Chapter 142: The Arrest of Bao Mingzhi

Zhu Tong shuddered with fright. "What did you say?"

"It’s true, I’m not lying to you. People have died in this warehouse, so it’s haunted," Lin Sangqian said in a ghostly tone, while silently offering a prayer to the spirit who had previously taken their own life there.

After all, since she was using the deceased's name to scare him, she should probably burn some spirit money for them later.

"Y-you must be lying!" Zhu Tong shrieked.

"Whether I’m lying or not, you’ll find out for yourself if you stay here for the night."

Zhu Tong opened his mouth to scream for help, but Lin Sangqian was quick and stuffed the rag back into his mouth before turning and walking away with a flourish.

"Mmph, mmph, mmph..."

Zhu Tong watched her retreating figure in utter despair.

It was completely dark outside now, and there wasn't even a candle in the warehouse. It was pitch black. To make matters worse, the aroma of food kept drifting in from outside. The scent was so intoxicating that it made his mouth water and his stomach growl with hunger.

Fortunately, he could still hear voices from outside, which kept him from being completely paralyzed with fear.

But after some time had passed, the voices stopped, and a heavy silence fell—so quiet that he could have heard a pin drop.

Zhu Tong swallowed hard, his throat dry.

At this point, he had forgotten all about his hunger. His eyes darted around the pitch-black warehouse, his legs trembling so violently that he felt as if something might lunge from the darkness to devour him at any second. It even felt as if a chilly breeze was constantly blowing toward him.

Zhu Tong was in absolute despair.

He didn't even know how he had managed to survive the night.

When the first rays of morning light filtered in, the warehouse door was finally opened.

Zhu Tong looked completely haggard, as if he had been tortured for the entire night.

"Oh? Didn't you sleep, or did you just wake up early?" Lin Sangqian asked with a smile as she walked in and removed the rag from his mouth.

After that night, Zhu Tong no longer dared to resist. He cried out in collapse, "Please, let me go! This hellish place is too terrifying. If you let me go, I’ll tell you everything you want to know!"

"See? If you had just said that yesterday, none of this would have happened," Lin Sangqian said, shaking her head with feigned regret. "Actually, I felt quite bad about having to torture you all night."

Zhu Tong: "..."

*Do you not feel any shame saying that?* he wondered.

He felt that the young girl in front of him was not an ordinary child at all, but a little devil.

He seemed to have no power to fight back against her.

"Tell me, was it Bao Mingzhi who put you up to this?" Lin Sangqian asked.

"Yes, it was him," Zhu Tong said, his head hanging low. "I have a relative named A-Qian. He suddenly called me over the other day and said that Manager Bao of Wanhua Restaurant wanted to see me. When I went, he told me he would give me money to report you and 'McChicken' to the authorities, to frame you. Since so many people in town have fallen ill, he figured that if he dumped all the blame on you, he and Wanhua Restaurant could keep their hands clean."

What he said matched Lin Sangqian’s suspicions exactly, but this wasn't what she truly wanted to know.

"So, the townspeople falling ill has to do with Wanhua Restaurant, right? Do you know what Bao Mingzhi actually put in the food?"

Zhu Tong swallowed and his eyes shifted, but he remained silent.

His reaction confirmed to Lin Sangqian that he knew something.

Lin Sangqian smiled slightly and said, "You just said you would tell me anything, and now you’re backing out? Fine, if you don't want to talk, that's okay—you can just stay in the warehouse for another day."

"Don't do that!" Zhu Tong shouted immediately. "I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!"

He didn't want to stay in this ghostly place for another second.

"Actually, A-Qian told me that Bao Mingzhi had them put a certain little yellow flower into the new dishes at Wanhua Restaurant."

"A little yellow flower?" Lin Sangqian’s eyes sharpened.

"Yes. Bao Mingzhi found out from somewhere that this flower contains something addictive," Zhu Tong said dejectedly. "Bao Mingzhi used this method to make Wanhua Restaurant's business boom."

However, if that little yellow flower was consumed over a long period, it was not only addictive but also harmful to the human body.

Bao Mingzhi knew this, yet he still made them put it in the food.

If it weren't for this, Wanhua Restaurant would have long been unable to compete with Fuman Restaurant and would likely have been forced to close down.

Lin Sangqian clenched her fists.

Although she had already suspected it, hearing Zhu Tong admit it filled her with a burning rage.

Bao Mingzhi was not even human.

"Where did he get that little yellow flower?"

"I only know he bought it from someone. As for who that person is, I don't know."

Seeing Lin Sangqian’s displeased expression, Zhu Tong quickly added, "It’s already a miracle I know this much. If I weren't close to A-Qian, and if he didn't need me to run errands for them, he would never have told me."

"Alright, I see," Lin Sangqian said.

"I’ve told you everything I know. Can you let me go now?" Zhu Tong asked, full of hope.

Lin Sangqian let Lin Wenyian come in to untie his ropes.

Once freed, Zhu Tong wanted to bolt, but after the night of terror, his legs had turned to jelly. It took him a while to pull himself up from the ground.

"Don't think about reporting this to the authorities. You should know that the charge for framing me is quite serious," Lin Sangqian said with a smile.

Zhu Tong shuddered with fear.

How could he possibly dare to report her? He never wanted to offend Lin Sangqian ever again! If he had known better, he never would have agreed to help A-Qian and Bao Mingzhi in the first place.

After a moment, Zhu Tong finally regained some strength and scrambled away as fast as he could.

"Little sister, did you get what you wanted out of him?" Lin Wenyian asked.

"Just about," Lin Sangqian replied. "Big brother, you and Lan-er go to Fuman to deliver the chicken feet today. I need to go out for a while."

"Alright, stay safe."

...

Two more days passed. McChicken remained closed, and Lin Sangqian made no further moves.

Bao Mingzhi felt incredibly smug.

The fact that so many townspeople were ill seemed of no importance to him. As long as he could line his pockets with silver, he didn't care about anything else.

Just as he was happily counting money in his room, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.

The door was kicked open.

"Who is it? What do you think you're doing?" Bao Mingzhi asked indignantly.

But when he looked up and saw Di Qing along with several bailiffs, his face instantly paled.

"How could this be..."

"Isn't this Officer Di Qing? What brings you here today?" Bao Mingzhi asked with a fawning smile.

Di Qing sneered, "Spare me the pleasantries. Manager Bao, come with us!"