To call it a hall was generous; it was merely a dilapidated small courtyard, retaining the architectural style of the 1950s and 60s—the very place where Mayor Wang had spent nearly his entire career.

This place was painfully poor, and it had been even poorer before. People often went hungry, a single family might own only one set of clothes. The stories of people staying naked at home unless they had a specific reason to go out were not exaggerations here.

“Boss Zhang, Boss Long, please forgive the humble surroundings. Please, have a seat!”

He ushered them into the meeting room and immediately began to fuss over them.

Looking at the arrangement of battered tables shoved together, flanked by long wooden benches, Zhang Yang and the others couldn't help but grimace.

It was far too basic. This wasn't the 1980s anymore; in Changjing, even a village committee building was far superior to this. Moreover, the town wasn't truly penniless. Long Cheng and the others had donated to the school, the breeding farm, and the library before. Zhang Yang himself had donated millions for road repairs. A mere fraction of that could have substantially improved this facility.

Life in the town had improved significantly compared to before—at least twice as good as it was two decades ago. Especially after Long Cheng’s donations to the school and the farm, the townspeople could eat their fill, and the children’s education issues were largely resolved. In fact, their educational facilities were the best among the surrounding seven townships, attracting many who wished to send their children here to study.

Yet, nothing here had changed; it remained exactly as it was. This could only mean one thing: they had truly dedicated every penny to essential public welfare and never spent anything on themselves.

“We won’t sit just yet, Mayor Wang. Could you take us to the location where the giant python was lost?”

Long Cheng shook his head slightly. Li Ya and Huang Hai exchanged glances; everything here had left them profoundly moved. They had visited many times, but honestly, this was their first time inside the town hall. Previously, they had camped in tents, guarded by the local defense team; there was simply no need to come here.

“Wouldn’t you like to rest before going?” Mayor Wang paused briefly before looking up and asking.

Long Cheng shook his head. “No need. We aren’t tired. Let’s go take a look first. We still need to set up camp when we return!”

Seeing Long Cheng’s resolve, Mayor Wang could only nod and lead them out.

As they left, Li Ya and Huang Hai both glanced back one last time, an idea already forming in their minds. Mayor Wang was a man who genuinely worked for his people. He might not be highly educated or particularly talented, but his dedication to this town was unparalleled. A person like this deserved respect wherever he went. Before they left this time, they would pool some money together and donate a new office building and equipment to them.

The town needed development, and such a poor public image couldn't help. A simple office building and necessary furnishings wouldn't cost much—three hundred thousand would suffice. That amount was less than what any of them might spend on a single vacation, certainly less than the cost of any of their cars.

Both men shared this thought, but neither voiced it. Having the intention was enough; this was not the time for discussion.

Passing through the town, Mayor Wang led them deeper into the mountains.

As they walked, he continuously recounted the previous events. Zhang Yang and the others had only learned bits and pieces from the newspaper reports. Mayor Wang had made calls, but the telephone conversation hadn't been clear enough. Now, everything was finally understood.

The whole affair began with one of the town’s defense team members. He had a distant relative who had made a good life in the city. This local man went to rely on his relative, hoping to find some work. Life in the mountains was too hard; anything outside the home felt better than staying put.

That relative was the very journalist who first exposed the giant python.

His relative had indeed helped him, finding him a job washing cars. The local man was deeply grateful and specifically invited his relative to visit the mountains after the New Year to see how things were. The relative, finding city life somewhat tedious, readily agreed; experiencing life in the primitive mountains, returning to nature, sounded appealing.

Many people in the city now held such desires, and the Wildman Mountain region was a truly pristine wilderness, offering absolute natural living.

When a villager left, the entire community rejoiced, welcoming the relative back. Mayor Wang himself offered a warm reception, but unexpectedly, it was this relative who caused the trouble.

This man, a former defense team member, got drunk upon his return and couldn't resist boasting about the previous incident to impress his city relative. Since the relative was a journalist, he immediately took an interest and subsequently demanded the local man take him into the mountains for a look.

Although nothing was excavated at that exact moment, they did uncover some of the giant python’s remains, which the local man himself witnessed. He understood the magnitude of such a discovery immediately and tried to hire people to excavate the remains fully. This move was strongly opposed by Mayor Wang, and the defense team member who leaked the secret even received severe punishment.

Here, the rule of law was weak; the clan rules held ultimate sway. The leaking defense team member was whipped and hung for an entire day; his injuries were still not fully healed.

Hearing this part, Zhang Yang gently shook his head. Leaking information was wrong, but this punishment seemed extreme. However, this was their own way of handling things, and as an outsider, Zhang Yang had no right to interfere.

The journalist was subsequently driven away by Chief Wang, but he was not deterred. In the county seat, he hired several men and finally managed to dig up the giant python.

Seeing such a massive snake, he wasn't frightened; instead, he was ecstatic. But the men he hired to dig it up fled, claiming it was a dragon and that they had offended the Dragon God, refusing to stay any longer.

At this point, Mayor Wang, having received the news, rushed over and severely reprimanded the journalist.

But it was too late. They knew little about cameras or similar equipment, assuming that reburying the python would suffice. However, the journalist took photographs and published them in the newspaper upon his return.

That newspaper report caused an enormous uproar.

News stories alone might be dismissed as folklore, as many such tales circulated. But this paper carried photographs—more than one—clearly showing the python’s appearance, making disbelief impossible. Even skeptics felt compelled to travel there to verify the claim.

After that, Mayor Wang never anticipated the sheer volume of reporters arriving, pulling in people from surrounding towns and villages, as well as officials from the county and television crews.

For centuries, their small town had remained obscure. This incident brought them instant, overwhelming fame. The number of outsiders in the past few days exceeded the total population count of the preceding centuries.

This placed immense pressure on him—guilt toward Zhang Yang and his group on one hand, and the overwhelming need to protect the giant python from being stolen by others on the other.

Tragically, the python was ultimately lost, which was the main source of his guilt. As he recounted this, the middle-aged man couldn't help but shed tears again.

“It’s lost, that’s fine, please don’t worry about it. We only came to look. You must know that something of that size is extraordinary; it wouldn't just vanish without reason!”

Zhang Yang stepped forward to help steady Mayor Wang. The mayor looked up, his tears stopping, though his expression remained heavy. He opened his mouth slightly before asking, “Boss Zhang, you… you truly don’t blame us?”

“I don’t blame you, so please stop worrying. As for the person who leaked the secret, the punishment he received was enough; don't blame him anymore either!”

Zhang Yang smiled. He truly hadn't cared at the time; he only wished to avoid trouble for himself, never imagining it would cause the Mayor and his people so much distress. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have told them anything, choosing instead to deal with the Golden-Crested Python privately, sparing them all this trouble.

“It’s good that you don't blame us, good that you don’t blame us!”

Mayor Wang kept repeating this as they finally arrived at the location where the python had disappeared.

It was an open grassy area at the edge of the mountain. Five defense team members from the town were still present. Even though the python was gone, Mayor Wang kept guards here, anticipating that Zhang Yang and Long Cheng would personally visit and wanting to ensure nothing was disturbed.

Besides the guards, there were only two men with cameras busily taking pictures, looking surprised as this large group approached.

“This is the place. That frame was what held the giant python. Originally, dozens of people guarded this spot daily. After the python vanished, people from other villages slowly left, and fewer outsiders came. Now, it looks like this,” Mayor Wang said, pointing to the area. Traces of temporary encampments were still visible on the ground.

Furthermore, there was considerable man-made debris: plastic items, empty tin cans, instant noodle bags and boxes. Before this, not only nearby villagers but also journalists and outsiders had stayed here. These pollutants were left behind by them.

“Alas, it’s a blessing this was outside the deep mountains. If it had happened inside, it would have been a grave sin!” Li Ya couldn't help but shake his head, looking at the scattered trash. This young man was reckless, possessing a similar temperament to Wang Chen, but his heart wasn't malicious. His yearning for nature was high, and seeing such a beautiful place spoiled gave him an instinctive sense of discomfort.

Long Cheng had already walked over to examine the frame. His intention in coming was to discover who had stolen the python. His initial assumption was that it must have been a practitioner of Internal Strength; an ordinary person couldn't possibly spirit away something so large so stealthily.

Behind him, Zhang Yang’s brow suddenly furrowed as he scanned the surroundings. Lightning, Chasing Wind, and Shadow all held their heads erect, and Shadow’s little nose sniffed continuously, soon growing grim.

Initially, Zhang Yang, too, believed an Internal Strength practitioner had stolen the Golden-Crested Python’s carcass, though he couldn't fathom why such an expert would covet something so useless. But arriving here, he realized his previous assumption was wrong—wildly wrong. He had guessed the wrong direction: the python was likely not taken by an Internal Strength practitioner; more precisely, it wasn't taken by a human at all. It was very possibly carried off by a powerful spirit beast.

Here, he felt faint traces of energy signatures. Shadow and Chasing Wind had also detected signs of other spirit beasts passing through.

Supplementing Chapter Two! RQ