Me! A high-ranking official!

Looking at the rows of shocked emojis and the frenzied discussion in the group, he felt a buzzing in his head.

"That's impossible!"

He stared intently at the screen. He was certain he had handed Zhou Qingyan the panacea pill! How could he still be diagnosed?!

Does that mean the medicine wasn't working?

"No..." He immediately rejected the idea. He had personally experienced the magic of the treasure bowl. If the treasure bowl was fake, then where did his terrifying power and the more than 20 million in his card come from?

Since there's nothing wrong with the medicine, there's only one possibility: Zhou Qingyan didn't take it at all!

This county party secretary, who has held a high position for many years and is inherently suspicious, most likely regarded him as a charlatan and threw away the pill that was crucial to his political life and even his livelihood as trash!

To confirm his guess, Zhao Jianguo opened his browser and searched for the keywords "Linshui County" and "Zhou Qingyan".

Sure enough, this matter has completely escalated!

Not only local forums, but even some news websites within the province have subtly published related announcements. After all, the newly appointed county party secretary being suspended from duty and investigated for suspected serious misconduct—a scandal involving sex and power—is simply too explosive and eye-catching!

He looked at his phone screen, a sense of worry rising in his heart.

But after a brief moment of anxiety, he quickly calmed down: "Let it be."

I tossed my phone onto the bedside table and lay sprawled out on the slightly hard bed.

He had already handed the other party a lifeline, but Zhou Qingyan, being too clever for his own good and suspicious, failed to grasp it. Since this has led to his current disgrace, it can only be said that it was his fate.

I have done my best and have a clear conscience.

As for how the city will deal with Zhou Qingyan, he is just an ordinary citizen at the bottom of society, completely clueless about the city and has no way to find out information. There's no use in worrying; he can only wait and see.

The life-or-death struggle last night, coupled with the intense mental strain, left him utterly exhausted. He forced himself to clear his mind and stop thinking about this mess, closed his eyes, and within minutes, fell into a deep sleep.

Four days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The morning sunlight streamed into the rented room through the narrow window. Early in the morning, Zhao Jianguo eagerly summoned the treasure basin.

These past few days have felt like an eternity to him. Seeing the words "loan pending" still displayed behind the Rejuvenation Pill at the bottom of the basin, his heart was constantly in suspense.

Today was the day the twenty million would be deducted. He paced anxiously back and forth in the room until ten o'clock in the morning, which was exactly the time seven days ago when he overdrafted the Rejuvenation Pill from the Treasure Basin!

When the time came, he suddenly stopped and stared intently at the treasure basin once more.

Gone!

The words "in loan" completely disappeared, and the bill for the Rejuvenating Pill was completely erased!

His hands trembled slightly as he hurriedly opened his mobile banking app. Sure enough, a notification popped up announcing a deduction, and the 20 million yuan in his bank account had been silently withdrawn.

"call--"

He slumped heavily onto the edge of the bed, letting out a long breath that he had held for seven days. His bones felt as if they had lightened by two ounces. He had finally made up for it! The oppressive feeling of being controlled by an unknown force had finally dissipated, and an unprecedented sense of relief welled up in his heart.

He glanced habitually at the numbers at the bottom of the money bowl; over two hundred more people had joined the crowd yesterday, adding an extra two hundred yuan to his income. Calculating his current situation, after deducting his twenty million yuan debt to the underworld and adding the one million five hundred thousand yuan he transferred to Liu Tao a few days ago as an investment, he still had over two million yuan left in his account. This was enough for his current living expenses, but his illness wasn't cured yet, so he needed to save for a while longer.

Putting his thoughts aside, he habitually opened his phone and browsed various local group chats and online news.

Four whole days have passed, and there's still no news from Zhou Qingyan! The knowledgeable guys in the group, both inside and outside the system, are all discussing it, saying that since Secretary Zhou has been taken away by the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection for so long and hasn't returned, it must be solid evidence that he's been permanently imprisoned.

The online public opinion has not only failed to subside, but has instead intensified.

The hashtag "Newly appointed female county party secretary under investigation for contracting venereal disease" even trended on several provincial forums.

Looking at these vile rumors, a strong sense of worry rose in his heart. If Zhou Qingyan were really ruined, he would feel somewhat guilty!

……

At this very moment, in a meeting room of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, the four walls were covered with soundproof padding.

Zhou Qingyan sat in the interrogation chair that was fixed to the floor. Her once fair and smooth face now showed undisguised haggardness, and her eyes were bloodshot. The repeated fatigue and mental pressure of the past few days had almost drained her of her strength.

She sat there, outwardly maintaining the absolute composure befitting a county party secretary, but only she knew how flustered and uncertain she was inside.

Across from the desk sat Chen Yongjun, director of the First Office of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, Zheng Haiyang, deputy secretary of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, and a female staff member responsible for taking notes.

The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

"Secretary Zhou." Finally, Zheng Haiyang broke the silence, picked up several lab reports stamped with the bright red official seals of major tertiary hospitals, and handed them to Zhou Qingyan. His usually stern and cold face showed a rare hint of apology.

"Over the past few days, we have been sending your blood samples in batches to several of the most authoritative medical institutions in the province and city for retesting. Now, the final test results are in."

Zheng Haiyang paused, then softened his tone: "Your body is very healthy, all indicators are negative, and you do not have any infectious diseases such as AIDS or syphilis."

The moment Zhou Qingyan heard those words, her mind went blank! The enormous boulder that had been weighing on her chest for days, a boulder that could have shattered her to pieces, suddenly shattered! An indescribable sense of relief instantly washed over her, followed by a chilling shock!

The unassuming black pill Zhao Jianguo gave her... actually cured a terminal illness that even modern medicine couldn't cure in just twenty-four hours?! Zhao Jianguo not only knew about that legendary miracle drug, but could also produce it so easily? Just how much power did that lowly clerk possess?!

But at this moment, she had no time to think. Shock, fear, and the humiliation she had suffered for days instantly transformed into overwhelming grievance and anger the moment she learned of her innocence! Her eyes uncontrollably reddened, and her strong political acumen and keen sense of smell allowed her to immediately seize this excellent opportunity to retaliate!

"Snapped!"

Zhou Qingyan slammed his hand on the table, and his previously weak aura instantly became sharp, like a drawn sword aimed directly at Zheng Haiyang and Chen Yongjun opposite him.

"Health? Is a simple 'health' all it takes?!"