Bауunуе duсked into the lаrgе tent, and thе fiercе рlаtеаu wind instаntly rushed in thrоugh the gap of the lifted dооr flaр, scаttеring thе сards Dа Qiаng, Dоng Ваi, and thе others werе dеaling аll over the рlacе, forcing thеm tо rеshufflе. Shе brоught оver the snасks Hiрро had bоught and оffеred them tо thе grouр. Amidst their livelу banter and tеаsing whilе deаling cards, the nоisе сonvеniеntlу mаskеd thе ensuing whisреrs.
"Brоther Qiаng, take а loоk аt this mеdicinе..." Вауunye slipрed the pill bottle tо Da Qiang.
Da Qiаng tossed оut a раir of kings, unsсrewed the cap for a glance, and immediately understood. Just as he was about to explain, seeing her gesture for silence, he lowered his voice and said, "Glibenclamide... Who's taking this? Not recommended—it's an older drug with some side effects, metabolizes slowly, accumulates in the body, and can cause hypoglycemia. No issues during the day, but nighttime hypoglycemia can be dangerous. Especially for those with impaired liver or kidney function, or generally poor health—definitely avoid this. Nowadays, there are much safer diabetes medications, like Ryzodeg or Glimepiride, which control blood sugar without causing hypoglycemia."
Diao Zhuo had heard about the discovery of the pill bottle from Hippo. He glanced discreetly at the young couple whispering intimately to each other, then at Fu Yingtao, whose face was half-hidden behind a newspaper. His brow furrowed slightly, as if in disbelief.
"Let's take this to the police," Bayunye whispered to him.
"Don't fall for it," he replied, unmoved.
Bayunye was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"If someone trying to harm others has this level of intelligence..." Diao Zhuo glanced at the pill bottle in Bayunye's hand as if it were nothing more than a piece of scrap paper, utterly worthless. "Then we needn't bother persuading Old Fu to give up the summit attempt, nor worry about his safety in the future."
"But if someone gave Old Fu this medicine a few hours before the summit push, he'd suffer hypoglycemia. Severe hypoglycemia can be fatal. And since everyone is pushing for the summit, expending immense physical energy, anyone experiencing hypoglycemia, altitude reaction, or even a sudden heart or brain issue would seem perfectly normal. If Old Fu were to die during the summit attempt as a result, it would look like an accident."
Diao Zhuo took the pill bottle, opened it, glanced inside, and curled his lips slightly. He gestured with his chin toward the other climbers' backpacks. "Look at what the climbing guides and others have prepared to carry with them, and then look at the perfectly intact label on this bottle."
Hippo glanced around, then suddenly looked at Diao Zhuo and gave him a thumbs-up.
Bayunye scanned the surroundings, sighed after a moment, and said self-deprecatingly, "I was too quick to jump to conclusions."
Every climber here had long prepared ample supplies of chocolate, glucose, and other items to quickly replenish the body's sugar needs. If anyone were to experience severe hypoglycemia during the summit push, practically anyone could save their life. Even if someone took hypoglycemic medication before the climb, there was no guarantee they would die from untreated hypoglycemia during the summit attempt. Such a method lacked the certainty of success—it was, frankly, redundant. Besides, what kind of person intending harm wouldn't tear off the label completely? Even an ordinary fool wouldn't make that mistake!
"Since none of them have diabetes, why bring this along redundantly?" Hippo asked. "Even if it wasn't meant to harm anyone, accidentally taking it could be troublesome. Jiang does want his father-in-law gone quickly. Maybe he brought this along initially, realized it was useless, and simply tossed it?""Assuming someone really wants to harm Fu Yingtao, why is our first instinct always to suspect Jiang Aohang?" Diao Zhuo countered.
"Preconceived notions?" Bayunye pointed at Hippo. "He overheard Jiang's phone call, and I saw the messages from that 'Rui Rui.' We both know Jiang is two-faced—outwardly obedient but secretly despising his father-in-law, all while coveting his wealth."
"Exactly. Because Jiang exposed himself first, he's out in the open—a 'mantis.' But a mantis would never do something this foolish..." Diao Zhuo gently shook the medicine bottle, the pills inside clinking against the walls. "The one who left this is actually the 'oriole.'"
"Could it be Fu..." Bayunye stopped mid-sentence, realizing her voice had grown too loud. She glanced at Fu Xingyue, but Da Qiang and the others were busy playing cards and chatting loudly, so the family hadn't noticed. She quickly lowered her voice. "Her?"
"If it's her, then the truth is terrifying!" Hippo ran his hands through his hair, ruffling it in frustration. "She knows her husband wants to harm her father, yet she not only remains indifferent but also pretends to know nothing. Master Ba even hinted she should check her husband's phone, and she still did nothing. She probably realized we were onto her husband's scheme and deliberately left this to test us, making us think Jiang was planning to harm someone this way. Ugh! I even bought a big bag of glucose, worried it wouldn't be enough..."
Bayunye looked at the glucose Hippo had bought, and her resentment toward him for hiding things from her suddenly lessened—if he intended to save someone, he couldn't be all that bad.
Bought? A new thought sparked in her mind.
"You can't buy this kind of medicine at West Great Beach!" she exclaimed. "Whoever left the bottle didn't buy it on a whim. They probably got it in Golmud or brought it with them from home."
"Damn, the truth is even scarier!" Hippo covered his face. "This is using someone else to do the dirty work! You women... sigh! The female heart is the most venomous!"
"Don't you dare smear us," Bayunye glared at him. "Are you saying our good intentions to prevent something bad are being used as ammunition? Screw it, I'm done. From now on, I'll play dumb—pretend I see and hear nothing. After all, I didn't come to Pearl Peak to uphold justice but to..."
She trailed off, and Hippo stared at her.
"Meet my man~" Bayunye reached out and stroked Diao Zhuo's chin, his stubble prickly against her fingers.
Diao Zhuo's expression turned grim. If this bottle of glibenclamide tablets hadn't appeared, he would have only been suspicious of Fu Xingyue. Now, he was certain that the overconfident Jiang Aohang was merely a shield she used to divert attention—a shield behind which lay her sharp spear, the real weapon aimed at Fu Yingtao's fatal weakness.
"When you overheard his phone call, who was in the public restroom first—you or him?" Diao Zhuo asked.
"Me," Hippo replied. "I had a stomachache and was going to use the inn's restroom, but someone was in there, so I had to go to the public one downstairs. He came in halfway through."
"I remember you saying he greeted Fu Xingyue after he left," Diao Zhuo continued. "At the time, I wondered: if his wife was nearby, why would he so carelessly discuss his resentment toward her father?"Hippo waved his hand, "Not nearby, she's upstairs. Their room window happens to overlook the public restroom."
"So that's it." Diao Zhuo nodded thoughtfully.
"Do you think Hippo overhearing his call wasn't a coincidence?" Bayunye asked.
"What if you finding Jiang Aohang's phone wasn't a coincidence either?"
"It couldn't possibly be that she deliberately threw her husband's phone there for me to see, could it?" Bayunye looked incredulous. "She never checks his phone, and it's even less likely she'd have his phone at that time!"
Diao Zhuo shook his head, "Why do you think the phone on the ground was Jiang's?"
"Because..."
"Because you saw a message from 'Rui Rui' about staging a hiking accident, and instinctively assumed the phone must be Jiang's. But actually, their phones are exactly the same model—even Jiang once accidentally took the wrong one."
Hippo sat quietly beside them, dumbfounded, staring blankly at Diao Zhuo.
Bayunye recalled: when she asked if anyone had lost a phone, Jiang Aohang hadn't yet realized he might have lost his, but Fu Xingyue immediately insisted the phone was her husband's and rushed over to take it.
"Old Fu and Jiang fell one after another, everyone's attention was on them. Even if Jiang really lost his phone, you might not have been the first to notice." Diao Zhuo said. "A clever move—turning the situation to her advantage—making whoever discovered Rui Rui's message firmly believe that if anything happened to Old Fu during the hike, it must be related to Jiang."
"You mean, the phone Master Ba saw at the time wasn't Jiang's, but..." Hippo glanced meaningfully in Fu Xingyue's direction.
Bayunye thought for a moment and said, "She saw Jiang's phone fall first, seized the opportunity, swapped it with her own, intentionally letting someone behind find it, then switched them back when handing it to Jiang. But if that's the case, how do you explain the 'Rui Rui' message?"
Diao Zhuo said, "Such a scheme would be hard to pull off alone. The person who called Jiang and 'Rui Rui' are at least one of her accomplices."
Hippo waved his hand, "If someone is up to no good, they'd at most involve one most trusted person as an accomplice. Jiang couldn't have two partners. I think—the caller and 'Rui Rui' are the same person, instructed by that woman. When to call and when to send messages were all planned."
"Damn..." Bayunye muttered under her breath. "Such cunning, such calculation... Even if we call the police now, they wouldn't find any direct evidence!"
"So far, she hasn't taken real action because, in her plan, the main goal at this stage is to frame her husband. As for the vitamin E incident, that was purely accidental—having a doctor among the travelers was outside her scheme." Diao Zhuo remained unfazed. "Even the wise are not always free from error. If she hadn't unnecessarily thrown the pill bottle at the inn, I wouldn't have connected all those previous minor incidents for analysis."
Hippo patted his shoulder, "Looks like Brother Diao Zhuo is rough on the outside but sharp on the inside!"
"So if you have any little secrets you're hiding, don't be surprised if I figure them out later." He suddenly smiled at Hippo, his words as deft as a dragon flicking its tail, catching even Bayunye off guard."Although I'm with Master Ba every day, I have no intentions towards your Master Ba—we're just pure buddies, rest assured." Hippo remained surprisingly calm, brushing it off with a playful grin, turning the tables on Diao Zhuo and blocking the deeper meaning in his words.
"What will she do next?!" Bayunye changed the subject.
"She has deeply ingrained the idea that 'Old Fu's trouble was caused by Jiang' into our minds. No matter what she does, her husband will be the scapegoat." Diao Zhuo said helplessly.
"Looking at it now, Jiang is practically an idiot!" Bayunye snorted coldly.
Diao Zhuo took Bayunye's right hand, checking her injury. "Whether it's trickery or persuasion, make sure Old Fu doesn't participate in the summit attempt. If you get the chance, tell her directly—advise her not to do anything illegal. She's still young; she shouldn't cut off her own path."
Hippo nodded vigorously. "The police aren't people she can fool with a few little tricks."
Bayunye retorted, "What, have you been caught by the police before? You seem so familiar with them."
"Aren't you afraid of the police?" Hippo shot her a glare. "Have you forgotten how much you've been fined by traffic cops?"
Bayunye pretended not to hear, glancing at Diao Zhuo. "You analyzed everything so clearly just now. Why don't you tell her yourself? If she stubbornly denies it—confront her!"
"I'm not good at dealing with women," Diao Zhuo said seriously.
She propped her chin on her hand, blinking at him. "But women love dealing with you. Look at how many friend requests Xiao Ai has sent you..."
"You're right. I shouldn't refuse again," Diao Zhuo pretended to reach for his phone.
"Go ahead and try," Bayunye sneered, her white teeth gleaming.
Diao Zhuo continued teasing her. "Master Ba, if she and I book your car for a trip, what discount do we get?"
She put on a fake, high-pitched voice and said, "Darling, it's your legs that get the discount! So we suggest you think carefully about it."
Diao Zhuo chuckled, rubbing both his knees as if sincerely asking for advice. "Left leg or right leg?"
Bayunye pointed at him, declaring fiercely, "Both!"
"You wouldn't dare."
"Better that than you taking other girls out to play," she said stubbornly.
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