American forensics, but the gourmet system

At 10 a.m., Russell and Aina were already standing by the farm's stable.

In the stable, a dozen or so horses were munching on dry hay.

Outside the stable, Russell and Aina were listening to the guide explain the precautions for riding horses.

"...You must wear a helmet. If you need to dismount, you must tell me in advance. You cannot suddenly shout, so as not to frighten the horse. You cannot sprint on horseback. Even if you have equestrian training, you cannot exert force—"

Suddenly, Director Xiang's phone vibrated. He frowned, picked it up, glanced at the screen, and then looked at Aina with some surprise:

"You must be Miss Aina Calado?"

"Yes." Aina nodded.

The director's face broke into a bright, almost fawning smile:

"Ah... I'm sorry. If I had known, I wouldn't have bothered with so many precautions... You must know how to ride a horse very well."

"My friend is a beginner," Aina said, pointing to Russell. "Just keep an eye on him while we're riding."

"No problem." The guide chuckled, like a crocodile grinning. "I'll definitely guarantee your safety. Your friend... would he like to ride a horse with me?"

Eh eh eh!

It's one thing if I can't snuggle in Aina's arms, but what's with riding a horse with an old man?

"No, no," Russell waved his hands repeatedly. "I'll ride a horse myself... I don't think riding a horse is that difficult... It can't be harder than driving a car, can it?"

But once Russell was on horseback, he realized that controlling a thinking animal was completely different from controlling a machine without a brain.

When driving, whether your operation is correct or incorrect, you can get feedback from the car's noise and speed.

Marco wouldn't.

The horse cannot understand your mistakes, and your correct actions may sometimes go unnoticed because of insufficient force or the horse's distraction.

It's like playing a game with a faulty mouse.

Even though the director had chosen the most obedient old horse for Russell, Russell was still tense and unsure of what to do with his hands and feet.

"Squeezing your legs lightly against the horse's belly means to make it move forward; pulling the reins on the side you want to turn means to stop it; pulling the reins backward with both hands means to stop it..."

Russell tried it as instructed by his mentor, while Old Ma snorted a few times in frustration and started spinning in circles.

He finally understood why Aina had said riding a horse would be a good way to get some exercise; it was no easier than carrying a corpse...

Clearly, for Russell at this point, dissecting a horse is much simpler than riding it.

Seeing Russell's embarrassed look, Aina didn't laugh at him.

Aina walked over and took the reins of the old horse.

  

"When you give commands to the horse, be firm. You need to let the horse feel your confidence... Oh, and use more force, let the horse feel..."

Aina patiently guided Russell for a while, and Russell finally grasped some of the key points, enabling the horse to move forward, turn, and stop, instead of spinning in circles.

The director stood by with a smile on his face, showing no sign of impatience.

"How's it going?" Aina patted Russell's thigh and asked, "Getting the hang of it?"

"Not bad... I'm starting to get the hang of it." Russell had actually found some enjoyment in horseback riding.

"Let's set off then!"

Aina chose a brown horse, mounted it, and squeezed its flanks with her long legs, and the horse immediately started running.

The horseback riding route on the farm is fixed. Russell and Aina will ride through oak forests, across gentle woodlands, ford streams, and climb to the viewpoint to enjoy the view of the Hudson River Valley before turning back, led by a guide.

There are also designated photo spots along the way.

In this season, only a few yellow leaves stubbornly cling to the treetops in the oak forest, the bare branches stretching out, creating a desolate atmosphere.

Spruce and pine trees dot the hillside, providing the only greenery in early winter. Brownish-yellow fallen leaves carpet the ground, and dark red low shrubs grow along the forest paths—a scene rarely seen on the bustling streets of New York.

Russell breathed in the fresh, crisp air with gusto. The temperature wasn't high, but it wasn't cold either, and the clatter of horseshoes hitting the pavement echoed in his ears.

The anger, anxiety, helplessness, loss, and resentment brought about by those murders seemed to dissipate with the wind in the Hudson Valley.

"The colors there are so beautiful." Aina held the reins with one hand and pointed to a bush by the stream not far away.

The purplish-red wild berries on the branches have not yet fallen, and the clear stream flows past the bushes, stirring up white, slightly swirling waves. Brownish-yellow and dark red fallen leaves cover the ground, resembling a richly colored oil painting.

Russell then remembered that Aina's original profession was painting, and her sensitivity to color was beyond question.

Aina took her phone out of her jacket pocket and snapped several photos in that direction.

"Aina, ride your horse over there, I'll take some pictures of you."

Russell suggested.

"Okay!" Aina readily agreed.

But as soon as she rode her horse to the creek, she seemed to remember something, turned around and waved to Russell:

"Come over here, let's take a picture together!"

Russell was secretly delighted. A group photo would be great; a group photo was a must...

However, I should have just rented a camera to take pictures.

Russell has extensive experience photographing crime scenes and corpses, and his photographic skills surpass those of 49% of his competitors.

Photographing corpses and photographing beautiful women... there shouldn't be much difference.

"Sir, give me your phone, I'll take the photos for you," the tour guide said solicitously. "Be careful riding your horse over there..."

Russell unlocked his phone and handed it to the guide, managing to steer the horse towards the creek. The old horse was quite clever; it clearly understood Russell's meaning and trotted towards the bushes by the creek.

As soon as the horse came to a stop, Russell turned around and looked back. The guide's hand trembled, his body shook, and he almost dropped Russell's phone.

Russell chuckled inwardly, thinking that the guide had probably accidentally opened the photo album while taking pictures.

Russell's phone album contained no selfies, no pictures of beautiful women, and not even any casually taken videos.

There were only various kinds of corpses, severed limbs, and murder scenes.

For someone opening Russell's album for the first time, the impact of such photos is actually enormous.

Sure enough, after the director took the photo of the two of them together, he became much more respectful towards Russell.

There was a considerable amount of fear mixed with the respectful demeanor.

They probably thought they had encountered some kind of deranged serial killer.

To avoid the guide turning back to the farm halfway through the journey, Russell could only laugh and tell the truth:

"I'm a forensic pathologist, don't be too nervous."

Director Xiang visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

Despite his fear, the photos he took were of quite high quality.

As Russell rode his horse, his back straight, he even possessed a somewhat dashing and elegant air.

As for the dashing Aina standing next to her, she left an even deeper impression.

"You can see the Hudson River up ahead."

The guide pointed to the flat viewing platform on the small hill and said.

Actually, even without the guide saying it, Russell could already smell the strong moisture in the air.

Humans are 10,000 times more sensitive to the smell of geosmin in humid air than dogs.

Even if police dog Ruodor were here, he couldn't possibly have noticed the river ahead before Russell.

Aina squeezed the horse's belly with her long legs, and her horse galloped up towards the top of the hill.

Her dark red ponytail swayed behind her head, exuding a spirited and dashing air.

"Didn't you say we couldn't sprint on horseback?"

Russell turned to look at the director and said with amusement.

Director Xiang looked embarrassed:

"Did I say that? I don't remember..."