Strangely, Tang Yue and I reached the underground river entrance quickly and without tragic incidents. No one pursued us, no manhunt, not even finger-wagging. Everything was quiet and calm. And that was very strange, though explained by our quick work.
Unlike canon, where the Serpent scented Parthenon arriving in the city inside Xin Xia with Mo Fan and showed himself to everyone, causing mass panic, here it didn't escalate—we hid him promptly to avoid such incidents. Now, to turn public opinion against the Totem Serpent, Luo Mian and Zhu Meng, the two senators, would have to try hard.
Arriving at a small lake by a rock, we released the Serpent into the water. Tang Yue lowered the Totem Bead into the lake, and when it sank deep enough, the Serpent emerged, nudging the artifact back with his snout. Then, waving his tail goodbye, he vanished into the underground river depths the lake connected to. Even a Sealed mage would struggle to smoke him out now.
"Well, satisfied now? Your paranoia eased a bit?" Tang Yue turned to me once the Serpent was out of sight.
"Not yet—it'll calm when he molts. Now to the city—we need to organize Plague Rats capture. Even their corpses work if stored right," I turned, spread my wings, scooped Tang Yue into my arms, and soared skyward toward the city. That's how we got here too. Maybe that's why no one pursued us. Good luck catching a guy flying above the clouds at peak Commander speed to a not-so-far place.
Back in the city, we went straight to the Magic Tribunal building to place an official order in my name for Plague Rats capture. The total reward pool was eighty million yuan, distributed by catch count. Given the order's simplicity and Tang Yue pulling in Hunters, it should take max three days. Considering how many rats the Serpent needs to eat for quick molting, that's solid timing.
And just when I thought my paranoia was baseless and all would go smoothly without surprises, news broke of mass human poisoning. And per Senator Luo Mian's claim, the culprit was the Tang family's long-tamed monster—the Venomous Snake…
______
Rushing with Tang Yue to the Magic Tribunal building, we caught the tail end of a spat between five High Tier mages, three locals from Hangzhou: Tang Zhong—Tang Yue's uncle and Magic Tribunal chairman—Wu Pingjin—his deputy, and an orphan adopted into the Tang family for his magic talent. And Luo Mian—city Mage's Association head and senator from the city. Opposite them: Zhu Men—senator from the Zhu clan—and his aide—Li Tian.
One might think locals had the edge in power and rightness—three against two. But Luo Mian sided against his old comrades and colleagues, backing Zhu Men's claims. And with Zhu Men the strongest here, all four elements at High Tier… the situation wasn't great.
"I'm telling you for the hundredth time—this beast is dangerous! Humans and monsters can't coexist! Even if you've tamed and raised it for centuries, in critical moments the Serpent won't obey! Take this molting situation—his power dropped, he got extremely irritable, and poisoned hundreds! I demand we kill the beast before it causes more damage!" Luo Mian ranted, trying to prove to everyone his words were true and the Totem Serpent must die.
Naturally. All profit for him. The Tang family's protector dies, no need to fear him, and he can pressure them freely. With a peak Warlord advantage, the Tang family effectively ruled the city, making Luo Mian's senator post a fiction without real power. But if they kill the Serpent…
Anyway, purely selfish goals, no thoughts of protecting people. I'm more than sure he orchestrated the poisoning of those hundreds himself. Don't know how yet, but I'll find out soon.
"The Totem Serpent isn't a beast—he's Hangzhou's guardian! Without his protection, the city would've fallen long ago! And I repeat, he didn't poison anyone! If you claim otherwise, show proof!" Tang Yue's uncle slammed fists on the table. Despite his bravado, doubt showed—he hadn't seen the Serpent lately and didn't know what he did or didn't do. His foes exploited that.
"Hmph, did or didn't— not for you to decide. Bring out the Serpent, and my team will investigate. If the monster's innocent, we'll release him," Zhu Men sat in his chair, looking down on Tang Zhong with condescension, pressing with authority and aura.
And damn it, it worked! At least Tang Yue's uncle wavered, and Wu Pingjin would back his benefactor's decision. I needed to intervene fast before this wannabe politician messed up. Shouldn't tax audits have toughened him? Or did his wife's betrayal shake him? Not important now!
"You have no authority to demand that, Senator Zhu Men. I'm starting to reasonably doubt your qualifications for senator. Someone younger might handle it better," Bursting through the meeting hall door, I stung the soldier right away. Not by army rank, but temperament.
"And who are you, kid?" Zhu Men's brow furrowed hard at my arrival, his aura pressing harder, making Tang Yue behind me pale and tug my shirt hem, signaling to stop bickering with the senator. I ignored her completely.
"I'm a poison expert hired by the Tang family. I'd like to see the poisoned first before judging. But just from no deaths, I can say with high probability it's not the Totem Serpent. He's called the father of poisons for a reason. A bit grandiose, but even at peak Commander strength, turning thousands to slime puddles or ash shouldn't be hard—let alone pathetic hundreds. Do you even have proof besides one old man's word, who profits from Hangzhou's guardian dying?" I arched a brow, truly not getting what they based it on. The Venomous Snake is a dangerous, cunning predator—if he wanted kills, no traces, and no live prey left.
"Don't sass me, kid! I know you—you're no poison expert, just the Tang family's money-stuffed lapdog, bought a generation genius title! Your judgments can't be impartial! Given your lifestyle, I doubt your 'expert' skills! My and Senator Zhu Men's invitees will be far more competent," Luo Mian sneered contemptuously.
"Whether they stuffed me with money or not doesn't matter. Key is my poison making and detection skills are unmatched in this country, and I'm ready to prove it," I stepped confidently toward the bigwigs, but veered slightly, blowing pre-synthesized powder from my palm straight into Luo Mian's son's face. He was there silently due to low power—a thirty-five-year-old man at second step High Tier. His father clearly spent family income on himself, secretly raising a second element to High Tier.
Transformation hit fast. As High Tier mages moved to grab me for attacking the senator's son, he began changing. His features softened femininely before everyone's eyes. Hair lengthened, hips widened, and a scared squeak from his now cute sweet mouth sent shivers through all men present.
"Father, what's happening to me?" The sexy brunette milf in glasses asked in a frightened seductive voice. After her question, the hall fell into stunned dead silence.
"If your 'experts' can reverse my gender-swap poison's effect, I'll admit my poisoning skills insufficient and let you arrest me for attacking the senator's son… daughter and slandering him. If they can't… what kind of experts are they?" I smirked, surveying the hall of jaw-dropped people.
Silence answered. They just kept staring at the juicy milf in her now-too-tight post-transformation business suit. Tch, bunch of perverts. No wonder they say politicians are dirty! But her figure's really something…