In Order To Ascend, I Became A Modern Wage Slave - Chapter 42: Elemental True Monarch 15

Chapter 42: Elemental True Monarch 15

 

“Unexpectedly, somehow the news got out, and Yuan Xu learned that the book had been taken by Chen Zhidao. Not long after Xi Yu and the others left, Yuan Xu personally came knocking.

 

Chen Zhidao, aware of how valuable the book was, had been receiving inquiries one after another. His mind turned, thinking he could make a big fortune out of it. So, he casually dodged Yuan Xu’s suspicions and managed to persuade him to leave. He then searched online for a while and found a small craft shop specializing in replicating old items.

 

Recalling Yuan Xu’s impatient demeanor, Chen Zhidao could hardly contain his delight.

 

Finally, the day he’d been waiting for had come—his chance to get rich!

 

The time was too short to perfectly replicate the book, and many parts were blurry and poorly matched due to reflections in the photos.

 

However, he figured that a little dissimilarity wouldn’t be noticeable to others. Even if it was, he could always say it was damage caused by years of wear and tear.

 

After all, Yuan Xu had never truly seen the book.

 

Thinking about it, Chen Zhidao regretted not being bolder and asking for fifty million instead. The man had given him five million without batting an eye.

 

Unfortunately for him, Chen Zhidao’s perfect plan fell apart.

 

While Yuan Xu didn’t remember the book in detail, he could still recognize the characters inside. The forgery, with its mix of human and ghostly qualities, was glaringly obvious.

 

“Do I look that easy to fool?” Yuan Xu asked with a chilling smile.

 

Chen Zhidao didn’t notice anything wrong and forced a smile. “Why would I deceive you? This is indeed the book. If you think it’s not, there’s nothing I can do. This is exactly what I got.”

 

By now, Yuan Xu had stopped pretending entirely, having nothing left to lose. He grabbed Chen Zhidao by the neck.

 

“I suggest you tell me the truth,” Yuan Xu threatened.

 

At first, Chen Zhidao didn’t take him seriously. But as the grip on his neck tightened and his breathing grew labored, he realized the boy before him had genuine intent to kill.

 

“Alright, alright, I’ll talk!” Chen Zhidao gasped.

 

Yuan Xu released him, and as air rushed back into his lungs, Chen Zhidao felt like his brain had been blocked. The fear from moments ago quickly dissipated, and his cunning instincts returned. He tried to bargain.

 

“But I can’t just tell you for free. There must be something in exchange. After all, I’m the one who found it. I deserve some credit, don’t I?”

 

Little did he know, this boy was nothing like the reasonable woman he had dealt with before. Yuan Xu’s sinister smile deepened.

 

“What should I use to exchange? How about your life?” he asked coldly.

 

“If you kill me, you’ll never know where the book is.”

 

Yuan Xu considered this, then crouched down to meet Chen Zhidao’s gaze.

 

“So, what do you want?”

 

“Money,” Chen Zhidao replied boldly. “A lot of money. At least a million to start with. How about that?”

 

Chen Zhidao dared to meet the boy’s eyes. After a moment of scrutiny, Yuan Xu gave a slow nod.

 

“Alright.”

 

Chen Zhidao still remembered the woman’s warning and decided to lie, withholding her involvement. He used Xi Yu and his group as scapegoats instead.

 

“How much do you want?”

 

Yuan Xu’s smile turned eerie. Chen Zhidao, now entirely blinded by greed, assumed this was just another young man influenced by TV shows and cartoons. He didn’t consider whether someone this age could even have so much money.

 

Testing the waters, he threw out a number. “Six.”

 

“Six million is a bit low, don’t you think? This is valuable information,” Yuan Xu said, raising one finger. “How about this number?”

 

One…one hundred million!

 

“That’s…that’s perfect!” Chen Zhidao stammered in excitement.

 

In the next instant, Yuan Xu’s finger moved slightly to the right, and Chen Zhidao’s head followed.

 

Crack!

 

Chen Zhidao’s scream stuck in his throat, his mouth agape and his eyes wide with shock.

 

Yuan Xu sneered as he stood up, indifferent. “Hell currency.”

 

With a flick of his finger, a few sheets of paper appeared and ignited into flames. The ashes, still glowing, floated up in the air before dissipating completely.

 

“I even gave you extra. No need to thank me.”

 

Three days later, Yuan Xu obtained the book.

 

Flipping through a few pages, he didn’t seem to understand its contents. Seeing that the font and style matched, he nodded in satisfaction.

 

“When the time comes, I’ll transfer all my powers to you,” he said.

 

Xi Yu nodded and asked, “What do you intend to do with this book?”

 

“Bury it beneath that locust tree in the city center. He’ll come out,” Yuan Xu replied, carefully storing the book.

 

In those few days, Xi Yu and his group hadn’t just been busy forging the fake book. They had also been researching its contents and various legends about it online.

 

Though Yuan Su Zhenjun wasn’t widely known, as a deity with an earthly temple, there were naturally some who had studied him.”

 

They said this Pharmacopoeia Collection wasn’t actually a record of herbal medicine but rather a compilation of personal observations, experiences, and reflections. It wasn’t a scientific book—it was more like a diary.

 

It made sense because the book’s title was Yuan Su’ Idle Notes.

 

Xi Yu speculated that it might not just contain pharmaceutical knowledge but also the author’s daily life. Perhaps that was the real reason Yuan Xu wanted to find it.

 

There was also an unofficial story, pieced together from multiple accounts: The True Lord of Elements was a solitary person, without any family—certainly not a so-called younger brother.

 

“Maybe this book contains too many things he doesn’t want others to see, so he’s trying to destroy it,” Xi Yu had speculated earlier.

 

But if that were the case, he would’ve realized the book was fake by now. Instead, he was eagerly heading to the locust tree, prepared to bury it to meet his brother.

 

The moon hung high in the pitch-black sky.

 

The locust tree stood like overlapping broken umbrellas, casting shadows while allowing streaks of moonlight to shine through its holes. Kneeling under the tree, Yuan Xu found a wide, protruding root and began digging beside it. It didn’t take long before he was done. He buried the book, patted the soil down firmly, and stepped back quickly, kneeling again with his upper body straight.

 

“Brother, come out.”

 

“Brother, speak.”

 

“Brother, I know you’re here. Come out and say something!”

 

“Yuan Su!”

 

…

 

After a long while, he stood up, staring blankly at Xi Yu. “The book is fake. It’s useless. Was it fun?”

 

Xi Yu crossed his arms. “Isn’t he inside you?”

 

“He’s supposed to come out and talk to me! He’s been occupying my body, and I’m tired of it!” Yuan Xu roared. “I’m asking you now—was the book fake or not?”

 

“Yes.” Xi Yu had anticipated this outcome and remained calm as he voiced his long-held suspicion. “You two are the same person, aren’t you?”

 

“Who the hell is the same person as him!” Yuan Xu’s voice was firm. “I’m Yuan Xu, and he’s Yuan Su. We’re not the same! Where’s the book?”

 

Xi Yu sighed. “I don’t know either.”

 

“If you don’t give it to me, I’ll make sure the entire city goes down with me, even if it kills me. You know I can do it,” Yuan Xu said through gritted teeth.

 

“If you wanted to do that, you would’ve done it already. Why would you bother carefully picking a few specific examples, ones who were already heinous criminals bound to die anyway? Someone truly rotten to the core, like Xi Yi, would’ve done it directly from the start, thinking only of himself,” Xi Yu concluded. “You’re just learning to be bad.”

 

Two days ago, Xi Yu and Lian Bei had gone to the Netherworld—a ghostly realm, the best place for gathering information. Along the way, they encountered Mo’er Dai.

 

“You seem in a good mood today,” Lian Bei remarked casually.

 

Mo’er Dai grinned ear-to-ear. “Of course! That unsolvable case that the judge couldn’t handle finally got resolved perfectly a few days ago. Want to know why?”

 

Lian Bei played along. “Why?”

 

Mo’er Dai immediately shouted with excitement, “He’s mentally ill! There was never any brother. His younger brother died ten years ago—of starvation! He couldn’t move on and convinced himself his brother was still alive. Over time, it split into two personalities! If it weren’t for seeing that ‘CEO’ acting the other day, I think it would’ve taken another couple of days to figure it out!”

 

Split personality?

 

Xi Yu froze in his tracks. Mo’er Dai didn’t notice and kept walking forward until he bumped into something both soft and firm.

 

The “soft and firm” figure stood tall, one hand in his pocket. He turned leisurely, looking down at Mo’er Dai with a defiant gaze, the corner of his mouth curling into an ambiguous smile. “Heh, man, you’ve successfully caught my attention.”

 

Mo’er Dai: “…” Thank you.

 

Lian Bei explained, “A split personality is when one person becomes two completely different individuals. You can think of it as someone attempting to possess a body but failing completely, leaving two different souls in the same body, switching back and forth to do different things.”

 

“Do they know about each other?” Xi Yu asked.

 

Mo’er Dai interjected, “Do you know where the butler is?”

 

The CEO smirked wickedly. “What do you need Liu Bo’er for?”

 

Lian Bei concluded, “It seems they’re aware of each other but don’t realize they’re actually the same person in one body.”

 

Xi Yu lowered his head in thought. “Maybe the True Lord of Elements is the same—he knows Yuan Xu exists but doesn’t realize they’re in the same body.”

 

Before he could finish, the CEO frowned unhappily and shouted, “What are you talking about? Liu Bo’er!”

 

“Coming, coming!” A young man suddenly ran over. He looked seven parts similar to the CEO but was half a head taller. He ran to the CEO and bowed obsequiously. “CEO, what’s the matter?”

 

Mo’er Dai muttered, “They’ve split into two people.”

 

He thought Yuan Xu might be planning to do the same. That’s why there were two locust trees—one hidden in the mountains, shrouded in darkness, and one standing in the city center, bright and upright. They symbolized the two of them, yet both trees shared one characteristic: their branches intertwined like two figures embracing.

 

Separate yet inseparable.

 

Perhaps Yuan Su was a good person, but Yuan Xu wasn’t entirely bad either.

 

“What a coincidence! Such a lively scene!” Bai Fan walked over with a smile. “What interesting topic are you all discussing?”

 

In her hand was a book identical to the fake one Xi Yu had given Yuan Xu.

 

This must be the real thing.