Chapter 13: Re-washing the Marrow

  In the parking lot of the Lemon Mountain Hotel, an off-road vehicle had been parked for a long time, but its owner forgot to turn off the engine, and the engine was still humming.

  Li Meng and Bao Ren in the car were powerless, sitting limply on their seats, covered in sweat. Meanwhile, Zhang Daoshi, wearing a tattered Taoist robe, was quietly treating his facial injuries beside the vehicle.

  The off-road vehicle started from the execution ground of Mangshan, because the direction of the car head and Mangshan were opposite, they turned a big bend, running more than 100 kilometers before returning to Mangshan County. During this time, the average speed was over 100 km/h, and the rugged mountain road was also driven very fast by Bao Ren, who usually didn't have such driving skills, especially at night.

  It is said that a great man once said that when danger comes, human potential will erupt in a spurt of growth. Tonight's events have proven this point well.

  After a long time, Li Meng finally came to his senses and looked at Zhang Daoshi outside the car. His eyes had a hint of resentment, this Zhang Daoshi was really not reliable!

  Of course, Li Meng also understood that Zhang Daoshi's Taoist practice was still not bad, but unfortunately, he encountered the female ghost of the execution ground tonight and had to be stronger, which led to such a miserable situation.

  "Go upstairs and rest, we'll make plans for tomorrow." Zhang Daoshi's face was a bit awkward in the dark of night, but he had regained his usual air of righteousness.

  "Are you going to spend the night in the car, Bao?" Li Meng couldn't help but tease, seeing that Bao Ren was still frozen in the driver's seat.

  "Wait for me!"

  Bao Ren's mouth twitched, he hastily got out of the car and shut the door, then hurriedly followed up, forgetting to lock the car door, not even taking the keys.

  As they reached the front door, Zhang Daoshi suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around and forced a stiff smile at Li Meng and Bao Ren: "Tonight's matter is of great importance, it must be kept top secret, none of you should leak it out, not even to people within Yan Huang."

  Zhang Daoshi looked at Li Meng with a serious expression. Tonight's matter was truly embarrassing, and if it spread back to the Yan Huang Academy, he would lose all face in front of others.

  "Please rest assured, Zhang Daoshi. This secret will be known only to the three of us tonight and won't be leaked to anyone else, not even a beast!" Bao Ren solemnly guaranteed.

  "Yes, what Director Bao said is also what I wanted to say." Li Mang's face was also stern.

  "Hmm, you guys have a death aura on you. Remember to go back to your room and take a bath immediately, then wear this peace talisman on your body, it has the effect of driving away evil spirits and calming the mind." Zhang Daoshi nodded in satisfaction, handed each of them a yellow talisman, and led the way into his own room with an air of righteousness.

  Li Meng and Bao Ren stared at each other, not saying a word, then took the peace charms and returned to their rooms separately. Their hearts were still racing fast, where was the mood to mock Zhang Daoshi?

  According to Zhang Daoshi's instructions, after Li Meng returned home, he first took a bath and then put the peace charm in his shirt pocket. As it turned out, the effect of this peace charm was quite obvious. Not long after wearing it, the chill on his body gradually disappeared, and his uneasy mind was soon calmed down.

  "Zhang Daoshi's seal fee is not bad." Recalling Zhang Daoshi's performance, Li Meng's belated cry of laughter finally appeared on his face.

  Then, Li Mang picked up the quilt on the bed and grasped it tightly. Fortunately, there was this quilt tonight, otherwise tomorrow would be his funeral day. Thinking back to the scene at that time, Li Mang still had cold sweat.

  Li Meng didn't think that the ghost hitting the wall was only aimed at Bao Ren, who was driving. If it wasn't for him having a dazed expression and not falling into an illusion, Bao Ren would have probably driven the car off the cliff already. The three corpses will appear in tomorrow's news headlines: "Three men from Ningmeng Mountain die in car accident after drunk driving."

  "Never mind, let's just play a game of Wild Chicken to pass the time!" Li Mang thought back to the scene earlier and still had lingering fear, so he hastily took out the Shan Hai Jing from his chest area and entered it with ease.

  The real world was already in the early morning hours, but the Shan Hai Jing world still had a clear sky of ten thousand miles, without sun or moon. Perhaps this strange space didn't have day and night at all.

  Zhāo yáo shān, lì jī shuǐ àn biān.

  English Translation:

  The mountain sways, by the beautiful waterside of Liji.

  Li Meng took out the air gun from the big hemp bag, loaded the bullets, compressed the air, thought for a moment, and then picked up a mountain knife with him, carefully walking towards the upper Xiangfei bamboo forest. The wild chicken last time was also coming out of the Xiangfei bamboo forest.

  "Psst!"

  The sound of scratching in front made Li Meng's spirit shake, and he quietly approached, finally crouching in front of a small stone pile, only to find that it was a group of wild chickens digging the ground, with as many as six, each one plump and delicious.

  They were still about twenty meters apart, but the pheasants had already discovered him, showing their keenness. However, they didn't seem to be afraid; instead, they proudly ruffled the feathers on their necks and even slowly walked towards him.

  "Bang!"

  A gunshot rang out, and the largest one at the front fell to the ground, spinning wildly in place, struggling frantically, with a bloody hole on its head.

  "Hehe! Hahaha!"

  The remaining five, startled, ruffled their feathers and cautiously looked at Li Mang in front of them. Although they didn't dare to approach easily again, they still surrounded the fallen 'head' and were reluctant to leave.

  Li Mang quickly loaded the bullets, pumped air into the air gun, and aimed at the front again. However, he didn't fire for a long time, after all, one was enough to eat, and shooting more would be a waste.

  Li Mang thought for a moment, then crouched down and grabbed a stone to fiercely throw at the flock of chickens, trying to scare away these five wild chickens.

  "Oh oh oh......"

  If it were a pheasant in the real world, it would run as far as it could at this time, but here is the Shan Hai Jing world, a space filled with wildness.

  The stone that Li Meng smashed over was like poking a beehive, and the five wild chickens not only didn't leave, but instead clucked and ran over, each with an imposing momentum, majestic and formidable!

  Li Meng was shocked and pale, hastily raised his gun, took aim, and quickly pulled the trigger.

  "Bang!"

  Another pheasant fell down, but the remaining four were getting closer and closer. This was not enough to let Li Mang load his gun with bullets, let alone compress air.

  Li Mang abruptly put down the air gun and picked up the machete beside him, vigilantly guarding against the front while slowly retreating.

  "Cough! Cough!"

  As the wild chicken approached, Li Meng made a decisive move and swung his mountain-opening knife with all his might - "Whoosh!"

  One wild chicken was split in two, and the remaining three were frightened into a daze.

  Li Meng did not want to miss this opportunity, quickly drew his knife and frantically chopped, the knife rose and fell. Now his physique was extremely strong, his strength was great, and his speed had also improved accordingly. After a round of fighting, he also killed the remaining three wild chickens with frantic slashes.

  Looking at the remains of the wild chicken on the ground, Li Meng suddenly had an epiphany. This world of Shan Hai Jing was not as harmonious as he had imagined. Just a wild chicken could be so crazy and its strength was not weak either. If his body hadn't undergone marrow washing two days ago, he might not even be able to defeat this flock of chickens.

  The wild chickens on Mount Zhaoyao are like this, what about the terrifying apes of the second hall, Tongting Mountain? And after that? Thinking of these things, Li Mang's body had a strange pressure.

  With a pickaxe, Li Meng dug a big hole in the ground and buried all the wild chicken corpses, only carrying the first "Chicken King" he hit back. Subconsciously, the world of Shan Hai Jing had already been regarded as his own territory, and naturally did not want to see dead chickens polluting this beautiful space.

  The source of the Lijiang River, Li Mang moved rocks and set up a simple stove, also found dry firewood and dead leaves, lit a raging fire under the stove, and then put the iron pot that had been washed clean in the spring water on top, scooped up clear water to start boiling.

  While busy with these, Li Meng was also thinking about the future, especially the planning of the Shan Hai Jing world. Exploring the following fields is a must. Next time he has time, he must start making bamboo rafts. The bamboo in front can be used, and it's best to use beautiful Xiang Fei bamboo to make bamboo rafts. He also had preparations for柴刀 (chopper) and绳索 (ropes).

  Of course, before exploring the Hall of Courtyard Mountain, he had to first get a good sense of the size of Mount Zhaoyao. How big was it? Were there any other animals besides wild chickens? And were there any other magical plants besides the Labyrinthine Lotus? These were all things he needed to understand.

  "Huh? A turtle!" Li Meng suddenly saw a small creature crawling up from the lower reaches of the stream into the shallow water area, its head was not big, only about two fists in size, but its appearance was ferocious and frightening, with a strong metallic feel to its shell, looking like it had some age.

  However, just as Li Mang thought he could add a meal, the little guy raised his long neck like a snake, and with a pair of small eyes scanning back and forth, he suddenly discovered the existence of this "fierce beast" from afar. With a splash, the little turtle broke through the water and left.

  "Ah, this little guy has become a spirit!" Li Meng was taken aback as he picked up the mountain-opening knife, feeling slightly regretful but not overly entangled.

  More than half an hour later, a pot of delicious chicken soup was finally cooked. There were no ceramic bowls, but Li Mang had bought disposable bowls and chopsticks at the supermarket. He abandoned all other distracting thoughts and began to devour the food with gusto.

  But unlike last time's haste, this time Li Meng carefully felt the changes in his body after taking the wild chicken, and the warm feeling was very clear, but slightly less than last time.

  This time, the effect of the chicken king medicine was even greater, but after all, he had already taken it once, and the effect that could be exerted was naturally not as obvious as the first time. However, in the end, he still got drunk, his whole body felt like it was on fire, yet there was no discomfort at all, instead feeling very comfortable. After dinner, he finally cleaned up the scene with great difficulty, and then returned to the real world, lying down on the bed and falling asleep immediately.

  As he fell asleep, Li Meng's body turned red and hot like a cooked bun. If someone had reached out to touch him at that moment, they would have felt the heat. At the same time, his skin was also sweating and emitting a foul odor.

  ……

  P.S: It's already March 1st, from today on, I'll try to update twice a day, the first chapter will be after midnight at 12 o'clock, and the second chapter will be at noon or in the evening.