Chapter 2

In the midst of the little brat's brute force pulling, Li Mang had no choice but to follow and come to Old Cao's courtyard. Sure enough, he found a raging fire inside, with the flames soaring high.

The Yanhuang Compound was naturally equipped with top-notch fire-fighting facilities, after all, it housed a group of abnormal non-humans, and it was always better to be prepared. At this moment, someone was already using a water gun to extinguish the fire, but unfortunately, there were simply too many books in Old Cao's courtyard, and the weather had been dry for months. Once the fire started, it was not easy to put out.

"Where's Old Cao!" the bespectacled boss Yang Fan asked anxiously.

"He just went out."

"… What about the one who can spray water!" The bespectacled boss was in a panic. The one who could spray water he referred to was a relatively normal water-type ability user.

"He's on a mission!"

"Damn!" The usually refined Yang Fan couldn't help but curse. He could only run to another courtyard to fetch a hose, but his heart was cold.

Burning the house was a minor issue; their Yanhuang organization was never short of money, and they could rebuild it. But if Old Cao's ancient books were burned, Old Cao would surely fly into a rage when he returned. The already restless courtyard would likely erupt into chaos, and the consequences would be unpredictable.

However, as the saying goes, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Old Cao, who had somehow learned that his house was on fire, hurried back. Seeing the flames in the courtyard, his eyes immediately turned bloodshot, and he roared in anger, "Who the hell set my courtyard on fire!!!"

The little brat instinctively shrank his neck and hid behind Li Mang.

"Little brat!" Old Cao, with his sharp senses, scanned the area with his red eyes. Two fire dragons appeared above his head, emitting a buzzing sound, and then darted toward Li Mang.

Li Mang's face turned pale with fear. He didn't dare to think and ran to the side. What a joke, he had seen Old Cao's fire abilities before, and they were not just powerful, but extremely powerful. Now, in his angry state, any attack he launched would surely reduce him to ashes.

"Bang!!!"

Li Mang could dodge, and the little brat was no exception. He followed Wu Rui and dodged, causing the fire dragons to miss and hit the ground. It was like a missile, shattering a large area of the floor, showing its formidable power. This made Li Mang's heart race and shudder, and he inwardly exclaimed, "My goodness."

However, the little brat, instead of dodging in any other direction, followed Li Mang to the same spot, which was clearly a suicidal move.

"Little brat, you're dead!" Indeed, in his rage, Old Cao paid no attention to Li Mang next to the little brat. Several more fire dragons shot through the air, this time with even greater power and speed.

The little brat, without a care for Li Mang's life, ran away, and by the time Li Mang reacted, it was already too late. He had only taken two steps when an explosion sounded behind him, deafening his ears and sending him flying.

Worse still, Li Mang's body was falling into the fire in the front courtyard...

"Save me!!!"

"Bang..."

Li Mang let out a cry for help before falling into the fire. He then felt intense heat enveloping his body. As for his screams, he couldn't remember them clearly, but they were extremely惨烈. However, at this point, no one would say he looked pitiful.

Instinctively, Li Mang struggled in the blazing fire, flailing his arms and legs like an ant on a hot pan. But all around him were burning books, like being in a sea of red-hot coals. The agony of the fire almost killed him, yet he couldn't escape, and his screams grew weaker and weaker.

Old Cao, with his fire abilities, could have saved Li Mang if he had acted in time. But you can never expect a mentally unstable person to do the right thing. Old Cao was only thinking about burning the little brat to death and didn't care about Li Mang's fate.

"Quick! Spray water in this direction, we must save Li Mang!" At this critical moment, it was the boss Yang Fan who came through, urgently directing people to save Li Mang.

Even so, it took nearly two minutes to completely extinguish the fire where Li Mang was, and such intense burning for two minutes would be fatal to a normal person. In fact, Li Mang had already fallen silent.

A nearby old man, who had been watching the commotion, suddenly became solemn and loudly recited, "Bow in mourning for our brave comrade Li Mang!"

He then bowed.

The group of 'patients' behind him also bowed.

A second bow.

A final third bow...

"Stop bowing, go save him quickly!" The bespectacled boss was almost choked with anger by this scene, but he knew he couldn't argue with these mentally unstable people. He quickly put down the water gun and rushed into the courtyard, finally finding Li Mang, who was almost lifeless, in a pile of wet, black ash.

...

Under the treatment of the Ghost Doctor, Li Mang managed to survive, but his body was burned, and it took him a full week to regain consciousness.

What was surprising, however, was that apart from his hair being burned off again, Li Mang only had minor burns on his skin, with no severe burns at all. This result amazed even the Ghost Doctor, who couldn't explain it.

However, in this mental institution, there were few normal people, and no one overly questioned why Li Mang survived the ordeal, only thinking he was lucky.

In his room in his own courtyard, Li Mang, with his head wrapped in bandages, looked puzzled. Everyone thought he had survived by luck, but he knew it wasn't entirely so.

When he fell into the fire, just before he lost consciousness, his struggling hand suddenly grabbed a cold object. His entire body seemed to be protected by ice, preventing the raging fire from causing him too much harm. This was the main reason he survived the ordeal.

Unfortunately, he had already fainted afterward and didn't know what happened next. He had carefully asked the bespectacled boss, but the other said he found nothing in his hands, and Old Cao's courtyard was left with only black ash, nothing else.

"Strange, I still vividly remember the feeling at that moment. It wasn't a hallucination caused by smoke inhalation. The cold object wasn't thick or smooth, but had a distinct texture. By touch, it felt like an ancient book. Could it have been burned?" Li Mang couldn't help but feel regretful.

It must have been a magical book.

If it were before, Li Mang would have found his thoughts absurd, but since joining Yanhuang, he had seen many strange things and knew that there were indeed many inexplicable things in the world.

As he was lamenting, Li Mang suddenly saw something and was stunned.

As soon as he finished speaking, an item 'emerged' from his chest, an ancient-looking book.

Li Mang instinctively caught it, and a familiar sensation spread through his body, cold and cool, just like when he was in the fire.

"Ha! Hahahaha!" Li Mang couldn't help but laugh wildly. He was too excited; this was the rhythm of good fortune after a great disaster!

"… What a pitiful child, not driven mad by these abnormal humans, but turned into a lunatic by a sudden fire!" The neighbors, hearing the laughter from Li Mang's courtyard, couldn't help but feel sympathy for him.

Li Mang, of course, didn't know what others were thinking. He only thought he had encountered some extraordinary opportunity. After a long time, he finally managed to suppress his excitement and hurriedly laid the ancient book flat on the bed, focusing his attention on it.

The material was unique, not paper but more like animal skin, though Li Mang couldn't immediately identify which animal's skin it was.

The cover was a watercolor landscape painting, with figures and animals, specifically flying immortals and ancient mythical beasts. One of them had a dragon's body and nine snake heads, its blood-red mouth open wide, looking fierce. Although it was just a watercolor painting, Li Mang felt a powerful aura from it and dared not look directly.

"Not simple at all!" Li Mang was not afraid but even more excited. After the past half year of trials, his heart had become tough, and he was no longer afraid of encountering strange things, only curious and eager.

On the cover, three crooked characters were written, with no other text.

"Shan Hai Jing" (The Classic of Mountains and Seas)

It was ancient script, but Li Mang, who had studied ancient literature, quickly recognized the three characters. They were from the famous ancient book, "The Classic of Mountains and Seas."

The origin of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" can be traced back to the pre-Qin period, a monumental work of ancient mythology. It contains information on geography, resources, witchcraft, religion, ancient history, medicine, folklore, and various aspects of ancient society, with a focus on mythical creatures. It is considered the source of Chinese mythology and the origin of all subsequent mythological stories.

However, due to its bizarre and strange content, it was often dismissed as absurd. Before joining Yanhuang, the science-believing Li Mang had only considered it a strange and bizarre book. But since joining the Yanhuang organization, his views had quietly changed, and his current experience further proved that this "Shan Hai Jing" was not simple.

Moreover, although "Shan Hai Jing" is recognized as a "pre-Qin masterpiece," the identity of its author remains a millennium-old mystery. According to its records, some say the author might have lived before the pre-Qin period, an era with few written records, the source of mythology.

"I wonder what it contains!" Li Mang suppressed his excitement, opened the first page, and found no copyright page, title page, or table of contents. Instead, there was a map, with the words "Nan Shan Jing" (The Classic of the Southern Mountains) written on it.