Chapter 692: Zhu Yue's Choice

The atmosphere at the Huai Xi camp tightened visibly to the naked eye.

The northern mountain road was blocked by falling rocks.

To the south, well-equipped Yuan cavalry scouts appeared.

At night, the howls of the green-eyed wolf pack grew ever closer.

Even the usual water channels for drawing water saw their levels inexplicably drop, and the water grew somewhat turbid.

An invisible 'corral' was closing in.

The pressure of survival weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.

Among the refugees, different voices began to arise.

"Chongba Ge, the Yuan troops to the south look tough to mess with; how about we withdraw into the eastern mountains?"

"East? The east is a cliff! Go into the mountains—what would we eat? What would we drink?"

"We can't just wait here to die! If the Yuan troops really attack, our few broken hoes are useless!"

"Or… what about heading west? At the Haozhou City Commandant's place, at least there are walls and grain…"

Panic spread.

Xu Da and Tang He tried to suppress it, but worry was written on their faces as well.

They sought out Zhu Yue again.

In the hut, Zhu Yue stared absentmindedly at a simple map drawn on a small piece of coarse cloth.

The map marked the camp's location and the directions that were blocked or where threats had appeared.

"Chongba, the brothers' hearts are in turmoil." Xu Da lowered his voice, "This can't go on. The Yuan scouts are just prowling around; if they actually charged in…"

"They won't charge in lightly." Zhu Yue didn't lift his head, his finger pointing at a spot on the map, "At least not for now."

"Why?"

"Because the orders they received might not be to 'exterminate' but to 'drive us away.'" Zhu Yue's voice was calm, "Like a sheepdog herding the flock into a specific pen."

Tang He's eyes widened: "Drive us to Haozhou?"

"Or any place they want us to go." Zhu Yue finally lifted his head, his eyes clear, "Before they used 'coincidence' and emissaries to guide us; now that doesn't work, so they're using wolves and soldiers to push us from behind."

"Then we…" Xu Da clenched his fists.

"We're not going anywhere." Zhu Yue said firmly.

He rose, walked to the hut's entrance, and looked at the busy, frightened crowd outside.

"Once we start fleeing, we'll lose the initiative."

"The direction of flight will be restricted, and more 'accidents' will await us on the way."

"In the end, exhausted and with no other choice, we'll only be able to walk into the 'pen' they've long prepared."

He turned to face Xu Da and Tang He.

"That's not a path to life."

"It's just another form of a dead end."

Xu Da took a deep breath: "So we're just going to defend to the death here? Food's almost gone, the water isn't clean, and outside there are soldiers and wolves…"

"Hold, but not to the death." Zhu Yue walked back to the map and pressed his finger firmly on the camp's centre.

"If they seek to encircle, we will break the encirclement."

"If they seek to suppress, we will take root."

He quickly laid out his idea.

First, immediately organize personnel to dig deeper, more concealed water-storage pits inside the camp, collecting rainwater and seepage to solve the water problem.

Second, send out the most agile and daring people—not to scout routes, but to conduct 'feeler patrols.' The focus is to observe the Yuan cavalry scouts' patterns, numbers, equipment, and… how they communicate with the rear.

Third, gather all burnable material around the camp—dry grass, dead branches, even certain minerals (he recalled there was an exposed coal seam nearby)—to make simple combustibles and… materials that could, if needed, be used to produce smoke or simple explosives.

Fourth, reinforce the camp's perimeter. Not a simple wooden fence, but digging pits, laying tripwires, and using the terrain to set up multiple layers of makeshift defenses.

"We want them to know this isn't a flock of sheep awaiting slaughter."

Zhu Yue's eyes were sharp.

"This is a nest of hedgehogs, a nest of venomous bees."

"If you want to drive us away, fine—bring enough lives to fill the gap."

"If you want to trap us to death, also fine—see whether your walls get repaired first or we find a hammer to smash them."

Xu Da and Tang He exchanged a glance.

In each other's eyes they saw the same reckless determination.

"Let's do it!" Tang He gritted his teeth.

"I'll follow your lead!" Xu Da nodded heavily.

The orders were quickly relayed.

Although the panic hadn't vanished, under the influence of clear commands and Zhu Yue's composed demeanor, the camp sprang into action again.

Digging, scouting, gathering, fortifying…

A desperate, back-to-the-wall resolve permeated the air.

Night fell.

Zhu Yue did not rest.

Before him lay a bark log, beside it the intermittent account told by that Liaodong old soldier of the anomalies of the Jurchen.

The green-eyed horse.

The warrior whose wounds healed quickly.

The shaman who summoned the black wind…

Also, an old soldier casually mentioned a detail: the totems worshipped by the tribes that had turned "sinister" seemed different from before, now featuring more mysterious patterns "like a crow and like a shadow".

Crow.

Zhu Yue's heart stirred.

He recalled the feeling of being "watched" he had sensed earlier.

That kind of gaze—cold, emotionless, as if looking down from above.

He also recalled the warning in the eastern signal about the "hand that manipulates history".

And… the invisible force trying to guide and hem him in.

All these fragments began to fit together.

"The abnormal rise of the Jurchens."

"The guidance and suppression aimed at me."

"The same cold, controlling 'feeling'."

"And… the imagery of crows."

Zhu Yue drew three lines on the bark.

One line linked "Jurchen" with "abnormal power (dark energy)".

One line linked "invisible guidance/suppression" with "historical manipulation".

The final line attempted to connect the first two.

If the power manipulating the Jurchens' rise and the force trying to guide and suppress him were the same source?

If the purpose of this power was to uphold some kind of "historical script"?

Then, his own self—the "Zhu Yuanzhang" who refuses to follow the script—naturally becomes a target to be corrected or suppressed.

And the Jurchens, the force that in original history eventually replaced the Ming dynasty, became their chosen piece—a new pawn used to "correct history" or at least counterbalance this variable, himself.

At that moment, the chain of logic became crystal clear.

Zhu Yue set down his charcoal pencil.

No trace of hesitation remained in his eyes.

He knew who his enemy was.

Not the Yuan court.

Not hunger.

Not this harsh environment.

But a cold will that looms above the mundane, seeking to bind all living things and history to its preset course…

It uses dark energy as a tool.

Using the Jurchens as puppets.

Using invisible "coincidences" and pressure as means.

Purpose: to make the world run according to its script.

"Truly… disgusting."

Zhu Yue said in a low voice.

He felt a fury unlike anything before.

Not directed at any specific person or faction.

But aimed at the kind of "will" that treats his and countless others' fates as marionettes to be tossed about at will.

His life, his choices, his struggles— in their eyes, probably just a segment of "errant code" needing correction.

"Too bad."

Zhu Yue rose, pushing aside the grass curtain of the hut.

Outside was a cold night, the starlight dim.

But his gaze burned bright.

"As a person, what I hate most is being arranged by others."

"Especially being arranged by something that… dares not show its face."

He made a choice.

Not fleeing west to seek refuge with someone.

Nor holding his ground, waiting for fate to decide.

He would take a third path.

A path entirely of his own making, completely breaking away from all arrangements of that invisible will.

First step: thoroughly investigate the link between dark energy and the Jurchens, to find this power's weakness.

Second step: survive, grow strong, and wield enough power to shatter any "wall".

Third step…

He looked toward the east.

Beyond that wall of light, the beings that emit warning signals and oppose dark energy.

Perhaps they are not the answer itself.

But at least they are signposts pointing toward the answer.

"Xu Da!"

He called out.

Xu Da came running quickly.

"Tomorrow, pick the two most reliable, fastest on their feet."

Carrying dry rations, head northeast.

Do not enter the city, do not make contact with large forces; just observe covertly, record all abnormal news about the Jurchen tribes, especially… related to 'Crow', 'Black Wind', and 'Rapid Healing'.

Remember, safety first; if any danger arises, withdraw immediately.

Xu Da solemnly replied: 'Yes!'

Zhu Yue nodded.

Returning to the hut, on the last page of the bark journal, he wrote firmly:

The enemy is clear: an intangible historical manipulator, using yin energy as a blade, the Jurchen as pawns.

My path is set: break his pawns, sever his blade, take command of fate.

Starting tomorrow, seek the blade's trace, probe the pawn's gap.

The pen tip paused, he added the final line:

The light of the east may serve as a mirror.

He closed the bark.

He blew out the weak oil lamp.

In the darkness, he closed his eyes.

Fatigue welled up, but his resolve was firmer than ever.

From this moment on.

He was no longer the passive refugee Zhu Zhongba, subjected to fate's meddling.

But rather the one who actively challenges that intangible beast…

The transmigrator, Zhu Yue.