Who was the deceased?
She used the same method as before to wipe the camphor juice all over the bones. Then, she wrapped the entire corpse with a piece of paper soaked in white vinegar.
It looked like a mummy!
After about half the time it took to burn a stick of incense, a total of five reddish spots appeared on the clean white paper.
They were the facial bone, the collarbone, the ulna, and the sternum. The last spot was on the back of the head.
How could a perfectly white piece of paper turn red?
Those who were not from the Jinjiang yamen naturally did not know what it meant. The crowd could only stare blankly, unable to make sense of it.
Ji Yunshu took off the paper one by one and explained, "The method I used just now is to verify whether the deceased was injured before death. I rubbed the camphor juice on the bones and covered them with a piece of paper soaked in white vinegar. If there are reddish spots on the paper, it means that the deceased was injured before death. If the paper turns green, it proves that the five injuries on the body were caused before death. But now, the five spots on the paper have turned red. This is enough to prove that before the deceased was pushed into the well, there were signs of a struggle."
So that's how it is!
She asked Teacher Yu, "Teacher, did anyone from the academy go missing a year ago?"
Although Teacher Yu was old, he had a good memory. He pinched his fingers and thought for a moment. His memory was similar to that of the fortune-teller. He shook his head and said, "No, the students of the academy are all here. The person at the bottom of the well is probably not from Mingshan Academy."
"Then it must be an outsider?"
"That can't be right. The academy has long established a rule that outsiders are not allowed to enter or leave. Why would an outsider be in the academy? Even if he was in the academy, why would he die in that abandoned well?"
Ji Yunshu pondered for a while and then shifted her attention to the pile of bones in front of her.
There was a long silence.
Teacher Yu asked, "Teacher Ji, did you find anything?"
"First, we have to find out who the deceased is."
"It's already a pile of bones. How would we know?"
She opened her mouth, "Bones!"
Bones?
Everyone began to discuss in whispers.
She continued, "The most difficult ones to draw are those that were burned to death more than two years ago. Corpses that have been soaked in water for a year are the easiest to draw. However, I don't have enough time, so I can only draw a rough mold. Take another look and see if you recognize it."
After saying that, she ordered someone to bring some brush, ink, paper, and inkstone over. She flattened the paper and picked up the brush to start drawing.
The surrounding people held their breaths as they watched curiously. Ji Yunshu measured the width and length of the skull with her finger. Then, she drew the small pieces of bone on a piece of paper. She separated them into many pieces, and finally, she pieced them together bit by bit.
Her strokes were smooth and her strokes were extremely fast.
Soon, an uncolored portrait appeared on the paper. Although it wasn't detailed, it was still a rough model.
When the ink was dry, she picked up the portrait and handed it to Teacher Yu. "There isn't enough time, so it's not very accurate. However, it's at least 30% similar. Take a look. Do you recognize this person?"
Teacher Yu took the portrait and squinted at it. His wrinkled brows were tightly knitted together. After a while, he shook his head. "There's no such person in the academy. However, the facial features do look a little similar. I just can't put my finger on it right now."
He handed the portrait to his students. "Come, take a look. Do you know this person? My eyes are going blind. I can't see clearly. "
The crowd gathered around him.
"This person isn't from our academy. I've never seen him before."
"I don't know him."
However, there were also people who said, "He looks a little familiar."
"The facial features are very familiar too!"
The discussion went on for a while.
In the end, someone exclaimed, "It's Guo He!"
Whoosh!
A person's name was mentioned.
Guo He?
Everyone stared hard and were shocked. "Yes, it's Guo He. The person in the portrait is Guo He."
Someone handed the portrait to Teacher Yu again. "Teacher, take a look. This person is Guo He."
Teacher Yu pulled the portrait closer to take a look. He clicked his tongue and nodded. "That's right. It's Guo He."
Ji Yunshu immediately asked, "Who is Guo He?"
"He's one of my students. However, he left the academy a year ago. How could he have fallen into the well? How did he become a pile of bones? "
"Can you tell me in detail?"
Teacher Yu sighed. "He's the most stubborn and mischievous student I've had in my decades of teaching. He often makes the academy a mess and gives me a headache. However, he's also an extremely intelligent person and does well in his studies. Unfortunately, he's stubborn and mischievous. I've taught him a lesson several times, but I couldn't bear to expel him because of his pure nature. However, there was one time when he was secretly drinking in the academy and I happened to catch him. I taught him a lesson. After that, he left a letter and left. I haven't heard from him since. I still remember that day clearly. It was the 13th of June last year. It's been a year since then."
Guo He was the smartest person in the entire academy. Others could read ten lines at a glance, but he could read twenty lines at a glance. Furthermore, he could memorize everything he read without forgetting a single word. If he hadn't left the academy, he would definitely have been ranked among the top three. Therefore, after Guo He left the letter, Teacher Yu fell seriously ill. He was bedridden for half a month before getting out of bed!
Everyone knew that Teacher Yu thought highly of Guo He.
But...
Teacher Yu shook his head and pushed the portrait away. "How did he die?"
His heart ached!
He was unwilling to accept it.
There were also people who questioned, "This portrait is of the deceased when he was alive. How is that possible? What's lying here is clearly a pile of bones. Who in the world could draw a portrait of a dead person who had turned into bones? Moreover, the person in the portrait only resembles Guo He. It might not be him. "
Such doubts were not without reason.
Five years ago, when she first arrived at the Jinjiang yamen, she drew a portrait of a rotting corpse in front of everyone. Everyone was shocked and very suspicious. When the deceased's mother came to identify the corpse, she found the bracelet that her daughter had always worn on the wrist of the deceased. Only then did she confirm that the deceased was her daughter. The woman in the portrait looked exactly like her daughter. Therefore, everyone deeply admired Teacher Ji, who had just arrived at the yamen.
On the first day, Ji Yunshu gained fans.
And the first fan was the county magistrate, Liu Qingping!
At this moment, she calmly said, "This portrait was drawn in a hurry. Naturally, it is not accurate. However, no matter what, there is a thirty percent resemblance to the deceased. Since you all recognized the person named Guo He, then the deceased must be him. There is no doubt about it."
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