Chapter 401 Loss of Blood and Water

Our thoughts then returned to the competition. Li Jianbai had already pulled far ahead of the other athletes. This was likely what they meant by the crushing weight of skill.

The riders behind him, no matter how desperately they tried, couldn't catch up. It was said that Li Jianbai was genuinely talented when it came to horseback riding. Apparently, he started riding at the age of five, and as soon as he was on a horse, he could control even a wild one. Some people, even at thirty, might not possess a tenth of his ability. He seemed born to be a master rider, a level that ordinary people could never reach, no matter how hard they tried.

I had almost forgotten that there were other matters to attend to that evening. But at that moment, for some reason, a strange "poof" sound suddenly echoed from the competition grounds. Just as Li Jianbai's horse crossed the finish line, an old coach standing nearby let out a piercing scream. "Aaaah!!"

Everyone present was startled by the sudden noise and jumped to their feet. Li Jianbai immediately pulled the reins, stopping his horse, and then smoothly dismounted, rushing to the coach's side.

"Coach Huang!" Li Jianbai cried out nervously. The people around them parted, and Zhang Keying, Liu Yuning, and I immediately became alert, rushing to Coach Huang's side as quickly as possible.

A few coaches were already calling the police. The other athletes dismounted and followed.

Many spectators were taking pictures frantically. I held up my police badge and declared, "Police! This area is under our control. Get your supervisor here immediately!"

Upon learning our identities, no one obstructed us. Several coaches approached and said, "So you're police officers! We feel much safer with you here!"

"Everyone, don't panic. Secure the scene first. No one is to leave. The nearby police station has been notified, and officers should arrive soon!"

I instructed them, and the racecourse was secured by the staff. Only the forensic team and police personnel were allowed in; no one else could approach.

We maintained order at the scene. The first to arrive were local police officers who helped us cordon off the area and guard all entry and exit points. They were quite prompt. However, Zhang Keying commented, "It seems some spectators left during the race."

"Even with such an exciting competition..."

"Yes, some people, perhaps they encountered a special situation!"

"I hope they have nothing to do with this in the coming years. Look at the victim!"

Zhang Keying and I stared at Coach Huang's body. Superficially, there were no wounds. But strangely, there was no blood on him at all. His skin was exceptionally pale, and his body appeared much thinner, not from long-term decline, but as if it had happened in an instant.

I sensed a lingering smoky odor around his seat and asked some assistants who had been sitting with the coach. One of them told me, "Before Coach Huang had his accident, there was indeed a thin mist around us. But we thought it was due to the weather and didn't pay it any mind. Little did we know that as soon as the mist appeared, Coach Huang let out a scream."

"Did no one see what happened to him at the time?"

"It was unclear. Everyone was enveloped by the mist. Strangely, the mist didn't seem thick, but it obscured our vision!"

"Then didn't you hear anything?"

At this point, a woman nearby said, "I heard some faint footsteps approaching behind Coach Huang."

Zhang Keying pondered for a moment and quickly concluded, "Perhaps it was right after that Coach Huang screamed. I suspect the perpetrator was behind him, and using the mist as cover, committed the act before escaping as the mist dispersed."

"Your theory has some merit, but we need to investigate further." I looked at Keying. The support team had finally arrived. Xie Chuchu and Xiao Dong brought us the forensic kits, making our autopsy much easier.

Staring at the corpse, its pallor was terrifying. Using tools like the shadowless lamp, sphygmomanometer, and rectal thermometer, we discovered that all the blood and bodily fluids of the deceased had completely vanished.

Upon reaching this conclusion, Xie Chuchu exclaimed, "This is too bizarre! How could this have been done?"

"This conclusion reminds me of..." I hesitated to say it, because if these words left my mouth, everyone would surely think I was a believer in the supernatural.

Although renowned physicists like Einstein and Hawking, in their pursuit of science, eventually concluded that there might be a divine presence in the world, I had previously stated that all phenomena, including fiery eyes (huǒyǎnjīng), could be explained scientifically, just from a different perspective.

After a detailed examination, I noticed what appeared to be scratch marks on the deceased's arm, but they were very faint. Others hadn't seen them, so I sprinkled some seaweed powder to test, but it had no effect.

It seemed the deceased had acquired a new substance on their body, but how did it get there? Was it the smoke?

I quickly put down my work. In fact, I had a plan to use another secret technique from the He family, but I wasn't about to act until I had clarified a few things.

Near the edge of the smoke, I found a machine on some of the seats – an inflator used for filling model balloons. On the surface, it seemed ordinary. But when I inspected a pipe connection, I discovered it had been tampered with. This meant that if someone had placed a toxic substance in the inflator, it could have caused the situation we were witnessing.

I called over a forensic technician and asked him to use a cotton swab to collect a sample from the machine for analysis. Then, I instructed Xiahou, "Xiahou, I have a pleasant task for you!"

"Alright, what is it?"

"This time, I need you to buy me one jin of scallops, two jin of alkaline water, some silver needles, and finally, one jin of white scallions."

"Sure. I suppose the team leader is going to use some divine technique again?"

"Hurry back!"

Xiahou saluted happily and darted off. I hoped this fellow wouldn't go into reverse gear like Gao Mingqiang. Perhaps he thought that since Mingqiang was no longer around, he should become our comedian?

I returned to the body. At that moment, Zhang Keying said, "The deceased's ankles and wrists have scratch marks. I deduced this from some subtle pinpoint hemorrhages."