Duan Jiaze thought this kind of behavior would definitely cause public outrage. Even if their zoo was interesting, the tourists forced to buy bundled products would be unhappy, and things might blow up.

The others didn't have any ideas at first, but Yousu's suggestion suddenly broadened their minds.

Luya: "Who cares about them? Just let the Daoists take the blame."

Duan Jiaze broke out in a cold sweat, "Bro, that's easy for you to say. If they're going to curse someone out, they'll obviously curse both of us."

Duan Jiaze strongly opposed this idea and argued for a while. He really wanted to complete the mission, but if something went wrong in the process, or if there were after-effects even after completing the mission, wouldn't the losses outweigh the gains? It wasn't like he was only going to live for these three months.

But the problem was that Luya supported Yousu. He still needed Luya to unsheathe the Man-Slaying Saber. With Luya's dog-like temper, once he set his mind on something, even if Yousu relented for Duan Jiaze's sake, he would persist to the end.

In the end, Bai Suzhen stepped out and said, "Senior Yousu's idea is a bit extreme, but her starting point is correct. We indeed can't just casually agree to those Daoists' requests. Why don't we each take a step back?"

Bai Suzhen used Duan Jiaze's phone to look something up, then said, "This Daoist seems to have some influence with the Human Race's government. I have an idea..."

......

Xiao Qing sat in front of the TV, watching "Investiture of the Gods" with Yousu, saying, "Sister, I won't go then. I'll watch TV with Sister Yousu."

Duan Jiaze: "In a bit, I'll have your Brother Luya use my laptop to play 'Legend of the White Snake*' for you..."

*T/N: A Chinese folk tale about a white snake spirit named Bai Suzhen who, after centuries of cultivation, transforms into a woman and falls in love with a human, a pharmacist named Xu Xian. Their cross-species romance is despised by a monk named Fahai, who reveals Bai Suzhen's true identity and tries to separate them.

Hearing that there was also 'Legend of the White Snake' to watch, Xiao Qing was simply delighted.

"Alright," Bai Suzhen tidied her clothes and said to Duan Jiaze, "Zoo Director, let's go."

Duan Jiaze nodded, "Sister Bai, thank you for your trouble..."

The suggestion Bai Suzhen made last time was agreed upon by both sides, so they decided to have Bai Suzhen accompany Duan Jiaze to discuss the matter with Zhou Xintang.

This was also because Yousu was afraid Duan Jiaze would mess up, as Duan Jiaze had never been part of the domineering class.

Luya also gave the Man-Slaying Saber to Bai Suzhen. If they reached an agreement, she would directly help resolve the young Daoist's troubles.

This could be considered a loophole. The dispatched animals in the zoo couldn't use their magic to help with things like building houses that would change the zoo itself, but the System's monitoring wasn't as strict in other areas.

For example, Luya had used magic to punish the villagers who caused trouble for the zoo. Now, Bai Suzhen could also accompany him to negotiate; after all, Bai Suzhen hadn't officially started her post yet.

Duan Jiaze used WeChat to invite Zhou Xintang to a teahouse in the city. When he was almost there, Zhou Xintang sent a WeChat message to apologize, saying he might be late because it was raining on the mountain and the road was blocked.

Although it was raining on the mountain, the city center was still sunny. Duan Jiaze said he would wait at the teahouse first.

In her human form, Bai Suzhen looked to be around thirty. She was stunningly beautiful, with charm in every glance. She attracted countless gazes along the way, and once she sat down, she made many people antsy.

While Duan Jiaze was in the restroom, he came back to find his seat taken. A man who was almost bald was hitting on Bai Suzhen, who wore a cold expression.

'This guy is lucky,' Duan Jiaze thought. 'If Bai Suzhen and I hadn't discussed this society's public security issues, he'd probably be on his knees by now... If you don't have Xu Xian's fate, don't go hitting on Bai Suzhen.'

Just as Duan Jiaze was about to ask the man to leave, Bai Suzhen, who had been wearing a cold expression, suddenly thawed and replied to the man, "You're from Sichuan? I'm from Sichuan too, from Mount Qingcheng..."

"..." Duan Jiaze was speechless.

The bald man was ecstatic. Just as he was about to continue the conversation, Duan Jiaze came over and patted him on the shoulder, "Excuse me, this is my seat."

The bald man glanced around and said to Bai Suzhen, "Fellow villager, let's exchange numbers..."

"My sister doesn't use a cell phone." Duan Jiaze spread his hands. "Please leave."

Although Duan Jiaze wasn't some muscle man, he wasn't a weakling either, and he was young. The bald man didn't dare to confront him, and Bai Suzhen didn't stop Duan Jiaze as he had imagined. So, after cursing Duan Jiaze a few times in his heart, he left reluctantly.

Duan Jiaze sat down and continued their topic, "Sister, your accent is quite standard, not much of a Sichuan accent..."

Bai Suzhen gave a charming smile.

......

Half an hour later, Zhou Xintang finally rushed to the teahouse with Luo Wuzhou, looking disheveled and apologizing profusely.

Seeing how miserable he was, how could Duan Jiaze blame him? He quickly said it was fine and asked the waiter to bring towels for the old man and the young man to dry off.

Duan Jiaze sized up Luo Wuzhou and found the young man's expression to be mysteriously calm, as if he had attained Buddhahood. No wonder he was clamoring to become a monk.

Zhou Xintang looked at Bai Suzhen. At first glance, this lady was just beautiful, but she exuded an unusual air. However, Zhou Xintang couldn't find a single flaw and wondered if he was overthinking it. Seeing her out with Duan Jiaze at a time like this made him feel she was no ordinary person.

Seeing him looking at Bai Suzhen, Duan Jiaze introduced her, "This is our assistant, her surname is Bai."

Bai Suzhen smiled, got straight to the point, took out a printed piece of paper, and pushed it in front of Zhou Xintang. "Two conditions. First, issue a joint ticket for Linshui Temple and Lingyou. Second, add Lingyou to this joint annual pass."

On the paper in her hand was a price list and an issuance notice. This was a joint annual pass for major parks and attractions in Donghai City, including Linshui Temple, as well as Cape Park, the City Zoo, and others, totaling more than a dozen places.

If Lingyou was added, it could also get a share of the money without having to sell its own tickets. It was also a form of bundling, but a much more aggressive one!

And the first condition she mentioned, compared to what Yousu had initially proposed, lacked the "only sell joint tickets" requirement. This gave tourists a choice and was essentially a huge advertisement at Donghai City's most famous attraction.

When out-of-town tourists see that this zoo is impressive enough to sell joint tickets with a Daoist temple, they might just buy them, right?

This was Bai Suzhen's idea: have Zhou Xintang issue a joint ticket with them and add the small, private Lingyou Zoo to the deluxe attraction package——

Zhou Xintang was a bit stunned.

He wasn't stunned because he thought Duan Jiaze's request was shameless. On the contrary, he suddenly relaxed. It was a pleasant surprise!

Dealing with a reclusive master, he was even prepared to be ignored, but instead, he was told the problem could be solved through worldly means. How could he not be happy?!

This immediately brought him back to his familiar world. As a Daoist of the Human Race in modern society, Zhou Xintang felt more at ease with this kind of exchange.

He thought that it was probably because that senior greatly trusted this Director Duan, and Director Duan was a secular person, which led to such a solution.

Bai Suzhen frowned at the dazed Zhou Xintang. "What? Don't tell me this is also a problem."

Zhou Xintang quickly shook his head, "No, not a problem!"

Although in the eyes of ordinary people, Linshui Temple seemed like a secular Daoist temple, selling tickets, helping people interpret harmless fortunes, and performing routine rituals, just like most Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries where monasticism was just a profession.

But in reality, Linshui Temple had genuine cultivation. There were always some people who knew this, which was why Zhou Xintang was highly sought after by some, yet he remained aloof, just like how Luya treated them. The request made by Lingyou was truly nothing to him.

Duan Jiaze didn't know this, and he even felt embarrassed. He wondered if he was asking too much of the old Daoist. After all, the old Daoist had no official position. As a recent college graduate, he had never pulled strings like this in his life... No, this was practically a threat.

"Then, then I'll have to trouble you, Daoist. Thank you..."

Zhou Xintang said repeatedly, "Mr. Duan, please don't thank me, I should be thanking you! As for joining the annual pass, I'll ask a friend to handle it immediately when I get back. Regarding the joint ticket for our two organizations, I'll have our office director contact your zoo."

Bai Suzhen was also very decisive. The moment Zhou Xintang agreed, she raised her hand and wiped it across Luo Wuzhou's forehead.

Caught off guard, Luo Wuzhou slumped onto the table and passed out. The Man-Slaying Saber had erased his premature wisdom.

Zhou Xintang hadn't expected the Man-Slaying Saber to be in Bai Suzhen's hands and was instantly filled with awe!

Luya had lent it out, but for Bai Suzhen to be able to use it, she must also possess some skill. Anyone else wouldn't even be able to pick it up.

So there wasn't just one master, there was another one here. What on earth was happening for two legendary masters to appear at once? Zhou Xintang's worldview was shattered.

Bai Suzhen didn't care about the turmoil in Zhou Xintang's heart. She stood up and said, "Zoo Director, shall we go back?"

She still called Duan Jiaze "Zoo Director." Just now, Duan Jiaze had also introduced her as Assistant Bai, and that senior from last time had even listened to Director Duan's persuasion!

The way Zhou Xintang looked at Duan Jiaze became even more reverent... Fortunately, the moment he saw something was wrong with Luo Wuzhou, he had suppressed the news and ordered all his disciples to stay far away from Lingyou Zoo.

"Oh, oh, then we'll be heading back," Duan Jiaze also stood up.

"Please wait," Zhou Xintang stammered, "May I ask for the esteemed name of the senior from last time?"

Duan Jiaze thought for a moment and said, "His surname is Lu."

The old Daoist nodded meekly.

......

With the matter settled here, Duan Jiaze and Bai Suzhen returned to the zoo.

The custom signs he had ordered had also arrived. They were to be placed in Bai Suzhen's and Xiao Qing's enclosures. He had designated their species as Albino Burmese Python and Green Tree Python, respectively.

In reality, Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing were not these two species at all. Bai Suzhen was just a water snake, and Xiao Qing was a bamboo pit viper. But it was impossible for these two common species to grow to their original sizes, especially in this day and age.

Duan Jiaze was unwilling to let them shrink. Bigger snakes were more attractive to tourists, so he found these two species.

Duan Jiaze also had Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing transform into snakes to try it out. Learning from his experience with Yousu, he had to see them first before they started their post.

Bai Suzhen swirled and transformed into a white python so large that it was hard to wrap one's hands around it, measuring three to four meters long. Xiao Qing, on the other hand, turned into a green tree python several sizes smaller and shorter than Bai Suzhen.

The moment the two giant pythons appeared, Duan Jiaze immediately got goosebumps. It was indeed a bit creepy. He didn't feel this way even when he saw the lion; it was too sinister.

Luya noticed Duan Jiaze's fear and even clapped, "Duan Jiaze is afraid of snakes."

Hearing this, Xiao Qing mischievously slithered to Duan Jiaze's side.

"Holy crap!" Duan Jiaze jumped onto the coffee table, his voice cracking, "Don't mess around, I'll dock your feed! Luya, stop egging her on! This is an attack on the Zoo Director, insubordination!"

Xiao Qing flicked her forked tongue, suddenly raised her body, wrapped himself around Duan Jiaze's waist, and rested her head on his shoulder.

Duan Jiaze: "..."

Seeing Duan Jiaze's face turn pale, Luya and Yousu laughed especially gleefully.

"What's going on, what are you so happy about?" Liu Bin pushed open the door to the break room, and his eyes fell upon a large white snake lying on the floor, while the Zoo Director stood on the coffee table with a large green snake with some white markings wrapped around him. His smile instantly froze.

In an instant, all the hairs on his body stood on end. Liu Bin's face turned pale, and he blurted out, "Ho... Holy crap! Where did the snakes come from! Director, are you in danger?"

If Duan Jiaze said he was in trouble, Liu Bin would probably call the Forestry Bureau immediately. He squeezed out a smile, "No, I'm fine. These are the new pythons for our zoo. I'm just playing with them, they're not dangerous..."

As if to prove his words, Xiao Qing even twisted ger body on Duan Jiaze...

Liu Bin looked at Duan Jiaze with awe, "The Zoo Director is truly the Zoo Director!"

......

Bragging is fun for a moment, but the crowd gathers for the funeral pyre!

After Liu Bin realized there was no danger, he actually called out, and all the available employees came over to watch the director play with snakes.

Duan Jiaze: "..."

However, the employees didn't dare to get close, forming a wide circle to watch Duan Jiaze in the middle, carrying the snake.

"The Director is awesome, that python looks so scary."

"I didn't see any vehicles come in today. Were they transported in last night? What kind of snake is this?"

"Director, do you know how to play the flute..."

Luya stretched out his long legs, crossing them on the coffee table, and said nonchalantly, "Show us some snake charming. Isn't the Director playing with them?"

Hearing Luya kick him while he was down, Duan Jiaze shot him a resentful look and said, trying to save face, "This snake is non-venomous. As long as you handle it correctly, you won't get hurt. I will now teach you all. Come on, starting with Liu Bin, everyone come over one by one for some close contact with the python..."

Liu Bin immediately took three steps back, and a chorus of hisses and boos arose.

Duan Jiaze's psychological balance was restored. "Well, then I'll go put the snakes in their enclosure."

He was about to die of anger. He hadn't known so many people would come to watch. He couldn't just throw the snakes on the ground. If he wanted to get separated from the snakes now, he had to put them in a container. So, he reached out to Bai Suzhen, let both snakes coil around him, and headed for the enclosure.

Bai Suzhen's body was much more frightening than Xiao Qing's. With both pythons hanging on him, as Duan Jiaze walked, all the employees dodged out of the way, then followed behind him to watch.

Just like that, Duan Jiaze overcame his weak legs, and carrying the two snakes, went to the enclosure and put them inside.

The python enclosure also had trees. Unlike other enclosures, this one was dominated by thick tree trunks, allowing the snakes to hang on them.

Duan Jiaze put the two snakes inside. The weight on his body was gone, and the cold, strange feeling disappeared. He couldn't help but sigh, "These two must weigh over a hundred jin combined..."

He hadn't thought about it before, but now that he did, Xu Xian was a truly remarkable man.

It wasn't the weekend yet, so there weren't many tourists. Duan Jiaze asked Xiao Su to take photos of Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing and post them on Weibo and WeChat to announce the new arrivals at Lingyou Zoo, focusing on Bai Suzhen, the "Albino Burmese Python."

As far as Duan Jiaze knew, no other zoo in Donghai City, including the City Zoo, had such a large python, let alone one so completely albino. Of course, one could also say he had Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing transform according to the standards of other zoos——

The next day, Duan Jiaze took Liu Bin with him to send the peacock to the City Zoo for a blind date.

The two male peacocks already had names. One was called Jinwei because the yellow feathers on its tail train shone like golden light, and the other... Xiao Su had insisted on naming it Cuicui. Today, it was Jinwei's turn to go on the blind date, while Cuicui stayed home to entertain guests.

When they arrived at the City Zoo, someone was there to receive them and take them to the peacock garden. The City Zoo had six male peacocks and two females. It was said that several female peacocks had died of illness this year. A flock of peacocks should have more females, but now the imbalance was even greater.

Duan Jiaze took Jinwei out of the cage. Jinwei nestled in Duan Jiaze's arms, very well-behaved. Although he was desperate for a girlfriend, he knew he had to behave in front of the Zoo Director.

When the City Zoo's keeper saw Jinwei, he let out a "Whoa." "Your peacock is really big, and its tail feathers are so thick."

Duan Jiaze said humbly, "It's just average."

They first gave Jinwei a physical check-up to make sure there were no problems before putting them in the same enclosure.

During the mating season, the male peacocks at the City Zoo were all making high-pitched calls to attract the females' attention and fanning their tail feathers.

At this moment, the keeper also released Jinwei into the enclosure.

Jinwei had been quiet in Duan Jiaze's arms. Other than being a bit large with a lot of tail feathers, he didn't seem particularly special. But once he entered the enclosure, Jinwei went berserk.

"Gawk—gaw-gawk—"

Jinwei craned his neck and let out a long cry. The sound was so loud and piercing that Duan Jiaze wanted to cover his ears. Only now did he realize that Jinwei was considered very well-behaved at Lingyou Zoo, knowing that everyone was afraid of noise. No wonder he was on the verge of depression; it wasn't just because he couldn't find a girlfriend.

Many zoo employees were drawn over. "My god, why is its call so loud?"

Both female peacocks were attracted to Jinwei's area, and the other male peacocks also rushed over to watch.

With a 'shua', Jinwei fanned out his tail train, its iridescent colors dazzling everyone under the sun. He kept changing angles, displaying his tail feathers for the females from all sides.

The two female peacocks observed Jinwei's feathers, judging his physical condition from his various displays.

Feeling threatened, the other male peacocks also fanned their tails, crowding in front of Jinwei to show the females their own tails.

Jinwei let out a loud cry, rushed forward, jumped on the backs of the other male peacocks, and pecked at their tails. His movements were fast and fierce, and he plucked several long feathers from one of the males.

The peacock let out a miserable cry and fled in disarray.

A peacock's feathers are very important to them. If they are damaged or missing, not only will they fail to find a mate, but the peacocks, who cherish their feathers, will also fall into depression.

Seeing this, the other male peacocks became somewhat timid.

Jinwei cried out and charged at the other male peacocks.

His body was simply too strong, and his aggressive momentum was unlike that of a peacock, more like a bird of prey. It was unclear if he had learned this from Luya. The other male peacocks didn't even have the courage to fight and fled in a panic.

Jinwei even chased after them, pecking. By the time he returned, both female peacocks were lying submissively on the ground, captivated by Jinwei's heroic display.

The City Zoo's keeper was dumbfounded. Jinwei's combat power was too astonishing. He hadn't expected the other peacocks to lose the ladies' hearts without even having the courage to fight.

The keeper said gloomily, "How on earth do you feed your peacocks? It's too fierce! The way it shot out was like a fighter jet!"

When Jinwei charged out to chase the other males, he even flapped his wings and flew more than a meter high and several meters far from a standstill...

Duan Jiaze was pleased with himself, hiding his pride. "You're too kind, you're too kind. We have another one at our place. We'll bring it next time for a swap..."

Keeper: "..."

The keeper started to get a little scared. Would the other one be just as ferocious? It would be a small matter if it monopolized the females, but if it pecked all the feathers off their male peacocks, how would they survive? Feathers were very important to birds. Seeing how the other males couldn't even hold their heads up after being bullied once.

They would either have to separate the other male peacocks or send Jinwei away. But housing Jinwei was something the management had promised Duan Jiaze, so it would be embarrassing to send him away. As for separating them, that also felt strangely humiliating...

Fortunately, Duan Jiaze had made a point to learn about peacock habits and didn't make things difficult for the keeper. He went over to stroke Jinwei's head and gave him some instructions. After that, Jinwei only drove the other males away and didn't peck their feathers anymore.

Duan Jiaze was only here to accompany him this first time. Next time, Liu Bin would come by himself. He also went to find Huanhuan's old keeper, Xiao Xu.

"Director Duan," Xiao Xu was very happy to see Duan Jiaze. "How is Huanhuan doing at your place?"

Duan Jiaze had also come to tell him. He had seen last time how deep Xiao Xu's feelings for Huanhuan were, which had moved him. "Don't worry, Huanhuan is doing great at our place. We weighed her yesterday, and she's gained over ten jin."

Xiao Xu said in pleasant surprise, "Really? Over ten jin?"

He was too surprised. Huanhuan hadn't been eating enthusiastically and had lost a lot of weight since last year. Now she had actually gained back over ten jin? It had only been a short time; he found it a bit hard to believe.

"Really," Duan Jiaze swore. "You're welcome to come see Huanhuan."

Xiao Xu nodded and said, "Okay! Actually, Huanhuan's old friends have also been asking me when we should organize a visit. I'll tell them, and we'll go to Lingyou to visit Huanhuan then."

Duan Jiaze: "Great, you can come over anytime, this week is fine too. You can even get an annual pass..."

Xiao Xu: "..."

"Hehe," Duan Jiaze said, "Just kidding."

Although Lingyou and the City Zoo were now in a win-win cooperative relationship under the arrangement of the Forestry Bureau, trying to trick the other zoo's keeper into buying an annual pass still sounded a bit strange.

......

As Duan Jiaze was leaving the City Zoo, he received a phone call. He saw it was from Head Zhao of the protection station, the one who had first received him. After Sun Aiping had given the word, he had been in contact with Duan Jiaze.

"Director Duan, here's the situation," Head Zhao said after some pleasantries. "We've discovered a citizen illegally raising a golden python at home, it's a full two to three meters long! After some persuasion, he has agreed to send it to a zoo. See if your facility's conditions permit it. If they do, then congratulations on adding a new animal species."

"A golden python? Of course we can permit it!" Duan Jiaze said happily. "I just brought in a Burmese python and a green tree python. The enclosure environment is all set up. It can move right in when it arrives."

Head Zhao: "That's great. By the way, the City TV Station will be following up on this. The citizen will personally deliver the golden python to your place. This matter has attracted quite a bit of attention, hehe."

It's good that a lot of people know. Isn't this another free promotion? Bai Suzhen and Xiao Qing would also get a chance to be on camera.

Head Zhao: "By the way, it's a male. Is yours male or female? Maybe they can be paired up."

This golden python is an albino morph of the Burmese python. The identity Duan Jiaze made up for Bai Suzhen was also an Albino Burmese Python. Both belong to the Burmese python species, just with different levels of whiteness. The golden python's color is still a pale yellow, hence "golden." The type Bai Suzhen was posing as is called "Blizzard," which is pure white.

Duan Jiaze: "Uh... although she's a female snake, she's already married..."