The Only Choice

A chill that pierced straight to the marrow suddenly rose within him.

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes.

The system's mission prompt appeared before him.

[Leave Taicheng before the first day of the eleventh lunar month]

From beginning to end, the system had only ever offered him one path to survival.

That was to enter Taicheng.

It appeared as though he had infinite chances to restart.

Yet any other choice was merely a matter of dying sooner or later.

"Damn it, what on earth are these so-called 'Secret Histories'?"

He remained in the Small Pagoda, diligently studying the scriptures.

However, this time, the monk Fahui was by Zhu Yuanzhang's side, keeping him close company.

Fahui's daily, meticulous explanations of the Dharma actually gave Zhu Yuanzhang a deeper understanding of his own three techniques.

This monk Fahui is truly unfathomable.

Although he has not cultivated the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique, he is able to accurately resolve my doubts almost every single time.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt he was beginning to grasp how to ignite the second Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire.

The only pity was that Fahui did not understand [Mind-Settling Zen].

He also knew very little about the Mountain-Shrinking Fist.

He could not offer Zhu Yuanzhang much reliable advice.

Otherwise, Zhu Yuanzhang could have broken through the Mountain-Shrinking Fist first, and then safely proceeded to break through the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire.

But it was not as if he had gained nothing outside of the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique.

"The Mountain-Shrinking Fist is a technique that can truly point directly to 'transcendence'."

"It is a well-deserved, illustrious 'True Technique'."

Fahui closed the scripture before him, placed it into a jade box, and tucked it into his robes.

He spoke.

"May I ask, Master, is the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique not a True Technique?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, puzzled.

"It is a True Technique, but it cannot point directly to 'transcendence'. One must endure three calamities, suffer the wasting of flesh and bone, and be reborn from destruction... Within this lies great terror, a danger so extreme that an ordinary person cannot survive it."

Fahui stood up, carrying the final jade box containing the Eight Great Divine Incantations on his person.

At this moment, the sky was just beginning to brighten, and the first rays of sunlight fell through the skylight of the Small Pagoda.

Immediately after, the urgent tolling of bells and the clamorous shouts of monks echoed from outside the pagoda.

Fahui walked down the stairs.

He pushed open the heavy pagoda doors with his bare hands.

Outside, monks in blue robes were rushing back and forth, their expressions filled with terror, shouting: "Hou Jing has crossed the river!"

Fahui looked at everything before him with calm.

It was as if he had long expected this.

"Minghe, come with me."

Once Zhu Yuanzhang reached his side, Fahui handed a red jade box to him and said.

"This is the Panzang Fire-Refining True Technique and the partially restored Panzang Fire-Refining Secret Incantation that I spent my entire life writing with my own 'essence and blood'. Although incomplete, it is sufficient if used merely to assist your cultivation."

"Take this scripture into Taicheng, and you will surely feel a resonance with my arrangements. Over these past two days, I have already ordered people to prepare enough supplies for you within Taicheng, enough to last until the day the loyalist armies suppress the Hou Jing Rebellion."

"After entering Taicheng, you may keep the Panzang Fire-Refining True Technique box, but you must also bear a portion of my karma; if there is an opportunity in the future, you must continue the legacy of my Tongtai Temple."

"Likewise, you may discard the jade box anywhere you please and let everything follow the will of Heaven."

After Fahui finished his instructions, a young monk rowed a light boat to the mountain gate, carrying a dark horse.

The boatman first bowed to Fahui, then, at Fahui's signal, beckoned Zhu Yuanzhang to board.

"Is the Abbot not coming with me?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Fahui, who was walking in the opposite direction of Jiankang Palace, and asked.

"This poor monk's life and death are already decided. My only remaining obsession is the thousand-year legacy of my Tongtai Temple."

"No matter what, I want to see just how far I can go carrying the eight divine incantations of my Tongtai Temple."

"There is still a glimmer of hope in Taicheng, but remember, my three senior brothers are bound to the fate of the Xiao Liang more deeply than I am. The backlash will surely be immense, yet they remain firmly in the Small Pagoda of Taicheng, unmoving; clearly, they have other schemes."

"You must be extra careful on this journey."

Qinhuai River.

Unlike in later ages, the Qinhuai River at this time connected directly to the Yangtze River. Its surface was broad and its discharge immense; historical records describe it as "the Huai Water winding and meandering," where "one could not cross directly without boat or carriage."

The Xuanwu Lake outside Jiankang City also connected directly to the Yangtze, with a water surface area more than three times larger than it would be in the 21st century.

It was precisely for this reason that, during the 100-day siege of Taicheng, Hou Jing was able to divert the waters of Xuanwu Lake to flood the city three separate times in an attempt to force the defenders of Taicheng to surrender.

"Taicheng lies just ahead. Master Fahui has already made all the necessary arrangements both inside and out."

As the small boat pulled to the shore, the novice monk rowing the vessel led a horse over to Zhu Yuanzhang and placed a heavy, bulging parcel into his hands.

He spoke in a low voice.

"You may use this token to enter the palace directly and join the other great monks from the temple in preparing for this year's Wu-Zhe Assembly to pray for His Majesty's blessings."

"?"

Watching the flash of envy that crossed the young monk's eyes, the corners of Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth twitched.

The ancients certainly knew how to play wild.

Emperor Wu of Liang was truly unafraid of these monks cuckolding him.

The Wu-Zhe Assembly began with Emperor Wu of Liang, originally intended as a Buddhist dharma assembly where "all living beings are equal, without distinction of status, gender, good or evil, monk or layman."

At the assembly, high monks from Tongtai Temple would demonstrate Buddhist Zen arts, which naturally included "Joyful Zen," a dual-cultivation technique that held a notoriously poor reputation in later ages.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't be bothered to explain the misunderstanding to this monk.

He took the parcel, mounted the horse, and spurred it toward the direction of Jiankang City.

The so-called "Taicheng" was the palace city within the inner walls of Jiankang.

The outer walls of Jiankang covered the north and south of the Qinhuai River, bordered Yanque Lake to the east and the Yangtze River to the west, with natural barriers like Stone City and Caizhou Shoal guarding the vital waterways.

The inner city was located in the northern part of Jiankang and was heavily fortified.

As the city within a city and the nerve center of the Xiao Liang dynasty, the defenses of Taicheng went without saying.

Finally...

Zhu Yuanzhang saw the towering city built of massive stones and clay before him.

This was the formidable city that Hou Jing had failed to take even after a hundred days.

The walls stood ten ren high and were five zhang thick; the structure was so solid that axes and chisels could barely leave a mark, and the ramparts were wide enough for three carriages to pass abreast, allowing cavalry to gallop back and forth to relay military orders.

Yet, facing such a formidable city, Zhu Yuanzhang felt not a shred of joy.

He had not forgotten the system's objective.

[Leave Taicheng before the first day of the eleventh lunar month]

From the very beginning, the system had given him no choice other than to leave Taicheng.

Before Hou Jing, Taicheng had displayed its impenetrable side.

But what if the true obstacle standing before Zhu Yuanzhang was not the military might of the Xianbei and miscellaneous barbarian troops under Hou Jing's command, but the very walls of Taicheng that towered into the clouds?

Zhu Yuanzhang dismounted, verified his identity token with the guards, and walked toward the open city gate.

What kind of danger could possibly lie within Taicheng?

Watching the palace maids and eunuchs hurrying along the streets of Taicheng with normal expressions, Zhu Yuanzhang felt puzzled, yet his pace did not falter.

The blood letter written in the essence blood of the monk Fahui, resting against his chest, radiated a gentle warmth, guiding Zhu Yuanzhang toward the meditation quarters of the Tongtai Temple monks within Taicheng.

Following the street forward, Zhu Yuanzhang could already see a miniature version of the Tongtai Temple pagoda nestled among the monks' quarters not far ahead.

It was also nine stories tall and painted with white lacquer; though not as majestic as the original at Tongtai Temple, its gold-threaded brackets and jade-adorned beams made it even more extravagant than the pagoda at the temple itself.

"What monk goes there?"

With only a hundred steps left to go, a squad of soldiers suddenly marched toward Zhu Yuanzhang.

The officer in the lead stopped and demanded sharply.

Behind him, the soldiers guarded a middle-aged man in black robes with an extraordinary air, who also stared at Zhu Yuanzhang standing alone at the end of the street.

"Minghe, a monk from Tongtai Temple, acting under the orders of Abbot Fahui to prepare for His Majesty's Wu-Zhe Assembly this year."

Zhu Yuanzhang vaguely saw a status tag flash above the head of the man in black robes.

However, before he could clearly read the content:

"Evil monk, you shall be executed!"

A cold voice came from the black-robed man.

Before Zhu Yuanzhang could even understand what was happening, crossbow bolts were fired from behind the man.

In an instant, Zhu Yuanzhang was turned into a hedgehog.

[You have died]