Seeing Tu Xiao'an's cold, disbelieving stare, Luo Ziyun, with her widow's mien, offered a bewitching smile. "Don't be so serious. The reason is actually very simple. I run a noodle shop, and the soup base is crucial. I saw that snake and thought it would make a good soup, so I grabbed it."

"So, if you must know the reason, it was all for the sake of the shop's business."

"That's a rare Snake Species, a snake worth five million, and you're just using it to make noodle soup?" Tu Xiao'an was speechless.

She blinked. "All I care about is that my noodles taste good."

"So, you're saying you didn't open this noodle shop to make money?" A strange expression appeared on Tu Xiao'an's face.

'If she wanted to make money, there's no way she'd use a rare Snake Species for soup. That's a colossal waste.'

'Rare Snake Species are classified as First-Rank nationally protected wildlife.'

"Making money is so tacky. I much prefer seeing my customers leave satisfied. Besides, what would I do with so much money? I already own over twenty properties. It's so bad I don't even know which home to go to at night."

She said this nonchalantly, as if it were nothing at all.

It was another unbelievably arrogant answer. Tu Xiao'an was dumbfounded. 'Is she flexing on me?'

'To own over twenty properties in a metropolis like Wencheng... Just how rich is she?'

'A woman that rich is running a tiny noodle shop on this Ancient Street?'

"Even if you didn't open this shop to make money, even if it's just for the sake of delicious noodles, you still can't just waste a rare Snake Species. Besides, it was someone else's snake!"

'No matter how noble her reasons are, she still stole the snake.'

"A rare Snake Species? That's nothing. I used to use Awakened Creatures to make my soup. This is actually the lowest-quality ingredient I've used in a long time."

Luo Ziyun shot him a look that clearly said, 'You've never seen the world, have you?'

Tu Xiao'an froze at her words, then gave a wry smile. 'Alright, so she's a mysterious and utterly bizarre woman.'

'Using Awakened Creatures to make soup... How could anyone even compete with that?'

"Are you kidding me?"

'Where would she even get that many Awakened Creatures to make soup with?'

"Come back next week and you'll find out." She grinned, but it didn't seem like she was lying.

Tu Xiao'an finally understood why her noodle shop was so wildly popular. 'Using Awakened Creatures to make soup... What a character.'

'That would be the ultimate tonic in the entire world.'

Tu Xiao'an decided to stay far away from this woman. Her logic was terrifying.

'She does whatever she pleases, with no logic, as long as it makes her happy. And most importantly, I can't see through her at all.'

'Wait, I'm being an idiot.' He subtly cast Conscious Insight on her.

'Why do I even need to try and figure her out? Is my System Ability just for decoration?'

*Ding... Scan failed. Scan failed. Host's Level is too low. Unable to scan.*

Huh?

Tu Xiao'an gasped.

'I'm Level 26. For the scan to fail, this woman in front of me must be at the Rank Three Creature Level.'

'Only a Rank Three Creature could be arrogant enough to use Awakened Creatures for soup.'

"Sorry to have bothered you. Goodbye."

Tu Xiao'an tossed out the words, turned, and left. 'I shouldn't stick my nose where it doesn't belong. This is way out of my league.'

In less than three breaths, Tu Xiao'an had vanished from the noodle shop.

Watching Tu Xiao'an suddenly flee in a panic, Luo Ziyun let out a chuckle, a sound that could make a man's heart tremble.

"Clever little fellow. He must have figured something out."

..........

Only after leaving the noodle shop did Tu Xiao'an breathe a sigh of relief. 'Wencheng really is full of hidden masters. Even a random noodle shop owner is a Rank Three Creature.'

'I'm in way over my head.' Tu Xiao'an decided he needed to be more low-key from now on.

'Now, what was it I was planning to do?'

'Oh, right. Go to the bank and cash that check...'

This time, Tu Xiao'an kept his eyes fixed straight ahead and quickly walked out of the Ancient Street. He spotted a bank at an intersection and went right in to make some inquiries.

Half an hour later, he finally had the check cashed. He kept one million for himself and transferred the remaining four million directly to his older sister, Tu Xiaoyue's, account.

After all that was done, Tu Xiao'an suddenly felt a lack of purpose, a bit at loose ends.

It was only his second day in Wencheng, yet he had already run into one major incident after another—from the swarm of snakes on campus to the Cat Spirit, and now a woman running a noodle shop who was very likely a Rank Three Creature.

Tu Xiao'an had no idea what would happen next.

Still, he had only just arrived in Wencheng and had already obtained the Snake King's Left Eye, raising his Level by three. 'If this keeps up,' he thought, 'it won't be long before I can attain the Dao.'

DING...

Tu Xiao'an felt his phone vibrate. It was a new message. He took it out to have a look.

It was from Li Qingzhao.

"Brother Xiao'an, come rescue me! I'm being harassed by a creep!"

It was a voice message, and she sounded quite panicked.

'What's with the dramatics? Does she think I'm her personal bodyguard or something?'

'Looks like being too beautiful is a real hassle. She's constantly being hounded by unwanted admirers.'

Tu Xiao'an suddenly understood why the noodle shop owner's "disguise" was so necessary.

'Do you prefer being the one getting hit on, or the one doing the hitting on?'

He asked for Li Qingzhao's location. She said she was right at the university entrance.

With a wry smile, Tu Xiao'an headed off to play the role of her protector.

When he arrived at the entrance to Wencheng University, he saw a beautiful, stylish young woman being pestered by a chubby young man.

The chubby man had quite an entourage, with several bodyguards standing by his side.

"Dongfang Yuan, I'm warning you! Stop pestering me, or I'll have my snake bite you!"

Li Qingzhao put on a fierce act, a small, red-and-white-striped snake coiled around her arm.

The chubby young man wasn't the least bit afraid. Instead, he grinned and said, "Zhao'Er, have you forgotten what my family does for a living? And here you are, trying to scare me with a little snake. I must say, though, it looks like a fine specimen. What kind of venomous snake is it?"

"None of your business! Just stop bothering me, that's all. My boyfriend will be here any minute!"

At these words, the flesh on the chubby young man's face twitched. "Who dares to steal a woman from me, Dongfang Yuan? Do they have a death wish?"

Li Qingzhao felt a massive headache coming on. 'This guy is the son of Dongfang Ye from the Shanye Group, Wencheng's top publicly-traded company. He's a classic second-generation heir who can do whatever he wants in this city.'

'Now that he's latched onto me, I'm completely stuck.'

She had threatened to release the snake, but she didn't actually dare to. She knew the venom of the little snake on her arm was incredibly potent. If Dongfang Yuan were to be hit with even a single drop, he would die instantly.

But he was being relentlessly persistent, and Li Qingzhao was furious. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she finally spotted her lifeline.

"Haha! My boyfriend's here! He's super tough, so you'd better watch out, or he'll beat you up!"

The portly Dongfang Yuan's eyes narrowed. He looked over and saw a refined-looking young man approaching at an unhurried pace, stopping in front of Li Qingzhao.

A sweet smile bloomed on Li Qingzhao's face as she said, "Darling, you're finally here!"

A wry smile touched Tu Xiao'an's lips. 'How many times have I had to play shield for this girl and fend off her admirers?'