Chapter 81: Slow Death by A Thousand Cuts (1/2)

A policeman had found the body in a sewer. It was wrapped in a black waterproof plastic bag with a messy tangle of ropes tied around it. The ropes had been cut after the body was transferred to the morgue.

Since the knot was often important material evidence in murder investigations, it was left as is and the plastic bag was cut open instead. This was basic knowledge that every police officer should know.

When we got our first look at the body, both Xiaotao and I couldn’t help but gasp. In fact, Xiaotao even covered her mouth with her hand in shock!

The deceased had been shaved completely bald and hairless and was stripped naked down to the underpants. What was even more ghastly was the sight of the body’s flesh being cut off from the body. The muscle tissues from the chest, abdomen, and especially the limbs had been carved cleanly off of this body that you could only see the bare skeleton on most parts of the body. Strangely enough, there wasn’t much blood on the body at all. Instead, it was covered in a sticky fluid.

The conditions of this corpse reminded me of a torture method used in the late Qing Dynasty, called Ling Chi, also known as Death by a Thousand Cuts!

It was impossible to judge whether the victim was a male or female at first glance. One of the police officers who found the body commented that the body felt too light when he lifted the bag up. He even suspected that somebody had played a macabre prank and stuffed an inflatable doll in the bag before tossing it into the sewer!

I donned rubber gloves and began to measure the length of the corpse’s feet and fingers, then the height and width of the pelvis. Lastly, I examined the corpse’s teeth.

After that, I moved on to scrutinize the victim’s face. To my utter horror, I discovered that the victim was smiling!

Just imagine this: on the face of someone who was stabbed and butchered inhumanly, there was a faint smile! What could have been the explanation for this?

After further inspection, I announced, “The victim was a woman aged between 25 and 30. She was of medium build and was fairly healthy. Judging from the bones, there are no signs of illnesses or disabilities. She was probably a worker in a textile factory.”

Xiaotao was so disturbed by the conditions of the corpse that she kept frowning, but when she heard of my discoveries, her expressions changed to that of curiosity. She asked me, “Wait a minute, how did you know she worked in a textile factory?”

I turned over the palm of the deceased and explained, “Do you see this horizontal line? There are also some cut wounds that have just recently healed on her hand here. Only those who work with threads and needles regularly would have this type of cut. Her back was slightly hunched too, which is a sign that she had spent a long period of time hunched over—and all of these are consistent with the characteristics of a worker in a textile factory.”

There were signs of admiration on the faces of the police officers present when they heard my explanation. Xiaotao nodded along thoughtfully and turned to ask a policeman beside her, “Have we got a list of missing persons in Nanjiang City from the last three months?”

“That’s Xiaowang’s task,” replied the policeman.

“Get in touch with him immediately and find out if there are any female textile factory workers on the list,” ordered Xiaotao.

“Right!”

I sniffed the victim’s face. Then I noticed that Xiaozhou of the forensics team was there. I told him, “I need you to do two kinds of tests. One is the origin and type of ropes; and second is the residue in the victim’s nasal passage.”

“You mean you suspect the victim might have inhaled a drug?” Xiaozhou asked immediately. He was a professional after all.

“I detected the scent of medical grade alcohol in the victim’s nose,” I answered. “You can just check if it is nitrous oxide, because this kind of anesthetic is always mixed with alcohol when used.”

“You already figured out that much, huh?” Xiaozhou smiled. “I never expected a Traditional Coroner like you to have knowledge of something like that!”

Xiaotao glared at him, so he quickly nodded and added, “Right, I’ll get to it straight away!”

He swiftly took a cotton swab, dipped it in alcohol, and inserted it into the victim’s nose. He then took a sample of the fibrous strand from the ropes used to tie up the plastic bag and went back to his lab.

I used scissors to cut the victim’s underwear and examined her genitals. There was no sign of sexual assault. In fact, I found out that she was still a virgin. Then I examined her body again and noticed that she was bound at the base of her thighs and her shoulders.

“Dali, I need you to go buy me some things!” I exclaimed without thinking.

Then I turned around and remembered that Dali hadn’t come with me. In fact, even Wang Yuanchao was nowhere to be found.