Yang Kan's Plan

[Grand Marshal Gate]

"Prince of Yuzhang is here."

Though he was nearly spent, Fu Qi's voice remained strong as he spoke.

The dignity of the Xiao Liang court remained undiminished.

"This general has been waiting for a long time."

A familiar voice echoed from atop the city wall.

It was Yang Kan.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up.

Yang Kan was drenched in blood. Even his armor had been damaged in several places, as if he had just fought a bloody battle.

"Lower the basket!"

The sturdy bamboo strips formed a basic basket. A simple pulley system raised and lowered it, while the hemp ropes connecting to it were wrapped in cowhide to reinforce them.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Fu Qi stood on opposite sides to keep the basket balanced.

Prince of Yuzhang Xiao Dong stood between them, gripping Fu Qi's hand tightly.

His lips were pressed together, his expression uneasy.

After all, until they actually left the city, no one knew where Yang Kan truly stood.

Zhu Yuanzhang silently clenched his fists.

He centered himself, calmed his breathing, and surveyed his surroundings.

On the wall, besides the six bare-chested strongmen hauling up the basket, eight fully armed soldiers stood near Yang Kan.

They wore bronze masks shaped like beasts, and their skin from the neck down was painted in colorful patterns.

They were tall and powerfully built, and each held a long mace.

They looked like the door gods painted on murals in later generations.

Once the basket reached the top of the wall, Yang Kan personally stepped forward and helped Prince of Yuzhang Xiao Dong out. "The horses, provisions, and water are ready. Your Highness can leave the city at any time."

The eight soldiers followed not far behind Yang Kan.

The moment Zhu Yuanzhang stepped onto the wall, all eight of them immediately went on guard.

"Merfolk?"

One of the soldiers, wearing a wolf mask, asked.

"A half-Merfolk, transformed from an overseas alchemist."

The soldier in a fox mask gave Zhu Yuanzhang a once-over before replying.

"But his cultivation is astonishing. He could easily pass for the real thing."

"..."

Zhu Yuanzhang cupped his hands.

He noticed that as the soldiers spoke, their eyes kept drifting toward the one among them wearing a fish mask.

Before the fish-masked soldier could speak, Zhu Yuanzhang's mind stirred, and he spoke first.

"Mixed-blood?"

The fish-masked soldier looked deeply at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Then he nodded slightly.

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes.

Among the knowledge that had entered his mind during his transformation beneath the Bitter Sea was information on this subject.

On some remote islands overseas, the natives often worshiped the long-lived Deep Ones as gods.

They offered their wives and daughters to mate with the Deep Ones.

Of the children born from these unions, half gradually developed more and more Deep One traits as they grew older.

The other half showed no signs of change throughout their lives. But if the right opportunity arose, once their transformation was complete, they would possess the full abilities of the Deep Ones.

"This is the first time I've seen someone without Merfolk blood reach this level through sheer cultivation."

"Judging by the aura around you, you must have glimpsed the palace of the Father God and Mother God in your dreams—the city of Guixu, haven't you?"

As he spoke, a note of envy crept into the fish-masked soldier's voice.

Any human allowed by Dagon to enter the underwater city would be regarded by the Merfolk as one of their own.

That meant that, if they wished, they could simply wait for their transformation to finish and follow the ancient river routes.

They could then travel to the immortal city of Guixu beneath the waves.

There, under Dagon's watchful gaze, they would gain true, eternal life.

But mixed-bloods were not granted such an honor.

And Guixu would rarely accept them.

What the soldier didn't know was that Zhu Yuanzhang had not only seen the enormous stone palace.

He had even gone inside and examined its broken statues up close.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

"I have indeed seen that underwater stone palace."

At the same time, a doubt surfaced in his mind.

After all—

According to the system, Guixu referred to the entire city, including the unfathomably deep fissure beneath the sea.

It didn't refer only to the palace itself.

More importantly, Zhu Yuanzhang had read the writing on the palace walls, as well as the oracle-bone inscriptions deliberately left behind by its ancient inhabitants.

Had the Shang Dynasty built the palace to boast of its conquest of the Blue Barbarians in the east?

Or had the Deep Ones built the underwater city for some purpose of their own?

It was impossible to say.

After all, the most important piece of evidence was this:

If Guixu really was Dagon's palace, how could the Deep Ones have allowed its statues to decay for thousands of years without rebuilding them?

But if the palace had truly been built by the Deep Ones' enemies, why would they preserve it as a holy site?

How strange!

How strange!

Zhu Yuanzhang remained impassive.

"Your soul has long since been claimed by Dagon."

Whether the fish-masked soldier was envious or mocking, he pointed toward the distant Qinhuai River.

"Cross this gate, and you will immediately make three oaths, returning to Dagon's embrace."

"Enjoy eternal life...and the curse of the sea."

The moment Zhu Yuanzhang followed the fish-masked soldier's gesture and saw the Qinhuai River, with its unmanned boats floating among the corpses of healthy men and women—

Something snapped in his mind.

It sounded as though the strings of reason had broken one by one.

Suddenly,

he seemed to experience an illusion.

If Stone City was the eye and Yanque Lake the tail,

then the winding Qinhuai River before him looked like the corpse of a whale that had not yet drawn its last breath.

Great streams of blood poured from its torn-open wounds.

They flowed into the Yangtze River, then out to sea.

They sustained one planktonic creature after another, each living off the carcass.

If even the royal qi of the entire Qinhuai River was merely nourishment for some loathsome thing,

then once the transformation from the Mountain-Shrinking Fist was complete, he would be swept downstream...

At the thought, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help shivering.

"Our carrier pigeon has returned with a message. Prince of Shaoling Xiao Lun has sent Marquis of Nan'an Xiao Jun as the vanguard, leading thirty thousand infantry and cavalry down the Qinhuai River. They are facing Hou Jing's rebel army across Xuanyang Gate."

"They're expected to reach the southern bank of Xuanyang Gate in secret tonight."

Yang Kan pointed at the map, his expression grave as he planned their escape route from Taicheng.

"Once we leave the Grand Marshal Gate, the Eight Guards will split into four groups. They'll act as decoys to draw the attention of Hou Jing's Xianbei and Zahu Barbarian cavalry, each heading for Jianchun Gate, Kaiyang Gate, Lingyang Gate, and Siming Gate to try to break through."

"By then, Hou Jing's forces at Xuanyang Gate will surely be thin. You can seize the opportunity to escort Prince of Yuzhang out of the city, join the royal relief army, and report on the situation inside the city and the strength of Hou Jing's forces."

"I estimate Hou Jing has no more than ten thousand actual combat troops. If Marquis of Nan'an is willing, retaking Xuanyang, Lingyang, and Kaiyang Gates through a coordinated attack from within and without should be no trouble, especially under cover of night."

At these words from Yang Kan,

both Fu Qi and Xiao Dong looked overcome with excitement.

The young man in brocade stepped forward, bowed sincerely to Yang Kan, and promised, "If the day comes when order is restored, I will report to His Majesty and petition him to commend you and all the righteous men here, and restore your good names! I will not be stingy with money, land, official posts, or titles!"

"This general is a surrendered officer from the north. How could I accept such a great honor from Your Highness?"

As Yang Kan spoke, he helped Prince of Yuzhang to his feet, but an indescribable bitterness flashed in his eyes.

Zhu Yuanzhang watched it all.

His heart was still as water.