Chapter 863

Hundreds of members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and eunuchs from the East Depot gathered in one place would have been quite a sight on its own.

But not as much as the expressions on their faces right now.

Shock. Astonishment. Confusion. Anger.

Those emotions swept across the countless faces surrounding us. Every last one of them stared wide-eyed, gaped in disbelief, wondered if they’d heard right, and then, once reality sank in, used every muscle in their faces to express their fury.

Except for two people.

“…Young Master Jin?”

Hong Jin looked at me with dazed eyes.

“Ha. Fuck. I’m screwed again…”

Hyuk Mujin dragged a hand down his face with a deep sigh.

Hmm.

Hong Jin was one thing, but Hyuk Mujin had suffered because of me more than once or twice. I did feel a little bad for him.

Still…

So what?

He could be squad leader, then.

Besides, this was a royal decree from His Highness Prince Shangshan himself. As a citizen of Korea—no, of the Great Nation—I had no choice but to follow it wholeheartedly.

Of course, I’d never even seen an identity tag bearing my name, and I had no intention of getting one. But anyway, that was the idea.

In short, this was a legally sanctioned rampage.

“I answered honestly, just as you ordered. I’m not sure whether my answer pleased you, Your Highness.”

At my casual remark, Prince Shangshan Zhu Bao, who’d been staring at me with round eyes, flashed a mischievous grin.

“No. That was exactly the honest answer I wanted. Though I was a little surprised.”

A little? He’d looked pretty damn surprised.

Even that young prince, who’d shown such unexpected boldness, seemed taken aback by just how far I’d gone.

But I didn’t particularly regret it.

Whether we were in Murim or the imperial palace, this was a world where showing weakness meant getting devoured.

A rat cornered in an alley and cowering wouldn’t survive long. A cat would bat it around like a toy until it finally stopped breathing.

If we have to stand up to them anyway, showing our teeth might buy us more time.

I hadn’t charged in without thinking, either.

The Son of Heaven had brought Prince Shangshan all the way to the Imperial Capital. That meant he intended to get rid of him only after establishing some kind of pretext.

And that meant the hunting dogs snarling at us from every direction would stay docile until their master gave the order.

Even the pack leader with the sharpest teeth.

“Well. I hardly know what to say.”

Was Baek Yeon so composed because he commanded so many members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Or because he was a master who’d already reached the realm of the superhuman?

Whatever the reason, his reaction was different. He didn’t show the near-killing-intent fury of the others, or toy with his weapon as though killing me were his lifelong wish.

He merely stroked his beard and said, “A word of advice: watch your tongue next time. This is the imperial court of the Great Nation, not Murim.”

I scratched my chin.

“I did what His Highness told me to, and now I’m getting scolded for it. How’s a powerless commoner like me supposed to live with that?”

I shot a sidelong glance at the prince. He caught the signal and spoke up.

“Baek Yeon, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. This man merely followed my orders. You will say no more about it.”

Baek Yeon didn’t answer. As he looked down at the prince with an inscrutable gaze, Zhu Bao’s voice grew firmer.

“I am asking you. Why do you not answer?”

Ah.

I couldn’t let that go.

“That’s right! How dare you ignore His Highness? You insolent bastard!”

Good projection. Good timing.

Fwoooosh.

And what an atmosphere.

My stern rebuke landed with a satisfying three-quarter beat. Energy seethed all around us.

Hong Jin let out a quiet groan. Hyuk Mujin grabbed my sleeve and whispered frantically, “Captain. Captain. Please, stop.”

“His Highness Prince Shangshan, the younger brother of His Majesty the Emperor, is asking you a question! If you don’t answer, that’s an insult to the imperial family! You’re a traitor!”

“Have you actually lost your mind? Have you been dragging me around all this time just to get me killed in a place like this?”

“Let go of me, you pathetic fool who can’t even use Sword Energy! Are you on their side, too?”

“No, fuck. Please…”

Just as Hyuk Mujin was starting to sound half in tears, Baek Yeon, who’d been staring silently at Prince Shangshan the whole time, raised one hand.

Swish.

The oppressive air scattered in an instant.

The members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, furious at the insult to their superior, withdrew their auras as one. Baek Yeon opened his firmly shut lips.

“Please forgive me, Your Highness. I am slow-witted, and hesitated because I did not know how to answer.”

Not a single person here would be fool enough to take that at face value. Not even a young prince who knew nothing of the world.

“I forgive you. But having hesitated, you had better give the right answer.”

Watching Zhu Bao respond with such dignity, I realized something anew.

Regardless of his age, he was a member of the imperial family, born to noble blood. Someone destined to become a dragon if only he could obtain the dragon pearl.

Perhaps even Hong Jin, who’d stood by Prince Shangshan for so many years, had underestimated him.

Perhaps so had the all-powerful man who remembered only the child who’d barely survived countless purges and been forced to leave for Shanxi Province with the one eunuch still at his side.

“I, Baek Yeon, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, will engrave Your Highness’s command deep in my heart.”

Clank.

At the scrape of golden armor, I saw Prince Shangshan’s shoulders twitch.

He had a boldness and dignity beyond his years, but he was still a child. Facing one of the most powerful men in the Imperial Capital must have taken more courage than I’d imagined.

In that case…

A little help wouldn’t hurt.

Swish.

I murmured inwardly and, with all due insolence, brushed a hand against Prince Shangshan’s back.

The young prince looked up at me, eyes wide at the sudden warmth flowing into him. Then he gave a faint smile and continued.

“These people are citizens of Shanxi Province, which I govern, and guests whom I personally invited. There must be no neglect or mishap of any kind. Is that understood?”

Baek Yeon glanced at me when he heard the prince’s newly clear voice, then replied with an odd expression.

“This is the imperial palace, where His Majesty the Emperor resides. Who would dare harm Your Highness’s guests?”

I muttered as if to myself, “Who knows? Someone’s already drawn a sword in front of His Highness. What wouldn’t they do?”

“…!”

“Good grief. The world’s a frightening place these days, isn’t it, Your Highness?”

At my show of distress, Prince Shangshan looked at Baek Yeon once more.

“I believe he is right. What do you think?”

A top tip for dealing with the imperial palace:

Get on good terms with a prince, and even the Emperor’s right-hand man can’t easily touch you—for now.

Just as I’d expected, Baek Yeon fell silent for a moment before giving the answer that had practically been decided already.

“I, too, agree with Your Highness.”

“Then I have nothing more to say.”

“…You honor me beyond measure.”

It had been a tense exchange, with no clear victor or loser. But if I had to call it, we’d definitely come out ahead.

We’d secured a promise of safety in the Commander’s name and confirmed that Prince Shangshan Zhu Bao’s authority wasn’t so easy to disregard.

The problem was…

Who knows how long that safety will last.

Was this what it felt like to lie on an operating table?

My companions and I were patients. Instead of kind nurses, the place was crawling with members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and eunuchs armed with blades and spears. And the surgeon would be none other than the Son of Heaven himself.

This was the imperial palace. One word from the Emperor, who still hadn’t shown his face, could change our fates.

To have your fate decided by someone you’ve never even seen…

This felt a lot shittier than I’d expected.

Of course, even if the Son of Heaven held the power of life and death, I had no intention of taking it lying down.

The one saving grace was that we hadn’t been given a firm diagnosis yet.

Maybe it would end with a few stitches. Or maybe terrifying nurses wielding blades and spears instead of anesthetic and surgical instruments would put us to sleep for good. What happened next would depend on what we did.

No. I hoped it would.

If the surgeon had already declared us terminal, we’d have to fight for our lives with everything we had.

And Baek Yeon—the head nurse who served closest to the surgeon—had come bearing new information about that.

“By His Majesty the Emperor’s command, Your Highness’s audience has been postponed until tomorrow.”

“Postponed? Is that what my elder brother said?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Zhu Bao wasn’t the only one whose eyes widened at the unexpected news. Hong Jin’s did, too.

“But before we arrived, I was told…”

“How dare a mere eunuch interrupt, Hong Cheophyeong. No—Deputy Military Commissioner now, is it?”

They appeared to have met before. Baek Yeon cut Hong Jin off firmly and continued.

“You will attend to His Highness until you receive word.”

“…Can’t you at least tell us why?”

“I said it was His Majesty’s command. Do you need another reason?”

Hong Jin had been about to say something, but closed his mouth.

It was the Emperor’s command. There was no questioning or arguing with that. I turned the sudden postponement over in my mind.

Why? Is there a reason?

An audience that had already been arranged had been postponed. The whims of the powerful were nothing new, but given the situation, I couldn’t help thinking hard about it.

Of course, with everything shrouded in fog, I couldn’t get very far.

“Thousand Captain Jeong.”

“Your orders?”

“Escort His Highness Prince Shangshan inside. And…”

The moment Baek Yeon’s gray eyes, marked by many years despite his appearance, turned toward me—

Rumble.

I felt his aura tighten around my whole body.

That immense force had been aimed at me alone.

As soon as I realized it, I roused the internal energy sleeping deep in my lower dantian.

Whoosh.

Two invisible forces met across the empty air. They collided and mingled countless times in the blink of an eye, then finally dispersed like mist.

A voice reached me that no one else could hear.

—Not bad, young man.

Half my strength.

No—not even half of that had gone into that contest of auras.

I’d learned nothing from the exchange. Instead of answering, I licked my lips. Baek Yeon gazed at me for a moment, then finished what he’d been saying.

“The others will come as well.”

“Loyalty!”

Jeong Hogun gave a vigorous military salute, then nodded to his subordinates. A wave of gold surrounded us once more, and we began to move.

Or rather, we were about to.

“Ah, I nearly forgot something.”

Baek Yeon’s quiet voice stopped everyone in their tracks. He walked up to one of the members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and spoke.

“You dared to draw your sword in front of His Highness.”

Shhk.

Instead of an answer came a cold slicing sound, and a head shot into the air.

Baek Yeon had cut down his subordinate with a hand blade that flashed through the air. Then he turned to Prince Shangshan and smiled.

“A subordinate’s crime is my own fault. Please forgive me, Your Highness.”