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墨書 Inktalez
The former owner of this clinic seems to have left in a hurry, leaving many things behind. The room is covered in a thick layer of dust, with only a circle of footprints from Boli moving around, indicating that no one has been here for a long time.
Hua Zhong, the constables, and Ms.Qin also walked in, stirring up the dust and causing them to cough repeatedly.
While cleaning, Ms.Qin found a lot of medicinal herbs, but they had lost their effectiveness due to being left for a long time.
"The previous owner left in quite a hurry, leaving so many things behind."
Hua Zhong said as she cleaned.
Master Zhang stopped and looked around at the furnishings inside the clinic.
"Yes, it's just like something sudden happened and we had to leave in a hurry..."
" Master Zhang, the former owner of this clinic..."
A constable seemed to want to say something, but quickly closed his mouth and looked around.
"What's wrong? If there's something on your mind, just say it. It's okay."
"Um... actually, the former owner of this clinic left at a different time from when Master Zhang last visited. When Master Zhang came here last time, the owner was still here, but for some reason, he didn't open the door and it's been many days already."
Master Zhang appeared very surprised after hearing this.
"What? I went to look for him that day and knocked on the door many times, but no one answered. I thought he had already gone out, but he was actually at home?" The constable nodded.
"That day, I happened to be patrolling through here and saw the former owner of this medical clinic standing hesitantly at the door, muttering something and looking very agitated.
I approached and asked what was happening. He seemed flustered when he saw me, but then quickly reassured me with a forced smile that there was nothing to worry about. However, his eyes betrayed a sense of panic, and before I could say anything, he hurried into the clinic as if he were hiding something from me. I found it all very strange, so I came back the next day to look for him. No matter how many times I knocked, there was no answer. Then a soldier coming off duty at the city gate told me that he had left Luoyang in a hurry, carrying a bag on his back."
The constable had just finished speaking when another constable took over: "Actually, there's a bad rumor about the former owner of this clinic. I wonder if Master Zhang has heard of it?"
Master Zhang pondered for a moment, as if he didn't know any rumors about him.
"I have not heard of any," he replied.
"Some people are saying that when he dispenses medicine, he adds some ingredients that are not listed on the prescription, and even includes something called 'Lao Er' in it..."
"This, he actually added Lao Er!" Master Zhang's face changed drastically after hearing this.
" Master Zhang, although we know that labor is harmful, we don't know exactly how it is harmful. Could you please explain?" The constable was a little curious, and the other constables also perked up their ears to listen.
"Lao'er is a plant that only grows in the demon realm, and it can be said to be one of the most common plants in the demon realm. As the name suggests, Lao'er can slightly enhance one's hearing, but it cannot be used as a medicinal herb because it cannot be consumed with certain human realm foods. If mixed and consumed together, Lao'er will secrete a toxic substance. When consumed by humans, it can cause mild auditory hallucinations or even continuous tinnitus, enough to drive a person to the brink of collapse."
Upon hearing this, everyone present, including Huarong, except for Qin, gasped in shock.
At this moment, a constable seemed to remember something and said loudly:
"Oh, right! About a year and a half ago, Lu Cheng, who lived near my house, suddenly started speaking loudly, saying that he always felt very noisy, so he had to speak loudly and have others shout at him to talk to him... Originally, his voice was very soft, so the contrast at the time was difficult for many people to adapt to, and who would be willing to always shout and talk to people in a yelling way, so gradually no one talked to him... At that time, we didn't know what had happened."
Zhang Zonghan listened and furrowed his brows, murmuring:
"This is undoubtedly caused by eating Lao Er."
"Then, how is Lu Cheng doing now? Where is he? Can you take us to find him?"
Ms.Qin wanted to help heal this person after hearing about his ordeal.
The other constables looked at each other in silence.
"What's wrong? Why is everyone quiet?" Zhang Zonghan asked in confusion.
"In fact, he had recently thrown himself into the river and died. Lu Cheng's relatives came to the yamen and caused a commotion for a long time... But the coroner couldn't figure out what had happened, so the matter was dropped. Lu Cheng's relatives brought various weapons and wanted to attack the magistrate at the time, and it took a lot of effort for us to stop them. Fortunately, they didn't really intend to hurt anyone, otherwise we would have all been injured."
The constable who was speaking originally scratched his head and said with lingering fear.
"This... actually committed suicide by jumping into the river? I remember that the labor poison is toxic, but it shouldn't be fatal."
Zhang Zonghan was puzzled by this, while Ms.Qin explained on the side.
"Laolu will indeed not lead to death, but Master Zhang, think about it. If a person continuously suffers from the torment of tinnitus, unable to hear clearly no matter who is speaking, over time, no one will be willing to talk to him anymore. In the long run, this is enough to cause great mental harm to a person. So, although Laolu will not cause physical harm to make people die, the enormous mental torment is enough. Therefore, even when facing patients with ear diseases, the doctor will not easily use Laolu, unless there is a clear understanding of the patient's dietary habits, so that the patient will not be poisoned by consuming food that interacts with Laolu during the treatment period."
After listening to Ms.Qin words, Zhang Zonghan nodded thoughtfully. This means that the former owner of this medical hall investigated Lu Cheng's dietary habits and used Laolu when treating him, and it seems that a considerable amount was used, otherwise Lu Cheng's tinnitus symptoms would not be so severe.
This clinic has been in business for many years. The previous owner of the clinic should not have only treated Lu Cheng, but why is it that only Lu Cheng's symptoms are so severe? This is something Zhang Zonghan doesn't quite understand.
" Ms.Qin, do you know if the toxicity of labor is immediate or does it worsen with accumulation?"
"The general situation is that the more it accumulates, the more serious it becomes, but under certain special conditions, it can erupt immediately, and the toxicity is fierce."
Zhang Zonghan turned to the constable who had spoken earlier and asked.
"Do you remember how Lu Cheng described his tinnitus? Wasn't it that at first, he could only hear things faintly for a while?" The constable thought for a moment and replied.
"No, it's just that I suddenly couldn't hear clearly. He was perfectly fine the day before..."
"Are you sure you didn't remember it wrong?" Qin hurriedly asked.
"Yes, I remember it very clearly. There was no change the day before he started speaking loudly. His speech was still very clear... It left a deep impression because it was so extreme. You see, before, sometimes he needed others to ask him several times before he understood what he was saying."
"This is strange..." Ms.Qin words to the constable sounded very puzzled.
Zhang Zonghan asked:
"What's wrong? Do you have any questions?"
"Even if ordinary world food and labor have a toxic effect on the ears, the toxicity accumulates and becomes more severe over time, and it will not cause severe tinnitus without any warning signs. Only a kind of herb from the demon realm can achieve this..."
Hearing this, Zhang Zonghan immediately furrowed his brow.
"What? Demon realm herbs?"
"Yes, that kind of herb is called Soul Departure Flower. It's a material that can greatly enhance the effectiveness of medicine. When consumed with Laor, it does indeed significantly improve the patient's hearing, but it also triggers the toxicity of Laor all at once. Anyone with knowledge of demon realm herbs would never include Soul Departure Flower and Laor in the same prescription. Also, unlike Laor, Soul Departure Flower grows in an extremely dangerous environment. When it blooms, it emits a fragrance that attracts nearby demons. The area where Soul Departure Flower is found is quite dangerous, and it will attract a large number of demons all at once. Therefore, only those with strong abilities would dare to collect Soul Departure Flower. If one's abilities are not sufficient to collect Soul Departure Flower, it's a dead end."
Master Zhang was dumbfounded. On one hand, it was because he was amazed at how knowledgeable Qin was about herbal plants. On the other hand, it was because someone would actually use the Soul Departure Flower to harm others along with labor.
"But, did the former owner of this medical hall have the ability to obtain the Soul Departure Flower?" Zhang Zonghan couldn't help but mutter to himself.
In his impression, the former owner of the medical hall was a rather frail person, unlikely to have a way to go to such a dangerous place to collect the Soul Departure Flower... But, could it be that Lu Cheng has a way to collect it?
Qin asked Master Zhang and the constable:
"Do you still remember what the former owner of the clinic and Lu Cheng looked like?"
The constable said:
"Lu Cheng actually looks very strong and powerful, and the neighbors in our area are saying that he has been to the demon realm many times and often goes to collect various plants. But it seems like he has some innate deficiency... so he often buys aphrodisiacs from the former owner of the pharmacy. However, one time when I went to get the medicine with Lu Cheng, I remember they did mention something about the Soul Departure Flower..."
"So... are you saying that he often uses the Soul Departure Flower to enhance the effectiveness of the aphrodisiac?"
Zhang Zonghan opened his mouth wide. In fact, it was the first time in his life that he had heard of someone using herbs from the demon realm for male enhancement.
Ms.Qin said very seriously to everyone present.
"Based on what you've said, I think I understand. Since the former owner of this clinic knew that Lu Cheng was using the Soul Departure Flower to enhance the effectiveness of the medicine, and still prescribed medicine for his hearing, it's obvious that he intended to harm him to death!"
"What?"
"Impossible, right?"
"No way, what motive does he have to harm Lu Cheng?"
Among those present, including Zhang Zonghan, everyone expressed confusion. Ms.Qin shook her head slightly and said softly:
"This is just speculation. Besides, this also cannot explain why Lu Cheng would still need to be given labor after using the Soul Departure Flower."
Zhang Zonghan couldn't think of any other reason, so he asked the constable:
"Do you know if there was any conflict between Lu Cheng and the former owner of this medical clinic?"
"As for conflict... it seems not, usually their relationship is very good," the constable shook his head.
"By the way, Master Zhang, I think I saw Lu Cheng and the former owner of this clinic having an argument in front of the clinic one day, but I was standing too far away to hear what they were arguing about," Hua Zhong immediately said to Zhang Zonghan.
"It seems there was a dispute over something... But what kind of dispute could have driven the former owner of this clinic to harm Lu Cheng?"
" Master Zhang... We've also heard a rumor... I'm not sure if we should say it..." A constable hesitated, feeling unsure for a moment.
"It's okay to speak," the constable said. He looked around and swallowed nervously.
"I once heard that there was a person in Luoyang City who was the illegitimate child of the human race and the demon race... and that person is called Xun You."
Zhang Zonghan gasped in shock. Isn't the former owner of this clinic in Luoyang City named Xun You?! Zhang Zonghan has been living in Luoyang City for decades, and he is absolutely certain about this. There is only one person in the city named Xun You, and that is the former owner of the clinic.
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