Chapter 2597: Investigation (24)

"So what did you say?"

"I told him I never sell heterodox medicines of unknown origin," He Jun declared with righteous indignation.

He Jun had nothing more to offer. After some discussion, the investigation team decided against detaining or punishing him for now—no sense alerting the enemy. To reassure He Jun, Lu Cheng promised Zheng Xiaoyu that leniency would be shown when the case concluded.

"The money he made certainly won't stay in his pocket, but we won't pursue other matters," Lu Cheng said. "If he helps us catch the mastermind behind this, that's a merit worth considering."

Since they now knew Quan Youde owned a farm estate near the medicine market, Lu Cheng immediately dispatched men familiar with the local area to investigate. No matter how well-hidden such an estate might be, it couldn't exist without leaving traces. Deeds and land tax registrations would be preserved somewhere in the county yamen—finding them would simply require some effort.

Lu Cheng then turned to another lead: the Southeast Asian man selling the "aphrodisiac."

These Southeast Asian natives frequented the Ghost Market regularly. Questioning the medicine peddlers who worked there would surely yield more information.

What they discovered surprised Lu Cheng somewhat. Everyone they asked—including many peddlers who had encountered plenty of "New Australian Medicines"—had no recollection of testosterone gel. They unanimously stated that what the "Southeast Asian man" sold was medicinal wine. This suggested the midwife had been reselling medicinal wine from the start; the conversion from gel to wine hadn't been her doing.

The stalls in the Ghost Market were mobile. The spot the man had used had long since been claimed by others, leaving no clues behind.

As for the "Southeast Asian man" himself, his distinctive appearance and accent made him memorable. Several established merchants who conducted long-term business in the Ghost Market recalled him clearly. Piecing together their descriptions, the team could roughly determine his activities on Luofu Mountain: from about six months ago until three months ago, he had appeared at the medicine market roughly once a month. Each time, he would spread a ground stall and display several bottles of medicinal wine in different packaging—some for strengthening yang and tonifying the kidney, others for promoting blood circulation and removing stasis, still others for tonifying the lungs and calming asthma, or nourishing blood and strengthening the body. Only one was claimed to be an "Australian Divine Medicine." The rest were merely side dishes hitching a ride on the main course to earn a little extra.

It's a good thing we aren't planning to produce Sildenafil yet, Hao Long thought. Otherwise who knows how many black-hearted merchants would mix it into aphrodisiac wines to harm people.

"Did his medicinal wine sell well?" a police officer asked.

"Quite well. The aphrodisiac especially—it would sell out within an hour or two." A medicine peddler offered his assessment. "To be honest, based on my years of experience, this is mostly a scam. This is a medicine market; buyers aren't that easy to fool. Chiefs, you aren't here investigating scammers, are you?" He paused. "That said, he never brought too much wine at a time. Usually ran out of stock in three to five days, then packed up and left."

"If you medicine merchants all suspected it was improper, how did he sell anything?"

"The stuff he sold was the most bewitching kind. There's too much of it in the Ghost Market, and plenty of people still fall for it. Folks get cheated all the time." Another peddler shrugged. "Besides, I heard people say his medicine actually worked. Some wealthy masters sent servants specifically to the Ghost Market to wait for him. I heard it wasn't cheap either."

"Actually, this Southeast Asian man's medicinal wine really is effective." An older medicine merchant suddenly lowered his voice, as if about to reveal a secret. "I'm just afraid of soiling everyone's ears."

"What do you mean?" The crowd leaned in—peddlers and investigation team members alike.

"Some of the girls doing business around the medicine market know this man. Every time he comes, he does business with them. One girl said this man has no... no... balls..."

Everyone stared. What in the world?

Lu Cheng frowned. "A eunuch? Can a eunuch still visit prostitutes?"

"Whether he's a eunuch I don't know, but he's definitely been castrated," the peddler said.

"And so?" Lu Cheng still couldn't see the connection.

Zheng Xiaoyu, having studied medicine, understood immediately. "Logically speaking, a man without testicles cannot have intercourse."

"Exactly. And this man's beard is quite thick," the peddler explained. "Think about it—even a castrated man can become a bearded man. How potent must the yang energy in this medicinal wine be? The power of this aphrodisiac speaks for itself."

Though this medicine merchant didn't understand scientific physiological principles, his reasoning was mostly sound.

Lu Cheng didn't understand pharmacology either, but Zheng Xiaoyu did. No wonder the midwife had been selling this medicinal wine as a gender-changing medicine.

Far away in Guangzhou, Zheng Mingjiang fell into deep thought after receiving their report. A castrated man. A Southeast Asian. Testosterone gel. Clinical trials. These four clues pointed to the same target: the drug test subjects of the Pharmaceutical Factory.

Some of these subjects had been imported by Quark Qiong from the Basra slave market. Others had been taken in by the Foreign Intelligence Bureau from among the "eunuchs" in the capital—late Ming Beijing had gathered many poor men who had "self-castrated" while waiting for a chance to enter the palace.

But these people should still be in Lingao. There were no records of escape or relocation. Where had this "Southeast Asian man" come from? And where had his medicine come from?

All she could do was send a telegram to Hao Long, informing him of the situation and asking him to focus once more on checking the storage and usage of related drugs. She also instructed him to verify the current status of all test subjects, particularly whether any had somehow escaped or been moved.

After sending the telegram, Jingshan brought her the list of personnel prepared for arrest based on the audit results.

Zheng Mingjiang opened the folder. The list had been finalized after she and Wu Mu had repeatedly deliberated over the audit results and investigations. The Political Security Bureau had stated that the case required "strong professional expertise," so they would express no specific opinions—only list the relevant details and leave the handling to the Health Department itself.

The case involved a large area and many people. If they were to catch "every single one," the Provincial and Port General Hospital might as well close down and relocate entirely to the Nanyang islands. The final list contained thirteen names: department doctors, pharmacy pharmacists, ward nurses, ordinary administrative cadres. Their positions and backgrounds varied, but they shared one common characteristic: they were all masterminds.

Unlike what they had initially imagined, the drug loss wasn't a single case but multiple cases—some involving tens of thousands of yuan, others only a few hundred.

Which case involved whom, how deep their involvement ran, and how they had obtained the drugs would only become clear after all interrogations were completed.

The Zhiming Tower blazed with light against the night sky. Wu Mu stood outside, separated from the noise by darkness.

He glanced at his watch. "Are all teams in position?"

"All have arrived at the control points according to plan."

"Catch them as they come out. One by one." His command was brief.

By midnight, everyone on the arrest list had been apprehended. Six were taken in their offices and dormitories. The other seven were arrested after "consuming" at the Zhiming Tower.

Their recollections followed largely the same pattern. Each had discovered loopholes in the hospital's internal management. Each had started small—a single pill, an injection—then slowly grown bolder until they were participating in large-scale drug trafficking.

During the interrogations, half of those involved mentioned Lu Renjia.

"Who is Lu Renjia?"

"The director of the Nanhai County Health Center. He's also a doctor."

Checking Lu's file, they found he was considered an old naturalized citizen—a graduate of the 2nd cohort of the Fangcao Di Health Training Class. A senior figure in the health sector.

Lu Renjia had used relationships with classmates and fellow villagers to curry favor, then leveraged those connections to meet more people. After buying them off with gifts and cash over time, he pulled them into his network. The remaining half of those arrested, even if they didn't know Lu Renjia personally, certainly knew his money.

"When did you first meet Lu Renjia?"

"About two years ago. I had just started at the hospital then," said a doctor from one of the departments.

"He often treated us to meals at the Great World. Sometimes we went to the Zhiming Tower. At first I was unwilling. But later... one night I drank too much, and he took me home. When I woke the next day, I found an extra bag on the table. I opened it and saw it was full of silver dollars. I counted them twice. A full one hundred yuan."

At this point, he couldn't help but choke up, covering his face with his hands.

"At first I didn't dare take it. I was fearful for a long time, wanting to find a chance to return it. But every time I tried to speak, I didn't know what to say. Then one day, I wanted to go to the Zhiming Tower, but I didn't have enough money. I could only stand outside and look. Just as I was about to leave, I saw someone—a steward from a gentry family who had humbled himself days before, begging me to make a house call for his old lady. I hadn't expected to see him again. He said nothing, just exchanged pleasantries. But his nephew was with him, about my age, and they were going into the Zhiming Tower together. Seeing I had no money to go in, this nephew actually... actually mocked me. Called me a poor scholar who became a doctor because I couldn't succeed in my studies. Asked what I was doing at the Zhiming Tower if I couldn't afford it."

His voice shook.

"I felt so aggrieved. I worked conscientiously for the Senate—seeing outpatients during the day, on duty in the ward at night. The Senate let me study medicine because I was good at studying. During those years, I didn't take a single day off, and I was still so busy after starting work. I finally wanted to go out and enjoy myself, but I had no money. And him? He was just a servant of a gentry family, idling about all day, yet he could live in such luxury. I wasn't reconciled."

He became more agitated as he spoke, his words growing incoherent, tears streaming down his face.

"I went home, took out all that hundred yuan, went back to the Zhiming Tower, and ordered the most expensive wine and dishes..."

After that night, he began trading with Lu Renjia calmly and systematically. At first, Lu Renjia would pick up the drugs in person and hand over the money. Later, he sent different people to conduct the transactions.

(End of Chapter)