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Wedding Dress and Scalpel
墨書 Inktalez
At three in the morning, in the forensic autopsy room of the city center, the cold light from the surgical lamp poured down, illuminating the stainless steel autopsy table at its center.
The air was thick with the scent of disinfectant and a faint, peculiar aroma reminiscent of sweet almonds.
My name is Su Nian, and I am the forensic pathologist here.
Tonight's "guest" is rather special.
She lay there quietly, dressed in a pristine white wedding gown.
The intricate lace and floor-length hem, which should symbolize happiness, now only exuded an eerie coldness.
The body had been discovered by a patrolling officer in an abandoned church on the outskirts, with no identification found.
I put on latex gloves, the chilling sensation momentarily grounding me.
Taking a deep breath, I began my external examination.
The wedding gown was new, made of high-quality material, and I could even detect the unique scent of unwashed fabric.
However, as I lifted the layers of white tulle, my fingers suddenly froze.
Beneath the wedding gown, she was wearing a silk qipao.
This was no ordinary qipao.
With a dark green base, it was embroidered with entwined White Magnolias, their centers adorned with delicate golden threads.
My heart felt as if it were gripped by an invisible hand, and my breathing quickened.
The pattern... the embroidery...
How could it...
How could it be exactly the same as the qipao my mother loved most, buried deep in my memories?
Even the small half-open magnolia at the corner, serving as a unique mark, is identical!
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
My mother has been missing for twenty years. How could her qipao appear here, on the body of a stranger?
A chilling absurdity surged rapidly up my spine, freezing my limbs and bones.
The faint scent of bitter almonds seemed to intensify, weaving its way into my nostrils, carrying an ominous omen.
I forced myself to calm down; my professional training as a forensic expert was my only weapon against fear.
Stay composed, Su Nian. This might just be a coincidence.
Yes, just a coincidence.
There are many similar qipaos in the world.
I continued my examination, my gaze falling on the deceased's stiff, bluish left hand.
Her skin was well-maintained, her nails neatly trimmed and painted with a light pink polish.
On her ring finger, a platinum ring reflected a blinding light under the illumination.
The design was simple and elegant, with a small diamond embedded in the band.
It was an engagement ring.
My gaze froze.
My pupils dilated sharply.
It felt as if my blood had suddenly reversed course, rushing to the top of my head.
That ring...
It was unmistakably... my engagement ring!
Lu Li, my fiancé, had just placed it on my finger three months ago!
How could it be here?!
Am I going crazy? Or is everything before me just a nightmare?
I trembled, almost using all my strength as I carefully turned the ring over, feeling a sense of sacrilege wash over me.
On the inner side of the band, a tiny number was engraved—
701.
Boom!
My mind went blank.
Time seemed to stand still in that moment, with only my heart pounding wildly in my chest, crashing against my eardrums and creating a deafening roar.
701...
This number was like a brand from hell, instantly searing through my sanity.
How could it be 701?!
Three years ago, shortly after I started my job, I had handled an unidentified male corpse.
It was highly decomposed, unrecognizable, with no identification information—only a vague emergency room record from the hospital. The last three digits of the case number were 701.
Due to the lack of leads, the body, code-named "701," remained an unsolved case, quietly lying in the morgue's freezer.
An unidentified female corpse, dressed in my mother's qipao and wearing my engagement ring—the ring engraved with the number of another nameless male corpse...
These seemingly unrelated elements now felt like a massive, blood-soaked net descending upon me, nearly suffocating me.
The bitter almond scent grew clearer and more intense.
It was like a rusty key that suddenly pried open a long-sealed door deep within my memories.
Twenty years ago, on that dark rainy night...
The rough hands of the kidnapper covering my mouth and nose...
The suffocating feeling of a bag over my head...
And there was... that pervasive, lingering scent of bitter almonds in the air!
That is... the smell of cyanide!
My mother... my mother disappeared after that kidnapping incident!
The kidnappers only wanted the ransom. They took the money, and I was released, but my mother never appeared again.
The police said she might have been murdered, or perhaps she left on her own, unable to bear the shame.
It has been twenty years, and there has been no news.
Could it be... could this body...
No!
I shook my head violently, trying to dispel that horrifying thought.
The deceased is very young, at most twenty-five or twenty-six; it cannot possibly be my mother.
But this cheongsam, this ring, this strange number, and the deadly scent of bitter almonds... what do they all mean?
The kidnapping case from twenty years ago, the unidentified male corpse from three years ago, and this female corpse in a wedding dress and cheongsam before me...
What kind of shocking secret lies hidden among them?
Why is my ring here?
Lu Li... what does he know?
Countless questions gnawed at my nerves like venomous snakes, and fear and confusion nearly consumed me.
Tears surged uncontrollably, blurring my vision.
But I couldn't cry.
I couldn't break down.
I am the forensic expert, Su Nian.
The truth lay right before me, on this cold corpse.
I must rely solely on myself to unearth it, piece by piece!
Wiping away my tears, I gripped the scalpel tightly once more.
The cold blade reflected the resolute light in my eyes.
No matter what sinister forces lurked behind this, no matter who was involved, even if it was... Lu Li.
I would pursue the investigation to the end!
Taking a deep breath to suppress the turmoil in my chest, I aimed the tip of the scalpel at the dark green qipao.
The first cut had to be precise and steady.
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