Coal Hill twisted under violet light. When Xu Qing's group arrived, the entire mountain had turned translucent. The infamous locust tree shimmered between reality and nothingness—and the hanged figure on its branches grew clearer by the second.
"Father!" Zhu Cilang screamed, lunging forward.
Xu Qing yanked him back. "That's not your father! Look—"
At the mountain's base stood Zhu Youjian with Imperial Guards. The emperor gazed upward, face ashen. Hearing hoofbeats, he turned—hope flashing in his eyes.
"Cilang! Minister Xu!"
The reunion wrenched Xu Qing's heart. Zhu Youjian embraced his son like any common father, while the crown prince trembled in his arms.
"Your Majesty, that is—" Xu Qing pointed to the tree.
"We know." Zhu Youjian's voice was hoarse. "Another 'Us.'"
As he spoke, the hanged figure *lifted its head*—revealing Zhu Youjian's face contorted in a grotesque smile. The noose untied itself, and the figure floated down, dragon robes billowing unnaturally.
"At last we meet, weaker self." The Sovereign's voice grated like metal. "You dare face your fate?"
Imperial Guards drew blades, but Zhu Youjian stopped them. He stepped forward, confronting his doppelgänger three *zhang* away: "You are not Us. We would never hang from a tree."
The Sovereign laughed. "Then why do you dream of it? *Because this was your destiny!*"
Xu Qing's system shrieked: **[WARNING: Temporal disruption detected. Tech failure imminent!]** As if on cue, all stun batons sparked, and drones fell from the sky.
"Minister Xu." Zhu Youjian didn't turn. "Without immortal devices—any alternatives?"
Xu Qing frantically checked the system and found a hidden prompt: *Certain ancient artifacts may stabilize spacetime.* He remembered: "Your Majesty! The Imperial Seal!"
Zhu Youjian's eyes flashed. He drew a brocade pouch—prompting the Sovereign's mockery: "You think *that rock* counters quantum tech?"
But when Zhu Youjian raised the jade seal, it *blazed gold*, forming a dome that *halted* the creeping spacetime fissures at their feet!
"Dragon Qi..." Zhu Meichuo whispered. "The ancient texts were true!"
The Sovereign recoiled. "Impossible! This defies physics!"
"Some things science hasn't explained," Xu Qing shot back while locating the second anchor *inside Coal Hill*. "Your Majesty! Another device is buried here!"
Zhu Youjian and the Sovereign exclaimed as one: "Impossible!"
They locked eyes. The Sovereign sneered first: "Seems we both kept secrets."
"Father!" Zhu Cilang interjected. "The Yongle Emperor built tunnels inside Coal Hill for emergencies!"
Zhu Youjian decided instantly: "Xu Qing and Cilang—destroy the device. Zhu Meichuo stays with Us."
The Sovereign laughed. "Sending a *child*? Typical of your indecisiveness!"
"Silence!" Zhu Youjian roared. "We would never kneel to rebels to save our skin—*unlike you*!"
The barb struck deep. The Sovereign shuddered. "How did you—"
"We dreamed it." Zhu Youjian advanced. "Li Zicheng breaches the capital. You meant to die, but chose surrender. And still, they hanged you *on this very tree*!"
"Lies!" the Sovereign screamed.
"Your history, not Ours!" Thunder underscored Zhu Youjian's words. "We changed fate—while you became time's ghost!"
---
While they dueled, Xu Qing and Zhu Cilang slipped away. En route, the prince whispered, "Is he truly... another father?"
"A version from a splintered timeline," Xu Qing checked the beacon. "Where he chose differently at a critical juncture."
The hidden tunnel's entrance was overgrown but yielded to Zhu Cilang's touch. Icy air rushed out—the walls glittered with *violet frost*.
"Stay close." Xu Qing's flashlight (miraculously still working) revealed the path downward.
Deeper they went, the humming growing louder. Finally, a circular chamber—where the second quantum anchor pulsed on a stone platform, guarded by four Imperial Guards with *glowing purple eyes*.
"Possessed," Xu Qing muttered.
Zhu Cilang acted first—he hurled a rock at a ceiling protrusion. A hidden sluice opened, dousing the anchor in freezing water!
Sparks flew as the guards collapsed. Xu Qing jammed the final capsule into the device.
"Down!"
The explosion rocked the chamber. Xu Qing was thrown against a pillar—
---
On Coal Hill, the Sovereign howled, his form flickering. Zhu Youjian's seal flared brighter, *pushing* the spacetime rift closed.
"No! I planned for centuries!" The Sovereign clawed at the void. "*I* am the true emperor!"
"You're *nothing*." Zhu Youjian's voice cut deep. "True rulers *die standing*!"
As the Sovereign's body faded, he snarled: "Think this ends it? Fusion passed 50%! Without my anchor, *both worlds tear apart*!"
Xu Qing's system confirmed: **[Critical breach. A living conduit must stabilize the rift.]**
Zhu Meichuo gasped. "Meaning...?"
"Someone must stay," Xu Qing said heavily. "*Trapped between times.*"
All eyes turned to Zhu Youjian.
"We will stay."
"Father, no!" Zhu Meichuo fell to her knees.
Zhu Youjian stroked her hair. "Our duty." To the Sovereign: "Yours is to *fade*."
The Sovereign's form fragmented. His last words were venomous: "You'll... regret..."
With his disappearance, the rift convulsed violently. Zhu Youjian handed the seal to Zhu Cilang: "Tell your mother—"
"Wait!" Xu Qing read a new alert. "The seal can buy *72 hours*!"
"How?"
"We need stabilization devices activated *simultaneously* in both eras. Su Yu handles the modern side, but here..."
Zhu Youjian understood. "What's required?"
"A power source resonating with the seal..." Xu Qing's gaze landed on Zhu Meichuo. "Your Highness, will you risk it?"
The plan formed swiftly:
1. Zhu Meichuo would carry a seal fragment to the modern era.
2. She and Su Yu would build a stabilizer.
3. Xu Qing would construct its counterpart in the Ming using the remaining seal.
4. In 72 hours, synchronized activation would *permanently seal* the rift.
Before departure, Zhu Youjian embraced his daughter: "Remember your roots."
Tearfully, she nodded. Xu Qing initiated the time jump—setting the countdown. As the portal swallowed Zhu Meichuo, the rift stabilized *temporarily*.
---
The return to the palace was silent. Only at the Gate of Heavenly Purity did Zhu Youjian speak: "Minister Xu... if we fail..."
"We won't." Xu Qing gripped the seal fragment. "We've already rewritten history."
Above, the crimson moon lingered—but the rift had stopped expanding. The Forbidden City's transparency receded, though odd lights still flickered in corners.
"Your Majesty!" Wang Cheng'en rushed over. "Cao Huachun confessed! He babbled about 'two emperors'..."
Zhu Youjian waved wearily. "Let him rot."
That night, as Xu Qing studied the seal fragment, Zhu Cilang radioed: "Master Xu—*look up*!"
The crimson moon now displayed *scenes*:
- Li Zicheng's forces sacking Beijing.
- Qing armies storming the passes.
- And—*Zhu Meichuo in modern clothes*, standing in a lab!
"She's safe," Xu Qing assured the emperor. "Su Yu will protect her."
Zhu Youjian watched the moon. "We wonder... what if we'd never met you?"
Xu Qing had no answer. The system showed *51.3% historical deviation*—who knew what "original" history looked like now?
---
At dawn court, Zhu Youjian declared the crown prince regent, citing "heavenly meditation." No official dared protest—not after the omens.
Privately, the emperor summoned Xu Qing and Zhu Cilang to the Astronomical Bureau. Chief Astronomer Zhang Yuchu, once skeptical of "immortal devices," now bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty, the Purple Forbidden Enclosure shines brighter—an *auspicious sign*!"
Zhu Youjian pointed to Zhu Meichuo's position in the moon-images. Zhang calculated meticulously, marking a star chart: "The immortal maiden is... *here*."
Xu Qing cross-referenced his maps—*the exact location of his university*! "This precision... unbelievable."
"Our ancestors studied stars for millennia," Zhu Youjian almost smiled. "Now, Minister Xu—let's build that stabilizer."
For three days, craftsmen labored under Xu Qing's guidance, forging a bronze device embedded with seal fragments. The原理 eluded him, but Su Yu's instructions were precise: *Activation must be exact.*
On the final evening, Zhu Youjian hosted a private banquet. Uncharacteristically jovial, he even poured wine for Zhu Cilang.
"A ruler's duty is to the people." Zhu Youjian's gaze was solemn. "Technology can uplift or destroy. Choose *wisely*."
As midnight approached, all gathered before the bronze device on a high platform in the palace square. The seal fragment glowed faintly under the moon.
"Ten minutes," Xu Qing watched the countdown. "They're ready too."
Zhu Youjian asked quietly, "When this ends—will you stay or go?"
Xu Qing hesitated. "I... don't know."
"Whatever you choose," Zhu Youjian clasped his shoulder, "the Ming counts you as family."
At the final minute, thunder cracked. The crimson moon *convulsed*, the rift screeching like tearing metal.
"Now!"
Zhu Youjian and Xu Qing activated the device simultaneously. The seal fragment *erupted* in golden light, spearing the rift—where it met an identical beam from the modern era!
The intersecting rays wove a luminous net, *stitching* the rift closed. Cheers erupted as the crimson moon faded to normal.
Then—**[WARNING: Additional energy required!]**
"Life force must complete the seal," Xu Qing translated grimly.
Zhu Youjian stepped forward without hesitation.
"No!" Xu Qing and Zhu Cilang grabbed him.
"The seal answers to Us." Zhu Youjian shook them off, pressing his palms to the device. "Tell Zhu Meichuo—We are proud."
Blinding light engulfed him. Zhu Youjian's silhouette *wavered* as the rift healed at incredible speed. Historical deviation *plummeted*...
When the last rift strand vanished, the bronze device shattered. Zhu Youjian collapsed—*pale as death*.
"Father!" Zhu Cilang caught him.
Zhu Youjian's eyelids fluttered. "Is it... dawn?"
True sunlight pierced the horizon—the first in four days.
Xu Qing checked the system: **[Timeline stabilized. Historical deviation locked at 47.8%. New chronology established.]**
Below, Su Yu's message: **[Zhu Meichuo secure. Return possible in 72h.]**
Zhu Cilang wept with joy. "Heaven blesses the Ming!"
Zhu Youjian, leaning on his son, gazed at the rising sun. "No—*science and fortune* together bless Us."
Xu Qing wiped his eyes. The immediate crisis was over, but greater challenges loomed: how to navigate this *new history* they'd created?
The system's final log entry seemed to answer:
**[New Timeline: The Scientific Empire of Ming - Year 1.]**