Chapter 866

An uninvited guest turning up at night was never welcome.

Especially when he was a Supreme Peak master with extraordinary concealment techniques.

“Young Master Jin, I know it’s late, but let me introduce you. This is…”

“No need. I barged in without permission, so the least I can do is introduce myself.”

Slide.

The stranger interrupted Hong Jin and pulled down his mask, revealing a smooth, clean-shaven face.

His build was so androgynous it was hard to guess his gender, and he looked a good ten years younger than Hong Jin.

Then there was his martial prowess. He had reached Supreme Peak.

Put all those clues together, and it wasn’t hard to guess who the uninvited guest was.

“The East Depot?”

The stranger nodded.

“You’ve got a sharp eye.”

As if turning up uninvited weren’t enough, he was talking down to me, too.

I didn’t like it, but in a way, that made things easier.

I could do the same.

“Well, if I couldn’t figure out that much, I might as well go die.”

“And you don’t hold back when you speak.”

“Think my mouth’s the only thing I don’t hold back?”

“Good. Very good.”

The stranger smiled soundlessly and clasped his hands in a formal salute.

“Let me introduce myself properly. I’m Ma Sanbao, Brush-Holding Eunuch of the East Depot.”

Brush-Holding Eunuch of the East Depot? Ma Sanbao?

The title sounded important enough, but his name was on the level of Gaettong from next door.

Hong Jin saw the question in my eyes and spoke up.

“The Brush-Holding Eunuch is the East Depot’s second-in-command. In terms of rank, he comes right after the Chief Eunuch.”

I stared at the stranger—or rather, Ma Sanbao.

His position was more impressive than I’d imagined, but I was even more curious why a big shot like the East Depot’s second-in-command had come here in secret at this late hour.

Especially after I’d seen how that old eunuch treated Hong Jin earlier.

“Hadn’t you already fallen out with the East Depot? Judging by what happened earlier, things didn’t look good between you.”

Ma Sanbao laughed again, though I’d asked Hong Jin.

“You’re certainly no ordinary young man. To bring that up so casually right in front of me…”

“I wasn’t asking you.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m glad it looked that way. If even someone on our side was fooled, the Embroidered Uniform Guard won’t suspect a thing.”

Fooled?

I stopped short and looked at Hong Jin.

“……That was an act? All of it?”

“To be precise, it was planned from the start. But I wouldn’t call it an act. He’s disliked me for a long time.”

Ma Sanbao nodded at Hong Jin’s answer.

“Mm. A long time. More than thirty years, if I remember right.”

“You chose your man well, Ma Constable. Or should I call you Eunuch Ma now?”

“My, you’ve grown even more mischievous since I last saw you. A man like me would never have dared dream of taking your place. I’ve only been keeping it for you.”

“Not at all.”

Hong Jin’s answer was firm.

“You’re more than qualified for that position. You were then, and you are now.”

“……Good grief. Come to think of it, I forgot to greet you.”

Shaking his head, Ma Sanbao patted Hong Jin’s shoulder. His face held equal parts bitterness and joy.

“Even if the timing couldn’t be worse, I’m glad to see you again, even like this.”

“Likewise.”

Watching two men without balls have an emotional reunion, I felt hot tears begin to run down my face—

No, I didn’t.

An emotional reunion, my ass.

They hadn’t even told me what was going on. Why the hell would I cry?

Still, even I had to admit there was something heartwarming about the sight of them gripping each other’s shoulders.

And beyond the sentiment, Ma Sanbao was the East Depot’s second-in-command.

Nothing in their conversation so far had sounded like bad news.

A secret pact.

They must have arranged this beforehand. I just didn’t know where it had begun or how far it went.

I didn’t have to wait long for an explanation. The two finished their brief reunion and took turns speaking.

“Eunuch Ma and I are from the same cohort. We first set foot in the imperial palace on the same day.”

“And got cut on the same day, too. Remember? You were right ahead of me in line.”

“Was I?”

“I remember it clearly. You didn’t let out a single scream. I thought you were one tough bastard.”

I listened for a moment, then asked, feeling queasy. My tone was a little more polite than before.

“Um, when you say you both got cut on the same day…”

“What else would it be? That.”

“That’s right. That.”

“……Oh.”

I’d suspected as much, but was this for real?

Ball buddies.

So this was the amazing imperial palace.

Childhood buddies? Coworkers who’d started on the same day? Neither could hold a candle to these two.

They’d been cut together before entering the palace. Their bond had to be on a whole other level.

“We joined the East Depot around the same time and rose through the ranks together.”

“That sounds about right. Except you were always one step ahead of me.”

“At times, perhaps. But Cang Gong always trusted you most, Eunuch Ma. And when it came to martial arts talent, no one in the East Depot could match you. Certainly not me.”

I didn’t know how much of their conversation was true, but it suddenly struck me that Hong Jin’s assessment of Ma Sanbao’s martial arts was probably not exaggerated in the slightest.

The qi I’d sensed from Ma Sanbao the moment I saw him was in no way inferior to mine or Baek Yeon’s.

Of course, internal energy isn’t everything.

I muttered to myself and looked Ma Sanbao over from head to toe.

His height. The length of his arms and legs. Which muscles were especially developed, and what weapon he might use.

At this point, it was practically an occupational hazard bordering on a mental disorder. But sizing up someone I’d just met was an important habit.

Provided I didn’t needlessly offend him.

“Young man, you’ve got a remarkably keen eye.”

At Ma Sanbao’s sudden remark, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

“I was about to say the same about you.”

“What, surprised I noticed so quickly?”

“Mm. A little.”

“An old habit. I may not be a Murim martial artist like you, but I have to stay alert wherever I go.”

I’d examined him as discreetly as possible, in a fraction of a second—too quickly for him to have noticed.

Yet Ma Sanbao had caught me while talking with Hong Jin. His Qi Sense was better than that of most Supreme Peak masters.

So this is the East Depot.

The East Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

I’d already heard what these two organizations, collectively known as the Changwei, did.

Assassination of important figures. Surveillance, intelligence gathering, and more.

They were intelligence agents trained to the limit, skilled assassins, and soldiers.

And with the Son of Heaven’s dazzling authority behind them, I’d heard they also served as a law enforcement agency.

Their influence and military strength had to be immense.

Even the low-ranking Embroidered Uniform Guard and East Depot eunuchs I’ve seen were no ordinary people.

“No ordinary people” didn’t begin to cover it.

Even the weakest were Supreme First Rate, and more than half were Peak masters.

On the way to the imperial palace, I’d seen hundreds of Peak masters with my own eyes.

If those were only a fraction of their forces, what they had yet to reveal was terrifying.

And if the imperial palace joined hands with Dark Heaven—if, by some chance, it really came to that…

A cold shiver ran up my spine. My face, reflected in Ma Sanbao’s eyes, had stiffened without me noticing.

“You’re wary of me.”

“Let’s call it questions rather than wariness. For now.”

“For now?”

“I don’t need you to tell me you two are close. What I want to know is that there still seem to be a lot of facts I haven’t heard.”

“Yes, I suppose there is.”

Ma Sanbao dropped into an empty chair and continued.

“How much do I need to tell you to answer your questions?”

“Everything. From beginning to end.”

“Everything would take too long to tell tonight. But there’s one thing I should tell you first.”

“Let’s hear it, then.”

“About a month ago, I sent someone a secret letter. It said that some members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were heading north under concealed identities. I also included my own suspicion that they were bound for Shanxi Province.”

Hong Jin picked up the story quietly.

“Thanks to the information Eunuch Ma sent me, I had time to prepare, even if it wasn’t much. Asking Young Master Jin for help was a decision I made after careful thought.”

“……!”

This was news to me.

I’d assumed Hong Jin had chosen me because he was desperate and had no one else to turn to.

But I was wrong.

Hong Jin had thought it through carefully and asked me for help.

And through it all, someone had been helping him from behind the scenes.

No matter how capable Hong Jin was, he couldn’t keep track of everything happening in the imperial capital from over ten thousand li¹ away.

But the East Depot’s second-in-command could.

The East Depot had spies planted throughout the land, watching for any movement. There was no question they’d know what was happening in the imperial capital—their own front yard.

That still didn’t answer everything.

“I understand that you helped save His Highness Prince Shangshan. But…”

“I think I know what you’re going to say. Yes, you’re right. I’ve sworn loyalty to His Majesty.”

Ma Sanbao spoke before I could continue. Then, in a low voice, he added:

“Not the traitor sitting on the throne now. The late Emperor.”

“……!”

“Do you know why I’ve remained in the imperial palace all this time? How I’ve managed it?”

Tap. Tap.

Drops of blood fell through the gaps in his white-knuckled fist. The East Depot’s second-in-command went on in a sharp voice unlike any I’d heard from him before.

“Because there was something I had to do. Because I had to endure whatever hardships came and wait for my moment……!”

He couldn’t shout the words aloud. The cry struck the internal energy I’d spread around us and faded away.

Ma Sanbao’s lips trembled as he let emotions hidden for more than a decade show on his face.

He looked at his longtime friend and spoke in a voice seething with feeling.

“Hong Jin. Hong Constable. My friend and comrade. The time has finally come. We can’t put it off any longer.”

“Eunuch Ma. You don’t mean…”

“I do.”

Rumble.

A thunderous boom rang out without warning, and the dark sky blazed with light. Rain poured and lightning flashed beyond the window behind Ma Sanbao as he ground out the words.

“Let’s set right, with our own hands, the sky that traitor has thrown into chaos.”