The restaurant floor of Tan’s Palace was busy with merchants and farmers using the road, and none of them gave me a second glance since I was dressed this time. I was looking for the innkeeper’s daughter so I could apologize, but despite most of the tables being full, she was nowhere to be seen.

  Right as I was getting ready to call out for her, or anyone who could take me to her, the raven-robed Special Inspector cleared his throat.

  The entire restaurant paused.

  I didn’t blame them.

  Entire villages could be razed to the ground on a Special Inspector’s command. I’d even ridden through the embers of one such place with my merchant father’s caravan.

  I tried to avoid his eye, but he fixed on me like a hawk on a field mouse.

  “If you’re looking for a table,” he said in a measured voice. “Then please, come and join me.”

  The entire restaurant turned in my direction.

  I looked over my shoulder, but alas, nobody stood behind me.

  “Do or die, kid,” Cabbagy whispered to me. “Either take him on or play it cool.”

  The thought of starting a fight with another cultivator didn’t exactly excite me. I’d won against the last three I fought, but this man worked for the Heavenly Phoenix Empire.

  There was no telling how powerful he was.

  So I walked across the restaurant, keeping my smile on my face as I approached the table in the corner.

  “Thank you, Special Inspector,” I said with a bow. “I’m honored to join you.”

  “Please, it’s no trouble at all,” he replied with a generosity that could only be masking something insidious. “Have you eaten?”

  My stomach gurgled in response to his question, and he chuckled.

  “The smoked eel is quite literally divine,” he said as he patted his stomach. “Trust me, a man on the road knows good food when he finds it.”

  Why was he being so chummy? Was he trying to lure me into a false sense of security?

  “Don’t worry, kid,” Cabbagy whispered. “I’ve got my eye on him.”

  I kept my eye on him as well, but I also kept a polite smile on my face. It was too early for me to know if this battle would remain purely social, but I was determined to keep it that way.

  “Smoked eel sounds delightful,” I said, before I hung my head in shame. “Though I must admit I am completely without money.”

  “Yet you came into a restaurant?”

  “I’ve come to apologise to the young woman who was serving here. My conduct earlier was most inappropriate.”

  He nodded at that.

  “It was certainly… irregular. Though I’m sure you have a reason for your methods.”

  Was that an accusation? Did I have a reason to be naked? Like having recently reformed my body from total incineration?

  “I forgot about my clothes when I was in nature,” I said. “My mind was not where it should have been this morning. I hoped to apologize, and perhaps pay for my food by performing services for the inn.”

  His eyebrows shot up at that.

  “Perform… services?”

  I shrugged.

  “It’s the least I can do for a meal and a cup of tea.”

  “Yes… speaking of which… let me see if I can’t find our hosts.”

  He stood and walked toward the kitchen faster than I could protest. Within seconds, he was gone, and I was left sitting there in a panic.

  “Cabbagy?” I asked under my breath. “Should we run?”

  “You need to find out what he knows,” Cabbagy said.

  “If you’re sure.”

  “Calm down, kid. You can do this.”

  I nodded.

  “Alright.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll let you know if he’s about to pull something.”

  “Thanks, Cabbagy. You’re the best.”

  “Heh, someone’s got to look out for an idiot like you.”

  ###

  Special Inspector Deng’s heart pounded as he hurried into the kitchen. Pure cowardice made him retreat like this, but the monster sitting at his table absolutely terrified him.

  He had fully expected the cultivator to start bragging about how he dealt with the young master from the Shining Mountain Sect. In fact, he’d been startled that the man hadn’t loudly declared it on entering the building.

  At first, Deng assumed the man was looking for him, which was why he spoke up.

  Anyone who could so easily take out Ren Feilong was not someone that Deng could hope to outmatch. After all, only his Special Inspector status let him have any protection from cultivators Ren Feilong in the first place.

  Still, Deng played his part correctly. He was genial, and he was welcoming, and if he’d sent out a brush of his qi to feel out the other man’s cultivation, then that was just simple curiosity.

  But what he’d felt…

  Deng shuddered as he walked through the kitchen, cursing that both the innkeeper and his daughter were missing. He turned a corner and bumped into the cook. She was an old woman, likely Tan Lu’s grandmother, and she carried a bubbling pot with towel-wrapped handles.

  The cook startled at his appearance and dropped the large pot.

  Deng crouched quickly and gripped the handles with each hand, slowly lowering them to the floor so the broth didn’t slosh. The metal was hot, but Deng’s 9th stage Body Tempering let him ignore the growing pain long enough to place the soup on a counter.

  “Pork broth?” he asked as he shook his hands.

  The cook nodded with wide eyes.

  “Can I help you?” she asked.

  “Where are the owners?” Deng asked in what he hoped sounded a calm voice.

  The cook started.

  “We are a law-abiding establishment,” she said. “I’m sure that we —”

  “No, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to place an order.”

  Really, he wanted to get away from that man at the table.

  The cook scowled.

  “My lazy son and my granddaughter are unloading a delivery,” she said. “And left me all alone to deal with the lunch crowd, I might add.”

  Deng ignored the cook’s grouchiness.

  “Where might I find some tea?” he asked. “It’s of the utmost importance I get some.”

  The cook pointed to the prepared pots.

  Deng thanked her and placed an order for two more portions of the eel. He was very polite, and her eyes widened: an imperial agent talking to a lowly mortal cook like this was the height of absurdity, but that man back in the restaurant…

  It couldn’t be what he felt.

  He was a Special Inspector, damnit! He was the iron glove of the emperor himself! There was no way he should be acting like this.

  Deng took up the teapot, ignoring the steam rising over his knuckles as he balanced two cups and a plate of snacks in his hand and headed back out into the restaurant. The lunch goers studiously ignored the sight of a man in the raven robes of imperial office carrying cakes and tea.

  Back at the table, Deng poured a cup of tea for the cultivator, who seemed surprised by such an action.

  “Thank you,” said the young man with a wide smile as he took a cup for himself.

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  Was he really a young man? Or an old monster disguising himself as a youth?

  He blew on his cup of tea and took a sip before letting out a sigh.

  “You won’t believe me,” he said. “But this is the best thing I’ve tasted in a week.”

  “I believe you,” Deng said as he tried not to sweat. “It is remarkable tea for such a remote inn.”

  Once more, he probed out with his qi. A Special Inspector must be sure before he draws any conclusions. Measure twice and cut once, especially when the thing that might be cut is your own head.

  Even if it was a bad idea, his curiosity demanded he be sure.

  He was in the 9th and final stage of Body Tempering, and though Qi Condensation remained beyond his meager talents, he prided himself on the spirit-senses he had developed. His low cultivation limited his range, so he pushed his well-trained senses across the table to brush against the other man’s flesh.

  And found nothing.

  The man sitting opposite him was a total void.

  Deng could even feel the qi in the air, and the wood of the table, though it was incredibly faint — but opposite him sat a man-shaped absence.

  This showed a level of qi control that Deng had thought mythical. He couldn’t even guess what realm this man must be in, nor why he sat barefoot in this rural inn with a bloodied cabbage beside him.

  “Ah, did you order food?” the man-shaped void asked, jerking Deng out of his thoughts.

  “Yes… Yes, I did,” Deng ascertained as he glanced up at the cook who placed their food on the table. “Thank you, miss.”

  “Thank you,” the young man said as he wiped away a tear. “This truly looks heavenly.”

  For the next few minutes, they ate. Deng picked at his food while the young man ate with incredibly measured movements, as though he were holding back.

  Holding back from what? Annihilating everything?

  Deng sweated. So much tension filled the air between them that it was hard for Deng to breathe.

  Was he experiencing the bloodlust radiating off the man?

  Not even the stranger’s qi suppression, not even his intent, but the sheer aura with which he carried himself made Deng slip with his chopsticks as he tried to pick up rice.

  His fingers hadn’t shaken like that in years.

  It wasn’t even the lack of qi that terrified Deng.

  It was the fact that he couldn’t feel any qi at all — anyone who could control their qi to such an extent could certainly pretend they had the same amount as anyone in a lower realm than them.

  They could even pass as a mortal, but all mortals had at least some qi. Such was the way of the world — qi flowed through and from all objects under the heavens.

  By displaying absolutely zero qi, this man was making a statement.

  Deng hoped it was not aimed at him.

  But what would truly give him nightmares was how the man didn’t even respond to Deng’s spiritual probes.

  There was no reciprocal sweep of spiritual sense, there was no raised eyebrow at the inspection, not even an alteration of his qi to acknowledge the detection.

  Deng didn’t even receive the spiritual equivalent of a slap on the wrist.

  Unless…

  Could it be?

  Deng’s eyes widened as he understood what was happening, and a piece of eel slipped from his chopsticks.

  He hadn’t noticed a reciprocal sweep because the man’s qi control was so subtle that Deng had no hope of noticing.

  There was no raised eyebrow, no alteration of qi, no slap on the wrist, because why would a hurricane acknowledge a fly?

  Unable to stomach any more eel — though only minutes ago he would have happily devoured several plates — Deng set down his chopsticks and lifted his tea. The warm ceramic soothed his hands and stopped them from shaking.

  He couldn’t give away his fear.

  But why was such a man sitting across from him?

  Surely anybody who was this powerful but unaffiliated with the Empire would be in his reports, unless…

  This was all a test.

  That must be it! In fact, Deng was sure this man was sent from the head office. He’d probably even seen him before, but such an average face was easy to forget.

  Was it just a random inspection? Or was the Hidden Lotus facility more important than he assumed?

  Calm down, Deng told himself, you can do this.

  “I was wondering…” he began.

  “Yes?”

  Deng almost flinched at the quick response, but forced himself to meet the man’s eyes.

  “What became of Ren Feilong?”

  The young-looking master’s eyebrows rose, and Deng silently cursed his curiosity as he awaited death.

  “I’m sorry,” Deng said. “I shouldn’t have asked, but —”

  “No, it’s alright,” the hidden master said generously. “I forgot his name, that's all. I sent him back to his sect.”

  “You didn’t kill him?”

  “It didn’t feel necessary.”

  Deng wasn’t sure whether or not to be relieved by this news.

  Certainly, there was no love lost between him and Ren Feilong, and if the arrogant young master died, that would have been wonderful, but at the same time, it looked bad that a Special Inspector let the brash cultivator run off to his death.

  Relations between the Empire and the sects were strained at the best of times.

  “Thank you for your benevolence,” Deng said with a bow.

  The hidden master grinned as he finished off his eel.

  “I’m sure he learned not to stick his nose in other people’s business.”

  Deng frowned in confusion.

  Ren Feilong pursued the man because he was insulted by his nakedness. What exactly was this hidden master implying?

  Did Deng dare ask?

  He steeled himself and spoke in as casual a tone as possible.

  “I’m not sure I understand?”

  “Oh! I just meant that I bit off his nose,” said the hidden master as he picked up a cake. “So, you know, he won’t stick his nose in other people’s business. Because he can’t!”

  Deng stared in horror as the monster before him laughed.

  He knew he should close his mouth and avert his bulging gaze, but his trembling body refused to listen to him. His heart beat so loudly, he was sure even the mortal clientele could hear the thunder.

  “You… bit… his nose… off?”

  “Yeah,” the monster said as he gazed intently down at the cabbage seated beside him. “I think I understand your confusion. A cultivator can grow their nose back over time, so it’s not like it’s a permanent lesson or anything, but it should stick for a little bit of time.”

  Deng shook his head.

  “That’s not my confusion… I’m… You aren’t worried about retaliation from the sect? A beating is one thing, and a death another, but to purposely maim a cultivator like that…”

  The man shrugged.

  “To be honest, my sense of humor is still adjusting. It’s been some time since I spoke with people like this. Not too sure how long. Perhaps my joke doesn’t make sense.”

  An Imperial cultivator would never say something like that. Who was this man?

  “You just exited closed-door cultivation?”

  Once more, the man glanced at the cabbage before nodding enthusiastically.

  “That’s right! Closed-door cultivation! It’s been so long, my social skills are all rusty.” Deng felt sick. It took him a moment to realise the other man asked him a question.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “What year is it?”

  “Oh… because of your seclusion… um… sorry, it’s the 1704th Year of the Heavenly Phoenix Empire.”

  The hidden master looked stunned before he shook his head.

  “Wow,” he said with a shake of his head. “So many years, gone just like that. I wonder what’s changed…”

  The hidden master gazed out the window, lost in thought, while Deng panicked.

  He needed to get away from this place before everything went up in flames.

  Either the Shining Mountain Sect was about to send a more powerful cultivator to take revenge on this man, or he was truly so monstrous that he didn’t fear the Shining Mountain Sect at all.

  But that was preposterous.

  The Shining Mountain Sect was only a local power, but they still had a council of Core Formation elders.

  They were each in the fourth realm of cultivation, compared to Deng’s first realm. The leaps in power increased with every stage and every rank, and so the difference between a 9th stage Body Tempering cultivator and the sect elders might as well be the distance between the earth and the moon.

  It wasn’t simply power; their cultivation was fundamentally different.

  After a Body Tempering cultivator cleared their meridians, they could awaken their dantian and store qi, thus passing into the Qi Condensing realm.

  Then it was a matter of filling the dantian with liquid qi until it could be condensed down to form the first pillar of Foundation Establishment.

  Most cultivators never made it that far, but the few who built and harmonized nine pillars could take the final step and combine them into a core.

  In a place like the Black Tiger Kingdom, Core Formation cultivators were the peak of social and martial power.

  Their core was like a raging furnace compared to Deng’s flickering candle. After witnessing the power of his Chief Officer in Violet Hills City, Deng couldn’t believe anyone ever acted like a sect council was nothing to worry about.

  The thought that people who spent decades, even centuries, progressing their abilities could be ignored…

  Just how powerful was this man looking out the window like a lost young man? What realm of cultivation could he possibly be?

  Deng tried to recall what came after Core Formation. He knew the Black Tiger King was in the Nascent Soul realm, but in truth, Deng didn’t even know what that meant: only that the man was practically a demigod in the flesh.

  There were nine realms in total, but any details available in a small kingdom like his were more likely to be fiction than fact.

  Could the man opposite him be a Nascent Soul cultivator?

  Could he be even greater?

  If Deng could detect no qi, then he had no clues, and none of this helped him identify the man sitting there eating a cake like it was the tastiest thing in the world.

  The cakes weren’t even that good here! They were dry! And too sweet!

  Was the man mocking him?

  Was he powerful enough to mock the empire?

  Deng sat in a nightmare.

  He had to hit the road as soon as possible. Even if the hidden master didn’t fear the Shining Mountain Sect, Deng certainly did.

  “This was a wonderful meal,” the monster said. “I would thank you, but as I said, I have no money.”

  “It’s quite alright.”

  “No, I am in your debt.”

  Oh, heavens above, he was talking about karmic debt!

  That was realms away from Deng’s life and not something he wanted to involve himself in at all.

  “If you must pay me back,” Deng said as he wiped his sweating palms on his robes. “Could this Imperial servant ask your name?”

  The man frowned, and Deng almost died on the spot.

  He still felt no intent at all, but…

  There!

  Through the window.

  The wind blew through the trees by the river, bending their branches, and Deng knew it was the hidden master’s qi warping the environment.

  “I’m so sorry,” Deng said with a bow. “That was too prying of me.”

  “It’s alright,” the man said slowly. “I seem to have forgotten my name after the… closed-door cultivation.”

  How long did someone have to meditate to forget their name? Deng couldn’t imagine such a thing, nor emerging looking so youthful, but the man seemed oblivious to the empire… did he predate the empire?

  The implications of that almost spilled Deng’s bowels, but he held it in as he stood and bowed.

  “That’s truly remarkable,” he said. “Excuse my manners, but I must begin my travels to my next assignment. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

  “And you, Special Inspector.”

  Deng bowed again and hurried toward the stairs. He knew a calamity was coming, and he had to get away before he was swept up in it all. Special Inspector be damned! He wasn’t strong enough to be involved with someone like that.

  He glanced back over his shoulder, and the young man raised a cup of tea with a smile. Their eyes met.

  Deng hurried down the stairs with veins like ice.

  What a monster!