Chapter 3: The Great Rat! The Great Rat!

At this moment, rather than fear, what Jiang Yan felt in his heart was...

Excitement!

A life that should have been dead, a life that had already been buried deep in the annals of history, had actually come back to life and transformed into a terrifying monster.

As for why it wasn't a jiangshi... Jiang Yan was not the least bit surprised, because this was a stereotype left behind by modern cinema, especially the classics shaped by Uncle Nine, which led everyone to associate the Qing Dynasty with jiangshi.

But in reality, before the Manchus entered the pass, their beliefs were similar to the Mongols, primarily Shamanism; however, they did not worship a specific deity, but rather the will of nature—a synthesis of all living things in the world and the will of heaven and earth.

A primitive... concept of Heaven!

Later, the Manchu Qing was influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, incorporating many Buddhist elements, the most obvious being the "three beasts"—the dove, the snake, and the pig—representing greed, anger, and ignorance, respectively; many great figures even took pride in having Sanskrit names.

But at its core, they believed they could obtain power from the spirits of nature and their ancestors, which is why legends often featured characters like corpses, spirits, the living, and wild beasts.

The "Protector Immortals" outside Shanhai Pass, the "Bianpo" in the Guizhou region, and so on, were all related to this.

There were even folk rumors that the Ten Beasts of Xishan were reincarnated into the human world to become ten great figures of the Qing Dynasty, wreaking havoc upon the world.

If one had to use a single term to summarize the supernatural system in Manchu legends, it would be...

Chinese Druids!

But tracing back through history, it is even older than those abroad.

Moreover, Jiang Yan could tell from their conversation that they were loyal to the so-called Corpse-Dissolution Royal Court.

Did the Great Qing have such a royal court?

Was this change truly the mighty power of the long river of history?

Or was it a bizarre mutation caused by its sickness?

Did he himself have a chance to obtain this power?

If so, then not only could his illness be cured, but he could even go a step further and touch that immortality that emperors and generals had dreamed of for thousands of years!

Thinking of this, Jiang Yan’s emotions fluctuated for an instant, his breathing becoming slightly heavier, though he remained calm.

The most urgent matter right now was still to follow the prompts of the long river of history, survive for over an hour, and return safely to reality.

The Old Street was two kilometers long, winding and twisting, lined with hundreds of shops; as long as he stayed quiet, there was a high probability he wouldn't be discovered.

These thoughts flowed through his mind in just an instant.

Jiang Yan regained his focus and looked again in the direction of Regional Commander Lu, but he only saw ten wild boar cavalrymen; his pupils shook slightly, and an ominous premonition surfaced in his heart.

Before he could even think, a massive blood-colored pupil suddenly appeared through a crack in the door, staring right at him, reflecting his terrified expression.

"Found..."

"You..."

"At..."

"Last!"

Boom!

A giant hand slammed against the door panel, bringing with it violent tremors, and the hoarse, shrill voice whistled through the door, exploding in Jiang Yan's ears like firecrackers:

"The scent of fresh flesh and blood from the present world, how could it escape my spirit-nose? Looks like a Southern Barbarian."

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the surrendered Northern Han Eight Banners disparaged Southern Han people as "Southern Barbarians," and over time, it became a derogatory term.

Creak, creak!

Jiang Yan stepped back a few paces, the fear in his heart crawling out like a venomous snake, constantly gnawing at his sanity, but he gritted his teeth hard and said nothing.

As mentioned before, because these houses were faux-antique buildings, they were essentially made of reinforced concrete.

When Jiang Yan chose the place, he specifically picked a shop with a stainless steel door that could withstand heavy impact, and most importantly...

No windows!

Although the shop owner's purpose was to prevent dampness, it saved Jiang Yan's life at this moment.

"You Southern Barbarian, you have some guts."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Seeing Jiang Yan didn't respond, Regional Commander Lu sneered, his palm continuing to strike the door, producing a rumbling sound; the door bolt kept deforming but held firm.

However, after more than a dozen violent strikes, the door still wasn't breached; Jiang Yan didn't feel relieved, but instead took this 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 the layout; he knew the back doors of the streets were all connected, scattered like stars, forming a network.

It was mainly to give tourists a sense of immersion so they wouldn't feel it was jarring to see owners changing into casual clothes to go to work.

It was all about the immersive experience.

He often played hide-and-seek here when he was a child, and relying on this advantage, he easily found other children; over time, he became very familiar with these structures.

He immediately prepared to run to the pharmacy, as that shop had a basement underneath.

Just had to survive for an hour!

"The farce ends here."

Jiang Yan looked back and could see through the crack in the door that Regional Commander Lu was grinning as he raised the flag in his hand.

"Southern Barbarian, you should be honored to witness the supreme slashing technique taught to me by the Prince..."

"Vajra Slash!"

The flag fluttered and swung violently, like a sharp blade descending.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A wild wind whistled, blowing against Jiang Yan's face, carving out streaks of blood as dense beads of blood seeped out.

The next second,

Boom!

The slash transformed into materialized sword Qi, instantly tearing through the stainless steel door; countless wood chips, dust, and gravel flew about.

The sword Qi did not stop, plowing a sword mark nearly ten meters long into the ground.

The whipped-up gale blew Jiang Yan away, slamming him hard against the wall before he fell to the ground, curling into a ball; his muscles and bones ached intensely, his mouth filled with the fishy, sweet taste of rust, and finally, he couldn't help but spit it out, blooming into a flower of blood on the ground.

Rumble!

The stainless steel door collapsed, and the surrounding walls shattered, destroying the overall structure of the house; the roof tiles lost their support and clattered down, shattering all over the floor.

Regional Commander Lu stood at the doorway, looking down at Jiang Yan on the ground from a high vantage point.

The wild boar cavalrymen who arrived behind him laughed heartily at the sight, their gazes greedy, saliva dripping from the large mouths on their abdomens.

Jiang Yan lay on the ground and sneered in a weak voice: "If you're going to do it, do it quickly; stop dawdling."

He didn't yell or scream, nor did he kneel and beg for mercy, because those things wouldn't keep him alive; they would only amuse the other party.

Since he was going to die anyway, why act like a coward?

Regional Commander Lu’s expression was indifferent, his eyes never caring about the provocations of the weak; he slowly raised the flag in his hand, the airflow swirling and turning into a whistling gale.

"Be on your way!"

It didn't have time to waste on humans from the present world; it had to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to anchor itself to the present.

'Am I going to die?'

Jiang Yan felt the whistling wind and lamented that he had received his "box lunch" so early; he truly didn't have the life of a protagonist.

He hadn't even experienced this interesting world yet, and it was already ending.

Hum!

Just as he prepared to close his eyes and wait for death, a sharp sound of clashing iron rang out; the pain he imagined did not descend, only the whistling wind.

"This is..."

Jiang Yan opened his eyes subconsciously, only to see a massive...

Mickey Mouse!

Oh no, it was that fat mouse doll sent by the Rice God Church.

At this moment, it had suddenly expanded to four meters tall, its round, chubby body like a small hill, with blood-red color appearing on its forehead—clearly stained by his blood.

It was also using the jade ruyi made of rice in its hand to block Regional Commander Lu's slash.

It raised its head, its whiskers trembling slightly, and let out a "squeak" sound.

Regional Commander Lu narrowed its blood-colored pupils and said coldly:

"So it's you bunch of rice-stealing rats; if I remember correctly, you should be a low-level soldier of the Rice God Church, a Master Rat Guard..."

Before it could finish speaking, the flagpole in its hand was shaken away by a massive force, and then the jade ruyi whistled through the air, directly slapping Regional Commander Lu away; its body was ejected instantly like a cannonball, crashing into the house opposite.

Clatter!

The house collapsed with a roar, a large amount of tiles and gravel scattering, and accompanied by the rising dust, it instantly buried Regional Commander Lu.

Jiang Yan stared blankly at this scene, and at the giant mouse... rat protecting him, his heart filled with uncontrollable excitement.

It seemed his blood had awakened it.

So the Rice God Church wasn't an evil cult; it was truly his savior!

Could this be his golden finger?

"It's a good thing you're here; when I get back, I'll join the Rice God Church and offer incense to it every day..." Jiang Yan stood up and said excitedly.

"Squeak!"

Hearing the sound, the Master Rat Guard turned its head, but its pair of eyes stared greedily at Jiang Yan, opening its giant mouth with massive incisors, saliva dripping down.

Clearly, it didn't see Jiang Yan as one of its own; it was more like...

Food!

The next second, the Master Rat Guard swung the jade ruyi in its hand and smashed it down violently.

Bang!

Gravel splashed and flew in the air, actually turning into grains of rice scattered all over the ground.

Jiang Yan rolled away abruptly to dodge, and seeing the massive crater that had appeared where he had just been standing, he completely lost his composure.

"Damn it..."

This giant rat guard clearly wanted to turn him into rice!

Just as the fierce tiger left, a starving wolf arrived!

How is one supposed to play this!?

The contract has been signed; I ask for monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and follow-up reads.

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(End of chapter)