Chapter 3: Large Rat! Large Rat!
At this moment, Jiang Yan’s heart was less filled with fear and more with… excitement.
A life that should have been dead, buried deep in history, had still come back to life and transformed into a terrifying monster.
As for why it wasn’t a zombie… Jiang Yan felt no surprise, because that was a stereotype left by modern movies, especially the classics shaped by Uncle Jiu, which linked the Qing Dynasty with zombies.
But in reality, before the Manchus entered (mainland) China, their belief was similar to the Mongols’, centered on Shamanism, though the object of worship was not a specific deity, but the will of nature—that is, the spirits in all things and the will of heaven and earth.
A primitive… concept of heaven!
Later, the Qing was further influenced by Tibetan Buddhism and gained many Buddhist elements, the most obvious being the “white pigeon,” “snake,” and “pig”—the three livestock—representing greed, anger, and ignorance; many important figures even took pride in Sanskrit names.
But at its core, they believed one could obtain power from the spirits of nature and ancestors, and thus in legends, there were often corpses, necromancy, living people, beasts, and many other roles.
The Protector Immortals outside Shanhaiguan, the Bianpo in Guisheng areas, and so on, were all related.
There were even folk rumors that ten beasts of the Western Mountains reincarnated into ten major figures of the Qing Dynasty, bringing chaos to the world.
If one had to sum up the extraordinary system in Manchu legendary stories in one term, it would be…
A Chinese-style Druid!
But tracing back history, it was even more ancient than abroad.
Moreover, Jiang Yan could tell from their conversation that they were loyal to the so‑called Corpse‑Dissolution Court.
Did such a Court even exist in the Qing Dynasty?
Was this transformation the great power of the long river of history?
Or some strange mutation caused by the illness?
Could he have a chance to obtain such power?
If so, not only could his disease be cured, but he might even take it a step further and touch that immortality that emperors and generals had dreamed of for millennia.
At that thought, Jiang Yan’s emotions fluctuated for a moment, his breath grew slightly heavier, but he still remained calm.
Right now, the most important thing was to follow the clues from the historical river, survive for more than an hour, and safely return to reality.
The Old Street was two kilometers long, winding, with hundreds of shops; as long as he remained quiet, there was a high probability he wouldn’t be discovered.
Thoughts drifted, but in the blink of an eye—
Jiang Yan snapped back to his senses and turned his gaze again toward Commander Lu’s direction, but he only saw ten wild boar-mounted riders, his pupils trembling slightly, and a bad premonition arose.
Before he could think further, a huge blood-red eye peered through the gap in the door, staring directly at him, reflecting his terrified expression.
“Found…”
“You…”
“Finally!”
Boom!
A gigantic hand slammed against the door, bringing violent tremors, and a hoarse, sharp voice thundered through the door like firecrackers going off in Jiang Yan’s ears:
“Fresh living flesh from the present world—how could it escape my spiritual nose? Looks like a southern barbarian.”
In the late Ming and early Qing, the surrendered northern Han Eight Banners belittled southern Han as “southern barbarians,” and over time, it became a contemptuous slur.
Creak, creak!
Jiang Yan stepped back a few paces, and fear crawled out of his mind like a venomous snake, nibbling at his reason, but he bit his teeth and stayed silent.
As mentioned before, these buildings were traditional-style, but fundamentally made of reinforced concrete.
When choosing where to hide, Jiang Yan specifically picked a shop with stainless steel doors that could withstand powerful impact. Most crucially…
No windows!
Although the shop owner meant it to prevent moisture, it ended up saving Jiang Yan’s life.
“You southern barbarian, you do have some guts.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Seeing Jiang Yan remain silent, Commander Lu sneered, continuing to pound on the door with loud booms; the door bolt deformed repeatedly, yet held firm.
Even after over a dozen fierce strikes failed to break the door, Jiang Yan didn’t feel relieved—instead, he used the time to run toward the back door of the shop.
His grandfather had participated in the design and construction of the Old Street and had shown him its layout, so he knew that the back doors of the shops were all connected, forming an intricate network.
The purpose was to help tourists feel immersed and avoid the jarring sight of shopkeepers changing into casual clothes at the end of the day.
It was all about immersive experience.
As a child, he often played hide-and-seek here, and thanks to this advantage, he could easily find the other kids—over time, he became very familiar with the layout.
He now intended to run to the pharmacy—there was a basement under that shop.
He just had to hold on for one hour!
“The farce ends here.”
Jiang Yan looked back and saw Commander Lu grinning viciously through the door crack, raising the flag in his hand.
“Southern barbarian, feel honored—you’ll witness the supreme slashing technique the Prince taught me…”
“Diamond Slash!”
The flag fluttered and then suddenly swung down like a sharp blade.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Violent winds howled, lashing against Jiang Yan’s face, leaving streaks of bloody marks, as dense beads of blood seeped out.
In the next second—
Boom!
The slash transformed into tangible sword energy, instantly tearing through the stainless steel door, sending splinters, dust, and debris flying everywhere.
The sword energy continued forward, gouging a ten-meter-long scar across the ground.
The sweeping wind directly hurled Jiang Yan into the air, slamming him hard against a wall, then dropping him to the ground in a crumpled heap—bones aching terribly, the taste of metallic blood filled his mouth, and he couldn’t help but vomit it out, forming a crimson flower on the ground.
Rumble!
The stainless steel door collapsed, and the surrounding walls also shattered, damaging the building’s structural integrity. The roof tiles lost their support and clattered down in pieces.
Commander Lu stood at the doorway, looking down at Jiang Yan with contempt from above.
The wild boar riders who had followed close behind burst into loud laughter at the sight, their eyes filled with greed as drool dripped from the large mouths on their bellies.
Jiang Yan lay on the ground, chuckling weakly, “If you're going to kill me, get it over with. Why so much chatter?”
He neither screamed nor begged for mercy—because such actions wouldn’t help him survive and would only please the enemy.
If he was going to die anyway, why die a coward?
Commander Lu remained expressionless, showing no concern for the provocation of the weak, slowly raising the flag in his hand as swirling air transformed into a howling gale.
“Go to hell.”
He had no time to waste with mortals from the present world—he had to seize this once-in-a-lifetime chance to anchor himself to reality.
‘Am I going to die?’
Jiang Yan, feeling the raging wind, sighed inwardly at how he’d received a boxed meal (death) so early—he truly wasn’t protagonist material.
He hadn’t even fully seen this fascinating world before it was all over.
Buzz!
Just as he was about to close his eyes and await death, a sharp clash of metal rang out—yet the expected pain didn’t arrive, only the wind continued to blow.
“This is…”
Jiang Yan instinctively opened his eyes, only to see a giant…
Mickey Mouse!
No—actually, it was the plush rat doll sent by the Rice God of Wealth Church.
Now it had suddenly inflated to four meters tall, its round body like a small mountain.
A bloodstain had appeared on its forehead—clearly, it was stained with his blood.
It had used the jade ruyi made from rice in its hand to block Commander Lu’s slash.
It raised its head, whiskers trembling, letting out a “squeak squeak.”
Commander Lu’s blood-red pupils narrowed, and he growled coldly:
“So, it’s you thieving rats. If I remember correctly, you must be a low-rank grain-guarding rat soldier from the Rice God of Wealth’s Church…”
Before he finished speaking, the plush rat wielded its jade ruyi with immense force, blasting away the flag from his hand, then flung the ruyi through the air.
It struck Commander Lu directly, launching him like a cannonball into the opposite building.
Crash!
The building collapsed with a roar—roof tiles and rubble scattered, dust clouding the air, instantly burying Commander Lu.
Jiang Yan stared blankly at the scene—and at the giant rice… rat that had protected him—his heart overwhelmed with excitement.
It seemed that his blood had awakened it.
So the Rice God of Wealth wasn't a cult at all—he was his savior!
Could this be his golden cheat?!
“Good thing you were here. When I get back, I’ll join the Rice God of Wealth Church and burn incense for it every day…” Jiang Yan stood up, speaking excitedly.
“Squeak squeak!”
Upon hearing his voice, the rat soldier turned its head—its eyes filled with greed as it stared at Jiang Yan, opening its enormous rodent mouth with drool dripping out.
Clearly, it didn’t see Jiang Yan as one of its own—it saw him more like…
Food!
In the next second, the rat soldier swung the jade ruyi in its hand and slammed it down.
Boom!
Debris flew, and in midair, it turned into scattered grains of rice covering the ground.
Jiang Yan rolled to the side and barely dodged it, staring in disbelief at the large crater where he had just stood.
He completely broke down.
“Dammit…”
This rat soldier clearly wanted to turn him into rice!
Escaped the tiger, only to meet a hungry wolf!
How was he supposed to play like this?!