Ran Yan strived to rid herself of all distracting emotions and quickly surveyed the scene.
The wooden frame for aromatic plants was not particularly high, about eight or nine feet, the ground scattered with petals and broken footprints, evidently left behind by a group of women who had passed through earlier. There was a toppled stool nearby, which, based on its height, could have just reached Wan Lu's feet.
Wan Lu's hair was disheveled, her clothes loosely open, revealing her worn, patched-up undergarment, which was intact. Ran Yan's gaze landed on the cloth strip hanging her, which likely was Wan Lu's belt.
This kind of situation in forensic medicine is known as mechanical asphyxiation, which refers to suffocation caused by respiratory impairments due to mechanical force. Strangulation, smothering, throttling, choking, and drowning can all be categorized as mechanical asphyxiation, a term more commonly applied to homicide.
