Chapter 680: Invisible Shackles

That intangible "gaze" has not disappeared.

It follows like a shadow, permeating the air, seeping into every chance occurrence.

At first it was merely a subtle oddity.

Zhu Yue sent Xu Da to lead people to a more distant river branch to seek new food sources.

When Xu Da and the others set out, the weather was still fine.

But just as they reached that river bend and were about to begin, a surge of muddy water rushed down from upstream without any warning.

The water was not strong, yet it exactly covered and disturbed the several shallow shoals rich in river mussels that they had previously identified.

The harvest was meager.

They returned disappointed, chalking it up to bad luck.

After hearing the description, Zhu Yue sketched the river's course on the ground with a branch and asked about the flow speed and turbidity.

"It seems someone upstream dug a dike, or the rocks loosened."

He analyzed.

"But there hasn't been heavy rain lately."

Xu Da wondered.

Zhu Yue said nothing, merely recording this "accident" on the inner side of the bark that served as a journal.

He drew a question mark with a charcoal pencil.

The next day.

At the edge of the camp, near the small dirt pits where they piled fermenting material, two emaciated wild dogs came running from somewhere.

They frantically dug up the pits, turning the carefully prepared mixture of grass leaves and feces into a mess, then ran off empty‑handed.

The half‑grown child tasked with watching was stunned; by the time he reacted, the dogs had already run far away.

The child cried, saying the two dogs' eyes were slightly red, looking frightening, not like ordinary hungry dogs.

Zhu Yue inspected the damaged pits and then examined the chaotic paw prints on the ground.

Dogs digging for food is quite normal.

But the target was so specific, heading straight for this pit that had no food scent, only the smell of humus?

He recorded it again.

This time he drew two question marks.

The third day.

The true "guidance" began to show itself.

A man who claimed to have fled from the north mixed into the camp.

He was quite talkative, especially when it came to the "heroes and champions" of Huai Xi, which he rattled off like treasures.

In casual conversation, he naturally brought up the prestige of Guo Zixing, Marshal Guo of the Red Turban Army in Haozhou City.

"That's the kind of person who can achieve great things!"

The man spoke with flying spittle.

"His troops are strong and his horses sturdy; having taken Haozhou City, even the Yuan soldiers dare not provoke him lightly!"

"Scrounging for food in the wild like us is ultimately no long‑term plan."

"I've heard that Marshal Guo is recruiting soldiers and buying horses, widely welcoming talent."

"For those of us here with some strength, going to join him would not only guarantee a full meal, but might even earn us a future position!"

His words stirred a ripple among the hungry, bewildered refugees.

Many eyes showed longing.

Xu Da also felt a stir, and that evening he drew near to Zhu Yue.

"Chongba, what that man said… actually makes some sense."

"We can't keep gathering river mussels forever."

"Marshal Guo's name, I've also heard—he's a good man."

Zhu Yue was carefully sharpening a small piece of charcoal on a pointed stone, trying to make a finer tip.

He didn't lift his head.

"Oh."

"And that man?"

"Huh?" Xu Da startled, "It seems… he left after eating, saying he was going to visit relatives."

"Hmm."

Zhu Yue set down the charcoal pencil and blew away the wood shavings.

"He said Marshal Guo is recruiting soldiers and buying horses."

"What kind of people is he recruiting? Where should we go to join? Who would recommend us?"

"Haozhou City is occupied, with Yuan troops surrounding it—how could we get in?"

"If we got in, would we be cannon fodder, or could we actually eat our fill?"

His series of questions, spoken calmly, left Xu Da gaping, unable to answer.

"That man… didn't go into detail."

"So."

Zhu Yue looked at Xu Da, his eyes especially bright in the dim oil lamp light.

"These words sound pleasant to hear."

"But upon reflection, they're all empty."

"It was like someone deliberately threw a stone into the water, just wanting to hear a sound, to see how big a splash it could raise."

"It wasn't to show the way."

"Xu Da sort of understood, but felt Zhu Yue was right."

"That man came strangely and left just as abruptly, leaving only a few unsettling words and changing nothing else."

"Then we..."

"We should do what we should do."

"Zhu Yue picked up the charcoal pencil again and recorded today's events on the bark."

"After the entry 'outsider preaching Guo Zixing,' he drew three question marks and wrote a small 'guide' character."

"This wasn't the first time."

"Too many coincidences, and they lose their coincidental feel."

"It was more like a rough but continual series of 'light pushes'."

"Gently, one push after another, on his shoulder, trying to turn him toward a certain preset direction."

"To join Guo Zixing."

"Set foot on the starting point where, in history, Zhu Yuanzhang rose to prominence."

"Zhu Yue's mouth corner curled into a cold, arclike shape."

"He disliked this feeling."

"Very much so."

"On the fourth day, the 'guidance' was upgraded."

"Several Yuan scouts wandering near the camp somehow discovered their relatively hidden camp."

"The scouts didn't attack; they just rode far away, circling a few times, pointing at the camp, then galloped off."

"But panic erupted instantly in the camp."

"The Yuan forces have discovered this place!"

"Will they send a large force to wipe us out?"

"Should we run? Where to?"

"Someone immediately suggested running south into the mountains."

"Others stammered that we should go west, where the Red Turban Army is, and the Yuan forces dare not pursue too far."

"Going west means heading toward Haozhou."

"That is the direction of Guo Zixing."

"Panic, like the best catalyst, brought forth the idea that man had planted a few days earlier."

"\"Chongba! What should we do? \""

"Xu Da, Tang He, and the other core members gathered, their faces full of anxiety."

"Zhu Yue stood on the high ground at the edge of the camp, watching the direction the scouts had disappeared."

"In the morning light, the lines of his side profile were somewhat cold and hard."

"\"They didn't attack. \""

"He spoke slowly."

"\"They didn't even get close. \""

"\"They just took a look and left. \""

"\"Why? \""

"Tang He exclaimed anxiously, \"Maybe they went back to call for reinforcements! \""

"\"Possible. \""

"Zhu Yue nodded."

"\"But it's also possible they were just on patrol, too lazy to bother with us beggars. \""

"\"Or... they just wanted us to *feel* that we should run. \""

"\"Run in the direction they want. \""

"He turned around and looked at the crowd."

"His gaze swept over a series of frightened, uneasy faces."

"\"If we run now, can we outrun the cavalry? \""

"\"Even if we flee to the mountains, what will we eat? What will we drink? \""

"\"If we go west to join the Red Turban Army, do you know the way? Do you know how to avoid the Yuan outposts? Do you know whether they'll want us, this baggage of families? \""

"Each question was like a bucket of cold water poured on everyone's heated heads."

"\"Then... are we just going to wait to die? \" someone said with a sobbing tone."

"\"No, we won't wait to die. \""

"Zhu Yue's tone was firm and resolute."

"\"But we also shouldn't be led around by the nose like fools. \""

"\"Starting today, the camp will organize night watches in three shifts, combining movement and stillness. \""

"\"Dig two emergency evacuation ditches leading to the woods behind. \""

"\"Gather anything that can be used as a weapon—sharpen wooden sticks, keep stones ready. \""

"\"We won't provoke trouble. \""

"\"But if anyone tries to bully us, they'll lose a few teeth. \""

"Clear, specific orders instantly crushed the baseless panic."

Having something to do, having a clear goal, people's hearts can be steadied.

Everyone seemed to have found their mainstay, and they all followed orders to prepare.

Zhu Yue stood alone in place, his gaze once again turned to the distance.

Yuan army scouts...

Is it really a coincidence?

Not coming early, not coming late, but precisely the day after that "envoy" left?

Coincidence?

He no longer believed in coincidence.

On the bark journal, after the record about the Yuan army scouts probing, he forcefully drew a fourth question mark.

And below, he heavily wrote a line of text:

"There is something, plucking the strings of fate."

"Its meaning, wants me to go west."

"I insist, to take root here."

He closed the bark, carefully hid it.

He patted the dust off his hands, walked toward the crowd digging the ditch.

Sunlight shone on him, casting a long shadow.

The shadow firmly took root on this cold land of Huai Xi.

Let the winds from east, west, south, north blow.

I myself remain unmoving.

That invisible shackle seems to have tightened a bit.

But the soul within the shackle, its spine straighter.

Gaze.

Also became colder.