In Order To Ascend, I Became A Modern Wage Slave - Chapter 41: Elemental True Monarch 14

Chapter 41: Elemental True Monarch 14

 

“I’ll grant you one wish.” Xi Yu gave a cunning reply.

 

A cold laugh followed—it came from Yuan Xu.

 

He was just about to mock Xi Yu for “not knowing his place” when he heard Lian Bei respond with great satisfaction: “Alright.”

 

Then, a dazzling white light appeared, and the two vanished from Yuan Xu’s sight.

 

Yuan Xu stared at the empty space before him, thinking: If he won’t let me perish alongside him, could it be that he wants to protect me and kill Xi Yu himself?

 

Or perhaps the wish was for Xi Yu to kill himself?

 

After coming to this conclusion, Yuan Xu sneered coldly. Bai Fan patted his shoulder and said, “Kid, stop overthinking. He never planned to help you.”

 

Or, to put it another way, he never planned to help any of us.

 

Chen Zhidao didn’t know how he got down the mountain or returned home. In a daze, he only came to his senses when he found himself sitting on his bed at home. In front of him, the television news played on the screen, and on his cluttered desk lay a yellowed old book.

 

He had dug this up from beneath a tree.

 

It wasn’t a coincidence. Initially, he had wanted to become a grave robber. A single stone from an ancient tomb could be worth a fortune. If he succeeded, wouldn’t he be set for life? But after reading countless grave-robbing novels, he abandoned the idea—it was too dangerous. If it wasn’t mercury, it was corpse bugs, and if a vengeful ghost returned, he wouldn’t even see a penny before becoming a burial companion. However, he did pick up a few tricks from the novels and stumbled upon his current path: fake paranormal live streaming.

 

He’d always been unlucky in life. In elementary school, he often stepped in dog poop or got hit by bird droppings. In middle school, he missed his dream high school by just half a point. Once, he wrote down lottery numbers that turned out to win, but he’d been too busy to buy the ticket. He still regretted it to this day. Later, he switched careers to become a streamer, only to watch his peers rise to fame and rake in sponsorships while he remained mediocre—or even worse off than when he started.

 

Did he work hard? He poured in just as much time and effort as anyone else, spending days figuring out how to make his scenes scarier and more engaging. He slept only three to four hours a night, his dark circles nearly reaching his chin. But his efforts never paid off. Those with good looks just had to show their faces to instantly surpass him. He felt indignant.

 

Fortunately, fate took pity on him and led him to this old book.

 

It had to be valuable.

 

He couldn’t recognize a single character inside, but they were neatly written—clearly the work of someone serious, not random scrawling.

 

It had to be worth something.

 

With that, Chen Zhidao did some research and confidently walked into an antique trade market.

 

“Take a good look—it’s something I dug up myself! I don’t even recognize the characters; how could I have written this?”

 

“Get lost! Bringing me a deliberately aged book? Do you take me for a fool?”

 

“Of course you don’t recognize the characters. It’s gibberish, not even oracle bone script. You think I’ve been in this business so long for fun?”

 

“Scram!”

 

“Get out of here!”

 

…

 

Eventually, Chen Zhidao couldn’t even get through the door. When he finally barged in to show a boss, two assistants tossed him out, and the book hit him on the head.

 

Chen Zhidao lay on the ground, sore all over, unable to get up for a long time.

 

“Did we throw him to death?”

 

“Looks like he’s still breathing.”

 

“Look at his miserable state. Could he be on drugs?”

 

…

 

Hearing this, Chen Zhidao clenched his fists and finally exploded. “Screw you and your nonsense! You’re the ones on drugs—your whole family is! If you don’t know how to talk, go back to your mother’s womb and start over!”

 

The assistants froze, surprised he fought back—like a worm writhing under the scorching sun.

 

“Click-clack…”

 

The assistants, now angry, were about to teach him a lesson when the sharp sound of high heels stopped them.

 

A glamorous, seductive woman walked toward them.

 

“Boss Bai.” The two assistants bowed respectfully.

 

Bai Fan nodded and approached Chen Zhidao, looking down at him. Chen Zhidao thought she was here to humiliate him and instinctively backed away. Just as he was about to speak, Bai Fan bent down and picked up the old book.

 

She flipped through a few pages casually and smirked. “Good stuff. Name your price.”

 

Name…a price?

 

The words hit Chen Zhidao like a bucket of cold water, leaving him bewildered and cautiously hopeful. Was this a trap? He hesitated.

 

“I’ll name a number,” Bai Fan said, holding up one hand. “This much.”

 

Five thousand?

 

No way. He had just been beaten up—he deserved more. Staring at Bai Fan’s face, Chen Zhidao bit his lip and said, “Fifty thousand.”

 

“Fifty thousand?” Bai Fan withdrew her hand as the wind flipped through the book’s pages.

 

If fifty thousand was too much, then forty-five thousand…

 

Forty thousand…

 

Thirty thousand…no less!

 

“Such low ambition?” Bai Fan chuckled, making Chen Zhidao feel uneasy.

 

Her words were cryptic.

 

Low ambition? Chen Zhidao tentatively said, “How about fifty…”

 

“Spare me. Five million.” Bai Fan sneered. “Do you know why you’ve never succeeded? You have ambition but no courage—that’s just daydreaming.”

 

Five…million?

 

Could such a number exist in his life?

 

Bai Fan put away the book and said flatly, “The other four and a half million is hush money. If anyone asks, you know nothing. As for me, don’t say a word—otherwise, I’ll take it all back.”

 

“Yes, yes, yes…”

 

There couldn’t possibly be anyone asking. He had no family or friends and lived a lonely life. Sometimes, when he looked back, he thought that if he had died in his rental apartment, it would probably have taken the smell of a rotting corpse for anyone to notice. However, carrying such a large sum of money might bring unexpected trouble. He decided to return to his hometown.

 

On the way, he couldn’t help but wonder, what exactly was so fascinating about this book that it was worth five million?

 

Could it be some kind of national secret?

 

Chen Zhidao calculated everything but didn’t account for someone already waiting at his doorstep.

 

He lived in an even older rental building than Xi Yu. Though the garbage bins were miles away, the foul stench of decay could still be smelled. Just as Chen Zhidao was about to turn and flee, they spotted him first. He didn’t manage to run more than two steps before being caught.

 

“What… What are you doing? This is illegal! Let me go, or I’ll call the police!” Chen Zhidao, initially panicked, gradually gained confidence.

 

Luo Yang said, “Don’t you know what you’ve done?”

 

“What have I done?” Chen Zhidao’s voice suddenly raised. “I haven’t done anything!”

 

Luo Yang rubbed his nose and said to Xi Yu, “His denial is too obvious. No need to test him further.”

 

Xi Yu said, “Did you pick up a book?”

 

Chen Zhidao froze and pretended to be dumb. “Book? What book? I don’t know what you’re talking about. You can’t just accuse people. And even if I did pick something up, randomly grabbing me like this is illegal! I’ll call the police and have you all arrested!”

 

“We don’t want the book,” Xi Yu shrugged. “You wouldn’t hand it over anyway, so it’s a waste of time. Just tell me what the book looks like.”

 

Last night, Yuan Xu had secretly visited him, hugging him and crying almost uncontrollably. It was because his earlier plans had all been disrupted, deciphered, and could no longer proceed.

 

Children are children. They couldn’t keep their cool. Xi Yi wondered what Xi Yi would think if he knew.

 

In any case, he definitely wouldn’t do what Yuan Xu did—using obstacles as guides when there was no other way forward.

 

Yuan Xu did indeed have an older brother named Yuan Su. The two brothers were twins, their only differences being their names and personalities. They were practically one entity, which is why they ascended to immortality at the same time and were jointly titled “Yuan Su Zhenjun.” Unfortunately, Yuan Su was too foolish. Even after becoming an immortal, he remained the same as before, staying in the mortal world to treat and save people. As a result, the prestigious title eventually fell solely on Yuan Xu.

 

Of course, there was a reason for this, though it had nothing to do with Yuan Xu. While mischievous, he wasn’t ruthless enough to kill his brother for an empty title.

 

“He eventually died at the hands of a patient he treated,” Yuan Xu sneered. “I told him long ago that these people were ungrateful wolves, but he refused to believe it. He brought it on himself.”

 

Xi Yu said, “If you claim Yuan Su is dead, then why is he still alive?”

 

“You’ve seen him?” Yuan Xu stared at him.

 

“Didn’t you come to me to find him?”

 

“But I’m not certain if he’s still around.” Yuan Xu lowered his head in thought. “Initially, my only goal was to kill you. If it weren’t for him, I definitely wouldn’t have let you go so easily. I realized that for a brief moment, I lost consciousness.”

 

Yuan Su, his dear brother, had borrowed his body to undo his misdeeds.

 

At this rate, nothing he did would succeed.

 

Lian Bei said, “If we help you, what if you turn against him afterward?”

 

“I just want to see him once,” Yuan Xu seemed to make up his mind. “Meeting him won’t be easy. I plan to perish together with him. I won’t let you help for nothing—I’ll give him all my power.”

 

Yuan Xu looked at Xi Yu.

 

Perish together?

 

Aren’t they blood brothers? Their differences were only ideological. Was such hatred necessary?

 

Although Xi Yu doubted him, he didn’t press further. Yuan Xu wasn’t lying. For someone still childlike, speaking with such seemingly mature logic was already a sign of deep consideration.

 

He initially thought finding Yuan Su would be difficult, but that very night, it became surprisingly easy. Or rather, Yuan Su came to them on his own.

 

He hadn’t wanted to meet them, but he couldn’t avoid it. They were now completely one—two people sharing one body.

 

He said, “You need to find that book. He’ll understand himself.”

 

Yuan Xu had also mentioned earlier in the day about finding a book. It was his brother’s beloved possession, which he had been fortunate to see once.

 

Time was short, so Xi Yu decided to fabricate something first to probe their intentions.

 

Once he understood, Chen Zhidao earned another small fortune. Luckily, his curiosity about things he didn’t understand had previously led him to take numerous photos and use various software to search for answers.

 

Chen Zhidao couldn’t read the text, but Xi Yu could.

 

“Pulse rapid… pulse stable…

 

Niu Huang, Da Huang, Gan Cao, Qin Pi, Jin Yin Hua, Jin Qian Cao, Lian Qiao… clears heat and detoxifies. Dang Gui, San Qi… pain relief.

 

Ginseng should not be taken with grapes, radishes, hawthorn, or tea. Not suitable for those with wind-cold fever. Recommended for those with deficiency and cold constitution…”

 

“The theory of Zang-Fu focuses on the five viscera, coordinating with the six bowels, connecting the five body parts, five sense organs, and nine orifices (eyes, tongue, mouth, nose, ears, anterior and posterior orifices), and forming an integrated ‘five-viscera system.’ Essence, qi, blood, and bodily fluids are the basic substances that constitute the human body and form the material basis for the functions of the viscera.

 

Five viscera: liver, heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys.

 

Six bowels: gallbladder, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, bladder, triple burner.

 

Extraordinary organs: brain, marrow, bones, vessels, gallbladder, uterus…”

 

It was all pharmacological knowledge. The cover read Yuan Su’s Idle Notes, likely the legendary pharmacopoeia attributed to Yuan Su.

 

Yuan Xu probably hadn’t read the content. Besides, with the authenticity of the initial pages, the rest likely didn’t matter much.

 

Replicating it shouldn’t be too hard.