Taking a silver coin on the sly was something Jin Cheonhee could more or less turn a blind eye to.

After all, he wasn’t some crusader living for the peace of the Hua Empire; his greatest wish was simply to reach his house call destination safely without any hassle.

This wasn’t the modern era, and he knew that in this time period, such a small amount could hardly even be considered corruption.

But taking the bounty and the horses was unacceptable!

Wait, why are you taking my money?

When faced with the prospect of having Hwanggu’s snack money stolen before his very eyes, Jin Cheonhee stepped forward.

“Just a moment!”

From the darkness, the handsome young man who had been at the back of the group leaped forward.

He was beautiful enough that one glance would leave an impression on anyone’s memory, but that was all.

In the moonless night, with only torches for light, they could barely tell he was a martial artist.

“What is it?”

Assuming this martial artist traveling with an escort agency all the way to the frontier couldn’t possibly be the young master of some important clan, the Captain immediately spoke down to him.

“I’m the one who defeated the bandits. I should receive the bounty, don’t you think?”

“How dare you…!”

This won’t work. These bastards are beyond reason.

A pet owner who might tolerate injustice before his eyes but couldn’t stand having his dog’s treat money stolen removed the bracelet from his wrist.

These bastards dare try to steal our Hwanggu’s snack money?!

Then he lightly held it up.

The torchlight reflected off the golden dragon, emitting a brilliant glow. There was no official in the Hua Empire who wouldn’t know what a golden dragon symbolized.

“Imperial Inspector[1]!”

The Imperial Inspector’s symbol—and not just any inspector, but one directly under the Emperor.

It was the bracelet given to him after treating His Imperial Highness Eun, to be used when necessary.

In reality, he had only used it to borrow horses at relay stations.

When the bracelet, previously hidden by Jin Cheonhee’s long sleeves, was revealed, even the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency agents’ eyes nearly popped out.

“Everyone dismount! Quickly!”

At the Captain’s shout, the other soldiers hastily dismounted.

Thud!

“We greet the Imperial Inspector!”

“We greet the Imperial Inspector!”

“We greet the Imperial Inspector…!”

The sight of all the soldiers prostrating themselves was spectacular.

It made sense.

They had just been caught red-handed accepting bribes and trying to steal credit.

And not from bandits captured by the escort agency, but bandits captured by the Imperial Inspector himself.

Woof!

For some reason, Hwanggu sat in front of the prostrating soldiers, puffing out his chest proudly.

Somehow, they ended up bowing to a dog, but no one seemed to care about that.

“So. What exactly were you planning to do, Captain?”

At Jin Cheonhee’s gentle question, the Captain’s face turned bright red.

“I… um… was planning to transport the bandits, and absolutely had no other intentions, sir.”

“I see. Then what was the silver coin you just received?”

“S-silver coin? What silver coin?”

“Weren’t you extorting money from innocent citizens?”

“N-n-no! Absolutely not, sir!”

“I see. It’s not? Yet it clearly looked shiny like a silver coin to me.”

“Uh… that’s…”

“Though surely a Captain wouldn’t lie in front of an Imperial Inspector, right?”

“…Th-that’s…”

Though he’d intended to let it slide to avoid trouble and effort,

Now that things had come to this, he planned to torment them until they reached their destination.

Growl!

Suddenly, Hwanggu lifted his leg and urinated on the Captain’s foot.

Psssssh—

When the Captain tried to push Hwanggu away, Jin Cheonhee asked:

“Are you trying to break your posture in front of an Imperial Inspector? Did I see that correctly?”

Woof!

“N-no, sir! How could I dare break my posture without permission in front of an Imperial Inspector appointed by His Majesty!”

Hwanggu returned to his master, hoping for praise.

Pant, pant, pant—

Jin Cheonhee scratched under Hwanggu’s chin.

***

Jin Cheonhee entered Wannong, the border checkpoint, comfortably under military escort.

Throughout the journey to Wannong, the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency people looked at Jin Cheonhee as if they were receiving a deity.

It made sense.

The White-Robed Divine Dragon was famous primarily for his medical skills, cooking prowess, and martial reputation from winning the Dragon Phoenix Gathering and defeating the Blood Immortal Sect.

His connections to the imperial family and the Imperial Inspector’s token were matters known only to high-ranking individuals.

Thus, they safely arrived at the trading city of Wannong, located at the empire’s edge on the border with the Dadu Kingdom.

A beautiful city gate made of white marble came into view.

Wow… so exotic.

Though it was Hua Empire territory, the trading city had clearly been influenced by architectural styles from beyond the central lands.

Sure enough, there were merchants in Western Tibet attire and martial artists in southern barbarian clothing.

Various races and merchants mingled as they passed through the city gate.

“We’ve been waiting for you!”

Had a report already been sent ahead?

As Jin Cheonhee dismounted, he greeted the Captain behind him.

“It was nothing! I was merely doing my duty as a soldier of His Majesty!”

He certainly talks well.

For a moment Jin Cheonhee considered sparing him, but having coveted Hwanggu’s snack money, there would be no mercy.

Jin Cheonhee had already memorized the man’s name.

The guard, unaware of the situation, seemed slightly confused about their relationship before finally guiding Jin Cheonhee.

Passing through the white marble gate revealed a dazzlingly beautiful oasis area surrounded by luxurious villas for relaxation.

Below them stretched a market where Central Plains merchants and frontier merchants intermingled, selling their goods.

The scenery really is beautiful.

Large, unfamiliar birds suddenly took flight over the oasis with a flapping sound.

Seeing a landscape he had thought impossible to find in the martial world made his heart flutter inexplicably.

The guard guided Jin Cheonhee to an area where vacation villas were clustered.

They passed through mansions blending Central Plains and frontier styles before arriving somewhere.

It was the most luxurious residence at the end of the road.

Wow… what kind of people live in places like this?

For a modern person, living comfortably in such a magnificent house was more enviable than having slightly more internal energy.

Even in the modern world, where social mobility was difficult, in this class-based society, one hundred percent of the parents were gold spoons, and so were their children.

“Please enter this way.”

Seems they won’t guide me any further.

Entering alone, he saw no servants—the place was empty.

The garden and floors clearly showed signs of maintenance, but the absence of people was strange.

Feeling as if possessed by goblins, he walked deep into the garden and heard the sound of someone playing a qin.

They say Wangya Ju’s qin-playing skill was unparalleled.

During the period when she indulged in wine and women, many courtesans’ hearts burned at the sound of her qin.

The music Jin Cheonhee heard now was more suited to a scholar or student than something played in a pleasure house.

Heading toward the sound, he found His Imperial Highness Eun sitting and plucking the strings.

As he hesitated whether to pay his respects while the prince was concentrating or wait until he finished playing, His Imperial Highness Eun spoke:

“Even on such a peaceful journey, you still manage to cause trouble.”

“Hahaha…”

As Jin Cheonhee awkwardly began to prostrate himself again, His Imperial Highness Eun said without looking at him:

“Stop that. Especially now, after all this time.”

It does feel a bit strange, right?

Jin Cheonhee slowly straightened his knees. Watching this, His Imperial Highness Eun clicked his tongue.

“You grow more shameless every time I see you.”

“Hehe.”

Twang—

Each note produced by the seven-stringed qin had a strange power to move people.

After finishing the melody, His Imperial Highness Eun rose.

“Aren’t you wearing your mask?”

“Being close to the frontier, there are no civil or military ministers, nor martial artists connected to the imperial family, so it’s a rare freedom.”

His complexion had improved since their last meeting, and his body had become more solid.

It’s not complete freedom if there’s not a single servant in sight, is it?

Nevertheless, why?

Why did he keep feeling that someone was watching?

As Jin Cheonhee looked around, His Imperial Highness Eun burst into laughter.

“It seems you’ve become able to detect the ‘Shadows[2]‘?”

“Shadows?”

“They could be called the Emperor’s guard. In previous dynasties, they were named things like ‘Dark Dragons[3]‘ or ‘Dark Shadow Group[4],’ but now we simply call them ‘Shadows.'”

“Even with that explanation, I still don’t know where they are. I can barely sense their gazes.”

There was no point in putting on airs in front of the Emperor. He honestly confessed.

“Actually, it’s strange that you can detect them at your level of martial arts. Even Hwanggu hasn’t noticed them.”

Sniff—

Hwanggu looked dejected, his ears drooping back.

Jin Cheonhee stroked Hwanggu’s forehead.

His Imperial Highness Eun said:

“You’ve likely surmised that the imperial family, as descendants of the Great Fu Xi, has researched many things while ruling the empire. This was created to keep in check both talented imperial family members and martial artists.”

His Imperial Highness Eun strangely referred to the ‘Shadows’ as objects.

“They are… people, right?”

“I wonder. Can such beings truly be called people? The only way to confirm what the ‘Shadows’ are is to try to assassinate me. If you do that, you’ll certainly die, so I don’t recommend it. I can’t lose my personal physician that way.”

Well… there are some things in this world better left unknown.

In wuxia novels, the government and martial world are often portrayed as separate, with the imperial family rarely appearing, but that’s old news in new wuxia.

Depending on the wuxia novel, the protagonist might directly behead the emperor or actively seize power to change the world.

In such cases, there’s always the dark side of the imperial family—crystallizations of forbidden knowledge.

The ultimate assassins or emotionless killing dolls… and other such clichés often appear.

The protagonist beheads the emperor, who has become the final hidden special boss, and then disappears gracefully, but that’s just a wuxia story.

I remember when I used to say anything with regression, possession, or reincarnation wasn’t true wuxia.

I would faint if officials above the rank of prince appeared and declare, “How dare you! Where are these martial arts protagonists trying to collude with officials? This isn’t wuxia!” I was like the Heungseon Daewongun[5] of the wuxia world.

…But after filtering all that out, there were no new works left.

And the few young people getting into wuxia liked regression, possession, and reincarnation.

So old man Jin Cheonhee gently folded away his ego.

While reading new wuxia and fusion wuxia.

“Senior brother! Jump onto the roof!”

“Waiter! Please bring me a menu!”

“Master, these are gloves made from Thousand Silkworm Silk!”

…He had gradually become able to tolerate such descriptions.

For such a Jin Cheonhee, hidden forbidden secret imperial royal blood secrets didn’t matter at all.

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve felt so uncurious.

Jin Cheonhee spoke with cold eyes:

“Shall we start with pulse diagnosis…?”