"Then I can only start over and cultivate the Fixed-Light Demon-Subduing Art."
"Through the Dagon Visualization Diagram, the point where my consciousness landed wasn't accurate enough to fully capture Dagon's form in one go."
"For now, I should try to find the original Mountain-Shrinking Fist in the Imperial Awakening Temple, or use the Secret History to pinpoint the exact location where Dagon emerged from the water."
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.
He began forming hand seals and meditating again.
A few minutes later, a flash of light flickered across his forehead.
"I did it. The Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique."
Compared with the Mountain-Shrinking Fist, the Fixed-Light Demon-Subduing Art and the Great Wisdom Zen Technique clashed even more violently.
But Zhu Yuanzhang had died enough times while cultivating the Fixed-Light Demon-Subduing Art to become thoroughly familiar with the process.
As a result, he succeeded even faster than he had with the Mountain-Shrinking Fist.
Looking at the sky, now fully bright beyond the stable, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his palm.
A golden-red candle flame burned softly in its center.
"The consumption of my essence, energy, and spirit is still within manageable limits."
"With the Great Wisdom Zen Technique offsetting the side effects, even without practicing the Mountain-Shrinking Fist, I can live for at least another sixty years."
"Of course, that's assuming I don't get into a fight with anyone."
"For ordinary cultivators of the Fixed-Light Demon-Subduing Art, that would still be a miraculous lifespan."
Feeling his essence, energy, and spirit steadily draining away, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed inwardly.
Powerful? I'm paying for it with my life!
"Junior Brother Zhu."
Outside the stable, a chubby, fair-skinned monk stood still as a gong sounded.
With two young monks behind him, he beckoned to Zhu Yuanzhang.
"I'm here, Senior Brother Yuanhui."
Zhu Yuanzhang got up and answered.
The chubby monk in the middle was one of the four chief disciples under Gao Bin, the temple's abbot.
He was usually in charge of temple affairs and cleaning both inside and out.
At this hour, he would normally lead novice attendants like Zhu Yuanzhang in cleaning the premises.
But—
Hmm?
Seeing the joy spread across Yuanhui's somewhat pale face, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that something was off.
"Thank goodness you're all right..."
Yuanhui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
As if a great burden had been lifted, he walked up to Zhu Yuanzhang and took two steamed buns from his robes, placing them in Zhu Yuanzhang's palm.
"..."
Zhu Yuanzhang discreetly edged backward.
Before he'd become a monk, he'd heard stories about senior monks abusing their status and power to harass young, handsome novices under cover of night.
He'd never heard that Yuanhui had such inclinations.
But... what if?
Zhu Yuanzhang eyed Yuanhui warily. His face practically said, Thank goodness you're all right.
He'd been going hungry for so long that he didn't look his best.
But still... he was young.
It was the fourth year of Zhizheng, 1344. In this world, he'd been born in the first year of Tianli, 1328, and had fled to the temple just last year.
He'd turned sixteen last month.
Zhu Yuanzhang figured that even if he was a little skinny and dark-skinned, with his vigorous essence, energy, and spirit, he still counted as a pretty fresh young man, right?
Being targeted by an old gay man... was actually understandable.
After all, in the original history, Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't had his own system.
So how had he... ahem...
Thinking of all the possibilities in alternate timelines, Zhu Yuanzhang hadn't meant to let his thoughts wander, but his expression had grown complicated all on its own.
"Goddamn hook-bait fiction has brutally violated my brain again.jpg"
"Don't be nervous, Junior Brother. I'm here to deliver Abbot Gao Bin's decree: all the monks who entered the temple in the third year of Zhizheng are to gather in the Mahavira Hall."
Yuanhui had noticed Zhu Yuanzhang's misgivings and explained.
"Why is the temple suddenly summoning the monks who entered in the third year of Zhizheng?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked as he followed Yuanhui outside.
"I shouldn't tell you about this."
On the mountain path leading to the Mahavira Hall, a cold, gloomy wind blew toward them, making Yuanhui shiver.
He tightened the red cotton robe around himself and looked down the path, which disappeared into the thin morning mist. Then he lowered his voice.
"For seven nights in a row, someone has gone missing from the temple each night. They were all young monks who entered in the third year of Zhizheng."
The willows on either side of the path rustled as their branches and leaves scraped together in the cold wind.
The sun had just begun to peek over the mountain behind them, but the temperature wasn't rising. If anything, it seemed to be dropping.
"The yin energy in the Imperial Awakening Temple has grown even stronger."
Zhu Yuanzhang swallowed the last bite of his slightly chilled bun.
A true flame burned at his forehead, driving away the bone-deep chill between the novice attendants' quarters at the foot of the mountain and the Mahavira Hall.
The two young monks behind Yuanhui instinctively edged closer to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Even they couldn't understand why they felt far safer walking behind Zhu Chongba than behind the senior monk Yuanhui.
"The culprit is very experienced. Aside from the young monks found in the abandoned Scripture Depository on the back mountain, all of whom had been drained of blood, they left no clues. Even the imperial officers are at a loss. The temple suspects a demon may be behind this!"
"The abbot believes the culprit will strike again tonight, so he ordered me to bring all the monks who entered in the third year of Zhizheng to the Mahavira Hall."
"The temple's warrior monks and Master Gao Bin himself will patrol tonight. If the culprit shows up, we'll make sure he doesn't get away!"
Yuanhui spoke with great conviction.
But thinking of the trauma inflicted on the monks of Yinglong Temple, the predecessor of the Imperial Awakening Temple, as recorded in the Secret History, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't believe a word he said.
He even darkly suspected that the abbot was gathering everyone together so it would be easier to kill them all.
After all, why tonight of all nights?
Why the monks who entered in the third year of Zhizheng?
"With Master Gao Bin here, the ringleader will surely be caught and the demon vanquished!... By the way, Senior Brother, have you ever heard of Yinglong Temple?"
Zhu Yuanzhang first showered him with praise, then abruptly changed the subject.
"Uh... Yinglong Temple? That was a long time ago... I think a great fire burned the temple to the ground, and the Imperial Awakening Temple was rebuilt on its site. I don't know the details, but the abbot definitely does."
Yuanhui blinked, seemingly taken aback by Zhu Yuanzhang's abrupt change of topic.
He scratched his head, thought for a moment, then answered.
"Why?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked curiously.
"At the time, Abbot Gao Bin was a welcoming novice at the temple. It was only after that fire that he became its abbot, and he's held the position for a full sixty years."
Yuanhui answered casually.
"If you're really interested in that history, you can check the Scripture Depository on the back mountain... There should still be some surviving manuscripts left behind by the monks of Yinglong Temple. But I wouldn't recommend going there. That place is creepy. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been abandoned all this time."
As Yuanhui spoke, something seemed to occur to him, and a trace of wariness flashed in his eyes.
But Zhu Yuanzhang seemed not to have caught his meaning at all. He pointed toward a dark figure standing with its back to them on the mountain path and asked,
"Creepy?"
"Is it as creepy as that thing?"
As if it had felt their stares, the thing turned around.
Pale eyeballs, long black fur, and thick, tusk-like fangs.
When it noticed the monks, a bloodthirsty glint flashed in its eyes.
"It's a Shadow Walker!"
Yuanhui said through clenched teeth.
Before you continue