Chapter 030: Food Poisoning

After a night of sleep, I woke up early to pick up Brother Liang, who had been sent on a business trip immediately after joining the company. Given his expertise, the most exhausting part of that job was the travel; as for the actual work, he was far more professional than I could ever be, so there was no cause for concern. Since he had never spent much time at the company before, the major changes didn't seem strange to him. On the contrary, he was thrilled to have his own private dorm and studio, and the resentment he had been harboring vanished into thin air.

After settling Brother Liang in, I went down to the lobby. Sister Yan handed me an envelope and said, "Someone just delivered this, specifically asking me to give it to you!"

I took the envelope and said with a smile, "We really need to hire a receptionist. It’s not right to keep having our boss handle these errands."

Yoyo had gone out early in the morning, and even if she were here, she wouldn't be suited for the job—she struggled enough just to speak. As for Brother Hei and the others, they were even worse; if they stood there, customers would be too terrified to even enter.

Sister Yan laughed and said, "Stop your chattering! It’s just a small task, no big deal. What’s inside?"

I had already opened the envelope and pulled out a sheet of letter paper. "What year is this? Who still uses such old-fashioned methods?" I muttered. But as I read the words on the page, my expression darkened.

*Go to the hospital immediately!*

I shouted toward the lobby, "Brother Hei, Little Monkey, come with me!"

"Coming!" the two of them bolted out.

I grabbed the keys to open the car, and just as Yoyo stepped out of a taxi, she waved at me and shook a document bag in her hand. Wen Liang came thundering down the stairs, pulling Chen Yinan, who had followed him out, and said, "Is it the hospital? I’m going with you! You don't need to come, brother, the car won't fit us all—that’s my master, I have to go!"

Sister Yan nodded and said to Chen Yinan, "Ah Nan, you stay behind. Your apprentice will be here soon, so you can't leave. Stone, you guys be careful. If they try anything, call the police!"

"I know, Sister!" I nodded, handed the document bag to Wen Liang, and said, "Brother Liang, take a look. I’m driving!"

Anxious for the safety of Third Master, I didn't care about speeding. As long as I didn't run any red lights, the sound of my horn blared throughout the entire journey. In the back, Wen Liang looked at the appraisal report in the document bag. Furious, he threw the report onto his lap, and it fell to the floor as he unleashed a string of curses. He must have spoken to Little Monkey over the past two days, so he already knew most of what had happened at home.

While driving, I asked, "What does it say?"

Wen Liang’s eyes were bloodshot as he spat, "It’s wood ear mushrooms! That bastard Six-Fingers fed the Master mushrooms that had been soaking for days, causing him to suffer food poisoning!"

I was stunned. I hadn't realized such a thing could cause poisoning. At the same time, I felt a chill run down my spine. This method of poisoning was impossible to guard against! The closer someone is to you, the easier it is for them to succeed. And once it's discovered, they can easily escape responsibility with a simple, "I didn't know!"—absolving themselves of most of the guilt.

We parked the car in the lot of the Integrated Hospital of Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. Seeing that the elevators were crowded, the four of us took the stairs, running up level by level. When we reached the fifth floor, we headed straight for Third Master's room, only to be blocked at the door by a group of people.

"What are you doing here?" one of them asked, glaring at us. I recognized him as someone living at the scrap yard, though he was not one of Third Master’s apprentices.

Wen Liang shouted at him, "Fei Zai, move aside! We’re going in to see the Master!"

Fei Zai replied coldly, "Master? If I recall correctly, Wen Liang, you were kicked out by Third Master, right? And you lot—Second Brother has already stated that no one is allowed near this room. Get lost, unless you want me to force you!"

Wen Liang raged, "Get Zhao Xiangbo out here! And that bastard Cai Lei! I’ve been looking to settle a score with him!"

I waved him off and looked at Fei Zai. "I don’t know what Zhao Xiangbo promised you to get you to help him, but I’ll remind you of one thing: you know Third Master’s character. Once disloyal, never trusted again! You know full well whether what you’re doing is what Third Master actually wants. Don’t be fooled by Zhao Xiangbo’s sweet talk, or you’ll end up as his cannon fodder without even realizing it."

The people around Fei Zai hesitated. While they weren't Third Master’s apprentices, they were still his people and knew some of the truth. But Fei Zai just sneered, pointing at me, "Stone, don't try to sow discord here! You know what you’ve done. If it weren't for you and your sister, Third Master wouldn't be in this state!"

The door to the room opened, and Zhao Xiangbo and Cai Lei stepped out. Seeing us, the fake smiles on their faces immediately shifted to gloomy scowls.

"You’re really that eager to die, aren't you? Every time I want to find you, you deliver yourselves to my doorstep," Zhao Xiangbo said, glancing at me. "Where is that bitch Shi Yan? Tell her to get over here and kneel before Third Master! I want to ask her: my master supported her for ten years, is this how she repays him? It was just a little favor—she got a building from him, what’s the harm in keeping him company for a few years? There are plenty of women who would kill for that opportunity!"

Before he could finish, I rushed forward and swung a punch right at his face. But just as I reached him, several men lunged from the side to block me. Fei Zai grabbed my fist and sneered, "Stone, want to fight? I’ll oblige!"

Cai Lei shouted, "This is the bastard who caused this! Brothers, what are you waiting for? Get him and avenge Third Master!"

The group pulled out weapons they had ready and charged at me. Wen Liang reached for something, but after patting his pockets, he shouted, "Damn it!" and yelled at me, "Stone, give me the keys!"

I didn't care what he wanted them for; I threw the keys to him while dodging blows. Brother Hei had already charged in, pushing aside the men who had reached me. Like a small mountain, he stood in front of me.

Little Monkey shouted at Zhao Xiangbo, "What exactly happened to the Master?"

Zhao Xiangbo grinned hideously. "You want to know? I’m not going to tell you, just to drive you crazy!"

"Zhao Xiangbo, go to hell!" Little Monkey cursed and lunged forward.

Zhao Xiangbo scoffed, stepping back as his henchmen shielded him and blocked Little Monkey. These men were all from the scrap yard, though I didn't know what trick Zhao Xiangbo had used to make them follow his every command. But they all forgot one fact: Zhao Xiangbo learned his craft from Third Master—every word that came out of his mouth was a lie!

No one thought of that now; they all rushed forward, attacking the three of us. Brother Hei, terrified that someone would pull a knife as they had last time, pulled Little Monkey toward me and then shoved the crowd back with both hands, shouting, "Get out of the way!" Even without striking lethal blows, his shoves were enough to keep them at bay, sending them sprawling to the floor one by one.

Seeing that so many couldn't take us down, Cai Lei cursed in frustration, "You useless wastes! You can't even handle these three?"

Zhao Xiangbo looked at them with a cold gaze. "Whoever isn't pulling their weight, don't blame me for making your life miserable in front of my godfather!"