Parasites Within!

Mo Fan was sharp enough to catch what lay hidden in Leng Qing's words. He immediately dropped his voice. "Senior Sister, you know something, don't you?"

"My people put together a dossier, and I personally traced the identities of those first two decomposed bodies that turned up in the marketplace. At first I had no one to suspect — but now I think someone is extremely suspicious." Leng Qing was tall and sharp-eyed, her entire bearing carrying a lethal edge that set her apart from the typical cold beauty.

Thank goodness she was Lingling's older sister. Under ordinary circumstances, Mo Fan wouldn't have dared go anywhere near a woman like her.

"Senior Sister... are you suggesting this has something to do with the plague itself?" Mo Fan caught the implication behind her words.

"Do you want to save that serpent?" Leng Qing asked.

Both Ah Li Tian and Leng Qing belonged to the faction that favored protecting the Totem. They had already consulted Elder Lu, who oversaw medicine, and he had confirmed that while the Totem Xuan Serpent's blood offered some resistance to the plague, it couldn't provide a cure. This suggested, to some degree, that the Totem Xuan Serpent might not be the source of the epidemic at all — especially given that the hardest-hit area was Bai Town, while the Totem Xuan Serpent had always made its home in West Lake. Even if the creature were the source, the mass outbreaks should have appeared around West Lake first.

Chief Adjudicator Ah Li Tian and Leng Qing had been investigating the whole affair throughout. They had gathered some threads of evidence, but were not yet able to pin down the real culprit.

"Of course I do, it's just..." Mo Fan glanced toward the Su Causeway, where Tang Yue stood like a hollow shell, staring at nothing.

He had no concrete evidence on his side — only a gut feeling that the Totem Xuan Serpent was not evil.

Seeing his teacher Tang Yue display a fragility he had never witnessed in her before, his heart ached.

"Everyone under my command has been deployed to the Western Fortress — I have no one to spare. If you're willing to help, get to Bai Town as quickly as you can and find out whether any other unusual creatures have left traces there." Leng Qing said.

"Surely someone's already searched the place. Is there any point in me going back over it?" Mo Fan said.

Bai Town was the epicenter of the outbreak — surely government agents and Tribunal Agents had already turned every stone there. What could he possibly add?

"If someone is deliberately covering things up — if someone doesn't want the true cause discovered — then it doesn't matter how many people have gone before. I've already sent Lingling to Bai Town; meet up with her there. And remember: your time is short. The moment the White Demon Eagle legion is driven back, Zhu Meng will return to execute the Totem Xuan Serpent. Once that happens, the dead can't testify, and uncovering the truth will be nearly impossible." Leng Qing's voice was grave.

"So Senior Sister has been looking into this all along." Mo Fan thumped his chest. "Don't worry. If there's anything buried in Bai Town, I'll dig it out."

"Good. We'll split up — make sure you uncover the truth behind the plague before they return." Leng Qing said.

"I don't have the first clue where to start," Mo Fan said quickly. "How am I supposed to find anything?"

"I've already sent the files to Lingling. She'll brief you."

"Fair enough."

Leng Qing left at a brisk pace, whatever critical information she had just received held close to her chest.

Either way, Mo Fan felt this matter had to be seen through to the end. Whether the plague truly originated from the great serpent or something else was lurking behind it, the truth needed to be found.

Following Leng Qing's instructions, Mo Fan arrived at Bai Town under the cover of darkness.

The town was under total lockdown. Getting inside was far from simple — a stark contrast to how things had stood just days ago.

He was still puzzling over how to get through when Lingling called, telling him to meet her at the main gate.

Approaching the heavily guarded entrance, Mo Fan spotted Lingling standing to one side in a black qipao printed with tiny plum blossoms. Her large, jet-black eyes were fixed on him in an accusatory stare for his late arrival. The two perfect pigtails framing her face sent her adorableness off the charts — he had the uncontrollable urge to sweep her up and squeeze her without mercy.

"Figured you weren't dead." Lingling had that same prematurely world-weary air about her. She looked at Mo Fan for a long moment before a smile finally surfaced.

"You get prettier every time I see you." Mo Fan reached out and pinched her soft, porcelain cheek.

Lingling's little mouth puckered into a magnificent pout. She absolutely hated having her face pinched. One moment a picture of regal little-princess dignity, the next she transformed into an irate kitten, clawing at Mo Fan with every intention of taking him down with her.

Mo Fan planted one palm on top of her head, her tiny flailing limbs nowhere near reaching him. He grinned. "Alright, alright — we have real work to do."

"Hmph. Touch my face again and I'll chop your hand off." Lingling turned into a ferocious little tiger.

"Your sister said you have some files. What are they?" Mo Fan asked.

"I've actually been involved in this too. About two months ago my sister had me investigate a batch of government-issue blood serum — the kind distributed to Waystations, military defensive lines, and fortresses across Zhejiang Province. You know how countless Mages are injured fighting Demon-Beasts every year. Hunters alone spend a fifth of their income on blood serum just to avoid bleeding out on the job. Waystations, defensive lines, fortresses — they all need it in enormous quantities..." As she spoke, Lingling flipped open her miniature laptop as she always did, settling it on her slender white legs.

Blood serum was a common but costly medicine whose primary function was to replenish lost blood.

Healing Element Mages were few and far between, and not everyone could receive their care. In such cases, the pharmaceuticals developed by those Mages became invaluable — and among them, blood serum was the one consumed in the greatest quantities. Once ingested, it could ramp up a Mage's blood production dozens of times over within a short window. Many serious surface wounds required nothing more than a dose of serum and some basic dressing; barring infection, recovery followed within days.

Blood serum was on the pricier side. Mages who fought in the field had to set aside a portion of their earnings for it, while serum suppliers themselves were disgustingly rich.

"What about it?" Mo Fan asked.

"Blood serum is refined from Demon-Beast aberrant blood. The entire production process is supposed to be strictly supervised, and once produced, it goes through several rounds of testing before being distributed to the major supply stations — sold to the military, to Hunter-mages, or to merchants looking to profit on the margin... My sister found evidence that someone had substituted the genuine aberrant blood with something else entirely, producing a tainted batch of serum." Lingling said.

"Corrupt merchants?" Mo Fan said, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.

"Blood serum has always been controlled by the Magic Association, with the government holding a share as well. If it were just merchants, the problem would actually be easier to handle." Lingling said.

Mo Fan's eyebrows shot up.

It seemed the Magic Association and the government had parasites eating away at them from the inside.