A bone-deep chill suddenly rose through Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes.
The system's mission prompt appeared before him.
[Leave Taicheng before the first day of the eleventh month]
From beginning to end, the system had given him only one way to survive.
That was to enter Taicheng.
It looked as though he had endless chances to start over.
But every other choice amounted to nothing more than dying sooner or later.
"Damn it. What exactly is this so-called 'Secret History'?"
He was still studying the scriptures diligently in the Pagoda.
This time, however, Monk Fahui stayed by Zhu Yuanzhang's side.
Fahui carefully taught Zhu Yuanzhang the Dharma every day, giving him a much deeper understanding of his three techniques.
"This Monk Fahui is truly unfathomable."
"Though he hasn't cultivated the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique, he can answer my questions accurately almost every time."
Zhu Yuanzhang felt he was beginning to understand how to ignite his second Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire.
The only pity was that Monk Fahui knew nothing of [Mind-Settling Zen].
He also knew very little about the Mountain-Shrinking Fist.
He couldn't offer Zhu Yuanzhang much reliable advice.
Otherwise, Zhu Yuanzhang could have advanced the Mountain-Shrinking Fist first, then broken through to the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire without worry.
Still, he hadn't gained nothing beyond the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique.
"The Mountain-Shrinking Fist is a true technique that can lead straight to 'transcendence.'"
"It is unquestionably a renowned 'true technique.'"
Monk Fahui closed the scripture before him, put it into a jade box, and tucked it into his robes.
Then he said,
"May I ask, Master, is the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique not a true technique?"
Zhu Yuanzhang asked in confusion.
"It is, but it cannot lead straight to 'transcendence.' You must first endure three tribulations, wasting away until you are little more than skin and bone, then be reborn through destruction... There is great terror in this, and the danger is immense. An ordinary person could never survive it."
Fahui stood up, carrying with him the last jade box containing the Eight Great Divine Incantations.
Dawn had just begun to break, and the first ray of sunlight shone through the Pagoda's skylight.
Immediately afterward, the hurried clang of bells and the noisy shouts of monks came from outside the tower.
Fahui went down the stairs.
He pushed open the heavy tower door with his bare hands.
Outside, monks in blue robes hurried back and forth in terror, shouting, "Hou Jing has crossed the river!"
Fahui gazed calmly at the scene before him.
He seemed to have expected it.
"Minghe, come with me."
When Zhu Yuanzhang came to his side, Monk Fahui handed him a red jade box and said,
"This contains the Panzang Fire-Refining True Technique, which I wrote with my 'vital blood' over the course of my life, along with the portions of the Panzang Fire-Refining Secret Incantation I managed to restore. They are incomplete, but sufficient if you only need them to aid your cultivation."
"Take this scripture into Taicheng, and you will surely sense the arrangements I've made. Over the past two days, I've had enough supplies prepared for you inside Taicheng to last until the relief army puts down the Hou Jing Rebellion."
"Once inside Taicheng, you may leave behind the jade box containing the Panzang Fire-Refining True Technique, but you will also bear a share of the karmic debt. If you get the chance in the future, you must continue the legacy of Tongtai Temple."
"Or you may simply abandon the jade box wherever you like and leave everything to fate."
Once Fahui had finished his instructions, a young monk rowed a light boat to the monastery gate, with a gray horse aboard.
The boatman bowed to Fahui, then, at his signal, called for Zhu Yuanzhang to board.
"Are you not coming with me, Abbot?"
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, watching Monk Fahui walk in the opposite direction from Jiankang Palace.
"This monk's life and death are already decided. The only thing I remain attached to is the thousand-year legacy of Tongtai Temple."
"No matter what, I want to see how far I can go with the eight divine incantations of Tongtai Temple."
"There is still a glimmer of hope in Taicheng, but remember this: my three senior brothers are more deeply bound to the fortunes of Xiao Liang than I am, so the backlash against them will surely be far worse. Yet the small Pagoda inside Taicheng remains firmly in place. They must have other plans."
"Be very careful on your journey."
The Qinhuai River.
Unlike in later ages, the Qinhuai River of this time connected to the Yangtze, with a broad surface and a tremendous flow. Historical records described it as "a winding Huai Water" and said, "Only boats can cross it directly."
The Xuanwu Lake outside Jiankang City also connected directly to the Yangtze. Its waters were vast, more than three times the size of the lake in the twenty-first century.
That was why, during the hundred days he besieged Taicheng, Hou Jing had used water from Xuanwu Lake to flood the city three times, hoping to force its defenders to surrender.
"Taicheng lies ahead. Master Fahui has made arrangements both inside and out."
The boat pulled ashore. The novice monk who had rowed it brought Zhu Yuanzhang his horse and placed a heavy bundle in his hands.
He said quietly,
"You can enter the palace directly with this token and join the other senior monks from the temple in preparing this year's Wu-Zhe Assembly in the palace, to pray for His Majesty's blessing."
"?"
Seeing the envy that flashed in the young monk's eyes, Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth twitched.
The ancients really knew how to have a good time.
Emperor Wu of Liang really wasn't afraid of these monks cuckolding him.
The Wu-Zhe Assembly began under Emperor Wu of Liang. Its original purpose was to hold a Buddhist ceremony where "all beings were equal, without distinction of rank, gender, good or evil, monk or layperson."
At the assembly, eminent monks from Tongtai Temple demonstrated Buddhist meditation techniques, which naturally included Joyful Zen, a dual-cultivation technique that had a terrible reputation in later ages.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't be bothered to correct the monk's misunderstanding.
He took the bundle, mounted his horse, and galloped toward Jiankang City.
"Taicheng" referred to the imperial palace within Jiankang's inner city.
Jiankang's outer city stretched across both banks of the Qinhuai River, with Yanque Lake to the east and the Yangtze to the west. Natural defenses such as Stone City and Caizhou Shoal guarded the vital waterways.
The inner city lay in the northern part of Jiankang, with strict defenses.
Taicheng was a city within a city and the heart of Xiao Liang; its defenses were beyond question.
At last...
Zhu Yuanzhang saw the towering city before him, built of huge stones and clay.
This was the mighty fortress Hou Jing had failed to capture even after a hundred days.
Its walls stood ten ren high and were five zhang thick. Their sturdy surface could scarcely be damaged by axes or chisels, and the ramparts were wide enough for three rows of carriages to pass. Cavalry could race back and forth along them, carrying orders.
Yet faced with such a formidable city, Zhu Yuanzhang felt no joy at all.
He hadn't forgotten the system's mission.
[Leave Taicheng before the first day of the eleventh month]
From the start, the system had given him no choice but to leave Taicheng.
In the face of Hou Jing, Taicheng had shown itself to be impregnable.
But what if the real obstacle standing in Zhu Yuanzhang's way wasn't the army of Xianbei and Zahu Barbarians under Hou Jing, but these towering walls before him?
Zhu Yuanzhang dismounted. After the guards verified his identity token, he walked toward the open city gate.
What dangers lay inside Taicheng?
He looked at the maids and eunuchs hurrying along the roads inside Taicheng, their expressions composed.
Though puzzled, Zhu Yuanzhang kept walking.
The blood-written letter Monk Fahui had composed with his vital blood gave off a gentle warmth inside his robes, guiding Zhu Yuanzhang toward the meditation quarters of Tongtai Temple's monks in Taicheng.
As he followed the street, Zhu Yuanzhang could already see a miniature version of Tongtai Temple's Pagoda among the monks' quarters in the distance.
It was also nine stories tall, its exterior painted white. Though not as imposing as the original at Tongtai Temple, its gilded brackets and pearl-and-jade beams made it even more extravagant.
"Who goes there, monk?"
Only a hundred paces remained, but a squad of soldiers was now approaching Zhu Yuanzhang.
The officer at their head stopped and demanded sharply,
Behind him, the soldiers surrounded a dignified, middle-aged man in a black robe, who was also watching Zhu Yuanzhang, standing alone at the end of the street.
"I am Minghe, a monk from Tongtai Temple. I've come on the orders of Abbot Fahui to prepare this year's Wu-Zhe Assembly for His Majesty."
Zhu Yuanzhang faintly saw a label flash above the black-robed man's head.
But before he could make out what it said—
"Demon monk, you must die!"
A cold voice came from the black-robed middle-aged man.
Before Zhu Yuanzhang could understand what was happening,
crossbow bolts shot out from behind him.
In an instant, they turned Zhu Yuanzhang into a pincushion.
[You died]
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