The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

At this moment, Professor Zhang Kai’s face was calm as water, his expression seemingly unruffled, as if everything was under control. Yet no one knew that his heart was pounding rapidly in his chest cavity.

The extremely subtle changes on the skin of the corpse before him might be hard for others to notice, but he detected them keenly.

These were not superficial marks, but rather slight abnormalities beneath the dermis, between the textures.

The faint redness and swelling of the local tissue, the barely noticeable signs of damage among the muscle fibers, all silently pointed to one fact: this was no naturally occurring physiological phenomenon but the traces of external force.

At that thought, the possibility Jiang An mentioned earlier during their discussion suddenly flashed through his mind.

Could it be that a transient skin erythema indeed appeared, like a fleeting night-blooming cereus, only to vanish without a trace by the time he examined it himself?

This thought pierced his mind like an ice pick, causing his scalp to tighten instantly, his ears buzzing.

As a professional with many years of experience, especially during the ten years after being promoted to professor, he had never encountered such a perplexing question in a case investigation.

Particularly when facing a corpse from a construction site, with intact limbs and well-preserved condition, everything should have been clear and plain—how could such a mistake occur?

Had he really overlooked something at some stage?

Just when turbulent waves of self-doubt surged within him, Jiang An, still wielding the Willow Leaf Blade, continued skillfully with the layered dissection of the muscular tissue.

He meticulously split the neck muscles like flower petals, gradually turning them upward, exposing them under the shadowless lamp.

The entire sequence of actions was smooth and precise, resembling a calm and meticulous surgical art.

Standing by, Mr. Qin couldn’t help but slightly move the corner of his mouth, then gave a thumbs-up, sincerely praising, "Mr. Jiang, I didn’t expect you, as a detective captain, to be so skilled in dissection."

"I’ve only heard about your exceptional technique before. Seeing it firsthand today, indeed, the reputation is well-deserved. Truly impressive!"

However, the minute hemorrhagic changes in the muscle layers revealed by Jiang An didn’t garner much attention from Mr. Qin—the traces were too obscure, indeed hard to recognize without extremely professional eyes.

At this moment, Director Hou spoke up slowly, with some implication in his voice, "Mr. Jiang worked his way up from the frontline forensic science in Jiangcheng to a position in criminal investigation leadership. His dissection skills are remarkable, aren’t they?"

The two exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

At this moment, although Li Yan and Zhang Lei, holding forceps, were assisting from the side, they didn’t fully understand why he was patiently separating the muscle tissues layer by layer.

They only saw him work with extreme precision, each cut made was cautious and exact, which couldn’t help but earn their silent admiration.

Watching Jiang An’s movements closely, Li Yan suddenly recalled what a professor had taught during his student days: If muscles are compressed by an external force, the stress and pressure between them and the skeleton are most concentrated, also the most likely to cause localized micro-bleeding.

Could it be that Mr. Jiang was looking for such traces at this moment?

Thinking of this, Li Yan involuntarily leaned forward a bit, focusing intensely, trying to discern any clues from the texture patterns.

After 5 minutes, Jiang An had completely dissected the muscles from the lower neck of the deceased.

At this moment, from the foramen magnum at the base of the skull down to the sixth cervical vertebrae, the entire cervical vertebrae were clearly presented before everyone.

He slowly straightened up and turned to the two young men beside him: "Have you ever used an electric saw?"

Zhang Lei nodded immediately, "I participated in craniotomy operations during internships and used an electric saw."

"Good," Jiang An’s expression was calm, "Go get the electric saw. We need to extract the spinal cord of the deceased."

When the words "spinal cord" came out, it seemed as if the air in the room slightly congealed.

Especially Professor Zhang Kai, who had been quietly observing from the side, an uncontainable hint of surprise flickered in his eyes.

He hadn’t expected Jiang An’s dissection to be so systematic and in-depth—from the skin to the muscles, from bones then to the spinal cord, unraveling layer by layer through all the significant neck structures, leaving nothing out.

As for what might ultimately be discovered, Zhang Kai had a faint guess in his mind, but that was precisely the result he least wished to see.

If everything was as anticipated, the previous assessment conclusion would be completely overturned, and the appraisal report signed by him would likely face stern questioning.

At this moment, he could only stare motionlessly at the skeletal specimen before him, sweat beads stealthily trickling down his forehead.

Just then, Mr. Qin turned around, took a few steps toward Jiang An, and asked in a grave tone, "Mr. Jiang, should we further dissect and cut open the bones to reveal the internal structure next?"

"I remember the spinal cord is housed inside the vertebrae, and nothing can be discerned from the exterior."

Jiang An nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the cervical vertebrae specimen, his voice steady yet clear, "That’s correct."

"The human neck has seven cervical vertebrae, with each vertebra containing a central vertebral foramen, all the foramina connect to form a spinal canal that houses the spinal cord."

"This is the most crucial and also the most fragile neural passage in the neck."

Mr. Qin seemed to ponder, then continued asking, "Director Jiang, do we need to remove and examine the cervical spinal cord now?"

"On the surface, these bones appear intact without obvious fracture or fragmentation."

Director Hou, listening from the side, couldn’t help but show a slight change in expression as well.

He bent over to take a closer look, the bones in front of him were neatly arranged, with clear spinous and transverse processes, and intact foramina, indeed not showing common fracture signs in the usual sense, prompting similar questions in his mind.

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