Chapter 8: Disappearing Traces
As soon as Yin Chuan said this, Shen Xi raised her eyebrows and immediately became furious, "What? You suspect the murderer is among us? I think you are tired of living!"
"Captain Shen, please don't be impulsive." Situ Xin quickly persuaded Shen Xi, fearing that he would lose his temper. He then asked Yin Chuan, "Mr. Yin, if you are not absolutely sure, you can't say this casually. It will affect the morale of the army."
At this time, the military doctor from the barracks arrived and saluted Situ Xin. Situ Xin waved to him, meaning that he would follow Yin Chuan's arrangements.
"What's your last name?" Yin Chuan asked.
"My surname is Zhang, Zhang Sixiang." The military doctor replied.
"Doctor Zhang, how are your autopsies?"
"I worked as a coroner in my early years, so I have some experience performing autopsies. I heard it was the regimental commander who passed away, and I'm afraid I can't handle this responsibility."
Situ Xin patted Zhang Sixiang on the shoulder and said, "Since you've done it before, you can proceed with the test. Don't worry about it. Tell me and Mr. Yin the results after the test. Go ahead."
Zhang Sixian nodded, carrying the medical box, pushed the door and walked into the barracks.
"Mr. Yin, what makes you think the murderer is among us? If you can't explain it clearly, I won't let you go!" Shen Xi asked again with a frown.
Yin Chuan answered slowly, "I believe everyone outside the barracks saw what happened just now, right? Captain Shen's head fell to the ground in front of everyone. I checked inside and outside, and the barracks is surrounded by snow, with no traces on it. This means that at the time of the incident, the barracks was a secret room with no one entering or leaving, and Captain Shen Hui died in it. But I can't help but ask, is seeing it really believing it?"
"What do you mean? How could it be fake when so many people saw it with their own eyes?"
"Well, you're right. I've experienced cases where what I saw wasn't what I thought it was. What I saw was false, and the traces that should have existed disappeared without a trace—just like today's case."
"Brother Yin, what do you mean by the disappearing traces?" Linlang asked.
"There's so much to this case! For example, the bullet marks after the shooting, the marks of the murder weapon used to decapitate the head, the footprints from entering and leaving the secret room... and perhaps many more. In short, this case is full of doubts. The reason I think the murderer is among the officers outside the barracks just now... well... it's just an inexplicable intuition."
"Intuition? Pfft..." Chen Xi was amused by Yin Chuan's words. "I've only heard that women think everything based on intuition, but I didn't expect a man like you to believe in intuition? And you said you were a detective who solved countless cases in the canal area? It really made me laugh!"
Yin Chuan wasn't angry at Chen Xi's ridicule. He smiled slowly and said, "You have your reasons for laughing at me. After all, I don't think I'm a detective myself. It's just the flattery of Old Du and the others. But then again, intuition is something that no one says is only possessed by women. Whether you believe it or not, if I follow my intuition and find the real murderer, and at the same time provide convincing evidence, perhaps it can change your prejudice a little bit?"
After listening to what Yin Chuan said, Shen Xi couldn't help but feel that this person was no ordinary person. He snorted coldly, "I hope it's as you said. But if you randomly identify the murderer but can't produce any solid evidence, be careful of the smoking thing in my hand!" As he said that, he patted his waist.
Yin Chuan nodded, then turned to Situ Xin and said, "Commander Situ, if you trust me, I will do my best to solve this case. I also hope that you can give me some convenience during this period. When I question the soldiers in the barracks, you can ask them to cooperate and answer all my questions. What do you think?"
"Of course. Wait a moment, I'll go talk to them."
Situ Xin immediately summoned all officers above the company level in the barracks and ordered them to cooperate with Yin Chuan and his team's investigation. They were not allowed to refuse to answer his questions, make excuses with lies, or make things difficult for Yin Chuan and his team. Although most of the officers looked unhappy, they still had to obey their superiors' orders and expressed their willingness to cooperate.
"Do you think this is okay? What are you going to do next?" Situ Xin asked Yin Chuan.
"Let Doctor Zhang talk about the autopsy first." Yin Chuan replied.
Everyone returned to the regimental commander's barracks. Chen Hui's body had been moved to the ground, its head still attached to the body, and hadn't been sewn up yet. Doctor Zhang Sixiang, seeing Situ Xin, Yin Chuan, and the others arrive, stood up and saluted, "Deputy Commander."
"Lao Zhang, how's the experience with the captain's corpse?"
"Reporting to the deputy commander, the experience has basically been completed."
"Come, tell these people about it."
"Yes!" Zhang Sixian squatted down and pointed at the body. "After my inspection, Captain Shen had no other fatal wounds except for the neck being cut by a single blow. The incision on the front of the neck was very smooth, with no roughness at all. The back of the neck may have some teeth marks, perhaps due to the sharpness of the blade, but it definitely doesn't look like it took multiple cuts to penetrate."
"You said the body had no fatal wounds, so were there any non-fatal injuries?" Yin Chuan asked.
Zhang Sixian grinned, "Mr. Yin, you know that as a soldier, getting injured in battle is inevitable, so I didn't pay too much attention to the commander's injuries, whether big or small."
Yin Chuan thought for a moment and said, "I blame you for not explaining it clearly. I meant the injury I just received within the same day. Do you see it?"
Zhang Sixian shook his head. "No, if it was a fresh injury, it would be easily noticeable through external signs like bruising and swelling, but the captain didn't show any signs of that."
"So, was he poisoned?"
"There weren't any symptoms of poisoning. He simply died from being beheaded."
Yin Chuan nodded slowly.
"Hey, Old Yin, I've noticed something." Du Yunzhang, who was standing next to him, suddenly had an idea and pointed at the head of the corpse. "Do you feel that the head of Captain Shen in front of you is different from the one we saw when he was beheaded in the shadow of the barracks lights?"
His words caught Yin Chuan's attention. "Oh? Lao Du, tell me quickly, what did you find unusual? It might be very helpful for us to solve the case!"
Du Yunzhang scratched his head. "Hmm... that scene was just a fleeting moment. I don't know if any of you noticed—in the image of the decapitated head reflected on the barracks wall, wasn't there a braid left behind the fallen head? Wasn't the braid shorter then than the one on Captain Shen's head?"
Yin Chuan and Lin Lang both tried hard to recall what happened at that time, but after all, it happened in a flash, and everyone's attention was shocked by the extremely shocking scene. How could anyone remember whether the braid behind the head was long or short?
"Brother Du, I really can't remember. Brother Yin, do you still remember?" Linlang asked.
Yin Chuan also shook his head.
"I don't remember anything," Du Yunzhang said with a bit of disappointment. "Maybe I'm overthinking it. Maybe it's because that moment was so far away from the image that I mistakenly thought my braid was too short."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
