As Tu Xiao'an and Li Qingzhao strolled down a quiet campus path, a voice suddenly rang out.

Slightly stunned, they both instinctively looked ahead.

A tall, imposing man strode toward them. He had a bright, fair-skinned appearance, but his face was marred by a pair of triangular eyes that held a sinister glint.

"Bai Chen? What are you doing here?" Li Qingzhao recognized him the moment she saw him.

Bai Chen walked up, completely ignoring Tu Xiao'an. His eyes were fixed solely on Li Qingzhao as he smiled and said, "School's about to start, so I figured you'd be back. I came to try my luck, and I can't believe I actually ran into you."

"Oh, is that so?" Li Qingzhao nodded with a smile but didn't say anything else.

Looking a little awkward, she stuck her tongue out playfully at Tu Xiao'an.

'So the girl wasn't just bragging,' Tu Xiao'an thought, annoyed. 'She really does have suitors everywhere, doesn't she?'

She had barely finished saying it before one popped up out of the woodwork.

Bai Chen. The guy's surname was Bai. For some reason, Tu Xiao'an was suddenly sensitive to that name.

Bai Chen's gaze roamed up and down Li Qingzhao's body, his eyes filled with an undisguised greed and desire. "Qingzhao," he said, "I'm throwing you a welcome-back dinner tonight. It's been so long. You can't refuse me this time."

He was trying to back her into a corner, but she still rejected him without a second thought. "No, thank you. I'm with my friend, and we have things to do."

She glanced at Tu Xiao'an, pointedly drawing attention to his presence.

Only then did Bai Chen pretend to notice Tu Xiao'an. He said casually, "What's this? You go home for summer break and bring a guy back with you? Qingzhao, don't tell me he's your boyfriend."

As he spoke, Bai Chen's eyes locked onto Tu Xiao'an. His gaze was like that of a venomous snake, cold and sinister.

Tu Xiao'an rolled his eyes. He suddenly remembered the Snake King Festival—the suitor with the Battle serpent had challenged him to a duel just because he didn't like the look of him.

'And now, it looked like history was about to repeat itself.'

'This girl really is a magnet for trouble.'

'Guys just flock to her wherever she goes.'

"You're reading too much into it," Li Qingzhao said, lifting her arm to reveal the Taiyin Snake. "He's from my hometown. I'm just showing him around campus, and he's letting me play with his pet snake."

Bai Chen knew Li Qingzhao was from Bai Town, where the locals were fond of catching and raising snakes. He also knew she was a huge snake fanatic.

She even live-streamed venomous snakes.

"Whoa, that's a nice-looking snake. It's pretty cute," Bai Chen said with a hint of surprise. He then put on a brave face, acting as if he weren't afraid, and reached out to touch the Taiyin Snake.

"HISS..."

But the Taiyin Snake was not something to be touched so casually. It instantly let out a terrifying, ferocious hiss at Bai Chen.

An inexplicable, terrifying aura of death washed over Bai Chen, scaring him so badly that he stumbled back three large steps, his face turning deathly pale.

"Hehe, Bai Chen, you're not serious, are you? My little snake just hissed at you once and you're already this scared?"

Li Qingzhao burst into a dazzling laugh, her expression all but saying, 'You're so pathetic.'

Clearly, the girl was not very fond of him.

Cold sweat dripped down Bai Chen's back. 'What's going on?' he thought. 'What am I so afraid of?'

'It's just a little snake. How could it make me feel so terrified?'

Bai Chen was baffled by his own reaction. That flash of fear had been all too real. He was a martial artist—even being surrounded by four or five large men wouldn't scare him.

"You've got it wrong, Qingzhao," he said, grasping for an excuse. "How could I be afraid of a little snake? I was just messing around to make you laugh." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

PFFT...

Hearing this lame excuse, Tu Xiao'an couldn't hold it in and let out a snort of laughter.

'It's not like being afraid is shameful,' Tu Xiao'an thought. 'He's facing an awakened Snake Species. For it, killing a person would be trivially easy.'

Being teased by Li Qingzhao was one thing, but Tu Xiao'an's laughter irked him. "Something funny, pal?" he said, his voice laced with displeasure. "You think I look funny?"

"Yeah, it is pretty funny," Tu Xiao'an replied calmly. Then he added, "But I should apologize. My snake scared you."

"Your snake?" Bai Chen saw how much Li Qingzhao adored the creature, unable to put it down. An idea suddenly struck him—a perfect way to please her. "Hey, pal, that's a pretty nice snake you've got. Name your price. I'll buy it."

Li Qingzhao was instantly displeased. "Bai Chen, are you trying to compete with me for this snake?"

Bai Chen smiled. "Of course I'm buying it for you."

"For me?" Li Qingzhao said with a sly grin. "This snake is very expensive, you know."

'Expensive?'

Bai Chen smirked. His family was prominent and wealthy; he'd grown up never even knowing the meaning of the word 'expensive'.

He then looked at Li Qingzhao with an earnest expression. "The more expensive it is, the more it proves my sincerity, doesn't it?"

"Alright then," Li Qingzhao said with a radiant smile. "I won't stand in your way."

Bai Chen was taken aback. In the past, he had tried to give Li Qingzhao all sorts of expensive gifts, but she had always refused them.

But this time, when he offered to buy the snake for her, she didn't object. In fact, she seemed to be looking forward to it.

'She must really, really like this snake.'

'This is my chance. I have to take it.'

"Pal, how much for the snake? Name any price you want."

Tu Xiao'an had no choice but to play along with Li Qingzhao's act. He blinked and said, "One hundred million."

Holy shit...

Bai Chen was instantly dumbfounded. 'I told him to name any price, and he really has the guts to ask for something so outrageous?'

'A hundred million for a single snake? Are you asking for ghost money?'

"Pal, stop messing around," Bai Chen said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at Tu Xiao'an. "I'm serious about buying this snake."

Tu Xiao'an shrugged. "The price I quoted her was one hundred million, and the price for you is one hundred million. It's a fair price for all customers, young and old alike."

'One snake for a hundred million? A fair price?'

Bai Chen was about to lose it. He wanted nothing more than to smash his fist into the guy's face. He turned to look at Li Qingzhao, but she actually nodded at him.

She was signaling that Tu Xiao'an wasn't lying.

Bai Chen sucked in a sharp breath. He felt trapped. He had just confidently sworn he would buy the snake for Li Qingzhao.

But now the guy was asking for a hundred million. How was he supposed to pay for that?

'Trying to scam me? Does he have any idea who he's dealing with, or where he is?'

Bai Chen decided to give him one last chance. Taking a deep breath, he extended his hand toward Tu Xiao'an. "Pal, why don't you name another price. We can call it the start of a friendship."

He was offering Tu Xiao'an a handshake.

Tu Xiao'an couldn't just ignore the gesture—manners were important, after all. He reluctantly extended his own hand for a shake.

The moment they clasped hands, Tu Xiao'an felt an immense pressure from the other man's grip. Then, Bai Chen spoke, a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes. "Pal, you'd better think very carefully about the price this time."

Tu Xiao'an felt the force in Bai Chen's grip intensify, as if the man were trying to crush his hand to pulp.

'Have to admit, the guy was strong,' Tu Xiao'an thought. 'A normal person would have cried out in pain by now.'

But Tu Xiao'an was no ordinary person. How could he feel pain? Besides, this body was just a construct, without blood or flesh.

This attempt to intimidate him was completely lost on Tu Xiao'an.

Having been reborn and gone through a miraculous experience, Tu Xiao'an found the other man's actions incredibly childish.

Still, since the guy insisted on playing this game, Tu Xiao'an decided he might as well indulge him.

He circulated the Power of Thunder and Lightning within his body, and a silent current of electricity passed into Bai Chen's hand.

'This kid can really take the pain,' Bai Chen thought darkly. 'I'm squeezing this hard and he's not even making a sound.'

'Go on, endure it. Let's see how long you can last.'

'You dare make me, Bai Chen, look like a fool? You must have a death wish.'

Suddenly, a jolt of electricity shot through his body. He felt his entire being go haywire. His knees buckled, and with a THUD, he fell to his knees in front of Tu Xiao'an.

Suppressing his laughter, Tu Xiao'an looked at Li Qingzhao. "Hey, this friend of yours is really sincere. He's so desperate to buy you that snake, he's even willing to kneel for it."