National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 942 - 878: Bring Back for a Slow Interrogation

Woof!

Woof woof!

Under the midday sun, Jiang Yuan, leaning on a trekking pole, walked briskly down the small hill next to Tangui Village and took shelter under the big locust tree at the entrance of the village.

The 19 domestic dogs in the village, along with 3 dogs from the official police dog team, naturally gathered around Jiang Yuan, seeking his favor.

Ever since the village dogs had tasted Level 5 dog food, Jiang Yuan had ascended to the throne in the dog world of Tangui Village. No matter which house he passed by, dogs that caught his scent would come running out to wag their tails.

When Dazhuang had some free time, Li Li would also take him out to play, casually showing off near Jiang Yuan to bolster his presence, eliciting even more respect from the other dogs.

In terms of combat power, the Rottweiler in the dog world was like the silverback gorilla among primates. The village’s dog organization, made up of local mutts, Golden Retrievers, Labradors, and Huskies, took only one day to prove they deserved the description of "base and crude," and unanimously crowned Jiang Yuan as their king.

Jiang Yuan wasn’t in a hurry to go back either.

The roads in Shiting County were tough to navigate, with Tangui Village being located in a remote area of the county, so the trip back and forth was quite arduous. Besides, the conditions in the county were not necessarily better. Conversely, the village had assistance-built houses for the stationed cadres, with standard modern construction. Replace the four-piece set from home, and it was almost like staying in a vacation rental for one night in 1999.

Jiang Yuan rested his feet for a bit under the big locust tree and then, with a wave of his hand, started to stroll around as leisurely as if he were stepping out in a carriage.

Under the command of Er Zhuang and with the deterrence from Dazhuang and persuasion from Er Zhuang, 22 dogs formed an impressive procession, following behind Jiang Yuan.

Li Li, on the other hand, fell behind. From the back, her silhouette looked chic, just like a supermodel walking the runway.

"Come on, let’s pick some wild vegetables." While walking, Jiang Yuan suddenly gestured and called someone over.

Someone coordinated and came over, then stared blankly at the green plants by the road.

"This one, gray vegetable, it’s for making soup. And there’s mustard greens; quite common in dumplings, right? This one is wild... Oh, and here are reed catkins; also good for dumplings or drinking as a tea..." Jiang Yuan put his Level 2 wild vegetable recognition skills to use, quickly picking out several types of wild vegetables.

Li Li and Dazhuang approached—one examined the wild vegetables while the other helped to dig them up.

Jiang Yuan also picked a few easy ones, cleaned them off by the roadside, and said, "Let’s take them back to make dog food."

Li Li hesitated for a moment: "Dogs can’t eat these, can they?"

"Dogs are omnivores; they can even eat scalps, so what are wild vegetables to them? As long as they are processed properly, it’s fine." As a Level 5 dog food expert, Jiang Yuan spoke with certainty.

Li Li obviously disliked the topic and couldn’t help but say: "Scalps, after all, are different from wild vegetables."

"They’re the same. Technically, scalps should be processed too, at least cleaned of hair completely." As he spoke, Jiang Yuan laughed at himself and casually added, "This would probably be considered funny in a forensic doctor’s group."

Li Li shrugged.

Regarding the three ’menaces’ of Tangui Village, Li Li felt their deaths were deserved. The shocking part for her was the fact that the faces and scalps of the victims had indeed been torn off by the dogs.

Although there had been similar reports in the past, this time, Li Li had seen the bodies and the photos of the crime scene. The fear arising from seeing one’s own kind dead and consumed—honestly, it’s something one would never forget in a lifetime.

As species, humans are not much more advanced in their animalistic instincts than other animals; hence, people commit rape on impulse, murder out of anger, and cannibalize out of hunger... Similarly, the innate human desire for life, the fear of death, and the dread of corpses are all inevitable.

"In any case, just dig up more wild vegetables." Jiang Yuan waved his hand. Being a forensic doctor has its perks as well as its downsides: the distinct lack of colleagues and accordingly, scarce interactions with them. Occasionally thinking up a brilliant joke, he’d find himself with no one to share it with, and telling it to someone outside the forensic field might come off as cruel or sleazy.

Li Li bent over to dig for wild vegetables. Her athletic figure slightly stood out, causing the village dogs to bark chaotically, not sleazy in the least.

After lunch.

With their bellies full of dog food, the village dogs lay scattered throughout the courtyard. Each one looked up at the sky with vacant eyes, seemingly in doubt about how they had lived through their past days.

Huang Qiangmin also patted his stomach and reclined on a lounge chair, revealing a T-shirt the color of his white belly... area.

Upon hearing that Jiang Yuan was cooking for dogs, Huang Qiangmin had hurried over, because, after all, everyone knew that the food Jiang Yuan made for dogs was truly delicious. And Jiang Yuan would always cook extra, just in case the dogs ran out of food to eat.

Director Bai arrived a bit later and saw Huang Qiangmin picking his teeth. Disappointed, he asked, "Is it all gone?"

"Not at all, everyone was scrambling for it. You’re late, so of course there’s none left." Huang Qiangmin said with a smile.

Director Bai sighed, "That’s true, with so many dogs clamoring for it..."

Huang Qiangmin glanced up, "Bai?"

"We’ve screened out a person; please have Captain Jiang check it out," Bai Jian shifted the subject.

This was important, and Huang Qiangmin sat up, signalling someone to call Jiang Yuan while asking, "Who is it?"

"The owner of a small private business from the neighboring village. He deals in wild products and ran away the day after the crime happened. We found his footprints in his house last night. They’ve just been added to the suspect list. We issued an alert, and this morning it triggered a warning. He tried to leave Nanyun Province..." Bai Jian spoke with a hint of lingering fear.

If this person had managed to leave the country, even though he could still be caught, it would mean the case was half-ruined for the county bureau.

Huang Qiangmin empathized, saying, "That’s timely indeed. If he had left the country two days earlier, that really would have been troublesome."

"He must have been hesitant. He called home, realized the situation here wasn’t good, and then decided to leave. He even used someone else’s identification. If he hadn’t tried to leave, or had left earlier, it would have been a bit more difficult to locate him." Bai Jian said, "When he was buying up wild products, he also collected IDs. When this case is over, we should really sort out this situation properly."

"What’s his relation to the victim?"

"At present, there doesn’t seem to be any special connection. Zhao Dong, the victim who runs a small grocery, would also occasionally buy some wild products – some from our own villagers, and some sold by people from nearby villages. The wild products he bought, he would also sell to the suspect, especially the more valuable ones, which he would sell outside himself. This kind of practice is quite common in our Shiting County."

"They’re not competitors then." ƒгeewebnovёl.com

"Just normal business interactions, I’d say. We can’t really call it competition; here in Shiting County, which is both agricultural and forestry-oriented, when it comes to what is produced in the mountains, everyone knows what’s valuable and what’s not – how valuable certain things are. Any village store, town, or county purchasing station will buy your wild goods if you’re willing to sell them."

Huang Qiangmin, however, seemed a bit perplexed and asked, "Then how did you screen him out?"

Director Bai muttered, "With Captain Jiang’s clear screening criteria, we added all the age-appropriate men from the neighboring villages, and unexpectedly, we really screened him out."

As he spoke, he nodded, just as Jiang Yuan came out.

"The footprint evidence has been received, has it? Let me have a look." Jiang Yuan first took the pad from Director Bai, swiping through several photos, then after enlarging and carefully comparing, he said, "Footprint, gait, all match—it’s undoubtedly the suspect who had the conflict with the victim in the grocery store."

Now, whenever Jiang Yuan worked, he was very cautious with his words. Footprint evidence alone wasn’t enough to conclude that this suspect was the murderer.

Bai Jian nodded in understanding but affirmed, "It should be this bastard. He made multiple calls to people in the village, including his own relatives and friends, inquiring about the special investigation team and the case details... I’ve ordered them to bring him back for a thorough interrogation."