Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1647: Chapter 1631: Misfortune Talisman

Huo Sining suddenly remembered, back on Yulong Mountain, after she and Gu Xu were threatened by Zhao Hongru, Bai Buzhi managed to stick a Talisman Paper on the back of the man’s head while Zhao Hongru was not paying attention; later, the paper burned without leaving even a trace of ash.

If she remembered correctly, Bai Buzhi seemed to have said that the Talisman Paper was a Misfortune Talisman, and once applied, Zhao Hongru would face misfortunes.

Linking this with the words of Nie Dechang, Huo Sining already understood what was going on.

Zhao Hongru was hit by a car when he went out, Huo Sining wasn’t sure if it was related to the Misfortune Talisman, but his establishing a lab to research a cancer cure was absolutely influenced by the talisman’s curse.

Zhao Hongru obtained an ancient herbal formula, altered beyond recognition by Bai Buzhi, from Bai Buzhi. He didn’t doubt the authenticity of the formula at all but instead believed it to be true.

To fulfill his ambition, Zhao Hongru resigned from Yulong Mountain, just to go home and fiddle with this alleged cure.

Yet Zhao Hongru didn’t know that the formula Bai Buzhi gave him had already been tampered with by Bai Buzhi. The herbs listed were all concocted by Bai Buzhi, purposely picking the expensive ones, writing down names like Lingzhi, Ginseng, Cordyceps, whatever was precious got written down.

Wanting to develop a cancer cure, naturally, Zhao Hongru wouldn’t be stingy in this matter, hence he spent a substantial amount of money purchasing herbs.

Unexpectedly, the Misfortune Talisman was so effective. Given Zhao Hongru’s age, if not for the Misfortune Talisman casting a shadow over him, he would never have failed to see through the deceit. Being this old, yet still dreaming of fame and wealth, whether to say he deserved it, Huo Sining wasn’t sure.

But toward such a person, Huo Sining couldn’t muster any sympathy. If it weren’t for Bai Buzhi’s help, she and Gu Xu would have genuinely fallen into Zhao Hongru’s grip on Yulong Mountain. For someone this delusional and crooked, Huo Sining wasn’t at all hesitant to use even harsher methods to counter.

As for how Nie Dechang knew about this information, it wasn’t that he purposely probed, but because Zhao Hongru was eagerly seeking herbal purchases after resigning from Yulong Mountain.

Nie Dechang was an old Chinese medicine doctor from Yulong Mountain, and naturally, he had ample connections in herbal procurement, so after hitting roadblocks in buying herbs, Zhao Hongru thought of Nie Dechang, hence called him, hoping Nie Dechang could assist.

Initially, Nie Dechang wasn’t aware of why Zhao Hongru was purchasing herbs in large quantities, but having been colleagues for many years, when Zhao Hongru reached out to him, Nie Dechang couldn’t simply refuse to help.

Thus, Nie Dechang connected Zhao Hongru with a herbal supplier.

Soon after, that supplier probed him, saying Zhao Hongru was working on a cancer cure, and several wealthy families were investing in it. The supplier felt this was an opportunity, wanted to join in, but was worried it wasn’t reliable and sought Nie Dechang’s input.

Only then did Nie Dechang understand why Zhao Hongru resigned from Yulong Mountain.

Regarding the cancer cure development, Nie Dechang found it absurd; previously, Huo Sining and Bai Buzhi healing Qin Lianshan’s illness was purely by luck. If cancer cures could be developed this easily, Huo Sining and Bai Buzhi would have studied it long ago, not leaving it to him.

The more Nie Dechang thought, the more he felt Zhao Hongru was delusional; out of concern for a colleague, he even called, earnestly advising Zhao Hongru, hoping he’d wake up, not be blinded by greed, avoiding a dead end, ultimately ending in loss.

But Nie Dechang’s kindness was interpreted differently by Zhao Hongru; instead of appreciating it, Zhao Hongru angrily accused Nie Dechang of begrudging his success, fearing his research would steal their hospital’s thunder.

Zhao Hongru was already consumed by his obsession; no matter what Nie Dechang said, he wouldn’t listen, even suspecting Nie Dechang of ill intentions.

Nie Dechang had his pride; having his goodwill treated as worthless, he certainly wouldn’t advise him further, eventually closing his eyes, no longer caring about Zhao Hongru’s affair.

In an old factory in a suburb of the Imperial Capital, Zhao Hongru and his team continued researching the cure day after day.

“Professor, this is sample number 1740, please check if it’s correct?”

A researcher brought the sample tube to Zhao Hongru.

By just glancing at the sample’s color, Zhao Hongru knew it was incorrect.

Though Bai Buzhi’s medicine was in a ceramic vial, as he administered it to Qin Lianshan, Zhao Hongru was beside him, witnessing the medicine’s color; he’d never forget it was orange-yellow, not the dark brown in the present tube.

Moreover, after bringing the tube to his nose, Zhao Hongru further confirmed it was wrong.

When Bai Buzhi administered the medicine to Qin Lianshan, its fragrance filled the room, sweet and rich, evoking a soothing, blissful sensation, unlike this vial’s overt herbal scent.

Wrong color, wrong smell, everything was wrong; Zhao Hongru couldn’t figure out which part was faulty. He scrutinized the formula numerous times, yet found no flaw.

No, it must be the boiling time or temperature issue; definitely some stage went awry, once identifying the key problem, he was confident he could reproduce the cure Bai Buzhi gave Qin Lianshan!

With reddened eyes, Zhao Hongru hurled the tube to the ground, roaring: “Keep brewing samples! Test the boiling time, the heat—whatever is wrong, find it!”

The students held back their anger, daring not to speak. They were Zhao Hongru’s graduate students, lured into this lab by him.

An entire summer vacation spent in the lab, tirelessly brewing the so-called cure for Zhao Hongru.

Yet Zhao Hongru divulged not a word about the disease the cure was for.

These students specialized in clinical studies, Western medicine, brought here for herbal concoctions—it was nonsensical!

They grumbled internally, yet dared not express it, knowing under the professor’s wing, a single misstep could result in punitive workloads or even trouble with thesis submissions.