How He Infiltrated
Groups and organizations are collections of individuals.
They pool everyone's strength to achieve a goal, yet that does not mean every single person inside them shares the exact same thoughts.
It is not some hive mind from a certain game, in other words.
And that held true for the organization within the Imperial Palace as well—the Jinyiwei.
From the outside they looked solidly united around Empress Ga Hwiryung, but inside, true believers who sincerely supported her mixed with those who quietly obeyed only because their superiors had chosen her side, whether they liked it or not.
That delicate balance shattered completely not long ago, after the horrific sorcery that had erupted around the Crown Prince.
On the night when the lifeblood of innocent commoners soaked the ground thick and dark, some cheered the Crown Prince's recovery while others trembled in terror and dread.
And so, even within the Empress's own faction, people began to realize that something had gone terribly wrong.
The man in question was none other than Jang Chunsam, a key power in the Empress's camp, the second-in-command of the Jinyiwei, and its Deputy Commander—someone who had long kept a wary eye on the Eastern Depot.
"You, the Eastern Depot's secret agent. I am a loyal subject."
In the dead hours before dawn when the moonlight had vanished, inside an abandoned warehouse of the Imperial Palace that no one ever visited, the Jinyiwei officer who had secretly arranged this meeting threw those words at me the moment he laid eyes on me.
"There was a time I truly believed Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince would lead this Central Plains into an age of peace and prosperity."
"Ah… yeah. Sure."
From my perspective it was the kind of speech that left me wondering what exactly he wanted me to do with it.
The Deputy Commander of the Jinyiwei then launched into a long, rambling explanation of how that faith had cracked and why he was now betraying the people he had served—almost as if he needed to justify himself.
"Puddles filled with the blood of the people… corpses drained of every spark of life… I can still hear their screams ringing in my ears."
He had believed that the Son of Heaven's first wife and her son inheriting the throne was the proper, legitimate path, and that it would mean fewer disputes and a more stable country.
What he had witnessed that night, however, was nothing of the sort. He had watched them stab the innocent to death and use those lives to revive the Crown Prince.
Foreseeing that the future of this nation would be swallowed whole by the Blood Sect, he decided he could no longer stand by. So he had secretly reached out to the Eastern Depot—the very rivals he had always regarded as competition—and chosen the path of the whistleblower.
"You're with the Eastern Depot on Imperial Consort Ma's side, aren't you? Sent by Cheon Su-gong himself?"
"…Who knows. I'm a secret agent who can't reveal his identity."
Just like the Demonic Cult job, this was an unofficial mission. If I was exposed, there had to be zero connection back to Imperial Consort Ma's faction.
"Fair enough. For something this critical, Cheon Su-gong wouldn't be crazy enough to use an outsider. Better this way, honestly. Those Eastern Depot bastards are annoying, but their skills are solid."
"…"
Except he had gone and used an outsider while pretending to be crazy.
Whether it was because my recent track record had earned some trust, or because he planned to throw me away as a disposable piece if things went south mid-operation…
"Put these on and wear the sword."
Jang Chunsam handed me the yellow silk uniform that was the emblem of the Jinyiwei, a badge that proved my identity, and a treasured sword engraved with a golden dragon.
"What's that filthy black staff?"
When I unfastened the staff at my waist to put on the sword, he asked with a puzzled look.
Filthy? This was something the Son of Heaven you people revere like the sky itself had bestowed upon me.
"The Jiokchammabong."
"You named it yourself? Childish as hell."
This Jinyiwei son of a bitch. He could insult anything else, but mocking my naming sense?
I agree with him on that one, at least.
A hazy silhouette of Salsung twisted her lips into a smirk and voiced her agreement inside my head.
Yeah, go ahead and laugh all you want. The day this Jiokchammabong howls freely, you'll understand the greatness of that name.
"Anyway, from this moment on you forget every Eastern Depot habit and learn everything as a Jinyiwei. Speech, the way you walk, etiquette—even the martial arts."
As a core figure of the Empress's faction, he would personally vouch for my identity, so I would be able to approach the Empress herself as a Jinyiwei guard.
I nodded to show I understood, hid the black staff inside the abandoned warehouse, and buckled the razor-edged sword at my waist.
Shiiing.
I drew the hilt and a pale blade slid free of the scabbard.
I didn't know its name, but since it was issued to the Jinyiwei it was a fine sword.
"And of course you'll need to master the Jinyiwei's martial arts completely. You never know when something might happen."
Drawing his own sword to face me, Jang Chunsam declared that I had to learn the Imperial Palace's sword techniques as well.
He then settled into a ready stance and tossed a question my way.
"What's your realm?"
"Transcendental Peak."
"…Usable."
He seemed mildly surprised that someone my age had reached Transcendental Peak, but apparently praising a rival organization was more than he could stomach, so he continued with a carefully blank face.
"This is the sword of the Jinyiwei. Feel it with your body."
Whoosh!
The Jinyiwei's exclusive sword art, the Yellow Dragon Enlightenment Blade, cut through empty air.
A sharp whistle of parting air aimed straight at my nape, as if testing whether I truly was Transcendental Peak.
I slipped past the crimson trajectory that carved across my vision by the thickness of a sheet of paper and scattered pure-white sword force back at him in return.
Clang-clang-clang!
Blade strokes like flashes of light carved diagonal lines. The two swords coiled around each other like snakes before exploding with qi and rebounding apart.
The impact was enough to shake the abandoned warehouse; his sword force wavered like a candle flame about to snuff out.
I, however, poured massive internal energy into keeping my own force rock-steady, flowing with his attacks and even launching a counter.
Taah!
Reading my fierce pressure, Jang Chunsam pivoted hard on his left foot and twisted his body wide. I had seen that distinctive movement before—in a Beijing back alley.
It was the evasion technique the murderous Jinyiwei martial artists who had tried to take my life had used.
Kaaang!
Pretending not to know the expected trajectory, I casually matched it and blocked with a similar method. Jang Chunsam's eyebrows twitched as he stared at me in mild shock.
"That just now… it was almost identical to the Yellow Dragon Enlightenment Blade."
His eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Unable to hide either surprise or wariness, he took a step back.
"I've witnessed the Jinyiwei's sword before."
Witnessed? More than that. Despite Hwang Geolgae's warnings, I had clashed with the Jinyiwei multiple times and traded killing moves with them.
And because I possessed the body of the Heavenly Killing Star, I had unconsciously absorbed the techniques and methods of anyone who tried to kill me.
I had stolen quite a few martial arts this way, but it was a shame I could never freely use them.
Having entire sects chase me for "stealing their foundation techniques" would be annoying enough, and every last one of them was so steeped in killing intent that they were hard to employ without reeking of slaughter.
In the end, the Tagubongbeop—beating dogs with a staff—suited my nature best.
"Witnessed? You mean fought. So you're one of those Eastern Depot agents who've interfered with our work more than once."
"…"
Otherwise, he said, there was no way I would be this familiar with Jinyiwei swordsmanship.
I already told you I'm not Eastern Depot. I scratched my cheek with an awkward expression.
"Eastern Depot secret agent. From now on your name is Mu Byeok. You were away on assignment, arresting someone who posed a threat to the imperial family, and you've only recently returned."
So that was the cover story.
Having confirmed my skill and talent, Jang Chunsam began rattling off the information I would need for the undercover infiltration.
I listened with total concentration so I wouldn't miss a single detail, then raised a hand when a sudden question occurred to me.
"For reference, where exactly am I being assigned?"
The middle-aged man answered with a meaningful smile whose meaning I couldn't yet grasp.
I sincerely hoped for a low-pressure post where I could quietly dig up information.
"Her Majesty the Empress's personal guard."
"…"
Apparently that hope had been far too optimistic.
Jang Chunsam informed me that this placement was under Cheon Su-gong's direct orders—I was to dig for intelligence from the very heart of enemy territory, as deep as it was possible to go.
"Fuck."
I had no choice but to spit out a curse at that requirement.
A late-autumn garden where a chill wind seeped through.
Between the ancient trees shedding their leaves in preparation for winter, two women walked with elegant steps.
Golden robes that caught the sunlight and shimmered with a soft golden glow. Golden dragons embroidered along collars and sleeves so lifelike they seemed ready to move revealed their lofty status at a glance.
Silk skirts brushed through the greenery. Wherever they passed, palace maids bowed their heads as one and bent their waists deeply.
Absolute submission shown to the blood of the Emperor.
"My beloved daughter, Ju Eoyang."
Imperial Consort Ma Juyeong gazed tenderly at her daughter, Princess Dohwa.
At her age, marriage talks with powerful families from other regions should already have been circulating, yet she had steeled her heart and stayed by her family's side to protect her younger brother.
The many hardships—including the attempted poisoning—had made her seem suddenly more grown-up, yet in a mother's eyes she still looked impossibly young.
"You've been having frequent conversations with Cheon Su-gong lately. Have you devised a plan regarding the Crown Prince?"
It was only natural for her to ask. Whenever a festival opened in Beijing, this daughter of hers used to coax Cheon Su-gong into taking her outside the cage for a look around.
She cared deeply about the lives of the common people; Cheon Su-gong had once laughed and told the Imperial Consort that the girl's gaze would be stolen for a long while if a street performer so much as breathed fire.
Yet that same daughter now felt as though she were forcing herself to become a cold, hard adult in order to protect her younger brother and her mother, the Imperial Consort.
Even knowing it was inevitable, Ma Juyeong still found it a little heartbreaking.
"My plan is that troubleshooter, Mother."
Ju Eoyang answered calmly. Her voice carried unshakable trust in the man who had saved her life multiple times.
"Then a mere troubleshooter will hold our fate in his hands."
Complicated emotions tangled in Ma Juyeong's reply.
She too was a mother who cherished her children. Even if she lacked the resolve to stain her hands with blood for the sake of the Crown Prince's seat…
Her wish for her children to thrive was sincere, yet the Crown Prince had suddenly regained consciousness. No matter how many times she thought about it, the news still felt like a bolt from the blue.
"Mother, he is no mere troubleshooter anymore. You know that by now."
In truth Ma Juyeong knew full well he was no ordinary man; she herself had been saved by the troubleshooter's hand that day.
But it still felt strange that her imperial daughter placed such absolute trust in a man of roughly the same age, and the stakes of the matter were enormous.
"I know. When the Empress tried to assassinate us with a chest and black powder, he appeared with some thief woman and saved us."
The memory remained vivid. Despite the strict regulations of the imperial family, he had used every means at his disposal and completed his task as though he could not care less about future consequences.
"Even so, infiltrating as a spy is an entirely different matter. This mother of yours cannot help but worry whether he will manage it well."
As if to soothe that maternal anxiety, Ju Eoyang revealed even firmer conviction.
"Then please believe in me, who believes in him."
She added, with an expression that left no room for doubt, that he would surely uncover the Empress faction's conspiracy and complete the commission perfectly.
"Hmm. Come to think of it, you've known him for quite some time, haven't you?"
Ma Juyeong suddenly grew curious about when that connection had begun.
"The silkworm room of the Eunseong Merchant Group. I've known him since he was still a boy."
Ju Eoyang nodded immediately at her mother's question.
Quite a while ago, when she had disguised herself as the young lady of a wealthy household and walked the outside world, she had once crossed paths with a handsome youth.
"What was he like then?"
"Well… looking back now, he was consistent. Heh."
As the memory rose, Ju Eoyang found herself smiling faintly without realizing it—completely unaware that her mother was watching her from right beside her with a strange glint in both eyes.
Dan Mujin.
That boy had not flinched in the slightest even before powerful figures like the Ten Eunuchs. He had boldly introduced himself as a troubleshooter and told her to call him anytime she needed help.
Back then she had merely thought him a bold, amusing youth. And yet look how things had turned out.
Now they had reached the point of entrusting their very fate to him.
"Very well. If you trust him that much, then this mother will gladly add her trust as well."
The same Ma Juyeong who moments ago had shown distrust and worry now offered her support with a subtle expression.
"Yes, Mother. But since you seem so worried, I'll also have the Eastern Depot look into other methods."
A clever rabbit digs three burrows. The wise prepare multiple exits.
Yet Ma Juyeong wanted to ask about the thing that had been nagging at her more than those words.
"But my daughter…"
She paused, deliberately drawing out the moment before the question.
"Yes? Please speak."
"This is the first time you've placed so much trust and interest in a man of your own age."
A subtle playfulness had already seeped into her mother's voice.
"You're not conscious of him… as a man, are you?"
At a question of a kind she had never imagined, Ju Eoyang's expression went blank for a beat before snapping back.
"…No."
"Heh. Your answer was a little slow."
Imperial Consort Ma Juyeong put on a sly look as though she had caught her daughter red-handed.
"I was simply stunned."
"Not flustered?"
"…"
This reply was also a fraction late. An extremely rare phenomenon.
It might have been nothing more than a slightly delayed reaction, but Ma Juyeong—who had been dissatisfied with how cold and hard her daughter had grown lately—had no intention of letting the opportunity slip.
"If you wish, I can arrange a meeting."
And at her mother's joke, Ju Eoyang had no choice but to drop from dignified imperial princess back into the role of a thoroughly embarrassed daughter.
"Mother, please…"