“Snakes?”
Eldest Young Lady Ren Tan’s face stiffened noticeably at the mention of those creatures.
“Yes, yes—tons of them,” her subordinate said, wiping his face with his sleeve. No telling if it was cold sweat or rainwater. “We tried fighting back, but there were just too many, and with the downpour, we couldn’t get a bonfire going to scare them off. So we… we had no choice but to…”
“Snakes showing up in the mountains and wilds isn’t unusual,” the Eldest Young Lady said with a frown. “But why would they make off with the cargo?”
“I don’t know,” the man reported, his voice thick with shame. “It’s bizarre, though. They went straight for the goods. They didn’t attack us at all as long as we stayed out of it. Felt like someone was calling the shots…”
“Do you know where they took it?”
She asked.
“Someone trailed them. We’ve got a rough bearing.”
“Understood. Go get some rest. I’ll take care of this.”
Someone led the still-shaken subordinate away.
Yin Luan, Xiao Luo, and the others crowded right over.
The Little Snake Demon especially—her big curious eyes lit up at the word “snakes,” practically spelling out “intriguing” across her face.
Now that she thought about it, she was a snake herself, but ever since arriving in this world, she hadn’t run into any others of her kind?
That didn’t add up. Not one bit…
“How important is the cargo?”
Xiao Luo asked.
“Very,” Ren Tan said gravely. “It was headed for Luo City—full of high-value goods.”
She couldn’t just talk her way into standing against her brothers. Merchants ran on profit. Whether it was seizing control of the Ren Merchant Group or winning over neutral factions, cold hard cash was the ultimate weapon.
The fortune she commanded—one that could rival an entire county—wasn’t stashed at the old outpost by the water. She’d hidden it elsewhere and only moved it after airtight planning.
In theory, nothing could’ve gone wrong. And yet it had been hijacked halfway… by snakes, of all things.
“This is outrageous,” Yin Luan hooted. “Come on—let’s go take it back!”
Little Snake had endured more than enough of her four daily hours of culture lessons. Snakes or humans, didn’t matter—as long as she got out and into a scrap, she was all for it!
“There’s something fishy here,” Ren Tan said, shaking her head. “I suspect there’s more to it. We should wait for more intel before making a move…”
“It’s just snakes, isn’t it?” Xiao Luo said, puzzled. “Your Postnatal Realm underlings might’ve been spooked, but we’d mop the floor with them.”
Young sprites like Xiao Luo and Lily were nothing special, but with Innate Treasures in hand, a few lashes of the whip would send the snakes packing—permanently.
“It looks that way on the surface, but no anomaly without a demon. I feel like…”
Eldest Young Lady Ren Tan began to explain.
“You’re not scared of snakes, are you?”
Yin Luan ventured.
Silence fell over the room.
Raindrops drummed steadily on the roof—not loud, not quiet—only heightening the awkward tension.
“No worries,” Yin Luan said, breaking the quiet. “I can handle it solo. I’ll bring back every last bit of cargo!”
“I’m not scared of snakes…”
A faint blush colored the Eldest Young Lady’s cheeks as she defended herself, flustered.
“Really? Want me to grab one from outside for you?”
The Little Snake Demon was raring to go.
“Don’t… All right, fine—I am scared of snakes! One bit me when I was little!”
Teased into a corner, Ren Tan caved and confessed with a defeated shrug.
“You don’t think snakes are terrifying? All slimy and legless, flicking their tongues, lunging out of nowhere for a bite…”
Everyone shook their heads.
“They burrow into holes—could slither right into your mouth and writhe around inside… Ugh, gives me the shivers just thinking about it!”
Everyone stared at her, speechless.
“They’re venomous too—the kind that can kill you dead! One nip and you’re done for!”
Everyone just smacked their lips.
“And don’t get me started on giant pythons dozens of feet long. They wrap you up, snap every bone, squeeze the life out of you! All those types, all those ways to kill—snakes are way deadlier than tigers or bears!”
Everyone buried their faces in their hands.
“Got it—just me, then,” Ren Tan said, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “Please don’t let anyone else find out. It’ll destroy my image with the men…”
The cunning, unmatched Fourth Boss of the Ren Merchant Group—who outdid any man—afraid of snakes like some ordinary girl? Yeah, that was prime teasing material…
“Don’t let that childhood ordeal haunt you,” Xiao Luo tried to console her. “Think about it from another angle—like how snake meat actually tastes pretty good? There’s a famous dish in the Great Zhou Kingdom called Snake Soup. Haven’t you ever tried it?”
“I just can’t bring myself to eat it…”
“Snake is adorable!” Yin Luan wriggled around on the ground, mimicking Snake’s slithering. “They curl up into a little ball, just like this…”
“Have you forgotten everything those etiquette lessons taught you? A young lady making that kind of pose—it’s just, just…”
Once bitten by a snake, and you fear even ropes for ten years. Even the Eldest Young Lady was no exception.
“There’s an old saying: the best way to conquer a fear is to face it head-on,” Lily chimed in from the side. “Why not use this opportunity to nip your phobia in the bud?”
“…”
It was a practical—but utterly rotten—idea.
Ren Tan agonized over it for a long while before letting out a helpless sigh.
“You’re right. I’m not some little girl anymore. I’ve even crossed paths with Voidtreading Experts. If I’m still scared of snakes, people will laugh me out of the room if word gets out.”
“No worries at all! We’ll all go with you,” Yin Luan said cheerfully. “Guaranteed cure!”
The site where the cargo had been hijacked wasn’t too far from the village, but the mountain paths were treacherous and the situation unknown. After some discussion, Yin Luan, Ren Tan, Xiao Luo, and Lily all set out together.
None of them were pushovers in terms of strength—even the Eldest Young Lady outmatched the average thug among her subordinates. They could watch each other’s backs if anything went wrong.
Following the clues provided by her underlings, it wasn’t long before they reached a secluded mountain trail.
The path was narrow and rough going; no sane cart driver would take it under normal circumstances. Ren Tan had chosen this route precisely to dodge the prying eyes along the main roads.
“There are wheel ruts in the dirt,” Ren Tan said, inspecting the ground closely. “They made off with the cart and everything on it?”
Sniff sniff. Yin Luan took a couple of deep breaths. “Rain washes away scents pretty quick, but I’m picking up something tasty. Does the cargo have food in it?”
“Yes,” the Eldest Young Lady replied. “This trip to Luo City is mainly to break into the medicinal herb trade. The shipment’s loaded with rare century-old and even millennium-old herbs.”
Premium herbs would be sealed tight for preservation—who knew how the thieves had gotten wind of it.
“Can you track where the herbs went?”
Ren Tan asked.
“Easy peasy!”
With Snake leading the way, the group wound through the nameless mountains.
Unbeknownst to them, however, pairs of eyes were watching from the treetops, the underbrush, and the tall grass…
