Once out, Lotus began to use her skill once again. She slipped through the crowd of people until she entered the city. The buildings in the area reminded her of the old historical ones she had seen in the North of Pyroxene. Many older buildings still retained their pointed rooftops and exposed brick walls while the newer ones simply had cleaner walls with no cracks of paint. However, as she looked around, she could tell that there was a pattern. She made her way to a nearby tavern and decided to order some light foods. As she asked the fairies around, she finally came upon a large old cathedral as she stepped in. The interior was solemn and cold as she noticed the lack of people at the reception desk. Confused, she thought carefully before approaching the desk and asked the woman busy typing away, "Pardon me, may I speak with the manager? Even just for one minute?"
The woman did not look up as she responded coldly, "He's not here today. It is his day off."
"I see." She responded and secretly released a butterfly, "Is there someone else in charge I can speak with?"
"The town mayor is not present at the moment." She continued bluntly, "Today, everyone but us are off."
"Even the town mayor?" Lotus noted in bewilderment.
"Yes. If you do not have any business, please leave or I will be forced to call the security."
Surprised, Lotus decided to step out. Once out, she remained in deep thought as she recalled the strange chill in the air. It was familiar yet ominous in nature. Where did she felt something so familiar? Suddenly, a different yet familiar butterfly flew over to her as she hurried over to an inn with a goat bell on the sign. Throwing a dark hood over her head, she quietly entered as a blast of activity hit her ears. The interior was rather interesting with an indoor second floor patio. Quietly, she walked up the second floor and came upon a wooden table with Zhang Li in what looked like a purple gypsy dress. Although she could really just let the hair down, Zhang Li had tied it up as she looked up. As she approached the table, she could feel another energy next to the woman. Lotus raised a hand and Zhang Li nodded. Lotus took a seat across the table and asked, "Were you able to navigate without trouble?"
Zhang Li nodded, "After I took a look on the map, I was able to navigate the area. However, when I presented the token to the town hall, they rejected me. However, I did bring someone with me."
Lotus glanced over to the empty seat next to Zhang Li, "Your conceal technique has improved once again, Zhang Li."
"Thank you for your praise, master." The woman bowed her head nervously.
"You can remove your hood now." Lotus motioned with a sneer.
The person was taken aback as he removed the hood. It was a rather depressed looking gentleman with disheveled blond hair and a goatee. He looked to her with hesitation as Lotus huffed, "Quite a surprise that headmaster Axel would get involved in this…"
As the man flinched, Lotus scoffed, "No. It's better to say, he lacked the ability to view the bigger picture. He has no ability to know about this."
He looked to here in surprise as she called for a waiter to order some dishes. Food was brought to the table as she shoved a bowl of onion soup and baguette to him.
"Eat. Last we need is the people getting discouraged seeing your current state." She frowned.
Seeing this, the man thought for a bit before staring down at the soup. Seeing this, Lotus scowled and glanced over to Zhang Li who nodded solemnly. She turned to the man and whispered quietly, "Hold no fear. Master would never harm those who holds no ill intentions."
Hearing this, the man picked up the spoon and hesitantly took a bite before taking another until he was already shoving food down his throat. Seeing this, Zhang Li felt pity for the elderly man as Lotus turned to her, "Zhang Li, report."
"Yes, master. I first arrived at City Hall and presented your emblem as you said. However, I was turned away without even meeting with their manager. I looked around and found the city to be struggling with an appearance of orphans and homeless. I secretly entered the building and discovered the real staffs poisoned and this man starving on the ground. It seems they tried to make him take the poison food. Since last night, I managed to free him of the poison."
"Sunken eyes and skeletal figure are signs of starvation. However, purple lips and a tint of redness in the eyes say another story. We're talking about the Red Horse poison." She took his wrist as he paused in confusion, "Good job. He's fully detoxified and almost recovered completely."
"Red horse poison?" The man frowned in confusion.
"It's extracted from a special plant found in a rainforest. It's fragrant with a faint taste of honey. However, when ingested, it slowly burns away your sense of reason and you would become nothing but a puppet. That being said, there's something else to be done. Once you're finished eating, we can finish the treatment."
"Something else?" The man hesitated.
"Basically put, you're not completely out of the woods yet." Lotus huffed in disdain and pulled out an emblem.
The man stood up in shock only to be knocked out by Zhang Li. Seeing this, lotus gave a dry smile, "Why does it seem like you're getting more and more violent by the day?"
"Oh! But, master, a lady must be strong enough to protect themselves to this extent." Zhang Li responded energetically.
Lotus shook her head in defeat, "Very well… Come now."
She casted a more powerful conceal magic as she took a few needles and stabbed them into the back of his neck as he laid slumped over on his table. With a motion, Zhang Li immediately secured the small corner from traffic. With a scalpel, she carefully cut into the back of his neck. After five minutes, she found it! In his neck was a small dormant pupa the size of a thumb. Quickly and carefully, she used her magic summoning thin vines as it wrapped around the pupa until it was completely wrapped. With one swift motion, she removed it from the neck. After inspecting with her spiritual energy again, she closed the wound and wrapped the neck with bandages. She sighed as she quickly cleaned up the area and put the pups away. As she placed a small device onto the table, she got up and said, "Take the man and bring him to the bell tower once he awakens. Remember to lay low."
Picking up the unconscious man,Zhang Li nodded, "Yes, master."
Lotus played with a wine glass of apple cider on the table as Zhang Li disappeared from the room in a blink of an eye. She grumbled in disappointment, "I'd kill for a glass of alcohol right now…"
The map of the city, the laws of the town, her master's disappearance, the deaths, the bell, and the current headmaster. It was as plain as day. No mystery at all. Perhaps the only mystery would be their motives, but that was just a minor subject to talk about. She took a sip, "Things like that are better resolved in courts… How dull. With a snap of my finger, all of this would've been meaningless…"
Yes… it would've all been meaningless had it not been for the fact she would have to be forced to deal with more glaring consequences had she not done so. Her life won't be in danger, of course. After all, who can be powerful enough to kill her? The only person capable of stopping her for a short while would be none other than the Queen of Briar Valley, but that's be it. The gods too had no interest in the matters of mortals. All she has to do is snap her fingers and that'd do the trick-
Peony…
She paused with her fingers still ready to snap. Shaking her head, she looked down on the bowl of onion soup emptied of its contents.
"That man…" She raised a brow, "He won't be feeling too well once he wakes up."
"Then why did you feed him, master?"
Hearing Xiao Li's voice, she huffed in dismay, "Food to entice a starving man, what else?"
Xiao Li frowned. His master clearly worried for the poor human when they could guess what he had gone through. She must've wanted him to recover as quickly as possible.
"But why the surgery?" He questioned in confusion, "He's clearly unwell to perform surgery."
"Did you see the state of the gu worm?" She grumbled.
He hesitated. Naturally, he saw it. That's why he was so uncertain to perform the surgery without prior preparation preparations. If she had not been careful in the slightest, the man would've died from a heart attack caused by the toxins released from the bug. All it would take is one little nudge to alarm the tiny bug of death. Peony yawned, "A mind control Gu… What a lovely gift, don't you agree?"
Xiao Li hesitated, "Master, are you okay?"
Peony sighed, "Everything is okay, Xiao Li. I'm just a little annoyed…."
Xiao Li hesitated. Before his master would never sigh. It was only after her starting to attend Night Raven College that she had finally stopped pretending to sigh. She's becoming more… dangerous.