Chapter 931

Everyone needs time alone.

Say, when you need to check the System messages piled up until they’re ready to burst, like emails in a portal account you haven’t opened in years.

Especially if you’ve just groped your own private parts in front of a dozen people, then shuddered all over.

But even after that incomprehensible nightmare—and a situation worse than the nightmare itself—people seemed determined not to leave me alone.

“Now, raise your arm and follow my movements.”

“Very good. This time, turn it a little farther…”

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

My first visitors were the imperial physicians, who came charging in the moment word spread that I’d regained consciousness.

They’d apparently been standing by for three days under the Emperor’s strict orders. Reeking of herbal medicine, they had me do one thing after another, then huddled together with grave expressions and whispered.

Of course, I could hear every word perfectly.

“His condition is normal—no, perfect.”

“I heard there was an enormous battle, but he’s strangely unharmed. Not a single wound.”

“That’s not all. If you look more closely, the front of his robe is suspiciously bulging.”

“What? You don’t mean that’s…? No. Impossible.”

“To be honest, I’m not certain either. I’ll give you a signal when the opportunity arises. You can press it once, pretending it was an accident.”

“Hmm. Understood.”

Their discussion over, the physicians turned back to me with gentle smiles and suggested one more examination, just in case.

I answered without hesitation.

“Get out. Now.”

But even after they left, visitors kept coming to the pavilion where I was staying.

“Um, Captain. You have a visitor.”

“Who?”

“Just a moment. They say they were appointed Guanglu Dafu the day before yesterday.”

“What exactly does a Guanglu Dafu do?”

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t have become a martial artist.”

“Sounds like a scammer just from the title. Tell him I’m not taking out a loan.”

“Yes, I’ll pass that along.”

I only learned that the Guanglu Dafu was an official whose rank came just below the Three Excellencies after turning away dozens of officials. Then, at last, I welcomed a new visitor.

“I hope I’m not too late. Judging by the crowds at your door, you’re already quite popular.”

The voice was warm and familiar. Hong Jin came in joking, and I couldn’t help smiling.

“Comrade Hong.¹”

“Comrade, hm? Have I ever told you? Even though it was an official title, I always felt I could count on you whenever you called me that, Young Master Jin.”

His expression was playful, but his eyes and voice held feelings I couldn’t put into words.

“Thank you. Truly. His Highness, the Imperial Younger Brother, couldn’t come with me today, but I hope you know he feels the same way.”

Swish.

Hong Jin straightened his ornately embroidered navy-blue robe and bowed with the utmost respect. Then he lifted his head and smiled as though nothing had happened.

“Oh, and I got promoted. From now on, everyone’s to call me Eunuch Hong, not Comrade Hong.”

“Eunuch? You don’t mean…?”

“Exactly what you’re thinking, Young Master Jin. I felt so guilty and ashamed for suspecting His Majesty all those years without knowing the truth that I turned the position down several times. I even tried to retire to the countryside, but…”

Hong Jin, now dressed in the East Depot uniform I’d grown fairly used to seeing, continued with a faint smile.

“His Majesty said, ‘There’s so much to take care of. Where do you think you’re going, running off on your own? I won’t let you go, if only for having the nerve to try.’”

“That’s good. Truly.”

It was good news, and the right outcome.

Hong Jin could hardly be blamed for the hostility he’d felt toward the Emperor for the past decade or so. The Emperor had deliberately hidden the truth. Besides, keeping Hong Jin at Zhu Bao’s side showed just how much he trusted Hong Jin’s loyalty.

“So, Comrade Hong—no, Eunuch Hong—are you the East Depot’s new Cang Gong?”

“I’m in charge of the East Depot, yes. But the position of Cang Gong—the Seal-Holding Eunuch—will likely remain vacant forever. The Great Nation leaves no trace of a traitor behind. Besides…”

For a moment, Hong Jin’s eyes turned cold.

“There are still roots we haven’t pulled up.”

I thought I knew what he meant. Broadly, he could mean the entire East Depot, where the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord’s shadow had fallen most heavily. More narrowly, he could mean the one man whose death was still unconfirmed when I lost consciousness.

“Ma Sanbao.”

Hong Jin gave a small nod at the name.

“We’ve searched the Imperial Capital and hundreds of li² around it for three days, but there’s no trace of him. It’s as if he rose straight into the sky.”

Honestly, I couldn’t help admiring Ma Sanbao a little. Escaping that desperate situation was one thing. Evading the Imperial Army’s pursuit for three days afterward was another.

He must have been badly wounded already. How did he disappear?

Of course, it was possible. Ma Sanbao fell far short of his master, the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord, but he’d still reached the Supreme Peak realm and had monstrous powers of recovery. His disguise technique could change both his face and his build so thoroughly that even I had to marvel at it.

Lastly, he could’ve used a Moving Formation Dark Heaven had hidden somewhere nearby.

Ma Sanbao had to die if we wanted to prevent future trouble. But if he’d already fled beyond our reach, there wasn’t much we could do.

For now, the best we could do was prepare for the prey that hadn’t escaped the net—and the predators approaching from far away with their presence concealed.

“Comrade Hong… no, Eunuch Hong.”

Hong Jin smiled.

“Call me whatever you like. You can, Young Master Jin.”

“Hey, Hong.”

“…You really do make yourself at home. What is it?”

“Can I ask you a favor?”

“Do you even need to ask? I’d do anything for you, Young Master Jin—anything short of treason. Name it.”

“Then…”

He’d answered readily enough, but when he heard my request, his eyes widened.

“Hm?”

“Can’t you do it?”

“No, it’s easy enough. I’m just wondering what it means.”

“It’s important. I’ll explain once I’ve checked it myself.”

“Of course you will. You can’t just expect me to do it for nothing. You’re making use of an East Depot eunuch, after all.”

Hong Jin rose with a joking smile and left. Hyuk Mujin, who’d been watching for an opening, sidled over.

“Um, Captain.”

“You want to know what I asked him to do?”

“Ha! You really are a mind reader.”

He even gave me a thumbs-up, trying to butter me up. I let out a short laugh and shook my head.

“There is something.”

“Wait, you’re keeping it secret from me too?”

“It’s not exactly that…”

“Not exactly?”

“I don’t know either.”

“…?”

Hyuk Mujin stared at me, thoroughly unimpressed.

“If you don’t want to tell me, just say so. Don’t make me feel even more pathetic.”

“I’m serious, you idiot.”

“Forget it. Don’t talk to me for a while. I won’t talk to you either.”

He made a show of his hurt feelings as he headed for the door. I called after him apologetically.

“Back to your spot before I count to three. One.”

Whoosh.

Hyuk Mujin returned to his spot before I could count to two, then asked while pretending to look elsewhere,

“So, what is it?”

“I told you. I don’t know exactly what it is either.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Someone told me about it, but only in broad strokes.”

“Who?”

“Someone you know, too.”

Hyuk Mujin cocked his head, then thumped his chest confidently.

“Tell me who it is, and I’ll bring them here right away. Then you can hear all about it in greater detail…”

“That won’t work.”

I cut him off.

“That person’s already dead.”

“What?”

“Dead. I killed him myself.”

Hyuk Mujin stared at me with his mouth hanging open. Then his eyes went wide.

“Y-you don’t mean…? No, right?”

“I told you. Now go and leave me alone.”

“Wait. Why would that bastard tell you—?”

“Get out before I count to three. Whatever happens after that is your problem. One.”

Whoosh.

Works like a charm.

I gave a hollow laugh at the empty spot where he’d been. He’d vanished before I could count to two.

Then I sank into the soft silk bedding and gazed out the window. It was bright enough outside to make it hard to believe it was night.

Bright. Noisy, too.

Even from this pavilion deep inside the Inner Palace, I could hear distant cheers and songs carried on the wind.

Fireworks shot up here and there, painting the night sky in brilliant colors. The people, welcoming a new era, would have forgotten sleep and poured into the streets, laughing, talking, and drinking all night.

Leaving tomorrow’s worries behind to enjoy today’s happiness to the fullest.

You wanted a world like this once, too.

I thought of someone no longer in this world.

A man who had let go of all the anger left in his heart at the very end and died as a human being. The Eastern Heaven Demon Lord.

And the Sound Transmission that had been all but his last words.

Remember every word I say from this moment on.

What followed was short and simple.

Find one thing in a certain place.

That was all.

And I’d find out what that thing was soon enough.

I didn’t know either. I had no idea what that thing was, the one the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord had mentioned at the very end, or what it contained or meant.

But I’d decided to stop thinking about it until I saw it with my own eyes. I had other things to deal with right now.

“Open System window.”

The quiet words had barely left my lips when—

Ding. Ding. D-d-ding!

Chimes rang out like mad, and countless holographic windows filled my vision.

For a very long time.

As if they’d been waiting for this moment all along.