Chapter Twenty-Four: The Snow Burial Society

When the Snow Burial Society handles matters, all unrelated parties are required to withdraw.

Hearing this, Liu Ru suddenly felt that the Snow Burial Society didn't seem all that different from those criminal gangs.

Xie Yanluo, meanwhile, set down her small spoon, wiped her mouth, and looked at the newcomer. "Black Snow Unit? What's your identification number?"

As she spoke, she reached out and snatched the badge bearing a black snowflake from his hand. The man tried to pull it back in that instant, but his reflexes were no match for Xie Yanluo’s.

"Such shoddy workmanship," she commented while examining it, then, without hesitation, tore the black-covered badge in half. She folded it and ripped it into quarters.

The man was furious at Xie Yanluo's brazen act. "How dare you—"

"Silence," Xie Yanluo said coldly, raising her eyes to fix him with a chilling glare. In that single glance, he swallowed all the curses he was about to unleash.

"I'm off duty today. Don't provoke me. Thank you." Her tone was calm. "You have five seconds to disappear from my sight."

The young woman in white spoke with icy contempt, and her aura cowed the man into stunned hesitation. Then, without another word, he turned and bolted, vanishing from sight in a heartbeat.

"How imposing," Liu Ru remarked, looking at Xie Yanluo with admiration.

"In Nightleaf City, you can offend anyone, but it's best not to cross the Snow Burial Society," Xie Yanluo replied, as if nothing extraordinary had happened. She picked up her spoon again and took a small bite of honey cake. "I told you, the desserts here are the best!"

"So, who did you provoke?" Xie Yanluo looked up at Liu Ru. "It's rare for anyone to impersonate the Society in Nightleaf City, especially with me sitting right next to you. For him to take such a risk, he must have had no choice."

"Maybe he was gambling that you're an impostor too?" Liu Ru eyed Xie Yanluo, who was still wearing the Society's uniform. "And if you're off duty, why are you still in uniform?"

"I'm used to it. The clothes are issued by the academy, uniforms included. To us, there's little difference between Nightleaf City and the academy, so I dress the same way outside as I do inside. Only when I leave the city do I consider changing," Xie Yanluo replied indifferently.

"I think I can guess what happened," Liu Ru sighed, looking at Xie Yanluo. "But never mind. Thank you for getting rid of the trouble for us."

"By the way, if you hadn't been here and a fight broke out, how would you handle it?"

"Rapid response members can be here within three minutes," Xie Yanluo said quietly, looking at Liu Ru. "We don't care about right or wrong—whoever's fighting gets taken down, then questioned later. The city's prison system is under our control. Ten days, half a month inside—that's routine."

"That's a high price to pay for a fight," Liu Ru muttered in disbelief.

"Our time is precious, and we're not professional mediators, so we act as quickly as possible," Xie Yanluo said with a slight smile. "Of course, rapid response members are elite, but given their age and background, their actual strength isn't that high. Still, this is Nightleaf City. No one wants trouble with the Society here, not even West City."

"For example, if we got into a fight and your rapid response team showed up, and we beat them, what then?" Su Ziye, who had been silent, suddenly asked. Such questions, posed to a professional, could be quite interesting.

"While they're not invincible, few can take them all down," Xie Yanluo replied, spoon still in her mouth. "If you manage to defeat them all, the incident escalates, and a captain-level officer will come, possibly with an instructor, depending on the situation."

"If you're exceptional enough to defeat both captain and instructor, then a professor-level faculty member will be summoned to deal with you. Among them are those of Heavenly Rank, and some of Nightleaf City's restraints will be activated. At that point, it's essentially war."

"Sounds like kicking a hornet's nest," Liu Ru remarked.

"Exactly. The response escalates step by step. In the final stage, if you aren’t killed on the spot, you’ll be facing at least fifty years in prison," Xie Yanluo said, tilting her head with a mischievous smile. "So most people simply give up resistance and let the rapid response team take them away."

"And since both flying and teleportation are forbidden in Nightleaf City, escaping is extremely difficult."

"This really is the safest place in the world," Liu Ru said with feeling.

"You're not wrong," Xie Yanluo said softly. "But in truth, the Snow Burial Society still faces 'falling snow' every year."

"'Falling snow'?" Liu Ru was curious.

"It means dying in action," Xie Yanluo explained. "As the president says, violent institutions are always the focus of the deepest hatred. Of the academy’s three major organizations, only we are constantly at the front lines. Even if we’re all geniuses, most haven’t had time to truly grow yet. If our opponents are bent on causing harm, we’re not necessarily much stronger than anyone else."

Liu Ru was taken aback; she hadn’t realized it was so dangerous.

When all was said and done, the Snow Burial Society was merely a student organization.

Noticing Liu Ru’s expression, Xie Yanluo smiled. "Well, it’s getting late. Thank you for your hospitality. Are you heading back now, or do you want to look around some more?"

"Let’s rest here a while," Liu Ru replied softly. "There’s tea and pastries, it’s quiet and cool. Why don’t you take a nap?"

"Are you tired?" Xie Yanluo asked, looking at Liu Ru. "If you’re sleepy—"

"You didn’t sleep at all last night, did you?" Liu Ru interrupted, gazing at her. "You got up at dawn to wait for us. I don’t know what happened, but get some rest."

"We’ll wait here for you."

Xie Yanluo looked at the golden-haired girl before her. Her eyes shimmered faintly.

Then, the young woman leaned back into the soft chair and closed her eyes.

She sat there, and in an instant, all signs of life faded.

She had fallen asleep.

"Impressive," Liu Ru whispered, watching Xie Yanluo sleep.

"She must have been exhausted, just holding on until now," Su Ziye said quietly. "I wonder if everyone in the Snow Burial Society is this stubborn."

"If I hit her now, what would happen?" he mused aloud.

"That would count as assaulting an officer," Xie Yanluo said, opening her eyes.

"So you weren’t asleep after all," Su Ziye remarked.

"If you could be a bit quieter," Xie Yanluo replied.

She closed her eyes again.

This time, she truly fell asleep.