Free Web NovelChapter 629: Chapter 599 Descended from Heaven【6.1 Happy!】_1
Mr. Zhao laughed and looked toward the man who was holding Zhou Ning’s work ID.
The man’s face betrayed no emotion, but since he knew Zhou Ning was from the same system and still politely sought to explain, the mere fact that he’d suddenly appeared and started commanding everything with an aggressive air, if he respected and cared about his words, he would have probably agreed earlier, or at least made it clear that Zhou Ning was his colleague.
With no hints and no explanations, and with an attitude that seemed to be waiting to see how Mr. Zhao would perform, what else was there to misunderstand? Either he usually didn’t get along with this department, or he simply didn’t care about Zhou Ning’s out-of-province police ID.
Once the stage was set, the play had to go on.
It wouldn’t be appropriate for Zhou Ning to step forward in this situation, so Mr. Zhao took a step forward and approached the short and chubby man with glasses.
"Don’t get agitated, leader," he said. "I can tell your position is no small matter, but if you’re going to take us with you, I should at least explain the situation for the sake of your subsequent work. Listening won’t hurt."
The short, chubby man with glasses didn’t speak, only waved his hand with an impatient expression, glancing up and down at the damaged entrance without giving Mr. Zhao another look.
"We are from Qindao City, Ludong Province," he continued. "On September 28th, we flew from Qindao to Tianshan, then rented a car and traveled all the way to Ganzhou City. We were on the outskirts of Ganzhou’s Desert Park when we followed the tour guide’s advice to cross the desert and then climb the Qilian Mountains for fun.
However, we deviated from the exit point of the desert, having wandered five kilometers to the west of our planned location. After contacting our vehicle, we decided to climb and stay put there. When we reached this spot, we found a spring on the west side of the cave entrance, surrounded by shrubs and a spruce tree.
The spruce was about 20 centimeters in diameter. We came here to collect some plant samples and take photographs. But just as we started climbing this shrub area, this fake wall outside the cave, along with that tree, fell down.
Two of our companions fell in, and we had to rescue them. It was only after we entered that we realized the environment inside was special, not entirely naturally formed; there were traces of human carving. Since we had professional equipment, we decided to investigate a bit."
As he spoke, Mr. Zhao raised the tablet to show the others.
"Following the main cave on the outer side to the south, there were two smaller caves to the east and west. On the right side of the east cave stood a statue of a standing Buddha, and on the left was the main Buddha statue. After some comparison, we initially thought it was a sculpture of Green Tara, but we later concluded that it was different from the Buddhas in the Thirty-three Skies Grottoes.
There was a ring of various Buddha statues and murals, none as exquisite as the main Buddha statue. Underneath the Buddha on the sacrificial altar were placed four tall porcelain bowls with offerings that had since dried out. However, after spraying with Luminol, we were able to confirm that these were bloodstains, and very likely from some human organs.
The west cave was larger and contained eight coffins with narrative-style paintings on them, which seemed to tell a story or depict a scene. As for the southern side of this cave, there was another entrance with wind blowing through it, but we thought it was time for the local police to arrive, so we came out to wait.
Just as we returned to this main cave, a silkworm cocoon above us fell, cracking open to reveal a male mummy injected with mercury, apparently very young. Below was a red stone-carved lotus leaf dish.
Several forensic doctors in our team think this was likely a sacrificial setting, and due to the fingerprints and the blood dagger marks, as well as the condition of these mummies, their time of death was estimated to be about twenty years ago. This indicated that it wasn’t entirely an archaeological find."
The short, chubby man with glasses pushed his spectacles up his nose, seeming to finally catch on to the key point in Mr. Zhao’s explanation.
"Forensic doctor?" he inquired.
Mr. Zhao gestured toward Zhou Ning and Zhu Xingxing, and finally to himself. freewebnøvel.coɱ
"Three forensic doctors, one doctor, one policeman, one network expert."
This line-up, not just the short, chubby man, but even the cop who had been watching the play unfold, was taken aback. After all, not every city is like Qindao, where price is no object when it comes to investing in high-tech.
Especially in such sparsely populated cities, having a forensic doctor is considered good enough, just like in Dayao City.
Suddenly catching on to something, that policeman took another look at the work ID, stepped forward apologetically, and quickly grasped Zhou Ning’s hand.
"I’m sorry, your work ID only lists your unit, not your job title. But how did you people think to travel to this place anyway? If it’s about fame, the Mogao Caves you passed by should be much more famous."
Seeing the change in attitude, Zhou Ning didn’t put on airs. After all, they were from the same system. This was about giving each other face and steps to walk on. As long as things didn’t get too out of hand, there was no need to argue over right or wrong.
"We didn’t come to see these," Zhou Ning replied. "On our arrival, we visited Crescent Spring and the Mogao Caves. We just wanted to have a casual look around before heading back home and followed the tour guide’s suggestion to walk through this small desert and do some climbing. Finding this cave was completely accidental.
The Buddha statues and sculptures are very old, but this place has not been untouched by people. We haven’t opened the coffins yet, but based on the sacrificial activities on the outside alone, it seems they all date back about twenty years.
Especially these silkworm cocoons and the young age of the mummies inside them—though we don’t have extensive archaeological knowledge, based on the sewn pattern on the scalps and other details, we estimate these people’s time of death to be around twenty years ago. So, I believe this is a criminal case that has occurred inside an ancient site."
The policeman was taken aback, giving Zhou Ning’s wrist a gentle press.
"I’ll report back to the leadership. Our team leader has broken his hand and climbing the mountain is somewhat strenuous, so he hasn’t come up. Mr. Cui, could you step out with me for a moment? Please wait here, everyone."
Having said that, he quickly took out his walkie-talkie and hopped out of the cave entrance. Mr. Zhao and the others didn’t listen in. Zhou Ning made it very clear; although this was an ancient site, the ritual activities were from the last twenty years. In your jurisdiction, at least eight children were turned into mummified corpses through mercury casting—a heinous act.
As for those offerings, Zhou Ning had just carefully examined Mr. Zhao’s photos, zooming in for a closer look. He noticed that one bowl seemed to be full of shriveled half-spherical bubbles, with traces of an outline and a small tail at the back. The answer seemed to be emerging.
However, they had limited resources here. To restore the full appearance of the mummified corpses and these ritual offerings, the best method would be to prepare the Lu Feier Solution. Of course, it would be ideal to use their equipment for a scan to reveal the skeletal structure and analyze the techniques used in creating the mummies.
But this was just wishful thinking. Given the attitude of the police and the museum staff just now, Zhou Ning didn’t want to get involved too much. He looked around at his own people who had also gathered around.
Mr. Zhao cleared his throat and spoke in a lowered voice:
"Don’t look at me with that expression. I understand what you mean. Keep out of it, don’t talk too much, don’t give suggestions, finish the recording as soon as possible, and not delay our schedule, right?"
Zhou Ning nodded, and Liu Yufei gave an OK sign.
"Got it. I’ll hold back. But can we go out and stand? You can still smell a faint stench of decay here."
Zhou Ning rubbed his nose; actually, it was okay outside the cave. Inside the western cave with the eight coffins, the smell was strongest, and he always felt there was something inside, but what precisely was hard to say.
Earlier, when it was just their small group, they were somewhat timid. But now, curiosity was still there. Zhou Ning glanced at the direction of the western cave within the cave, and Xia Momo frowned at him.
"What’s wrong?"
"Humph, don’t ask me what’s wrong. You’re very interested, don’t tell me you’re not. Do you think I understand you less than Mr. Zhao?"
Zhou Ning patted Xia Momo’s hand and didn’t say anything comforting. Xia Momo understood him and he didn’t want to lie to her; indeed, he was interested, but he did not intend to interfere for the time being, as they didn’t want to delay the trip.
They waited a long while, but the police officer hadn’t returned. Just as everyone was becoming impatient, the police officer leaped onto the low wall, followed by a man in his forties. Seeing the epaulets and the plastered wrist, they could tell that he must be the injured criminal police team leader.
The man had a square face, a typical Northwestern Chinese appearance. He walked briskly towards Zhou Ning, still gasping for breath, and extended his uninjured right hand.
"I am Fang Dongsheng from the Ganzhou City Criminal Police Team. You must be Doctor Zhou? I just heard Mr. Guan mention your name, and I was almost afraid to confirm it until I contacted Qindao and realized it was indeed you. This is really fortunate.
And, I’ve communicated with your leader, Director Xu, and you shouldn’t rush back to Qindao just yet. You should rest at the hotel today, and the related equipment and instruments, along with your team members and assistants, should arrive in Ganzhou City by tomorrow night.
Mr. Guan mentioned earlier that you believe this is a ritual site from about twenty years ago, and a day or two more wouldn’t make a difference. After all, our province lacks the technological capabilities for criminal investigation. I heard from a colleague in Huining about your research, and it’s really impressive. I never expected one day we would collaborate with you." freёwebnoѵel.com
Fang Dongsheng rattled on endlessly, and by the end, Zhou Ning was confused as this man seemed to know him and even seen his photo before.
Talking about Xu Dayuan and arranging for manpower and equipment—what does all of this mean?
Previously, there had been no word about any technology transfer activities between Qindao and Ganzhou, had there?
Seeing the confusion on Zhou Ning’s face, Fang Dongsheng slapped his forehead.
"Look at me, getting ahead of myself without making things clear. The Qindao Municipal Government and Qin University have launched a technical assistance activity, undertaking one-on-one support with Ganzhou City. This is in collaboration with the Qindao City Public Security Bureau to help us establish a new forensic laboratory to enhance our investigative efficiency and to serve as a pilot for Longyou Province.
Apparently, the agreement was discussed last September, finalized during the National Day period, and details were worked out on October 8. I heard the equipment had been dispatched as early as July 7. We vacated a two-story building over here, and based on the layout provided, the renovation work has already started. It’s just that we never expected you to literally fall from the sky."
For a moment, Zhou Ning didn’t know what to say; such a coincidence was a bit hard to accept. He hadn’t expected that a simple wedding leave would lead to Xu Dayuan selling him out.
Glancing back at the cocoons within the main cave, anything else seemed trivial. Without any investigative equipment at hand, Zhou Ning gave a slight nod.
"Alright, do you have a forensic doctor coming over too? Do you have a forensic kit or at least some basic equipment? We might not be able to do much, but DNA sampling and some other analyses are still possible. Also, some preparatory work needs to be done."
Fang Dongsheng seemed a bit embarrassed, rubbing his head as he spoke:
"Our forensic doctor didn’t come; he’s older and not in good health, so he took leave to go to the provincial city for surgery."
