Chapter 11 The Poisonous Purple Thornapple

• Helena looked at Ulric emotionlessly, studying his micro-expressions.
• Ulric was truly panicking at that moment.
• He was sweating buckets, but his reaction remained normal. Hence, there wasn't any reason to suspect him.
• “Ulric, someone told me that you met up with both victims on the day they died.”
• A look of terror flashed across his face and in his panic, he accidentally knocked over the glass of red wine next to him.
• He tried to clean up the mess despite the uncertainty shining in his eyes.
• Helena took advantage of his state and went on, “I'm kindly reminding you since we're classmates. I haven't shared this with the authorities. But if you don't come clean and be honest with me, I will have no other choice. Think about it.”
• In the end, Ulric sat up straight, breathing heavily as he asked, “Who exactly are you, Helena? How do you know all that?”
• Helena looked into his eyes, showing no signs of fear.
• “I am someone who can help you.”
• At this time, Ulric had cooled down and recollected himself.
• “You're just an exchange student who came here two months ago. What can you actually do to help me? Don't overestimate yourself, Helena.”
• “I never overestimate or underestimate myself. I really want to help you, but I need you to tell me the truth.”
• Ulric took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands. “It's true that I met up with both women before they got into trouble, but as usual, I was just trying to get them to go out with me. Both meetings ended the way they had always ended, with them rejecting my advances. I was just as surprised and scared out of my mind when I learned that they were murdered. But I swear I am not the murderer. Helena, don't assume that you can pin the crime on me just because I like you. No one in Tayhaven has the power to do that!”
• With that, he poured himself another glass of wine and took a sip.
• “Helene York, you are truly fascinating. An ordinary exchange student couldn't have—”
• Before he could finish his sentence, he sprung up abruptly, holding his throat and looking as though he was in pain.
• His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at the woman.
• At the same time, he was struggling to keep his balance.
• Helena snapped back to her senses and realized that he had been poisoned.
• With no energy left in him, Ulric fell backward and collapsed to the ground.
• Helena rushed over and saw that he was catching his breath.
• Right then, someone pushed open the door to the private room.
• “Honey, are you all right?”
• Upon hearing the commotion, Christopher had thought that Ulric, the well-known playboy, had forced himself on Helena. But to his surprise, he saw the man lying on the floor, half-dead.
• Helena shot him a look and rested her gaze on him.
• Suddenly coming to a realization, Christopher rushed over to Ulric. And while examining his condition, he asked, “Honey, this morning you said that a married couple should understand each other. But the way you look at me now... You don't suspect that I have something to do with this, do you?”
• Helena took a deep breath.
• He's not the culprit. Even if he has followed me because he's jealous, there is no way he will poison someone to death right under my nose!
• Besides, I met him at Matchmaking Park. How could he be involved in the two cases?
• “Yeah, you're right. But he's severely poisoned, and there's nothing we can do. We should call the ambulance right away.”
• “Wait,” Christopher said. “The guy will be dead before the ambulance can get here. The poison used to kill him is very rare and works quickly. We have to save him now or it'll be too late. Gah, he's lucky I'm around. I'll save him. It'll earn me some good karma anyway... I think.”
• With that, he took out a pouch from his bosom.
• Inside were dozens of silver acupuncture needles of different sizes.
• “You can cure him?” Helena asked in astonishment.
• “I told you. I know everything. This is nothing to me.” Christopher gave her a small smile and worked his magic immediately after. With a needle in each hand, he began treating Ulric by targeting the acupuncture points on the neck.
• He then continued poking the needles at other acupuncture points, moving so quickly that it was virtually impossible to see what he was doing.
• Right then, Ulric coughed a little and vomited some dark-colored blood, but his breathing slowly became more even.
• Helena was utterly stunned.
• By then, Christopher had already wrapped up.
• He heaved a sigh and walked to the table. Wrinkling his nose and sniffing around, he fixed his eyes on the box that contained the blue roses.
• After he examined it with a handkerchief, his frown deepened.
• Seeing that, Helena couldn't help asking, “What's wrong?”
• “Is this a purple thornapple? I can't believe there's a poisonous thornapple hidden among the blue roses!” Christopher closed one of his eyes and examined Ulric once more. “All right, the kid is fine now. We should go wash up and sanitize our hands. The poison was in the box. Touching it will not cause any harm, but Ulric has inadvertently consumed the poison after touching and drinking from his glass.”
• Suddenly remembering something, Helena asked, “You were the one who plucked out all the petals of the blue roses, weren't you? And you crushed the purple crystal too?”
• Christopher responded with a smile, “He tried to court my wife even though I was standing right in front of him. It's only natural that I teach him a lesson. All right now, go wash the poison off your hands. I'll stay and keep an eye on him. We can't leave the place unattended.”
• Helena nodded in agreement, then left the room.
• After she left, Christopher put his smile away and replaced it with a grim look. Someone actually tried to poison this rich playboy. Is this culprit the murderer who committed the two other crimes? More importantly, though, the person wasn't just going to poison this stupid playboy. They were going to drag my wife into this mess as well! I don't give a damn about him, but how dare they come after my wife? Oh, just you wait. You're skating on thin ice and walking right to your death! Hah! Playing tricks like these against me? How naïve!
• Christopher looked up and out the window.
• Indeed, he saw a dark figure lurking right outside.
• Naturally, the murderer would want to stay at the scene and see their victim fall with their own eyes. Only then will they feel secure enough to leave.
• At that thought, Christopher got up and headed over to open the window.
• The cool air rushed into the room and off he went, disappearing into the night.
• At that sight, the figure quickly turned around to leave.
• Christopher followed behind and gave chase.
• However, the culprit wasn't swift or agile.
• If anything, the person in question seemed pretty clumsy.
• That made Christopher suspicious.
• Why would someone like that poison another person? Still, they had been hiding in the room and were secretly monitoring everything from outside. That means they must be somehow connected to this incident!
• Christopher sped up after coming to that conclusion.
• In the end, he managed to corner the culprit on a somewhat secluded street.
• He put his hands in his pockets and walked over as though he were strolling in a park.
• The streetlights were the only things illuminating the roads, but Christopher still managed to make out the person's face when he got closer.
• The second he saw that face, he blurted, “What are you doing here?”