Chapter 75: Jinjiang First Release

Qiao Yang nodded vigorously: "Yes, yes, it was a corpse, Master, you even figured this out! Wow, the scene at that time was simply indescribable. It was the first time I saw a human corpse in my life. The corpse was in a storage room. The room was very narrow, dirty and messy. There was a folding bed barely set up among the pile of junk, and the corpse was on that bed."

"It was the body of an old man. His hair was gray and he had few teeth. When we found him, his body was stiff, his skin was blue, his face was ghastly, and there was still some white foam at the corners of his mouth. He looked exactly like the zombies in the zombie film. Although I don't know anything about medicine, it's obvious that he was poisoned to death!"

"After seeing the body, I rushed out the door and vomited until there was nothing left in my stomach. Only then did I recover."

"The police sent the old man to the hospital, and the hospital confirmed that he was dead and there was no need to save him. Then the police went to question the poisoned family. The male owner said that the old man was his father. He had just eaten mushrooms with them in the afternoon and had been resting in bed in the room."

"Based on the condition of the old man's body, the police initially concluded that the old man was poisoned by mushrooms. This was an accident, and the old man's family did not raise any objections."

After Qiao Yang finished speaking, Lame Brother felt very angry. He said angrily: "What a bunch of idiots, they ate blindly and ended up poisoning an innocent old man to death! These people should all be sentenced!"

Qiao Yang's view is different from that of Lame Brother: "They are stupid, but they did it unintentionally. No one wants to cause this. There is no need to sentence them, right?"

Lame brother put his hands on his hips and said, "Unintentional? Who knows if it was intentional or not? I think this matter is strange. Everyone ate poisonous mushrooms, why didn't the family of four die, but the old man died?"

Qiao Yang explained for them, "Of course it's because the old man is old and in poor health. I've been neighbors with them for such a long time, and only today did I find out that there's a fifth person living in their house. This old man's condition is rather special. He has problems with his legs and feet, and it's inconvenient for him to get out of bed, so he can only rest in bed. He was in poor health to begin with, so it's normal that he didn't make it after getting food poisoning."

Lame Brother thought: "I always feel that this is not right. I am also a son. I also have a father. My father is not young anymore. But as a normal person, I will not take the risk of letting my father eat something that may be poisonous. They did this on purpose..."

Qiao Yang disagreed: "You really think too much! I know this family. They are usually very honest and kind. Let me give you an example. We live in an old neighborhood. The houses here were built many years ago and the sound insulation is very poor. My upstairs family knows this, so they usually move very quietly at home and never make any noise. Other people's upstairs and downstairs are always in conflict, but we have been very friendly for so many years."

"They know the house has poor sound insulation..." Lame Brother stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Does that mean that if there's a quarrel in their house, you'll know about it immediately?"

"Yeah, so what?" Qiao Yang didn't understand what Lame Brother meant.

Lame brother further analyzed: "What if, I mean what if, they knew that the purple jade mushroom was poisonous and ate it on purpose? After they ate it, as long as they made a noise for a while, someone from your family would come and find out that they were abnormal. In this way, they could be saved, and they could also get rid of the old man in the family without arousing anyone's suspicion."

Qiao Yang asked suspiciously, "Are you saying that they cooked a meal of poisonous mushrooms in order to kill the old man? But they ate them themselves, aren't they afraid of poisoning themselves?"

"Could it be that the amount they ate was different?" Cripple Brother made a guess, "For example, they gave the old man a large bowl of mushrooms, but they only ate a few pieces of poisonous mushrooms. In this way, although they would be poisoned, they would not die. Only the old man would die."

Qiao Yang shook his head: "As for how much the old man ate, I don't know. After all, only the family has the right to request an autopsy. If the family did not request an autopsy, we would not know how many purple jade mushrooms were in the old man's stomach."

Lame Brother was a little disappointed, but he still said firmly: "Anyway, no matter what, I think this family deliberately poisoned the old man!"

Qiao Yang asked back: "You have no evidence, what basis do you have to say that?"

Lame Brother puffed out his chest and said, "I don't have any evidence, but I have a son's intuition."

Qiao Yang didn't believe him: "Come on, you are too conspiratorial! When I left the hospital, the whole family was crying over the old man's body. You didn't see it, but they were crying so hard, especially the old man's son, who cried so hard that his lungs were broken. He kept slapping himself and his mouth was bleeding. I guess he was blaming himself. I think the whole family has a lot of feelings for the old man."

Bai Mian leaned against the door with his arms folded, and said leisurely: "You are still young and don't understand the world well enough. You will understand in the future that appearing sad does not necessarily mean you are really sad."

"What?" Qiao Yang raised his head in surprise, "Master Bai, are you saying there is something else going on?"

Bai Mian looked at Que Ge and said, "This time, your intuition is right."

"Ah?" Lame Brother suddenly cheered up, "I guessed right, they conspired to kill the old man!"

Bai Mian nodded: "Yes, your guess is roughly correct. When the family went up the mountain, they deliberately dug up poisonous purple jade mushrooms, cooked them and fed them to the old man. Then they created a noise to cause the neighbors to call the police, creating the illusion that the family had accidentally eaten poisonous mushrooms."

Qiao Yang was puzzled: "Master, according to what you said, this family didn't eat poisonous mushrooms at all, only the old man did. But after the doctor washed their stomachs, he did detect the ingredients of purple jade mushrooms in their vomit. What's going on?"

Bai Mian raised a question: "Is there any way to allow food to enter the stomach without being digested?"

"This..." Brother Cripple thought, "Unless there is something to wrap the food, for example..."

"Capsule!" Qiao Yang replied.

"Yes, this family used capsules," Bai Mian explained. "General capsules will melt about half an hour after entering the human body, but some special capsules can last longer. You and your upstairs neighbor have been neighbors for so many years, you should know his occupation. He works in a pharmaceutical company and is more likely to be exposed to these things than ordinary people."

"He got a batch of special capsules from the company, then used a blender to blend the purple jade mushrooms into a paste, and then put them into the capsules. At dusk, he served the cooked purple jade mushrooms to the old man, and watched him eat them with his own eyes. Then he and his family swallowed a large number of capsules. These capsules can last for two hours in the stomach, which is enough to ensure that they are not affected by the poisonous mushrooms."

"After everything was done, the four of them started making a big noise upstairs, pretending to be hallucinating, waiting for the neighbors downstairs to find them."

“It turns out they weren’t hallucinating at all. Those crazy looks were just an act for us… The Jade Emperor, the Goddess Nuwa… The four of them conspired together, and even the children were involved… The human heart is so scary.” Qiao Yang couldn’t help but sigh.

Lame Brother thought of a question: "How can they be sure that the downstairs will call the police? What if the downstairs does not call the police, or in other words, there is no one at home downstairs?"

Bai Mian: "Then they will call the police themselves when the time comes. However, it is best for the neighbors to do this, so it seems more real. Look, wasn't Yuanzhu deceived by this family just now?"

Cripple suddenly realized: "The reason why they have to make so much trouble is to wait for a specific time. When the capsule in the stomach is almost dissolved and the poisonous mushrooms begin to come into contact with gastric juice, they must go to the hospital for gastric lavage. When the doctor finds the mushy poisonous mushrooms in their vomit, he will think that they have been digested by their gastric juice. Little do they know that they have actually just eaten the poisonous mushrooms!"

"And by this time the capsule shell had already melted in the stomach, leaving no trace, it was absolutely seamless!" Qiao Yang exclaimed, "In this way, people would think that the five members of the family had eaten poisonous mushrooms two hours ago, but in fact only the old man was like that, so only he died, and the other four were fine."

"The time difference is the murderer's weapon this time." Bai Mian concluded.

"The human heart is really unfathomable..." Qiao Yang was still a little shocked. "Why would they kill people for no reason? Is it for the inheritance? But this family is dressed in ordinary clothes and lives in an old house. It doesn't look like they have any property..."

Bai Mian took a palm leaf fan and fanned himself gently, saying, "It's not for the sake of property. The old man has bad legs and feet and has been bedridden for years. He needs someone to take care of him. The family thinks he is a burden and has been looking forward to his death for a long time, but the old man has not died yet, so they have to do it themselves."

Lame Brother sighed heavily: "There is no filial son for a long-term sick bed, it has always been like this."

Qiao Yang realized it belatedly: "That's right, they let the old man live in the utility room, and the bed is so small. There is an empty guest room in the house, but they still let the old man live in the utility room. The thoughts of this family are really written on their faces. I should have noticed it earlier! No, we can't just let them get away like this!"

Qiao Yang stood up and said to Bai Mian, "Master, I will go to the police station right now and ask them to do an autopsy on the old man before his body is sent for cremation!"

Bai Mian nodded and reminded, "The autopsy is secondary. The old man was poisoned by the purple jade mushroom. There is no doubt about this. The most important thing is to check the records of the male owner's purchases from the company and the small blender in his home."

Qiao Yang took note of Bai Mian's words and ran away. Lame Brother looked at his back and said with envy: "This boy has great physical strength. His physical test results are pretty good. I remember that I was also a sports champion in the class. I had a pair of long legs and could run very fast. If not..."

Having said this, Lame Brother stopped talking. Bai Mian understood that he must have a past that he didn't want to talk about, so he didn't ask any more questions.

After a while, Qiao Yang ran back. He stopped at the entrance of Cixin Hall and said to Bai Mian with excitement, "Master, you are amazing! You are right about everything!"

He took a breath and talked about the progress of the case. The police went to investigate the pharmaceutical company where the male owner worked and learned that he had indeed taken a batch of empty capsule shells from the company recently. The police also found the small blender that Bai Mian mentioned in his kitchen. Although the blender had been cleaned, the police still found the residue of purple jade mushroom in the gap of the blender.

In addition, the police also investigated the family's electronic devices. They found search records related to purple jade mushrooms on the youngest son's children's learning machine, which is enough to prove that the family deliberately went to dig purple jade mushrooms knowing that they are poisonous.

Now that the evidence is conclusive, the police have gone to the hospital to arrest people.

Qiao Yang was filled with emotion: "This family usually looks honest, but I never thought they could do such a cruel thing, and their method of committing the crime is quite cunning. The two adults in their family did not use their own mobile phones to search, but used their children's learning machine to search. So what? They were still found out by the police? Fortunately, I came here to have my fortune told today, otherwise they might have gotten away with it!"

Lame Brother patted Qiao Yang on the shoulder and said, "You are a good kid! Most people would ignore what happened to their neighbors, but you were so kind as to call the police. I hope you can keep this warm-hearted attitude when you enter society!"

Qiao Yang puffed out his chest proudly: "Of course! I didn't expect that I would be involved in a murder case. This means that my day off was not wasted!"

The matter was over. Qiao Yang picked up his phone and wanted to pay Bai Mian for the diagnosis. Bai Mian stopped him and said, "No need. This diagnosis is free. Just consider it a reward for your enthusiasm."

Qiao Yang didn't hesitate, he happily put away his phone and waved goodbye to Bai Mian: "Thank you, Master, I'll be leaving now!"

Lame Brother was a little curious: "Hey, you are about to take the college entrance examination, don't you want to ask about your college entrance examination results?"

Qiao Yang refused calmly: "No need, I don't want to know, I have to create my own future!"

As he spoke, he started running again, creating a gust of wind in the alley. Old couple Weng Xuhua looked at this young man and felt that they had become a lot younger.

Thinking about the case just now, Lame Brother felt a little sad for a moment: "That old man was so pitiful. He lived in a small and messy storage room and slept on an uncomfortable bed. In the end, he was poisoned to death. If I were him, I would die with my eyes open!"

"No," Bai Mian said, "in fact, he knows everything."

"Ah?" Lame Brother was stunned.

Bai Mian: "He knew it was a bowl of poisonous mushrooms, and he ate it willingly."

"When the old man was young, his family was poor. In order to pay for his son's school fees, he once went up the mountain to dig mushrooms and then carried them down the mountain to sell. So the old man knows mushrooms. When the purple jade mushroom is fried, it turns purple. This color is very special. The old man recognized it at a glance."

"When his son handed him the bowl of purple jade mushrooms, he understood everything. Looking at his smiling son, he took the bowl. Even though he knew it was a bowl of food for his death and even though he knew what his son and daughter-in-law were thinking, he still ate the bowl of purple jade mushrooms in big mouthfuls."

"The old man also locked the door of the utility room from the inside so that he could leave quietly. He was afraid that his screams of pain would disturb the children."

"He was afraid of disturbing the children, but this family was having a wild dance at home when the old man died. What's the difference between this and dancing at a grave?" When Lame Brother thought of this scene, he was so angry that his teeth itched. "Life was so difficult back then, but the father was able to send his son to school. Now that conditions have improved, the son thinks his father is a burden. What a beast, what a beast!"

Lame Brother was so angry that he kept beating his chest: "Ahhh, I'm going to be so angry that I won't be able to sleep tonight!"

The breeze from the alley touched Bai Mian's cheeks and blew her hair. Bai Mian's eyes were also touched: "People say that raising a son is a way to prepare for old age. Does raising a son to prepare for old age mean raising a son to take care of you in your old age, or raising a son to prevent you from living to old age?"

Weng Xuhua couldn't bear to see them like this, and advised them earnestly: "You two are so young, why are you thinking about this? The future will definitely be better than the present. When you are old, maybe there will be robots to take care of you. Young people, look forward!"

Lame brother seized the opportunity and said, "A thousand words are worse than saying something real. Boss, I have stayed in the store for so long today. It is already past the end of the working day. Xiao Yang has already left. This is considered overtime, right? Do I get overtime pay?"

Weng Xuhua smiled and narrowed his eyes: "You are just a money-grubber. Okay, okay, I will give you an extra hundred this month as overtime pay."

Lame brother cheered, and the sadness just now was swept away. He took the broom in the corner and said attentively: "Boss, don't worry, I won't take your money for nothing. Before I get off work today, I will help you clean the store!"

Weng Xuhua nodded. It was already dark outside, and it looked like no one would come. He walked to the door and prepared to close it. Just before he closed the door, a middle-aged woman with dyed red hair squeezed in, panting and begging:

"No, sorry, I'm late. I'm the third guest today!"

Lame put down the broom, walked up to the woman and asked, "I was calling you outside for a long time just now, why didn't you come?"

The woman said embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, I went to the restroom just now and didn't hear you calling me. I waited too long today and couldn't help but want to go to the restroom, so I went to the public restroom next door. But there were so many people in the public restroom that I waited in line for a long time before it was my turn. When I came back from the restroom, you were about to close. I thought you had forgotten about me!"

Bai Mian said gently, "I haven't forgotten. Since I picked you, it's destiny. We will treat every destiny master seriously. Although it's a little late, I can still diagnose you. Tell me, what questions do you want to ask?"

The woman sat down in front of the examination table and began to talk in a rambling way:

"Master, my name is Hong Yueli, I am 40 years old this year, and my husband is the same age as me. Before, my husband has always been very good to me, and we are very loving. Relatives and friends all envy me, but recently I found that he is always absent-minded. He ignores me when I talk to him, and he no longer gives me his salary card."

"I suspected he had someone else outside, so a few days ago, I took advantage of him sleeping and secretly looked at his phone. As a result, I found his chat history with his mistress. He and his mistress had agreed to meet at the Fujia Hotel in town tonight!"

"I was planning to catch him cheating in bed, so I pretended not to know and secretly put the phone back. Tonight, I watched him leave the house and followed him all the way. Sure enough, I saw him sneaking into the Fujia Hotel, but now the biggest problem has come - I don't know what his room number is!"

"I asked the front desk, but they refused me because they couldn't disclose customers' privacy. I was so anxious that I was sweating all over. I was just one step away from catching them in bed!"

"So, Master, please give me your pulse and tell me the room number of that couple!"

Seeing the excitement, Lame Brother poked Bai Mian's shoulder and urged, "Hurry up, tell her the room number. I need to go on a family and friends tour!"

The woman put her hands on the table, and Bai Mian took her pulse. Then Bai Mian raised his head and looked at the woman in front of him in surprise.

"Master, what's wrong?" Hong Yueli asked in confusion.

Lame brother urged: "Hurry up and tell me!"

Bai Mian let go of the woman's wrist and sneered, "Oh, I guess we don't need to forget about it."

"Why?" the woman asked nervously.

Bai Mian stared at the woman: "Because you are not here to tell fortunes, you are here to cause trouble."