Life and Death Insurance – CH 008

Chapter 8

Twenty-four hours later, Ling Zhengzhong finally walked out of the prison cell as he wished, but Chu Feng, who brought him out, brought him very bad news.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ling, we’ve already investigated Tianyun Company. They don’t have any Manager Monkey, as you mentioned, in their local branch, or even any employee with the surname Hou!”

Could it be? Yesterday, Little Hamster clearly said that Manager Monkey introduced him…

Could it be that Little Hamster made up a name just to sell insurance? No way! Did that mean his chance to clear his name was truly a long way off?

Ling Zhengzhong imagined himself being pointed at and gossiped about for a long time to come, and a chill ran down his spine. What he found even more unbearable was Chu Feng’s suspicious face, as if he were lying.

“Besides, their company’s computers don’t have any records of you, Mr. Ling, so they can’t find out who’s handling your policy…”

Are you an idiot? I hadn’t signed the contract yet; of course, my name wouldn’t be in their company’s records!

If the other person were Ling Zhengzhong’s subordinate, he believed he would immediately unleash a torrent of abuse, but considering the other person’s status, Ling Zhengzhong could only suppress his anger and say, “You can give me photos of their company’s employees who meet the criteria, and I can definitely find them right away.”

He remembered the little hamster’s appearance very clearly; although he couldn’t draw it, he would never forget it.

Chu Feng smiled. “That’s an invasion of privacy. Under the current circumstances, I don’t have the authority to let you confirm their photos.”

Ling Zhengzhong rolled his eyes and said nothing more.

“However, Mr. Ling, we’ll continue our investigation. If all else fails, we can work on a jigsaw puzzle. I’ll contact you immediately if there is any progress, and we ask for your assistance.”

That “assistance” sounded almost coercive.

Ling Zhengzhong, long after getting into Yang Yiqing’s car, was still indignant about Chu Feng’s words and attitude. He had launched a full-scale personal attack on that self-righteous young policeman. If he had a sixth sense, he believed Chu Feng’s reaction was far more than just a sneeze. Seeing Ling Zhengzhong’s resentment, Yang Yiqing wisely made himself invisible to avoid getting involved.

“Did you prepare the brazier I asked you to?”

“Perfectly ready for you. Jump over the brazier and then take a good bath to get rid of the bad luck.”

“Having a friend like you, I don’t know if it’s lucky or unlucky!!” Ling Zhengzhong suddenly said harshly.

“Cough cough…” Yang Yiqing coughed, choked by his sudden words.

“Ling Zhengzhong, I rushed around trying to help you when I heard you were in trouble, and you dare talk to me like that?”

“Why wouldn’t I dare? If you’d come out for drinks with me that night, wouldn’t that prove I couldn’t possibly have driven in my condition? Why would I have been questioned like a suspect and locked up for twenty-four hours?”

“Heh heh…”

Being rebuked by his friend, Yang Yiqing didn’t dare reply, much less mention that he had refused Ling Zhengzhong’s invitation that night under the pretense of working overtime to play bridge. If the other man knew, he would surely give him a thorough beating.

Ling Zhengzhong’s apartment was on the twelfth floor. Yang Yiqing opened the door first, then brought a prepared copper basin to the entrance, lit it, and said, “It’s ready.”

Ling Zhengzhong stepped forward, but just as he did, flames roared up, nearly burning his trouser leg. Startled, Ling Zhengzhong jumped three times, landing in the middle of the hallway. He stared wide-eyed at Yang Yiqing and asked, “Good heavens, what happened?”

He looked at him with immense sympathy and said, “You seem really unlucky.”

Ling Zhengzhong stared at the flames rising from the entrance… Enraged by the flames, he yelled, “Am I unlucky, or are you an idiot? What did you put in the copper basin?”

“Charcoal, of course, but I was worried it wouldn’t light easily, so I sprinkled some kerosene on it…”

“You might as well add some gasoline and set the Epang Palace on fire! Hurry up and put out the fire; are you waiting for the fire alarm to go off?!”

Watching Yang Yiqing hurriedly fetch a basin of water to extinguish the fire, Ling Zhengzhong couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. His friend, a leading figure in the legal field, had completely failed to apply his talent to real life; he was utterly an idiot.

But this idiot immediately led him to the bathroom, proudly pointing to a tub of steaming hot water, saying, “Take a bath right away! I went to get the water I specially boiled for you, and just getting this thing ready took me over half an hour…”

What was this thing?

Following Yang Yiqing’s finger, Ling Zhengzhong sadly saw that his lavishly decorated bathtub, which he had spent thousands of yuan on, was now filled with a layer of withered, yellowish-green leaves. Due to the steam, the entire bathroom reeked of a strange, greenish, leafy odor.

“Dude, what are you doing?!”

“It’s mulberry leaves. Bathing in mulberry leaves can ward off evil spirits. I was afraid a single brazier wouldn’t be enough, so I specially got mulberry leaves for your bath…”

Looking at the other person’s “How about that? Wasn’t I a good friend?” expression, Ling Zhengzhong felt an urge to faint.

“Boss, I beg you, please stop torturing me! I was framed, not possessed by a ghost. You can keep this filthy thing for yourself.”

Even if I was unlucky, you didn’t have to make it so obvious, okay? And then you had to perform a whole exorcism ritual.