[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s":3,"chapter-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-188":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Immortal Through Martial Path, I Who Cannot Die Shall Ultimately Be Invincible",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2325406,4549,"Chapter 188: Rise in Rank, Gain Wealth","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-188",188,"\u003Cp>As the Dragon Boat Festival approached, the weather was scorching hot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just two days prior, a heavy rainstorm had flooded the Tianlaomiao, soaking the guardhouse and causing mold to grow—mushrooms sprouted inside, and the moment you stepped in, a nauseating stench of damp rot filled the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the cells, it was worse: mold growing in the corners was routine; all kinds of vermin ran rampant, standard fare. The stench of mold lingered endlessly, and mildew clung to the prison bars. Many prisoners broke out in red rashes, itching uncontrollably, so bad they wanted to scratch their flesh raw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou feared an epidemic and quickly ordered the physician to prepare medicine for the prisoners. Anyone with fever, chills, or cough was moved to the darkest, most isolated cell at the rear—live or die, it was their fate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On a sunny day, he ordered all the equipment in the guardhouse moved into the courtyard to be baked in the sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Daowen also demanded his bedding and clothes be taken out to sun themselves—not that he himself would be exposed, though he wished he could be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering he had paid five thousand taels, Chen Guanlou agreed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking it over, he ordered the laborers to take out every blanket and quilt from all the cells to be sunned—reducing even one sick prisoner was better. The physician’s treatments cost money too, all drawn from public funds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more the public funds were spent, the smaller everyone’s bonus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One less patient meant less spending, which was the same as saving his own money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, the guards in the Yi and Bing cells followed suit. Soon, the entire yamen courtyard was carpeted with reeking bedding, so foul it forced Fan Yucheng to shut all windows and doors of his office, even in the sweltering heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t scold his subordinates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Conditions in the Yi and Bing cells were worse than in the Jia cells; the recent flood had been even more severe. People had already died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He feared an epidemic, feared mass deaths. Anything that eased the situation was welcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone from the Ministry of Justice arrived to deliver grain rations. He stepped through the gate and immediately vomited, refusing to enter further. Covering his nose and mouth, he said: “The third-quarter grain rations for last year have been issued. Send someone to collect them immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the New Year, the Tianlaomiao’s starvation coercion method had actually worked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Sun Daoning’s supervision, after the Lunar New Year, they first made up last year’s first-half grain rations. Now they were notified to collect last year’s third-quarter rations—the warehouse finally had no more rats running around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fan Yucheng assigned Chen Guanlou to lead the team to collect the grain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou was surprised. “Me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Tianlaomiao had multiple logistical officers—not just one, but several. After all, logistics were lucrative, and everyone wanted a share. Assigning multiple officers allowed more factions to be appeased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, is this appropriate?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I say it’s appropriate, and that’s final.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou obeyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he was uneasy, so he privately asked Li Shiyeh: What was this really about?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shiyeh, remembering Chen Guanlou’s regular bribes, revealed the truth: “The lord is being promoted.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah!” Chen Guanlou was stunned, then added: “Congratulations, Master Li! This is tremendous news! May I ask, where will Master Fan be promoted to?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shiyeh stroked his beard, visibly proud. “The Ministry of Justice has an opening for a Zhaomo. The lord cultivated ties with Vice Minister Sun. Vice Minister Sun noticed the lord’s diligence at the Tianlaomiao and recommended him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From ninth-rank to eighth-rank proper—that’s three promotions at once!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What had Fan Yucheng done? Had he given Sun Daoning a son? How could he leap straight to Zhaomo, bypassing the Siyu and Jianjiao entirely?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even a biological son wouldn’t get this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was truly stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He blinked, desperate to ask: How exactly had Fan Yucheng pulled this off?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shiyeh saw right through him and smiled. “You’re surprised, aren’t you? Wondering how the lord rose so fast?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou nodded vigorously. Yes! Yes! It was unbelievable!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since we’re close, I’ll tell you one truth: Vice Minister Sun has an illegitimate son.” Li Shiyeh gave him a knowing grin, heavy with implication.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou was baffled—he didn’t get it. What did Sun Daoning’s illegitimate son have to do with Fan Yucheng? Surely Fan hadn’t acted as a surrogate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, Sun Daoning’s illegitimate son wasn’t a secret—many knew. Why had no one else succeeded, but Fan Yucheng had?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It could only be luck—when fortune comes, even walls can’t block it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Daoning’s illegitimate son, perhaps due to his origins, had grown up bitter and resentful, becoming a rebellious youth who provoked trouble, picked fights, and stirred chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fan Yucheng often visited high-end brothels. One day, he happened upon the son, who was being beaten by a mob for causing trouble. Not knowing he was Sun Daoning’s son, Fan Yucheng, out of fellow-patron solidarity, stepped in to help and paid off the debt to settle the matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, Sun Daoning found out but said nothing—he simply remembered it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he learned of the Ministry opening, Fan Yucheng considered his options. He doubted his old patron could help, so he swallowed his pride and approached Sun Daoning directly, offering a large sum to secure his favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d only been trying his luck. But Sun Daoning had never forgotten the favor—and after taking the money, he smoothly recommended Fan Yucheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surprise came too suddenly. Even Fan Yucheng himself couldn’t believe his luck—he’d actually risen above the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhaomo position had no fewer than ten competitors, but none could match Sun Daoning’s power. A left vice minister of the Ministry of Justice recommending an eighth-rank Zhaomo was a single word—and no one dared challenge him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the massive fortune fell squarely on Fan Yucheng’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After learning the full story, Fan Yucheng was deeply moved. An accidental act of kindness had truly earned him such a profound blessing. Without Sun Daoning’s help, even if he’d worked for three or five more years, he’d never have risen from Yucheng to Zhaomo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In officialdom, promotion must come step by step. Unless your father is a chancellor, a minister, your family one of the nation’s great clans, or your master one of the empire’s most revered scholars…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Fan’s promotion is great news. But what does it have to do with me collecting grain at the Ministry?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou asked for the real reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shiyeh teased him with a mysterious smile before saying: “The logistical officers—the lord has always disliked them. But he’s held back, because of their powerful backers. You understand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou suddenly understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Fan Yucheng was head of the Tianlaomiao, not everyone in this small domain obeyed him. He truly controlled only the Jia, Yi, and Bing cells. The most lucrative logistics section had always been beyond his reach—it was someone else’s private fiefdom, untouched by any outsider. Unless you had a powerful enough backer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But who with such power would come to the Tianlaomiao to suffer as a jailer?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So for years, no one dared touch logistics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that Master Fan was leaving, he had nothing to fear. Before he went, he’d make sure to torment those bastards in logistics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou: …\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fan Yucheng was leaving, but Chen Guanlou still had to work here!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This whole mess could turn him into everyone’s target.\u003C\u002Fp>",1240,"2026-06-20T17:39:56.967Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","48891ce15df4913ad9035d5e6fcbe667590951ae369b6c1f5c05172bbdae3a85","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-189","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-187",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fimmortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-cover.jpg"]