought since Qi is asking you for the autopsy, why do it twice when you can do it once, right? A second autopsy never reveals as much as the first one."

"In most cases, there’s nothing to be seen in a second autopsy," Jiang Yuan responded politely, faced with an unfamiliar unit and forensic doctor.

Medical Examiner Gong chuckled, "I’ve seen the cold case you worked on where the policeman was robbed of his gun and then killed. The determination of the time of death..."

As he spoke, he shook his head and said, "If the case hadn’t been solved, confirming the accuracy of the death timing, I would have found it hard to believe."

"I do have a sort of talent when it comes to determining the time of death," said Jiang Yuan matter-of-factly, as it was true that Level 6 time of death determination could only be attained by someone incredibly gifted.

"Then today, I really have a lot to learn from you," said Medical Examiner Gong, his chubby face showing a confident smile.

In Beijing, being able to secure a position as a leading forensic doctor in a powerful unit certainly requires real expertise.

Jiang Yuan, too, turned serious.

He looked at the time; it was already past 1 p.m.

It had been nearly 10 a.m. when he arrived at the Zhengguang Bureau. After traveling to the dissection center and eating a quick meal downstairs, and then waiting for the body to be prepared, it was already this time.

It looked like there would be no time for other work that day. Jiang Yuan decisively activated a temporary +1 skill boost and applied it to forensic pathology.

As a result, for the next 405 minutes, Jiang Yuan’s Level 4 forensic pathology skill would be temporarily increased to Level 5.

Although this was still a vast difference from the Level 6 skill in death timing they had just discussed, Level 5 skills themselves represented an immense gap from the ordinary.

Combined with other abilities, even if the body today was somewhat unusual, it would likely turn out to be quite ordinary.