In Order To Ascend, I Became A Modern Wage Slave - Chapter 50: Bai Fan's Story

Chapter 50: Bai Fan’s Story

 

“Come and see, candied hawthorn! Fresh candied hawthorn!”

 

“Sir, give me one.” Amid the bustling street, a young man suddenly darted out.

 

Just as the young man grinned, he was abruptly dragged away by a strong force. He initially resisted, but upon seeing the face of the person, he froze for a moment. “Lian Bei?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Xi Yu reached out and pinched his face playfully, saying, “Are you real or fake?”

 

“Fake,” Lian Bei replied with a smile.

 

“Alright, no more jokes.” Xi Yu crossed his arms and glanced around. “Where is this place? Do you know?”

 

“There are three chapters in total. We’ve just passed through two, one about me and one about you. The last one should be Bai Fan’s own story.”

 

“Have you read what she wrote?”

 

“Stories from before her ascension—essentially her mythology,” Lian Bei recalled. “If this is indeed Bai Fan’s chapter, then we are in the land where she lived.”

 

Xi Yu remarked, “Bai Fan ascended before Xi Yi, didn’t she?”

 

Lian Bei nodded. “When Xi Yi ascended, she was already the right-hand person of the Emperor of the Celestial Court.”

 

Xi Yu muttered, “Then Xi Yi hasn’t been born yet…”

 

“Did you notice anything?”

 

“Yes. Both of our chapters have a common dominant figure: Xi Yi. I initially thought the book’s ghostly disturbances were mostly his doing. Do you know what Xi Yi’s most skilled technique is? Puppet manipulation. He doesn’t need to act himself; he can control a puppet to manipulate everyone. Both Xiai Xianjun and Yuansu Zhenjun were fooled by such tricks,” Xi Yu explained.

 

“It seems like everyone is a chess player, but in reality, everyone is just his puppet.”

 

“Both chapters involve his presence. Altering one detail about him changes the outcome entirely. In the first chapter, he doesn’t want me dead; he wants Bei Shang Zunjun to disappear from the world. In the second chapter, he wants me gone. Nonexistent entities gradually lose their significance with time and are eventually forgotten. Conversely, what remains becomes increasingly valuable over time, gaining importance and leaving a lasting impression.”

 

“From the start, he was making dual preparations,” Xi Yu continued. “If he couldn’t gain merits from other deities’ offerings, he would kill the other deities. Once only he remained, he would naturally regain temples and statues dedicated to him, along with countless worshippers and an endless supply of merits.”

 

“Lian Bei, tell me, why did I suddenly end up in that place called 2023?”

 

Lian Bei smiled faintly. “My power stems from your offerings.”

 

“Me?” Xi Yu pointed at himself in disbelief. “At that time, didn’t you receive even a fraction of the millions of merits?”

 

“No.”

 

Xi Yu was stunned for a moment. After a long silence, he looked at Lian Bei. “So… you left suddenly back then because I stopped believing in you? Your power was no longer sufficient to stay with me? Why didn’t you tell me then?”

 

“You can’t break someone’s faith abruptly.”

 

The two locked eyes for a long time before Xi Yu said, “Let’s find two people next—one who looks like Bai Fan and one who looks like Xi Yi.”

 

After speaking, he added, “If Xi Yi appears here, he definitely won’t do so under his own identity. He’s always been discreet and inconspicuous. Finding him won’t be easy.”

 

Xi Yu randomly grabbed a passerby and asked, “Is there a particularly talented woman around here?”

 

“A woman?” The person frowned. “What would a woman need talent for? There’s none. Even if there was, she’d have been dragged out and flogged by now.”

 

This made things even more difficult.

 

The current Bai Fan was most likely disguised as a man.

 

Xi Yu asked again, “Then, is there a particularly talented man, the most outstanding one?”

 

“Are you talking about Mr. Xi?”

 

“Xi… Xi Yi?”

 

“That’s probably how it’s pronounced. I can’t read, but there’s a notice board up ahead. Go check for yourself.” The person pointed the way for Xi Yu.

 

On the notice board, the top name was Xi Qi. Unexpectedly, the last name was Bai Fan.

 

People were gathered around the board, discussing.

 

Suddenly, someone shouted, “Mr. Xi! Mr. Xi is here!”

 

Xi Yu looked over.

 

Oh. It was none other than Xi Yi under a different name. His face carried a humble smile as he walked slowly, thanking everyone for their compliments. After entering the crowd alone, he emerged with another person in tow.

 

Xi Yu grabbed Lian Bei and followed them.

 

The person in Xi Yi’s arms seemed incredibly uneasy, stumbling several times as they walked and stepping on many people’s feet. They repeatedly apologized, saying, “Sorry, sorry,” until they finally steadied themselves.

 

Once out of the crowd, they stopped and began bowing to Xi Yi. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for troubling you. I’m so sorry!”

 

“It’s fine.”

 

Only then did the person belatedly scratch their head and curiously ask, “Why did you suddenly pull me out? Do we know each other?”

 

Xi Yi smiled gently. “We will from now on.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You’re Bai Fan, aren’t you?” Xi Yi extended a hand. “Hello, I am Xi Qi. You should know me, the one at the top of the rankings.”

 

His tone carried a faint sense of superiority. Bai Fan didn’t seem to notice, shook his hand politely, and said, “Pleasure to meet you.”

 

Bai Fan asked in confusion, “Why are you seeking me out?”

 

“I read the chapters you wrote and think they’re excellent. You have great talent,” Xi Yi said sincerely. “I want to help you.”

 

“Help? How do you plan to help me?”

 

“I’ll teach you how to write compositions. I guarantee you’ll take the top spot in the next written exam.”

 

“Really?” Bai Fan’s eyes lit up. “Is that possible?”

 

“I assure you, with your ability, you will absolutely be the top scorer next time,” Xi Yi said earnestly. “Trust me, and trust yourself.”

 

“Hey, hey, hey!!!”

 

Suddenly, an old man appeared and started shooing them away. “Don’t block the way! My cart needs to pass. What are you two doing here?”

 

The old man was quite unreasonable, directly pushing Xi Yu and Xi Yi aside. Though Xi Yu dodged quickly, he still met Xi Yi’s gaze.

 

If Xi Yi were merely orchestrating events by controlling characters, he shouldn’t recognize him.

 

Yet, that familiar and inscrutable look in his eyes sent a shiver down Xi Yu’s spine.

 

After leaving, the two quickly entered a bookstore—a place for teaching and writing—where outsiders weren’t allowed to enter freely. Xi Yu and Lian Bei had no choice but to find a spot to sit and wait for them to come out.

 

“Xi Qi…” Xi Yu murmured. “What’s been happening in the heavens? What does he want to do to Bai Fan Zhenjun?”

 

Lian Bei sat down beside him. “Bai Fan Zhenjun wasn’t promoted by Xi Yi. She was in the Celestial Court from the beginning, with a rank several levels higher than his.”

 

“Bai Fan chronicles divine histories. The most important thing for her is to be truthful,” Xi Yu said. “Someone like Xi Yi, who appears noble on the surface but is vile underneath, would be transparent to her at a glance. At most, she’d maintain superficial harmony with him but would never, under any circumstances, work for him.”

 

“But they still ended up on the same side,” Lian Bei said, pulling Xi Yu’s hand over and writing on it.

 

After the matter of the book spirit, Bai Fan would agree to return all the power Xi Yu was entitled to. But she would still stand on Xi Yi’s side.

 

She had always been fair and just.

 

Why?

 

As Xi Yu pondered the reasoning, he found it somewhat laughable. “Are you saying that because this person has the same face as Xi Yi, she feels obligated to help him out of gratitude?”

 

“What if someone had the same face as me?” Lian Bei countered.

 

Xi Yu fell silent. After a long while, he said, “I’d confirm whether he was really you.”

 

Then, with a sudden realization, he thought—Bai Fan’s current actions were likely along those lines as well. However, her heart had tilted slightly due to Xi Yi’s eloquent persuasion.

 

Resting his chin in his hand, Xi Yu contemplated. “I have a particularly quick solution.”

 

He said something shocking: “We could just kill Xi Yi.”

 

“After all, this is just a book. I want to see what happens next if we kill him. If he really is the book spirit, then we’d succeed.”

 

Lian Bei warned him, “If he’s not, it will alter many things—real-world things.”

 

This was an ancient story passed down to the present day, so distant that even the people involved had forgotten. No one would verify it anymore. For future generations, what was written might as well be the truth.

 

“But if we keep hesitating, how long will this go on?” Xi Yu quickly made up his mind. “People should live in the moment.”

 

“What if Xi Yi is also thinking about the future?”

 

As it turned out, Xi Yu’s intuition was correct.

 

The book spirit could manipulate the story but wasn’t particularly powerful. At least the character Xi Yi had added wasn’t. He was a scholarly man of letters, weak and frail despite being at the top of the rankings.

 

Xi Yu hadn’t expected Xi Yi to portray himself this way, but it worked in his favor.

 

He didn’t kill him outright but captured and imprisoned him. Xi Yi still existed but was isolated from Bai Fan.

 

Without him, Bai Fan didn’t change much.

 

A year later, through tireless effort, she claimed the top spot in the rankings. Three years later, her writings were widely read and circulated. Ten years later, she attempted to advocate for equal educational rights for women and men but met resistance. Wrapping herself tighter against the chill, fifty years later, she passed away. It was revealed that she wasn’t a man, and posthumously, her reputation plummeted. She fell from grace, no longer recognized, and her legacy vanished overnight.

 

Time flowed by like water, the years slipping away before Xi Yu’s eyes.

 

Xi Yi gritted his teeth and said, “If you don’t release me soon, something bad will happen.”

 

Feigning surprise, Xi Yu said, “Oh? So your consciousness is here. Surprised to see me? What bad thing will happen?”

 

“The world will lose Bai Fan Zhenjun.”

 

The story seemed to be nearing its conclusion, yet the outside scene continued, repeating endlessly. Gradually, it faded to white as if waiting for something.

 

Waiting for Xi Yi’s reappearance?

 

“How did Bai Fan Zhenjun ascend?” Xi Yu asked.

 

“By her talent,” Xi Yi replied. “She accumulated the worship of many over time and ascended quietly after gathering enough merit. She didn’t want to draw attention, so no one knew. That’s why she fell from grace so quickly later—no one spoke up for her.”

 

“Someone did,” Lian Bei said. “Her power indeed faced many ups and downs, but later, a mortal discovered a stunning and enduring masterpiece of hers.”

 

He added, “It didn’t have a signature.”

 

The works signed by Bai Fan Zhenjun were all destroyed after her identity as a woman was exposed.

 

This unsigned piece survived because it bore no name. It allowed her legacy to persist. Later, women in literature were no longer looked down upon, and her earlier works were finally accepted and resurfaced.

 

“Who do you think found her unsigned masterpiece? Given her circumstances at the time, even text resembling her handwriting was burned without exception,” Xi Yi scoffed. “It was me. I wrote it and attributed it to her.”

 

…

 

Xi Yi called out into the void, “Bai Fan, you’ve heard everything, haven’t you? Why be so concerned? Relationships between people are inherently mutually beneficial. Without me, you would’ve lost your reputation long ago. Even if you’re rediscovered in the future, it would already be too late.”

 

“You should understand this better than anyone.”

 

Outside, the world finally plunged into blankness…