Chapter 15

The off-road vehicle was thrown off the cliff, and with a loud boom, the fire illuminated the entire night, also casting a white light on the faces of Daoist Zhang and Bao Ren.

"Rustle..."

There was a commotion in the shrubbery at the edge of the cliff, and Li Mang, with a dirty and disheveled appearance, crawled out. It turned out that at the moment the car fell off the cliff, he had managed to escape through the car door, thus avoiding death. However, it was night, and they couldn't see him.

"Secretary Li, you're not dead!" Bao Ren was overjoyed. He knew that if Li Mang hadn't kicked him out of the car just now, he would have been dead by now.

"Shut up!" Li Mang cursed, still feeling the lingering fear despite having escaped the danger. Thanks to the two times his body had been cleansed, his strength and agility were far superior to before. Otherwise, he would have either fallen to his death or been burned to death.

"Ha ha!"

The female ghost laughed sinisterly, breaking Li Mang's joy at his narrow escape. The rotting flesh on her face twitched, making people want to vomit.

"Brat, you've ruined my plans time and time again. I'll make you die!" The female ghost didn't attack Bao Ren, who was closest to her, but instead fixed her gaze on Li Mang. Her body floated lightly, gliding toward him, her hands raised in a strangling gesture.

"Ghost woman, how dare you!"

Daoist Zhang also snapped out of his surprise, enduring his injuries as he pulled out a yellow paper from his pocket and began to write a blood talisman with his hand.

But before he could finish, the female ghost was already close to Li Mang, baring her teeth in a grotesque smile. Her speed was extremely fast, and in a flash, she had Li Mang by the neck, lifting him up.

"Cough, cough..." Li Mang couldn't breathe properly, his face turning red. But he wouldn't give up without a fight. He raised his fist and struck the female ghost's head with all his might.

"Ha ha!" The female ghost laughed mockingly. She had the ability to block him, but she didn't. How could a mere mortal hurt her ghostly form?

"Bang!"

"Aah!"

The female ghost let out a惨叫, instinctively releasing Li Mang and crouching on the ground, clutching her head. She looked extremely painful, and her screams were terrifying.

Daoist Zhang and Bao Ren were both stunned by the scene.

Li Mang took several deep breaths but didn't dare to linger. He shouted, "Run, what are you still standing there for?"

"This way!"

With the car gone, the three of them could only run on foot. Li Mang was the fastest, always running at the front. Daoist Zhang, who was injured, followed behind, not much slower, but he was extremely shocked by Li Mang's speed. Although Daoist Zhang's strength wasn't in physical prowess, it was far beyond that of an ordinary person. Now, he was being left behind by Li Mang, which was truly unbelievable.

Bao Ren was the slowest. If it weren't for Li Mang's help, he would have been left far behind. Even so, Bao Ren was drenched in sweat, and when he looked back, he was so frightened that he fell to the ground, scraping his knee without feeling the pain.

The female ghost was floating closer, her face already terrifying, now even more so with anger. Her fangs were slightly exposed, making Bao Ren feel utterly hopeless.

However, to his surprise, the female ghost didn't even glance at him, continuing to fly forward. Even when she passed Daoist Zhang, she didn't stop, her gaze on Li Mang becoming even colder.

"Monster, don't be so arrogant!" Daoist Zhang, of course, wouldn't abandon Li Mang. He threw the blood talisman he had prepared.

"Stinking Daoist, get lost!" The female ghost roared, a black mist emanating from her palm, not only knocking the blood talisman away but also sending Daoist Zhang flying back, spitting out a large mouthful of blood, his face pale and lifeless.

But the female ghost didn't take the opportunity to kill Daoist Zhang; instead, she continued to chase after Li Mang!

"I don't have such a big grudge with you!" Li Mang was terrified, not daring to hesitate any longer. His legs moved like wheels, running frantically forward.

"Damn brat!"

The female ghost was so angry that her teeth ached. Last night, she could have had Bao Ren drive the car off the cliff, but this insignificant boy had ruined her plans. He had even ignored her ghostly powers.

And tonight, Li Mang not only saved Bao Ren again but also punched her, which completely enraged her. She hated Daoist Zhang, but she hated Li Mang even more. Daoist Zhang was a Celestial Master, so it wasn't surprising that he could hurt her, but Li Mang was just an ordinary person who had repeatedly provoked her. The female ghost naturally hated him even more.

But at this moment, the female ghost was also secretly shocked. This 'ordinary person's' escape speed was not much slower than hers. Despite her best efforts to catch up, she couldn't, which made her even more determined to chase him down and kill him as quickly as possible.

In the blink of an eye, Li Mang and the female ghost disappeared into the night.

Bao Ren helped the injured Daoist Zhang to his feet, feeling both relieved and worried as he looked in the direction Li Mang had fled. After all, Li Mang had saved his life multiple times, and he wasn't an ungrateful person. He asked anxiously, "Daoist Zhang, the female ghost has gone after Li Mang. What should we do?"

"Quickly gather a large group of people, police... no, soldiers. Soldiers have strong yang energy, and when gathered, even ghosts won't dare to approach!" Daoist Zhang instructed hurriedly.

"Okay... I'll notify them right away!" Bao Ren, feeling as if he had received a royal decree, pulled out his satellite phone and called the Mengshan Military District.

"Ring, ring, ring, ring!!!"

The alarm bells suddenly rang throughout the Mengshan Military District, waking the soldiers who had just fallen asleep. They quickly dressed and were ready in two minutes, two thousand soldiers in total.

Emergency drill?

Looking at the commander standing straight ahead, the soldiers couldn't help but think this was an emergency drill.

"Get in the vehicles, head to the Mengshan execution ground at full speed!" The commander gave the order and climbed into a military off-road vehicle, speeding off. In fact, the commander was also confused, but he didn't dare to take the order from the National Security Agency lightly.

The Yanhuang organization, though unknown to the public, often needed the support of the secular world. Therefore, they had a National Security identity, which allowed them to better mobilize the state's resources.

"Looks like this isn't an emergency drill."

"Could it be some urgent task?"

"I guess it might be a crackdown on bandits or criminals. The Mengshan Natural Forest isn't a new location for us."

"You don't know, the Mengshan execution ground has been haunted recently!"

"Haunted? We are modern socialist soldiers, we can't be superstitious!"

On a military vehicle, the soldiers were chatting, curious about the night's mission. Of course, most of them thought it was a crackdown on bandits or criminals. If it were really haunted, they would call in a priest, not soldiers.

At this moment, Li Mang's situation was not optimistic. In terms of speed, he was far inferior to the female ghost, and in terms of strength, he was even less of a match. Therefore, he had been caught multiple times and had to abandon the road, turning to a rugged mountain.

It was now early morning, and the night was still dim. Li Mang could only rely on his senses to run up the mountain path.

Li Mang's clothes were tattered, and he had many injuries. What was worse, these wounds were not ordinary. They were extremely painful, and in the dim light, he noticed that the wounds on his hands were turning black, a sign of the influence of death energy.

This situation was not unfamiliar to Li Mang. Daoist Zhang's injuries from last night were similar, but Daoist Zhang, being an expert, didn't mind. Li Mang, however, knew little about such things and had no idea how to treat them. The abnormal wounds made him feel uneasy and anxious.

As for the talisman given to him by Daoist Zhang, it was no match for a female ghost with decades of cultivation. After all, Daoist Zhang himself couldn't defeat her, let alone a low-level talisman he had drawn.

"Ha ha, brat, where do you think you can run?" The female ghost laughed sinisterly, but she was also extremely frustrated. After chasing for half an hour, she still couldn't kill Li Mang. This brat was like a slippery eel, hard to catch.

"There's a temple ahead!"

Li Mang ignored what the female ghost said. The appearance of the temple gave him hope, and his weakened body suddenly gained strength. He ran quickly, stumbling toward it.

It was a small shrine. Li Mang didn't know which deity it was dedicated to or whether the deity was truly powerful. The danger behind him left him no time to think.

"Bang!"

The sturdy wooden door was broken by Li Mang, and he stumbled inside.

"Damn brat!" The female ghost hovered at the temple entrance, hesitating.

There were many charlatans nowadays, but there was a saying in the folk: "The gods are made of wood, but they become powerful with many worshippers." This meant that the gods, originally just wooden statues, would become powerful if many people worshipped them.

This saying seemed unreasonable, but it wasn't entirely so. Statues worshipped and prayed to by many people would gradually absorb a mysterious power, thus becoming "powerful."

"There are few people around here, and this mountain shrine doesn't get many worshippers. Even if it's a real deity, it can't do anything to me!" The female ghost muttered to herself, then continued to chase into the shrine.

...

PS: Finally got the first official recommendation, even though it's just a small one. I still hope for a good start, so please give me your recommendations. Thank you.