CHAPTER 362: CHAPTER 240: THE MISSING EMPEROR

"Who goes there?"

Staring at the stranger who suddenly appeared before him, the Western Priest Sekov shouted angrily.

He squinted, seeing that standing before him was a man dressed in yellow robes, with a long face and wide forehead, his appearance sincere, and a regal aura that made him quite extraordinary at a glance.

Zhu Honggao lowered his hand, looking at the back of this man with a sense of bafflement about where this stranger emerged from.

He had never seen this person before.

"No one has asked for my name in many years." The man in the yellow robe sighed and suddenly turned around, looking at the bewildered Zhu Honggao on the ground with a dragon-like gaze.

"You youngling, you probably don’t even remember the name of your ancestor, do you? I am Zhu Yunwen, do you recall?"

"Zhu Yunwen..."

Zhu Honggao started reminiscing, suddenly exclaiming in shock: "Zhu Yunwen! You are Emperor Jianwen! My ancestor was Emperor Jianwen?"

Emperor Hui of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yunwen, was the grandson of Emperor Taizu of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, and the second son of Crown Prince Yiwen, Zhu Biao. He reigned for four years as the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

At the beginning of his reign, he reversed the harsh policies of Hongwu, embraced the wise and scholarly, with a decisive intent to return to ancient customs for the institutions and systems. He granted amnesties, supported agriculture and silk production, revitalized schools, examined officials, and revised the systems of major and minor offices, inner and outer. He commended loyal subjects and provided relief to disaster victims. In the first year of Jianwen, he used the plans of Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng to weaken the power of the princes to strengthen central authority. The implementation led to Prince Xiang’s self-immolation, the removal of King Qi, King Dai, and Prince Min. In July, King Yan Zhu Di, under the pretext of cleansing the court, rose in rebellion, initiating the Jingnan War. By June of the fourth year of Jianwen, the capital was captured, and Zhu Yunwen’s whereabouts became unknown.

Some say he self-immolated in the palace. Others say he escaped through a secret passage, changed into monk attire, wandered after fleeing the capital, desperately evading assassination, later living in seclusion around Guanyin Cliff by the Mei River, sincerely devoting himself to Buddhism for the rest of his life, hence the famous Hidden Monarch Cave’s name.

While Zhu Yunwen was the Imperial Grandson, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang once proposed a couplet "Wind blows horse tail in a thousand strands," prompting him and King Yan Zhu Di to respond. Zhu Yunwen answered, "Rain hits sheep wool, full of stench." Zhu Di answered, "Sunlight hits dragon scales, sparkling gold." Taizu was more satisfied with Zhu Di’s response. This revealed Zhu Yunwen’s weakness and mediocrity and Zhu Di’s ambition. After Taizu passed, the royal family thought of ways to solidify Zhu Yunwen’s throne. But eventually, Zhu Di claimed the empire. The couplet became a prophecy of their fate.

It is said that Zhu Yunwen lived in seclusion and anonymity by the Mei River, self-naming as Monk Yingwen, leaving behind many couplets and poetic discussions. One describing the scenery of Guanyin Cliff reads, "Peaks like nests with wind colors, cliffs like a sleeping dragon’s patterns."

Throughout his long exile, Zhu Yunwen continuously encouraged himself with the story of Chong’er from Jin. Hoping for a day to rise again, but later he gradually realized Zhu Di’s state management was far superior to his own, thus slowly dispelling the thought, disappearing completely from history.

Even Zhu Honggao himself hadn’t thought his ancestry would be Zhu Yunwen. Note that this was a historical figure born in 1377.

If he lived until now, wouldn’t that mean he is a person five to six hundred years old?

Could such long-lived individuals truly exist in this world?

Zhu Yunwen turned away, no longer looking at his unimpressive descendant, only sighing to the Western Priest, "To think I’ve hidden the Daoist Technique until now, always expecting life would continue so serenely, and no one could ever find the technique’s location, yet it was discovered by you lot, you truly are tenacious."

"Hand over the Daoist Technique." Sekov gasped, his voice increasingly heavy.

One could see his body starting to bulge and rise visibly, stretching the priest’s robe taut until it completely split.

Revealing a beast-like hairy body with exaggerated muscles.

"Years ago, by chance, I was saved by Master Xu. He instructed me to guard this item. You come demanding it, but I cannot give it to you. Not you or any of your backers can take it from my grasp."

Zhu Yunwen’s gaze grew cold, showing hints of imperial might.

"I want you dead!"

Father Sekov instantly lunged with his claws, aiming for Zhu Yunwen’s chest.

His claw blades were extremely sharp; if they struck, they could dig two large holes in the chest instantly.

Yet Zhu Yunwen showed no reaction. As the claws were about to touch his chest, Zhu Yunwen finally calmly threw a punch.

"I loathe killing, but if you wish for death, I don’t mind granting you a swift end. Some things shouldn’t belong to you. Trying to seize them is your curse."

A burst of golden dragon aura erupted from his fist, piercing through Sekov’s body.

Sekov had no chance to react; his flesh dropped and scattered without stop.

As an entire golden dragon passed through Sekov’s body, the previously burly Sekov was already reduced to a mere skeleton.

A few seconds later, the skeleton shattered, scattering into fragments on the ground.

"This!" Zhu Honggao’s eyes widened in disbelief at his ancestor’s formidable power.

If he had known the ancestor was nearby, he wouldn’t have needed to go to Beiyang City searching for expert mentors; just letting the ancestor deal with those hanging men would have sufficed.

"I, Zhu Honggao, the unworthy descendant, pay respects to my ancestor." Zhu Honggao quickly kowtowed in excitement, showing utmost respect to Zhu Yunwen.

"It seems the news of our Zhu Family residing here has somehow been exposed, known to people of Kunlun. This is not good news; you follow me. Now is a critical time; it’s time you learn the secret our Zhu Family has been guarding behind the Zhu Family Town for generations."

Zhu Yunwen sighed, with a hint of helplessness in his brows, and led Zhu Honggao towards the inner hall.

Zhu Honggao quickly got up to follow; since the ancestor said there’s something to be handed down, it must be significant.

Entering the inner hall, Zhu Honggao realized there was surprisingly a secret passage leading underground.

Having lived in the Zhu Residence since childhood, he never knew about this secret, evidently Zhu Yunwen had just emerged from this passage; Zhu Honggao couldn’t help but admire his ancestor for being so adept at hiding.

Descending along the stone steps, Zhu Honggao soon arrived at a secret chamber.

In the center of the chamber lay a glazed coffin, filled with golden liquid inside, where floated a man with only half of his body left.

His fractured spine was clearly visible, yet the rest of his body remained vibrant and lively, as if he were merely sleeping.

Zhu Honggao was greatly astonished: "Ancestor, this is?"

"He is the Daoist Technique, quite unbelievable, right? When I received this man from Master Xu years ago, I was just as stunned as you are now."

Zhu Yunwen placed his hands behind his back, looking at the man inside the glass coffin with calmness: "Though I don’t know who he is, nor why Master Xu entrusted him to me, but it’s certain he holds great importance, else he wouldn’t have attracted Kunlun’s trouble."

"Ancestor, may I ask who Master Xu is and what Kunlun is about? I’m really puzzled." Zhu Honggao scratched his head, wondering aloud.

"Master Xu... he is a mysterious and ancient figure. Once, Emperor Qin Shi Huang commissioned him to go overseas seeking the Immortal Mountain, but he was never heard from again, he is..."

"Alchemist Xu Fu."