Corpse in Black Vinegar

Huang Xiaotao widened her eyes after I finished speaking: "What kind of heartless person would do something like this? The killer and victim must have had an enormous feud!"

"No, not only was there no feud, you could even say the killer didn't do this in order to kill someone." I shook my head.

"Not in order to kill someone? What does that mean?" Huang Xiaotao was confused.

"Did you see the victim's face?" I asked.

Huang Xiaotao and several other police officers immediately went over to look, and cried out in shock: "She's smiling!"

One of the police officers explained: "Maybe this isn't a smile, but a twisted expression from extreme pain."

"No, this is definitely a smile, straight from the heart! When people make a smiling expression, over twenty facial muscles are engaged, so it's impossible for this to be another expression."

After I finished speaking, the mood in the morgue seemed to drop a few degrees. The officer who had just spoken asked: "Then why would the victim be...smiling?"

"The answer is very simple. Because the killer had her inhale nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. This gas can anesthetize the entire body and involuntarily elicit a smiling expression after being inhaled." I said.

Many people had looks of sudden realization on their faces.

Huang Xiaotao asked in puzzlement: "Isn't this a bit abnormal? The killer was going to kill the victim anyway, if they were afraid of her screaming, they could have just gagged her mouth. Why go through the trouble of fully anesthetizing her body? From the perspective of minimizing criminal risk, obtaining medical anesthetics like this has high risks of being traced back to the source."

I didn't answer right away. Actually I already had an explanation in my mind, it's just that this explanation, even I found it extremely twisted!

Soon after, the officer I had dispatched brought me the items I requested. I put a small pill into the vinegar bottle, let it sit for a while, then found a washbasin and burned seaweed and kelp into a fine purple-black ash which I poured into the basin.

Huang Xiaotao asked what I was doing. I said this was "seaweed ash", used for fingerprinting.

The principle is simple. Seaweed and kelp contain high levels of iodine, and iodine can make fingerprints appear. Forensic scientists also use iodine fuming to extract fingerprints.

I took some of the seaweed ash and sprinkled it very carefully over the victim's body, being extra careful not to get any in the wounds. After the victim's body was completely covered, I waited a moment, then gently blew away the top layer of ash.

However, there were no fingerprints left on the remaining skin!

"Bring me an ultraviolet lamp," I said.

One of the officers left and soon came back with a UV lamp. Since I had broken my autopsy umbrella last time and hadn't fixed it yet, I had prepared a small strip of red silk cloth coated with a chemical solution, which could also be used to detect latent fingerprints.

I wrapped the red silk over the UV lamp and slowly swept it over the victim's body. Sure enough, some handprint shapes appeared, but without any fingerprints, only a woven fabric-like texture.

"The killer wore work gloves," I said, then used my hand to indicate the size of the handprint: "The killer does long-term manual labor, with strong, powerful palm. Based on the size, I'd guess they are between 40 to 50 years old."

The officer who had raised doubts earlier reflexively looked at his own palm, and said: "That can't be right, Mr. Song. I've heard that the human body starts deteriorating after age 30. How could someone in their 40s or 50s have such a wide palm?"

I smiled. Police officers can't all be exceptionally observant. "What you say makes sense. Humans do deteriorate with age, but the hands are an exception."

"Why would they be an exception?" The officer objected.

"People use their hands for their entire lives. There's a saying, 'Use strengthens while disuse weakens.' It's true that the human body peaks around 30 years old before slowly declining. But for those who engage in long-term manual labor, not only do their palms not deteriorate, they actually become more developed over time. If you don't believe me, go observe the hands of chefs, carpenters, etc."

The officer still looked doubtful, but Huang Xiaotao was the first to nod: "I agree with this point. Manual laborers in their 40s and 50s can have more robust palms compared to those in their 30s. Wang Yuanchao's palms are very strong, for example."

Then she said to me: "Song Yang, do you have a particular interest in observing people's hands? You seem to know a lot about this."

I modestly replied: "Just a personal interest."

One of my ancestors compiled a manual called Principles of Palm Reading, which isn't about fortune-telling based on palm lines, but specialized observation of palm shapes across different professions and ages, summarizing very practical mnemonics for palm reading.

While occupations have changed greatly between ancient and modern times, I've paid close attention to the mnemonics in the manual over time and gained some personal insights.

I had the police take photos for evidence, then I turned off the UV lamp and sprinkled the remaining seaweed ash onto the plastic bag. When I blew the ash off, something unexpected happened - many chaotic palm and fingerprints appeared on the plastic bag surface!

There were sounds of astonishment in the room. The officer taking evidence quickly stepped forward and snapped over a dozen photos. Huang Xiaotao asked: "What's going on here? The killer was clearly very cautious, so why did they leave so many prints on the plastic bag?"

I was a bit confused too, not expecting so many prints to show up all at once. I could only speculate: "It's possible there were two killers - one who committed the murder, and another who handled the cleanup."

I noticed the sloppy rope knot at the bag opening, with several sections in tight dead knots, completely different from the killer's meticulous carefulness. Clearly the person who did the cleanup was in a panic!

This should have been an important piece of evidence, but when I looked closely at the seaweed ash prints, I felt a bit disheartened. The bag being dragged on the ground, plus the filth in the sewer, had completely destroyed the fingerprints, leaving only indistinct, blurry smudges. It would be very difficult to identify any distinctive points.

Huang Xiaotao also noticed: "Either way, let the forensics team take it and run a fingerprint comparison against the database later."

I shook my head. "I feel the chances are slim. Putting aside how indistinct the prints are, the rope was tied so haphazardly, it's obvious at first glance this amateur doesn't have a criminal record."

I picked up the vinegar bottle. After the pill had fully dissolved, the black vinegar had turned a purple-brown hue. Huang Xiaotao curiously asked: "Huh? What did you put in there earlier?"

"Vinegar neutralizer, it can turn vinegar into plain water." I explained.

"Why not just use water then?" Huang Xiaotao said, half-amused.

I smiled. "Because vinegar is heavier than water. I need to pour this vinegar into the victim's stomach, but leaving vinegar acid inside the corpse would cause some corrosion. The vinegar neutralizer takes effect within an hour, breaking down the vinegar into water, so there's no need to worry about damaging the corpse. The principle of forensic autopsy is 'seeking truths about death to serve life, respecting the dead as when they were alive', so we try to avoid damaging the corpse when possible."

Huang Xiaotao nodded as if she half understood. "You're quite meticulous."

"Of course!" I replied.

This "vinegar neutralizer" pill wasn't actually medicine, but a tumor-like fungus carefully cultured from a 10-year old willow tree root that could break down acetic acid. To get this stuff, I went through great pains searching the Root Carving Market for a section of inferior willow root.

As a forensic coroner I must be "meticulous". I can't casually violate the rules and taboos laid down by my ancestors, or I'll surely suffer consequences eventually. Doing things carelessly or haphazardly is asking for trouble sooner or later.

I had a police officer prop up the corpse while another inserted a funnel into the victim's mouth and poured vinegar down her throat!

Meanwhile I used a bone listening rod to listen to the sound of the vinegar flowing through the internal organs, concentrating intently with eyes closed, summoning almost all of my auditory nerves. When someone made a sound during this time I signaled for them to be silent, preferably even holding their breath for a few seconds.

This was an advanced bone listening technique, using the echoes of liquid flowing between organs to construct a 3D image in my mind, judging abnormalities and damage to the victim's internal organs!

I listened for a full five minutes, leaving everyone in the room suffocating. When I finally straightened up, I heard sounds of relief all around as everyone let out their breath. Huang Xiaotao asked: "Well, did you discover anything?"

I furrowed my brows and said: "The victim's abdominal cavity is completely empty!"