Chapter 9

After returning from Old Cao's yard, Li Mang found his courtyard gate open, and there were sounds of searching inside. This made his heart, which had just settled, race again. He could only pretend to be calm and walk in.

Fortunately, the jade and chicken feathers had already been sent back to the Shanhaijing world; otherwise, today would have been a difficult situation to handle. He knew all too well the strictness of the Yanhuang Discipline Committee.

Inside the house, Yang Fan was sitting in the living room with a blank expression, while a few people were carefully searching the bedroom, kitchen, and other places. Apart from Yang Fan and his assistant, the rest were members of the Yanhuang Discipline Committee, 'assisting' Yang Fan in the investigation.

Seeing Li Mang return, Yang Fan's eyelids lifted slightly.

"Manager Yang, what are you doing here?" Li Mang walked into the living room, feigning shock and confusion.

"Routine investigation!" Yang Fan adjusted his glasses, his eyes sharp as he looked at Li Mang, trying to find any signs of abnormality. Although he had protected Li Mang in front of Cai Cai, it didn't mean he wasn't serious about the investigation. As Cai Cai had said, the Yanhuang Compound was an important place, and no mistakes could be made. Li Mang had poisoned the dog this time, but what about next time?

Li Mang didn't meet his gaze, but he looked relieved.

"Sit down, I have a few questions for you," Yang Fan indicated.

"Okay!" Li Mang didn't hesitate, sitting opposite Yang Fan. Standing was too stressful; he was worried his legs would tremble and give him away.

A man in a Zhongshan suit walked out of the room. Although he didn't speak, his presence was a clear sign of supervision. The Discipline Committee didn't even give Yang Fan any face.

"When did you become so close with Da Wang?" Yang Fan asked in a gentle tone, as if they were having a casual conversation, which didn't put too much pressure on Li Mang.

"Maybe because we've been in contact a lot," Li Mang replied.

"Is that so?" Yang Fan looked at him.

"Yes!" Li Mang nodded seriously.

Yang Fan nodded, not pressing further on this question. "Good! I have another question. Did you know that Da Wang was barking all night last night?"

"Xiao Pihai mentioned it to me at breakfast," Li Mang answered truthfully.

"What did you feed Da Wang?" Yang Fan suddenly asked, his tone becoming extremely serious. A faint authority emanated from him, and his eyes fixed on Li Mang.

Li Mang's heart tightened, but he quickly reacted, looking shocked and wronged. "I didn't feed Da Wang any drugs!"

Seeing Li Mang's denial, disappointment flashed in Yang Fan's eyes, and his expression turned cold. "Did you feed Da Wang anything yesterday afternoon?"

It sounded like a question, but Yang Fan's tone was assertive.

"Yes, some chicken bones," Li Mang answered truthfully.

"According to the Discipline Committee's investigation, the reason Da Wang barked all night was because of what you fed him. You should give me an explanation," Yang Fan said, clearly angry.

"This... This is impossible! I ate the stewed chicken too, it couldn't have been poisoned!" Li Mang stood up abruptly, looking innocent.

"..." Seeing Li Mang's innocent look, Yang Fan's thick eyebrows raised slightly, and his doubts wavered. But he remained calm and asked, "Stewed chicken? What ingredients did you use?"

"Three ginseng roots, which you gave me before, a small bag of citron, two teaspoons of salt, and five grams of infant stone powder," Li Mang answered without hesitation.

"Infant stone powder? What is that?" Yang Fan asked, focusing on the key point, while ignoring the ginseng, citron, and salt.

"Infant stone has a calming effect. It was left by the Ghost Doctor during his last visit and he instructed me to take it," Li Mang answered, having the answer ready in his mind.

"Shi, go and verify this with the Ghost Doctor!" Yang Fan signaled to a young man in black, his assistant.

"Yes!"

The man in the Zhongshan suit also signaled to one of his subordinates, who nodded and followed Shi out. Yang Fan ignored this; the Yanhuang Discipline Committee was always this strict, and even he couldn't change that.

As Shi left, the atmosphere in Li Mang's courtyard became oppressive, and no one spoke. Yang Fan and his team were waiting for the final confirmation, while Li Mang, though confident the Ghost Doctor would confirm his story, still felt nervous, his palms sweating.

Li Mang even thought about what he would do if the truth came out. Admit to the Shanhaijing? Absolutely not. Even if he were arrested, he wouldn't do that. He would rather hide in the Shanhaijing world.

But what about his family? Would Yanhuang target them?

Li Mang felt anxious and restless, but he had to maintain a calm appearance.

Shi soon returned and reported to Yang Fan, "The Ghost Doctor has confirmed this. He also mentioned that the amount of infant stone powder for animals should be one-tenth of that for humans. If the dose is too high, it can overstimulate the brain, causing excitement. Da Wang's symptoms last night were definitely due to an overdose of infant stone powder."

The man from the Discipline Committee also nodded to his leader.

Li Mang's expression relaxed.

Yang Fan's tense face also relaxed. He stood up, patted Li Mang's shoulder, and said, "I shouldn't have doubted you, but this is the Yanhuang Compound, and you must understand our concerns... Rest well today, and come to work as usual tomorrow. We're leaving!"

After seeing Yang Fan and his team off, Li Mang collapsed on the sofa, drenched in sweat, his limbs weak. He didn't doubt that he had just narrowly escaped a life-threatening situation. If any abnormalities were found, the punishment would be unimaginable.

The Yanhuang Compound offered good benefits, and everything else was fine, but it was very sensitive to any abnormalities. Today's investigation was an inevitable consequence, as Yang Fan had said, the Yanhuang Compound was a special place that couldn't afford any mistakes, or the impact would be significant.

Using Da Wang for the experiment was indeed a poor decision, and Li Mang was sweating profusely over his rashness. But before this, he never imagined that a wild chicken could have such a powerful effect.

"I need to be more careful for a while and avoid entering the Shanhaijing world as much as possible," Li Mang muttered to himself, even though the investigation was over, he still needed to be cautious.

So, he didn't go anywhere that day, just read books in his courtyard or slept. When he was hungry, he cooked in the kitchen. This was actually a habit he had kept, as the Yanhuang Compound had many peculiar people, and he generally didn't go out unless necessary, and others wouldn't suspect him for it.

During this time, Li Mang had several urges to enter the Shanhaijing world, but he ultimately resisted. The Yanhuang Compound was a deep and complex place, and he needed to be cautious. Over the past six months, he had lived in peace, and the Yanhuang Compound seemed calm, but Li Mang knew that this was because he was just a minor character, and all the turmoil was unrelated to him.

But if the Shanhaijing were exposed, he would be at the center of a storm, and in the frenzy of the giant sharks, he would likely be torn apart.

...

The next day, Li Mang arrived early at the office area of Group Nine. It was a large courtyard, not far from his own, surrounded by the residences of Old Cao, Snake Grandma, Xiao Pihai, Yang Fan, and others, all members of Group Nine.

It's worth mentioning that the Yanhuang Compound was divided into nine groups, from one to nine, each with a manager. The manager of Group Nine was Yang Fan, responsible for over a dozen people with special abilities, acting as their agent, handling their tasks, living arrangements, and medical care.

Group Nine had few staff: Yang Fan, his assistant Shi, Li Mang, and a cleaning aunt. Fortunately, they were only responsible for a dozen or so people, and apart from Old Cao and Xiao Pihai, who were somewhat abnormal, the rest were normal, and some even lived outside the compound, so Li Mang and others could manage.

At his desk, Li Mang found a few documents on the fax machine. He picked them up and saw that two were notifications, one of which was about him.

"Notice of the Cancellation of the Li Mang 'Poisoning' Incident"

The notice was brief, approving Yang Fan's investigation report from the previous day and defining the incident as a misjudgment. The Discipline Committee signed it.

With this, the crisis was truly over.

Li Mang raised an eyebrow, put the notice away, and then looked at the last fax, titled "Guangxi Mengshan Paranormal Incident: Mengshan Ghosts."

The content stated that a paranormal incident had occurred in a village in Mengshan County. Despite multiple police investigations, no results were found, and several detectives and police officers were lost. The situation was serious, and it was confirmed that there were signs of superhuman abilities involved. Therefore, the relevant authorities had submitted the case to Yanhuang for handling, and the Yanhuang Task Force had assigned it to Group Nine to resolve.

Li Mang was already used to paranormal cases, so he didn't think much of it. Seeing Yang Fan just enter, he handed him the fax. "Manager Yang, there's a new task today."

"Hmm?" Yang Fan took it and quickly read through it, frowning in thought before handing it back to Li Mang. "You'll be in charge of this."

"…What?" Li Mang thought he had heard wrong.

"Don't you want to go out?" Yang Fan asked, not looking up as he organized his things.

"I do, but I'm just an ordinary person, Manager Yang, don't joke!" Despite his inner excitement, Li Mang shook his head vigorously. Although his strength was several times what it used to be, it was still limited. After all, it was just a wild chicken, not a divine medicine. Facing paranormal ghosts would definitely scare him.

"Don't worry, you won't have to fight. Daoist Zhang will handle it. You just need to assist, like a helper," Yang Fan explained.

"Like that…" Li Mang was already tempted but still looked at Yang Fan in confusion. If he remembered correctly, his position as a 'clerk' didn't qualify him for field missions. Even if it did, it would only be for tasks like buying supplies in the city. Moreover, he had only been at Yanhuang for six months, and the probation period was a year, so he wouldn't even have a vacation.

Yang Fan knew what Li Mang was thinking and said before he could speak, "The group has been very busy lately, with tasks everywhere. I and Shi can't handle it all, so you'll have to go… Besides, you've been through a lot in the past six months, and you were misunderstood yesterday. This is a chance to reward you with a trip."

"File the mission, pack your bags, and leave with Daoist Zhang. Here's ten thousand yuan for expenses, accommodation, and other needs. Remember to bring back the receipts for reimbursement. You should know the rest," Yang Fan handed him a small package containing a bank card, various documents, and a satellite phone, which might be needed for the mission.

The surprise was sudden, and Li Mang took the documents from Yang Fan in a daze. It wasn't until he returned to his courtyard that he felt the joy. The paranormal case didn't matter much to him, but it gave him a chance to prepare some equipment for exploring the Shanhaijing world. The timing couldn't have been better.

...

PS: Early update, hoping for recommendations.

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