Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
âIt works!â Wang Yao stuffed the cork into the bottle.
He went over to Jia Zizaiâs body to observe his reaction before stretching out his hand to take his pulse.
âHow do you feel?â Wang Yao softly asked.
âHuu, tss, huu.â Jia Zizai felt that even breathing was difficult. If he had any strength left, he would have tried to teach the young man a lesson.
He thought, Damn him! He is using me to test medicine and carry out human experiments. How immoral is that? Did he ask how I felt about it?
With a casual wave of Wang Yaoâs hand, the whistle of the wind filled the room and blew out all the fragrance.
Zhong Liuchuan, who was standing in the courtyard, heard the sound in the house and looked back but did not enter. He suddenly smelled a faint fragrance in the yard and felt dizzy. Fortunately, the feeling came and went quickly.
âYou can come in now, Liuchuan!â Wang Yao shouted toward the yard from inside the room.
Zhong Liuchuan heard the shout and went in. He saw Jia Zizai collapsed on the ground like a dead dog. âSir, is he...â
âAh, I just used him to test medicine.â Wang Yao shook the bottle in his hand. âThe efficacy of the medicine looks good.â
âWhen I was in the courtyard just now, I smelled a faint fragrance and felt dizzy, but I quickly recovered.â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âAh, thatâs this medicine,â Wang Yao said. âYouâve taken my special medicine, so you were able to resist the fragrance. Tie him up. I want to see how long it lasts.â
âYes, Sir,â Zhong Liuchuan replied.
âWait a minute, do I still need to be tied up in this state?â Jia Zizai weakly asked.
âAlways be prepared so there wonât be trouble,â Wang Yao said. âAlright, Liuchuan look after him. Tell me when you think he looks spirited.â
After they left the room, Zhong Liuchuan asked, âWhatâs the name of this medicine?â
âWhat do you think of Shixiang muscle softening powder?â Wang Yao suggested.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âIt sounds good, but I seem to have heard it somewhere,â Zhong Liuchuan said.
âHmm, I donât want to infringe upon some rights,â Wang Yao said. âWhat about calling it Cartilage Fragrance?â
The medicine was created through his own fumbling. It mainly relied on the magic of the fragrance from the Xianqiuluo flower.
After sitting in Zhong Liuchuanâs house for a while, Wang Yao returned to his clinic.
...
In southern Xin Jiang, Guo Zhenghe looked out at the streets of the small, remote county town. He had been there for more than a year. He had quickly been promoted from town mayor to county mayor, but he had relied on solid achievements. He hadnât used his familyâs connections.
His phone suddenly rang. After listening a moment, he responded, âAre you certain? Alright, I see. Well done. Continue.â
After he had hung up the phone, his face was calm as he looked out of the window. He sighed deeply. Before long, there was a knock on his door.
He calmly said, âEnter.â
âCounty Mayor, what you have requested has been done,â the man said.
âAlright, I see,â Guo Zhenghe said. âGo do your work.â
The small county town didnât have many places for leisure. On a nearby hill, there was a resort. Some villas were built near the hill so as not to destroy the trees and terrain. It had been a project that Guo Zhenghe took charge of after his arrival. At first, he thought of relying on the mountains, greenery, and clear water for the tourism industry, but the data had proven that villas were the right choice.
With the improvement of peopleâs living standards in recent years, more people began to pay attention to the quality of life and travel. The scenery in the small town was mesmerizing. The forest coverage was impressive, so it was an excellent place to avoid the summer heat. Since the construction of the mountain resort, people in nearby cities often came there. Even more people came in the summer.
Guo Zhenghe took a car to a wooden villa in the mountain resort.
âHello, Country Mayor,â a man said.
âWhereâs the person?â Guo Zhenghe asked.
âIn the room,â the man said.
âDonât allow idle people to disturb me without my orders,â Guo Zhenghe said.
âUnderstood,â the man replied.
Guo Zhenghe pushed the door and entered the room. A man in his 40s with an ordinary appearance and outfit was inside.
âHello,â Guo Zhenghe said.
When he saw Guo Zhenghe, the man got up quickly. âHello, Country Mayor Guo.â
âPlease sit, donât be so nervous,â Guo Zhenghe said. âWhy do you want to see me?â
âWell, Iâve been in big trouble recently,â the man said. âAfter thinking about it, I could only come to you.â
âBig trouble? Your herb planting project has always been the focus of county support, so how can there be big trouble?â Guo Zhenghe asked with a laugh.
The man may have looked ordinary, but he was, in fact, worth a lot. He was a famous herb grower in the county. At the end of the previous year, he applied for a medicinal material processing project. At the same time, he invested nearly $20 million. The project had been listed by Guo Zhenghe as a key concern and project to support for the county government. It was progressing quite well.
âWell, itâs not about the project,â the man said.
âWhatâs it about?â Guo Zhenghe asked.
The man hesitated for a moment before saying, âI feel that my life is threatened.â
âWhat?â Guo Zhengheâs face changed. âWho is it?â
âI donât know.â The man shook his head. âIâve been followed recently, and some of the herbs I grow have mysteriously disappeared.â
âDid you call the police?â Guo Zhenghe asked.
âYes, but it didnât work,â the man said.
Guo Zhenghe got up and walked a few steps in the room. âDo you have any enemies?â
âNo, Iâm just an herb grower,â the man said.
âWhat herbs were lost?â Guo Zhenghe asked.
âThey were all medicinal materials like ginseng that were more than 10 years old,â the man said. âThey are wild and valuable.â
âWhy do you think youâre getting threatened?â Guo Zhenghe asked.
âHmm, how should I put it?â The man scratched his head. âI feel like Iâve been poisoned by maggots!â
âWhat?â Guo Zhenghe was stunned.
During his time in power there, he had heard a lot about maggot poisoning. There was a unique culture in southern Xin Jiang. It was very mysterious. Few people had personally seen maggot poisoning, including Guo Zhenghe. Although he often heard about it, he had never seen it.
âMaggot poisoning? Do you have any evidence?â he asked.
âMy stomach has felt very unwell the past two days, and I vomited several times,â the man said. âThere were worms in the vomit.â
âInsects? Parasites?â Guo Zhenghe asked.
âNo, definitely not,â the man said. âThere is no parasite like that. Somebody came to me and said that he wanted the mountain I was in charge of and wanted me to transfer it. I didnât agree at that time.â
âDid he threaten you?â Guo Zhenghe asked.
âNo, he just asked me to think about it,â the man said.
Guo Zhenghe thought for a while before asking, âDo you know who he was?â
âI donât know.â The man shook his head. âMayor Guo, Iâm scared. Iâve asked someone to investigate. Their style is very to that of the Miao Jiang faction.â
âWhat faction?â Guo Zhenghe asked.
âItâs called the Valley of Thousands of Medicine. The people specialize in planting herbal herbs and making medicines,â the man said.
âAlright, go to the hospital for a checkup,â Guo Zhenghe said. âIf you encounter something like that again, call the police.â
He didnât believe the matter should be managed by him, but he also had to consider how cooperative this man had been since his arrival. The man was a local and trusted by others. Guo Zhenghe had to give the impression to the people below him that he loved his people and spoke for them. Otherwise, they would not want him governing them.
âYes, I got it,â the man said.
âOK, Iâll tell you a place where you can go if you canât find out anything in the hospital, but donât mention my name,â Guo Zhenghe said.