Chapter 482: Poisoning

An hour later, the sky had turned completely dark, and the streetlights in front of the County Guesthouse emitted a dim, yellow light, casting shadowy, indistinct figures of the peddlers, giving the scene a somewhat surreal feeling.

"It's haunted today; the cars inside are parked full, yet how is it that not a single person is coming out to buy anything!" complained an old man with a head full of white hair who was selling roasted sweet potatoes.

"I'm leaving; I've delayed my dinner, yet I haven't sold a single thing!" complained a young man selling mountain goods.

The young man left, but three people slowly approached: one carrying a large bundle of sugarcane, one carrying two baskets of oranges, and another carrying a bag of sunflower seeds.

The old man selling sweet potatoes muttered to himself curiously: "Strange, three new faces!"

The three people set their goods down, not calling out loudly, just squatting in front of the main gate, silently waiting for customers to arrive.

Man Yatou and her second sister walked slowly out of the guesthouse, looking around as if they wanted to buy something, while He Yuzhu followed far behind them.

The peddlers were immediately excited and began calling out their wares again.

Man Yatou ignored the other vendors and walked straight toward the stall selling sugarcane.

The person selling sugarcane recognized her at a glance and was just about to mock her when he was glared at by his companion.

The one selling pomelos hurriedly said with a smile: "Little girl, buy my pomelos! They're especially sweet!"

Man Yatou shook her head but walked straight up to the person selling sugarcane: "I want to buy two stalks of sugarcane."

The short man selling sugarcane felt that this little girl was looking for trouble, and he snorted coldly: "I, your father, am not selling sugarcane to a stinking beggar like you today; let's see what you can do to me?"

"Brother, he called me a stinking beggar!" Man Yatou shouted toward He Yuzhu.

"Who's calling you names! Tired of living?" He Yuzhu said as he quickened his pace.

Seeing He Yuzhu about to make a move, the short man selling sugarcane forgot why he had even come; it must be said that bandits are just bandits and simply cannot be used as secret agents, so he quickly pulled out a Dagger and lunged at He Yuzhu.

Man Yatou was terrified and shouted: "Brother Zhuzi, watch out!"

He Yuzhu had long since seen through the short man's intentions; he grabbed his wrist like lightning and gave it a violent shake, dislocating the short man's entire arm, and the Dagger fell to the ground with a "clatter."

"Move!" He Yuzhu shouted to Zhou Yong and his group.

When the middle-aged man selling pomelos saw that the situation was exposed, he reached for the Dagger at his waist, but He Yuzhu kicked him over ten meters away.

In an instant, the soldiers lying in ambush all around swarmed forward.

The bandit selling sunflower seeds tried to run away but was immediately subdued by several soldiers.

Seeing everything that happened in a flash of lightning, Man Yatou felt both excited and afraid.

She retreated to her second sister's side, her little face flushed with excitement, and asked: "Second Sister! Am I impressive? I helped Brother Zhuzi accomplish a big task."

"Stinking girl! You have too much nerve; when I saw that man pull out a knife, I almost peed my pants!" Liu Erman laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed.

He Yuzhu immediately had the three men tied up and taken into the guesthouse.

The other peddlers were also scattered by this commotion.

He Yuzhu looked coldly at the three people on the ground and asked: "Who is An Shaoqiao? Where is he?"

The short man selling sugarcane gritted his teeth and said: "What An Shaoqiao? I, your father, don't know!"

He Yuzhu didn't waste words with him; he picked up a stalk of sugarcane and shoved it hard into his mouth: "You don't know, huh? Then I, your father, will shove all the sugarcane into your stomach and see if it can poison you to death."

Upon hearing this, the short man selling sugarcane immediately knew that what they were doing had been exposed, and he instantly cowered: "Good man, An Shaoqiao is from the Bald Party's Secret Service Bureau; we aren't in the same group as him, we are under Big Boss Xie. He is borrowing troops from our Big Boss this time; we have nothing to do with him!"

A cold arc curled at the corner of He Yuzhu's mouth as he said: "Then hurry up and tell me where An Shaoqiao is? Otherwise, I won't leave a single one of you three alive!"

"We don't know where An Daiyuan went either; he is a very suspicious person. There were 12 of us in total, and he split us into 4 groups; we are just one of those groups," the short man said.

He Yuzhu kicked the short man hard: "Don't squeeze toothpaste with me; tell me everything you know quickly, or I'll make you eat all those poisonous fruits."

"I also know he has several pounds of arsenic; he might put it into the water source you drink from!" the short man hurriedly scrambled to show his worth, his voice shrill and trembling.

He Yuzhu stepped forward, his large hand gripping the middle-aged man's neck like an iron pincer: "It's your turn to speak; where are the other three groups lying in ambush?"

"G-good man, I really don't know!" The middle-aged man's body shook like chaff, his voice carrying a distinct tremor.

He Yuzhu slowly increased the pressure, and the middle-aged man's face began to turn bright red.

"Tell me, if you sell those poisonous fruits, how are you supposed to contact him?" He Yuzhu continued to apply force, and the middle-aged man's breathing became increasingly difficult.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" he shrieked, his eyeballs bulging, "He told us to wait at Baima Mountain and said that after the mission is completed, we will all retreat together!"

He Yuzhu pressed them for a few more questions, and looking at the terrified and desperate expressions of the three, he judged that they truly did not know any more intelligence.

He summoned Squad Leader Zhou Yong and, after thinking for a moment, asked: "Squad Leader Zhou, these three are bandits; how do you think we should handle them?"

"Send them to our station!" Zhou Yong looked at He Yuzhu and asked.

"Good! The sooner the better!" He Yuzhu approved of this idea.

The night grew deeper, and a few barks of dogs came from afar.

It didn't take long for Zhou Yong to finish the call to the station, and he trotted back to report: "Captain He, tomorrow morning, people from the Ministry will come to take them away."

"Good," He Yuzhu nodded, "then you'll have to work hard tonight and keep a close eye on them."

"No problem!" Zhou Yong smiled and left.

He Yuzhu walked out of the room and went into the courtyard to smoke.

Liu Erhei saw He Yuzhu smoking alone in the courtyard, walked over, and asked: "Captain, do you have any more cigarettes?"

He Yuzhu pulled a pack from his pocket and tossed it to him.

Liu Erhei skillfully pulled one out, lit it, and took a few deep drags, the smoke curling in the night: "Is the Captain troubled by something?"

He Yuzhu nodded and said: "The feeling of being watched is very uncomfortable. Tell everyone later that we are leaving first thing tomorrow morning; we also need to pick up the wounded from the hospital, as I'm afraid something might happen to them."

"Good, I'll go notify the hospital now." Liu Erhei stubbed out his cigarette and trotted off to make the call.

He Yuzhu walked into his room and saw Man Yatou and her sister swaying with sleepiness, their eyelids drooping.

He hurriedly woke them up and said: "I'll take you two back."

Man Yatou rubbed her eyes and nodded, following him up in a daze.

He Yuzhu took the two to the hospital, only to find that they had nowhere to stay.

Helpless, he found the nurse on duty and gave her two packs of sugar before he could arrange an empty hospital room for the two sisters.

As he was leaving, Man Yatou suddenly grabbed his sleeve, eyes brimming with tears: "Brother Zhuzi, I helped you collect mountain goods; what do you want?"

He Yuzhu smiled, thinking to himself that this little girl wanted to tie their relationship even closer. He felt it was quite nice to have such a little sister, so he said casually, "Wood ear mushrooms, bracken, bamboo shoots, red chili peppers—all of these will do. If you can transport Little Lobster over, that would also work."

Suddenly thinking of the money issue, he added, "Girl, how about I give you a sum of money for collecting mountain goods?"

Man Yatou shook her head, her little face full of seriousness: "No, it's not safe for us to have too much money on hand. With the town providing a guarantee, I can settle the accounts with them later."

He Yuzhu nodded: "Man Yatou, once I arrive at the factory, I will call the town and give you my phone number. It will be convenient for us to keep in touch then."

"That would be great." Man Yatou broke into a smile through her tears.

Leaving the hospital, the night had already deepened.

He Yuzhu followed the address provided by the bandit and found the residence of An Daiyuan—a dilapidated civilian house located on the edge of the town.

Pushing open the door, the room was empty, and He Yuzhu used Scanning with the system again, but there was nothing there either.

When He Yuzhu returned to his lodging, it was already early morning.

Several of Regimental Commander Meng's soldiers were diligently patrolling the courtyard.

Just as the sky was beginning to brighten and the east turned a fish-belly white, He Yuzhu led his team onto the road.

The truck engine emitted a dull roar, breaking the silence of the county town's early morning.

As he started the vehicle, he caught a glimpse of a small figure in the rearview mirror—Man Yatou, along with her eldest sister and second sister, had all come; they were hiding at the entrance of the alley, not showing themselves.

He Yuzhu suddenly felt his eye sockets grow a bit warm.

He suddenly felt that helping this family was very worth it.