History Has Fallen Ill

Chapter 65: Feeding on Fate, Arriving at the Novice Village

"It’s just like those card-drawing games, you have to make a couple of offerings before getting a golden pull!"

Jiang Yan grumbled. Though the process was a bit... unpleasant.

But the overall outcome was good.

At that moment, he was just like most stock investors, originally thinking he had lost everything and fallen into despair, only to suddenly find that one-third of his account balance remained.

Even though it was still a loss, the mood felt better than profiting.

A narrow escape from death—there was still a chance to turn things around!

"This guy really knows how to pick a spot. Even knows to use a large Diseased Domain as a toilet. Could it be its instinct? Or does it have a grudge against this place?"

Jiang Yan mused. Although he only caught a fleeting glimpse, he saw that this silver-colored Diseased Domain was vast and boundless.

Judging by sight, its level wasn’t low.

After the Mirror of the Heaven-Stealing Ghost fell into the world, it continued plummeting, the image becoming blurry.

It was unclear how much time had passed. Accompanied by a "splash," it landed in water, washing off its filth.

The mirror body floated with the undercurrent, eventually settling atop a patch of coral.

Through the mirror’s perspective, Jiang Yan could see numerous fish wandering around. Their forms varied; no familiar river species were found, but judging by the number of fish, it was likely a large river or shallow sea.

Among the fish, a few were shockingly large—visually estimated at one to two meters long. Their bodies were covered in thick, vibrant red scales, and within the gaps of their flesh faint silver threads flickered like spiritual light.

The larger the body, the more and thicker the silver threads.

When they hunted, their bodies whipped suddenly, causing a ring of water to explode outward, smashing smaller fish into a bloody mist before sucking them into their gills.

Water-type Transcendent Beings!

"Now, the Mirror of the Heaven-Stealing Ghost only retains the dialogue function. It can’t even move. We must decipher the rules of the Diseased Domain to unlock functions like free movement, item transfer, or even opening portals.

The fastest way is to absorb planar origin—like harvesting those with strong fate within the Diseased Domain, colloquially known as causing trouble.

They are born from the Diseased Domain’s origin. Fate is both a blessing and a shackle. Their role is to help the Diseased Domain evolve further and sink deeper into the Historical Long River.

But once life becomes strong, it desires entry into the real world, away from mutation—contradicting the Diseased Domain’s will. Thus, fate rarely concentrates on a single individual but constantly flows among different lives. When they die and return to the Diseased Domain, it resembles the rudiment of the Heavenly Dao."

Jiang Yan pondered, recalling the information given by the little Heavenly Ghost. At present, he was like one of those legendary sinister mirror deities that feed on fate.

The Coffin Spirit leaned in and worriedly asked, "But this is the bottom of the water. Forget people with great fate—feels like we won’t even see a living person."

Jiang Yan replied helplessly, "Although the mirror can’t move, we can use changes in light and sound to attract these fish to approach and swallow the mirror. Then they can carry us to the shore."

"Master’s wisdom is unmatched through the ages!"

The Coffin Spirit flattered him. The little Heavenly Ghost beside them nodded in agreement.

Two archbishops of the Praise-the-Master Church.

Jiang Yan began operating, searching for a special sonar to lure fish while letting the mirror emit a faint glow to attract the big ones’ attention.

Yet after a long time, no fish approached.

A special vacuum area formed within tens of meters around them.

Even large creatures approaching would veer away.

As if some terrifying presence lurked there.

"I get it now!"

Jiang Yan initially thought he had fallen near a massive creature, but after careful examination, he suddenly realized.

Because the sub-mirror had been swallowed by that Diseased Domain creature, there was inevitably a residual scent from the excretion process.

Similar to how tigers urinate to mark territory and intimidate weaker creatures.

That Diseased Domain creature was no ordinary being. Even though the mirror surface had been washed clean by the river, it still caused surrounding fish to avoid it in fear.

The more Jiang Yan fussed, the more frightened they became!

"Looks like we can only wait for the scent to dissipate, then wait for a destined fish to come!"

Jiang Yan sighed and continued cultivating.

Time flew. In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

A month had already gone by within the Diseased Domain.

This day, the winds and waves were calm.

On the surface of the water, a worn-out, flat-headed wooden boat appeared, carrying an old and a young fisherman.

The old fisherman poked his head out, and through the churning water, he saw a school of fish. With a worried expression, he said, “Water Boy, a little further ahead is the open sea. Although the chances of being discovered by the authorities are low, it's easy to run into water demons. Do you really want to go?”

“Grandpa Hairong, I have no other choice. The village chief already said that if I can’t pay the taxes, I’ll be sent off as conscripted labor to build the Silver Great Wall. Uncle Gen from the neighboring village went two years ago and never came back.”

The boy’s skin was dark, his gaze resolute, and he said in a deep voice, “Tell me, is it because we haven’t worked hard enough? But last year, just to pay the taxes, we already tightened our belts. Yet this year they’re demanding thirty percent more than last year. Where are we supposed to get the money?”

“Water Boy… sigh!” Grandpa Hairong sighed and said, “You’re not wrong. It’s the world that’s wrong.”

“I know you mean well, but time waits for no one.”

Water Boy looked helpless, sighing. “I can’t just go become a yachtman, can I?”

“That’s absolutely out of the question!” Grandpa Hairong’s expression changed. He looked around warily and said in a low voice, “If you go, you’ll definitely be caught by pirates. They’ll force you to raid coastal villagers, then frame you for it and hand you over to the authorities for beheading and public display.

If you're unlucky and run into those Wokou who wield strange powers, you’ll end up neither human nor ghost.”

“Exactly. Besides, I still have my mother and little sister. I can’t just watch them starve.”

At this point, Water Boy’s eyes filled with hope. “If I could just catch a treasure fish and sell it at the market, everything would be solved.”

“Treasure fish, huh? Even the common Silverline Red Trout is incredibly strong in the water. Even a man skilled at swimming would be dragged into deep water and drowned.”

Grandpa Hairong scolded with a laugh, but didn’t try to dissuade him further. He picked up a fish spear from beside his foot, polished to a shine and tied with a rope at the end, and handed it to Water Boy. “This spear, like the boat, is all I own. It’s something I was planning to pass on to my grandson. You must bring it back to me!”

“Thank you, Grandpa Hairong!”

Water Boy expressed his gratitude repeatedly. In times like these, borrowing iron tools among commoners was truly a life-and-death bond.

With a sharp weapon, even a few stabs could kill many fish.

Picking up the patched-up net, Water Boy leapt into the sea.

Relying on his strong swimming skills, he swam a distance, then took a deep breath and dove underwater. Opening his eyes, he saw a dense school of fish.

Each one was plump and strong!

Water Boy’s eyes lit up. Sure enough, the resources in the open sea far surpassed those near shore.

He slowly approached, spearing a fish through the body. Amidst its violent struggle, it soon stilled, and he placed it into the net.

Repeating this process and coming up for air occasionally, he filled the net within a few hours.

‘If I could harvest like this every day, I’d have enough for the tax in half a month.’

Water Boy was overjoyed. He planned to swim back to put the fish on the boat, then fill another net. However, the moment he turned around, he was met with a pair of eyes glowing with a faint crimson light.

It was a large red fish, one and a half meters long, only a few meters away from him.

“Silverline Red Trout!”

Water Boy was startled. He hadn’t expected to encounter such a treasure fish.

He’d spoken of catching one to make money, but in the water, it was the fish’s domain. One misstep and he’d end up as fish food.

Even an iron net might not catch it—let alone his mere mortal body.

Water Boy carefully swam backward, trying not to provoke it. However, the Silverline Red Trout had already fixed its gaze on him. With a flick of its fins, it darted forward!

Water Boy anticipated the move and dodged sideways, but still had his shoulder scraped by its scales, leaving a bloody gash.

“So fast!”

He was alarmed but didn’t freeze. He lunged forward with the fish spear, aiming at the treasure fish’s side.

Did it work?

The next second, the fish spear struck the fish’s body with full force—but didn’t even pierce the scales. Instead, the recoil numbed his hand, nearly making him drop the spear.

Can’t even penetrate its scales—

What the hell is this?!

Seeing this, Water Boy turned and fled, abandoning the net and keeping only the spear.

But the Silverline Red Trout gave chase relentlessly, giving him no chance to escape.

‘Damn it, my mother and sister are waiting for me to return!’

Water Boy was spurred by desperation. He swam forward with all his might, using the many seafloor rocks and coral as cover to evade its attacks, but all were smashed to pieces.

Luckily, he had managed to shake it off!

“Thank goodness… I survived!”

Water Boy was overjoyed. His face flushed a purplish red, and just as he was about to surface, he saw five or six Silverline Red Trout appear before him.

Crap!

He had forgotten that these treasure fish were social creatures!

Water Boy was surrounded on all sides, completely in despair. After such a long time underwater and intense exertion, his chest felt like it was about to explode.

So this was how he would die—because of greed.

‘Now I can’t even return the fish spear to Grandpa Hairong…’

Water Boy felt guilt in his heart as he quietly waited for death. However, the Silverline Red Trout just circled repeatedly, not daring to swim any closer, as if afraid of something.

Puzzled, he turned his head—and saw a mysterious bronze treasure mirror embedded atop the coral at the bottom of the sea. Its craftsmanship was exquisite, as if it had gathered all the essence of heaven and earth into one.

At that moment,

It radiated brilliant, pure light, dispelling the darkness of the seabed. Like a glazed immortal lotus blooming, it startled away countless fish. The Silverline Red Trout fled in haste.

Water Boy stared blankly at the mirror, as if a poem was forcibly engraved into his mind.

【In the ten-thousand-fathom scaly abyss lies a wondrous scene,

The Dao-Comprehending Treasure Mirror shatters the Celestial Court.

Forged in coral, it reflects the heavens above,

Illuminating all that is turbid and pure in the mortal world.】

“I… I don’t understand…”

Water Boy was dazed. Though he was not literate, he instinctively knew this was undoubtedly a treasure.

“Urgh…”

But he quickly realized he was about to suffocate, so he swam over to grab the bronze mirror and rushed upward. Along the way, he encountered a fainted little Silverline Red Trout.

Though exhausted, Water Boy feared poverty even more. With all his might, he dragged it upward with him.

However, just short of the surface, Water Boy’s body suddenly stopped moving. His vision blurred, and his limbs lost all strength—he began to sink.

He had held his breath for too long. It had exceeded his limit.

“Am I going to die?”

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, a stream of cool air flowed from the mirror, renewing his strength.

With a sudden burst, he swam up and broke through the surface, gasping for breath.

Water Boy looked at the vast sea before him and cried out in excitement:

“I survived!”

Then, under Grandpa Hairong’s shocked gaze, Water Boy hauled the treasure fish onto the boat. The two of them, like thieves, covered it with a straw mat and rowed back.

In the present day, Jiang Yan watched them leave safely and let out a long sigh.

“That wasn’t easy… I can finally head to the novice village!”