Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

On the special investigation team's desk, Lu Jingyan had drawn a heavy red circle around the lab report.

"The mercury level was 200 times higher than the standard, and the estrogen content was equivalent to that of a thousand old hens."

Lu Jingyan slammed his pen on the table, the crisp sound particularly jarring in the quiet office. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlaced, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a death notice.

"This is not some 'fertility remedy' at all; it's a death warrant. Shen Youchu's hormone levels are completely out of balance. If we don't intervene in time, not only will she not be able to have a child, but her kidneys and liver will probably be ruined."

Su Xiaoxiao stood to the side, her face pale with anger, her hands gripping the tablet tightly until her knuckles turned white.

"Captain Lu, this is outrageous! I just checked Shen Youchu's medical records, and she's not an isolated case."

Su Xiaoxiao took a deep breath to calm the anger in her chest, and her fingers slid quickly across the screen, bringing up a series of shocking photos and data.

"In the past month, major hospitals in the city have treated more than a dozen similar cases. The patients are all prominent socialites in Jinghai City or young girls who want to marry into wealthy families. The symptoms are the same: amenorrhea, abdominal distension, vomiting, and some even experience hallucinations. They all firmly believe that they are pregnant with a 'precious child' and refuse to receive proper treatment until their bodies can no longer withstand it, at which point their families force them to go to the hospital."

"What about commonalities?" Lu Jingyan asked.

"That's the commonality."

Su Xiaoxiao projected a secretly taken photo onto the big screen.

The background of the photo is a traditional courtyard house with a plaque made of Phoebe zhennan wood hanging at the entrance, bearing the five large characters "Lin's Huichun Hall".

Luxury cars lined the entrance, and the queue stretched from the doorway all the way to the street corner. At the very front of the line stood several "medicine apprentices" dressed in Taoist robes, but with shifty eyes, arrogantly maintaining order.

"Lin's Huichuntang suddenly appeared in Xicheng District half a month ago."

Su Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth as she introduced, "The so-called doctor is a 'successor of Guiguzi' who came down from the deep mountains, named Lin Fan. It is said that he does not use instruments or look at test reports. He can cure all diseases with just his eyes and three fingers, and he is especially good at... 'giving children' and 'restoring youth'."

"A descendant of Guiguzi?"

Lu Jingyan scoffed, his eyes full of mockery, "If Guiguzi knew he had such an unworthy descendant, he'd be turning in his grave."

"What's even more outrageous is the fee."

Su Xiaoxiao opened a price list. "The registration fee is 8888, and that's the 'fate price.' One 'fertility pill' costs 50,000, and a course of 'rejuvenation water' costs 100,000. Moreover, they only accept cash, no bank transfers, supposedly to... to avoid getting entangled in worldly karma."

"Avoiding karmic consequences? I think it's just to evade tax oversight and fund tracking."

Lu Jingyan stood up, walked to the big screen, and stared intently at the figure in the photo who was vaguely visible sitting in the hall "performing a ritual".

Although the photo is blurry, it is still possible to tell that the person is not old, in his early twenties, with long hair, wearing an incongruous ancient costume, holding the hand of a rich woman, and stroking it with a "merciful" expression.

The position of that hand looks rather improper no matter how you look at it.

"Captain Lu, there's another situation."

At this moment, Zhao Tiezhu, who was in charge of the peripheral investigation, pushed open the door and came in, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. Behind him was a middle-aged man, who was a family member of one of the victims.

"This guy's wife took Lin Fan's medicine and is now in the intensive care unit having her stomach pumped. He went to Huichuntang to demand an explanation, but he was beaten up by the group of pharmacy boys who said his wife was not sincere and had offended the gods."

Upon seeing Lu Jingyan, the middle-aged man immediately knelt down, tears streaming down his face.

"Officer! Help! That Lin Fan isn't a doctor at all, he's a thug! When he was 'treating' my wife, he insisted on kicking everyone out, saying he wanted to 'harmonize yin and yang' and transfer true energy... When my wife came out, her clothes were disheveled and she looked dazed. I knew something was wrong right then!"

"Harmony of Yin and Yang?"

Lu Jingyan's gaze froze instantly, and a palpable killing intent erupted from him, causing the temperature in the entire office to plummet to freezing point.

These four words might be a "perk" for the male protagonist in mindless wish-fulfillment novels, but in the real world, within the framework of criminal law, this is blatant sexual assault!

They use traditional Chinese medicine and metaphysics as a guise to commit fraud, assault, and even rape.

This Lin Fan is a million times worse than the previous Fujiwara Takumi who only knew how to race cars and the previous Chu Tianjiao who only knew how to show off.

"This is no longer a simple case of practicing medicine without a license."

Lu Jingyan straightened his police cap, his voice so cold it sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth, "Selling toxic or harmful food, practicing medicine without a license, fraud, intentional injury, and possibly even rape."

He turned around and looked at the room full of indignant team members.

"Brothers, we've got a job."

"If I don't send this beast in human skin to jail for the rest of his life, I'll be doing a disservice to this police uniform."

"Xiaoxiao, contact the drug administration and the health commission. We need to conduct joint enforcement."

As Lu Jingyan unbuttoned his police uniform, he strode towards the locker room. "Tiezhu, assemble the team and set up a perimeter around that street. Don't let a single fly escape."

"Captain Lu, what about you?" Su Xiaoxiao pressed.

Lu Jingyan stopped and glanced back at the "miracle doctor" surrounded by believers on the big screen. A cold, hunter-like smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm going to register."

"I've heard that this Dr. Lin can see through a person's past and present lives? I'll see if he can—"

"Is this silver bracelet I'm holding something I prepared for him?"

……

Xicheng District, Old City God Temple Street.

This is the oldest neighborhood in Jinghai City, a place where all sorts of people mingle and incense smoke lingers.

Lin's Huichun Hall is located in the most conspicuous position on the street corner. Its vermilion gate is magnificent, and the two stone lions at the entrance have been touched until they are shiny.

Although it was already afternoon, there was still a long queue at the entrance.

Dozens of elegantly dressed, bejeweled ladies, along with many haggard-looking young girls, clutched thick wads of cash, their eyes burning with fervor and anxiety as they awaited the "miracle doctor's" summons. The air was thick with the pungent smell of incense, mixed with what was supposedly "medicinal fragrance," making one feel slightly dizzy.

Lu Jingyan was wearing an ordinary black casual jacket, a baseball cap pulled low, and a high-definition law enforcement recorder disguised as a button clipped to his chest.

He blended into the crowd and appeared completely inconspicuous.

"Have you heard? Yesterday, Doctor Lin used his powers to cure the old man from the Li family who had been paralyzed for three years! He was able to get out of bed and run around right away!"

A middle-aged woman carrying an LV bag was boasting to her companion, spitting as she spoke, "I've taken all my grocery money this time; I absolutely have to get a 'youth-preserving pill'!"

"Really? That's amazing!"

"Of course it's true! Didn't you see what's written on their sign? 'If Yama calls you to die at midnight, Lin Fan will keep you alive until dawn!' That's divine intervention!"

Lu Jingyan listened to these absurd remarks without expression.

"Divine intervention?"

He sneered inwardly.

The idea that a paralyzed elderly person can run around on the ground is mostly a result of using large doses of stimulants or hormones, a temporary respite achieved by overdrawing their vitality. This kind of tactic was already overused in swindling scams decades ago.

The line moved slowly.

Finally, it was Lu Jingyan's turn.

The "medicine boy" at the door, dressed in a blue Taoist robe and with a fierce face, stopped him, looked him up and down, and his eyes revealed a greedy and contemptuous look as if he were looking at a fat sheep.

"What do you need? Medical treatment or medicine?"

The young apprentice held out a hand, expertly rubbing his fingers together. "Do you know the rules? The registration fee is 8888, cash, no change."

Lu Jingyan raised his head, his eyes beneath the brim of his hat calm as still water.

He took a thick envelope out of his pocket and slapped it into the medicine boy's hand.

"Seeking medical treatment."

Lu Jingyan's voice was very low, carrying just the right amount of "anxiety" and "sincerity".

"I've heard that Dr. Lin specializes in treating difficult and complicated illnesses... I have a friend who recently feels like he's going to jail, and he'd like to ask the doctor if there's any way to resolve this?"

The young apprentice squeezed the thickness of the envelope, and a greasy smile immediately spread across his face.

"Of course, of course! As long as you are sincere, there is no calamity that our master cannot resolve!"

He turned to the side and made a "please" gesture, and the door leading to "miracle"—or rather, evil—slowly opened.

"Go in, the miracle doctor is waiting for you inside."

Lu Jingyan stepped over the high threshold and entered the smoke-filled "Huichun Hall".

He reached out and pressed the recording device on his chest.

The red light is flashing, and the recording has started.

"Dr. Lin, your 'good fortune' has arrived."