Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 169: Zora’s special gift (Part-2)

For a while, both fur balls actually missed this Zora, the michevous master of theirs who uses medicines to torture her opponents. Ever since she left the imperial city, she has gone too far down the path of violence.

While they never said it aloud, both spirit beasts actually wondered all this time whether she had changed.

And when they heard her ingenious plan now, both Black and White couldn’t help but laugh in delight again, realizing that their master hadn’t changed at all.

"Master," Black then asked with genuine awe, "did you research this laxative yourself, too?"

Zora nodded calmly, as if she were discussing today’s weather. "For unpleasant people, don’t you think this approach is... creative?"

Black, White, and Shihtzu nodded in unison.

Creative?

Yes.

Dangerously so.

***

Elsewhere, Gabriel sat cross-legged with his so-called benefactor, Percival Ragnar.

Both were circulating their inner energy, attempting to guide the medicinal power of the Elixirs of Tranquility potion through their meridians.

The Elixir of Tranquility was said to expand the meridians. The process could be painful, but pain meant progress, and neither of them minded that.

Percival Ragnar’s eyes shone with excitement. Gabriel had truly impressed him this time. A potion like this was worth its weight in gold.

The price he had paid was steep, but money meant nothing to him. As long as strength increased, wealth could always be earned again.

He was already planning ahead. If this potion worked, he would find a way to acquire more from Zora. Lost potions like these were priceless. With proper control, profits would roll in endlessly.

But...

After swallowing the potion, Percival Ragnar felt nothing.

No surge of energy.

No burning meridians.

No discomfort.

Nothing at all.

"Gabriel," Percival Ragnar said slowly, frowning, "why do I feel no reaction at all?"

Gabriel’s heart sank slightly. He felt the same.

Based on all his experience with potions, the moment a medicinal potion entered the body, it should dissolve into rich medicinal energy.

Especially a rank-2 potion like the Elixir of Tranquility.

Yet... silence.

Still, under Percival Ragnar’s gaze, Gabriel forced a confident smile.

"This is definitely an Elixir of Tranquility potion," he said firmly. "Maybe its effects are... unique. Let’s wait a little longer."

Seeing Gabriel so assured, Percival Ragnar hesitated and nodded.

After all, Gabriel wouldn’t dare deceive him. He had no reason to.

They waited.

And waited.

Still nothing.

Percival Ragnar’s expression darkened, his patience finally snapping. "In my opinion," he said coldly, "this potion is fake."

The temperature in the room dropped instantly.

In Percival Ragnar’s position, being deceived was unacceptable.

Seeing the storm brewing, Gabriel’s face tightened with panic. He immediately defended himself.

"Lord Ragnar, I would never dare deceive you!" he said urgently. "The moment I obtained the potion, I came straight to you. What benefit would I gain from tricking you?"

Even as he spoke, unease churned violently in his heart.

Because deep down...

He was beginning to fear the same conclusion.

Seeing Gabriel so flustered, Percival Ragnar’s expression eased slightly, though the suspicion in his eyes did not fully fade.

After all, Elixir of Tranquility was something not even nobles could manage to get from the Legendary Immortal Guild.

The Immortal guild is so strong that no other guild or force dared to challenge its authority for the past millennia. While they no longer interfere in material or the cultivation world, their position was undeniably very high.

How could Zora manage to procure not one but 3 such elixirs from them? Percival was skeptical from the start.

However, the Imperial Academy isn’t an ordinary existence either, and the fact that Gabriel assured him made him go against his original instincts.

Since meeting Gabriel, Percival Ragnar had gained a fair understanding of his character. Greedy, yes, but not stupid.

Still, Percival Ragnar was not someone to be fooled lightly and let someone get away with it.

"If you dare lie to me," he said coldly, narrowing his eyes, "you’d better be prepared to bear my wrath."

The threat was unmistakable.

Gabriel’s heart skipped a beat.

He had always thought Percival Ragnar was just a rich young master who threw money around without thinking. Though he looked down on him inwardly, he had always fawned carefully, knowing how much benefit he could squeeze out of him.

But at this moment, Percival Ragnar’s seriousness sent a chill through his spine.

"Lord Ragnar, I swear on my life," Gabriel said solemnly. "I have absolutely never deceived you."

Percival Ragnar snorted. "It had better be so."

Only then did Gabriel let out a breath of relief...

but then a moment later...

Gabriel’s face began to twist abruptly.

He clutched his stomach as a violent churn surged within, an unbearable pressure rolling like thunder.

"Lo... Lord Ragnar... my stomach hurts. I need to—"

Before he could finish, Gabriel bolted straight for the latrine.

Percival Ragnar watched him leave with a cold expression, just about to sneer... but then a loud sound echoed from his own abdomen.

Gurgle.

His face darkened instantly.

A sharp pain twisted his stomach, leaving him no time to think. He rushed toward the latrine as well, only to find Gabriel already inside.

He began pounding on the door. "Gabriel! Come out! I can’t hold it anymore!"

Inside, Gabriel’s voice was strained. "Lord Ragnar... I’m not done yet!"

"Hurry up, you bastard!"

Percival Ragnar knocked harder, his expression turning ferocious as the pressure intensified.

*

While Gabriel and Percival Ragnar were locked in battle inside the latrine, Cassian’s situation was hardly any better.

The moment he swallowed the potion, he sensed something was wrong.

As a veteran alchemist, he spent his days immersed in medicinal properties. There’s no way this elixir should produce no reaction at all.

At first, he hesitated.

Morgana had personally delivered the potion. It was something she obtained directly from Zora. Could that girl really dare to sell fake medicine in full view of the academy?

But when the cramps struck, and the latrine nearly collapsed under the assault...

Cassian finally understood.

This wasn’t an accident.

He had been played.

"Damn you... Zora!"

Cassian gritted his teeth, eyes burning with fury.

He had underestimated her. Completely.

Regret flooded his heart. If only he had examined the potion first, even a cursory analysis would have revealed the problem.

Yet in his impatience, he swallowed it outright to experience its first effects and understand the essence of the potion.

Truthfully, Zora hadn’t even expected Cassian to take the potion himself. After all, he is an alchemist, and she was sure that Cassian would figure out that it’s a fake once he analyzed it. Giving Morgana a fake potion was merely meant to annoy the old man.

She never imagined... he would personally test it.

Just as Cassian’s rage reached its peak, his face abruptly stiffened again.

His stomach twisted violently.

Without another word, he clutched his robes and sprinted toward the latrine.

The reckoning had only just begun.

*

Meanwhile, Gabriel and Percival Ragnar lay sprawled across the bed as two fish hauled ashore, utterly defeated. After that nightmare of a day, neither of them even had the strength to curse properly.

Their faces were ghostly pale, lips drained of color, hair still damp from cold sweat. Even breathing felt like a chore.

Staring blankly at the ceiling, Gabriel finally understood everything.

This had nothing to do with cultivation deviation.

Nothing to do with hidden side effects.

It was all because of that so-called "Elixir of Tranquility."

That potion was never the Elixir of Tranquility.

It was a laxative. A vicious one.

Otherwise, how could both he and Percival have ended up in such a miserable state?

"Damn you, Zora..." Gabriel ground his teeth, hatred seeping from every word, wishing he could tear her apart with his bare hands.

Percival Ragnar was no better. His chest burned with rage, but even speaking felt exhausting. His voice came out weak and hoarse. "Gabriel... what the hell happened?"

Yet after calming down, he also understood one thing. If Gabriel had really intended to deceive him, he wouldn’t have suffered alongside him like this.

Gabriel’s eyes were bloodshot, his expression twisted with resentment. "It must be Zora. She swapped the real potion with fake medicine to harm us!"

"But how could she dare?" Percival Ragnar frowned weakly. "That auction was held openly in the academy. Isn’t she afraid of being exposed?"

Those words made Gabriel’s face turn even darker.

His original plan had been to accuse Zora of selling fake potions, ruining her reputation completely.

Yet now... the potion was fake.

Could it be...