History Has Fallen Ill

Chapter 54: Jiangnan Province Newcomer Competition, Emergency Mission

Mythical secret treasures,

Were treasures nurtured by Immortals and Gods from the myths of old days, possessing formidable power,

And could also serve as mediums of communication to receive blessings.

No matter the type, they all held the power to rewrite the world.

The blessing bestowed upon the Heavenly King Hong by God shattered the fate of the last dynasty of the Great Qing. Although it did not bring about its complete destruction, it opened up an entirely new era.

Of course, blessings were not omnipotent.

For instance, the wish to become one who possesses a Great Divine Ability was extremely difficult to realize. After all, that was akin to forcefully pioneering a transcendent path—great existences could achieve it, but they had to pay a price.

Otherwise, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would not have perished.

However, wishing to ascend one or two stages was as easy as turning one’s hand.

Of course, the prerequisite was that God would respond.

“The Heavenly King didn’t abandon it, but instead hid it away. That means the blessing hasn’t lost its effect—just that, for some reason, it can’t be used for the time being.”

Ba Lie analyzed, “After the Tianxia Alliance was established, the headquarters also organized several carpet searches in areas including Jiangnan Province, but all turned up empty. In the end, it was deemed a false report.

During this time, the Corpse-Dissolution Court has also been constantly hunting down diseased domains related to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. What was initially thought to be venting anger now seems more likely to be about the Heavenly King’s treasure. The Gongyang clan was originally one of the Heavenly King’s confidants.”

Jiang Yan nodded, also recalling that when Commander Lu first appeared, he had mentioned the ‘mud-legged soldiers of the Taiping Army’, which very likely was also about this mythical secret treasure.

“Sounds really interesting.”

Yin Yiyi’s eyes sparkled. She hadn’t yet tried using the recipes and ingredients from the diseased domains under the Corpse-Dissolution Court and Tianjing—it already sounded delicious just imagining it.

Zhao Yinman’s expression remained calm. So-called mythical secret treasures held not even one percent of the allure compared to the Coffin Spirit in her eyes.

It was just a pity that Jiang Yan refused to let her sleep with it once.

Niu Tunan yawned, waved his hand and said, “Mythical secret treasures might be good, but one needs the life to fetch them. What’s more, it’s still unknown whether the treasure even exists.

Jiang Yan himself said it: human forces in the real world tried to collaborate with Lord Gaoshan. At the root, it was because they couldn’t find it in the real world and wanted to bring in external aid for a shot at luck.”

Ba Lie agreed, “What Tunan said makes sense. I’ll first report this information to headquarters. Whether the treasure is found or not, there will be a hefty mission reward.”

Jiang Yan quickly asked, “How much money? When will it be distributed?”

“If the information is confirmed as true, you’ll get a hundred points, which should convert to about three million in cash. Normally, no one would opt for the money. And if we later find clues to the treasure, additional rewards will be given…”

Looking at Jiang Yan’s excited expression, Ba Lie’s heart stirred. He smiled and said, “Are you really short on money lately?”

“Since when does cultivation not burn money?”

Jiang Yan rolled his eyes. Old Ba was asking despite knowing the answer, and Jiang Yan played along and replied, “Advance me my salary for the next few years!”

Ba Lie mocked, “If everyone was like you, the Bureau of Historical Revision would go bankrupt. Goose City taxes only allow for a one-year advance at most. Don’t scoff yet—listen to me…”

“Though salary can’t be advanced, in one month it’ll be Jiangnan Province’s annual newcomer competition. By then, all the province’s newcomers will participate. The organization will evaluate your overall abilities from various angles.

The most heavily weighted part is the method contest to determine the strongest.

The top ten will receive bonuses and historical relics. The top three will gain access to the diseased domain cave-heavens controlled by headquarters, where treasures are nurtured. First place gets ten million in prize money.”

“Please let me participate—I love enthusiastically communicating with my future colleagues.”

Jiang Yan’s gaze was solemn.

That amount of money would be enough for him to burn through for a while—he wouldn’t need to live so frugally.

The Coffin Spirit hadn’t had a full-body oiling in ages.

Ba Lie burst into hearty laughter, “That’s the spirit we need! No rush—we still have one month to prepare. Aim for top ten, fight for top three. Third place also gets three million.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jiang Yan’s strength. In truth, at first he was just painting a pie in the sky and didn’t expect Jiang Yan to win a ranking.

After all, after the intensification of the Historical Long River mutation, the diseased domains had grown even more terrifying, boosting both the quantity and quality of newly emerging talents.

Moreover, they had trained for over half a year—some even a full year—longer than Jiang Yan, and there were even contestants who deliberately exploited bugs.

After all, the requirement was to have joined the Bureau of Historical Revision within one year—training done before joining didn’t count.

Therefore,

Just those he knew of included over a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators, among whom there were high-stage and peak-stage Foundation Establishment ones.

There were even individuals already beginning to nurture Law Seeds.

It could be said that the most outstanding talents of the entire Jiangnan Province had gathered here.

Naturally, powerful figures emerged in great numbers!

Jiang Yan’s talent could also rank near the top, but he suffered from the disadvantage of too short a cultivation period.

His advancement to Foundation Establishment relied on the accumulation from two instances, but wanting to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment in a short time—unless one's comprehension was heaven-defying—was simply not feasible.

But now,

He felt Jiang Yan making it into the top ten shouldn't be a problem. If he could break into the top five, it would absolutely bring great prestige to the Pan’an branch.

In addition,

“Zhao Yinman is also a newcomer who joined this year and will go with you!”

Zhao Yinman corrected, “Not a person, a zombie.”

The humanoid zombie was as meticulous as ever.

“……”

Jiang Yan felt calm as still water—no one could stop him from making money!

At worst,

He would just send the Dual-headed Shadow-Eating Serpent · Skullcrusher into battle!

Originally, he even wanted to submit the spirit rice cultivation for official cooperation and develop an industrial chain together,

But in the end…

Ba Lie said, “The spirit rice spell of the Rice God of Wealth Church, ah. When I saw that large pig purchase earlier, I already guessed you had extracted the skill. No need to submit it.

Within the Bureau of Historical Revision, from low-level to high-level, all cultivation methods and spells of the Rice God of Wealth Church are available—except for their core cultivation methods and ultra-level spells. After all, to know the enemy is to win every battle.

However, they are easy to learn but hard to master, and the higher the level, the stronger the side effects. Rather than eating those, it’s better to choose superior extraordinary items.

If you like these kinds of spells, you can use points to exchange them at headquarters. Just don’t learn too many—you’ll risk being noticed by the Rice God of Wealth and becoming an anchor point.”

Jiang Yan: “……”

…

…

…

Two days later,

In Pan’an County, in Jiangjia Village, Jiang Yan wore a T-shirt, shorts, and slippers, lounging carelessly in the courtyard, fanning himself with a palm fan.

A few proud roosters occasionally strutted past in front of him, but sped up when passing by the small table.

Because if they were any later, they might meet their relatives.

“Jiang Yan, eat more.”

Jiang Yan’s maternal grandfather passed him a large chicken leg. His name was Jiang Fufu. He looked thin and a bit short, an old smoker who habitually lit a cigarette and held it between his fingers.

But he was too busy piling a mountain of food into Jiang Yan’s bowl, letting the cigarette burn away in vain.

Jiang Yan’s parents were both surnamed Jiang. They married for love. He once heard from his father that their ancestors also came from this village. Back in the days of material scarcity, they had moved to another village for livelihood.

After a roundabout journey, they ended up as one family—truly a twist of fate.

And his grandfather liked to call him by his full name, to show how much he cared.

Jiang Yan muttered, “That’s enough, Grandpa. You eat some meat too. Look how skinny you’ve gotten.”

Clearly, his grandfather still had black hair last year, but now most of it had turned white, and his eyes had become a bit clouded.

“I don’t like meat. You and Grandma eat more.” Jiang Yan’s grandfather smiled, picked up some meat, and placed it into a bowl. After some thought, he added some vegetables and carried it into a room on the first floor.

Jiang Yan silently ate his meal.

His grandmother was taller than his grandfather. Logically, her constitution should have been better. But because she had eaten only meat for a long time and no vegetables, her blood pressure had gone up. Not long ago, she even had a stroke from secretly drinking alcohol.

Although she was barely saved in time and could still walk with effort, her health collapsed all at once. Most of the time, she had to lie in bed and rest.

Because she was still alive, his mother and uncle hadn’t informed the younger family members working away from home for fear they’d worry.

If he hadn’t come back, they would’ve had to wait until New Year to hear the news.

“Jiang Yan, you’re back!”

From the road came a voice in the local accent.

Jiang Yan’s uncle wore a suit and leather shoes, carrying large bags of health supplements. He quickened his pace, walked up, put down the things, held Jiang Yan’s hand, and said joyfully:

“Good lad, your build is much sturdier now. I heard from your mom that your health isn’t good, so don’t push yourself. Come work in accounting on my construction site.

I’ll pay you fifteen thousand a month. Don’t complain it’s too little. You won’t need to do hard labor—just help supervise. You’ve always been meticulous since you were little. Your uncle believes in you, and you can spread your wings and strive.”

Jiang Yan’s uncle was named Jiang Fengyue. He contracted construction projects—not large, not small in scale. Though real estate had been hard to manage in recent years, he never lacked projects thanks to his loyalty, generosity, and willingness to share profits.

Of course, the profit margins weren’t high.

He lived frugally, but spent freely on his family.

“No need, Uncle. I recently found a stable job in a state-owned enterprise. My superior is very nice, and the work is light.”

Jiang Yan felt warm inside. Their family had never had any backstabbing—always mutual support.

His uncle was very happy upon hearing this: “State-owned enterprise is great. That’s an iron rice bowl. If you ever need help networking, just come to your uncle. Don’t be fooled by the small business I run—I know a lot of people.”

“Alright.”

Jiang Yan nodded, sat in the courtyard, enjoying the evening breeze, quietly listening to his uncle and grandfather chat.

Out of nowhere, his grandfather said, once everyone returned, they should take a family photo together.

His uncle had still been eating a chicken leg, but upon hearing this, his expression turned somber. He forced a smile and said he would arrange a caregiver for Grandpa.

Unsurprisingly, the offer was refused—the reason being not to waste money.

Unable to win the argument, his uncle switched the topic to work.

He said he recently took on a project and ran into trouble. After half a year of effort, things got stuck, and now they were preparing to replace him.

Jiang Fengyue panicked. He had invested his entire fortune into the advance funding. How could they just replace him like that?

Wasn’t that treating him like a stepping stone?

But the other party acted arrogantly and completely ignored him.

Jiang Fengyue had no solution—he could only rely on connections, hoping a middleman could invite them to a meal to sound out their stance, just wishing they wouldn’t be too greedy. He was even willing to go drink with them.

In truth, he had been hospitalized several times from drinking, and the doctor had already given him the final warning.

Though big cities were harsh, different social classes ran on parallel lines with little intersection.

In contrast, small places were a mixed bag of fish and dragons, with intricate networks of relationships—everything had to follow the “rules”.

“If they push too far, I’ll just retire.”

Jiang Yan knew his uncle was only venting.

After all, he had always been running around to secure jobs for the brothers under him, and he still had two sons, so he needed to accumulate a family foundation for them.

At the same time,

The connection Jiang Fengyue mentioned… the Director of the Security Bureau, Li Yu, also arrived at the courtyard gate.

But he brought bad news.

He checked and found that the other side had considerable backing and outright declared that a small-time contractor wasn’t qualified to invite them to a meal.

They completely disrespected him.

Their way of handling things didn’t suggest ties to high-ranking officials, nor did they appear to be involved in the underworld. So, it was very likely they were connected to the inner world.

The reason he could tell was because Li Yu had previously worked with the local Qing Shi Technology, helping to handle a few on-site incidents. Although he hadn’t witnessed things firsthand, he vaguely understood—

This world hid mysterious forces.

Ordinary people were best off not clashing with them, or they would suffer greatly.

One could only admit misfortune.

He opened the car door and was just about to step out to deliver the news and advise this old friend, when his peripheral vision caught sight of Jiang Yan standing next to Jiang Fengyue. His steps paused.

“This face… where have I seen it before?”

Li Yu had risen through the ranks from the grassroots and had an excellent memory. He recalled quickly.

Two days ago, he was instructed from above to create a new file, classified under Qing Shi Technology, and marked top secret.

Because the photo was stunningly handsome, it left a deep impression on him.

He had even wondered—when did the local area produce such a good-looking young man?

“I remember the name seemed to be Jiang Yan… surname Jiang… damn!”

Li Yu instantly understood—this was one family!

He didn’t get out of the car. After thinking for a moment, he called the other side again and explained the situation.

At first, the young man on the line sounded impatient, but upon hearing the words “Qing Shi Technology”, he fell silent.

Soon after, the voice changed to a steady man’s tone.

He expressed that they had spoken out of line earlier, and hoped Li Yu could put in a good word for them. They would also come personally to apologize later.

In just a few minutes, Li Yu witnessed their attitude take a complete one-eighty—even sounding a bit deferential.

Li Yu looked at Jiang Yan and the others still eating and sighed:

“When one person ascends, even the chickens and dogs follow!”

…

…

“Indeed, some rectification is needed.”

Jiang Yan nodded in agreement, joining his uncle at the table to comment on the state of the world.

“It’s easy to say, but hard to do. Implementing it isn’t so simple. People’s desires—they’re insatiable. You also need to be careful at your unit…”

As his uncle spoke, his phone suddenly rang. He answered and listened for a few moments before his expression turned astonished:

“What? All the procedures on their side are already completed, and they’re just waiting for my signature? You’re not joking, are you?

What! They even want to apologize to me? That’s unnecessary—harmony brings wealth. Alright, I’ll head over right now!”

His uncle was overjoyed. Although he didn’t know why the other party suddenly changed their tone, he had to seize the opportunity before they changed their minds.

“Jiang Yan, you’re truly your uncle’s lucky star—bringing fortune the moment you come home!”

Uncle wolfed down a few more bites of rice and hurried off, not forgetting to praise his nephew a few more times before leaving.

Jiang Yan smiled without speaking, his gaze drifting toward the car parked in the distance. In the darkness, the Shadow-Winged Serpent quietly receded.

“He really hasn’t changed at all—still so rash ever since he was little.” Grandfather shook his head and continued chatting with Jiang Yan about family matters.

Grandmother finished eating, enjoyed the evening breeze for a while, and then began to feel sleepy.

Mother had told Jiang Yan earlier that Grandmother was already suffering from senile dementia, but she still remembered to tell Grandfather to go to the corner store to buy Jiang Yan’s favorite snacks. Before she could finish speaking…

She had fallen asleep.

Jiang Yan and Grandfather carried Grandmother to the bed.

Grandfather covered her with a blanket and sighed, “If she goes before me, I can still take care of her—that would be a blessing. But if I go first, then she’ll suffer alone.”

“Don’t think like that. You’ll both live long and healthy lives.” Jiang Yan spoke softly.

Before he could finish his sentence, Grandfather’s hand tightly gripped his. The skin was aged and rough, yet abnormally warm—scalding like a furnace.

Even hotter than when he cultivated the Fire Dwelling Method.

Grandfather’s cloudy eyes looked at Jiang Yan, the rims turning red. He said gently, “Jiang Yan, Grandfather doesn’t want to lie to you. I don’t even know if I’ll live to see the day you start your own family and career.”

“You must live a happy life.”

Jiang Yan fell silent and nodded seriously.

It wasn’t until nighttime that he said goodbye to Grandfather.

Before leaving, he quietly injected a strand of the Longevity Azure Lotus into both Grandfather and Grandmother. Though it had no grade, for ordinary people, its healing effect was remarkable.

The elderly couple’s complexions improved significantly. They didn’t think much of it, simply attributing it to the joy of seeing their grandson again.

“Buddha says, all beings suffer eight hardships—birth and aging, illness and death, separation from loved ones, unfulfilled desires, meeting those one resents, and the blazing of the five aggregates…”

He walked alone through the familiar streets, his gaze deep.

Grandfather’s Life Lamp had already dimmed, with only a few months of lifespan remaining.

Birth, aging, illness, and death—this was destiny.

But he refused to submit to fate. He didn’t want to experience the pain of losing a loved one. He was not a Buddha who had seen through worldly affairs—just a greedy, selfish man.

One who wished to attain enlightenment and bring blessings to all those around him.

The method of life extension was now an urgent matter.

“Hiss hiss!”

The Dual-headed Great Serpent beneath him sensed its master’s emotions. Its shadow began to twist, and its scarlet serpent eyes gleamed with the malice of devouring all life.

“Ding ding ding!”

The phone rang. Upon answering, Ba Lie’s voice came through:

“I told you not to act so indifferent to everything—you can be a bit unrestrained. But jumping straight to a life-extension item mission is asking a bit much.

Even if extending an ordinary person’s life is a bit simpler than for extraordinary individuals, talentless rich people will spend huge sums to buy such items. The moment they appear on the market, they’re snatched up, and prices soar.

The Bureau of Historical Revision does have them internally, but the point cost is astronomical…”

“Director Ba, thank you.”

After hearing him out, Jiang Yan offered his thanks, preparing to search the diseased domain himself. But Old Ba got anxious:

“You brat, don’t be so rash! It’s not easy, sure—but it’s nothing that can stop your helpful Old Ba. I found you a mission, though the difficulty… is a bit high.”