Withered Bones Beneath the Trees

Chen Yan, a former bone examiner with the Ministry of Justice, was an expert at examining skeletons buried deep underground for years and identifying the hidden old injuries left on their bones.

Twenty years ago, armed with a complete set of bone evidence, he exposed a mass murder that had wiped out an entire family, orchestrated by powerful elites. But those at the top forcibly buried the case files. Witnesses were killed one after another, and his innocent wife and child were caught up in the turmoil and died tragically. The wrongful case was sealed away.

With all hope gone, Chen Yan tore up his official credentials and went into seclusion in the small town of Mei County, earning a living repairing wooden objects. He vowed never again to touch human bones or reopen an old case.

A spring rain washed away the earth on a mass burial mound, revealing a broken skeleton. The distinctive chisel marks on its bones matched the killer's methods from the old massacre exactly. A crime buried for twenty years was forced back into the light.

When Su Wan came to his door for help, Chen Yan had no choice but to take up his dust-covered bone knife once more.

Middle-aged and alone, Chen Yan seeks neither fame and fortune nor the satisfaction of revenge. He only wants the silent bones buried in the earth to receive a long-overdue measure of justice. Bones are silent, but broken bones keep a record. Wrongful cases may be buried in the earth, but they must never be buried forever.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.