Chapter 858

Times like this, I really missed the System.

If it weren’t for that damn update, a holographic window would’ve appeared by now with its signature clear chime.

Ding.

System

Quest Saving Prince Shangshan successfully completed!

Quest completion rewards have been granted!

You have gained a large amount of EXP!

Something like that.

But unlike the scene I’d just imagined, reality was quiet. The cold killing intent pouring from dozens of Embroidered Uniform Guard members pricked my entire body like needles.

“That’s enough. Rein it in and put it away. Keep this up and you’ll put me in a bad mood.”

I tossed out a few words, then pushed off a branch and dropped toward the ground.

No—I walked down through empty air, stepping on it as if it were a staircase.

“Stepping on Empty Air…!”

Someone’s gasp reached my ears. I could almost feel the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s blade-sharp aura waver.

It burns through internal energy like crazy, but nothing beats it for this.

No matter how hostile someone was, after seeing something like that, they wouldn’t dare bare their teeth at me.

Stepping on Empty Air was a technique exclusive to Supreme Peak masters.

Tap.

I landed lightly on the ground. Waiting for me there was a beast howling miserably.

“Waaah, Captain!”

“Stop. Don’t come over here. Shut up.”

“Where have you been all this time?! I was so scared!”

“…”

I’d gone to all that trouble to set the mood, and this bastard—

I let out a deep sigh and pushed Hyuk Mujin away as he kept trying to hug me.

“Ah, quit whining. I didn’t leave you behind.”

“What?”

“I just took a nap up there. I was tired.”

We’d been on a forced march for over ten days.

Even with three jiazi¹ of internal energy and a body beyond human limits, I couldn’t beat the need for sleep. The fact that I’d held out this long was practically a miracle.

Scouting and standing night watch in case something happened. Checking on the others and looking after them. And on top of that, the mental strain.

If the Divine Physician hadn’t tried to stop me and Jeok Cheongang hadn’t helped, I might have collapsed before we ever reached Jiangsu.

I wasn’t exactly in good shape, either. I’d been sleeping for half a shichen² every three days.

After going through all that hell, it was only natural that sleep hit me the moment we reached our destination and I was sure we’d arrived ahead of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

“…So you slept? In a tree?”

“Yeah. If I slept on the road, my mouth would get crooked. And I might get attacked while I was out cold.”

“What about me?”

“You? What about you?”

“I’m asking why you threw me down in the middle of the road while you went somewhere safe to sleep by yourself.”

“Someone had to keep watch on the road. And I didn’t throw you.”

“Then what did you do?”

“I set you down. Carefully.”

I’d actually more or less tossed him down. I was that tired.

Hyuk Mujin’s mouth fell open at my slightly dishonest answer.

“So it doesn’t matter if my mouth goes crooked?”

“You’re the kind of man who speaks the truth even with a crooked mouth. That’s Hyuk Mujin.”

“You said we could be attacked!”

“And I’d wake up when I heard it. Like I did just now.”

“I almost died! If you’d woken up moments later, I’d have been a dead man!”

“But I woke up moments earlier. You’re alive.”

“My God. Captain, are you even human?”

I wasn’t sure what gave the bastard who’d been snoring on my back the right to say that, but I decided to show him a little mercy and let it slide.

We’d been pushing ourselves hard, and besides…

The way he’d looked a little while ago had been pretty impressive.

“Good job.”

At my sudden praise, Hyuk Mujin furrowed his brow.

“What?”

“I said you did a good job. Holding on even in a situation like that.”

“…!”

“But don’t do that again. If you think you can’t win, take a step back and think of another way.”

I patted Hyuk Mujin on the shoulder, then slowly turned around and added,

“Right, Your Excellency from the Embroidered Uniform Guard?”

Our eyes met in midair.

His eyes were impassive, showing no particular emotion. Unlike the others, the man at the head of the procession hadn’t so much as blinked at my appearance. He spoke.

“You know that, and yet you blocked our way. Reckless, to say the least.”

“Mister, watch your mouth. I’ve still got plenty of hair.”

“I don’t know what nonsense you’re talking about, but you are standing against the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who are carrying out the Emperor’s command. Do you understand that?”

“Of course I do.”

“I see. So you admit to treason.”

Treason?

Could it really be called that?

After a moment’s thought, I decided I ought to take back what I’d said.

“Uh. Then I retract what I said earlier.”

“…?”

“I was walking along, got tired, and took a nap. And then, by coincidence, you happened to pass by. How’s that?”

Hyuk Mujin, who’d been looking at me as though my earlier praise had touched him a little, answered quickly.

“Sounds fine to me.”

“Right?”

“Yes. It’s convincing. Plenty of people sleep rough while traveling.”

“You know what you’re talking about. What can they do if it was a coincidence?”

“Exactly. Jiangsu isn’t their land.”

“Wait. Isn’t it, though? Jiangsu or anywhere else, it’s all part of the Great Nation.”

“Huh. Does it work like that?”

“Doesn’t it? That’s what I understand.”

“Captain, since when do you know things like that?”

“You little shit.”

“Sorry. Anyway, I’ll remember that and ask Old Man Nam later… Hey, where is everybody?”

Just as I was about to answer, the man spoke first.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Oh, sorry. We got sidetracked for a second. Anyway, now that you mention it, Jiangsu belongs to you lot too, right?”

“All the mountains and rivers under heaven are ruled by His Imperial Majesty, whose authority is—no, why am I even answering this?”

“It’s nice to help each other out.”

“Enough!”

Our frantic conversation seemed to have rattled him.

I narrowed my eyes at the man, whose aura had grown as cold as frost.

“You there, Your Excellency from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. You said you were Thousand Captain Jeong, right? Why be so stiff about this? Frankly, neither of us stands to gain anything by fighting here.”

Shing.

A cold blade appeared in place of an answer. Thousand Captain Jeong drew the enormous saber from his back and spoke in a rigid voice.

“It makes no difference who you are. The Embroidered Uniform Guard obeys His Imperial Majesty. If you oppose his command and stand in our way, you will die.”

Fwoooooosh.

An invisible force spread out from him. I licked my dry lips as I felt his aura—pure and heavy.

Well, look at that…

I’d suspected it from the moment I first saw him, but the man called Thousand Captain Jeong was a formidable master.

No—by ordinary standards, even “formidable” was an understatement. His skill was enough to shatter a prejudice I’d held deep inside.

He doesn’t seem to have crossed the Supreme Peak threshold yet, but he’s at least at the very top of Peak.

The authorities and Murim were always close and yet far apart.

Murim was one forest within the Great Nation’s borders, but that forest was full of beasts like dragons and tigers.

And yet, even among those serving the authorities, I’d rarely seen a proper master.

Common soldiers were Third Rate or Second Rate, while martial officers were First Rate at best. Peak masters were rare among those in the military.

And most of those had belonged to Murim before.

The former Captain of the Guards to the City Lord of Sichuan Province had been a famous wandering martial artist, practically a personal bodyguard. Li Feng, Assistant Military Commissioner of Shanxi Province, was a former lay disciple of Huashan who’d joined the military after passing the military examination.

But…

Where’d a master of his caliber come from?

My experience might not have been all that broad, but as a Supreme Peak master, I could get a rough measure of someone’s ability at a glance.

And Thousand Captain Jeong bore not the slightest trace of a Murim martial artist. From head to toe, he looked every inch a general.

Even his internal energy is pure.

What was more surprising was that the other Embroidered Uniform Guard members were no exception.

They ranged from young men who looked to be in their twenties to middle-aged men around forty. They varied in skill, but it wasn’t hard to tell that most of them were Peak masters.

Dozens of Peak masters…

A force to match a mid-sized sect—or surpass one.

Whether they lived up to their reputation as the Son of Heaven’s hands and feet, or had been trained by someone other than the Son of Heaven, was a question for later.

I had no intention of letting this standoff continue when neither side stood to gain anything.

“Impressive aura, but you’d better put away those ugly weapons before someone gets hurt.”

The instant I stepped forward after warning them—

Whoosh!

A shaft of light shot straight at my face with a powerful crack of air. I caught it as gently as if I were cradling it, then sent it flying back the way it had come.

Thud! Boom!

Instead of a final scream, a tremor rolled through the ground.

The archer, who’d leapt from the saddle of his fallen steed, stared at me in disbelief. An arrow was lodged in the center of the horse’s forehead.

“I told you to put away what you were holding.”

“…!”

“You’re the reason it died, you animal-abusing bastard.”

Hyuk Mujin, scratching his grime-covered body as if he’d known this was coming, said, “Why is it his fault? You’re the one who killed it, Captain.”

“If we’re getting technical, sure. But Mujin.”

“Yes?”

“I can kill you too.”

“I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn.”

“All right, got it.”

It was a peaceful conversation, as usual. But the tension around us had already grown so taut it felt ready to burst.

Snort. Snort.

Dozens of horses breathed heavily. The hands gripping their reins with all their strength had gone white, and the aura pouring from their riders wavered but didn’t subside.

At their head stood Thousand Captain Jeong.

“You’re crossing a river that should never be crossed.”

“I haven’t crossed it yet. But setting that aside, you all seem pretty confident. No matter how good you are, you won’t come out of a fight with me looking pretty.”

“What I and these men place our faith in is not our personal martial skill. It is our loyalty as subjects who carry out His Imperial Majesty’s command.”

“What’s your name?”

“Jeong Hogun.”

Thousand Captain Jeong—Jeong Hogun—had given me his name much more readily than I expected. Then he asked in return,

“And yours?”

“Jin Taekyung.”

I wasn’t the one who gave that answer.

Jeong Hogun and I both turned our heads. Then we both dropped to one knee and bowed.

Step.

Beneath my lowered gaze, someone’s foot came into view—much larger than it had been in the last glimpse I remembered.

With it came a voice that had grown more mature, too. No longer the voice of a little child.

“It’s been a long time, Jin Taekyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.”

Prince Shangshan Zhu Bao.

The bloodline of a dragon, grown so much taller, helped me to my feet.

And before I could even answer, he handed me something he’d been holding.

This is…

A secret letter.

The moment that secretive word pierced my mind, Prince Shangshan leaned close to my ear and whispered,

“Please give me your autograph.”

“…”

No, Your Highness. What the fuck.