Chapter 44

After Li Mang finished testing the Destiny Sky Plate, he only nodded slightly to Yang Fan, his face still looking grim and uneasy.

Yang Fan looked at him curiously but didn’t ask Li Mang anything in front of everyone. He carefully put away the Destiny Sky Plate and then turned to Chen Hui, saying, "Chengdu is a border area, and our security capabilities are poor. I suggest you move to Yanjing to settle down. We will send official personnel to assist you in transferring your wealth and assets. What do you think?"

"Yanjing?" Chen Hui couldn’t make the decision himself, so he turned to his wife and daughter behind him. After this incident, coupled with the Destiny Sky Plate being taken, the Chen family had a knot in their hearts and no longer wanted to stay in this place of sorrow. After a discussion, they all agreed.

However, Chen Hui had one last request, and he asked coldly, "Can you help me get rid of the Wu family?"

The Wu family was suspected of forcibly taking the Destiny Sky Plate, which left the Chen family with a deep grudge. Therefore, Chen Hui asked Yang Fan to severely punish the Wu family.

"Sure!" Yang Fan thought for a moment and agreed. The Wu family practiced ancient martial arts, and the Yanhuang regulations stipulated that they should not overly interfere in secular affairs. However, the Wu family used their abilities to seek power and profit, which already violated Yanhuang’s requirements, not to mention that they had also caused trouble for Li Mang. Now that the Chen family had made the request, Yang Fan readily agreed and immediately began to investigate the Wu family.

The results confirmed Li Mang’s guess. The masked man at the time was indeed the Wu family’s patriarch, Wu Long’s grandfather, who was recuperating in a cellar. He didn’t expect Yang Fan to suddenly arrive and was executed without a chance to escape.

At dawn, news of Wu Hong’s corruption and downfall spread in Chengdu, causing a nationwide stir. The internet was filled with voices of joy and satisfaction. The Wu family, once powerful in Chengdu, became history overnight...

"Manager Yang, I want to take a couple of days off." When Yang Fan was about to return to the Yanhuang Compound, Li Mang proactively asked for leave.

Since testing the Destiny Sky Plate, Li Mang’s face had been grim. Yang Fan, adjusting his glasses, asked with concern, "What did you see? If I can help, just say so, and I might be able to assist you!"

"It’s nothing much, just some matters of the heart. Thank you for your concern, Manager Yang." Li Mang smiled stiffly, scratching his head, a bit embarrassed.

"Oh!" Yang Fan suddenly understood, and with a bit of imagination, he guessed what it might be—something like a future girlfriend’s betrayal. He patted Li Mang’s shoulder understandingly and said, "From the Chen family’s performance, we can see that destiny can be reversed and changed. Since you’ve seen it in advance, you can avoid it, so there’s no need to worry."

"..." Li Mang’s stiff smile remained, but he didn’t explain. It was better for Yang Fan to misunderstand.

"Are you okay physically?" Yang Fan asked again.

"I’m fine now." Li Mang answered truthfully. His recovery was very strong, and although he still had some pain, he was no longer in danger.

"How about this: you escort the Chen family to Yanjing, and then take a good two-day break." This mission had nearly cost Li Mang his life due to intelligence errors. Perhaps out of guilt, Yang Fan gave Li Mang the greatest convenience, not only granting him two days off but also assigning him a task equivalent to a vacation.

"Thank you, Manager Yang." Li Mang’s face showed a hint of a smile. Although two days weren’t much, it was enough time to think about his own affairs in absolute freedom.

After Yang Fan and Grandma Snake handled the matters in Chengdu, they left that day. The Chen family still had many things to do to transfer their assets, and even with official assistance, they wouldn’t be able to set off until the afternoon of the next day. Li Mang, of course, couldn’t follow them 24/7. He went to the market to buy water boots and a large bag of realgar, which he carried into the Shanhaijing space.

Yuan Ji Mountain, the third mountain in the Southern Mountains listed in the Shanhaijing, is located after Tangting Mountain. The terrain is low and the ground is damp, leading to a unique ecosystem with many snakes and insects, and unusual trees.

Many half-meter-long belly worms hung from the trees, some slippery and others furry, like mutated caterpillars, which were unsettling to look at, even more so than venomous snakes, as humans have a natural aversion to such creatures.

In the ground, various strange snakes were abundant, both venomous and non-venomous, including two-headed and three-headed snakes. These creatures, though bizarre, never brought joy, only a sense of foreboding.

Snakes and insects fear realgar, which is why Li Mang bought a large bag of it. He hoped to use it to create a path he could walk freely.

Of course, in addition to realgar, he also brought a long snake tongs and cloth bags for capturing snakes. Since obtaining the Shanhaijing, Li Mang had become a qualified foodie. Eating was no longer just a matter of taste but also a form of cultivation. In Li Mang’s view, eating had become the highest realm of cultivation.

The environment on Yuan Ji Mountain was harsh, the ground wet and covered with a thick layer of decaying leaves. Li Mang couldn’t be sure if there were any well-hidden snakes under the leaves, so he was extra cautious even with water boots. He first used the snake tongs to beat the ground, "stirring the grass to startle the snakes," and sprinkled realgar powder on both sides to create a "realgar path."

The smell of realgar was pungent, and Li Mang didn’t like it, but he had to do it. He also had to watch out for the disgusting belly worms on the trees and the ground. This was the boundary between Yuan Ji Mountain and Tangting Mountain, so the wildlife on Yuan Ji Mountain was less abundant.

"Hisss!"

A thumb-thick, ten-inch-long black snake was startled by Li Mang. Its small body coiled up, its tiny eyes full of malice, and its blood-red tongue flicked out. If it were in Tangting Mountain, a white ape might have already attacked it, as it had little intelligence and a naturally aggressive nature, attacking any animal that entered its territory.

But today it didn’t, because its sensitive tongue had detected a smell it detested in the air, making it hesitant to approach.

"Too small, no meat, hard to kill. Let’s test the repelling power of realgar!" The foodie quickly identified the snake, finding no desire to cook it, and grabbed a handful of realgar from his bag to scatter.

"Hisss!"

The small snake, startled, immediately rolled back, especially finding the smell of realgar on its body unbearable. It slithered away in a few quick movements, its speed making Li Mang squint. He might be able to handle one or two such snakes, but if three or five attacked him simultaneously, Li Mang would have to run far away to survive. If bitten, the consequences would be unimaginable.

This was a venomous snake, and not an ordinary one. Its disgusting appearance made it easy to identify its terrifying toxicity, which was not comparable to the venomous snakes in the real world, whose toxicity had regressed.

...

PS: Please recommend.

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