Chapter 54

"Really? You want to lease Ghost Lake for fish farming?" Xiao Yangzhou stood up from his chair with a start, clearly not expecting Li Mang's first words upon his return to be this.

"That's right. Most of the water in Ghost Lake comes from mountain springs, making it very suitable for fish farming. Moreover, the scenery of the newly dug ponds can't compare to that of Ghost Lake, and it can save costs. As long as we build fences around it and lay some floor tiles, it will become a ready-made fishing spot. If we plant some lotus flowers, it will be even more beautiful," Li Mang explained confidently.

"But..." Xiao Yangzhou opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words. As a young man of the new era, could he really say that there were ghosts in Ghost Lake?

"Are you worried about the supernatural events at Ghost Lake?" Li Mang knew what he was going to say and smiled. "Don't worry, there won't be any more supernatural events at Ghost Lake in the future."

"You mean... that thing has been dealt with?" Xiao Yangzhou asked, hinting at something. As for what 'that thing' was, even he wasn't sure, and since Li Mang didn't say, he didn't want to ask, despite his curiosity.

Li Mang nodded gently.

"This... still won't work. You don't know, for some reason, the fish in Ghost Lake never grow big. There are a lot of small fish, but large fish are extremely rare," Xiao Yangzhou still had his doubts, perhaps because the impression of Ghost Lake in his mind was too bad.

"The large fish were eaten by 'that thing.' Since it's gone, why worry about the fish not growing big?" Li Mang explained the reason.

"Since the boss has already said so, why should we worry? We'll lease Ghost Lake and the entire mountain behind it tomorrow and start raising fish," Ge Xuelin interjected, seeing Li Mang's determination and interrupting Xiao Yangzhou's indecision.

"Alright!" Xiao Yangzhou had no choice but to agree.

Since it was already night, Li Mang stayed at Xiao Yangzhou's house. After they all went to sleep, he quietly entered the Shanhaijing space. The encounter with the tiger python today made him more eager to explore the area, so he spent more time clearing the path through the Yuanji Mountain. His 'Xionghuang Passage' had already reached the middle, where there were more types of worms and a dense population of snakes, which caused considerable interference with his construction work.

The next day, Li Mang bid farewell to Taocun Village and returned to Yanjing, entrusting the construction of the villa to Xiao Yangzhou and Ge Xuelin. With their help, Li Mang felt very reassured.

Yanhuang Compound.

"You're back, sit down!" Yang Fan gestured for Li Mang to sit opposite him and personally poured him a cup of tea before smiling. "The organization is very pleased with what happened with the tiger python yesterday. The higher-ups have asked me to give you a good reward."

"Verbal praise?" Li Mang asked, puzzled.

"Of course not... In addition to sharing a portion of the medicine refined by the Ghost Doctor, you will receive a cash reward of ten million yuan. Also, the library will grant you access to the second basement level, a privilege only members with over fifty years of cultivation can enjoy. Additionally, you will receive a yellow-grade weapon." Yang Fan listed the rewards one by one, but before he finished, he adjusted his glasses and added, "The last one is that you can receive help from a fifty-year-cultivation expert once. As long as the task does not violate principles, the organization will arrange for a strong expert to assist you. Notably, this can be for your personal matters."

"It seems pretty good." Li Mang pondered, analyzing the benefits of the five rewards in his mind. Ten million yuan wasn't very useful; he could just transfer it to Taocun Villa. He was very interested in the medicine refined by the Ghost Doctor.

The privilege to enter the second basement level of the library was quite good. He hadn't forgotten what the old man in the library had said: with fifty years of cultivation, one could read the original Shanhaijing, which he desperately needed. As for the yellow-grade weapon, he didn't understand it.

The last reward, the opportunity to find a helper, seemed to have limited use. At least for now, he didn't know how to use it and wasn't sure how strong a fifty-year-cultivation expert was.

"You young man... don't be ungrateful." Yang Fan, unable to help but laugh, said seriously, "Ten million yuan is just the basic reward. If you don't like it, that's fine, but the others are very rare."

"Manager Yang, could you explain a bit more? Otherwise, I won't know what to do, and I'm completely in the dark!" Li Mang humbly asked.

"Alright, I'll explain." Perhaps satisfied with Li Mang's recent performance, Yang Fan didn't refuse and began to analyze each point: "The library has five levels. The first floor is for secular reading materials, and all members of the Yanhuang Compound can borrow them. The first basement level is for yellow-grade reading materials, also jokingly called the 'Yellow Floor.' It contains some secrets unknown to the world and many ancient martial arts manuals. All official members of Yanhuang can access it."

"The second basement level is the 'Mysterious Floor,' where the materials are even more valuable. Normally, only members with over fifty years of cultivation can access it, but remember, no books or materials from the Mysterious Floor can be borrowed or copied; they can only be read inside."

"The third basement level is the 'Earth Floor,' which can only be entered by members with over a hundred years of cultivation. I don't even know what's down there." At this point, Yang Fan habitually adjusted his glasses.

Hearing this, Li Mang was not calm. He hadn't expected such a seemingly ordinary library to hide so many secrets. At the same time, he roughly deduced Yang Fan's strength, which was between fifty and a hundred years of cultivation, more than twice his own.

Yang Fan, unaware of Li Mang's thoughts, sighed and continued, "As for the fourth basement level, the highest level 'Heaven Floor,' only five people in the entire Yanhuang know what's inside... However, these are not things we can think too much about. Your current cultivation level allows you to enter the 'Mysterious Floor,' which is not only compensation from the organization but also a form of cultivation. You must cherish it!"

"Definitely!" Li Mang said seriously, understanding that he had made the right choice by reporting the tiger python, earning the trust of the Yanhuang leadership.

Yang Fan nodded and then moved on to the next topic: "Regarding weapons, we also rank them as 'Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow.' Heaven-grade is the highest, and Yellow-grade is the lowest. This time, the organization is giving you a Yellow-grade weapon. Don't underestimate it; the environment is different from ancient times. Even I, as the head of Group Nine, can only勉强 use a Mysterious-grade weapon. As for Heaven-grade, whether it still exists is another matter; at least, I have never heard of it."

Li Mang nodded silently, having received a lot of information today and needing time to digest it.

"As for the last reward, it's not high, but it's not low either. A fifty-year-cultivation expert is already very impressive, and there are only a few in our Group Nine. It depends on how you use it; it might play a significant role at a critical moment." Yang Fan couldn't say more about the last reward and left it for Li Mang to consider.

After Li Mang nodded to indicate he understood, Yang Fan said, "Let's go choose a weapon now!"

...

PS: Posting one chapter first.

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