History Has Fallen Ill-Chapter 128 : Jiang Yan Goes Fishing, the Heavenly Official Takes the Bait!

Chapter 128: Jiang Yan Goes Fishing, the Heavenly Official Takes the Bait!
In front of the silver-forged World-Crossing Treasure Raft, Wang Zhi was on the verge of collapse.
After approaching, he immediately sensed something was wrong. Though he could feel his son Wang Ao’s soul, he couldn’t locate it.
He summoned the last remaining Shipworker Puppet Soul to provide a field of vision and frantically searched within the Treasure Raft. At last, he finally...
Found it—on the silver lamp’s oil reservoir!
His son’s soul had already been made into lamp oil.
Yes, only through the link of closest kinship could one travel upstream against the vast Historical Long River.
Within the lamp oil, the remaining soul was so weak it was nearly extinguished, yet it still held on. After sensing a familiar aura, it emitted one final wave of mental energy:
“...Father...run...run...”
After conveying the message, the silver flame incinerated it completely.
The flame flickered, as if mocking.
Wang Zhi trembled all over, and angrily questioned, “You clearly promised me, that as long as I willingly became your treasure ship, you would spare Ao’er and reunite us. Why did you deceive me?”
The flame flickered, but gave no reply.
“Heh heh heh... Is a reunion after death still called a reunion? I know I can’t resist you, but I can destroy this treasure raft, make your plan fail!”
Wang Zhi roared, releasing a vast aura and striking to shatter the Treasure Raft refined from his own body.
Yet in that instant of approach, a silver hand suddenly extended from the flame.
It was wholly composed of flowing mercury—slender and elongated, unidentifiable in gender.
The only sensation it conveyed was... beauty.
The beauty of flowing metal, the mating of life.
Its emergence came without omen, without powerful incantation, yet it dissolved all spiritual energy and annihilated all techniques.
In a single instant, Wang Zhi lost all power to resist.
At that moment, he felt that what stood before him was not a human being, but the Heavens themselves.
Vast and boundless—beyond the reach of mortals.
“The Law of the Heavenly Official...”
Wang Zhi laughed miserably. The Shipworker Puppet on his face shattered in succession, leaving behind only a sunken five-fingered palm print—just the right size to match the hand before him.
At that moment, memories flooded his mind.
He and his son had revived together from the Historical Pathology, thinking it was Heaven’s blessing—believing they could live peacefully on an island and rebuild their pirate empire.
Though he didn’t seek revenge on Ming, if he couldn’t afford to offend them, he would simply stay away.
This time, he wouldn’t accept amnesty again.
Then one day, a silver figure descended from the sky.
He merely walked over—and crushed all resistance. All of Wang Zhi’s subordinates were killed by the shock alone.
The whole process—easier than squashing ants.
“Father, run!”
His son had stood in front, trying to buy time for Wang Zhi to escape, while he himself charged forward with a treasured sword.
Yet after taking a single step, Wang Ao found his hands turning to mercury. Another step—his flesh began to dissolve. After only three steps, he turned into a mercury sphere.
Encasing his soul, it was grasped by that exalted figure.
That man glanced at it, then shook his head, saying:
“Filial, resilient, brave. But unfortunately, no great merits were cultivated—like a blooming flower gnawed by bugs. Disappointing.”
“Please, don’t kill him! He’s just a child!”
In that moment, Wang Zhi forgot all about dignity or integrity. He knelt repeatedly, kowtowing over and over, begging the great figure to spare his child.
That was a father’s love.
That figure had said, “If you can become a fine ship, I’ll let you and your son reunite.”
Wang Zhi didn’t dare resist and could only nod in agreement.
Then, that hand pressed upon his face—erasing his features, stripping him of merits and senses, turning into a silver palm print.
Even if he reshaped his body with treasured medicines, it would always be transformed once more into that five-fingered mark.
At that moment, Wang Zhi faced, for the first time, the Law of the Heavenly Official.
Overlooking all living beings.
Once it descended, it would take root in the soul and bloodline—forever binding not only him, but his descendants for generations, unable to escape.
He had thought of resisting—but lacked the strength. His weakness had become the enemy’s leverage.
So he could only keep striving, praying for the other’s slightest mercy, hoping to use his body to carry his son back into the present world.
To escape that twisted, pathological hell—was that not a form of salvation?
But even that final hope had been extinguished.
Wang Zhi could do nothing but resent his own powerlessness...
At this moment, above the Historical Long River—
That hand pressed against Wang Zhi’s face, perfectly fitting as if part of a high-precision mechanism—without the slightest flaw.
But it wasn’t to return his senses. Rather—
Ka ka ka!
The silver-forged World-Crossing Treasure Raft began to melt, turning into flowing mercury. Dragon and tiger mated, fusing and refining it into a new form.
But this time, it wasn’t Wang Zhi at the core—it was silver itself. A strange foul stench began to spread.
As if the silver had rotted.
“Sure enough, it’s a Silver Vengeful Spirit.”
Watching the World-Crossing Treasure Raft from afar, Jiang Yan shook his head. He had anticipated this.
The supernatural tale Sequel: The Son Won’t Speak once recorded a rare type of spirit-monster.
In ancient times, when bandits plundered vast amounts of gold and silver but couldn’t carry it for fear of government raids, they would capture an ordinary person and lock them in a cellar. Torturing them repeatedly until they were near death and too broken to resist, they’d make them sign a contract to guard the treasure—then seal them alive inside.
Under the extreme resentment and contractual influence, the person would become a Vengeful Spirit bound to guard the gold and silver.
The Silver Dragon-Tiger Qi that Jiang Yan cultivated also mentioned similar techniques—generally used to refine guardian vengeful spirits.
It belonged to a Tiger Soul Realm physical cultivator’s skillset: the Silver Tiger Vengeful Spirit.
Though with special methods, spell cultivators could use it too.
Jiang Yan had long sensed that something was wrong with Wang Zhi—his soul was steeped in extreme pain, and his Life Lamp was engraved with mysterious curses and oaths.
From the very beginning, Wang Zhi was merely a tormented "pitiful soul", his only purpose being to guard this Silver Treasure Raft.
Even if he developed rebellious thoughts, once the contract was sealed, pain would drive him to become a Silver Vengeful Spirit.
A glimpse through the tube, and one could already see how masterful the schemes behind this were.
Merely nudging karma from afar, transcending immeasurable distance, manipulating countless vengeful spirits, and placing pieces into the present world—
A strategist unmatched.
Just who was the pathologically revived great figure behind this, from the Ming dynasty?
Ka ka ka!
At the same time, the Treasure Raft and Wang Zhi merged, transforming into a mercurial serpent with a human face, shaped like a middle-aged man, bearing some resemblance to Wang Zhi.
Hua la la!
With eyes closed, a massive wave of Historical Dust surged toward it, as if intending to bury it once more deep within history.
Yet as it neared, due to the many faith-based anchors connected to the present world—and the fact that its body was being reshaped in this deeper layer—it slowly receded.
But that was only surface-level. If it did not enter the present soon, the Historical Dust would rise again and bury it into a corresponding historical depth.
“Time is enough.”
It slowly opened its serpent eyes, revealing a pale silver hue. Soon, the silver pupils split open into a Taiji pattern, rotating slowly as it gazed down at Jiang Yan and the others from afar.
Through those eyes, everyone seemed to see a colossal figure that blocked out the sky and sun—its appearance indiscernible.
Yet it seemed to wield the Laws of Heaven, judging all beings.
Just one glance caused their entire bodies to tremble. It was the primal fear etched deep into the soul—of beings far higher than themselves.
“A Heavenly Official!”
Everyone was terrified. Even an Ancient Talisman could already crush them a hundred times over.
If a Heavenly Official truly descended, without backup from Jiangnan Headquarters, they would undoubtedly die a noble death.
Jiang Yan shook his head. “A Heavenly Official not born in the present—without sufficient anchors, it's not so easy to surface at the Edge of the Old Days. It’s merely a wisp of will descending through the Silver Vengeful Spirit.”
But there was something he didn’t say.
Even if it was just a wisp of will, this mysterious Heavenly Official still had at least the power of a beginner Ancient Talisman, and with the augmentation of Heavenly Will, it was far stronger than others at the same level.
Even if Jiang Yan exploded with all his might, he would be slapped to death instantly.
But saying that would only spread fear—it was pointless.
“A treasure land of the present world truly does nurture many talents and heroes... far better than the depths below.”
The mercurial human-faced serpent spoke, its gaze sweeping across the group. It paused briefly on Zhao Yinman, a flicker of surprise in its eyes, but didn’t dwell—turning instead to Jiang Yan, and chuckled:
“Fortunately, I… this seat left behind contingencies. Otherwise, this layout that took decades of effort would’ve been ruined by you.”
Time flowed differently in diseased domains and the real world. While one year passed in the present, a decade or more might pass within the Silver Dynasty.
The stronger the History Walker, the deeper the historical immersion—the harder and longer the task becomes.
It wasn’t rare for several years—or even decades—to be lost.
Some might even die of old age during it.
And even if they returned, their perception of time might be so blurred that their emotional state became apathetic.
But Old Ba had told Jiang Yan: the deeper the domain didn’t always mean faster time flow. It depended on the domain’s own nature.
The Silver Dynasty’s time flow was especially bizarre among many dynasties—no one knew why the disparity was so extreme.
As for the reason—it remained unknown.
Jiang Yan eyed the calm and composed Silver Vengeful Spirit in Heavenly Official form, and curiously asked:
“Who exactly are you? Zhang Juzheng? Or Junior Grand Secretary?”
There was no pattern to historical pathologies. In the Silver Dynasty, even the identity of the emperor was unknown. Jiang Yan had no idea if the court’s officials came from the entirety of the Ming era—or from a specific point in time.
It might be a court full of righteous men—or a battle royale of treacherous ministers.
Either way—they were no easy opponents.
The mercurial human-faced serpent said, “The karmic weight of this seat’s name—you cannot bear it.”
The tone was calm, neither arrogant nor disdainful. It simply stated a fact.
“All riddle-speakers deserve to die.”
Jiang Yan shook his head, looking at the smug serpent, spread his hands and said, “Then go die.”
As his words fell, silence blanketed the area.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at Jiang Yan, thinking he must’ve lost his mind.
Secretary Yao glanced toward the Edge of the Old Days behind them—no reinforcements from the Bureau of Historical Revision yet.
How could someone be this arrogant?
Even You Haisheng, dangling in someone’s hand, was stunned.
Could this guy have been born without a fear instinct?
In this world, death was sometimes a release. But falling into the hands of high-level cultivators—was truly a fate worse than death.
“Hahahaha…”
The human-faced serpent burst into laughter, its aura shaking the entire Historical River Region, churning countless Historical Dust.
Finally, it looked to Jiang Yan and chuckled, “Interesting little fellow. Then show me all you’ve got—let’s see if you can make this fun.”
As the voice fell, 【Law Domain — Tide-Five Peaks Treasure Ship】 unfurled.
Unlike Wang Zhi’s massive ship, in the serpent’s hands, this Law Domain transformed into a vast continent.
The Silver Treasure Ship sailed across the endless Azure Sea.
Majestic and unstoppable, crushing all in its path.
Hiss hiss!
Above, the sky was covered in dark clouds, from which slithered out countless Venomous Xiangliu, like a nest of ten thousand serpents, devouring all living beings.
Though it was merely a sixth-grade Ancient Talisman, in his hands, its might rivaled even a fourth-grade!
“Before your so-called ‘Court’—no, the Directorate of Astronomy, the Bureau of Historical Revision—notice anything, I’ll erase you all first…”
Yet before he could finish, the serpent’s expression changed.
Its flesh twisted and mutated, bathed in a Twilight Radiance—emanating the doctrine of “Peace and Fusion”—transforming it into the form of a Twilight Angel.
Its reason began to cloud—tainted and defiled.
In that moment, it was no longer composed nor serene, but cried out in shock:
“What is this!?”