Volume One, Chapter 47: Zhu Liuzhen Is One Damn Monster

Uncle Rong’s face was ashen. Having lived to his age, let alone ever tasting Maotai, he had never even caught a whiff of it. How could he fail to perceive just how vicious Li Donghai’s words truly were?

At a complete loss, Uncle Rong cast a pleading gaze toward Zhu Liu.

Zhu Liu glanced briefly at a concealed spot within the medicine storage room, and just as he was about to speak, a sweet, elegant voice rang out from behind.

"Xiaoxu!"

Instinctively, everyone turned their heads. A woman of cold and refined grace was briskly walking toward Lin Xiaoxu. A refreshing, captivating fragrance drifted over on the breeze, making Lin Xiaoxu feel immensely comforted.

The newcomer was none other than Song Qingxin.

Having seen the message Lin Xiaoxu sent via WeChat and feeling deeply concerned, Song Qingxin had driven over to Jishi Hall specifically. Coincidentally, a shop assistant was just pulling down the motorized roller shutter door; she ducked under it and stepped right inside.

Knowing that Song Qingxin was a familiar VIP regular of Jishi Hall who frequently interacted with the boss, Zhu Liu, the assistant did not stop her and personally led her back to the medicine warehouse in the courtyard.

"Xiaoxu, are you alright?" Song Qingxin asked with deep concern, her jade-white hand gently linking through Lin Xiaoxu’s arm.

"Sister Xin, I'm fine," Lin Xiaoxu replied.

Lin Manru stared unblinkingly at the woman holding Lin Xiaoxu’s arm!

The woman whom Xiaoxu called Sister Xin had delicate facial features and a noble, unapproachable aura. She wore an off-white, sleeveless, form-fitting dress that highlighted her full, rounded bosom, a slender, curvaceous waist, and prominent, well-rounded hips. Her legs were long and straight, and she wore black pointy-toed heels, making her already voluptuous figure even more sexy and alluring.

Blushing, Lin Manru involuntarily lowered her gaze to look down at her own outfit. She felt like a mere child standing next to this woman called Sister Xin, and a sudden wave of inferiority washed over her.

Lin Manru was far from the only one staring fixedly at Song Qingxin. Ge Ruoshuang, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, was another. Her greedy gaze lingered continuously on Song Qingxin, prompting several male officers nearby to exchange knowing glances and make silent signals to one another.

It seemed that the rumors about Ge Ruoshuang preferring women were almost certainly true!

"Director Song!"

"Director Qi, Boss Zhu!"

Song Qingxin walked over with a beaming smile, shaking hands with both Qi Xiangfu and Zhu Liu.

Lin Xiaoxu was slightly startled. So they all knew each other.

"Neither the two main doors of the medicine warehouse nor the safe show any signs of forced entry. Therefore, the possibility of an inside job in this case is quite high. Based on the clues currently gathered, Uncle Rong and Li Donghai are the prime suspects. However, Zhu Liu, although you are the boss, the possibility cannot be ruled out that you swapped the precious medicinal herbs yourself and shifted the blame onto your employees."

"I’ve become a suspect too?" Zhu Liu exclaimed in shock.

"Stop wasting time. Begin fingerprint collection immediately, and then take Zhu Liu, Li Donghai, and Uncle Rong back to the station for a thorough interrogation."

Reluctantly tearing her gaze away from Song Qingxin, Ge Ruoshuang began issuing orders to the male officers behind her.

"Yes, Captain!"

One of the male officers immediately took out his phone to contact a fingerprint specialist.

Having investigated countless cases, Ge Ruoshuang had seen everything over the years except ghosts. That was why she had just mentioned that Zhu Liu was also a suspect. Especially in situations where surveillance was damaged or entirely absent, she had to account for every single possibility.

Li Donghai felt secretly pleased with himself. Before starting work, he had worn white gloves to ensure no fingerprints were left behind. No matter how competent these police officers were, they would never trace it back to him. Now that Zhu Liu had also become a suspect, it undoubtedly diluted his own suspicion even further.

"Boss Zhu, the medicinal herbs in your establishment were already compromised over a month ago!" Song Qingxin’s expression turned grim.

The reason Zhu Liu and Song Qingxin knew each other was because her child had been ill, causing her to frequently obtain medicine from his pharmacy for a period of time. However, she hadn't come to Jishi Hall to pick up medicine for over a month now.

"Director Song, I am truly sorry. This is an inside job at my Jishi Hall, where the fine herbs were swapped with cheap substitutes by an internal culprit. Once I ferret this scoundrel out, I will offer a formal apology to you and Director Qi," Zhu Liu said with a sincere expression.

"Captain Ge, although I advertised that I installed surveillance cameras both inside and out, the herbs in this warehouse are worth millions. To be truly safe, I actually secretly installed a hidden video recorder in a concealed spot within the warehouse." Zhu Liu pointed toward a secluded corner.

Zhu Liu hurried over to the concealed corner, fumbled around for a moment, and pulled out a video recorder.

Unlike networked surveillance systems, this recorder only needed a power source to operate and was immune to any external interference, including power outages.

Bang! It was like a thunderbolt striking directly across Li Donghai’s forehead!

"The hard drive in this recorder is 2TB, capable of thirty days of footage. While the pixel resolution isn't high definition, it doesn't obstruct clear viewing."

"Then why didn't you take it out sooner? You've wasted so much of my time!" Ge Ruoshuang roared angrily, immediately raising a hand to signal the male officer to cancel calling the fingerprint specialist.

"Yes, Captain." The male officer hung up the phone.

"Captain Ge, I just didn't get the chance to say it." If Song Qingxin hadn't suddenly walked in, Zhu Liu would have taken out the recorder long ago.

He immediately turned on the device and fast-forwarded through the footage of the past thirty days.

In the recording from late one night, everyone saw an older man dressed in black, wearing white gloves, holding a powerful electromagnetic signal jammer, and carrying a crossbody cloth bag. He used keys to open the inner and outer iron doors of the medicine warehouse, approached the safe, took out the wild ginseng, retrieved another ginseng from his cloth bag, and put it back in its place...

Why did that older man's face look exactly like Li Donghai's?

Everyone turned their gazes unanimously toward Li Donghai. Lin Xiaoxu, in particular—if looks could kill, the flesh on Li Donghai's body would have already been sliced off piece by piece with a knife and fed to the dogs!

Uncle Rong felt a wave of relief wash over him. Fortunately, Zhu Liu had been cautious enough to place a hidden recorder in a concealed spot; otherwise, he would never have been able to clear his name, even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

Li Donghai felt a sudden tightness in his chest. Casting a resentful glare at Zhu Liu, everything went black before his eyes, and he collapsed in a dead faint.

This fellow Zhu Liu was truly heartless, actually hiding a camera in a secret spot all along! What a thoroughly dishonest bastard!