Reported Councillor

Entering the conference room, a middle-aged man with a thick beard slammed his hands on the table, his gaze stern as he looked at everyone.

Seeing them walk in, he merely glanced at them before looking away.

Tang Yue's eyes glared at the bearded man with anger, muttering curses under her breath.

Seeing Tang Yue's slightly uncontrolled emotions, Cheng Xiaoyu asked in a low voice.

"Sister Tang Yue, who is this person?"

"Zhu Meng, a member of the Tribunal."

Tang Yue stared intently at Zhu Meng, gritting her teeth as she replied.

"It seems you really dislike him. He's the one who wants to harm the Totem Black Serpent, right?"

"Yes."

Tang Yue then explained Zhu Meng's intentions to Cheng Xiaoyu, saying indignantly.

"The big guy is poisonous, but its venom isn't released randomly, nor is it used against humans. If it really wanted to use its poison, not a single living thing in the entire West Lake would survive."

"Yue Yue, calm down."

Leng Qing patted Tang Yue's shoulder, comforting her before speaking to Cheng Xiaoyu.

"Actually, a week ago, we sent people to inspect the site where the Totem Black Serpent appeared. It was a construction site for a high-rise building. There was no one there at the time. Even with its massive size, it didn't crush any life, let alone corrode people with poison!"

Tang Yue nodded affirmatively, adding.

"Most importantly, during its shedding skin period, the big guy only secretes a fluid that helps shed the old skin. It's not poisonous during this time... So, someone must be making a fuss, framing the big guy for the two inexplicable corpses."

Tang Yue was certain that no one understood the Totem Black Serpent better than she did. It would never trample any living creature, especially the humans who nurtured it.

The remains discovered a week later were definitely not the big guy's doing, absolutely not!

Cheng Xiaoyu pondered, he had a general understanding of the situation, but there was no good solution at the moment. To resolve this, he needed to start investigating.

Zhu Meng slammed the table again, his eyes wide, and said forcefully.

"That's your totem, what does it have to do with us? What I care about is whether this demon will cause widespread chaos!"

This angry outburst interrupted Cheng Xiaoyu's thoughts. He couldn't help but size up Zhu Meng, thinking how irritable this council member was and how he managed to reach his position.

In his preconceived notion, council members should be approachable and amiable people.

Ever since the Jinlin City incident, he hadn't thought much of those in high positions, especially those who used their authority to bully others.

Even though he understood that Zhu Meng might genuinely be concerned about Hangcheng's safety, he felt inexplicably annoyed...

Cheng Xiaoyu watched Zhu Meng, who was still going all out, and secretly took out his phone to start recording. He suddenly realized how overpowered the recording and video functions were, wondering why he hadn't thought of it before.

After all, his teacher was the principal of the people. It was perfectly fine to report a council member with poor conduct!

Soon, Zhu Meng left with a group of palace guards, leaving the room in stunned silence.

Those who were neutral, or leaned towards obeying the Magic Palace, the Magic Association, and the Supreme Tribunal, also stood up and left.

This matter... seemed to be a foregone conclusion!

"Tang Yue, I think you should take the Totem Black Serpent away from here in advance and find a safe place for it to safely get through its shedding skin period."

After those people left, Tang Zhong pondered for a moment and said seriously to Tang Yue.

"Okay, I understand."

Tang Yue nodded with a serious expression and replied.

"And who is this?"

"Oh, he's my student from Bocheng, and Leng Qing's junior brother."

"I see..."

Tang Zhong sized up Cheng Xiaoyu. He couldn't detect the young man's true cultivation level, suspecting he had some kind of magical artifact that concealed his cultivation.

However, since he was his niece's student and someone from the Qingtian Hunter's Institute, he should be trustworthy...

Cheng Xiaoyu, on the other hand, was organizing his thoughts. Although Zhu Meng's tone was aggressive, he had left some room. As long as evidence could be gathered within these two days, this matter would naturally be resolved.

But if they really ran away with the snake, wouldn't that show they were guilty?

However, given the current situation, it would be difficult to investigate thoroughly in a short period. This seemed to be the best solution.

The four of them left the conference room and immediately headed to the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon.

Tang Yue held the totem bead, crouched down, and spoke to the lake surface.

"Big guy, that Zhu Meng wants to deal with you again. I'm taking you away now, to a safe place to recuperate... Big guy, can you hear me?"

After a while, the calm surface of West Lake began to ripple, and bubbles emerged. Then, a huge, flat snake head emerged from the lake.

Cheng Xiaoyu then carefully observed the Totem Black Serpent. Its head alone was about the size of a small mountain. Its entire body displayed that night was indeed quite terrifying.

"Wow, it's actually a totem beast!"

Leng Lingling, however, was not afraid at all. She ran up and stroked the scales of the Totem Black Serpent, looking excited, acting like a child at this moment.

"Sister Leng Qing, you said the Totem Black Serpent is Hangcheng's guardian deity, right?"

"Yes... what's wrong?"

Cheng Xiaoyu took out his phone and started searching. He knew that the White Demon Eagle lineage lived in West Ridge, Hangcheng, and that there was even a Monarch-level Silver Dome Lord.

They had actually stayed so peacefully in West Ridge. It seemed Sister Tang Yue and Sister Leng Qing hadn't lied. The Totem Black Serpent had been the guardian deity of Hangcheng for so many years... then its identity as the "Guardian Deity" must be solidified!

"Sister Tang Yue, I might have a way to speed up the Totem Black Serpent's shedding skin period."

Upon hearing this, Tang Yue was slightly stunned, then looked at Cheng Xiaoyu in surprise.

Cheng Xiaoyu checked the Shop, and the next second a bottle of potion appeared in his palm. He held it up towards the Totem Black Serpent.

Seeing the potion, the Totem Black Serpent's massive snake eyes seemed to light up. Its head tilted forward slightly, its crimson tongue flicking out.

Seeing this, Leng Qing and Tang Yue were both startled. The Totem Black Serpent's reaction proved the credibility of Cheng Xiaoyu's words.

"Xiaoyu, this potion of yours..."

Leng Qing wanted to ask for details, but she stopped herself before she could speak, understanding that this was Junior Apprentice Brother's secret.

Cheng Xiaoyu stared at Tang Yue and said with great seriousness.

"Sister Tang Yue, I have a method to completely solidify the Totem Black Serpent's identity as the 'Guardian Deity,' but it will require your full cooperation."

Since you're used to being high and mighty, it's time you worked a little harder. After all, you're serving the people...

After secretly arranging two Commander Level Shadow Demons within Tang Yue's shadow, Cheng Xiaoyu took Leng Lingling to investigate the plague incident overnight.

With Leng Lingling's intelligence and his execution, the two thoroughly investigated the matter by the next morning. It turned out someone had been using the abnormal blood of a demon called the Lingzhua Plague Rat to pass it off as genuine. They had been mass-producing blood agents for healing, which led to the outbreak of this plague.

The entire production chain for the blood agents was strictly controlled by the Magic Association. The possibility of such a sourcing error was very low. The most likely scenario was...

Someone had colluded with the supervisors from the Magic Association to use the special blood of the Lingzhua Plague Rat to mass-produce these non-compliant blood agents!

It was thought that these inferior blood agents had the same efficacy as the genuine ones. However, they hadn't expected that the abnormal blood of the Lingzhua Plague Rat, lurking in people's bodies, would suddenly mutate. The mutation further strengthened, leading to contagion.

And those who had also taken these inferior blood agents found the diseased blood in their bodies quickly activated, thus accelerating the spread of the plague and causing this tragic epidemic in Hangcheng.

As things stood, the source of the plague had been completely found. The epidemic had nothing to do with the Totem Black Serpent. The disaster was man-made!

Immediately, Leng Lingling informed Leng Qing of this major discovery. Leng Qing had also made good progress on her end; she had found out that the person who supervised the blood agents at the time was precisely the wife of the Vice Judge, Wang Yi.

And no matter how bold Wang Yi was, he wouldn't dare to unilaterally put this diseased blood into the production of blood agents. Tracing it further up the chain, the mastermind pointed directly to one person... Councilman Luo Mian!

"As expected, there's no shortage of such people in the world, especially among the high-ranking officials who hold real power!"

Cheng Xiaoyu agreed wholeheartedly with Leng Lingling's anger. He had already learned from the Shadow Demons that Tang Yue had arrived, and the Totem Black Serpent would likely complete its shedding skin soon.

Next, it was time for the most crucial step...