Miss Truth
Chapter 115 - 72: Drops of Blood

Chapter 115: Chapter 72: Drops of Blood

"Is that so..." Ran Yan replied absently, her gaze fixed on a drop of blood on the riverbank.

In forensic medicine, there’s specialized research on bloodstain analysis at crime scenes, as the bloodstains left vary under different circumstances. Take blood droplets as an example—those from different heights and angles are significantly different.

The drop of blood by the river was very round with evenly dispersed micro-droplets around it, suggesting a wide splatter.

"What have you discovered, Seventeenth Wife?" Liu Pinrang noticed Ran Yan staring blankly at the riverbank and quickly came over to ask.

Pointing at the blood droplet near her toes, Ran Yan said, "Look, it’s so round."

Liu Pinrang, utterly baffled, said, "What?"

"For a blood droplet like this to form, there’s only one scenario. Unless the bleeding person or the bloodied person or object lingered here, at about this height," Ran Yan gestured to a spot above her waist, "or possibly even higher, and the blood fell straight down to the ground from here. Moreover, when the blood fell, the bloodied object was stationary."

"Are you so certain?" Inspector Liu, although he asked this, was continuously pondering in his mind what circumstances would cause a person or a blood-soaked person or object to linger at this spot.

"You can try it with water if you don’t believe me. There’ll be slight differences, but the basics are the same," said Ran Yan.

Liu Pinrang didn’t actually test it but could understand the rationale with just a thought. Water flung out is oval-shaped, and the splashes point in a certain direction, not dispersing evenly in all directions. He felt that Ran Yan’s explanation made a lot of sense; for the blood droplet to be so round and to have splattered evenly, it must have dropped from directly above.

"The dragging of the corpse stopped midway, and the trail disappeared. Could it be that after dragging halfway, the perpetrator’s accomplice arrived, carried the body to the riverbank, and threw it into the river?" Liu Pinrang speculated.

"That possibility can’t be ruled out. However, I’m more inclined towards another theory," Ran Yan said as she gazed at the boats going to and fro on the river, "Not far from here is a dock, and the water nearby is deep enough for boats of a medium size to moor."

Slapping his forehead, Liu Pinrang had a sudden realization, "That’s it, that’s it! If the culprit moored the boat here, extended a gangplank, and used a cloth to wrap the body and drag it on board, the bloodstains would indeed disappear all of a sudden."

"Moreover, there were two perpetrators. At first, the person’s strength wasn’t great, just barely dragging the body a short distance. Maybe by chance, the accomplice had moored the boat close to the shore. After taking care of everything, they carried the body onto the boat. Although this person was strong, he wasn’t outstandingly so. Therefore, when reaching the highest point where the gangplank meets the boat, he must have struggled and needed to stabilize himself before he could proceed onboard," analyzed Ran Yan.

Liu Pinrang looked at the drag bloodstain and noticed that it did not end abruptly. There were no signs of dragging or rolling afterward, which meant that the position where the gangplank was placed was still ahead of the stain. It indicated that the culprit didn’t drag the body directly onto the gangplank, and even if they wrapped the body, it’s unlikely they left no trace.

"Someone! Go to the dock and find a few boats to search the river. Our target is..." Liu Pinrang hesitated, not sure what physical characteristics to search for.

Ran Yan, with the events of the Double Seventh Festival night in mind, interjected, "Two women, one about fifteen or sixteen years old, that’s Yin Sanniang, and the other a sixteen or seventeen-year-old maid."

Liu Pinrang, slightly startled, then decisively waved his hand and ordered, "Hurry, go!"

"Yes!"

The surrounding government soldiers replied in unison.

In no time at all, several awning boats approached, with Team Leader Yang Yong, tall as a tower, standing on a boat that sank an inch into the water due to his weight, "For now, we’ve only managed to find this kind of boat, please forgive us, Inspector!"

"No harm!" Inspector Liu boarded the boat with Ran Yan and Wan Lu, and the boat sank a bit further. Ran Yan’s handsome face turned dark, and she pursed her lips and sat down against the hood wall.

The old man rowing the boat was extremely enthusiastic, and upon seeing Ran Yan’s complexion, he laughed and said, "Wife, rest assured, my boat can carry more than ten passengers when it’s busy and has always been very steady."

As the boatman rowed, he occasionally stole a glance or two at Ran Yan but eventually couldn’t resist saying, "Wife, your looks are far more pleasing than that so-called Ice Beauty Qi Liuniang."

Wan Lu, who was more comfortable on the boat than on horseback, heard what the boatman said and snickered, "Old man, have you taken a close look at Qi Liuniang?"

Although Qi Liuniang looked cold as ice, she was not low-profile. It was not strange to have seen her. However, every time she went out, she was like the moon surrounded by stars, and usually, wore a mask in public. Under special circumstances, it was highly unlikely for an old man who rowed a black awning boat to get a close look at her.

"I didn’t take a close look, but from a distance, her eyebrows are too fine, and the tips too sharp. Her nose and eyes are well-shaped; at first glance, she looks extremely beautiful, but as you keep looking, she seems insipid," the old man said. Despite his ragged clothes, he spoke with clarity when commenting on the appearance of a lady.

Wan Lu became even more intrigued, "If you think Qi Liuniang doesn’t look insipid, then do you believe there are no beautiful women in your eyes?"

"Exactly, your wife here has good looks, a full forehead, brows like distant hills, eyes like clear water, and a delicate nose that is full but not fat, quite charming!" The old man laughed cheerily as he took another glance at Ran Yan and added, "But there is a sternness between your brows. If you often smile heartily, you would look even more exquisite."

Liu Pinrang, still in the mood to discuss other matters, agreed with a remark, "You speak sensibly."

Wan Lu pouted, dissatisfied, "I think every bit of our wife is good."

The boatman did not continue the conversation, though, and kept rowing with a beaming smile. After all, it’s impolite to overly scrutinize a lady, especially in her presence. The boatman was tactful enough to stop at the right time, as to go on further would be to dishonor the young lady.

Yang Yong stood at the prow of the boat, and his peripheral vision occasionally swept over Ran Yan, not out of admiration for beauty but rather out of respect for her abilities, which he valued more than her looks.

The river breeze blew gently, the waves on the water surface weren’t large, and the boat sailed fairly smoothly.

After a while, a black awning boat from the next berth quickly approached. A constable leaned over from the bow and said, "Inspector, we’ve found a suspicious flower boat drifting on the water surface without anyone on the deck. My men and I checked it quietly, and also found no boatman."

"Hmm," Liu Pinrang contemplated for a moment before saying, "Board the boat and catch some live ones, preferably."

Indeed, Liu Pinrang had thought for a long time but still failed to understand who could be the victim if it was the work of Yin Sanniang.

As an Inspector, Liu Pinrang’s personal attendance to arrest someone already showed great responsibility, so naturally, he couldn’t venture into danger himself. Therefore, their black awning boat stayed moored about ten yards away from the flower boat. With Ran Yan’s eyesight, she could barely make out the faces on the boat.

A group of men quickly boarded the boat, but they did not rush in for a long time, as if in a standoff.

Liu Pinrang watched for a while and felt that something was amiss, so he said, "Boatman, get closer to that flower boat."

Knowing this was an investigation, the boatman didn’t say much and directed the boat forward by about ten yards. This time, one could clearly hear voices from the flower boat.

Soon, a government official reported back, "Inspector, the son of Upper Assistant Qin has been tied up on the boat. Yin Sanniang said that if we dare to go in, she will kill Qin Silang." (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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