Chapter 2: Kiss First, Kill Later

At that moment, the giant python's tail happened to lash over. Gu Man instinctively pulled out a scalpel and slashed at it.

The great snake let out a bloodthirsty roar of pain, its tail coiling to sweep her into the air before lunging forward to bind her tightly.

"Let me go, you stinking snake!!!"

With her entire body bound and unable to move, Gu Man simply bit down hard. Closing her eyes, she exerted every ounce of strength she possessed. When she opened them again, she saw two hollow eyes right before her.

Deep within the thick black flames of its pupils, there seemed to be a hidden, immense agony, or perhaps a bone-deep hatred...

Yes, hatred!

This snake seemed to hate her very much. Was it because she had wounded it with the scalpel just now?

Suddenly, the great snake let out a hiss. Its shrill, furious roar made the entire forest shake, and she could clearly feel the python's coils tightening around her body.

If this continued, she would surely be twisted into several segments!

She didn't want to die, but she couldn't move. She could clearly feel the air being squeezed out of her chest bit by bit. Her fingers went numb, and her backpack suddenly fell to the ground, causing the heart she had stolen from the research institute to roll out.

The heart of the two-headed snake was still beating. But here, every single beat caused the entire forest to vibrate. One beat after another, even the sky above became shrouded in thick, dark clouds.

Gu Man's fading vision watched all of this; it looked exactly like the awakening of a Dark Lord in a movie.

Just when she thought she was about to draw her last breath, the constriction on her body suddenly loosened, and in the next second, she fell heavily to the ground.

She couldn't even feel the pain.

Was she dying?

The moment her eyes closed, she vaguely saw the black-flamed great snake fly toward the beating heart. The heart was slowly implanted into the body of the black-flamed snake, and then, with that heart as the center, the darkness spread boundlessly...

The Prime Minister's Estate in the Tianyao Continent.

The vast estate was currently in a state of chaos. Imperial physicians from the palace were constantly coming and going from the Egret Island in the center of the lake. The maidservants had even set up stoves outside the Manyu Pavilion to decoct medicine, every single one of them wearing a solemn expression, as if a single mistake would mean they'd lose their heads.

Amidst the busy atmosphere, two figures in water-colored flowing robes approached from a distance. It wasn't until they reached the entrance of the Manyu Pavilion that the maids noticed it was the Eldest Miss and the Second Miss.

They hurriedly rose to pay their respects, but in their haste, one of them accidentally knocked over a medicine pot on the ground, spilling the freshly decocted medicinal soup everywhere.

"This servant deserves death, this servant deserves death..." The maid knelt on the ground in terror.

"You stupid girl, are you tired of living? You can't even do this small task correctly!!"

Gu Wanrou stepped forward and delivered a harsh slap. The maid fell to the ground and quickly knelt upright again, kowtowing repeatedly to apologize, ignoring the pain on her face.

She had intended to take her anger out on the maid further, but she was pulled back by Gu Libang, who had come along with her.

"Big Sister, what are you doing? I must teach this little wench a lesson today!" She was truly furious. Everyone in the world seemed to revolve around that arrogant and domineering Gu Man; her status in this estate was becoming lower and lower.

"Sister, you are truly muddled!" Gu Yifang gave a cold snort and shook off her hand. She walked with graceful steps toward another medicine pot, a trace of imperceptible calculation flashing in her phoenix eyes.

"If this maid had spilled your or my medicine, it would be one thing. But this maid actually had the audacity to spill the medicine meant for Father's precious treasure. Such a heavy crime is not something you or I can punish her for alone." Having said that, she lightly lifted her toe and kicked over the medicine pot on the stove in front of her.

Only then did Gu Wanrou understand her elder sister's intention. Realizing the plan, she stepped forward with sudden enthusiasm and praise, not forgetting to deftly kick over the remaining two medicine pots as well.

The maids watched the actions of these two "ancestors" with cold sweats pouring down. These were the medicinal ingredients that the Prime Minister himself had personally instructed them to decoct immediately...

"The medicine isn't ready yet?"

A deep, heavy voice accompanied by a towering, heroic figure emerged from within the Manyu Pavilion. Gu Chengfeng caught sight of the medicine liquid flowing all over the ground, and his face instantly turned ashen.

"Can any of you tell me what is going on?"

Gu Chengfeng's thick brows rose, his profile lines being resolute and handsome, yet faintly radiating a bloody ferocity.

The maids were too terrified to answer. Who in the Prime Minister's Estate didn't know that the Prime Minister's most beloved child was his legitimate daughter, the Third Miss, Gu Man? He cherished her as if she were something precious that might melt in his mouth or break in his palm.

Now that the Third Miss had been unconscious in bed for three days and three nights, even a fool could tell that the Prime Minister was currently a pile of combustible material ready to explode at any moment.