"What's wrong? Didn't you hear what I said? Hand over the white snake!" Seeing Ryan Ling unmoved, Brandon Feng raised his voice.
"F-Feng Shao, isn't that a bit much?" Seeing everyone's faces darken, his honest-looking sidekick hurriedly tugged Brandon's sleeve to warn him.
"A bit much? Are you stupid or what? When I, Feng Shao, ask for something, I'm giving him face. He should feel honored! Besides, my contribution here wasn't small, you know?" As soon as he finished, Deputy Chief Wang finally couldn't hold back and shouted.
"Feng Shao, I don't get what you're saying. Killing the snake demon was all these young guys and their friends—what's it got to do with you? And when the snake showed up on shore, you were scared stiff. Two of our county police gave their lives to save you, and now you have the nerve to demand spoils? I really can't understand this young master attitude!"
"What did you say? Say that again, I dare you! You're just a useless deputy chief—believe it or not, I could have you killed in minutes!" Brandon's face twisted as he started cursing.
"What did you say? You bastard, think Peachvale County folks are easy to bully?"
"Threatening our Deputy Chief Wang? Aren't you a bit full of yourself? We've seen plenty of rich kids from the provincial capital—what makes you so special?"
"Listen up, Brandon Feng! We've put up with you long enough. You'd better take back what you just said and apologize sincerely to Deputy Chief Wang, or you won't be leaving Peachvale County today!"
......
In an instant, everyone started shouting. Clearly, Brandon Feng's words had pissed off the whole crowd.
But this guy just snorted, not caring about anyone at all. He sneered, "Well, well, you've got guts, I'll give you that. Daring to challenge me, huh? Open your damn eyes and look closely—do you know what this is?"
Brandon Feng finished speaking and suddenly pulled a metal waist badge out of his pocket, flashing it in front of the crowd.
On it, three characters were clearly engraved—Azure Dragon Society.
The whole badge was covered in dragon motifs, making it look especially intimidating.
The moment everyone saw the badge, their faces soured even more, but nobody dared say a word. Even Deputy Chief Wang bit his lip and kept quiet.
Honestly, those three words—Azure Dragon Society—carried way too much weight. A tiny county like Peachvale couldn't hope to mess with a giant like that. And Brandon wasn't just any member—his uncle was a Hall Master in the Society. Their hierarchy was strict: regular members, Incense Masters, Hall Masters, Helm Masters, Guardians, Elders, Dragon Head, and so on. Hall Master was already mid-level, definitely not someone to mess with.
"So? Anyone else got something to say? Come on, repeat yourselves to my face—if you dare!" Brandon snorted twice, getting even more cocky.
Seeing everyone had clammed up, Brandon slapped the badge down right in front of Ryan Ling, instantly smug. "See that, country bumpkin? Know what this badge means? Know what the Azure Dragon Society is? Maybe you've got a few tricks, but now you know who you're dealing with. Hand over the white snake's flesh and bones, and I'll pretend none of this happened. Otherwise, I'll..."
Smack! A crisp slap landed right across Brandon Feng's face.
"Y-You dare hit me?" Brandon Feng's face turned green instantly.
Smack! Ryan Ling slapped him again, this time with a backhand. Brandon couldn't keep his balance and landed on his butt, while the badge he'd been flaunting rolled away on the ground.
"Get lost right now, or I'll kill you!" Ryan snorted coldly and stomped the badge underfoot.
"Y-You..." Brandon was so stunned he couldn't even speak.
"Feng Shao, let's just go!" His sidekick finally couldn't take it anymore. He could tell there was something dangerous about Ryan, so he grabbed Brandon and started dragging him off.
Brandon stumbled, wanting to yell something, but his sidekick clamped a hand over his mouth—clearly terrified Ryan might actually cut him down.
Watching Brandon finally leave, Deputy Chief Wang looked at Ryan with some concern. "You're a real hero, but you might not know how big the Azure Dragon Society is. Their power is massive, and they're definitely not to be trifled with!"
"Scared of what? If they ever piss me off, I'll just wipe them out!" Ryan had already had beef with the Society after running into that bald guy in Harbor City, and now this useless rich kid just made him even more annoyed.
Other people might be scared of the so-called Azure Dragon Society!
But Ryan Ling? Not scared at all. As he finished speaking, he stomped down hard, instantly cracking the Azure Dragon Society badge in two.
Everyone stared at him in shock, too stunned to say a word for a long time.
......
By the time they got back to Lily's Country Inn, it was already dusk. Deputy Chief Wang had planned a celebration banquet to toast Ryan and the others, but after all that drama, it fizzled out. Still, word of the Harbor City teenager slaying a snake demon spread like wildfire to every nearby village, and tons of people rushed to Clearwater Lake to check out the scene.
After the thunderstorm, the lake was washed clean—every trace of snake blood was gone, but the heavy stench of snake still lingered on the water.
A few local fishermen, some of the only eyewitnesses, were now surrounded by a bunch of middle-aged women, talking up Ryan's demon-slaying like they'd lived it themselves.
Whenever the story hit a high point, several women shrieked and dove into the fishermen's arms. The guys, loving the attention, started embellishing even more.
Meanwhile, the mood at Lily's Country Inn was downright festive. Killing the snake demon was a huge deal, and at Ryan's suggestion, everyone was pumped to make snake stew.
This white snake had turned into a spirit, so its blood was crazy nourishing. And who'd ever eaten demon-snake meat before? Just hearing about it had everyone super curious.
That night, Warren Yuan took over as 'head chef.' The old guy was a real foodie, and his snake stew was supposedly a Jiangbei specialty. Jason Lin and Harvey Jin helped out—cleaning the snake, chopping the meat—the place was buzzing.
The white snake was over ten meters long and weighed several tons. To satisfy their cravings, they just cut the best section for the night. The rest? Stored in the Demon-Snaring Bowl, which was way better than any fridge. No matter how big or heavy the meat, it totally disappeared inside—no weight, no trace. Honestly, the perfect storage treasure.
Soon, the fragrant snake meat was served. To keep the flavor pure, Warren barely used any seasoning—just lots of yellow rice wine, some salt, and sugar. As soon as it hit the table, everyone's taste buds went wild.
The spirit-snake meat was insanely delicious. Harvey Jin dove in first, then Warren Yuan and Jason Lin, and even zombie Frank Qin couldn't resist.
A bunch of grown men, plus a half-baked zombie, were greasy-lipped in seconds, all giving thumbs up and swearing they'd never tasted anything so good.
Ryan couldn't hold back either and grabbed a piece. Sophie Su was brave enough to try some too. But Tiffany Tian and Lily Liu didn't dare touch it—Lily had been scared of snakes since she was a kid, and Tiffany was still traumatized by the white serpent. Neither of them even picked up their chopsticks.
No one forced them. In no time, the big pot of snake stew was wiped clean. Harvey Jin patted his belly and burped, and the others all agreed it was so good they had to make more tomorrow.
After eating and drinking their fill, Harvey Jin dragged Warren Yuan, Jason Lin, and even Frank Qin off, insisting that since they'd all survived a close call, they had to hit up a nightclub in the county and celebrate.
Ryan actually wanted to go, but Sophie shot him a deadly glare. No way was he going anywhere—he still had two women at home, and at least one guy had to stay. Reluctantly, he turned down Harvey's invitation, heart aching.
Night settled in, and spring fever quietly stirred.
Maybe it was the demon-snake meat, but as soon as Ryan sat down, he felt a wave of heat all over, and his mind started filling with all kinds of wild, unspeakable images.
Beside him, Sophie Su suddenly looked at Ryan with soft, smoldering eyes...