“Hello, Xinxia, your brother I will be going away for some time. Please take care of yourself…” Mo Fan gave Xinxia a call after Tangyue had finished convincing the Snake Boss.
“Alright, you should take care, too.” Xinxia’s tone had with a hint of worry.
“Don’t worry… are you at your apartment? Why is it so noisy in the background?” Mo Fan asked when he heard some girls’ panicked voice from the other end.
“I’m at the student lodge. Some students had contracted a strange disease. I’m healing them. However, the Healing Magic seems to be ineffective against the disease. There have been quite a number of students falling sick to the disease recently. Furthermore, the school is quarantining the patients, too,” said Xinxia.
Xinxia was a student of the School of Healing, thus she would occasionally help the school out when required.
“Do be careful, a strange disease like that is always contagious,” advised Mo Fan.
“Mm!”
After hanging up the call, Mo Fan realized that Tangyue had already stored the Skyscraping Snake inside the Totem Orb. The Totem Orb initially had a blue-yellow glow, but it now had turned blue-black in color. He could faintly see something wriggling inside the orb.
“It actually fits?” Mo Fan glanced at the Totem Orb curiously and rolled it between his fingers.
“Now isn’t the time to play, we have to get out of here. Zhu Meng’s people will seal this place off soon,” said Tangyue.
Mo Fan nodded. They left the island with the boat, and headed straight to the west of Hangzhou City.
——-
Tangyue had already come up with an escape path. She was planning to bring the Skyscraping Snake to a place called the White Town, close to the boundary of the safe zone.
The White Town was far to the west of Hangzhou. It was a fair distance away from the city. The White Mountain close to White City had a concealed cave. Only the head of the tribe of the Totem Guardians protecting the Totem Beast knew about the cave, as it was used as the last resort to protect the Totem Beast.
The journey to White Mountain was neither too long nor too short, and Mo Fan’s job was to escort Tangyue and the Skyscraping Snake to the White Mountain Thousand Caves.
The White Mountain Thousand Caves consisted of interconnected caves and mountains. The entire area had yet to be explored. It was the perfect place to hide the Skyscraping Snake. It would not even matter if Zhu Meng’s people managed to find the entrance of the cave, as the maze-like caves would totally confuse them inside.
“Alright, let’s go!”
“Time to head out!”
The two took advantage of the night time and silently left Hangzhou City with the Skyscraping Snake. They headed straight west from the city.
——
Inside the elegant pavilion of a villa, Zhu Meng furiously smashed the expensive teacup in his hand. He was infuriated seeing his subordinates with their heads lowered as they stood in front of him.
“Useless fools! Are you telling me that gigantic snake just vanished into thin air like that? I asked you to keep an eye on the whole tribe of Totem Guardians, and what were you actually doing?” roared Zhu Meng scathingly, pointing his finger at the people.
“Councilman, please have mercy. We did follow your order and keep every important member of the Totem Tribe under surveillance, but we didn’t expect they would leave a girl called Tangyue in charge of the Black Totem Snake. Her strength isn’t too outstanding in their tribe, so we didn’t send someone after her in time…” said Wu Pingjing, the Head of the Royal Guards.
“This Tangyue dares to oppose me when she’s a member of the Magic Court. Send out a warrant after her! If the Enforcement Union in Hangzhou says anything, have them all arrested!” snapped Zhu Meng.
He did not expect his plan would be disrupted by an insignificant woman.
“Coucilman Zhu, stop blaming your people.” An old man wearing a classic embroidered gown walked into the pavilion with a teapot. His goatee was swaying slightly with his movements.
The Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing was startled. He stared blankly at Councilman Luo, who was known for going against Councilman Zhu. He could not understand why he would appear in Councilman Zhu’s mansion.
“Wu Pingjing, you’re still too naive. You’re still treating everything as black and white…” Luo Mian said in an elderly manner, while fondling his beard.
“Councilman Luo Mian is one of the supporters of my proposal to eliminate Hangzhou’s potential threat. However, considering his influence in Hangzhou’s Enforcement Union, he doesn’t want to fall out with the people of the Totem Tribe,” explained Zhu Meng.
Wu Pingjing opened his mouth wide. He felt like saying something, but he could not find the words.
The relationship between the Councilmen was too complicated. They were strongly arguing with one another during the meeting, thus even Wu Pingjing had assumed that Luo Mian was on the other side. Who knew that he had already colluded with Councilman Zhu Meng?
Did this mean the news about the Black Totem Snake’s ecdysis had come from Councilman Luo and his subordinates?
“As a matter of fact, after the meeting yesterday, I already knew that girl Tangyue would be taking the Black Totem Snake. Unfortunately, the Head of the Magic Court, Tang Zhong seems to be suspicious toward me, and dragged me with him to play chess all night,” Luo Mian smiled.
“Enough with the nonsense, I’ve asked you here to tell us the truth. I’ve already sent out my people to keep an eye on the beast, and yet I still don’t understand how she managed to sneak past us without us noticing,” said Zhu Meng.
Wu Pingjing nodded too.
The same question had greatly bothered him too. To be on the safe side, not only did he send people to spy on Tang Zhong, Heiyu, and the people of the Totem Tribe, they had also set up a perimeter around West Lake. Tangyue was barely an Advanced Magician. It would be impossible for her to escape without alerting their people.
“I have just learned from my subordinate, too. Although the Black Totem Snake’s strength will significantly decrease during the ecdysis, his senses are actually sharper. Any Commander-level demon beast or Advanced Magicians who comes within twenty kilometers of the creature will be detected. It’s an important measure to keep himself safe, as it allows him to quickly detect any potential threat and escape from his enemies. That Tangyue must have used his ability to sneak past your people, ” said Luo Mian.
Zhu Meng raised his brows in astonishment.
The Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing also raised his head with a surprised look.
“The Black Totem Snake is considered fairly strong even among the Ruler-level creatures. How could he not possess any outstanding capabilities? Therefore, the number of people you’re sending after them won’t make a difference. The Black Totem Snake will easily sense their presence,” added Luo Mian.
“So you’re implying…” said Zhu Meng.
“The Magic Court has lots of interns. You can send them instead. Just keep them busy instead of trying to capture them, and wait until your Royal Guards arrive. That Tangyue would have no chance of escaping from us!” Luo Mian fondled his goatee, as if he had already thought of a plan long ago.