Novice Forensic Doctor

Chapter 634: Chapter 604, I Am Good-Looking_1

Mr. Fang nodded with a smile.

"Everyone has arrived, and they’ve made it just in time for the autopsy. The old lady doesn’t usually go out much and gets somewhat carsick. She rested up front for a while and got something to eat, so I think she should be feeling a bit better by now. I was thinking that after the autopsy, we could all go and listen together," he said.

Zhou Ning didn’t object, and they all walked outside. After a few steps, Liu Yufei saw Zhou Ning looking his way, and she knew he wanted her to ask about the coffins. So, as they were going downstairs, Liu Yufei turned her head and asked.

"What about the coffins? Have they been transported down the mountain yet?"

"They were sent early this morning by a large truck. The size is fairly large, so we took one as a trial to the museum’s courtyard. We will be called when it’s time to cut it, since there isn’t enough space here and it’s impossible to use large machinery on the mountain. However, there’s no signal over there, so we haven’t received any update yet."

Liu Yufei nodded.

"Understood. It must be tough just transporting such large coffins down the mountain. I wonder how they were delivered inside the cave in the first place. If there were no large mechanical equipments and it all depended on human labor, wouldn’t the herders around have noticed anything?"

"The location is too remote. Even though it’s part of the northern slope of the Qilian Mountains, the back side is the desert, and it’s fragmented from the main ridges of the Qilian Mountains on both sides. Even if there are people herding or collecting herbs, they rarely go there. That place is basically in a standard uninhabited area.

As for these coffins, according to the museum staff, the raw materials were probably transported up there and then crafted, painted, and decorated inside the cave. The period should be close to the time when the Buddha statues were carved."

Zhou Ning wasn’t surprised at this judgment, as the painted decorations on the coffins made them seem stylistically similar to those on the Buddha statues at first glance.

"The contents inside were preserved very intact. Apart from the tall-footed porcelain bowls and these eight cocoons, there were no other traces of worship. Could it be that after this place was built, no one came to worship, or the tribe that built it went through migration or extinction issues?"

Mr. Fang ran his fingers through his short hair and sighed before saying:

"Our museum has indeed carried out systematic research on the Yugu People, but the stone carvings, sculptures, and paintings inside this cave are somewhat different from the Yugu People’s beliefs. According to Mr. Cui, they likely belong to a belief branch that is close in era to the Yugu People."

Zhou Ning and Liu Yufei exchanged glances. Although they didn’t think highly of Mr. Cui’s arrogant attitude, they still found his remark quite credible.

By now, the four of them had arrived at the office area in front. Without heading to any interrogation or meeting rooms, they went straight into a conference room. An old lady was sitting cross-legged on a chair, holding dark prayer beads in her hand, and muttering something incomprehensible from her toothless mouth.

The young man heard them and quickly got up, saluting Mr. Fang.

"Mr. Fang, good to see you. If you have questions for my grandmother, I’ll need to translate for you. She’s hard of hearing due to her age and she doesn’t speak Mandarin."

"Hello, you must be An Jianhua, right?"

An Jianhua nodded, flashing a dazzling smile full of white teeth. It seemed the fact Mr. Fang remembered his name was a great honor for him.

"Yes, Mr. Fang, my Han name is An Jianhua. After all, the bloodline of the chieftains of the Eight Great Families carries the surname An. As for the common people, they don’t have surnames. My nickname is Bartel, which means ’hero’."

Mr. Fang patted An Jianhua on the shoulder, introducing him warmly:

"You might have heard that these experts have come from Qindao City, Ludong Province to support us. We have a few questions to consult with your grandmother about. We heard that she was feeling carsick earlier; is she feeling better now? Otherwise, we could have someone prepare some food to bring over."

An Jianhua quickly shook his hand and said a few words to his grandmother. Then, the old woman opened her eyes, smiled at everyone, put her hands together with her prayer beads hanging from her thumbs, and mumbled something unintelligible.

An Jianhua seemed a bit surprised and hurriedly said to Zhou Ning and the others:

"My grandmother says she welcomes the guests from afar and you’re always welcome to visit our village."

Zhou Ning and the others quickly nodded their thanks. Despite the language barrier, it was essential to show gratitude for such a cordial invitation. At Mr. Fang’s beckoning, they all took seats, settled quite loosely without the oppressive feeling of face-to-face confrontation.

Mr. Zhao blinked, the serious atmosphere making him a bit uncomfortable. The language barrier was one thing, but An Jianhua was extremely tense, his knees pressed together and constantly wiping his hands.

Mr. Zhao coughed and scratched his head as he stood up.

"Now, when we were preparing the travel guide, I looked up the Yugu People in Ganzhou City in detail. It mentioned that there are Eight Great Families among the Yugu People, distributed across the eastern and western districts of Ganzhou City. The chieftains and nobles all bear the surname ’An’, which seems to indicate that your surname is quite significant!"

An Jianhua laughed, his earlier nervousness vanishing as if discussing something familiar took away his fear.

"My father is the chieftain of the Luo Family, and my grandfather was the previous chieftain, so my grandmother is of high status. However, I’m the third child in my family and won’t inherit this role. That’s why I begged my grandmother since I was young to let me study in a Mandarin-speaking school, to study Mandarin, and to attend the police academy. I really like my life now," An Jianhua said.

Zhou Ning patted Mr. Zhao and whispered something in his ear. It wasn’t long before he left the room, and Mr. Fang swiftly picked up the conversation, saying:

"I told you before that a cave was discovered on the north slope of the Qilian Mountains southeast of Desert Park, right around here," he pointed. "I asked the local people, and virtually no one goes there."

"Many things were found inside this cave, very similar to the Green Tara worshipped by your people. The only differences lie in the details. Of course, there are also some items used in sacrificial rituals. We have photos and videos here. Can you let your grandmother have a look to see if she has ever seen or heard about anything similar?"

"Could it be that hundreds of years ago, a branch of your people was driven away, and though they still worshipped the Green Tara, they deliberately altered some aspects to distinguish themselves from you? Do you know any rumors, stories, or legends about this? Say whatever you know and help me translate it for your grandmother, okay?"

An Jianhua nodded his head, understanding the seriousness of the matter. Hurriedly, he nodded, while Liu Yufei had already opened her notebook in front of the elderly lady, searching for the organized photographs.

At that moment, the door opened with a sound, and Mr. Zhao walked in, holding a stethoscope—one that was unmistakably Chen Cheng’s. It was unclear by what means Mr. Zhao had managed to acquire it from him.

Coming up to An Jianhua, he himself put the earpieces on, spoke a couple of words into the diaphragm, then placed it on An Jianhua and gently called out, "Bartel."

An Jianhua grinned and nodded. He got Mr. Zhao’s meaning, flashed him a thumbs-up, quickly put the stethoscope on the old lady, and translated Fang Dongsheng’s earlier words once again.

After listening, the old lady quickly waved her hand, signaling for An Jianhua to hurry and open the photographs.

Mr. Zhao moved closer to view the large conference room screen. He connected the notebook to it, and with An Jianhua’s help, he arranged for the old lady to sit in front of the big screen before they began to flip through the photographs.

"Let me introduce these to the elder, as we experienced it firsthand. It was only supposed to be a vacation; we never expected to come across this. We took quite a few pictures, so let me pick and narrate," he said.

Mr. Zhao began with the geographical location, the hidden nature of the cave entrance on the mountain, the state of the trickling spring water, and didn’t even leave out the spruce tree.

After going through these, he moved on to the situation inside the cave. Mr. Zhao had rearranged the order of photos, not as they had entered, but starting with the main cave, then the Buddha statues on the left, and the coffins on the right.

It took Mr. Zhao almost an hour to finish narrating intermittently, having to wait for An Jianhua’s translations. Thus, the pace wasn’t fast. Finally, displayed on the big screen was the image of the main Buddha statue, the Green Tara. freeweɓnovel.cøm

Then, Mr. Zhao opened a split screen showing the main Buddha sculpture from the Thirty-three Skies Grottoes.

After An Jianhua had finished translating, he grabbed a bottle of mineral water and drained it in one go. Clearly, he was unaccustomed to speaking so much at once.

Surprisingly, the old lady did not immediately provide an answer. She closed her eyes and raised her hands above her head. Then, flipping her thumb, she turned her rosary around and began to twist it between her fingers, murmuring something under her breath that was indistinct.

An Jianhua felt a bit awkward as Zhou Ning watched the old lady closely. He listened intently and found that the words were very different from the blessing phrases she had spoken before. However, the verses she recited now sounded somewhat like a ballad.

Zhou Ning stood up and, almost unconsciously, moved beside the old lady. When she opened her eyes and saw Zhou Ning in front of her, she took his hand. Zhou Ning instinctively crouched down, and the old lady placed her hand on his forehead while continuing to utter her song-like language.

Fang Dongsheng looked at An Jianhua impatiently, and An Jianhua quickly said:

"My grandmother was saying that what she just uttered isn’t our Yugu language. I’ve heard her sing it before. How should I put it? It’s like she’s speaking in Classical Chinese, and we’re speaking in Mandarin. I recognize the sounds, but I don’t know what they mean."

After a moment, the old lady released her hand, gave Zhou Ning a smile and a slight nod. Zhou Ning brought his hands together in a gesture of respect, retreated two steps backwards, and Mr. Zhao came closer as well.

"What does that mean, Zhou Xiaozhou?"

"I think it’s a blessing. After all, I’m pretty good-looking."

This remark left Mr. Zhao speechless. It took a while before he could respond, finally giving a thumbs-up.

"The married Zhou Xiaozhou is even more awesome."

At this time, the old lady tugged at An Jianhua’s sleeve, slowed down her speech, and pointed at the statue of the Green Tara while saying something. An Jianhua quickly translated:

"My grandmother said that their ancestors originated from Yanran Mountain, a branch of the Huihe living by the Erhun River. Driven by heavy snow and freezing cold, they migrated west and settled near Ganzhou City, leading a nomadic life along the northern foothills of the Qilian Mountains.

Back then, there were no distinctions like the Eight Great Families; it was just the twelve sons of the An family, who, similar to enfeoffment, chose their own nomadic territories to dwell and sustain their lives. They intermarried amongst each other, but over time, their languages began to diverge."

"About four hundred years ago, during the Ming Dynasty, these twelve enfeoffed lands began to conflict. They split into two beliefs, with eight lands becoming the Yugu People. The Green Tara from the Thirty-three Skies Grottoes became their deity of worship."

"The other four lands, though they also worshipped the Green Tara, changed the blue lotus in her hand to a blood-red one — the Blood Lotus. They believed in divine favor, that if they offered true loyalty, they would receive the protection of the Green Tara. They came to be called Boyegu."

Zhou Ning was shocked by the elder’s knowledge. As he uttered the words "Blood Lotus," he knew this wasn’t a rumor, but a genuine fact—the cave held the legacy of Boyegu.

But what came next?