I practiced my spirituality alone in Hong Kong.

"Kung Fu is a skill, but physical strength is the foundation. My physical strength is strong, but it is far from enough to master the skills. Without skills, I cannot fully utilize my physical strength, which is like walking with a limp."

Li Chang'an explained Hu Xian's question.

Hu Xian shook her head and said, "I don't understand your pursuit. You have such... abnormal physical qualities, why do you have to practice kung fu?"

Choosing a popular sport like baseball or basketball and becoming a professional athlete in Europe or America would easily bring fame and fortune, right?

Earning a million dollars a year is entirely possible.

Although Hu Xian didn't understand, Li Chang'an had proven his strength, so she naturally wouldn't go back on her promise.

"Let's go, I'll take you to the snake pit."

Hu Xian got up and walked towards the door. When Wen Zhilan saw this, she winked at Li Chang'an and opened her pink lips but did not make a sound.

"It's done!"

"Thank you, class monitor."

"Why thank me? You earned this opportunity yourself. Aunt Hu has very high standards, and the fact that you were able to keep her in check is a testament to your own abilities."

"That was also the class monitor setting an example for me."

"Li Chang'an, why have you become so sweet-talking lately? Who taught you that? Tell me the truth!"

"..."

The two chatted idly behind Hu Xian as they walked toward the Tiger Balm Garden Snake Cave.

Also because Hu Xian wanted to lead the way herself,

The old housekeeper took out a walkie-talkie and told the person in charge of the Tiger Balm Garden to guide the tourists to leave first, as the garden would be closing early this afternoon and would not accept any outsiders.

As the park was cleared of visitors who were either confused or dissatisfied.

Hu Xian led Li Chang'an and the other person down from the Tiger and Leopard Villa on the mountaintop and arrived at a man-made rockery in the Wan Jin You Garden.

Along the rockery wall is a Chinese-style corridor with red pillars and yellow tiles. On the wall are gray-plastered murals depicting ten palaces, corresponding to the ten Yama Kings and the eighteen levels of hell.

When Li Chang'an was a child, he brought Changning and Changyue to see this place. It was probably the earliest horror-themed art gallery in Hong Kong. Little Changyue was even scared to tears by one of the ghost and eagle sculptures back then.

At the end of this map of the eighteen levels of hell, there is a man-made cave with a sign that reads "Tourists are not allowed to enter".

"This cave is called Hell Cave. It used to be my father's private medicinal herb garden and also the location of the snake den."

"Xiao Lan, you shouldn't go in."

Wen Zhilan nodded and said to Li Chang'an:

"I'll wait for you outside."

Li Chang'an shook his head.

"Snakes are generally nocturnal animals and only become active after nightfall. I might have to stay inside all night, so you can go back first, squad leader."

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhilan pursed her lips, looking somewhat conflicted.

She really wanted to stay here with Li Chang'an, but given her status, she absolutely could not stay outside overnight.

Even if her father didn't know, Aunt Rong, as the housekeeper, wouldn't allow it.

Finally, she could only sigh:

"Then you must come find me after you get out."

"Um."

"Ahem, Anzai, are you going in or not?"

Hearing Hu Xian's reminder, Li Chang'an waved to Wen Zhilan one last time before following her into the Hell Cave.

After walking along the corridor inside the cave for several minutes, Li Chang'an saw light appear at the exit ahead.

When he came out, he found himself in the back of Jardine's Lookout, in front of him was a secluded garden, and the nearby blue brick walls were hidden among the dense ivy, it was truly a hidden paradise.

Li Chang'an thought of the story of the cunning rabbit that burrows into three holes.

I wonder if a wealthy family like the Hu family, who owns a mountain all to themselves, would be bored and, perhaps as a precaution, secretly dig all sorts of tunnels in the mountains.

Hu Xian led him through the garden to a very large, low-rise red brick building.

Before even getting close, Li Chang'an's keen sense of smell detected a faint, cool, reptile-like odor.

As you push open the door and step inside, a wave of humid heat hits you.

The building was dimly lit, with only a few dim spotlights hanging in the ceiling.

As soon as Li Chang'an entered the room, he saw huge custom-made glass feeding boxes displayed on both sides.

The inside was lined with moss and sand, and the enclosures were separated by glass panes. In each glass compartment lay a venomous snake, including silver-ringed, gold-ringed, and bamboo vipers.

In one of the largest compartments, a king cobra over a meter long was roaming around.

It looked much more imposing than the two castrated cobras that Director Yuan had bought for filming, and it was clearly well cared for.

Of course, the largest area is the python area in front, which is designed to resemble a tropical rainforest and dark caves. Judging from its size and environment, this is probably the real snake den.

The python area is completely separated by thick glass, and inside there are reticulated pythons coiled on dead tree trunks, as well as golden Burmese pythons with their entire bodies turned golden.

"But Mr. Hu, why weren't there any snakes in that largest area?"

Hu Xian replied, "Is it in the water?"

In the water?

Li Chang'an strode over and stood in front of the glass wall.

It seemed to sense Li Chang'an's restless and vigorous life force.

Ripples spread across the green artificial pool, and then a massive, dark green python, its body as thick as an adult's thigh, burst out of the water.

Its muscles were taut, its scales were slightly stretched open, and its vertical pupils were fixed on Li Chang'an. As it opened its mouth to hiss and exhale, its tongue rapidly darted in and out.

This is an adult female green anaconda.

The anaconda is the largest python in the world.

Female anacondas can weigh up to 100 kilograms when they reach adulthood, making them apex predators in the Amazon River.

Hu Xian exclaimed in surprise, "This green anaconda actually came out on its own. It's the largest snake in the snake den, but it's usually very lazy and never comes out of the water except when the keeper feeds it."

Li Chang'an looked at the Green Forest Python, which had entered a defensive posture, and licked his lips.

Is this snake... wary of me approaching its territory?

Can it sense my threat?

Seeing Li Chang'an's eager expression, Hu Xian asked:

"How do you intend to use my snake cultivation techniques?"

"Observe its form, grasp its meaning, and comprehend its essence."

Tonight I will feed all the snakes in the snake pit and observe how they hunt... and I would also appreciate it if Mr. Hu could give me the key to each snake cage so I can go in and observe them up close if necessary.

Hu Xian looked at him in surprise.

"Are you crazy?"

Despite Li Chang'an having previously demonstrated his abilities to Hu Xian.

However, the venomous snakes here can kill elephants, and the giant pythons can strangle water buffalo and swallow them whole.

He was already fanciful enough to want to spend the night with these dangerous animals, but now he actually wants to be in close contact with them!

However, considering Li Chang'an's monstrous strength in whipping people like spinning tops...

After a moment's hesitation, Hu Xian finally agreed to Li Chang'an's request.

"Fine, if you die here, just don't let Xiaolan resent me."

"I'll have the zookeeper give you the key in a bit; this place is yours tonight."

……

……

Wen Zhilan returned to the villa on Victoria Peak.

As soon as I entered the house, I saw Aunt Rong cleaning the tea set and she said:

"Miss, someone called you this morning."

"Who is it?"

"She's Miss's friend, Su Xingning."

Star Lemon?

Wen Zhilan paused, then nodded.

She went to the bedroom balcony, where there was a wicker lounge chair leaning against the railing, overlooking the sunset over Victoria Harbour in the distance.

But Wen Zhilan had no intention of appreciating the scenery right now. She dialed the landline number, and a moment later a coquettish voice came from the receiver.

"Hello, is this Zhilan?"

"It's me, Xingning. What's wrong? Do you need my help urgently?"

"Eek~~"

Su Xingning deliberately dragged out her words with feigned displeasure.

"Can't I call you if there's nothing wrong? Miss Wen, you haven't called me for days."

We used to chat for half an hour every night. Have you made some new friends and forgotten about me?

Listening to her best friend's complaints, Wen Zhilan's eyes flickered with a barely perceptible evasion.

"No... I've just been too busy lately."

"So you're deliberately ignoring me?"

"No, I'm just really too busy..."

"Whose business could make our Miss Wen personally go to such lengths, so busy that she doesn't even have time to call me?"

His face is so big! It's awful!

Wen Zhilan lowered her eyes, her voice as soft as an evening breeze across the sea.

"It's really annoying, they cause me trouble every day."

"Hey, Aunt Rong said you went out early this morning. Could it be because of him? Is he the person your father arranged for you to be in charge of the business project?"

Wen Zhilan's cheeks flushed slightly when she was asked the question.

She didn't want to lie, but she absolutely couldn't reveal the boy's name to Xing Ning.

Otherwise, everything will be irreversible...

So Wen Zhilan subconsciously hummed in agreement, afraid that Su Xingning would notice something amiss, and quickly changed the subject:

"Let's not talk about that. How have you been lately?"

"It's a bit annoying."

"What's wrong?"

"Recently, my father has been busy negotiating a cooperation with a big shot in Macau. As a result, he has been running around all over the place and has not been able to even meet the big shot."

My good friend, Sister Xu, has a father who works in the Political Department. She said she could help my father get in touch with the secretary of that important figure in Macau.

Political Department?

Upon hearing this name, Wen Zhilan immediately frowned.

The Special Branch, also known as the government security department, was nominally established by the British Hong Kong government to ensure Hong Kong's political security in the context of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

However, compared to the police station or the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), it is much more low-key, so low-key that ordinary Hong Kong residents and even some ordinary wealthy people are unaware of the existence of this department.

But Wen Zhilan's father had once told her that the Political Department was the most dangerous department in all of Hong Kong.

Stay away from people in the political department.

Because the Special Branch was not accountable to the British Hong Kong government, and even the Governor could not directly control it, the only ones who could truly liaise with the Special Branch were…

It's London, thousands of miles away!

The Political Department, nominally responsible for maintaining the security of Hong Kong, was in reality a spy agency planted in Hong Kong by London, responsible for intelligence activities throughout East Asia and even targeting the Soviet Union.

Wen Zhilan bit her lip.

How come she never noticed before that the older sister her best friend often mentioned had such a complicated family background...?