The Throne's Honeyed Trap
In a hidden chamber beneath a certain manor in the Imperial Capital, a single candle was all that held back the dark. Before the lord seated there — his face hidden behind a grotesque mask — a man in a black mask knelt, sweating cold beads, and delivered his report in a trembling voice.
"My lord… the Blood Sea Heavenly Slaughter has failed."
The lord's hand closed around the armrest of his chair. In an instant, the wood crumbled to dust.
"Failed?"
"More than sixty killers of the Blood Sea were slain, including him. Only a dozen or so managed to escape."
The lord's gaze turned terrifyingly fierce.
"That is annihilation in all but name……."
The killing intent radiating from his body was enough to make the candle flame shudder. The masked man pressed his forehead to the floor.
"They say the Blood Sea Heavenly Slaughter and his killers could not withstand him for even a single moment."
The lord clenched his fist. "And after that?"
"Yeom Pung, having received word from Hahu Gang at once, erased all traces of the battle, so no rumor has spread. But the fact that they tried to kill Hahu Gang and were instead annihilated has been reported to the Changsung Emperor."
"And his response?"
"He has ordered the Imperial Guards and the Eastern Palace to protect Hahu Gang."
The lord's eyes sharpened. "And who was assigned to the guard detail?"
"Jo Ilsan of the Eastern Palace, and Muk Wijin of the Imperial Guards."
"The sons of the Minister of War and the Left Chancellor, you say?"
"That is correct."
A cold smile crossed the lord's lips.
"So the Emperor is a schemer. That cunning old snake……! He has set the two factions to watch each other, binding them so that neither dares lay a hand on Hahu Gang."
The masked man ventured carefully, "What do you mean, my lord?"
"Jo Ilsan is the Left Chancellor's son, and thus a man of the Crown Prince. Muk Wijin is the Minister of War's son, and thus allied with the Second Prince. Yet if Hahu Gang dies even under their watch, the Emperor can pin the blame on both sides at once — a pretext to settle the faction war in a single stroke."
"Then that means……."
"It means no one can make a careless move anymore."
The lord's voice dripped with killing intent as he continued.
"Hahu Gang has promised a full cure for the Princess within one month. Less than a fortnight remains, and both attempts have failed — worsening the Princess's chronic illness, and the annihilation of the Blood Sea."
He stopped and fixed his gaze on the masked man.
"A fortnight until the Princess is cured. If we cannot eliminate him before then, the Crown Prince's secret comes to light, and the grand design our cult leader has laid out collapses."
"My lord, we have few options remaining."
"Then we use a method from which he cannot escape."
The masked man's eyes widened in shock. "Surely you don't intend… to move yourself?"
"It is the most certain way."
"But it is far too dangerous. If you act personally, your identity could be exposed—"
"I care nothing for that!"
The lord roared.
"What does personal safety matter before the great cause! One mere brat cannot be allowed to topple a tower decades in the building."
His mad voice echoed through the hidden chamber.
"Hahu Gang — you believe yourself hidden within the safest fortress of all, the Imperial Palace. But that place can become the cruelest tomb in the world. Soon, you will come to understand that."
The conversation was over. The masked man bowed, then left the chamber.
A few days later, Ouyang Qiangang finished the morning treatment of Princess Myeonghwa and left Myeonghwa Palace. More than a fortnight of treatment had brought visible improvement to the Princess's condition, and only about ten days now remained until her full recovery.
Flanking him stood two young warriors newly assigned as his guards. The one with delicate, beautiful features that could be mistaken for a woman's was Jo Ilsan, son of Left Chancellor Jo Mun-gyeong; the other, a head taller and built like an iron tower, was Muk Wijin, son of Minister of War Muk Cheolgang.
While their protection of Ouyang Qiangang was extremely thorough, the two guards regarded each other like strangers at best — the way one watches an ox and a chicken.
They were crossing the garden of Myeonghwa Palace toward the main gate when a palace maid in her thirties, sharp-featured and sharp-eyed, stepped into Ouyang Qiangang's path.
"Are you Young Master Hahu Gang?" she asked.
"I am. But who might you be?"
"I am a maid of Sohwa Palace, in the service of the Princess."
A strange light flickered in the depths of Ouyang Qiangang's eyes. What the booklet Sangguan Wan'er had given him said about Princess Sohwa surfaced in his mind.
A half-sister to Princess Myeonghwa, and the only biological daughter of the current Empress.
"Someone from Sohwa Palace, then. But what business could you have with me?"
The maid answered with an expressionless face. "The Princess wishes to meet you."
"Me?"
"Yes."
"May I ask for what purpose?"
"She says there is something she wishes to ask of you."
Ouyang Qiangang was baffled. He had never once met Princess Sohwa, and he couldn't begin to guess what she might want to ask him.
"You can't mean right this moment?"
"Right this moment."
"Hmm… I have quite a lot to do, so now is a bit inconvenient."
"It will not take long."
Ouyang Qiangang clicked his tongue inwardly. The situation was unpredictable and left an uneasy feeling in his gut, but he had no proper grounds on which to refuse a princess's summons. If he claimed he had to go to a warehouse to work on his engravings, she would hardly nod along and say, "Ah, of course, please do."
"Very well. Let us go."
Sohwa Palace stood some three hundred jang from Myeonghwa Palace. When they reached the main gate, the warriors standing guard there blocked Jo Ilsan and Muk Wijin, who had started to follow Ouyang Qiangang inside.
"You two may not enter."
Jo Ilsan frowned. "We are Young Master Hahu's guards."
The guard captain, a man in his forties, did not so much as flinch. "Sohwa Palace is a no-male zone. Any man the Princess has not admitted is forbidden entry — even a prince. How would mere guards be allowed in?"
Jo Ilsan and Muk Wijin exchanged a look and sighed. When a princess denied entry, insisting on barging in was not an option.
The maid who had led them into Sohwa Palace walked toward a modest hall overlooking the pond in the rear garden. As Ouyang Qiangang followed behind her, Akasha's voice sounded in his mind.
Doctor, something is wrong.
You mean the movements of the warriors surrounding us?
Since reaching the Transcendent realm, Ouyang Qiangang could sense any stirring within ten jang of himself. His abilities were by no means ordinary — not that it mattered much, given the nanobots with a thirty-three-jang radius keeping constant watch over his surroundings.
Yes. I am detecting the presence of numerous armed soldiers around your route of travel, Doctor. Their positioning is not one of following you — it is a formation waiting at the destination.
Ouyang Qiangang frowned. And their level of martial skill?
Ordinary soldiers. Even the strongest among them falls short of First-rate.
They can't seriously be planning to attack me with a force like that… could they just be the Princess's regular guard?
Their numbers are far too great for that. Within the Imperial Palace, no one but the Emperor is entitled to an escort of fifty armed soldiers.
Then what on earth is this?
Ouyang Qiangang wondered what Princess Sohwa, who had summoned him here, was thinking. Of course, he was suspicious as well.
Akasha, keep a thorough watch on our surroundings. I need to find out what the Princess intends — whether we've simply misunderstood her, or whether she's genuinely plotting something.
Understood. If the Princess is a member of the force behind all this, a dangerous situation may arise. Please be careful, Doctor.
Don't worry. I will be.
The maid halted before the hall and announced from the doorway, "Your Highness, I have brought Young Master Hahu."
From within came the voice of a young woman — clear, and cold. "Let him in."
Ouyang Qiangang stepped through the door the maids opened. Inside the hall, a peerless beauty in her early twenties, dressed in splendid court robes and wearing an icy expression, sat upon a chair.
"You must be Young Master Hahu Gang," she said.
Ouyang Qiangang offered a fist-and-palm salute with a slight bow. "I am. It is an honor to behold you, Your Highness."
"I have heard that you are treating Myeonghwa. I am truly grateful."
Princess Sohwa's voice was soft and gentle — but in the depths of her eyes, Ouyang Qiangang sensed something difficult to put into words.
It was, unmistakably, malice.
"But may I ask what business brings me here…?"
"There is something I wish to ask you."
"Please ask. I will answer everything I know, withholding nothing."
Ouyang Qiangang and Princess Sohwa sat facing one another.
"Young Master — can Myeonghwa's illness truly be cured?"
"Yes, Your Highness. She will make a complete recovery within days."
Ouyang Qiangang's gaze deepened. She didn't summon me all this way just to ask such a flimsy question, surely…?
Doctor, the soldiers have completed their encirclement. And the Princess's heart rate is rising sharply. This is not a fear response — it is consistent with the state of excitement immediately preceding an attack.
At the same time, the external forces have begun tightening the encirclement toward the hall. All movements are synchronized. This is a trap, Doctor.
Ouyang Qiangang's eyes hardened. Akasha — if this is a trap, what method do you think the Princess will use?
The highest-probability scenario is a honey trap.
What's that?
A strategy chiefly employed in espionage, intelligence gathering, or the luring of a specific target — one that uses charm or seduction to ensnare the target in a trap.
So the soldiers' encirclement, a situation reduced to just the two of us, and that woman's act — all of it was an intricately woven snare designed to bind me from the very beginning.
Doctor, your opponent is a princess of the Empire. If she employs a honey trap here… this could become truly dangerous.
But Ouyang Qiangang did not lose his composure. Quite the opposite — with perfect calm, he lifted the teacup on the table.
Princess Sohwa suddenly heaved a sigh and said, "Young Master, your medicine and your martial arts surpass what most people could even imagine."
"Why would you say such a thing all of a sudden?"
"It is just a little… a pity, that a man capable of serving as the pillar of the Empire should be ruined like this."
"I beg your pardon?"
Just as a bewildered expression crossed Ouyang Qiangang's face—
"Kyaaaaagh!"
With a piercing shriek, Princess Sohwa tore the upper hem of her own court robes to shreds. In an instant, half of her snow-white chest was laid bare.
"Help me!"
Princess Sohwa's scream filled the hall.
"Your Highness!"
CRASH! BANG!
The hall's doors exploded open, and a dozen warriors came leaping in, blades flashing.
Even amid this chaos, Ouyang Qiangang was astonishingly calm.
Akasha — if I subdue all of them right now and escape, what happens?
The probability of physical escape is 100%. However, in that case, you would become a traitor who 'attempted to violate the Princess and fled upon failure.' The probability of incurring the Emperor's wrath is likewise 100%. Both the Ouyang Clan and Myriad Gold Mountain Manor would be endangered.
Then there is only one answer.
Ignoring the dozens of blades leveled at him, Ouyang Qiangang raised his long-cooled teacup and murmured in a low voice.
"The tea in this palace really is bitter."