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Chapter 9 - Reward

Zhang Ke recognized Fu Li as the little yao who had lent him the yao-beating whip. He was about to happily go up when Zhuang Qing stretched out a hand and held him back.

“Boss?” Zhang Ke looked at Zhuang Qing in confusion. He didn’t understand why he would hold him back. Zhuang Qing paid no heed to him. His gaze swept across the long and smooth black python lying on the ground as he spoke to Fu Li, “Many thanks to this friend for lending a helping hand.”

“What happened here?” Peng Hang wasn’t clear on the origins of the two men and woman, but subconsciously felt worried that the youth who had lied and used fake medicine to rescue someone would be at a disadvantage. Thus, he fished out his police identification. “May I know what happened here?”

“Police uncle, it’s you,” Fu Li pointed at the black python which hadn’t even twitched from start to finish. “I passed by this place after work and realized that there was a snake lying on the ground.”

Peng Hang: Who’s your uncle?

He took a few steps forward and stood beside Fu Li. The entire body of the large snake was jet-black, and there were wounds on its tail and abdominal section. It had probably been struck by thunder; its wounds were a scorched black. Peng Hang hurriedly took out his phone and contacted the forestry bureau, arranging for them to send people over.

After hanging up, Peng Hang turned and glanced at Zhuang Qing’s group of three not too far away. Furrowing his brows, he asked, “Who would you be?”

Zhang Ke and Xu Yuang were a little stunned. They hadn’t at all expected for the evil Jiao to have been struck by thunder to this extent. Its cultivation had practically been dispersed. It would probably be unable to change into a human form without cultivating for a couple more centuries. What evil deeds had this Jiao done in the past to have been so ruthlessly struck by thunder?

Anyway, the yaoguai that they were going to catch was going to be taken away by the forestry bureau. How should they deal with this?

Fu Li looked at Zhang Ke. Recalling how the other party had promised to apply for the special reward for him, he told Peng Hang. “They’re my friends. They heard that I ran into a large snake, so they came over to join in the fun.”

“The rain is very heavy now. Even if you want to take a look at the fun, you should still pay attention to safety,” Peng Hang had long grown accustomed to the common people’s natural fondness for going where the fun was. After ‘educating’ Zhuang Qing’s group for a while more, he spoke to Fu Li again, “Wait here for the people from the forestry bureau. I still need to patrol nearby.”

“Okay,” Fu Li nodded obediently.

Peng Hang wanted to give Fu Li a few more words of advice so that he wouldn’t give others anymore so-called panacea passed down from his ancestors to drink. But out of consideration that Fu Li’s friends were present, he restrained himself from doing so. Young people always wanted to present a good image of themselves in front of their friends; these words could be said later on.

After Peng Hang left, the atmosphere in the alley started to become awkward. Zhang Ke wiped the rainwater on his face. Seeing that his boss didn’t have any intentions of speaking, he smiled dryly and introduced them. “Boss, this is the daoyou that lent me the yao-beating whip.”

Zhuang Qing cast several interested glances at Fu Li before thanking him, “Many thanks to this daoyou for your help.”

“You’re welcome,” Fu Li shook his head, unconcerned. “When will my prize money be sent to me?”

“Two days later,” Zhuang Qing took a few steps forward. The raindrops that landed on him slid to the ground directly; not a single part of his clothes was wet. His legs were extremely long and slender. Within a few steps, he reached Fu Li. “I’ll write out an invoice for you later.”

The yao qi on Fu Li was very weak, which seemed to have given him the opportunity to take on the form of a human being. Although this sort of yao had low cultivation, heavenly law had bestowed them a gift, so unless they voluntarily told someone their identity, they would be considered an ordinary human in the eyes of human cultivators. In the early years when humans and yao did not co-exist, this sort of yao could escape from the pursuits of religious orders, hide among the humans, and peacefully live their lives.

Although humans and yao were already in harmonious co-existence in the current cultivation world, yao like Fu Li who were formed through the cause and effect of heavenly law were still an extremely rare existence. Even Zhuang Qing could barely sense the yao qi on the other party. Only then could he be sure that the other party wasn’t human but yao.

A black python without cultivation was no different from an ordinary snake. Zhuang Qing took a mere two glances at it before losing interest. He turned towards Fu Li. Fu Li tilted the umbrella backwards, a pair of limpid eyes meeting his. His dark eyes were reminiscent of a night sky without moonlight or starlight.

“This is an evil Jiao. It was lying here when you arrived?” Zhuang Qing looked at the surrounding environment. There were no traces of a fight.

“He was still in his human form when I came,” Fu Li shook his head honestly. “He said he wanted to eat me and was struck by thunder.”

Hearing this, Zhang Ke who was standing at the side revealed a somewhat nervous expression. “Are you okay?” This person was his savior; cold sweat couldn’t help seeping out of his back as he thought about how the other party had nearly lost his life in an evil Jiao’s mouth. “Why did he want to eat you?”

“He asked me yesterday night whether a dragon could have soared into the skies since the rain was so heavy,” Fu Li squinted his eyes in a smile. “I said that this was a scientific society and that there was no such thing as dragons soaring into the skies.”

For a moment, Zhang Ke didn’t know what he should say. During zoujiao, humans had to be the ones to confer the title. This black Jiao’s vision was a little dull; after choosing here and there, he actually asked a yao. Even if Fu Li had replied that there were dragons soaring into the skies, he wouldn’t be able to transform into a dragon.

This Fu Li was also so honest. What was wrong with saying that dragons were soaring into the skies? In any case, it wouldn’t come true. As a young human cultivator, he still didn’t quite understand how the minds of these yao worked.

“You’re right, there hasn’t been any Jiao who transformed into a dragon in the past few decades,” Zhuang Qing’s tone of voice was very flat when speaking about dragons, as if this clan had no relation to him. “There’s no longer any use for this black python, sending it to the zoo is also a good choice.”

Xu Yuan sneezed. This yao who had a millennium’s worth of cultivation not only had all of its cultivation stripped but would even be regarded by the humans as an ornament to marvel at, as if it was an animal without intellect. This was practically a double whammy to the heart and the body.

“It can even generate revenue for the zoo,” Fu Li nodded. Bringing joy to humans would also allow it to redeem some of its past sins.

The black Jiao lying on the ground slowly raised its head. It had an innate reverence towards those of the dragon clan, so when it sensed Zhuang Qing’s existence, the head that hadn’t yet been completely raised shrank back, and its forked tongue withdrew back into its mouth.

“Looks like it really didn’t die,” Fu Li crouched down, picked up a tree branch from the side, and prodded the black snake’s head. “Behave well when you’re at the zoo and you may be able to obtain better food and lodging conditions.”

There was no reaction from the evil Jiao with black history as it allowed Fu Li to poke it here and there.

The people from the forestry bureau rushed over very quickly and confirmed that the black python still had vital signs. Coupled with the fact that it was a rank one protected animal in the country, they specially rewarded Fu Li, Zhuang Qing, and the rest. They even took a photo with them before leaving with the black python.

Two days later, the capital’s forestry bureau posted on weibo. Two pictures were attached to the post – one was a group photo with a group of warm-hearted bystanders, and the other was a picture of the black python curled up in a glass tank. However, the forestry bureau didn’t have many fans, so other than the routine likes given by their own staff members, not a single passerby had forwarded or commented on it.

Fu Li didn’t know that he had been thanked by the forestry bureau. He had to transfer thrice on public transport before finding the office building of the cultivation world’s management bureau. However, the sign hung on the outside of the building didn’t list the bureau but some Chang Long biotechnology research company. The signboard was done up in a very dazzling manner. Even the front of the building contained shiny glass that refracted dazzling light under the rays of the sun.

The guards at the entrance were two ordinary-looking young men whose advantages lay in their sturdy physiques; they had a lot of attitude. But, Fu Li could tell in one glance that their original forms were that of a sea prawn and a crab.

Anyone with a dream was extraordinary. Who said that a sea prawn’s human form had to be short and small?

After entering, he met quite a few ‘people’ along the way, though among these few ‘people’, some were yao and others were human cultivators. Fu Li had the bureau’s signed invoice, so he found the finance department of ‘Chang Long biotechnology’ without encountering any obstacles along the way.

The mixed-blood dragon he met a few days ago had said that he could use this signed invoice to receive his reward at the finance department.

The yao world had always paid particular attention to the purity of their lineage. A dragon who was part human and part dragon like the one a few days ago was very much not welcomed. Fu Li was a little moved as he thought of this. That mixed-blood dragon must have put in a lot of effort to have become a ‘small ringleader’ in the cultivation world today.

The employees of the finance department were all human cultivators who had studied accountancy professionally. Their cultivation might not be high, but their ability to balance the accounts was very impressive, thus they were very respected within the management bureau. Upon seeing Fu Li enter, they asked a few questions in a very careless manner. However, the moment they saw the name signed on the invoice, all of them immediately sat up straight.

“Is this the reward Boss specially wrote out?” Employee A of the finance department got up and poured Fu Li a cup of water. “Please wait a moment, we will fetch the prize money and goods right this moment.”

Fu Li looked at the steaming-hot tea in front of him and only then realized that the mixed-blood dragon who had signed his name for him two days ago was this place’s boss. He turned around and glanced at the finance department’s very imposing furnishings, feeling somewhat envious.

During the times he concealed himself and went to human houses to watch news broadcasts, he had heard humans mention that all people who worked in an office were top-class talents. Many young humans put in their blood, sweat, and tears all for the sake of becoming a civil servant. They worked even harder than those scholars in the past who took the imperial examination.

The employee in charge of attending to Fu Li saw him remain silent, so he smiled cooperatively. “We weren’t aware that you were specially sent over by the boss. If we offended you in any way just now, please don’t take it to heart.”

Fu Li stared blankly for a moment before realizing what the other party meant. However, he hadn’t taken such a minor thing to heart at all. He had encountered even more excessive incidents in the past where there was no space to even negotiate. As long as they could hand him the prize money, no other issues existed.

The prize money was very quickly delivered by the employee. Other than the money, there was also a certificate of merit with the words ‘Outstanding Good-hearted Yao’ written on it, an unremarkable sandalwood box, as well as a black wooden box containing his yao-beating whip.

Fu Li opened up the sandalwood box and found that it contained a pellet emitting spirit qi.

“This is a Spirit Cultivating Pellet. Make sure to keep it close to you,” The employee was a little envious. This was a Spirit Cultivating Pellet; even his annual salary would only be enough to pay for half of it.

Feeling somewhat doubtful, Fu Li placed the pellet emanating a medicinal scent back into the box. What was a Spirit Cultivating Pellet? Was that the term of address for the product produced when the Spirit Gathering Pellet failed in the process of fire refining? The cultivation world nowadays was really frugal. Even this sort of pellet created from a refining failure was also taken out to consume.

Fu Li casually threw the yao-beating whip and Spirit Cultivating Pellet into his bag, glanced into the envelope containing the prize money, and then uttered a word of thanks with a wide smile. He kept the money and certificate properly before walking out of the finance department’s office.

He had just reached the entrance when he saw Zhuang Qing walk towards him.

He thought about it and decided to halt his footsteps.