Chapter 95: Not Easy

Of course, She Weilong remembered that Fu Li had been a security guard at Affinity Moon Hotel. But the thought that the black python would have the snake guts to even make a move on someone from the bureau hadn’t even crossed his mind. No, it ought to be said that the black python was lacking in morality to have actually instigated him into throwing his life away. He must’ve had a few lifetimes’ worth of bad luck to run into someone like this who was of the same species. Fortunately, the Dragon Lord and Fu Li daojun could distinguish between right and wrong with keen perception, and didn’t take him as an accomplice.

“We have a clear understanding of the matter.” Fu Li noticed the presence of girls around them secretly looking in their direction and kindly warned She Weilong, “You seem to have been recognized?”

“Ah?” She Weilong hadn’t walked out of the joy of preserving his life, and couldn’t quite react upon hearing Fu Li’s words.

“That’s Little Snake!”

“Ahhh, it really is Little Snake.”

Pleasantly-surprised exclamations sounded from the crowd. She Weilong threw down a ‘goodbye’ and broke into a run. But there were simply too many people at the zoo today. No matter how long his legs, he couldn’t escape pursuit of the crowd and was thus surrounded by a gaggle of people without making it very far.

Although the young girls were very excited and were snapping pictures left, right, and center with their phones, they still used their slender bodies to block the surrounding masses rushing ahead so as to prevent She Weilong from being injured.

“Please don’t squeeze, take care of safety,” She Weilong helped a young girl up who was being pushed about till she swayed unsteadily from side to side. He said loudly, “Take note of the little friends around us, I hope everyone will not distress others because of me.”

Upon hearing these words, the fans maintained order very cooperatively and were no longer as rowdy.

Fu Li was originally worried that trampling would occur, but after seeing She Weilong’s practised way of handling it, he decided not to join in the fun. “That little snake seems to really like being a celebrity.”

In spite of the fact that he was both cowardly and unconfident in their presence, he couldn’t be more perfect in front of his fans. Even that awl-like face of his was radiant. Those young girls at the venue probably genuinely liked him as well – the atmosphere at the venue was thick with the scent of faith.

Humans were destined to have an abundance of emotion. They could like an artist one day, but like another celebrity the next. Despite that, their fondness for the person at that point in time was genuine, and the individual investing their emotions had no reservations either. It was a beautiful memory for both parties.

Zhuang Qing watched Fu Li smile all of a sudden. “What are you smiling at?”

“This is a gratified smile,” Fu Li said very seriously. “A smile that an old father would have when seeing that his child has grown sensible.”

“How come I wasn’t aware that a male rabbit can give birth to a snake?” Zhuang Qing stood up. “We’ve been sitting for a very long time, let’s go to the next stop – the panda compound.”

“Sure, sure,” Fu Li nodded. He was most fond of fluffy, plump animals. It was just a pity that there was only one panda yao registered with the management bureau. Two years ago, this panda yao snuck into a panda research base in order to freeload meals. He spent his days acting cute in front of the panda livestream channel, until the base got ready to send him for breeding. Only then did he rush to report to the management bureau and Yao Union so that he could become a member of the Wildlife Release Program.

He’d heard that the panda yao had shrank his original form and pretended to be his own son, shamelessly mixing back into the panda research base. The management bureau and Yao Union couldn’t do anything about this sort of decadent yao with no initiative or drive, so seeing that he didn’t stir up any major trouble and even brought happiness to the humans, they could only close one eye.

There was a long queue outside the panda compound. The humans who couldn’t see the pandas raised their phones towards the panda statues and managed to take a few photos.

Zhuang Qing expressionlessly took out the work pass he had placed inside his pocket and hung it around his neck. Under the envious gazes of everyone else, he led Fu Li into the panda compound.

There were many children inside, some of whom took advantage of the adults’ inattention to run about recklessly while the adults chased after them from behind.

A child bumped into Zhuang Qing’s legs. Zhuang Qing hadn’t even reacted when he rolled back twice like a potato and lay sprawled on the ground, bawling.

Zhuang Qing: …

He was so worried that the panda ears on his head also started swaying.

The child’s father hurriedly ran over and scooped the child up. He glanced at Zhuang Qing and Fu Li. Realizing that their attire was not ordinary, he grumbled a little, but didn’t dare to really get into an argument with them. He carried the child off, the child on his shoulders still wailing loudly.

Fu Li touched his shoulder, feeling like it was a bit cold.

Zhuang Qing abruptly turned towards him. “Not having children in the future is very good.”

“Ah?” Fu Li was caught by surprise. “Your dragon race’s reproductive ability is quite good, you might have many children in the future.”

Zhuang Qing’s footsteps came to a halt. “I won’t.”

“What?”

“I won’t have children in the future,” Zhuang Qing fixed his gaze on the panda in the enclosure, who was lying on the ground and leisurely gnawing on tender bamboo. “So I won’t have this kind of worry.”

Fu Li glanced at the panda, and then glanced at Zhuang Qing with a pensive look. It was said that pandas had very weak reproductive capabilities despite how impressive they were. Much of panda reproduction was reliant on humans. Was Zhuang Qing’s reproductive capabilities similar to the panda’s?

Which male would be willing to admit that they weren’t strong in this aspect? The fact that Zhuang little dragon was willing to tell him this showed that he treated him as a good brother. Having understood this, Fu Li patted Zhuang Qing on the shoulder. “Science and technology is advancing rapidly now. What can’t be done now may not be an issue in a few hundreds or thousands of years.”

A blank look on his face, Zhuang Qing allowed Fu Li to consolingly pat him all over his shoulders and chest.

After leaving the panda compound, Fu Li and Zhuang Qing discovered a tiger yao who was plump and strong from being fed well. The tiger yao lay on the ground lazily as it ignored the amazed shrieks from children outside.

He finally had a reaction when Zhuang Qing and Fu Li passed by him. Getting up, he called out to them.

“The two brothers outside, the treatment at the zoo is not bad, do you want to take it easy with me?” The tiger yao asked. “Humans are way too scary, they’ve actually invented a gun that can knock people unconscious. You must take care of your safety.”

He could smell the special aura around Zhuang Qing. Although he couldn’t tell what the other party’s original form was at the moment, he still remembered that it was Fu Li who had led him to the Yao Union to be registered.

The tiger’s roars frightened the children into crying out, while those with little courage broke out into sobs immediately. While coaxing their children, the parents didn’t forget to take out their phones to snap photos of the tiger’s roaring appearing, along with their own children’s shameful crying visages.

In this world where cameras were ubiquitous, parents were also merciless to their own children.

Fu Li couldn’t help smiling when he saw this tiger yao. He remembered this white tiger. He had brought this tiger yao to the Yao Union then, so why had it run over to the zoo in a flash? Feeling a bit curious, he used the Sound Transmission Skill to ask him a few questions.

“Don’t bring it up. Living in human society is too hard,” The tiger yao hung his head. “A degree is required for everything. In the end, I fainted along the roadside from hunger and was sent by a rescue organization to this place.” If this were the past, he could fill his tummy just by eating a human. However, he had learnt at the Yao Union’s human world general knowledge training class that yao cultivators who recklessly ate humans would be beaten to death by the management bureau. Thus, he could only endure it.

He lowered his head, licking the fur on his front claws. “But it’s not bad here. I don’t have to worry about food, and the humans even make an all-out effort to be my slaves, revolving around me day after day.”

For a moment, Fu Li didn’t know what to say. Humans were now becoming increasingly conscious of wildlife conservation. This was a good thing in itself, but they hadn’t expected the yao races to lack drive and rely on the humans’ awareness of conservation to spend their days only eating and playing. They had degenerated down to the core.

Alas, what would be the future of the yao cultivation world?

Fu Li turned to look at Zhuang Qing. It was still fine, at least there was a reliable yao leading them.

Fu Li patted Zhuang Qing on the back. He shook his head, sighing with emotion. “You don’t have it easy either.”

Zhuang Qing: …

Finishing their tour around the entire zoo, Fu Li was leaving through the zoo’s entrance with a massive stuffed panda in his arms when he recalled that he was supposed to be patrolling with Zhuang Qing today.

He peeked guiltily at Zhuang Qing’s expressionless face, coughing dryly. “I’ll apply to do overtime tonight.”

Zhuang Qing raised a brow at him.

“The black python isn’t well-behaved, so I’ll conceal myself and come over at night to put him in his place,” Fu Li said. “You don’t have to come since you’re scared of snakes.”

Zhuang Qing pinched the stuffed panda’s ear. “Okay.”

Watching Zhuang Qing, Fu Li suddenly broke out into smiles. Although Zhuang Qing didn’t know why he smiled, he still returned a slightly stiff smile after blanking out for a moment.

The panda ears on their heads swayed to-and-fro continuously, just like a pounding heart.

Autumn and winter nights were a little chilly. All the snakes in the snake compound were lying lazily on top of warm, cozy stones, sleeping in comfort. To the snake species, the autumn and winter season was a good time for them to slumber.

As a yao spirit with many years of cultivation, the black python had already broken away from the natural pattern of hibernation. Virtually every night was spent struggling with the restriction cast on him. It was unknown what trick that vile security guard had used on him, but not only was all his cultivation rendered useless, he even lost his ability to transform into his human form.

If he could regain his cultivation, he would definitely eat that nasty yao cultivator, all the way down to every strand of his hair. He cursed Fu Li night after night, hoping every day that his curse would be realized so that the resentment in his heart could be resolved.

“Don’t say vulgar things, it’s a civilized society.” A figure suddenly appeared in front of the black python. The other party was clothed in a pair of 88 yuan pajamas – shipping included, along with free socks. The rabbit plush slippers on his feet were not touching the ground; he hovered there very leisurely.

“It’s you,” The appearance of the person he had just been cursing prompted the black python to retreat extremely guardedly. “What do you want?”

“Nothing much, I just wanted to see you,” Seeing that the black python had entered attack mode, Fu Li floated backwards. “Don’t come too close to me, I’m allergic to you snakes.”

Black python: “Then why aren’t you scramming?”

“But I heard that you haven’t been very obedient in the zoo, so I couldn’t hold myself back from coming to see you,” Fu Li wrinkled his brows. “You consumed virgins and yao cores for the sake of your cultivation. I spared your life thinking that it wasn’t easy for you to cultivate for so many years, and only removed your cultivation. Instead of repenting, resentment has festered in your heart. What kind of logic is this?”

“So what if I eat yao cores and virgins? On what basis should you manage me?” Hatred stewed without stop in the heart of the black python when he thought of the humiliation he had been subjected to these days. “You’re merely a yao, you might have overstretched your reach.”

“I like meddling in other people’s business,” Fu Li stated boldly. “You can’t beat me, so of course you can only be disciplined by me. According to the current rules, you’ve violated the management bureau’s regulations, so I’m not wrong for punishing you. According to the past rules, it would also be tradition in the yao world for me to deal with you as I deem fit if you can’t defeat me. Where is the problem in this?”

“I refuse to accept it!” The black python’s hatred was thick. “I’ve cultivated for so many years, so many years!”

Fu Li cocked his head. When the bright moonlight shone onto his face, he looked like an immortal who had walked out from a heavenly palace.

“If you refuse to accept it, bang yourself to death on the stone then,” Fu Li was very serious, innocence brimming in his eyes. “You’re helpless in front of me anyway.”

“Ahhhh, I’ll kill you!” The black python turned ruthless from anger. Widening his mouth, he rushed over, wanting to coil around Fu Li’s waist.

“Too slow,” Fu Li pressed down on the python’s fatal spot and flung him onto the ground before hurriedly retrieving a bottle of water from his Qiankun pouch to rinse his hand. Snakes had many parasites on them.

The black python lay splayed on the ground, boundless despair in his heart.

If he’d known that such a day would come, he definitely wouldn’t have walked into that hotel that night. More importantly, he wouldn’t have chosen this lunatic to bestow him a title. Why had he chosen this person at that time? There were clearly other humans beside him, including more naïve women.

He seemed to have been possessed at that time. He had felt that this lunatic was a human with an abundance of luck, and that asking him to bestow a title would allow him to obtain even stronger power. Who would have expected for him to not even be human in the first place but a yao who had taken on form by relying on a chance from heavenly law, and a crazy yao at that.

“What exactly do you want?” The black python knew that he couldn’t win against him, whether it was in combat or cursing. Thus, he simply broke the cracked pot and lay on the ground, ‘life has no meaning’ written all over his face.

“Nothing much, I just came to see how your spiritual reformation has been going,” Fu Li’s expression turned solemn. “There will be many temptations to take shortcuts throughout your cultivation journey. If you step onto the wrong path, you will pay a price for taking the shortcut sooner or later. If you understand this, then turn over a new leaf and fight to once more walk on the path of cultivation. If you still don’t understand this, then there will come a day when you will lose your life.”

“I’ve said what I can, do your best,” Fu Li glanced at the black python, his silhouette vanishing into the air.

Tsk. The black python scoffed. He curled up the tail that was hurting from Fu Li’s fling and rested his head on his body. In his daze, he suddenly thought of an incident a few hundred years ago.

At that time, he was at a crucial point of his transformation into human form. Lightning was roiling in the skies, and in his frenzied state, he hid in someone’s house. When a small child discovered him, he had thought that the child would scream and attract the adults, but unexpectedly, the child didn’t cry out and instead threw him a biscuit.

And then…

And then he successfully avoided the lightning tribulation and transformed into a human. As for that child… he glanced at his tummy. He didn’t understand why he still remembered such a minor incident after so many years had passed.

A few days later, Fu Li was reading the news while seated in his office. There was one very interesting report. Yesterday, a parent carrying a child was playing at the zoo when they accidentally dropped the child into the area inhabited by black bears. Just as a black bear was about to eat the child, a black python that escaped from the snake compound scared the black bear into retreating, thereby saving the child’s life. The zoo workers were extremely touched. After capturing the black python and placing it back in the snake compound, they arranged a high-end single room for it.

Some netizens were criticizing the careless father at the bottom of the news report while some said that the child ought to pay respects to this snake as its adoptive father. Other netizens said teasingly that the snake had resisted its natural habit of going into hibernation with much difficulty and went through untold hardships to escape from the compound, only for all its efforts to go to waste for the sake of rescuing a child; it was definitely a kind snake that was on the verge of gaining intelligence.

Fu Li looked through the popular comments for a while and then clicked on the linked video provided in the news report.

The black python shielded the little child amidst everyone’s screams, confronting the black bear with its mouth wide open. Both sides were in a deadlock for nearly a minute before the black bear retreated. The workers took this chance to rescue the child and catch the black python along the way.

Fu Li looked at the black python’s ‘life has no meaning’ face, and collapsed on the keyboard in laughter.

“Fu ge, what are you laughing at?” Chu Yu placed a cup of tea on his desk and stretched his head over to look at the screen. Wasn’t this a snake?

“Nothing much,” Fu Li sat up straight. Picking up the cup of tea, he thanked Chu Yu.

Chu Yu went back to his seat, took out his phone, and sent a message to his friends in a group chat.

Number One Fish in the World: Did you see the news online? The photo of the boss and Fu ge wearing panda ears from the back?

Female Emperor’s Exclusive Hairpin: I saw it. What are you trying to say?

Devastatingly Beautiful: The boss and Fu ge went on a date at the zoo two days ago? How are zoos interesting, they should at least go to some high-end consumer site. The boss is also too stingy, he isn’t even willing to spend more money on a date.

Exceptionally Good Sword: Who was the boss on a date with? Fu ge? Why were they on a date?

Dashing Ke: Sword ge, the boss walked a red carpet with Fu ge, held his hand, and even spent a million for the wooden carving at the auction. If this isn’t love, what is it?

Exceptionally Good Sword: What? They’re together?

Devastatingly Beautiful: What do you think it is if not that?

Exceptionally Good Sword: But Fu ge’s original form is too small. If they sleep together, won’t…

Female Emperor’s Exclusive Hairpin: Wow, didn’t expect you to be such a dirty sword. [disdainful face]

Exceptionally Good Sword: …

Fu L saw a few colleagues lowering their heads as they played with their phones, profound smiles on their faces. He shook his head helplessly. In the current society, everyone was a smartphone addict, regardless of whether they were human or yao. Being apart from their phones would probably drive them crazy.

Feeling that he was incompatible with these smartphone addicts, he simply got up and went in search of Zhuang Qing. Among so many young yao, only Zhuang Qing was a bit more suited to an old yao like him. Fu Li reached the door, and was about to knock when Zhuang Qing’s voice sounded from within.

“I understand that you want to resolve the issue of the drought, but there is no yaoguai causing trouble at that place, nor can we allow a yao cultivator to summon rain. There’s no need to worry, rain will descend in a few days. Please endure it for the time being.”

“Money?”

“We’re serving the people, how can we bring up money?”

“Then I’ll arrange for the bureau’s cultivators to make a trip there and see if this problem can be resolved.”

“You’re too polite. Yao and humans are a closely-knitted family who built a harmonious world together. Us cultivators share in a beautiful future with humans.” Zhuang Qing expressionlessly made small talk with the person on the other end of the line. Seeing Fu Li standing outside, he swiftly ended his conversation with the person on the other end.

“Come in.”

“Just now, you were…”

Zhuang Qing sighed. Turning, he surveyed the distant landscape outside the window. “Applying for some funds for the bureau isn’t easy either.”

Fu Li nodded. “It’s been hard on you.”

The bureau was supporting so many human and yao cultivators. On top of that, it still needed to support great yao like the Kunpeng and Gong Fu who only knew how to eat and drink without working. Zhuang little dragon really didn’t have it easy as the boss.