Chapter 633: Chapter 603 Has the Old Lady Arrived?_1
Zhou Ning understood what Zhu Xingxing meant; she felt that these matters were too complicated to have been completed here. It was likely that only the ritual had taken place at this location.
Before Zhou Ning could speak, Mr. Zhao had already drawn near.
"Why so much nonsense? Don’t even mention twenty years ago, even in the sixties and seventies, there were mobile service teams everywhere showing films, equipped with generators and movie projectors. This problem is easy to solve, but I suggest letting Chen Cheng take a look to see if these techniques were done by a professional doctor."
Liu Yufei rubbed her nose, and without waiting for Zhou Ning to say anything, she already dialed Chen Cheng’s number.
"Don’t wait outside. Come to Autopsy Room One, Zhou Ning wants you to determine if this stitching and incision technique were done by a professional doctor. Put on a mask at the door and don’t come in here retching and embarrass me!"
The last sentence was said by Liu Yufei, turning around and speaking in a low voice.
Zhou Ning had already stepped aside, the location where the mummy’s skull had been opened was covered with a towel, and the cut-off skull cap, along with the flap of scalp, were all placed on a tray. After all, it was less visually disturbing this way. Despite being doctors and accustomed to seeing corpses, the visual impact of a mummy was not something everyone could handle.
Shortly after, Chen Cheng knocked and peeked in. Seeing his wife, he was about to smile when Liu Yufei glared at him, and with a frown and a wave of her hand, she said:
"Hurry over and take a look."
Chen Cheng scampered in; he was well aware of what Zhou Ning and the others had brought back, so he was very cautious. He approached the dissection table without daring to look around, as Zhu Xingxing had already placed the tray in front of him.
"Doctor Chen, please take a look at this. This figure-eight suturing technique is not commonly seen nowadays. Also, what do you think about the tools used to open the skull? Considering all these factors, do you think the person who did this has professional training?"
Chen Cheng glanced sideways, feeling relieved that it wasn’t as bad as he feared.
"Don’t rush, Doctor Zhu, may I have a magnifying glass? I want to observe it before I answer your question!"
Before Zhu Xingxing could move, someone had already brought a magnifying glass to Chen Cheng. After examining it, while everyone else waited patiently, Chen Cheng tugged at the suture and let out a surprised "huh".
"Huh, this thread is quite special, much thicker than what we currently use. I think we could take it off and analyze the material. After all, there have been significant changes in sutures since the year 2000. Starting from the late eighties, the standard domestic suture sizes were designated as 0, 1, 4, 7, 10—the larger the number, the thicker the suture.
Moreover, the history of suture development has seen huge changes, from the bottled sutures of the 1940s-1950s to the polymer sutures that appeared in 1958, even including the PLA sutures introduced in 1974. Each period has its own uniqueness, and I can’t exactly date this thread for you.
But it is definitely not something we use nowadays, it’s very tough, it feels like it’s reinforced with composite materials. As for the technique used with the electric drill to make holes, it’s at least carried out by someone knowledgeable in cranial procedures."
Zhou Ning nodded; sutures that could be analyzed and dated could indeed suggest a direction. They could ask Mrs. Cui later about who would be better suited for this.
He waved to Chen Cheng and Chen Cheng approached the dissection table, following the direction Zhou Ning pointed. When he saw the position where the eyelids of the deceased had been cut, he instantly understood Zhou Ning’s intention. Observing for a moment, Chen Cheng’s eyes widened in shock.
"Hand me a pair of gloves, have the deceased’s eyeballs been removed?"
Zhou Ning nodded, and Mr. Zhao passed over the gloves. After Chen Cheng put them on, Zhou Ning handed him two pairs of tweezers, and Chen Cheng, swallowing his apprehension, lifted the mummy’s eyelids. The eye sockets were empty, void of any content.
"Quite professional indeed, this removal of the orbital contents was done very professionally. Someone without expertise wouldn’t be able to achieve such a professional level, and there would at least be some incisions left inside the frame. Look here, there aren’t any. I think the person who did this is definitely a professional doctor, or at least someone who frequently carries out such tasks. I wonder if butchers extract pig eyes in this way."
Mr. Zhao came over and shaking his head, he said:
"Butchers don’t take the eyes of live pigs. They usually do it after the pig’s head has been stewed because once the eyes are soaked, they burst easily."
Just after he finished speaking, Fang Dongsheng turned and dashed out. Mr. Zhao blinked innocently and spread his hands, clearly indicating that he wasn’t to blame for whatever had happened.
Zhou Ning gave him an unimpressed look, and without any fuss, gestured for Chen Cheng to step aside.
"Continue the autopsy, Zhu Xingxing, prepare the scalpel and the saw."
Chen Cheng had already run out, and Liu Yufei cast a glance and followed. Mr. Zhao smacked his lips, swallowing back his idle chitchat; after all, the recording equipment was operating, or he certainly would have piped up with some pointed remarks.
Opening the three cavities and removing the sternum and ribs, the rehydration effect on the digestive organs wasn’t good—they were all shriveled up like withered branches, adhering to the back wall of the thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic cavities. All these organs needed to be entirely removed.
Zhou Ning carefully analyzed the situation and a conclusion formed in his mind. He had performed autopsies on mummified corpses before. Hydration was poor and remnants could still be seen in the digestive tract, but this one seemed to have been thoroughly cleaned out, completely desiccated, with no residue whatsoever.
Zhou Ning frowned tightly and examined the limbs of the deceased again, only then noticing two cuts beneath each bracelet. He hadn’t seen them when lifting the wrists for inspection. After desiccation, the cuts had sealed completely shut. He guessed that bloodletting had been performed here, likely as one of the preservation measures.
He gestured to Zhu Xingxing to take samples. Zhu Xingxing cut open the stomach and small intestine. Despite the desiccation, Zhou Ning could see the remnants of bleeding and a mottled ulcerated surface dotted about. He then removed his mask and gloves.
"Sun Gaotie to stitch up, Zhu Xingxing to record," he said, "The mummified corpse had been fasting from food and water for a long time before death, even undergoing processes such as medicinal excretion or enemas. On the inside of both wrists, there are cuts that injure the arteries and veins, indicating bloodletting, in preparation for the corpse’s preservation."
"Let’s sum up," he continued. "The mummified body shows signs of drilling in the head and suspension injuries on the wrists but no fractures. Before the ritual sacrifice, there was a long period of fasting, and the body was cleansed with enemas or laxatives."
"At first, I thought the victim was anesthetized and unable to resist. After seeing the deep cuts on the wrists, he must have been bled first. Once he had lost enough blood to faint, he was castrated, his eyes were gouged out, his tongue was cut off, teeth extracted, skull opened, and mercury poured in."
"After that, he was smeared with a special medicinal powder, put into the desired position, wrapped in this type of cloth," he pointed out, "and suspended to dry. Whether or not the sacrificial method was professional, we don’t know, but all the incisions and the choice of stitching are very professional. It must have been done by someone with medical experience or professional training."
"The cause of death was hemorrhagic shock. The preservation of the body is associated with all of the aforementioned procedures. As for the time of death, the initial estimate is around twenty years, but the exact time will have to wait for the identification results of the stitches and wrapping materials."
With a wave of his hand, Zhou Ning indicated for Mr. Zhao to turn off the recording device. Sun Gaotie had completed the stitching; the mummified corpse was cleaned, covered with a white cloth, and rolled out. All doors and windows were opened. After all, a large amount of mercury had been poured into the body of the deceased, and even with the ventilation system on, some of it would still volatilize as they had cut into the corpse.
At this moment, Chen Cheng poked his head in, seeing that things were wrapping up, he quickly walked over.
"I looked it up," he said. "Based on the size of the hole drilled in the skull you mentioned, an ordinary electric drill with an M5 bit would fit. It’s not a specialized tool."
"Additionally," he continued, "I’ve thought of something. If we go by your analysis that this was a sacrificial act from twenty years ago, how did they get the mercury? Even though this was a small child, the mercury needed for eight kids is significant."
"A normal seven or eight-year-old child’s brain weighs about 1,350 grams, with a consistency not unlike soft tofu. If, as you say, the child’s brain was blended and suctioned out and then replaced with mercury, there’s a large weight difference."
"After all, the brain’s density isn’t much different from water, roughly 1 gram per cubic centimeter, but mercury’s density is 13.59 grams per cubic centimeter. I can’t do the math, but the difference is many times over, right?"
As he spoke, Chen Cheng dry heaved, having disgusted himself with his own words. Zhou Ning understood and patted his shoulder.
"I get your point. One person would need several pounds of mercury, and eight would need much more. To come into possession of dozens, maybe over a hundred pounds of mercury, that’s no small feat. We can look into this angle, right?"
Chen Cheng clapped his hands in agreement.
"That’s exactly it," he said. "You get what I mean. Liu Yufei wouldn’t let me finish."
Liu Yufei shot him a warning look. Zhou Ning waved his hand and said:
"Don’t stop Chen Cheng, Mrs. Fei. We owe him this time. The autopsy’s done on this end. The other mummified corpse is soaking in Lu Feier Solution; should we ask Mr. Fang if that distinguished old lady has brought it in yet?"
"And isn’t the coffin supposed to be coming down today? We need to examine its interior too. If we don’t find anything, we still need a second site inspection. After all, we didn’t bring any tools last time. We need to check if that’s the primary scene thoroughly."
Liu Yufei nodded, clearly in agreement with Zhou Ning’s assessment.
"They say the old lady should be here any minute; let’s wait for her in the front," she said. "The office next door just sent a whiteboard like the one in your office; it’s double-sided. Let’s have someone summarize the autopsy contents. As for our next steps, we’ll discuss them after our meeting."
Zhou Ning nodded and looked at everyone.
"Zhu Xingxing, take some people to sort out the autopsy records. The rest of you, check the temperature of the Lu Feier Solution, help Zhu Xingxing flesh out the findings from the past few days, and see if we’ve missed anything. Mr. Fang sent a few people to learn forensic investigation, so Mr. Yang, teach them some basics. Later, they can join us on-site."
Zhu Xingxing called for everyone to leave. At this moment, a pale-faced Fang Dongsheng returned, apologizing with nods to Liu Yufei and Zhou Ning.
"I’m sorry, I just couldn’t handle it," he admitted. "Where I’m from, a single murder case is a rare thing, and when it happens, it’s always a major incident. Our forensic doctor Zhang couldn’t cope, so we contacted the provincial office for help. I’ve never watched an autopsy before."
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"It’s fine. This specialty is hard to stomach; we’re barely holding up ourselves. Anyway, Mr. Fang, has the old lady arrived?"
