Chapter 200 - Blood Cakes And Milk Teas

Xiao Rui turned towards Qiao Qing. "Qing Qing, what are you talking about? Wei Lan is already... I mean, she's not standing there." Xiao Rui assumed Qiao Qing was hallucinating because she couldn't process what she saw. The death of her close friend had caused Qiao Qing to see things which were not there.

However, as Xiao Rui walked towards Qiao Qing, the girl suddenly convulsed and then she foamed at her mouth. "Qiao Qing! What's wrong? Someone call the ambulance!"

...

At the same time, near the gate of 22 High School, most of the food hawkers were packing up due to the heavy rain..

A man sat a stall which was still open for business. The stall sold personal steamboat, the perfect food for this weather. The soup boiled and the fragrance of spices filled the air.

A worker walked past. He had just finished his work and was returning home. When he walked past the stall, the smell of the hotpot immediately make him stop. His stomach grumbled. He turned and saw the auntie manning the woks. He sat down and requested for a spicy steamboat.

The table next to him was occupied by a young man. The man held two small bowls in his hands, one had condiments like coriander, garlic, chili, sesame oil and vinegar, while the other bowl was filled with pig's blood cakes. The man dropped all the blood cakes into the boiling pot. When they were cooked, he ladled them out, dipped them in the sauces and munched on them hungrily.

"My little brother, that's not the right way to enjoy hotpot! You should place meat and veges into the soup to season it first. I can't imagine the blood cakes being delicious with the way you're cooking them!"

The young man ladled more blood cakes into his bowl. "Brother, you probably haven't visited this stall before. The auntie is famed for her blood cakes. Granted, her blood cakes are a bit under quality today but they're still very good!"

The worker was persuaded so he turned to the auntie. "Auntie, give me a bowl of pig's blood cakes then!"

"I'm sorry but I'm sold out. The last bowl has been bought by a female student."

"Then can you give me a bowl of the pig's blood? I just want to have a taste."

The auntie obliged.

The worker took a taste and commented, "It is quite fragrant but the taste is rather... unique. It doesn't taste like pig's blood. What is it?"

Hearing that, the young man next table over chuckled. He answered without lifting his head. "It's human blood."

The worker laughed heartily. "Human blood? That's interesting! I haven't had human blood cakes before!"

The auntie chuckled and chided the young man, "Kid, you need to stop making jokes like that, or you'll scare all of my customers away."

The trio laughed and joked until they heard the sound of rolling tires. It was the old uncle who sold milk teas. He was packing up.

"Uncle Teng, you're closing already? The students for after-school tuition haven't been let out yet!" The auntie called after the old man.

"The weather is just not good for the sales of milk tea." Then Uncle Teng pushed his cart and walked away.

The worker was intrigued by the young man because he sounded like he frequented this place. To make conversation, the worker asked, "Brother, do you have family studying at this high school? Is that why you come here often?" The young man didn't answer. The worker scratched his head and chuckled to himself. After he finished his bowl, the worker paid the auntie. "Your hotpot is delicious. If I have time, I'll definitely come back for those famous blood cakes."

On the way home, the worker past a cinema which was broadcasting a horror movie from the 90s. The female owner of a restaurant captured her patrons and turned their flesh into meat buns and blood into blood tofu.

The more the worker thought about it, the more unsettled he felt. Since there was a police station not faraway, the worker ran towards it.

...

On the other side, Qiao Qing was sent into operation when she arrived at the hospital. As Xiao Rui arrived, Lu Xuan walked out from the operating theater.

"The girl suffers from heart failure caused by poisoning. She's still unconscious. We need to identify the poison before we can formulate the antidote."

"This is the test result from the milk tea Qiao Qing had on her." Mo Li walked out from the lab and handed the report to Xiao Rui.

"Does this mean the milk tea has been poison?" He looked at the report. "Calcium phosphate and heavy metals? What does that mean?"

"That means, the milk tea contains human ashes." Mo Li explained, "Calcium phosphate and heavy metal salts are the main ingredients in human bone ashes. However, they are not poisonous. So the milk tea is not poisonous. Based on Qiao Qing's reaction, she must have been fed some kind of neurotoxins."

Mo Li turned to Lu Xuan. "Did you find any henna tattoo on Qiao Qing?"

"I found this but I'm not sure if it counts or not."

Lu Xuan took out a picture. It was a picture of Qiao Qing's mouth cavity. There was a goldfish carving near her back molars.

"What is this?" Xiao Rui didn't remember seeing anything like this on the 3 other victims.