Chapter 28 A man with ulterior motives.
"What is this?" Lin Meiqi asked vigilantly.
She picked up the wooden jar with her gloves and shook it. Zhang Jianxing's face turned extremely ugly.
He reached out to grab it: "Don't touch that."
Two police officers beside him forced him to sit on a chair.
Lin Meiqi handed the wooden jar to Feng Charlie, tilted it to take a look, and saw that there was indeed red liquid flowing inside. Lin Meiqi keenly noticed that from the smell, this was not paint, but real blood.
The wooden jar outside also seemed to be made of soaked herbs, exuding a faint medicinal fragrance.
This may be a way to preserve blood.
Lin Meiqi asked: "Is it the blood of a poisonous snake or human blood?"
Feng Charlie and Lin Meiqi recalled that there were no signs of blood on the victim's body except for the teeth marks of the poisonous snake.
"If venomous snakes are used to suck human blood, there are precedents for this, but it is limited to some special snakes, such as rattlesnakes, which can suck blood and are also called vampire snakes."
Feng Charlie understood that the two victims had not been bitten by this kind of blood-sucking snake.
Lin Meiqi checked the species of snakes in the cabin and found no trace of vampire snakes.
Zhang Jianxing saw that Lin Meiqi was still holding the stick and became a little angry: "Don't touch my blood, don't touch my blood!"
Lin Meiqi listened and vaguely realized something, "The blood on your body?"
Zhang Jianxing nodded: "Can you put it down? Please put it down, okay? I have so much with great difficulty."
As Zhang Jianxing's emotions fluctuated, suddenly a police officer felt that something seemed to be moving under his feet?
When he turned around, he saw that it was a snake. He screamed "Ah" and jumped up and rushed out of the room.
In a hidden location in the room, there were some snakes that were not placed in the glass. They were hidden among the miscellaneous items.
Zhang Lianxing can actually live with them like this.
At this moment, stimulated by the madness of their owner, the snakes continued to climb upwards, along Zhang Jianxing's calves, until they wrapped around his arms.
Feng Charlie led his men to guard the door of the room and pulled out their guns and pointed them at the snake.
"Don't touch me, this is my thing, you shouldn't touch it!"
"Please tell me clearly why we cannot touch it. We are just conducting a search according to the rules. If you had told us the truth just now, we would not have entered your territory."
Zhang Jianxing seemed to be in great pain at this moment, and his expression became ferocious.
The shop owner seemed to have seen him like this. He sighed deeply, covered his face with his hands, and felt quite helpless.
Because she ran fast just now, Lin Meiqi left the built-in wooden jar in the room.
At this moment, Zhang Jianxing had already placed the stick on the ground, just under his arm.
He laughed out loud, and the "hahaha" sound echoed in circles in the forest, making people feel creepy.
The next moment, the police officers were surprised to find that the snake on his right arm opened its mouth and bit his arm with a click, and blood gushed out of his arm.
Zhang Jianxing did not control himself. In extreme pain, his expression became distorted and terrifying.
"Plop, plop", a few drops of blood dripped into the wooden stick.
"Good boy, you did a good job." Zhang Jianxing stroked the snake, then slowly pulled out the teeth of the non-venomous snake and put it into a glass jar, and did the same with the other one.
At this time, Zhang Jianxing did not do any bandaging work, but squeezed out more blood along the place where the snake bit him. It seemed that this process made him feel comfortable, and there was a terrifying smile on his face.
The police officers were stunned and didn't know how to explain the situation.
Until Lin Meiqi spoke up: "The blood in the wooden jar is his own. He is not a murderer, but he is using bloodletting to treat his illness."
As soon as these words came out, Zhang Jianxing became visibly excited, and rushed towards Lin Meiqi like a madman, but was held back by Feng Charlie with a gun: "Sit back."
Zhang Jianxing's current condition is not normal. Feng Charlie must avoid Lin Meiqi from getting hurt, so he just took a few steps back and stood farther away.
"How do you know this?"
"A few days ago, I read a lot of books about snakes. Among them, there is a mention of this superstitious treatment method. This method comes from the foreign Fujiwara tribe, because they don't have a formal diagnosis and treatment method, and they can't even afford herbal medicine. They live in an endless desert and have no way to deal with diseases. They believe that snakes are their ancestors and think that this method can eliminate diseases."
Lin Meiqi continued, "In fact, in the earliest times, the Fujiwara tribe did not use snakes to bleed, but used sharp stones to cut their skin, hoping to let the dirty blood flow out to achieve the purpose of purifying themselves. But these methods have long been eliminated and are considered absolutely ineffective by modern society. Some people even became possessed and used more potent venomous snakes to bite themselves. Some people were bitten directly to the point of bone necrosis, damaging their arms and legs, or even losing their lives."
"I don't allow you to say that, this method works, I feel comfortable!"
"That's your psychological effect. Look at your hair. It has already turned yellow and dry. It's because there is no blood to nourish it. If you continue to bleed, you will lose your life sooner or later."
Feng Charlie waved his hand gently, signaling the two police officers to approach slowly.
Zhang Jianxing was passionately opposing Lin Meiqi's proposal when two people rushed out from his left and right, twisted his arms, pressed him against the wall, and handcuffed him.
Now all the snakes were put in by him, and several police officers even found long sticks to pick and poke around in the utility room to prevent new snakes from appearing.
"Bring the person out."
Two police officers escorted Zhang Jianxing out of the wooden house and asked, "What should we do with this house?"
"Let these snakes go back to where they were bought from. Don't keep them here. If they run out, they might hurt someone."
"yes."
Zhang Jianxing and the shop owner were forced into the police cars at the back. Charlie Feng opened the passenger door for Lin Meiqi and let her sit in. He sat in the driver's seat and drove the car.
Feng Charlie pondered for a moment and said, "It seems that this is just a patient who was poisoned by superstition. He probably has nothing to do with this murder case."
Lin Meiqi nodded: "If it is mixed with other people's blood, the treatment will not be pure. But I still need to test the blood in the blood tank to see if the components in it all belong to Zhang Jianxing alone. If there is indeed no other mixed blood components, then it is just for treatment, and the murder can be cleared of suspicion. It seems that his brother has also been kept in the dark, otherwise he would not have misunderstood that it was his brother who did these things."
Liang Yifeng, who was sitting in the back row, added: "In order to help his brother escape, he actually attacked the police. It really wasn't worth it. It was unnecessary. He actually didn't trust his brother that much. But it's better to catch Zhang Jianxing. He raises so many snakes. If someone accidentally enters the forest, something bad will happen sooner or later."
"I will refer the illegal sale of venomous snakes to other departments. After the interrogation, if there is no objection, it will be transferred to them."
Several people returned to the serious crime squad together and interrogated the store owner and Zhang Jianxing one by one.
Feng Charlie and his men were busy with interrogations, and each trial took several hours.
Lin Meiqi collected the blood and put it into the instrument for testing.
The test results came out before the end of the night, and Feng Charlie and the others were still interrogating them.
Lin Meiqi called Feng Charlie out and asked, "Why did the interrogation take so long?"
Feng Charlie said: "The shop owner mentioned that he was robbed by a masked man in a motorcycle while walking on the street two days ago. His bag contained more than 200,000 Hong Kong dollars. He wanted to call the police, but on the day we went to inquire about the murder, he was worried that his brother Zhang Jianxing did it. If he called the police, he would be linked to Zhang Jianxing, so he did nothing. However, 200,000 Hong Kong dollars should be a lot of money for him."
"yes."
"Now that it has come to this, he has also mentioned that incident. I hope the police can help to find out. We will take the statement and hand it over to the transfer department."
Lin Meiqi understood: "No wonder the trial took so long."
She handed the blood report to Charlie Feng, "Now it can be confirmed that Zhang Jianxing is indeed not a suspect. And I also found this among the hundreds of snake-related materials that the police officers brought back to Zhang Jianxing's home."
She opened the book to the crucial page.
When Feng Charlie took a look, he found that it was indeed stated that only by keeping the blood pure could the pain be relieved, so Zhang Jianxing had no motive.
It's time to get off work.
Feng Charlie glanced at the clock on the wall, took the materials, and was about to enter the interrogation room. He turned around and said, "Go back quickly. It's getting late. Don't stay with us."
"Aren't you going back?"
"It would be good if the case was transferred. We need to take Zhang Jianxing to check whether his so-called illness is a psychological problem or a real problem."
Lin Meiqi nodded. "When I saw the police officers pinning him against the wall, a part of his clothes was exposed. He at least has eczema on his body, and the area covered is not small. Perhaps this is one of the diseases that bothers him. And his complexion is so bad due to long-term bloodletting. He probably has anemia. I'm afraid he has many physical diseases."
"Okay, we'll give him a full body check."
After Lin Meiqi finished her report, she returned to the forensic room and changed out of her forensic clothes, a white shirt and a pair of jeans, a very capable combination.
Just as she was about to leave, she saw He Wanyi running over to her and asking, "Forensic Doctor Lin, do you have anything to do after get off work?"
Lin Meiqi shook her head: "There is no forensic class today."
"Great, I want you to go somewhere with me, okay?"
Lin Meiqi said: "Go shopping?"
"No, I'm going to meet a blind date today. My mother insisted that I go. I heard he's very rich. The first meal is at a very expensive hotel. I want you to go with me to have a big meal, and by the way, give me some reference and see what kind of person he is."
Lin Meiqi was moved by the three words "eat a big meal".
It would be boring to go home alone anyway, so she might as well have some fun and be with friends.
He Wanyi was extremely excited when she got Lin Meiqi's consent.
The two of them walked on the road, hailed a taxi, and then walked towards the restaurant where the blind date had agreed to meet.
The restaurant we made an appointment at was a western-style restaurant called Kirito Season, which did look quite luxurious.
Lin Meiqi couldn't help but sigh: "Wow, this guy is really rich. I heard Liang Yifeng talk about this place. Most people have to make an appointment in advance before they can go in and eat."
"Ah, is that so?" He Wanyi was surprised.
"It should be the kind that only accepts people after making an appointment."
"Wow, I'm in for a treat today!"
Lin Meiqi was also ready to eat to her heart's content.
He Wanyi introduced her in advance: "My mother said that the man is said to be Gao Yugu, the future heir of the Gao family, and is now doing red wine business in the market. It is said that he has a special winery, an entire vineyard in France, and an underground wine cellar filled with thousands of various precious wines. I wonder if he can bring a bottle today for us to taste. However, the more my mother talks, the more I think it is impossible. What if he is a liar!"
"It doesn't matter." Lin Meiqi said, "We'll observe carefully when we meet."
They agreed to meet at the entrance of the hotel, but without a direct invitation they couldn't get in, so they had to wait.
Ten minutes later, a luxury car stopped in front of the hotel.
The black, elegant and expensive body, as well as the beautifully glossy curved shape, made Lin Meiqi sigh: "This car must be worth at least a million Hong Kong dollars."
The car door opened and a man in a suit got out.
He quickly recognized He Wanyi because the introducer had shown him a photo of her.
Gao Yugu smiled at He Wanyi and nodded, then walked up to her and saw that there was another girl next to her, so he asked, "Are you He Wanyi's friend?"
"Yes." Lin Meiqi nodded and smiled.
He Wanyi said, "Do you mind if I bring someone else to dinner? This friend of mine really likes food."
"Okay, I don't mind."
"Then let me introduce you. This is Lin Meiqi, the famous forensic doctor Lin."
"I'm sorry, I haven't heard of it. I don't know where it's famous."
The man shrugged, showing a bit of arrogance.
He Wanyi's expression immediately looked somewhat unhappy.
But the man quickly changed his face and showed some friendliness: "It doesn't matter if we don't know each other. This is our first meeting. We will get to know each other slowly, right? I'm treating you two to a big meal today, but we made a reservation in advance, and the ingredients were also flown in from New Zealand."
He Wanyi and Lin Meiqi followed the man upstairs.
He Wanyi thought that it was her mother who forced her to come on the blind date, so the blind date had to go on no matter what.
After going upstairs and sitting down, I found that the lighting here was dim, creating a somewhat ambiguous atmosphere.
The key point is that the people at the next table should be rich, but they are so inappropriate.
While eating, the two of them hugged each other and kissed so passionately that He Wanyi felt embarrassed to watch and turned away.
Gao Yugu keenly noticed that He Wanyi was acting strangely and asked, "How about we change places?"
"No, they can't kiss for a long time."
He Wanyi said in a low voice.
Gao Yugu smiled at her and said, "The menu here is the same for everyone, divided into three sets, A, B, and C. The most abundant one is Set A. I have reserved this set. Of course, because there is a new friend, Set A cannot be reserved, so you can choose one of the existing Set B and Set C in the restaurant."
Lin Meiqi said, "It's all right. I don't know what dishes are included in each set menu. You come here often, so it's up to you to decide."
Gao Yugu called the waiter and asked her to order an extra portion of Set B.
The waiter left.
"I'm sorry. My parents wanted us to meet each other, but I've been very busy lately. I've been to several countries to inspect new vineyards, so I'm sorry I came back late. Did I delay you? I know your serious crime unit is very busy every day, and it must be difficult to find time for a date."
He Wanyi replied: "Fortunately, if the case is solved, there will be some leisure time."
"Oh, is there any recent news you can tell me about?"
He Wanyi shrugged: "I'm sorry, this is confidential information. When it can be made public, the case will naturally be made public to the public."
"Oh, am I a member of the public? Am I not your friend? Can't even friends know?"
He Wanyi shook her head: "Friends are the same, there are no privileges."
"Well, you police officers are usually so serious."
Soon, a dish was brought up by the waiter. It was beef stewed in red wine. The taste depended on the red wine he used, which happened to be Gao Yugu's specialty.
He introduced the wines here, saying that although the wines here are very good, they are not as valuable or rare as those in his own winery. He also said that he had put in a lot of effort to obtain every bottle of wine in his collection.
"There is nothing more elegant than tasting red wine, right? No other drink can compare to it. Red wine is a gift from God."
The other party was so talkative that He Wanyi kept dozing off while listening to him. In fact, the same happened to Lin Meiqi.
She really wanted to grab a piece of beef, but the other party kept talking too much and she was embarrassed to take that piece.
He Wanyi sensed Lin Meiqi's appetite for the beef, so she could only interrupt Gao Yugu: "Why don't we eat it first? It will get cold later."
"Oh, of course, don't worry about me, do whatever you want."
Lin Meiqi tasted a piece of beef and it was indeed tender, but she still found the stewed red wine a little unaccustomed to it.
The man in front of me was still talking about red wine, and then he talked about his business.
He Wanyi was a little impatient: "Compared to red wine, other drinks are not drinkable by humans? But it happens that we both like to drink coffee, so what does that count?"
"Oh, coffee." The man smiled, a hint of arrogance flashed across his face, "Do you use instant coffee or freshly ground coffee?" "What do you think? We are a police station and we have to go out on missions at any time. Can we still grind coffee by hand? Of course we use brewed coffee. In order to stay energized, we sometimes stay up late and sleep in the office. How can we survive without coffee?"
"That's a shame. Your job takes away some of the joy of life."
The second course was served, a French onion soup, a typical appetizer.
But He Wanyi didn't know why she had no appetite. Just by listening to the man's boring talk, she felt full. Her originally good mood suddenly became very bad.
She couldn't stand it anymore and directly retorted: "We are police officers, we have to keep the area safe, unlike you capitalists who can enjoy it. What's more, we don't bother to enjoy it like that. I don't know if you understand what I mean. The two of us are sitting here on a blind date today, and we are equals. Don't look down on me with your extravagant and hedonistic values and try to influence or change me, OK?"
The man stopped talking and was stunned for a long time. He seemed to have not expected the girl to be so direct. After a long time, he said: "Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to be a teacher, I just want you to know me better."
The atmosphere at the dinner was more or less subtle.
Although He Wanyi had let go of her emotions and the two of them could start talking normally, Lin Meiqi still felt that the atmosphere was not good. She just focused on eating and tried her best not to say anything inappropriate to embarrass He Wanyi.
However, when she focused her attention on the meal, she couldn't help but sigh that she really couldn't get used to the taste of the food in the French restaurant. There was a sense of disharmony as all the flavors were mixed together, and the portion of each dish was just a little bit, and it was gone after just one or two bites.
She doubted whether she would be able to eat enough by the time all the food was served.
Fortunately, two desserts were served at the end. She didn’t know what kind of cake it was, but it looked quite beautiful.
The French are supposed to be good at making desserts, right?
Lin Meiqi gently scooped a spoonful with a spoon and put it into her mouth. This French dessert was quite good, with the cream cheese and puff pastry blended perfectly. It had been a long time since she had eaten such a great dessert.
After eating two pastries in a row, Lin Meiqi finally felt barely full.
However, perhaps because the original red wine beef was mixed with wine, He Wanyi's cheeks were slightly red, as if the red wine had a strong aftereffect and she was now a little drunk.
"Have you finished eating? I'll take you two home."
"No, my home is not far from here. It only takes ten minutes by taxi."
He Wanyi said this and waved her hand. Lin Meiqi followed them downstairs.
When she got downstairs, she was about to take a ride with He Wanyi, but she saw the man directly approach He Wanyi, with his right hand on her waist, saying something in her ear, as if he wanted to take He Wanyi back to the car.
Lin Meiqi felt something was wrong. She took a few steps forward and heard Gao Yugu saying, "I'll take you there. It's okay. If someone at home is late, I'll get you a hotel room. You can sleep outside."
He Wanyi seemed to have a poor alcohol tolerance. Although she was still relatively sober, she was not very strong and her legs were weak, so she could not push him.
"I want to go home."
"Your parents should have told you that I have a good impression of the police profession. When I met you today, I felt that you have a very strong personality, but I like it. I think we should settle the relationship right now, how about it? I can take you to visit my home, and you can sleep there. I will take you back to the serious crime unit in the morning."
This person is too arrogant!
He was so rude to the police, grabbing her waist and blowing in her ear, and it was too fast.
Even if it's a blind date, it can't be this fast. It's a little abnormal and seems like there is an ulterior motive.
Lin Meiqi stood between He Wanyi and the man, blocking the two men apart.
She propped up He Wanyi's arm with her hand, looked at her slightly tipsy appearance, turned back to Gao Yugu and said, "Let her think about the matter of confirming the relationship when she is sober. It's a bit inappropriate to say such things when she is drunk, right? Also, don't try to challenge the authority of the law just because you are rich. Put away your ignorant arrogance, otherwise I will ask my colleagues from the serious crime team to handle it."
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