Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Human or Ghost?
Translator: 549690339
Just by weighing the skull for a moment, she could determine the gender.
Xu Yang had seen such scenes in movies and TV dramas where forensic experts could quickly determine various information with just one glance at the body or bones. However, seeing it in reality for the first time gave him a sense of awe.
Curious, he asked, “How exactly can you tell?”
The female coroner took out all the bones from her bag piece by piece. Soon, she assembled them into a human figure.
She picked up the skull and said, “There are clear distinctions between the skulls of adult men and women. Adult men’s skulls tend to be larger and heavier, with a larger cranial capacity, about 1450 ml, while adult women’s skulls are smaller, lighter, and have a cranial capacity of around 1300 ml.”
She pointed to the skull and continued, “In addition, the thickness of the skull, facial features, forehead, eye sockets, and the height of the alveolar ridge in the lower jawbone are all different.”
She put down the skull.
The female coroner went on, “Of course, determining gender based on the skull has an accuracy rate of only about 90%. A more accurate assessment of the gender of the remains can be made by looking at the pelvis.”
Impressive!
Xu Yang couldn’t help but give a thumbs up.
In his mind, he sighed with relief!
Since the remains were female, it couldn’t possibly be his grandfather!
Was it possible that his grandfather was truly alive?
No matter the reason, as long as his grandfather was alive, there was a chance for reunion in the future!
Feeling that his goal was achieved, Xu Yang was preparing to pack up the remains and leave.
However, the female coroner stopped him, saying, “No, you can’t take the remains with you… 1 have to perform a thorough examination to determine the source of the remains.”
“You can do the examination, but don’t damage them,” Xu Yang reluctantly agreed. He thought for a moment and explained, “My grandfather is kind-hearted and would never steal remains. It’s possible that these bones belong to an enemy he killed…”
“What?”
The female coroner was shocked at his words. Since Officer Wang already knew that Xu Yang and his grandfather were not ordinary people and had some secrets, he pulled the female coroner aside and whispered something to her.
She looked back at Xu Yang with a surprised expression.
When Officer Wang and Xu Yang left, the female coroner called out, “Dad, don’t forget to come home for dinner tonight!”
Officer Wang: “I know.”
Xu Yang was surprised, “She… She’s your daughter?”
“Yes,”
Officer Wang sighed, “That girl has been rebellious since childhood… I wanted her to study literature, but she ended up becoming a forensic expert. Now, what’s going on with that case? You don’t have to hide it from me. When I was on the frontline a few years ago, I encountered some things and learned some secrets that ordinary people don’t know.”
“We will have to wait until tonight for the details,” Xu Yang replied mysteriously. “Officer Wang, I’ll return to the store first. Come find me after 12 o’clock tonight!”
Leaving the police station, Xu Yang went back to his funeral store.
With no business in the store, he was bored and started practicing his talismans at the counter on the first floor.
At the same time.
Lingzhou City.
Wang Wei’s small courtyard.
The entire courtyard was cordoned off with police tape.
Outside the courtyard, people were gathered and pointing at the scene inside.
Police were asking the onlookers for any information. A woman, claiming to be Wang Wei’s neighbor, approached them, saying, “1 know their situation… They were master and apprentice, skilled in martial arts. They rarely interacted with their neighbors and spent most of their time practicing with weapons in their courtyard…”
A black SUV was parked on the side of the road.
Wang Lin and Bai Wei got out of the car. After showing their credentials to the police, they lifted the police tape and entered the courtyard.
Looking at the charred corpse on the ground, Wang Lin’s face slightly changed as he said, “A fire-related Daoist skill… was this done by an expert in the Entering Dao Realm?”
As members of the Spirits Management Bureau stationed in Xi Xia Province,
Wang Lin and Bai Wei had a comprehensive understanding of all the “odd talents” in the Province, which included Wang Wei and his apprentice.
Wang Lin noticed the memorial photo in the courtyard shrine and said, “Wang Wei’s master was a martial arts master in the fourth realm of bone training. His external skills were nearly perfect, and his strength was even greater than yours, Bai Wei. What could have caused the sudden deaths of the master and apprentice?”
“I heard that a few days ago, an expert from the Lu Shan Sect visited our Xi Xia Province, and Wang Wei’s master and apprentice followed him closely. There was also a secret involved that seemed to relate to the struggle for supremacy between Lu Shan Sect and Jingming Sect twenty years ago,” Bai Wei was a bit more well-informed than Wang Lin. She continued, “Perhaps the deaths of Wang Wei’s master and apprentice are related to this matter. You should first deal with the local police and try not to cause a stir. Disperse the onlookers and prevent them from taking videos.”
She, however, began to walk around the small courtyard.
Soon, Bai Wei discovered a pair of noticeable footprints in a corner of the wall.
Looking up at the height of the wall, Bai Wei silently speculated, “It seems that someone climbed over the wall…”
She and Wang Lin had experience dealing with such cases.
They quickly settled matters with the local police and handed over the two corpses to local authorities.
Back in their car, Wang Lin took out his phone and played a surveillance video. “Bai Wei, take a look. This is the surveillance footage of a car accident scene in Lingzhou City. It was just sent to me by our local branch.”
Bai Wei took the phone and could clearly see a BMW speeding through a red light and crashing into a truck in the surveillance footage. The BMW was severely damaged, and its engine even flew out from the impact.
As Wang Lin drove, he said, “I’ve watched the video; there was indeed no one in the driver’s seat… There was a person in the passenger seat, but the surveillance didn’t capture it clearly. The incident has spread, and many people claim that it was a ghost driving the car. However, the local branch managed to sway public opinion, and now everyone believes that it was a young rich man who faked the video after speeding.”
Bai Wei watched the surveillance video repeatedly, asking, “What does the branch say?”
“We have found the car owner. The branch wants us to investigate this case thoroughly… Ugh, there have been more and more paranormal incidents these past two years, and we have limited manpower for our team in Wu City,” Wang Lin complained. “Also, none of the apprentices trained by the various Zendos are willing to come to Wu City… Our martial artists spend their days chasing ghosts. This is ridiculous!”
“Cultivating Daoist skills requires proper progression, not an overnight success,” Bai Wei said nonchalantly. “This year, more apprentices are graduating from the various Zendos. When the team leader returns, let him make a scene at the branch. They will definitely send us more personnel… I Im?”
Suddenly, Bai Wei’s expression changed.
She paused the surveillance video, enlarged the image, slowed down the playback speed, and watched it again.
It could be seen that at the edge of the surveillance footage, there was no one initially.
However, just as the BMW crashed into the truck, a figure appeared out of nowhere.
“This…”
“Is it a human or a ghost?” Wang Lin also watched the video several times and noticed the “figure”. He asked, “Do you want me to contact the police and retrieve surveillance footage from other nearby intersections?”
“Not for now.”
“You said the car owner’s information has been found, right?”
“Let’s go meet the car owner first!”