girl let me check

Chapter 428: A Dream in the Early Morning
Many Changming people have never seen the Qiantian Tongming Array activated in their entire lives.

A cylindrical light shield like a golden crystal descended from the sky, completely enveloping the towering city. The spirit stone turned into ashes in the furnace, and the pure energy contained in it flowed into the center of the spirit pattern array, providing a continuous source of power, isolating the alien race from the array.

Fang Tang stood on the top of the city wall, his pupils reflecting the flags of foreign races flying high in the light of torches in the distance.

"Your Highness, according to preliminary findings from scouts, the number of alien troops besieging the city is roughly around 70,000," said Bilong.

There were 70,000 attackers and 50,000 defenders. As the defenders with an advantage in siege warfare, the Great Zhou seemed to have the upper hand. But... this was Changming, a huge city with 24 gates.

The city was too large, which was convenient for the capital in normal times, but a fatal flaw in war. Fifty thousand people were spread out to each city gate, leaving only two thousand people, and the foreigners could choose any of the twenty-four gates to attack. As long as the city wall was breached and street fighting began, the weaker Great Zhou army would no longer be a match for the fierce foreigners.

Fortunately, this most powerful city in the world is not short of manpower, and the population of this city alone exceeds 500,000 households. Once Fang Tang unlocks the restrictions on the armory, the court can quickly arm a temporary force of tens of thousands of people.

But Fang Tang knew in his heart that neither the temporarily recruited militia nor the Nan Ya Imperial Guards stationed in the city could be a match for the foreign army.

The Beiya Imperial Guards, who were far more elite than them, were almost wiped out when facing a foreign army that was smaller in number than themselves, let alone these people in Changming City.

"The food and grass in the city can still sustain for three months. If it is distributed economically, it can last for half a year." Bilong said, "But the Qiantian Tongming Formation cannot last that long."

"According to Changming's defense regulations, the city's spiritual stone reserves must be enough to support the consumption of the Qiantian Tongming Formation for a whole year, but... this matter is planned and coordinated by the Hedong Pei family, who are in charge of spiritual stone mining. Not long ago, they transferred a large number of spiritual stones from Guandong on the grounds that the spiritual stone reserves were insufficient, and promised to return them soon. Now that Changming is under siege, without this batch of spiritual stones, the city's existing reserves can only support 18 days at most."

"After eighteen days, Qiantian Tongming will be closed due to lack of energy."

Bilong whispered.

"When the time comes, we will face the alien army head-on."

"If there is no reinforcement yet..."

The young princess did not look back. She placed her hand on the bricks of the city wall and felt the coldness in her palm.

The golden light was dim, the distant stars were faint, Fang Tang's face was hidden in the vast night, and her hair was fluttering.

"Have all the feather letters been sent out?" Fang Tang asked.

"It has been sent." Bilong replied, "Now... Luojing Camp, the eight surnames of princes, and the governors of various counties should have received our letter for help."

Fang Tang didn't say anything.

After a while, Bilong heard a very soft murmur:

“…Did you send it to him?”

Of course, Bilong knew who the "he" Her Royal Highness the Princess was referring to.

"It has been sent." Bilong smiled bitterly. "Your Highness, the formation has been activated. Now the news outside Changming City cannot be transmitted to the city. We cannot receive a reply from Luojing, but..."

She wanted to say something, but ended up stopping herself.

The girl with her back to her suddenly whispered:
"He's not coming, is he?"

Bilong opened her mouth but said nothing.

"I treated him like that, using his loyalty to me for my own benefit and treating his sincerity as worthless trash."

"At this time, how can I ask him to risk his life to protect me?"

Fang Tang turned around, his phoenix eyes filled with a calmness like deep water.

"He won't come. Or rather... no one will come to save us. We can only rely on ourselves."

"Your Highness..." Bilong felt mixed emotions.

She could sense that Fang Tang's thoughts were far from being as calm as she said. She said she was relieved and calm, but who could remain completely calm after such an incident, when their lives were in danger?

Being abandoned by her own subjects and generals, perhaps Her Royal Highness the Princess must be very sad in her heart.

"Let's go back." Fang Tang said.

"Yes."

Bilong walked away, and Fang Tang stood alone on the city wall, his clothes fluttering in the cold night wind.

In front of him was the endless darkness, in which lurked the beasts that would devour anyone they chose. Behind him was the great city with dim lights, in which were eyes that had their own hidden agendas.

She looked up in confusion, but could not see any stars.

"Even if reinforcements don't come, even if there are only 50,000 imperial guards in the city, I can successfully defend Changming."

Fang Tang said to himself.

"You can do it, Fang Tang."

Silver threads were falling in the night sky, this was the first spring rain of the year.

The raindrops fell on the girl's fair ears, and the coolness was refreshing.

Is it really possible?
No matter how deceiving and hinting he was, Fang Tang already knew the answer.

Once the Qiantian Tongming Formation is lifted, with such a huge difference in combat power, it is unknown whether the Imperial Guards can survive a day.

If there is no reinforcement, Changming... is doomed.

The most sensible thing for Fang Tang to do would be to leave Changming the day before it was besieged by the foreign army. She still had the protection of Shi Dangliu and others, so at least they would be able to help her escape from Changming.

But by doing so, she would undoubtedly abandon the millions of people of Changming and the foundation left to her by the Fang ancestors.

Fang Tang couldn't do it.

Guanzhong is the Guanzhong that Fang family has worked so hard to develop, and it is also their foundation. If she abandons it today, all the foundation accumulated by the royal family for thousands of years will be handed over to others, and Fang Zun's death will become meaningless.

She couldn't leave, not at all.

But if she doesn't leave, how can she break out of this deadly situation?

Fang Tang felt a little cold.

She tightened her skirt, but the cold became even worse.

The Yingluan Palace five hundred years ago and the Changming City five hundred years later are like birds in a cage, unable to break free from their shackles.

"I never believe in fate."

Fang Tang said softly.

"If I can light one fire, I can light a second one, a third one... until the so-called web of fate is burned to ashes."

Fang Tang looked into the void and summoned the mysterious notebook with his mind. On it was written in an illusory handwriting:

【Task 17: Break the impasse.】

[The army is approaching, the imperial capital is in danger. Under the stab of the Uehara Wang family, you are in a desperate situation in Changming. 】

[Relieve Chang Ming's deadlock, at any cost, by any means. ]

"No matter the cost, no matter the means..." Fang Tang looked at the words and laughed softly.

As the crown prince of the empire, Fang Tang has the obligation to make choices on behalf of the country's will.

It is not difficult to decide whether all die or half die in exchange for the chance for the other half to survive.

"If I can detonate the Lingshan Dragon Pond, then I can naturally detonate the Qiantian Tongming." Fang Tang whispered to himself.

"If you want my life, then come on. Let's see whose life is tougher."

"Boom!"

The Changming drum tower struck twelve times.

A new day has arrived.

Fang Tang walked down the city wall, dismissed the many guards and palace maids who followed him, and walked towards Tianjie alone.

She strolled in the early morning rain, her short boots making sounds as they stepped through puddles, like a shattered dream.

When the princess of the empire arrived in front of Yingtian Temple, the guards at the gate of the altar did not dare to be negligent and immediately saluted her respectfully.

Three months ago, she had taken the same route, walking up to the Yingtian Temple with her resentment and unwillingness, and was given the title of Princess Changming.

Three months later, she started all over again. She went to the Temple of Heaven again just to pursue her missing memories.

There were only a few dozen steps, but they seemed extremely long to her.

The sword tassel in her arms feels as heavy as a thousand pounds, the raindrops in her hair feel as cold as ice, and the girl's heart feels as if it is burning.

She stepped onto the last stone step, and the Xuan Yao Sword was quietly inserted into the ground in front of her, like a silent and speechless god.

"This reflux formation was created by Linyuan Yulu Pavilion. Its application depends on the luck of the world. Your Highness needs to find a place with strong luck."

The sound of the flowing stones seems to be right beside my ears.

And in Changming City, the place with the strongest aura is the Yingtian Temple.

Fang Tang gently grasped the sword tassel, and his anxious heart seemed to be slightly comforted.

She took a deep breath and used the star power in her body to activate the Suishang formation.

"Buzz!"

The sword tassel glowed brightly, and the aura of cause and effect exploded on the Yingtian Altar. Wind and clouds rolled up a causal airflow that seemed to be real, and a huge vortex rushed straight into the sky.

And in the center of the vortex, the sword tassel as bright as the moon slipped out from the girl's palm and floated in the air.

The silvery-white light expanded in an ellipsoidal shape, slowly engulfing the girl's body.

Her vision was filled with silver-white, which gradually dimmed and finally turned into flames that shot up into the sky.

The burning beam fell from the top of the hall, and scattered ashes fell in the mirror-like pond. The dead crabapple tree stretched out its branches towards her, as if inviting her to dance with it.

Hearing the roar of the gate guards, Fang Tang came back to his senses.

Is this... the day I died? Are the memories I lost still here?

Fang Tang turned his gaze to Haitang in front of him.

The crabapple tree was planted by his mother herself. After her death, Fang Tang hadn't seen it for a long time.

"Mother really likes Haitang..."

Her fingers passed straight through the branches of the crabapple tree. There was no substantial touch, only fragments of light and shadow dancing.

The glimmer in the girl's eyes slowly faded away, and finally turned into a sigh of understanding.

"Can't you touch it?"

Yes, five hundred years have passed, and she is no longer from that era.

Fang Tang stood there in a daze, and suddenly heard a burst of messy footsteps coming from behind him.

Another self, she was wearing a golden-red palace dress, noble and beautiful, like a crabapple blossoming among gold and jade.

She walked to the courtyard wall and stopped beside Fang Tang. The two of them stood side by side, like a pair of twin sisters.

Fang Tang heard himself five hundred years ago whisper:

"My mother is a stupid woman...she can't protect anything, and she throws everything away for so-called love."

Fang Tang stared at her in a daze. "Kacha!"

There seemed to be a sound of something breaking in my mind, and the frozen memories gushed out like a spring.

"Family, status..." said myself five hundred years ago.

"...and your own life." Fang Tang closed her eyes and softly finished her unfinished words.

"I won't learn from you."

Fang Tang watched her raise her hand and saw bright stars floating in her palm.

"But I am a good boy and I will listen to my mother."

"If Haitang is to bloom enthusiastically, why should we care about other people's eyes?"

His own voice overlapped with the illusions of the past, and Fang Tang could not hear it clearly.

"Mom...I'll take you to watch the fireworks."

Her fist hit the courtyard wall, time stood still, and then the world collapsed.

It was like the wind from the past gently caressing her cheek.

"The fire burned, and the explosions shook the sky and the earth..."

Whose voice is this?

"…But the disaster only affected an inch of land and a foot of wood, and the world will only last for a moment…"

A strange yet familiar word broke into her memory.

"Daddy?" Fang Tang felt a little confused.

Who is Daddy? Doesn't she only have one father named Fang Yuan? She calls him Father Emperor, so where does Daddy come from?

"The fire of the North Sea is vast and ardent, silent and peaceful..."

I... I seem to have called another person daddy... Who is he?

Who is he?
The girl's beautiful eyebrows were tightly knitted in pain, as if an invisible pair of hands were strangling her throat, preventing her from remembering all this.

The roar of the giant dragon exploded in the spiritual platform, and the silver-white light dispelled the darkness.

“…but it can begin from eternity and end in eternity.”

Fang Tang's eyes turned from chaotic to clear, and all his memories of the past were revived.

She saw the face of a young man, a look that she was very familiar with.

It’s not cold yet.

Fang Tang saw him playing with her attentively, saw him agreeing to all her unreasonable requests, and saw him trying every way to make her happy.

Fang Tang saw that he had deceived him in the end and left without saying goodbye.

She was the first to propose the agreement, and she was also the first to break it.

Fang Tang's body trembled slightly, and a suppressed whimper came from her throat. She knelt on the ground, her eyes red, and the fire and heat waves in the sky scraped her cheeks so hard that it hurt.

The crystal drops slid down from the corners of his eyes, as if about to fall into the dust, but eventually evaporated completely.

"understand?"

He asked himself gently.

"understood."

My younger self answered this way.

"you……"

"What do you know...what do you know?!" she sobbed.

The girl's tears rolled down her face like pearls from a broken string. At this moment, she felt her heart slowly breaking.

She didn't understand at all, she didn't understand anything at all.

If there is anyone in this world who has no plans towards her, that person must be Fang Weihan.

Because... he is his father.

He always remembered it, he never forgot it.

Fang Tang figured out the origin of the sword tassel, but she would rather... not know about it.

"Daddy..." The girl's voice was trembling and she could hardly utter a word.

She did so many excessive things to him. She was testing him...she was testing his loyalty to her.

At that time, she didn't trust anyone, including her father.

The girl was so heartbroken that she could hardly breathe.

How could she forget? How could I forget?!
Why can she remember the appearance of those termites she sent to hell, but can't remember her own father? !
Fang Tang knelt there blankly, not knowing how much time had passed.

"laugh!"

This is the sound of a sword piercing flesh.

Fang Tang raised his head indifferently, his eyes were red and without a trace of emotion.

Ah, it was my dear father. He was going to kill me again.

She watched herself five hundred years ago go through confusion, anger, and hatred, which finally turned into deep resentment.

She watched her close her eyes and quietly wait for her death.

It's really embarrassing...

Fang Tang felt very bored, she didn't want to see the tragic scene of her own death.

Just then, she heard Fang Yuan scream:

"who?"

"Who are you? What do you want to do?"

Fang Tang suddenly turned his head, staring at the person in the shadow of the fire with his red and swollen eyes.

Because of the smoke and dust, she couldn't see his appearance clearly.

But she could recognize his figure, the figure that often appeared in her dreams.

Thunder roared above her heart, causing the girl's brain to go blank for a short period of time.

"Your name is Fang Yuan? Are you worthy of being an emperor?"

She heard the man ask coldly.

"Oh!"

His father flew backwards and fell into the ruins in the distance.

Fang Weihan walked to her side and looked at her five hundred years ago, with thousands of thoughts flashing through his eyes.

There is heartache, helplessness and guilt.

"...There is a fire in the North Ming Dynasty, burning under the ocean. It will never be extinguished throughout the ages. This fire is your coming-of-age ceremony, and you will be reborn in Nirvana in this fire..."

She saw Fang Weihan talking to her a lot, and she saw how anxious and happy he was when he learned that she called him daddy.

It turned out that he didn't know that the little girl from many years ago has now transformed into a princess of Changming.

Yes, I have never told my father my identity. After five hundred years, no matter how hard he tries, he will not be able to find it.

She saw Fang Weihan wanted to do something, but in the end it was of no avail.

She saw her life slip away and finally died in his arms.

The fire-stained Yingluan Palace collapsed with a loud bang, the night sky before them was covered with thick dark clouds, and the Xuan Yao Sword flashed with a dark golden light.

Fang Tang seemed to have had a dream about joys and sorrows.

Now I wake up from the dream.

The spring rain was getting heavier, and the girl's hair was wet and scattered, hanging wetly on her shoulders.

"So... the teacher is... my father?" Fang Tang murmured unconsciously.

"He... Fang Weihan, is he... really my... teacher?"

The girl's body was shaking and her low, mournful cry sounded like the wail of a young animal.

She thought of the conversation in Yingluan Palace that day.

"Once you leave, never come back." My own cold and heartless voice still echoes in my ears.

The rain was continuous, but it was like a sharp knife scraping bones, piercing a bloody hole in her heart.

On top of Yingtian Temple, Fang Tang knelt weakly on the ground, and the drizzle fell on her thin shoulders like heavy snow.

"What have I done?"

Her eyes were lifeless as she asked herself this question over and over again.

"What on earth have I done?"

She was questioning her father and teacher, she was questioning the person who was the best to her in the world, and she pushed him away from her with her own hands.

She sneered at his angry yet helpless expression, enjoying the power over the court officials.

She forced him to draw his sword and confront her, and said cruel words that would end all ties between them.

That was the person he loved the most, and the person who loved her the most... If he wasn't completely disappointed in her, how could he say such words?

"It's a complete break... He won't come back."

Fang Tang was trembling as she curled up in a corner of Yingtian Temple. The spring rain soaked her delicate body and the corners of her clothes were stained with mud, making her look miserable and miserable.

Water drops fell from my face to the ground, I couldn't tell if they were tears or rain.

"Teacher...Teacher doesn't want me anymore..."

"What should I do...what should I do..."

The girl cried sadly, like a homeless puppy.

The Xuan Yao Sword remained silent as always.

The broad and majestic national sword stood beside her, its dark golden blade shining brightly in the cold night.

(End of this chapter)