Chapter 18: A Prize of $500,000

  When Li Meng woke up, it was already two days later. He opened his eyes to see a familiar ceiling, the small courtyard of Yan Huang's house. This made him dazed and lost in thought.

  "Awake?" Yang Fan pushed open the door and came in with a gentle smile.

  "Yang Guan Shi." Li Meng woke up with a start.

  "I've ordered food, let's wash up and come out to eat!" Yang Fan said with a smile.

  After washing up and dressing neatly, Li Mang went out to the living room and found that the cafeteria had already delivered the food, including stewed soup and fish meat, which were rare delicacies.

  Yang Fan didn't rush to speak, but instead invited Li Meng to eat first. Li Meng was already starving, so he naturally didn't stand on ceremony and wolfed down his food in big gulps.

  Until Li Mang was full, Yang Fan finally adjusted the glasses on his nose and said with a smile: "This time 'Ningmeng Mountain Female Ghost Case' has already come to an end, but it still needs you, the great contributor, to make a summary!"

  Isn't that so? Although the female ghost is dead, she leaves behind many doubts. The only person who knows the truth is Li Meng, but he happens to be unconscious for two days.

  "Great meritorious minister?" Li Mang sneered at himself. This time, he almost lost his life. He didn't want to be such a great meritorious minister again.

  Then Li Mang talked about the process of being chased by a female ghost, which was half true and half false, especially the part about the temple on Lemon Mountain: "The temple master is actually the murderer, but he cleverly framed the female ghost. Judging from the wealth in his room, the motive for the murder was money. The first victim was the richest man in Huang Village, and the second victim was just a scapegoat to confuse people."

  "Ah, I see!" Yang Fan suddenly realized, but this was obviously not his main concern, and he immediately asked: "According to Zhang Daoshi's words, this female ghost has a cultivation of 50 or 60 years. How did she die specifically?"

  "It's possible that Miao Zhuo was prepared in advance, so he had already prepared a turtle in the mountain temple as a precaution. Unfortunately, because of being entangled by the female ghost, he couldn't slaughter it and could only let me take action. When I took out the turtle's fresh blood, he had already been brutally murdered." Li Mang has lied many times before, but now when he talks about it, his eyebrows don't even twitch, and his expression is more genuine than the truth itself.

  "What a pity! A small soft-shelled turtle was wasted!" Yang Fan said regretfully.

  "Little turtle?" Li Mang looked at him in surprise.

  "Not bad, that black tortoise has a hint of the Softshell Turtle's bloodline and is also known as the Little Softshell Turtle. The last time it appeared was over a hundred years ago, I didn't think that today it would be reborn in such a dramatic fashion, but being able to kill a ghost creature with 50-60 years of cultivation is worth it." Yang Fan said.

  Li Mang felt that this black tortoise was quite valuable, and he curiously asked with anticipation: "Does this... little black whirlpool tortoise have any special effects?"

  Yang Fan didn't hide it either, and patiently introduced: "The medicinal value of the small turtle is very high, many diseases can be cured, more importantly, for us cultivators, people with special abilities, it is a great tonic, being able to take it is absolutely a great fortune!"

  Li Mang deeply agreed with this, although he had spat out more than half of the turtle blood after drinking it, but still a small part was absorbed by his body. Compared to the second time he washed his marrow, his strength now has increased greatly.

  Yang Fan paused and said, "Moreover, the entire body of the little turtle is a treasure. Not only is its flesh and blood precious, but its shell can also be used to forge weapons and refine magical artifacts. It's really hard to find one!"

  Li Mang's face had a strange smile, this small tortoise may be hard to find in the real world, but his Shan Hai Jing space should not lack it, these are all real treasures, thinking of the value of these small tortoises, Li Mang's eyes flashed with heat, although only for a moment.

  Li Meng described the case process, Yang Fan had no doubts, but the interrogation had just begun, and he immediately asked in a calm tone: "Where did your strength come from?"

  During this ghost-catching process, Li Meng had already exposed his own strength. In fact, at the beginning, Zhang Daoshi and Bao Ren didn't say much about Li Meng's story, after all, Li Meng was their benefactor, and they couldn't forget his kindness. Unfortunately, there were too many loopholes in their statements, which couldn't withstand the scrutiny of the Huang Yang task force. For example, how did Li Meng save Bao Ren at the critical moment? How did he outrun the female ghost? These are all questions.

  Under repeated questioning, Bao Ren had no choice but to reveal the truth of the matter, which left Yan Huangdai feeling shocked and incredulous. Who Li Meng was they knew all too well, how could he possibly possess such strength suddenly? Therefore, the Discipline Committee intervened again, asking Yang Fan to investigate the truth clearly, which led to his current inquiry.

  "After the last time I was burned by fire, I felt my strength slowly increasing." Li Mang knew this day would come, and he had been mentally prepared for it, but at this moment, he still showed signs of tension. Whether he was truly tense or just pretending to be, perhaps only he himself knew.

  "Did you start to awaken after being burned by fire last time?" Yang Fan asked in surprise. After suffering heavy injuries, there was a certain probability of awakening superpowers, but this probability was not generally small, and it was even one in ten thousand. He really didn't expect Li Meng to have such good luck. But then he adjusted his glasses and asked, "Why didn't you report to the organization in time?"

  It's precisely this excessive coincidence that makes people feel unbelievable and also raises doubts.

  Yang Fan categorized his powers as "Heterogeneous Awakening" under the main category, Li Mang couldn't help but feel secretly pleased, but on the surface he just said with a hint of embarrassment: "Although I felt my powers had increased before, it wasn't actually that obvious, and even a little kid could surpass me, so I didn't mention it to you, Yang."

  He paused for a moment, and Li Mang added uncertainly: "This time when the task encountered danger, the power in the body burst out thoroughly, maybe it was the potential breaking through!"

  "Ah, that's possible." Yang Fan nodded in agreement. What Li Mang said conformed to the signs of an Awakened Abnormality, so the doubt that had just been ignited was immediately extinguished.

  "Oh, and there's one more thing to report to Yang Guan. Li Mang suddenly patted his forehead and said: 'When preparing the turtle blood, due to being infected with corpse poison, my body was extremely weak, so I drank a cup, now it seems that the strength in my body has increased again.'"

  "...You drank a cup of the little turtle's blood?" Yang Fan stared at him with wide eyes, his heart racing inside. The little turtle was already considered a spiritual turtle, its blood was extremely precious!

  "It's a pity, but when I saw the corpse of Miao Zhu, I felt too nauseous, and with the terrifying rotting flesh on the female ghost's face, I threw up more than half of it. In the end, my body only absorbed a small part of it, what a waste!" Li Mang had a regretful expression, but in fact, he didn't think so in his heart. After all, as long as he had the Shan Hai Jing, he wasn't afraid of not having the little turtle.

  Yang Fan naturally didn't know these things, and upon hearing them, he also felt a sense of regret: "It's indeed a pity, this tortoise blood can wash the marrow of one's bones. If you could absorb a cup of it, your potential would be even greater... However, being able to absorb some is already not bad, don't be discontented, others can hardly even get a glimpse of it!"

  In the end, Yang Fan was so overwhelmed with emotion that he couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. What a fortunate thing it was that Li Mang had encountered all these coincidences! To have been awakened to his powers by being burned in fire, and then to have drunk the blood of the whirlpool turtle while being pursued - what incredible luck this was, enough to make even him feel envious.

  Yang Guanshi said so." Li Mang nodded humbly.

  "That's enough, you being able to awaken your special abilities means that you have a connection with the Yan Huang. I was right to recruit you into the Yan Huang in the first place!" Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and continued, "Give me a full-power punch, let me test just how strong you are!"

  "Hit you with all my might?" Li Mang was taken aback instantly.

  "Yes, use all your strength!" Yang Fan said without a smile.

  "Alright!" Li Meng knew that this superior was not simple, so he didn't hesitate or hide his strength. In an instant, he poured all his power into his fist and shouted as he punched towards Yang Fan - Bang!

  "Hmm, not bad!" Yang Fan exclaimed in surprise.

  Li Meng's face turned a deep crimson, all because his seemingly powerful punch was effortlessly caught by the opponent. This left him stunned and feeling inadequate in terms of strength. Although he had heard before that this superior officer was not ordinary, now it seemed that the opponent was even stronger than he had imagined!

  "In just a few short days, you've already gained nearly ten years of cultivation. This is truly rare and precious!" Yang Fan nodded in approval, then continued: "I'll help you apply to formally join the Yan Huang, but having only ten years of cultivation will always be too weak. Afterwards, you'll still serve as the Ninth Group's secretary, but to a certain extent, I'll give you more freedom and authority."

  "Thank you, Director Yang, but when can I have the freedom of a formal Yan Huang member?" Li Mang asked a very concerned question.

  "The official members of Yan Huang are very free, but the authority is above twenty years of cultivation. You are still some distance away from this goal now. But don't be discouraged, after passing the review above, I will arrange some exercises that can improve your strength for you, and hope you also work hard." Yang Fan patiently comforted.

  "Thank you." Li Mang sincerely expressed his gratitude, but he also felt guilty in his heart. Yang Fan had been kind to him, but he had repeatedly fabricated lies to deceive the other party, which was not right. However, the matter of Shan Hai Jing was of great importance, and even if it were just a superior, let alone his father, Li Mang would never inform him.

  "By the way, this task has been successfully completed. According to the rules, there is a local reward of 500,000 and a headquarters subsidy of 500,000. Originally, it was supposed to be given to Zhang Daoshi, but he said that you made great contributions on this trip, so the bonus will be divided equally between the two of you. The 500,000 has already been transferred to your account." Yang Fan suddenly turned back and said before leaving.

  "Five hundred thousand!" Li Meng was shocked. Although he had known that the Yan Huang members' bonuses were very high, he really hadn't thought that he would also have a chance to receive a bonus, and it was five hundred thousand all at once.

  Five hundred thousand may not be a lot, at least for Li Mang who has the Mountain and Sea Scripture space. A beautiful jade stone by the Lijiang River is worth more than that, let alone other things. But this five hundred thousand is real safe property, can be spent freely, and it's still quite attractive to him. If nothing else, at least he can improve his family's living conditions a bit.

  Seeing off his superior Yang Fan, Li Meng secretly let out a mouthful of stale air. For the time being, everything is under control. His own strength has been attributed to an inexplicable ability, and freedom will also get better with the improvement of status. There will be milk, and there will always be bread.