Rumble.
Thunder rolled across the sky. As dazzling lightning flashed and torrential rain came pouring down, the palace attendants hurried about.
Eunuchs and palace maids scurried toward the quarters of the consorts they served, worried that rainwater might be leaking in. The Embroidered Uniform Guards stationed throughout the imperial palace stood their ground beneath their broad-brimmed hats.
Everyone who worked in the imperial palace had a role to play.
Do your job well, and you were rewarded. Fail to, and you were punished.
Yet one man strolled through the relentless downpour at his leisure. He was one of the few people in this vast palace who needn’t concern himself with rewards or punishments.
No—in fact, it was closer to the opposite.
He wielded such immense authority that he could reward or punish others without the Son of Heaven’s approval.
And yet no palace attendant dared try to catch his eye or get close to him.
Not even the rain pouring ceaselessly down at that very moment.
Whoosh.
Though he walked through the downpour, not a drop of water touched him.
His half-white hair, tousled as it pleased, was bone-dry. His golden armor, polished with oil-treated cloth, still gleamed brilliantly.
It was a strange, almost unreal sight, but then, he was no ordinary man.
Immense authority wasn’t all he possessed.
Raw power.
Martial prowess far beyond the limits of human ability.
He had the power to make the unreal real. With an important meeting ahead of him, he simply didn’t want to get wet.
Vwoom.
The air trembled with his profound internal energy. Rain struck an invisible barrier and scattered in every direction, unable to touch him.
“It’s been quiet lately, but now it’s really coming down…”
Muttering as he looked up at the sky flashing with lightning, the man resumed his steps. No one dared stand in his way.
No one had in the past. No one did now. And no one would in the future.
Clank. Rumble.
The mere sight of him approaching from afar was enough.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards peered out from beneath their deeply lowered hats. Without a moment’s hesitation, they opened the firmly shut gates and kept their heads bowed until he had passed.
The same was true of those quietly performing their duties out of sight.
“Open the way.”
At his sudden command, the vast garden, filled with all manner of rare flowers and plants, shimmered like a heat haze.
Whoosh.
Even the foreign trees and flowers that had stood tall against the fierce wind and rain lowered their heads.
Thick leaves and branches slid aside, revealing a hidden path where only those granted permission could set foot.
Beautiful flowers have thorns.
The imperial palace’s gardens were no different. An unwelcome guest fooled by their beauty into stepping inside would find himself surrounded by countless mechanisms and formations and riddled with holes.
And it wasn’t just the gardens.
The imperial palace itself was a den of dangers, a demon-slaying battleground—a mountain of sabers and a forest of swords in the truest sense.
Anyone without permission would die.
Even someone whose martial prowess reached the heavens could not be sure of surviving.
As the man passed through five gates and dozens of pavilions, he was reminded of that once more. At last, he reached his destination and stopped.
Qianqing Palace.
Beneath a signboard inscribed in a bold, soaring hand, two middle-aged men stood like iron towers. They lowered their heads in greeting.
“You’ve arrived.”
“You’ve arrived.”
Their voices and expressions were as alike as if they were one person.
Their faces, too, made it plain they had been born of the same womb on the same day.
The twins continued politely.
“Please wait a moment.”
“Please wait a moment.”
The man frowned. Not because they were speaking in unison again, despite how many times he had told them not to, but because of the strong smell of blood coming from them.
“Looks like you had a guest.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Did you kill him? Who was behind it?”
“He took his own life just before we could capture him.”
“He took his own life just before—”
“Enough. How many times have I told you once is enough? So you failed to take the intruder alive?”
The twins blinked at him, looking unsure what to do, then mumbled under their breath.
“He had a potent poison hidden beneath one of his molars.”
“He had a potent poison hidden—no, we did everything we could, but we couldn’t stop him. We beg your forgiveness.”
The man clicked his tongue softly.
The fact that the intruder had made it this far was proof of his extraordinary martial prowess.
Failing to capture him and learn who was behind him was a painful mistake, but something mattered more than reprimanding the twins right now.
“Don’t tell me he got inside the palace.”
“Of course not.”
“Of course not.”
At least that’s a relief. The man asked another question.
“Is he inside?”
“He’s waiting.”
“He’s waiting.”
The man nodded, glanced up at the signboard, then stepped forward.
Qianqing Palace. Qianqing—“clear sky.” Those two characters seemed a poor fit for today.
Step. Step.
The palace interior was quiet.
Not a person—or even a rat—could be seen. Only the countless paintings and works of art hanging on the walls glimmered in the faint light.
But what he could see wasn’t everything.
With every step, the man felt eyes following him. Shadows ready to rush out and cut him to pieces if he posed even the slightest threat, whoever he might be.
At last, he stopped. Before him was a vast space prepared for one person alone, and there its master waited.
No—the master of all under heaven.
“I, Baek Yeon, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, have come at the summons of Your Majesty, the august Emperor.”
At that moment—
Rustle.
The colorful silk curtains draped around the room stirred.
Through the thin silk, amid wisps of faintly fragrant smoke, he glimpsed the back of someone dressed in dazzling white.
“You’ve come.”
A quiet voice echoed through the room. At first, it sounded calm, almost languid.
The Son of Heaven of the Great Nation continued slowly, as if speaking to himself.
“I had a bad dream. A dream that someone was trying to harm me.”
“……!”
“I fought for a long time, covered in blood. They came at me from somewhere, without end, and I cut them down without end. Only when I finally woke did I realize it hadn’t been a mere dream.”
Baek Yeon raised his head in silence. Pale smoke drifted from between the Son of Heaven’s lips.
“So you’ve turned to poppy again.”
“Does this look like poppy to you?”
“Forgive me, but that is exactly what it looks like to me.”
“You’re wrong. This isn’t poppy. It’s medicine—the only thing that can heal me.”
Baek Yeon’s brow twitched.
“Your Majesty, may I speak with you about something important?”
The Son of Heaven didn’t answer. Instead, he flicked his long, wide sleeve.
Swish.
With a faint rustle, the presences surrounding them withdrew like the tide. Baek Yeon straightened from his bow, his voice cold.
“Your Majesty, with the great undertaking nearly complete, why would you disgrace yourself like this?”
If anyone else had been there, they would have covered their eyes and ears.
Baek Yeon’s tone was far too sharp for a subject speaking to his ruler. It was more than insolent—it was defiant.
Yet the Son of Heaven didn’t answer this time, either. The ruler of the world gave a low laugh instead. Only after a long while did he speak.
“The great undertaking. Yes. There was a great undertaking.”
“Please don’t forget the promise we made that day.”
“Forget?”
The Son of Heaven muttered with a short, incredulous laugh.
“I haven’t forgotten. Not for a single moment since that day.”
His voice was as weak as a sick man’s.
But Baek Yeon’s eyes, fixed on the Son of Heaven, didn’t waver. They were sunk deep and steady.
“They’ve already begun to move. Before everything falls apart, remember that you must put things back where they belong.”
After a brief silence, the Son of Heaven nodded quietly.
He had come too far to turn back. Once no more than the fourth prince, he now ruled all under heaven. And he had become a man who could no longer get by without poppy.
Wasn’t it said that a horse racing across the wilderness never looked back?
Even the Son of Heaven, who stood above all people, was no exception.
He was a horse that could no longer stop of its own will. Even if it collapsed coughing up blood, it had to keep running toward its destination.
Crack.
His hand clenched instinctively, snapping the ornate long-stemmed tobacco pipe. The Son of Heaven stared at the broken pieces in his palm, then closed his fist tightly around them.
Thump.
The rough pieces dug into his palm. Pain flared like a burn, and little by little, his mind began to clear.
“Ah.”
As if worshiping the heavens, the Son of Heaven tilted his head back toward the ceiling and groaned with his eyes closed.
Baek Yeon watched impassively.
“Shall I call for the imperial physician?”
“No need. Not for an imperial physician.”
The Son of Heaven opened his eyes and continued, his voice clearer now.
“Tomorrow, I’ll meet that child in the audience hall.”
“That child would be…”
“Zhu Bao. I wonder how much my… only younger brother has grown.”
Baek Yeon nodded.
“You can look forward to it. He’s grown even more than Your Majesty expects.”
“Which means he’s become even more dangerous.”
“……”
Baek Yeon pressed his lips together, but the Son of Heaven understood.
All sorts of bugs gather around a tempting meal.
Now that Prince Shangshan Zhu Bao had appeared in the Imperial Capital, the enemies who resented him would surely draw the blades they had kept hidden beneath their sleeves.
Just like the nameless assassin who had come here before Baek Yeon today.
“Baek Yeon, this must never happen again. Remember that.”
His voice was different now, cold as ice. Baek Yeon faltered, then answered with a faint smile.
“I will engrave Your Majesty’s words into my bones. Please forgive my disloyalty until now.”
Flutter.
In response, the Son of Heaven merely waved his sleeve. Baek Yeon turned and began walking away.
After only a few steps, he stopped.
“And what of that man?”
“If you mean…”
“Zhu Bao. The Murim martial artist who came with him.”
The Blazing Flame Divine Dragon, Jin Taekyung.
Baek Yeon thought carefully about the man who had suddenly come to mind. A long while passed before he spoke.
“I don’t know.”
He had interrogated and killed tens of thousands on the battlefield, and tens of thousands more in the imperial palace.
But that was the best answer Baek Yeon could give.
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