At this very moment, Duan Jiaze would never have thought that a few months later, the gold prize of an international photography award would be given to a photograph of a young Daoist silently looking at a roaring lion through a glass window, titled 'Taiji'.

Of course, this work didn't belong to Duan Jiaze, nor did it belong to the many others who also photographed this scene, but to a photojournalist among the tourists who happened to be in Donghai City for inspiration.

The young Daoist only lingered in front of the enclosure for a moment before walking to the next exhibit. His attire, his temperament, and his actions were all out of place with the other tourists.

He didn't even seem to be here to visit, but rather as if he was searching for some target.

Duan Jiaze curiously followed behind and saw the young Daoist looking at one exhibit after another, stopping for a while in front of the animals at each one.

Ordinary tourists would stop when they saw interesting animal behavior, but he wouldn't. He just watched on his own, then walked away after a short while, regardless of what the animal was doing. That's why Duan Jiaze felt he wasn't here to see the animals.

Duan Jiaze didn't know why he was following him either. In any case, the more he watched, the stranger it felt, and a peculiar feeling grew in his heart.

After the young Daoist had finished touring almost the entire zoo, he came out but didn't leave. Instead, he found a staff member and asked, "Hello, may I ask where the Zoo Director is?"

This staff member was actually Duan Jiaze's university classmate. He spotted Duan Jiaze trailing not too far behind, and seeing that the young Daoist was gentle and polite, he didn't think much of it and said casually, "Isn't that him right there? What do you want him for?"

The young Daoist turned his head, and his clear gaze landed on Duan Jiaze.

"..." Duan Jiaze had followed the guy all this way and now awkwardly pretended to look at the scenery, cursing his classmate inwardly for being a sellout.

The young Daoist walked towards Duan Jiaze.

Duan Jiaze had no choice. He leaned against the nearby wall, saw that no one was paying attention, and forced a dry laugh, "Hello, young Daoist master, do you need something from me?"

The young Daoist said seriously, "Hello, my name is Luo Wuzhou, and I cultivate at Linshui Temple." He took out a small booklet from his robes, opened it for Duan Jiaze to see, and said, "This is my Daoist certificate."

Duan Jiaze: "...Huh?"

This young Daoist named Luo Wuzhou was very handsome and not very old, but he spoke in a very calm and steady manner. It was just that the content of what he said next was a bit frightening: "Zoo Director, there is a demon in your zoo. I hope you can evacuate the tourists immediately. I can negotiate with it..."

Before Luo Wuzhou could finish, Duan Jiaze shouted, "Class monitor! Old Tang!"

His university class monitor and a classmate were nearby and came over when they heard him.

"Help me escort this young student out. It seems he's watched too much TV," Duan Jiaze said calmly.

The class monitor and Old Tang took one look and, hey, not only was he dressed as a Daoist, but upon hearing Duan Jiaze's words, he said with a surprised look, "I really am a Daoist. You can look up my certificate number on the Daoist Association's official website..."

The class monitor and Old Tang showed curious expressions.

Duan Jiaze said impatiently, "No exorcisms, no rituals. I'm a materialist."

The two of them immediately understood. In recent years, with the resurgence of feudal superstitions, many swindlers in society, calling themselves 'Rinpoches' or 'Masters,' were actually just running scams. Even if the Daoist certificate was real... what kind of proper monk or Daoist runs to someone else's place to catch a demon?

The two of them flanked the young Daoist on the left and right, but unexpectedly, the young Daoist kicked off the wall, did a backflip, and smoothly broke free from their grasp, landing steadily on the ground.

Some tourists saw this and let out a "Wow!"

The two classmates also revealed looks of astonishment, not daring to touch him for a moment. Nowadays, you can't even be a proper swindler without some skills.

Duan Jiaze slowly took out his phone and dialed 110.

He felt really bad for this little brother, but——

Duan Jiaze stood at the entrance, watching the young Daoist get into a police car with two officers. Before getting in, the young Daoist glanced back at him.

Duan Jiaze felt a little guilty and could hear people discussing:

"Is that a real Daoist?"

"Probably fake, a swindler. The police took him away."

"Why do I get the feeling he's a chuunibyou kid who ran away from home..."

Duan Jiaze's legs were about to give out. God knows how nervous he had been earlier.

Luya was resting in the ticket office. There weren't many visitors at the moment. Duan Jiaze waved at him, but he just lazily said, "What's up?"

"Come out for a second, I need to tell you something."

Luya tilted his head. "I have to go out and stand there again later."

Hearing this, Xiao Su chuckled twice.

"..." Duan Jiaze decided to just go in. While dragging Luya out, he said, "I'm giving you special permission to rest."

Duan Jiaze pulled the absent-minded Luya into a corner. "Did you see that Daoist just now?"

Luya: "I saw him."

Duan Jiaze: "He told me there's a demon in our zoo!!!"

Luya: "..."

Duan Jiaze: "........."

Duan Jiaze: "...Why aren't you reacting at all?"

Luya: "There is a demon."

Duan Jiaze said, frantic, "I know, but we've been discovered! He even wanted me to help him catch the demon! He's from Linshui Temple. Linshui Temple must have at least eighty or a hundred Daoists! My God, and I pretended to be ignorant and called the police to get rid of him!!"

Compared to Duan Jiaze's agitation, Luya was completely baffled. "So what?"

Duan Jiaze: "..."

Right, it seems it's not a big deal. To Luya, that Daoist was probably no different from the farmers who caused trouble before... Under Luya's calming influence, Duan Jiaze also inexplicably calmed down.

......

Cape Sub-district Police Station.

A middle-aged man in a Daoist robe hurried into the police station and said to the officer on duty, "Hello, I am Shao Wuxing."

The police officer quickly stood up. "Daoist Master Shao, please come with me. Your junior brother is this way."

Shao Wuxing followed the officer into an office and saw his junior brother sitting in a chair, spacing out. Next to him was an empty meal box and a bottle of mineral water.

The chief of the police station hurried over. "Director Shao, you're here. Hello, we wouldn't dare to neglect your esteemed junior brother."

"Thank you for taking care of my junior brother." Shao Wuxing shook the chief's hand, his face full of gratitude.

Shao Wuxing was the office director of Linshui Temple. He was usually responsible for various aspects of the temple's daily operations and frequently interacted with all sorts of people in the city, so his network was quite extensive. After learning that Luo Wuzhou had been taken to the police station, he immediately called a friend and then personally rushed over to pick up his junior brother.

The chief had already been given a heads-up and had a very good attitude. "It's a small matter. I've already looked into the situation. The Zoo Director in our jurisdiction thought your esteemed junior brother was a runaway child addicted to TV dramas, so he called the police. You can take him with you anytime. We'll explain it to the citizen later."

After exchanging some pleasantries with the chief, Shao Wuxing left the police station with Luo Wuzhou.

Only then did Luo Wuzhou finally speak. "Senior brother, I messed up."

He had thought he could catch the demon in one fell swoop, but who knew that he would risk alerting the enemy instead.

"You still lack social experience. How could my master let you handle this?" Shao Wuxing shook his head. "Forget it, we'll talk about it in detail when we get back."

This junior brother from a different branch was Temple Master Zhou's only disciple. His talent for cultivation was top-class in the cultivation world, hailed as a once-in-a-century genius. Although he was only fourteen, his cultivation level had already surpassed his senior brothers', and he was capable of handling many major situations on his own.

However, his interpersonal skills were inversely proportional to his cultivation level. Fortunately, based on their observations, the great demon had not made any unusual moves.

......

Duan Jiaze: "...The moment the young Daoist opened his mouth, it was, 'Your zoo has a demon!' I was completely dumbfounded! Yes, there is! I know that, but how did you know?! He even wanted me to evacuate the tourists. He's trying to catch a demon!!"

Duan Jiaze enthusiastically described what happened today to Yousu.

Yousu also listened with great interest, as if listening to a story.

After Duan Jiaze finished speaking and took a sip of water, Yousu said with regret, "Is that it? Didn't you ask what happened to him at the police station later?"

"He was probably picked up. After all, his Daoist certificate is real. I wrote down the number and checked it," Duan Jiaze said silently. "And just like that, I screwed over a kind-hearted young Daoist."

Yousu said thoughtfully, "If you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have even known a Daoist had mingled with the tourists today, right in front of me. The spiritual energy in the Human Realm has decayed so much, hasn't it? Daoists are almost no different from ordinary members of the Human Race."

After the Three Realms separated, the spiritual energy in the Human Realm became scarce. To Yousu, these cultivators were negligible. Strong or weak, it was merely the difference in the size of an ant—not worth mentioning for an ancient great demon.

Duan Jiaze didn't really understand these things, but he knew that Yousu, like Luya, was quite ruthless. So he warned, "He might come back in the future. Neither of you is allowed to attack him. Killing people isn't acceptable in this day and age; it will cause big trouble. Just drive him away tactfully."

Luya nodded thoughtfully.

Duan Jiaze was very scared seeing his expression and asked worriedly, "Your Excellency, do you understand what tactful means?"

Luya: "Does not beating you to death when you call me 'Your Excellency' count?"

Duan Jiaze was instantly cowed: "...It counts, Daoist Lord."