The Nine-Story Pagoda

Wait, what?

What kind of divine being are you?!

Why did you go all out right from the start?!

I was planning to use this information to get out of the city!

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the monk Fahui, completely dumbfounded.

It seemed Fahui had noticed his confusion.

Fahui stopped walking.

At a glance from him, the attendant monks around them scattered.

On the Jade City Ancient Road beside the Qinhuai River, only Fahui and Zhu Yuanzhang remained.

A warm breeze laced with the scent of rouge blew across from the other bank, making Zhu Yuanzhang's scalp prickle.

"Do you know why I insisted on recommending Xiao Zhengde as general?"

The night was deep. Even with Hou Jing causing chaos, both banks of the Qinhuai River were still brightly lit, a scene of bustling prosperity.

By the light of the entertainers' pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River, the monk Fahui gazed across at Jiankang, his eyes deep and unreadable.

"Why?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked in puzzlement.

"Prince of Linhe possesses the aura of kingship, unmatched by any of His Majesty's other sons. Our Tongtai Temple is also too closely bound to the Liang dynasty; we rise and fall together. If Xiao Liang falls, Tongtai Temple will almost certainly perish with it."

As Fahui spoke, his gaze was clear. He showed none of the arrogance he had displayed in court when he overpowered the officials and recommended Xiao Zhengde as general.

Zhu Yuanzhang fell silent.

He was thinking about something else.

Fahui didn't seem to know that Xiao Zhengde and Hou Jing had already been secretly plotting together.

So how had he realized that Emperor Wu of Liang's fortunes were at an end—

Could it be that the art of foreseeing the future really existed in this world?

"I've told you this today so you can help me support Xiao Zhengde. Whether he defeats Hou Jing or loses in battle, as long as you can keep Xiao Zhengde alive, then when Xiao Liang returns to Jinling one day, my Tongtai Temple's thousand-year legacy will still have a chance to survive."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang showed no sign of panic or fear, Fahui nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject.

"To cultivate the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique and the Mountain-Shrinking Fist at the same time, thanks to the Great Wisdom Zen Technique, is truly a stroke of heavenly fortune. Excellent, excellent..."

Confronted with Fahui, who had seen through him at a glance, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a jolt in his heart.

"This disciple is dull-witted and unworthy of your praise, Master."

"Your virtue matches your station. You deserve it."

Fahui stared into Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes for a moment, then sighed softly.

"In the past, like everyone else in the temple, I thought the Great Wisdom Zen Technique was heretical and not worth a second glance. But now... who would have thought it would become the last lifeline preserving Tongtai Temple's thousand-year legacy?"

He seemed to have made up his mind.

"Since you have such talent... come with me."

After speaking, Fahui stepped aboard the skiff waiting by the Qinhuai River. Once Zhu Yuanzhang had boarded, he addressed the warrior monks rowing the boat.

"Don't land at the main entrance. Go straight to the Pagoda Gate."

"Yes, Master."

The two warrior monks, their heads wrapped in blue cloth, replied at once.

The boat turned and passed a pleasure barge beneath a canopy, where the sounds of men and women laughing and playing drifted across the water.

At last, Zhu Yuanzhang saw the nine-story pagoda towering on the opposite bank, standing against the night sky.

The tower was so tall it seemed to pierce the heavens.

Beside it, all the seven-story pagodas built by Tongtai Temple after the Jin court moved south looked puny.

Not only was it far larger than the pagodas of the previous Jin, Song, and Qi dynasties.

Each story seemed deliberately built to outdo those of earlier dynasties, wide and imposing. Even the colorful reliefs on the pagoda's exterior looked all the more vivid and dazzling in the temple lights.

"Isn't it beautiful..."

Fahui shifted his gaze from the Pagoda to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"It is magnificent."

Zhu Yuanzhang pressed his palms together and answered.

He wasn't just saying that to flatter Fahui.

He genuinely thought that even compared with the landmark skyscrapers in the centers of modern cities, the nine-story pagoda was just as awe-inspiring.

"Do you think that's a good thing?"

But when Fahui heard Zhu Yuanzhang's heartfelt praise, he let out a cold laugh.

"Isn't it?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"Since time immemorial, no one has ever built a nine-story pagoda."

Fahui sighed.

A cool breeze blew in from the Qinhuai River, carrying an unsettling air.

Fahui's robes snapped in the wind as he gazed at the brightly lit Buddhist tower before them.

A look of unwillingness appeared on his face.

"Seven is the highest number in Buddhism. That's why people say, 'Saving a life is better than building a seven-tier pagoda.'"

Zhu Yuanzhang understood at once. He looked again at the nine-story pagoda, which stood head and shoulders above the seven-story ones, and asked,

"Then why did the temple build a nine-story pagoda?"

Zhu Yuanzhang clearly heard Fahui chuckle.

"Minghe, remember this."

"Whether it's Buddhism or Taoism, once politics gets mixed in, it is no longer a matter between people and gods—or even certain things more loathsome and terrifying."

"It becomes a game between people, bound up in power and desire!"

The boat had drawn very close to shore, and Zhu Yuanzhang could now see the pagoda's milky-white walls.

The two warrior monks continued tending to the oars, as though they hadn't heard a thing, slowly rowing toward the opposite bank.

Before them lay a stretch of soft sand, wafting the scent of sandalwood.

Zhu Yuanzhang guessed that it was because the sand was mixed with a great deal of incense ash.

"Although our Tongtai Temple belongs to the Pure Land Sect, it rose to prominence through its Scripture-Treatise Monks."

Standing before the Pagoda, the monk Minghui looked at the tower's extravagant splendor, his expression complex.

Two novice monks saw Fahui approach the Pagoda. They hurried over with lanterns, found the key, unlocked the door, and led the way inside.

"No need. You can leave."

Minghui shook his head.

"Yes!"

The novices pressed their palms together, left the lanterns behind, then quickly withdrew and closed the Pagoda's doors.

"Minghe, do you know what a Scripture-Treatise Monk is?"

Once everyone inside the tower had gone, Fahui picked up a lantern and led Zhu Yuanzhang onward. Then he suddenly spoke.

"I don't."

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and answered honestly.

"One who spends a lifetime studying the scriptures, growing old as he exhausts their depths, explaining Buddhist principles and investigating sacred texts—that is a Scripture-Treatise Monk. Unlike true techniques, this is the work of people, not the decree of fate... Our Tongtai Temple rose through this, and it seems it will perish through it as well."

Fahui sighed again.

He had now reached the fifth floor of the Pagoda. He went straight to the bookcase in the center.

He took down a volume of sacred scripture and placed it in Zhu Yuanzhang's hands.

It was the Fixed Light Demon-Subduing Secret Mantra.

"Stay in the Pagoda and study the scriptures for the next few days. Once Xiao Zhengde leads his troops out from Caishiji, I'll send someone to escort you out of the city."

After saying this, Fahui paid Zhu Yuanzhang no further attention and headed straight for the tower's exit.

"I wonder why the abbot thinks so highly of me."

Holding the Fixed Light Demon-Subduing Secret Mantra, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't open it right away.

Instead, he looked at Fahui's back and asked.

"You're the only one in the entire temple who has mastered the Great Wisdom Zen Technique. You're also the only one who might preserve more of Tongtai Temple's legacy for future generations."

"That's all."

As the flame in the lantern went out, Fahui's figure vanished completely inside the Pagoda.

With a heavy clank of the lock, the lights inside the tower went out, leaving only the half-burned lantern in Zhu Yuanzhang's hand, still giving off a faint glow.