The Eerie Hualin Garden

In the end, the two chose to proceed on foot.

There was no other reason.

Galloping on horseback through Taicheng at night was simply too conspicuous.

"Commander Fu."

They had not walked far when Zhu Yuanzhang noticed Fu Qi's face had turned pale, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

He stopped in his tracks and asked with a look of genuine concern.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's concern was not feigned.

After all, the man before him held the key to whether he could leave Taicheng.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, Fu Qi's life was far more important than that of Minghe.

"It is nothing, merely that I have not had salt for five or six days."

Fu Qi stood where he was, gasping heavily for air, before forcing a bitter smile.

"Let us go, it is no matter; I can still hold on."

The road was deathly quiet; even the eunuchs on watch and the patrolling guards were rarely seen.

As they left the Southern Secretariat and headed further north, the moonlight grew sparse, and the scenery along the way became increasingly gloomy.

From within the darkness, one low, fragile gasp after another drifted toward them.

One by one, the residents of Jiankang who had fled into Taicheng to escape the Hou Jing Rebellion—the old supporting the young—lay on both sides of the road in thin, tattered garments.

On some of them, visible swelling had already begun to set in.

Seeing the two men, the ragged crowd silently cleared a path.

From time to time, from the crowd in the surrounding darkness, Zhu Yuanzhang heard the faint murmurs of Buddhist prayers.

They seemed to be praying for Xiao Liang, and for their own uncertain futures.

Zhu Yuanzhang withdrew his gaze.

No wonder no one has paid any mind to the disturbances at Tongtai Temple until now.

With Taicheng sheltering so many residents of Jiankang, the administrative system must have long since collapsed.

That they can even barely maintain the city's defenses is a miracle.

But what exactly is Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, trying to do?

Taking in so many refugees to seek shelter—no matter how vast the supplies stored in Taicheng, how many days can they possibly last?

Thinking of the future, when Taicheng would be flooded and besieged time and again, leaving barely one in ten of the soldiers and civilians alive, a chill could not help but rise in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.

He walked in front, with Fu Qi following behind.

Along the way, despite the road growing ever darker, to Zhu Yuanzhang—aided by the night vision of a Deep One—it was as bright as day.

Yet the more he saw, the deeper the chill in his heart grew.

Piles upon piles of grain, endless streams of disaster victims.

Taicheng was an inner city; there were no forests of any significant scale.

To light fires for cooking and to ward off the cold, people were continuously tearing down houses in large swaths, using the only wood available to sustain their lives.

"When did the salt shortage begin?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, seemingly in passing.

Beneath his monk's robe, the gills on his chest exhaled a long, turbid breath, steadying his far-from-calm heart.

"It has only been these few days since Hou Jing besieged the city... The imperial court claims that the Xiao Liang nobles, in their greed to transport more of their own wealth and jewels, actually left the carts loaded with salt outside the palace gates."

As Fu Qi spoke, a flash of hatred crossed his eyes.

"Those parasites! They truly deserve to die!"

Is it really that simple?

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent.

The chill in his heart grew even more intense.

The main road from the Southern Secretariat to Hualin Garden was packed with crowds of people who could barely cover their own bodies.

It was late autumn, the cusp of winter.

Yet, whether they were the common residents of Jiankang or the princes, ministers, and royals within Taicheng.

Everyone had to do the same thing.

That was to brave the biting wind, tear down their houses, and chop them into firewood.

Finally, they would cook a pot of food without salt.

Without a doubt, under the siege, without salt, everyone in the city would surely die given enough time.

But because there was still a vast amount of grain and large swaths of housing yet to be dismantled.

It was destined that they would live for a period that was bound to be long and arduous.

In this process, a great number of people would freeze to death one after another because they had torn down their own homes for fuel.

To replenish their salt intake, people would resort to eating raw meat and drinking blood.

All morality, law, and civilization would cease to exist under the most primal desire for survival.

"Taicheng right now is practically a giant concentration camp."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the flickering shadows of the royal garden before him, an uncontrollable chill rising in his heart.

"We have arrived."

There was a hint of joy in the voice of Fu Qi.

He stepped forward quickly.

He took a deep blue jade pendant from his robes and pressed it into the hand of the night-watch eunuch.

"I am the Central Military Commander Fu Qi, and I have an urgent matter to see the Prince of Yuzhang."

The young eunuch picked up the jade pendant and examined it from all sides by the candlelight.

A moment later, a smile appeared on his face.

He seemed quite satisfied with Fu Qi's offering.

He nodded at the two men, handed his lantern to Fu Qi, signaling him to stand guard in his stead, and then hurried toward the depths of Hualin Garden.

"It seems half the task is already done."

Fu Qi's tone was filled with excitement and a touch of resolve.

"After we receive the Prince of Yuzhang, I ask that Minghe take His Highness and make haste for Sima Gate."

Along the way, Fu Qi had already noticed the monk's extraordinary stamina.

Even though he himself was panting and drenched in sweat, the other party seemed completely unaffected.

Not a single bead of sweat was to be seen.

"..."

Zhu Yuanzhang circulated his Great Wisdom Zen Technique, retracting the pair of fins on his back back into his shoulder blades.

Once everything was settled, ensuring that the Prince of Yuzhang, Xiao Dong, would sense nothing amiss later.

"Rest assured, Commander Fu, I will certainly protect the Prince of Yuzhang."

"I am in your debt."

Fu Qi thanked him sincerely.

If not for Zhu Yuanzhang, how to bring the Prince of Yuzhang to Sima Gate to meet with the garrison commander Yang Kan would indeed have been a problem.

However, a quarter of an hour passed.

Looking at the still-empty path of Hualin Garden, the composure on Fu Qi's face gradually faded.

"How long does it take to get from the Prince of Yuzhang's quarters to here?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the white lanterns hanging from the trees lining both sides of the road and asked.

"A round trip takes less than half a quarter of an hour."

Fu Qi's expression turned grim.

Without a doubt, there had been a complication.

"Move—"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not hesitate in the slightest, striding with long, purposeful steps into the royal garden before them.

Behind him, Fu Qi gritted his teeth and likewise stepped into the garden.

Suddenly! The white lanterns hanging from the trees on both sides of the road erupted with a brilliant white light.

In Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Fire danced.

It seemed as if it would pierce through the endless night before him.

Something is wrong!

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the snow-white lanterns on both sides, his gaze sharpening.

It was less that the lanterns had grown brighter.

It was more that the scenery within Hualin Garden had grown darker.

And furthermore...

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the desolation before him and came to a halt.

The royal garden, which had appeared impeccably manicured and opulent from outside the grounds, now appeared exceptionally desolate.

Between the withered woods and old trees, wild grass grew in abundance.

The branches were bare, devoid of a single leaf.

There was not even the chirping of any birds.

It was a scene of deathly silence.

"That is Hualin Park... how could it be."

Upon seeing the dilapidated complex at the end of the path, a third of which had already collapsed under the passage of time, Fu Qi let out a cry of shock.

His expression was one of horror.