The Omniscient

Chapter 58: History May Hide Secrets

Starting on the morning of the 7th, Huang Ji began performing cosmetic surgery on Cao Jing.

By May 27th, it was time to remove the stitches from Cao Jing’s face.

"Hold still, open your eyes slowly…" Huang Ji carefully unraveled the bandages.

Cao Jing sat motionless on the chair, facing a mirror.

After twenty days of having his eyes covered by bandages, he squinted as he slowly opened them, finally seeing his reflection.

In the mirror stood two "Huang Ji"s—one seated, one standing.

Cao Jing’s face now perfectly resembled Huang Ji’s, without the slightest discrepancy.

Lin Li, watching from the side, marveled at Huang Ji’s surgical skills.

"Huang Ji," Huang Ji said.

"Ah?" Cao Jing responded instinctively.

Although the stitches hadn’t been removed before now, Cao Jing had been able to speak and listen during the past twenty days. Huang Ji had used this time to teach him his new identity.

At this point, Cao Jing fully believed that his name was Huang Ji, that he had a grandfather, and that he was a mentally challenged individual living in Shanghai with fellow villagers Fan Lingli and her boyfriend Zheng Xuan.

The only thing missing was recognition of people and appearances. He hadn’t seen anyone, not even his own reflection, during this time.

Huang Ji pointed at the mirror and said, "This is a mirror. The person you see in it is yourself."

Cao Jing stared intently but didn’t respond much. He wasn’t talkative.

Satisfied, Huang Ji then produced a photograph he had obtained by logging into his grandfather’s social security account.

"This is your grandfather," he explained.

Cao Jing stared blankly at the photo before muttering, "I want some water."

Huang Ji poured him a glass and said, "Your grandfather is here now."

Cao Jing reflexively looked at the photo and called out, "Grandpa!"

Huang Ji smiled and continued teaching him other things.

From behind, Lin Li asked, "Big Brother, why use a fool as your stand-in?"

"Because I used to have autism," Huang Ji replied. "I was always in a daze, lost in my thoughts, and rarely spoke to anyone. Everyone thought I was a fool."

"So, Cao Jing’s current state is perfect for playing you? But doesn’t that make you undocumented now?" Lin Li asked.

Huang Ji smiled. "I can always be someone else."

"How’s the school search going?"

Lin Li grinned. "I bought a stake in one. It’s just a vocational school for mechanical engineering. I’m now a board member."

"By the way, it’s a pretty low-tier school. Most of the students are just there to pass the time. Won’t Cao Jing get bullied if he attends?"

Huang Ji chuckled and pointed at Cao Jing. "You think a fool is inferior in every way? He’s mentally challenged, not physically."

"Don’t believe me? Try hitting him."

Lin Li circled around Cao Jing, who was playing with water, paying no attention to him.

Suddenly, Lin Li kicked him in the rear, knocking him off the chair.

Smack! Cao Jing hit the ground, but his immediate response was to hurl his glass of water at Lin Li’s forehead.

The glass shattered on impact, and shards flew everywhere.

Then Cao Jing sprang to his feet and kicked Lin Li a meter away, leaving him curled on the ground in pain.

But it didn’t stop there. Cao Jing jumped on Lin Li, pinning him down and raising his fists to pummel him.

"Wait, wait! My bad! My bad!" Lin Li hurriedly pleaded.

At the crucial moment, Huang Ji stepped forward and intervened. Cao Jing, now turning his raised fist toward Huang Ji’s face, froze as soon as Huang Ji showed him the photo of his grandfather.

Reflexively, Cao Jing stopped and smiled, saying, "Grandpa!"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"Go play," Huang Ji instructed.

"Okay…" Cao Jing returned to playing with water.

As long as “Grandpa” was around, Cao Jing was obedient—a result of Huang Ji’s twenty days of meticulous conditioning. Despite his brain damage and memory loss, Cao Jing’s ability to form new memories was unaffected.

After just a few glances at the photo, he remembered it and associated it with the command to “listen to Grandpa.”

Huang Ji continued to show him more photos, as well as documentaries and videos, ensuring Cao Jing recognized everything “Huang Ji” was supposed to know.

Finally, Huang Ji used his ability to sense the future to glimpse Cao Jing’s general trajectory. At least for the next five years, unless Huang Ji himself revealed his identity, Cao Jing wouldn’t be exposed.

As for what might happen after five years, Huang Ji didn’t bother looking. The distant future wasn’t worth dwelling on—he was destined to change the world anyway.

"He’s so strong yet mentally challenged. Won’t people take advantage of him?" Lin Li asked, clutching his stomach.

Huang Ji laughed. "It doesn’t matter. Anything they might exploit is irrelevant to me."

Lin Li nodded. "As long as he has the right documents and age, I can get him enrolled."

"No need," Huang Ji said. "Just let him attend and charge the proper fees. Your role is simply to accept ‘Huang Ji’ into the school."

"Got it. I’ll handle it," Lin Li replied.

Huang Ji stopped him. "What’s the rush? Let him acclimate at Zheng Xuan’s place for a few days. Meanwhile, you and I will head to Xinzheng."

"I’m not in a hurry, but Old Wang is losing his mind. The Snakeheads in Shanghai were implicated in the drug trafficking case and completely wiped out. Brother Hai, who he contacted before, is also in prison. We can’t find a way to smuggle ourselves to London. And while we have some money, it’s not enough to buy a seafaring vessel. He’s frantic about getting to London but has no ship," Lin Li explained.

Huang Ji chuckled. "If the illegal ships are gone, we’ll just use a legal one."

"A legal ship? Won’t the Illuminati track us if we buy tickets?" Lin Li asked.

Huang Ji shrugged. "Then we won’t buy tickets. We’ll stow away on a cruise ship."

Lin Li was speechless. Stowing away sounded so simple when Huang Ji said it, but given Huang Ji’s knack for outsmarting even drug lords, Lin Li couldn’t help but feel it was entirely reasonable.

Huang Ji’s trip to Xinzheng, of course, was to treat his grandfather.

His current medical skills were already ranked fourth globally.

Last month, he determined that his grandfather had a rare obstructive pulmonary emphysema—a chronic lung disease. Modern medicine couldn’t cure it, with the best treatments offering only about 30% effectiveness, merely delaying its progression.

However, Huang Ji was different. Despite ranking fourth on Earth, the top three medical practitioners were undeniably abnormal, far beyond ordinary human capabilities.

Leveraging his unique knowledge of hidden acupoints and adaptive pharmacology, Huang Ji’s expertise far surpassed the human peak. The gap between him and the fifth-ranked practitioner was monumental.

Huang Ji was confident he could cure his grandfather’s lung disease completely. With two doses of restorative medicine, he could even extend his grandfather’s lifespan significantly.

Additionally, Huang Ji planned to assess the future trajectories of his grandfather and Huazhuang Village. Only if there were no major issues would he feel at ease leaving.

On the train to Xinzheng, in the sleeper compartment, Lin Li sat across from Huang Ji, eating pickled vegetables with instant noodles.

Meanwhile, Huang Ji quietly consumed ten tea eggs before sitting still to meditate.

Lin Li noticed Huang Ji’s neck pulsing rhythmically. It was as if the arteries on either side of his neck were deliberately controlled to throb outward, even pressing against the collar of his shirt.

"Big Brother, what are you doing?" Lin Li asked.

Huang Ji didn’t respond, fully focused on regulating his pulse. This was part of the fourth layer of his self-created Inner Canon, which enhanced muscle control.

During the twenty days he spent waiting for Cao Jing’s stitches to heal, Huang Ji had extensively practiced and refined the Inner Canon. Combining it with his world-class knowledge of biology and medicine, he had further improved its techniques.

Originally, the time required to master his techniques had been 8,000 hours, but Huang Ji’s improvements to the Inner Canon reduced it dramatically to just 1,200 hours—or 50 days.

After all, the previous version of the Inner Canon was something he developed when he had just begun learning medicine. Now, as the fourth-ranked medical expert globally, his perspective had transformed, and the improvements were groundbreaking.

Of course, he couldn’t practice 50 days straight without rest. Even if he trained for 10 hours daily, it would still take 120 days to complete.

Conveniently, the express train from Shanghai to Xinzheng took ten and a half hours—a perfect opportunity to reach his daily goal.

By the time Huang Ji finished his session for the day, the train was nearing its destination.

“Wow, Big Brother, you’re finally awake! I was dying of boredom!” Lin Li exclaimed, holding a dog-eared storybook. When Huang Ji opened his eyes, Lin Li immediately seized the chance to chat.

Huang Ji smiled. “Couldn’t you just take a nap?”

“I can’t sleep during the day,” Lin Li replied. “But you—Big Brother, you’ve been sitting completely still for ten hours. Were you practicing martial arts or something?”

What started as a casual remark left Lin Li dumbfounded when Huang Ji nodded. “Yes.”

“Huh? What kind of martial arts? You can practice while sitting still?” Lin Li asked in surprise.

“Internal energy cultivation,” Huang Ji said matter-of-factly.

Lin Li froze, then his eyes lit up as he remembered Huang Ji’s extraordinary physical abilities. It wasn’t unreasonable to think Huang Ji might know real martial arts.

Scooting closer, Lin Li lowered his voice. “Big Brother, are you saying you know martial arts? The kind with inner power?”

“I haven’t developed inner power yet, but I’m getting there. A few more months of practice, and I should have it. Do you want to learn? I can teach you,” Huang Ji said calmly.

Lin Li nodded eagerly like a pecking chicken.

Huang Ji had always intended to share his knowledge of "electric work" (a form of energy cultivation) with those close to him. Rather than waiting for a distant future, it made sense to start now.

However, the Inner Canon Huang Ji had devised pursued theoretical perfection, making it incredibly difficult. Even with his Information Sense, he needed full concentration to practice. For someone like Lin Li, achieving even half an hour of effective movements in a 20-hour day would be considered miraculous.

Although Huang Ji could guide Lin Li directly and correct his techniques, he could only serve as a sparring partner for one or two hours a day. The rest would depend on Lin Li’s dedication.

“I’ll teach you once we reach our destination,” Huang Ji said, turning his attention to the countryside scenery outside the train window and relaxing his mind.

Suddenly, his Information Sense detected something unusual: a mountain gorge nearby wasn’t natural—it was man-made.

Specifically, the wide gorge had been carved out by human hands. What appeared to be two small mountain ranges separated by several hundred meters were originally a single mountain, split apart 3,921 years ago by a massive labor force. It had served as a channel for the Yellow River.

Of course, the Yellow River no longer flowed through here; at most, it was now considered an ancient riverbed, largely forgotten.

“Excavated by... Si Ji? Who’s that?” Huang Ji wondered, unfamiliar with the name. He used his Information Sense to look up the person’s aliases.

Every individual’s names—real, former, or honorary—are embedded in their information profile. Si Ji was the original name, but it had long fallen out of use.

“Former names: Si Wenming. Common names: Bo Yu, Xiahou Yu. Honorary titles: Emperor Gaomi, Great Yu…”

Upon recognizing the name Great Yu, Huang Ji finally understood. He sighed inwardly, realizing how little he knew about history—he hadn’t even known Great Yu’s given name.

While his medical skills ranked among the best in the world, his grasp of history was embarrassingly shallow. Most of his knowledge came from middle school lessons, but back then, his mental challenges had prevented him from absorbing much.

“Henan Province is full of historical relics. Even a random gorge turns out to be the ancient Yellow River channel excavated by Great Yu,” Huang Ji mused.

“Speaking of which, I should unlock historical information for analysis. Aliens have observed humanity for so many years, covering the entirety of human civilization. There might be traces of their involvement.”

“I should trace the past of this land and its history. There may be secrets hidden within it.”

...