Subtitles by DramaFever
Will-o'-the-wisp?
It's gone viral!
There are blue flames on the lake.
The victim's face is almost skeletonized as well as his right side of his body.
His limbs decayed. Skin on both arms and right leg peeled off.
It's strange.
His left foot didn't rot.
There's a clear dividing line five centimeters above his ankle.
The victim is Lu Zhen, 13 years old.
He's been missing for five days.
After our examination we discovered that
the child suffered many different wounds on the day of his death.
First, he had an obvious wound on the ridge of his brow.
Only a vigorous fight could have caused such a wound.
The second type is this oval-shaped wound.
The third type appeared on his lower abdomen and lower limbs.
U-shaped wounds like these.
The last type is on his back and waist. It's graze abrasion.
The more time passes
the harder it is to find the murderer.
This case won't be easy to solve.
[Medical Examiner Dr. Qin] [Episode 10]
Thank you.
- Goodbye. - Goodbye.
Is there a pond nearby?
Yes, I'll take you there.
Da Bao!
Let's go.
This is the pond in this area.
Do you still remember the foot of Lu Zhen's that didn't decay?
It's weird. His left foot didn't decay.
The body above the diving line decayed
but not the foot below. It's still fresh.
Usually when there are different levels of decomposition
it's often a gradient.
It's rare to have such a sharp diving line like this.
The body must have been submerged in still water like this
to have caused such a different level of decomposition.
It seems that humans are no better than cookies when dead.
I had thought that you were inhuman.
I know where the will-o'-the-wisp was.
What will-o'-the-wisp?
Do you remember that legend of will-o'-the-wisp on the microblog?
It's gone viral!
There are blue flames on a lake.
It's almost impossible for will-o'-the-wisp to appear.
If there's a will-o'-the-wisp
there could be a decomposed body.
It was here.
The will-o'-the-wisp is produced by the decomposition of animal bones.
Lu Zhen's body was already partially skeletonized.
It fits the criteria.
That being said
after the will-o'-the-wisp legend went viral
the murderer was afraid
that the body would be discovered so it was taken elsewhere.
It means that the body was first dumped here.
That small house over there.
Do you know who lives in it?
Gu Feng.
[Interrogation Room]
We found this pair of gloves at the pond near your home.
Lu Zhen's and your fingerprints are on them.
How do you explain this?
There's also this bus ticket that we found at the same spot.
Lu Zhen's name is on it and so are his fingerprints.
He bought this ticket two hours before he died.
Were you the last person to see Lu Zhen alive?
Why can't you just stay here?
That bitch abandoned you! Come to your senses!
It serves you right to be in pain!
I won't ever care about you again!
Da Lu?
He confessed to it.
On the afternoon of June 19th they had an argument.
In a fit of rage, he pushed Lu Zhen to the ground.
He hit Lu Zhen so hard that he killed him.
He was very scared so he dragged Lu Zhen into the pond near his home.
After the will-o'-the-wisp appeared
he dragged Lu Zhen further away from his home
to make himself seem less suspicious.
Why would he die so easily when he fell to the ground?
His fatal wound wasn't on his head.
How did he fall to have caused those U-shaped wounds on his abdomen?
I'll suggest another autopsy.
Let's examine the body again.
On the 19th of June
why did Lu Zhen go to see you?
He came to say goodbye.
It was his mother's birthday on the 20th.
Gu Feng, how are those boxing gloves I gave you?
They are professional ones.
Not bad.
I'm leaving soon.
[Longfan South to Kunming] I even bought the ticket.
Do you really have to leave?
You should know that I was saving up money for this ticket.
I'm going to my mom's.
She doesn't even want you. Why would you go to her?
I'm different from you.
My dad, stepmom, and stepbrother get along pretty well.
I'm unwanted.
My mom's not like them.
She lives on her own.
I have to keep her company.
We're the same!
We were both abandoned by our parents!
Why would you still care about that bitch?
What are you talking about?
That's my mom! Don't call her that!
Don't you understand?
That bitch abandoned you!
Why can't you just stay here with me?
Come to your senses!
I'm sorry...
Let's go through it again.
Li Li inflicted that wound on the brow ridge.
Pang Chao punched him here and here.
The graze abrasions on his back were made by Gu Feng.
The fatal wound is the only one we can't figure out.
These U-shaped wounds on his abdomen and thighs...
Could they have been inflicted by the same person?
It's highly possible.
The victim's stepmother has a son.
That son's left leg is also wounded like Lu Zhen.
Could that be a coincidence?
Could this be child abuse?
If we take a closer look at these U-shaped wounds
they seem to be made by stiletto heels.
Chen Xu Fei was wearing stilettos.
We'd like to know if you got along well with Lu Zhen.
We got along just fine.
Did you really get along well?
Yes, we did.
According to our autopsy results
Lu Zhen was covered with scars.
We know he was fighting with others and acting as a sparring partner
but there are still scars on him that can't yet be explained.
What do you mean by that?
Did you beat him?
I certainly had to beat him when he made mistakes.
On the 19th of June
do you remember if you beat him?
I did.
Are you sure that you only hit him and you didn't kick him?
Why don't you go kill yourself? Why?
I didn't.
There are U-shaped marks on Lu Zhen's abdomen.
That was caused by blunt force trauma.
What shoes were you wearing that day?
Stiletto heels.
Which pair?
That pair of black heels.
From the forensic prospective
Lu Zhen's cause of death
was hemorrhaging in the abdominal cavity from a ruptured spleen.
This means that your actions likely caused the death of Lu Zhen.
We will compare this pair of shoes to the U-shaped wounds on the body.
If they match...
You will be held legally responsible for his death.
What do you mean?
You suspect that I killed Lu Zhen?
I didn't kill him!
I... I admit that I did beat him up badly twice.
Only twice!
But it was for a reason.
The first time...
It was because he took my son out and just when they left
my son was run over by a car!
My son is now crippled!
How could I not hit him?
The second time was on the 19th.
When I walked in I heard my son screaming for help.
You tore up my money? It was such a small sum and you tore it up?
Why did you tear up my money?
- Tell me! - Why did you hit my son?
I was too angry then.
I kicked him gently twice.
I really... I really didn't want to harm him.
I only kicked him gently twice.
I kicked him gently twice...
Gently...
How dare you eat candy?
Speak up! Why did you tear up my money?
It's just a bit of money to get me a bus ticket!
How dare you tear it up?
Why did you tear up my money? Tell me!
What are you doing?
Why did you hit my son?
I fed and raised you! Why did you hurt my son?
Bastard!
You should all be dead!
Everyone in the Lu family should die!
A happy ending is expected of every interpersonal relationship.
However...
Affection that seems invulnerable could collapse in a split second.
What does this mean?
I'm giving you that pair of boxing gloves to secure our friendship.
If I piss you off one day
you can beat me up with those boxing gloves.
I prefer to use a surgical scalpel.
You argued with your girlfriend again?
Can I watch a game of soccer at your place?
Same old rules.
Mute the television.
I have to finish the final report.
Eat up.
Good doggy.
[A happy ending is expected of every interpersonal relationship.]
[Affection that seems invulnerable could collapse in a split second.]
Who would throw stuff into my well for no reason?
Are you crazy?
Those nasty kids!
Don't let me catch you next time!
I'll bash you all!
What is going on?
This is so weird.
Someone's dead!
Someone jumped into the well!
- You're here? - Yeah.
Whose is this? This is so heavy.
Whose could it be? It's Qin's.
He's out on field duty and he brought so many books.
Why doesn't he take a sedan chair?
Where is he?
He's trapped by the victim's family.
- I'll take a look. - Sure.
Potential disease?
Nonsense!
You're right. Strictly speaking
your father's heart condition isn't a potential disease anymore.
He has coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and
- stage four coronary arteriosclerosis. - What's going on?
- Just a troublemaker. - Nonsense.
How so?
That woman is an orphan adopted by an old man.
That old man raised her to adulthood
but she moved away to live on her own.
She never bought him anything or even made him a meal.
The old man had a conflict with his neighbors and died suddenly.
She heard about some compensation so here she is.
What is the situation?
You came at the right time.
I can't handle the victim's family.
- I'm off. - Don't go!
- Don't... - Get going.
- Sis, whatever the issue... - Who's your sister?
Isn't it disrespectful to call you Miss?
Talk to me.
- Can you handle it? - I'll try. Someone has to. Right?
Don't get mad. Come here and have some water.
Here.
Have some water.
Cool down.
You permed your hair so well.
- You look so energetic. - Really?
Here's the deal.
I just took over this case.
There are still a few documents to be verified.
I'll let you know the results once they have been verified, okay?
Listen up.
Don't keep me waiting.
If you keep stalling, I'll file a complaint to Public Security Bureau.
Yes, you have the right to sue us.
If you sue us and the results of the verification turn out differently
does that mean that we're too casual with processing this matter?
Do you think that I'm just bluffing?
Not at all.
How about this?
Tell me in detail about your issues with this case.
I'll analyze it for you, okay?
All right.
Here's the story.
You got it fixed in no time?
For sure.
If you want to survive in this society
our expertise isn't enough.
You'll have lots to deal with now.
Our great Dr. Qin doesn't meet the victim's family.
It's understandable.
Gifted people usually have quite a temper.
It's because he's too awesome.
Supervisors are always spoiled.
The window isn't that soundproof.
We were talking behind your back.
Do you like listening to it?
Captain Lin!
- If you're ready, let's get going. - Let's go.
Say something.
Tell us what you know.
Don't stay so quiet.
I'm so unlucky to come across this matter!
Damn it. Who killed someone and then dumped the body in my well?
I curse that murderer to have no offspring!
Don't just keep cursing.
When was the last time you used the well?
I can't remember.
Two days ago?
It was probably three days ago.
You didn't use the well yesterday?
Did you notice anything strange?
No, I didn't notice anything.
Qin Ming, what is your opinion?
None.
If the living could tell the truth
why would you need forensic investigators?
I was just informed that wherever footprints
could be found at the crime scene
were ruined by the informant and local police.
There's probably no chance of discovering any trace evidence.
Could they pay more attention to preserving the crime scene?
Preserve this heap of twigs.
Not even the police are to go near it.
Okay.
Qin!
They fished the body out!
The water in the well is very cold.
Therefore the body isn't decomposed nor does it give off any stench.
There's no greenish discoloration either.
Should we measure for algor mortis to determine time of death?
That's not necessary.
Water conducts a heat hundred times faster than air.
This is underground water and it's so cold.
It would be highly inaccurate to use algor mortis to determine time of death.
Rigor mortis already reversed.
Livor mortis doesn't fade away after being pressed.
We can roughly estimate the time of death to be between 24 to 48 hours.
There are too many people in the village.
It's risky to move the body during the day
so it should be done at night.
Then we can narrow down the time of death.
It should be sometime in the night of the 16th to the early morning of the 17th.
- He was then dumped into the well. - Dumped into the well?
Although this looks like homicide we shouldn't judge too quickly.
He might have been drunk or gone crazy and fell into the well accidentally.
This shirt was wrapped around him in a weird way.
Flip him over.
Look at the victim's shoulders and back.
There is indeed damage.
It's damage to his fatty tissue.
There are abrasions on his skin and they turned a grayish-yellow.
There's no biological reaction so they happened postmortem.
Since they happened postmortem
it means that the victim was killed and then dumped into the well.
Could the abrasions be from fishing him out of the well?
Indeed. Some of them could be.
The body was pulled upwards.
The acting force of the abrasions should be from the back to the shoulders.
The skin should peel upwards from the very center.
However, some are the opposite.
The body was facing down when it was in the well.
If the abrasions were caused when he fell in
the skin should peel off from the head to the waist.
If the abrasions were from fishing him out
the skin should peel from the waist toward the head.
Whether he drowned or was dumped in the well
we can only be sure after a thorough autopsy.
This is great.
Judging by this speed I reckon we can head home today.
Have you verified the identity of the victim?
Let's see if he's from this village first.
Xiao Hei, bring the informant here.
Yes.
Can you take a look and see if you recognize him?
Li Jun!
Xie Li Jun!
It's Xie Li Jun from our village!
- Do you know where his home is? - Yes, I do!
Please take us there.
Sure, sure.
Xiao Hei, process the body and get it ready for autopsy.
Yes.
This is his home.
Sure, thanks.
Please head home. We'll contact you if anything comes up.
All right.
It took us 10 minutes and 15 seconds to get here.
Put on the shoe covers before we go in and seal off this place.
No one else is allowed in.
The night of the 16th to the early morning of the 17th?
Judging from the bed sheets and the position of the slippers
the victim could have been killed in his sleep.
There are a lot of cigarette butts and empty beer bottles on the floor.
There are used plates on the table.
Bag them for evidence and run DNA tests on them.
Judging from the chessboard
the red had checkmated the black.
You could see that as well?
A jack of all trades?
I started playing chess at a young age.
From the end of the bed...
All the way to the doorway.
There's a long, wide drag mark.
It is broken in some sections.
Judging by the width, this drag mark was made by dragging the body.
The marks on the side were made by the arms.
This indicates that there's only one unsub.
If there were two, they could have carried the body out.
There would also be two sets of shoe prints.
Very good. We can determine the number of unsubs.
This drag mark ends right here.
It means that the body was taken on some means of transport from here.
[Shabao Town’s Second Squad of Xie Village Branch Committee]
Estimated by eye, the victim is about 80 kilos.
There are blood spots all over his eyelids.
The nails on his fingers and toes have turned black.
There's partial bleeding and damage to his oral mucosa.
This is typical mechanical asphyxiation.
The nature of the crime is determined.
I'll report back to the team.
Hold on. When we determine the cause of death
we have to rule out all other possibilities.
Otherwise, it can be multiple causes.
What he means is
both drowning and suffocation can lead to mechanical asphyxiation.
We have to determine the cause by performing an autopsy.
If we make a conclusion subjectively it will affect the investigation.
I understand now.
What do you think this rope was for?
Was it to strangle him?
There's an obvious ligature mark on the victim's neck.
But there's no biological reaction.
It must have been tied after he died.
Was the shirt used to cover the victim's face?
That's possible.
It means that the unsub did it out of fear or guilt.
But there's one strange thing.
This ligature mark is very deep.
If was just to tie the shirt over his face
why would he have to tie it so tightly?
How about this?
It was used to tie the shirt over his face
as well as a heavy item to weigh the body down.
The weight of the heavy item opposed the buoyancy of the immersed corpse
so it caused such a deep ligature mark on the body.
This also explains why the rope is two meters longer
than the circumference of the victim's neck.
Judging from the other end of the rope
it does seem to have broken off from a heavy object.
It means that there's something else in the well.
Inform Lin Tao.
- He must fish out the heavy object. - Yes.
The victim's internal organs are bruised.
There's bleeding in his apex cordis.
There's bleeding in the petrous part of his temporal bone.
Add those to the injuries in his oral mucosa...
He did die from mechanical asphyxiation by compression of the nose and mouth.
His stomach contents are nearly emptied.
Add that to his rigor mortis and livor mortis symptoms...
His time of death should be about 6 hours after dinner on the 16th.
There is damage to his shoulders and back.
They are all graze abrasions.
No biological reactions. All caused postmortem.
They were inflicted when the body was moved.
There's bruising under the skin on both sides of his pelvis.
It indicates that the unsub straddled him from here
and suffocated him.
However, in such a position the victim's limbs weren't restrained.
Why isn't there any sign of struggle?
That is unless the unsub was stronger than the victim.
But the victim was quite large.
He should have had the ability to fight back.
According to our investigation
the victim is Xie Li Jun, 61 years old.
He had never been married and always lived alone.
The victim has an older brother, Xie Li Guo.
His home is 500 meters north of Xie Li Jun's.
They didn't interact much but they got along quite well.
Xie Li Jun is a bachelor so Xie Li Guo would often send over meals.
On the night of July 17th
Xie Li Guo's wife, Liu Cui Hua, delivered dinner to Xie Li Jun at around 6 p.m.
When she went over to retrieve the bowls and chopsticks around 6:30 p.m.
Xie Li Jun was setting up the chessboard saying that
he was going to play a few rounds that night.
That matches what we saw at his house.
According to our investigation
Xie Li Jun was a huge chess player and placed bets on the games.
Do you know who played chess with Xie Li Jun that night?
Many people in the village would play chess with Xie Li Jun every night
so Liu Cui Hua didn't ask for details.
She left after collecting the bowls.
On the morning of July 17th, Liu Cui Hua delivered breakfast.
However, she noticed that the bed sheets were pulled up
and yet the house was in order. Xie Li Jun was missing.
Didn't Liu Cui Hua find it weird that Xie Li Jun's door was unlocked
when she brought breakfast over to him?
Xie Li Jun's lock was broken.
He's an old bachelor and there's nothing worth stealing.
That's why he never fixed the lock.
A few days before the murder
Xie Li Jun told Liu Cui Hua that he was going out of town.
That's why Liu Cui Hua didn't find it strange when he wasn't home.
Captain Lin, you still didn't tell us who played chess with him.
The DNA results from the cigarette butts show
that it was the informant, Zhao.
All right.
It's about time to take another look at the crime scene.
Taking the crime scene into consideration
let's list what we know.
First of all, the cigarette butts with Zhao's DNA were found here.
This means that Zhao sat here.
Judging by the layout of the chess pieces
the red had checkmated the black.
If Zhao was seated over there
that means that Zhao lost the game.
Is it because they placed a bet on the game
and the bet was quite high
so Zhao refused to pay up and killed Xie Li Jun in a fit of rage?
You're right. Zhao is still to be doubted.
First of all, he never informed us that he played chess with the victim.
Secondly, he said that he saw the corpse and called the police.
However, before we fished out all the twigs in the well
we couldn't see the corpse at all.
I suspect that he lied to us.
Was he trying to confuse us?
Dump the body further away but closer to him.
You're right. I guess that
he dumped the body in his own well
because he knows the area.
He was afraid to be found out so he covered it with twigs.
After two days, he was still scared so he called the police.
Hold on.
One thing doesn't sound right.
The murderer should be a lot stronger than the victim.
But Zhao is just a small old fellow.
That might not be so. The murderer doesn't have to be stronger.
Let's take a look at the drag marks.
There are a lot of blanks in between.
Those blanks were made when the movement of object ceased.
It means that in such a short distance
the murderer stopped and rested quite a few times.
What's more, the victim was killed in bed.
He was asleep.
It means that he could have had the blanket over him.
If so, when someone was on top of him
the blanket would have trapped his arms and restrained his actions.
He wouldn't have been able to fight back.
The victim struggled only after the blanket had him covered.
The area of thrust surface is wide but the pressure is low.
This explains why there aren't any sign of struggle on him.
From the evidence we have at hand, we can't rule out Zhao as a suspect
nor any of the villagers.
Doesn't that bring us back to square one?
Captain Lin. Chief Qin.
We've fished the thing out of the well. Come and have a look.
Sure. You two can go and take a look.
I'll go and visit Zhao.
Subtitles by DramaFever