First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!

The moment the two picked up the paperwork,

They walked like the wind.

Straight to Xiang’an County.

Meanwhile.

Back to Xiang’an County—Wenxiang Village, in the cellar of Xia Tian’s home.

Two bizarre scenes came into view.

First, on the upright coffin behind the incense altar, it was wrapped in red threads. The rising incense smoke carried these threads through the cracks of the coffin, drifting inward.

Look closely—

The coffin was faintly trembling.Second, on the floor of the cellar, coiled up was a half-snake, half-dragon creature—

A failed dragon transformation, a maimed serpent.

Blood seeped through the gruesome cracks all over its body.

In a corner of the cellar was a hole about the size of a human head, from which snakes and rats poured out in droves, each carrying a green leaf on their heads with dew inside.

Whenever Xia Tian reached out,

He would grab one—either a snake or a rat—and use the dew on the leaf

To pour over the serpent’s wounds.

Zzzzz, white smoke rose.

The pain made the serpent twist violently.

It spoke in human tongue: “Thank you, Xia Tian. Without you, I would’ve died from my injuries long ago.”

“You’re welcome. You’ve helped me so much. Everything I have today is thanks to you. You helped me, so I’ll help you.”

A flicker of human-like contemplation passed through the serpent’s eyes.

If Tantai Xianyue were here, she’d recognize it—

This was the very serpent she had fought off in Ninglong City.

The one that smashed the dam and fled afterward.

Wounded, the serpent had followed the river upstream, escaping to Xiang’an County.

In its severely injured state, it had no choice but to expel its snake pearl—a type of inner core similar to a demon core—hoping to absorb spiritual energy and stabilize its condition to avoid immediate death.

Unexpectedly, it passed out from its wounds.

Coincidentally,

Xia Tian, out collecting ground cages, spotted the snake pearl wriggling in the grass.

He thought it was a fish.

But as he approached—

The snake pearl bit him.

Draining half his lifespan, it barely stabilized the serpent’s injuries.

When Xia Tian woke up and saw the serpent, perhaps because half his fate now resided in its body,

He instinctively felt affection toward it.

With no one around, he dragged the serpent back home and hid it in his cellar.

Of course, all this happened before Lu Ding joined 749.

Later, Xia Tian relied on the serpent to become a Cultivator of Qi.

Living off the local terrain in Xiang’an County—he mined rare herbs, spiritual treasures, and aquatic rarities.

He made a lot of money and gained many influential connections.

What others couldn’t get, he could. What others couldn’t solve, he could.

Whatever you needed—if you had the money,

Xia Tian could get it for you.

As his name spread, he drew the attention of the local 749 office.

Thus began his affiliation with the 749 Bureau.

Later, during a treasure hunt that led him underwater,

He stumbled upon a sealed water corpse.

During the Ghost Festival, when that corpse caused chaos, Xia Tian helped the Xiang’an 749 office subdue it.

That was the path from ordinary man to Cultivator.

The serpent had provided crucial help throughout.

And now, having drained half of Xia Tian’s fate, it thought long and hard before speaking:

“My injuries... they were caused by 749 Investigators.”

“I tried to transform from snake to flood dragon, triggered a water disaster, and ended up battling with 749—smashed the dam during the fight...”

Xia Tian paused for just a moment—

Then continued treating the wounds.

The serpent asked, “But now you’ve joined 749 as an external member. Why are you still...?”

“At worst, I’ll just quit.”

Xia Tian’s simple answer left the serpent momentarily speechless.

He went on: “The world’s a big place—749’s not the only option. If I’ve got skills, I can survive anywhere.”

“But didn’t you say this corpse was under 749 protection?”

“She’s dead—what’s done is done. It’s just a body. Can’t take it with you when you die. Left underground, it’s just gonna rot.”

“No one wants it anyway. I’ll use it for a bit, no harm done.”

Xia Tian thought for a moment longer: “To put it bluntly, this is just making use of waste.”

“Besides, letting this body rot is a real pity.”

“She just unlocked her apertures. If you move your spirit into her body and nurture your injuries, you can slowly repair your current serpent form too.”

“At least you’ll stabilize—keep the injury from worsening, and be a bit more comfortable.”

“Maybe she wouldn’t want to see her body just decay like this. Xiao Hai told me Sister Hua said Ke Ruyu was really kind. Maybe she’d be willing.”

The serpent’s mindset began to shift.

No one knew what it was really thinking.

Its final words: “I’ll need to stay longer—wait for the Mid-Autumn full moon. When Yin energy peaks, I can transfer spirits and switch bodies.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

The night was long.

Whispers echoed in the cellar.

Lu Ding arrived just before dawn.

Landing in Xiang’an County.

Yan Feifan contacted Hua Qing.

The two arrived at her home.

The door opened.

Hua Qing saluted and welcomed Lu Ding and Yan Feifan inside.

After serving them tea,

She cautiously glanced at them several times.

Their appearance—frankly—was far too young.

Lu Ding sipped the tea to show courtesy.

Yan Feifan took out his phone and began his duty as support officer.

“Investigator Hua Qing, I’d like to ask about the specifics regarding Ms. Ke Ruyu’s missing body, and your reason for reporting beyond your chain of command.”

If nothing was wrong,

Hua Qing wouldn’t have bypassed protocol.

Getting straight to the point was the most efficient way,

But the surrounding details couldn’t be ignored either.

Hua Qing couldn’t stop picturing Xia Tian.

But in the end, her rationality overrode her emotions.

“It’s like this.......”

Hua Qing detailed everything from her perspective.

When she got to the bypass report:

“Though this might sound irrational, from my personal standpoint—”

“I believe Director Qin is not involved, because I know him. Of course, that’s just my opinion.”

“The reason I bypassed him is also because I know him. If the report had gone through him, he might’ve alarmed the suspect—Xia Tian.”

“I can’t be sure Xia Tian is the one who stole the body.”

“But I can minimize risk by not alerting him in case he is.”

“I made sure I was the only one who knew the situation, so I could manage it alone. I can control my own reactions, but not others’.”

“And with Xia Tian’s capabilities—if he really is the suspect—once alerted, our Xiang’an 749 wouldn’t be able to stop him if he wanted to run.”

Logical and reasonable.

And she made no effort to hide her personal feelings for Xia Tian.

Truly professional—upholding duty over emotion.

Someone like that—

Lu Ding listened through to the end and said: “No matter how this ends, you can’t stay at Xiang’an 749 anymore.”

“Feifan, draft a report for Yunhai 749. Once this is over, transfer her to Yunhai 749.”