Chapter 681 — The Poisoning Exposed

"Uh… Brother Liang, this is bad — I've got bad news for you. The poison we planted, some outfit called Guan Daifu Pharmaceuticals has traced it. They've already reported it to the police. Do you think the police will find us?" Gao Xiaofu had no heart left for congratulations; deep dread had taken over his whole mind.

"What? They cracked it that fast? That can't be right!" Zhong Yongliang was startled too — he hadn't expected the other side to move so quickly.

Hadn't they said the Seven-Herb Life-Severing Powder was an ancient poison beyond all cure, one no one could unravel? It seemed that so-called Medicine King at Young Master Bing's side wasn't all that reliable after all.

"That's right, Brother Liang — what do we do? I don't want to go to prison! Wahh, I'm still young…" Hearing the strain in Zhong Yongliang's voice only made Gao Xiaofu more frightened still.

"It's fine, Xiaofu. I'll call my dad right now. Young Master Bing has already found us a scapegoat — even if something happens, it won't come back to you. I'll take it all on myself," Zhong Yongliang reassured him.

"That's good, that's good!" Only then did Gao Xiaofu breathe easy. "So there's nothing I need to do? If the police question me, I just say I don't know?"

"Right. Don't say a word. If anyone's to be questioned, let them come to me. Just act as though it has nothing to do with you," Zhong Yongliang said.

"Got it, I understand!" Gao Xiaofu said gratefully. Brother Liang really was a true friend — he didn't shirk when trouble came.

Zhong Yongliang hung up and sent for his father. Zhong Fabai was in the outer room of the hospital suite; he had just turned on the television and caught the news report about the mass fainting of First High students. He was still watching when Zhong Yongliang called him in.

"Dad, the poisoning has been exposed. Call Young Master Bing right away — don't let it touch me!" It would have been a lie to say Zhong Yongliang wasn't anxious; he feared prison as much as anyone. He had only just gotten a good kidney, and he hadn't even had time to enjoy life — he couldn't let it all be ruined in a jail cell. "Xiaofu just called. Some Guan Daifu Pharmaceuticals has figured out the cause of the students' collapse and told the police…"

"I'm watching that very news report," Zhong Fabai said with a nod, his expression grave. "I'll call Young Master Bing now. He's made arrangements already, but we still need to confirm."

"All right, Dad. Whatever you do, don't let anything go wrong — I don't want to go to prison!" Zhong Yongliang warned.

"I won't. How could I ever let you go to prison?" Zhong Fabai waved a hand and dialed Li Cihua's number.

"Old Zhong, is that you?" Li Cihua picked up, and having a fair idea why he was calling, spoke before Zhong Fabai could get a word out. "I'm sending someone to turn himself in at the police station right now. If anyone from the police comes looking for Pinliang, just have Pinliang say exactly this, and Young Master Bing will handle the rest for you."

Li Cihua ran through the lines Zhong Yongliang would need to say, and only then did Zhong Fabai set his mind at ease…

Armed with the Seven-Herb Life-Severing Powder formula provided by Guan Daifu Pharmaceuticals, the police soon identified the amounts of all seven herbs in the food. The poisoner had been clever: each dish had contained only a single herb, and a lone herb is harmless — some of them, combined, are even good for virility and the kidneys. But all seven together produce a deadly toxin, which was exactly why only a small number of students had been poisoned.

After all, very few students had ordered all seven dishes and eaten every one of them; the rest, who had eaten only some of the herbs, were untouched.

Once the source of the poison was found, the police sent officers to investigate the school cafeteria. There was no mystery to it — they quickly narrowed the suspects down to Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu, who had come to the cafeteria early that noon.

According to the cafeteria's head chef, only Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu had ever been alone with the dishes in the kitchen. No one else had come near them.

And once the chef was ruled out as a possible poisoner, the police fixed their sights on Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu.

Zhong Yongliang hadn't expected the police to react so fast either. Gao Xiaofu's call had barely ended before the police came knocking.

"Hello, I'm Liu Wangli, captain of the First Squad of the Criminal Investigation Division, Songshan City Police Bureau. Here's my identification." Liu Wangli found his way there quickly enough; the man who received him was Zhong Yongliang's father, Zhong Fabai.

"Hello, Officer Liu. You've finally come — thank goodness!" Zhong Fabai hurriedly clasped Liu Wangli's hand with great warmth, which left Liu Wangli somewhat taken aback. He couldn't fathom why Zhong Fabai should be so cordial; he was there to arrest the man's son, after all.

"Mr. Zhong, are you actually eager for me to be here?" Liu Wangli asked, rather puzzled.

"I am indeed. My son Pinliang — ever since that organ-harvesting ring took one of his kidneys, he's been in a daze, full of self-doubt. I wanted to go to the police, but he wouldn't hear of it for anything; he was afraid the criminals would come back for revenge. I've been heartsick for my boy." Zhong Fabai sighed, his voice tinged with pity. "Since you've come to our door, Officer, please do talk some sense into Pinliang — persuade him to cooperate with you and bring those criminals to justice!"

"What?" The words hit Liu Wangli like a thunderbolt, and he stood there speechless. He had never imagined that Zhong Yongliang was himself a victim of the kidney-harvesting syndicate. Clearly, the matter was far more tangled than he had assumed. Was there something else going on beneath the surface?

He resolved to speak with Zhong Yongliang himself before drawing any conclusions, and so he asked, "I see. Where is Zhong Yongliang right now?"

"He's in the ward right inside! He told me that at school he's suffered nothing but cold stares and jeers — his classmates say he's missing a kidney, that he's no longer a real man, that he's a eunuch!" Zhong Fabai's voice caught, and he sighed again. "They even mock him by saying he sold his own kidney just to buy an ID. Officer Liu, tell me — with our family's financial standing, would we ever need to sell a kidney? I, Zhong Fabai, may not be wealthy, but I am at least the manager of an entertainment venue! Can't I afford a simple ID?"

"..." These were things Liu Wangli had never anticipated. Hearing Zhong Fabai out, he found himself growing sympathetic toward Zhong Yongliang. Yet how was it that Zhong Yongliang had gone off to school earlier in the day only to poison someone, and then turned up back at the hospital as a patient? A puzzled look crossed his face. "Did Zhong Yongliang actually go to school today? According to our investigation, he should have been at school — so why is he hospitalized?"