The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

Li Xu’s tone gradually sank, each word like rough sand: ”I suspected him first.”

”Why only suspect him?”

”Because his daughter got into college last year, and he couldn’t gather the tuition fee, he’d borrowed money from a few of us before. I didn’t lend it... Two of our fellow workers in the same room lent him the money.” He paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing, ”Perhaps because of this, he bore a grudge against me.”

”Are you sure he took the money?”

”Most likely.” Li Xu raised his head, his eyes red with blood, ”Our beds were next to each other, there was no one else in the dorm that night. My pants were just thrown beside my bed, and the next day the money was gone—if not him, then who else could it be?”

”Did you ask him directly?”

”I did.” Li Xu pulled a smile that lacked any real humor, ”He didn’t admit it.”

”Then, on the day of the incident—how did you seize that opportunity?”

Li Xu said, ”Actually, I can’t say I specifically looked for an opportunity, it was more like going with the flow.”

”That night, he and Li Wei went out for a walk, and halfway through Li Wei returned to get a towel and rope.”

”I found it strange, what would two grown men do with those?”

”Li Wei explained that Li Yong’s cervical spondylosis flared up, so they were going to rig up a makeshift traction device on the excavator to help relieve him. I didn’t think much at the time, just felt a bit curious.”

”Later, when I went out to the bathroom, I happened to see Li Yong really sitting next to the excavator, with the rope around his neck, leaning back doing traction.”

”Li Wei was standing next to him, they were chatting while setting it up. I don’t know what came over me, the thought suddenly popped into my mind—if that boom were lifted a bit higher, we could probably suspend him in the air and vent some of my pent-up resentment.”

”I had a bit of alcohol at the time and was impulsive, and thinking of that thousand yuan I had lost before made me even more frustrated.”

”When I returned to the dorm, I continued drinking, noticed that the excavator driver’s key was hanging in his pants pocket, and his coat was casually draped on the bed.”

”I seized the opportunity, secretly pocketed the key and walked out pretending everything was fine.”

”As soon as I stepped out, I bumped into Li Wei who said he was going to the toilet. It was such perfect timing, I took the chance to circle to the excavator.”

”I climbed into the cab, inserted the key, and started the machine.”

”I slowly lifted the boom upwards, the rope gradually tightened, Li Yong’s neck was constricted, he struggled for a while, and soon he was silent.”

”I gently lowered him, trying to restore the rope to its original appearance to avoid anyone noticing something was off.”

Qin Feng hearing this, was somewhat surprised, and interjected: ”When you operated the excavator, it must have been loud, right? Did no one hear it?”

Li Xu shook his head: ”There was construction elsewhere around the site, the noise was significant, and Li Yong had his eyes closed during traction, seeming relaxed, oblivious to his surroundings.”

”Li Wei was at the toilet, which was quite far, it would take him some time to return.”

”What happened next?” Qin Feng pressed on.

”Then I lifted him so his legs were off the ground, he struggled a bit then went still.”

”I repositioned him to look like he was doing traction again.”

”Then I shut off the engine, pulled out the key preparing to leave when unexpectedly the key slipped from my hand and fell into a gap under the cab.”

”It was already dark by then, and I couldn’t see well, I reached inside only to have my fingers get stuck in the machinery’s crevice.”

”Having just killed someone, I was nervous, with a strong tug, I freed my hand, but twisted my joint slightly, with minor fractures and skin abrasions causing bleeding.”

”And then?”

”Then I quickly picked up the key, shoved it back into my pocket, and hurried back to the dormitory.”

”When they saw the bloodstains on my hand, they immediately gathered around asking, ”What happened? How did you hurt your hand just going to the toilet?”

”I casually replied ’an accident’, then added I tripped and landed on broken glass.”

”They quickly fetched some alcohol to clean and disinfect my wound.

”And then? What happened afterward?”

Li Xu paused before softly continuing—then Li Wei noticed Li Yong was no longer breathing. Everyone panicked and called the police immediately.

At the time, I thought it was just a superficial wound and didn’t pay much attention to it. Who knew the wound would get infected, increasingly painful, went to a small clinic, and the doctor urged me to transfer to a larger hospital right away saying that if I delayed, I might lose my hand.

I ended up in a hospital, stayed for a while.

By then, the construction site had already shut down due to a broken capital chain, and the coworkers scattered, so I had no choice but to be discharged and return home.

Reciting this, Li Xu fell silent.

Jiang An and Qin Feng listened to the whole process, turned to exchange a look without speaking.

At the moment their eyes met, both of them slightly nodded.

Qin Feng spoke first: ”Mr. Jiang, is there anything else you need to ask?”

Jiang An nodded slightly, then asked: ”At the time you used the excavator’s boom for traction to lift Li Yong—were his feet off the ground?”

”They were off the ground,” I recalled, ”when I operated the machine, he was lifted, his legs were indeed suspended.”

”The traction rope was very tight, but there was a towel underneath... I didn’t think it through then, I was just frustrated and wanted him to suffer a bit.”

At this point, I shook my head, my voice low, ”I never intended to kill him, I just wanted to get back at him, make him uncomfortable.”

”I remember the rope was under the back of his neck, with the back of his head against the knot.”

”I only wanted him to experience some pain, I never expected he would suddenly stop moving, and by the time I let him down... he was already gone.”

Jiang An nodded slightly, watching Qin Feng with calm eyes, and said, ”Let’s stop here for today.”

The two rose in succession, stepping out of the interrogation room one after the other.

Qin Feng quickly caught up, moved closer beside Jiang An, and lowered his voice to ask: ”Mr. Jiang, do you think... he really intended to kill at that time?”

Jiang An slowed his pace, deliberating before speaking: ”It’s too early to say.”

”But based on the account of the scene provided by Li Wei, the reporter—one wouldn’t typically foresee such serious consequences.”

”So you lean towards thinking he might have lost control during an emotional outburst?” Qin Feng questioned closely.

”That possibility indeed exists.” Jiang An’s tone was cautious, ”But determining whether it’s deliberate homicide or intentional harm resulting in death is not up to us.”

”It’s up to the court and prosecution to consider all the evidence and legally make a ruling.”

Qin Feng, upon hearing this, couldn’t hide his shock on his face: ”Never thought... that pulling posture, if the angle and force were off, could actually be lethal.”

”I’ve never encountered a similar situation in my previous cases.”

”The structure of the neck is peculiar, it’s far more delicate than most people imagine.”

Jiang An said: ”Not only can strong external traction force possibly cause cervical or vascular damage, but sometimes seemingly mild pressure can too.”

”For instance, playful acts commonly seen at weddings, if accidentally compressing the carotid sinus, could trigger reflexive heart arrest or a sudden drop in blood pressure.”

”Even that can be dangerous?” Qin Feng couldn’t help but be taken aback, subconsciously touching his neck, realizing for the first time how sensitive this exposed part of his body truly was.

”Does that mean everyone’s neck conceals an invisible ’life switch’?”

He murmured half in question, half in amazement.

Jiang An gently shook his head, a faint, slight smile fleeting across his lips: ”Not everyone.”

”But some people, their carotid sinus is naturally more superficial, extremely sensitive to external stimuli.”

”When subjected to improper touching or continuous pressure, the body might indeed have a drastic physiological reaction, even triggering an accident.”

Here he paused, looking sideways at Qin Feng: ”So when handling cases, especially those involving physical conflict, you can’t just focus on the apparent actions.”

”Behind every detail, there could be risks unnoticed even by the involved parties themselves.”