Miss Truth
Chapter 375 - 237 Kiss

Chapter 375: Chapter 237 Kiss

In forensic medicine, there are mainly two methods to determine a person’s appearance: one is skull reconstruction, which is what Ran Yan mentioned, and the other is skull-photo superimposition.

Skull-photo superimposition is primarily used to determine whether the skull and a suspected person’s photo belong to the same person. It requires a camera, so it is not of much use in the Great Tang.

"Alright. However, there are too many outsiders at Ran’s residence; it would be more convenient at my place," Xiao Song suggested.

Whether in the past or present, there was no reason to carelessly mishandle crucial evidence from a case. Ran Yan quickly nodded in agreement.

The two scheduled a detailed time and went over the case: it began with Lady Wenxi and her husband Liu Yingdao encountering bandits in Zizhou; amidst a life-and-death situation, they met Chai Xuanyi and his group, but Liu Yingdao succumbed to severe injuries and soon passed away. Shortly after the mourning period, Lady Wenxi, arranged by the Empress, remarried Chai Xuanyi. Less than a year later, Chai Xuanyi and a few others encountered bandits in the east of the city. Four people went missing, one skeleton was currently found, the whereabouts of the other three were unknown, and both Chai Xuanyi and his maid rolled down a hillside—with the maid dying and Chai Xuanyi sustaining severe brain injuries causing memory loss.

Xiao Song felt this case was full of doubts. First, they were said to encounter bandits, but nobody saw the bandits’ faces or knew their numbers. Second, the Imperial Physicians diagnosed Chai Xuanyi with memory loss, but whether he truly had amnesia was still questionable. Third, Lady Wenxi’s behavior—said to be reclusive and avoid strangers—came personally the first time he invited her. Fourth, concerning the motive, the perpetrator seemed uninterested in wealth, so what was his/her motive for killing.

These were the most suspicious points, among many others that simply did not connect well. Xiao Song considered Lady Wenxi might have a motive for murder, but the clues were too scarce to be conclusive.

"What are the identities of the three missing persons?" Ran Yan asked.

"One is a scholar from a humble family, named He Yan, nineteen years old, without any title. Another is a son born out of wedlock in the Dou family; he is called Dou Chengfeng, styled Yu Rong, twenty-one years old. And the third person’s identity is unknown," Xiao Song said without hesitation while holding her palm, reciting these details. "He Yan’s family is no more. I had people search his temporary residence thoroughly; the items were limited and initially had nothing suspicious. Dou Chengfeng... he’s just a dissolute scion. It’s said that he was familiar with Pei Jing. I had asked Pei Jing, but he claimed that they merely knew each other casually and weren’t close."

"If there’s anything to ask Pei Jing, it’s better to do so sooner rather than later," Ran Yan said in a level voice, "because I’ve poisoned him. The poison will activate in two days. Last time, Zhuang Yin took almost half a month to die because the rot started on his hand, not a vital area, but this time, it might only take five or six days."

Xiao Song couldn’t help but curl his lip upwards; he liked Ran Yan’s way of doing things, whether it was care or hatred, she expressed them directly and intensively, and not as calm as she appeared on the surface. Her usual lack of joy and anger was merely because those matters hardly touched her emotions.

"Smiling at what?" Ran Yan looked at his increasingly bright smile, puzzled. She didn’t recall saying any jokes?

"It’s nothing; you just suddenly made me realize..." Xiao Song squeezed her hand and said, "the reason I’ve never been able to marry a lady was that they weren’t suitable."

There will always be one person who comes into your life to tell you why you are not suitable for anyone else. For Xiao Song, Ran Yan was just that person.

Thus, apart from romantic love, Xiao Song also harbored a fate-like affection for Ran Yan, as if he had been waiting for so long, endured so much, all because Ran Yan hadn’t come.

"Sounds like a seasoned player in the game of love," Ran Yan turned her face away uncomfortably. It wasn’t that she had never heard sweet nothings, but every word from Xiao Song struck a sincere and simplistic chord that hit right to her heart.

Xiao Song just smiled, not offering an explanation. Whether his intentions were sincere or merely to charm, not every woman was worth such efforts.

"There’s another person who needs dealing with," Xiao Song picked up a teacup and sipped.

"Hmm?" Ran Yan couldn’t remember whom else she had missed.

"That medicine seller." Xiao Song mentioned him and instantly felt a headache coming on, saying the man was not wrong, yet he was hawking such vile medicine everywhere and had even harmed Ran Yan. If there was a fault, it was merely that he sold the medicine and had no way to restrict the buyers. Moreover, this man was different from Pei Jing and the others... Xiao Song sighed, "People in the streets call him the Jade-faced Doctor. I remember Liu Qingsong once claimed that title as well."

Over the past decade, Liu Qingsong had assumed no fewer than eight hundred different titles, making it impressive that Xiao Song could still recall it.

Ran Yan held her breath for a moment before exhaling. Though she didn’t have much in common with Liu Qingsong, they at least communicated without issues and he was studying medicine. Helping each other out in the Great Tang seemed fortunate; unfortunately, ideals are beautiful, reality brutally harsh. Liu Qingsong was simply a ticking bomb, whether it was fortune or misfortune for Ran Yan was yet to be determined.

"Do you have any suggestions?" Ran Yan was quite helpless herself; she could not really harm him, but she felt unsatisfied not teaching him a lesson.

Xiao Song tapped lightly on the back of Ran Yan’s hand, "Why not use some medicine on him as well, something opposite in effect to the Red Dust Powder."

"Isn’t that a bit too malicious?" Ran Yan frowned. After all, Liu Qingsong had no such intentions.

"He has the Red Dust Powder, doesn’t he? After he gets married, just use a little each time," Xiao Song leaned lazily against the table, schooling her, "There is a saying that goes ’no poison, no husband,’ and another that says ’a woman’s heart is most venomous.’ It seems, the purest people under heaven are only the monks in the palace. The common saying is so direct; if we were any kinder, we would seem hypocritical."

Ran Yan chuckled, "With so many common sayings out there, how come you only remember these two?"

Smiling radiantly, her eyes lively and bright, her originally placid gaze now charming and captivating.

Xiao Song watched her with a smile for a moment, then suddenly leaned in and kissed her forehead.

The sound abruptly ceased, leaving Ran Yan stunned, feeling the hot kiss on her forehead. The heat quickly spread across her face, her cheeks burning as if they would bleed, her heartbeat seemingly paused for a moment and then abnormally sped up.

The room fell silent, and they were so close that each breath could be heard. Ran Yan lowered her eyes and could see his tall neck and broad shoulders.

It seemed like a long time, yet also but an instant, that the kiss ended; Xiao Song’s rich voice beside her ear said, "I was only joking. Taking revenge isn’t suited for you."

Given Ran Yan’s nature, harboring too much hatred might easily turn her dark and blood-stained. Indeed, this was not suitable for her, but not avenging themselves was even more frustrating. Xiao Song’s voice contained a smile as he then said, "Though I currently lack evidence to capture the murderer in my house, now that I know who it is, no matter how powerful they are, they can’t cause any trouble under my watch."

"So?" Ran Yan steadied her voice, inquiring.

"So my residence is very safe, and if you want to come over, it would be quite convenient..." Xiao Song laughed and lightly pecked her forehead once more. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, we welcome you to vote for it by giving recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.