The little girl clutched her doll tightly, her cute and delicate face deathly pale. She was clearly terrified.

"Are you okay, little one?"

Tu Xiao'an asked anxiously. Although he had shielded her well, they had still been sent flying and tumbling, so it was inevitable she'd been affected.

BEEP BEEP BEEP...

Traffic started to back up. The driver of the car frantically stumbled out, also badly shaken. When he saw Tu Xiao'an standing up while holding the little girl, he was in utter disbelief.

'To be sent flying by my car and then get up like nothing happened... There isn't even a drop of blood on him.'

'How is that even possible?'

'No time to overthink it,' the driver told himself. 'As long as no one's dead, it's fine. As long as no one's dead.'

"Young man, are you all right? Thank you, thank you so much!"

In a moment of extreme crisis, this young man had charged out without a second thought for his own safety to grab the little girl. He was a true hero.

If it weren't for him, I would've killed that little girl, even if she had nine lives. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Tu Xiao'an shook his head, his only concern being the little girl in his arms.

The little girl finally lifted her chin slightly to look at Tu Xiao'an. She had fair skin and delicate features. A pair of bright, spirited eyes were set in her small face, eyes that shone with a wise light. What was especially striking was her small, cherry-like mouth, which was curved slightly upward, revealing an unexpected hint of cunning.

"I'm fine. Thank you, big brother."

The little girl's voice was sweet and clear, but Tu Xiao'an immediately frowned. Looking down, he was shocked to find that a pair of black handcuffs had been clasped on his wrists at some unknown point.

The handcuffs were exquisitely crafted, and their black surface emanated a peculiar aura.

"Snake Spirit brother, why don't you come with me?"

The little girl's face, still in his arms, was filled with the gleeful smile of someone whose plot had just succeeded.

"You..."

Tu Xiao'an was utterly stunned. He'd walked right into a trap. He'd been played.

'The little girl actually knows I'm a Snake Spirit. But her identity doesn't matter right now.'

'A mere pair of handcuffs holding me, Tu Xiao'an? What a joke.'

Tu Xiao'an's eyes narrowed as he yanked his hands apart. In his mind's script, the black handcuffs should have shattered instantly. But...

But the handcuffs remained perfectly intact on his wrists. To his astonishment, he found he couldn't summon his powers at all.

'This is bad. Do these handcuffs have some special ability? They're suppressing my power.'

A storm of shock crashed through Tu Xiao'an. 'They came prepared.'

"System, what the hell are these handcuffs?"

"Ding... Demon locking Shackles. The bane of Spirit Monsters below Rank 3. Once shackled, they freeze the user's power."

'What? A thing like this actually exists?'

Tu Xiao'an couldn't help but be reminded of the anime *One Piece*. In it, Sea Tower Stone is an item that can neutralize Demon Fruit users. The moment a user touches Sea Tower Stone, their body goes limp, and they become unable to use their powers.

These Demon locking Shackles worked in a remarkably similar way.

'My power is suppressed. I can't use it.'

"Snake Spirit brother, don't struggle. Just be a good boy and come with me."

The little girl holding the doll jumped down from Tu Xiao'an's arms. The driver's expression hardened. He gave a sinister grin, walked forward, and yanked Tu Xiao'an into his car.

'Holy shit, the little girl and the driver are working together.'

Tu Xiao'an forced a bitter smile. 'So this was all a damn act they were putting on for me.'

"Who the hell are you people?"

Tu Xiao'an asked in a low voice from his seat in the car. The little girl only stuck her tongue out at him playfully. It was a mischievous, yet adorable, gesture.

"You'll know when we get there."

A black cloth was then pulled over Tu Xiao'an's eyes.

The black sedan involved in the "accident" started up, speeding away from the street and vanishing without a trace.

「About an hour later.」

Tu Xiao'an had no idea what godforsaken place this duo had brought him to. When the blindfold was removed, three large words came into view.

"Monster Management Bureau"

Uh...

'I've been captured by a special government department?'

Dr. Snake had already briefed Tu Xiao'an on this subject.

He'd just never met anyone from this mysterious organization before. Today, he supposed his "wish had come true," so to speak.

"Go on in, my Lord Snake Spirit."

The little girl, still clutching her doll, was the very picture of playful, mischievous charm.

But to Tu Xiao'an, her smile now looked just like the smile of a Demon.

'A killer who draws no blood.'

'To be caught just like this... I really can't accept it.'

'Sigh, being too kind-hearted is no good. I'm a Snake Spirit, what was I doing playing the hero and saving someone? Now look where it's gotten me.'

Mainly, Tu Xiao'an felt incredibly aggrieved to be captured this way—a frustration akin to being constipated.

'It was like a hero being defeated before he could even step onto the battlefield.'

'With my power, so what if some special government department came for me? Even if I couldn't win, I could at least run away.'

'Besides, I'm a "law-abiding citizen"!'

"What are you standing there gaping for? Get in."

The driver who caused the crash gave Tu Xiao'an a hard shove. Immediately, he found himself in a small hall that resembled a police station.

"Let him cool his heels for a while. I'm going to have some coffee. Bring him to my office in an hour."

The little girl spoke with great authority. It seemed she was a leader of some standing, while the driver was merely a subordinate.

But this hateful subordinate was anything but polite to Tu Xiao'an, showing no respect for the Snake King whatsoever.

He made him squat in a corner like a common criminal, and then just ignored him.

'I never even set foot in a police station or wore handcuffs when I was human,' Tu Xiao'an thought, taking a deep breath. 'Now that I'm a snake, I get to enjoy this special government treatment.'

As he glanced around, Tu Xiao'an was dumbfounded. The hall wasn't large, but it was lavish. And amid the luxury, it had the distinct air of a zoo.

And why was that?

Not far away, a spotted pug lay sprawled on a table, while a middle-aged man was actually taking its statement.

"Why did you kill him? Wouldn't it have been better to just be a good pet?"

The spotted pug miraculously spoke, its face a mask of disdain. "I fell for my owner. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. That old man was in the way."

Huh...

Tu Xiao'an listened with astonishment. He threw a Conscious Insight at it and discovered it was an awakened, mutated dog, Level 20, which had just stepped into the ranks of a Rank Two Spirit Monster.

As the interrogation progressed, Tu Xiao'an began to understand the story. The pug had awakened its intelligence long ago, but it was only at Rank One and couldn't speak.

Its female owner treated it exceptionally well, taking it for walks and giving it a bath every single day.

As the saying goes, familiarity breeds affection. An intelligent creature is also capable of complex emotions and desires. Little by little, the intelligent pug fell in love with its female owner.

It worked hard at its Cultivation and finally reached Rank Two, gaining the ability to speak.

And so, unable to restrain the Primordial Power surging within, it confessed its love to its female owner.

The result was predictable: the female owner fainted from shock. But the pug, its ambitions undeterred and its lust unsated...

...it actually crawled on top of the unconscious woman and began licking her all over.

As luck would have it, the male owner returned home at that very moment. He saw his wife unconscious on the floor and assumed there had been a break-in. But this was a different pug now. Having reached Rank Two, it no longer paid the man any mind.

To have the woman all to itself, its killing intent flared. With savage ferocity, it pounced and viciously bit the man to death.

This pug wanted to turn the tables and become the master of the house.