She used the same method as before, applying some camphor oil to the bones then wrapping the whole skeleton with vinegar-soaked paper. Just like a mummy!

　　After around the time it took to burn half a stick of incense, the white paper wrapped around the bones turned red in five places: the zygomatic bone, the clavicle, the ulna, the sternum, and lastly, the back of the head.

　　How did the white paper turn red? As they were not officials from the Jinjiang yamen, naturally they did not know what it meant. The crowd could only stare on uncomprehendingly with blankly, unable to make out the head or tail eyes. Ji Yunshu explained as she removed the paper, piece by piece. "The technique I just used shows if the deceased had been injured just before death. When paper soaked in white vinegar is applied to bones covered in camphor oil, the places where the deceased had been injured will discolour the paper. If the paper turned green, it indicates that the five wounds were made long before their death; but if it turned red, it is evidence that there was an altercation with someone before the deceased was pushed down the well." So that was what happened!

　　She then asked Teacher Yu, "Teacher, was there anyone who went missing from the Academy a year ago?"

　　Although Teacher Yu was old, his memory was still impressively sharp. He tapped his fingers against each other as he thought, looking like a fortune-teller calculating fortunes, and shook his head. "No, the students of the Academy are all present. I believe the person in the well must not be from my Mingshan Academy."

　　"Then, is it an outsider?"

　　"That can't be right either. The Academy has long maintained the rule forbidding visitors; why would there be an outsider? And even if he were in the Academy, why would he die in that abandoned well?"

　　Ji Yunshu pondered the question as she looked at the complete skeleton pieced together in front of her. She remained silent for a long while.

　　Teacher Yu then asked, "Teacher Ji, do you have any findings?"

　　"We must first clarify the ident.i.ty of the deceased."

　　"How can we do that when he's already a pile of bones?"

　　She pursed her lips. "Bone painting!"

　　Bone painting? People started whispering to each other.

　　She continued, "In bone painting, the most difficult cases are those who died in a fire over two years ago, while the easiest are bodies that were soaked in water for a year. However, there isn't much time and I can only draw an approximation of their features. All of you can then take a look and see if you recognise the deceased." As she finished speaking, she bade someone to retrieve a set of stationery. She then smoothed out the paper, picked up the brush, and started drawing.