~Chapter 37~

The Return of Lee Taemin

Minho’s POV~

            “His Highness would like a word with you,” Jimin bows and escorts me to Taehyung’s room. “Minho hyung is here.” I enter and Jimin closes the door. He remains outside, guarding the entrance.

            “I called you here to ask you for a favor.” Taehyung says with a blank face.

            “I am your guard. You need not to ask of me anything. Your wish is my command.” I bow.

            “Drop the act.”

Taemin’s POV~

            The day finally starts and we are ready for departure. The peasants line up along the sides of the road, parting ways so the crown prince and his crew can pass. I am amongst the two eunuchs that are accompanying the crown prince at the banquet. Luckily Gun Tae stole a eunuch’s identification pendant so I was able to slip into the group without being questioned. Under my eunuch disguise is my White Masked Hero outfit. When the crown prince is safely escorted to Minho hyung and the rest of the team, Gun Tae and I will switch places as if nothing happened.

            The crown prince is being carried in a palanquin with Baekhyun hyung walking beside it and the guide sent by the dark clan is escorting us. A good amount of our clan members are bulky and muscular, unlike a typical eunuch. If not, I would have pulled some of them along to sneak in with me. Luckily, I have a small build, if not, I wouldn’t be able to pull this off.

            I nearly blow my cover as I hold back a surprised gasp. Jimin is actually disguised as a eunuch as well. Wasn’t he supposed to be with the White Masked Hero— eh hem, aka me— and Minho hyung to Taehyung back when he is in trouble? He probably was too worried and decided to go along. Since no one knows the face of the crown prince’s guard besides a few dark clan members that they killed off, he won’t get recognized. Everyone else is pretty much in high profile. The crown prince usually wears his royal attire in the palace so the invaders can identify him and the dark clan members can identify the stronger clan members. But honestly…how freaking slow are they planning to walk? At this rate, we’ll never make it to the dark clan’s banquet…

            After a ton of slow walking and my internal complaining keeping me occupied, we finally make it to the doors to the dark clans. Holy crap, these men are huge. It’s as if they spent all their free time lifting weights. Thank God, my master taught me how to summon my weapon and hide it into thin air. I can literally always have my weapon around and not worry about it being seen. The reason why Gun Tae has to have a spear of his own is so that if the situation calls for it, I can use my spear while the White Masked Hero also has his spear, making it look like we are two people. On another note, I’m sweating like crazy because I’m wearing two layers. I should have brought a handheld fan back from my time period if only had I thought I needed one back then. If I ever go back, I’m going to carry around everything just in case I time travel again.

            As we pass by the entrance, I see a quick hand reach into Jimin’s disguise. They pull out his hidden weapon and disappear into the crowd. They were able to find his weapon? How freaking good is there security?! I’m surprised that they didn’t expose us just now…they probably want to see the show unfold. The leader of the dark clan comes out and greets the crown prince who is dressed like the king. Because they never leave the palace, the dark clans have no idea what the real king looks like. So…why didn’t we just use some random person as the crown prince instead of going through all this trouble you ask? Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is that this makes the situation all the more complicated.

            We are welcomed into the ceremony and the performances are not actually vulgar or dangerous. I think that it’s a common misconception that the dark clans are enemies of the righteous clans and imperial regime, making them unlawful barbarians. These people just simply have their own way of running things that people may see it as cruel or unethical. For instance, they can use poison and secret attacks whenever they deem necessary, but the righteous clans see that as being sneaky. They also want to control people by using monsters and power to suppress the weak…but I can’t say the imperial regime doesn’t do that themselves in their own way...

            But yeah, let’s skip the boring bits. After a few performances, they bring out refreshments and food that I sensed to not have been poisoned. It would be impolite for the crown prince to not consume anything, so he did so without having anyone test if there were poisoned items. Don’t worry crown prince, I got your back. Finally, the dark clan’s leader and Madame Red explain their reason for inviting the king to their lair. Sometimes, I forget that she is the wife of the clan leader for the Lunar Shadow clan. I literally stared at her for a good five minutes because I didn’t see why she was sitting with him. Haha, silly me. The Peacekeepers are nowhere to be seen…Are they perhaps outside preparing for an attack?

            “As you can see, our clan has expanded our masses and gained much respect by the people.” Are they kidding? More like they scare the hell out of everyone… “We feel that it is wise to negotiate with the current emperor to establish our…small inquiries. Now, we of course are a civilized nation and wish to not start any war, unless it is deemed necessary. I’m sure Your Highness doesn’t want your citizens to be slaughtered because of a miscommunication.” The dark clan leader smiles slyly.

            “Thank you for your consideration,” our crown prince remains calm despite the obvious underlying intentions. “If you just have such small demands, we will hear you out. If we deem them achievable, we may set up a treaty to remain peaceful with the dark clans.” I can feel the tension slowly rising despite the smile plastered on the Dark Lord’s face.

            “If Your Majesty agrees that the dark clans will rule this country entirely, we will allow the royal family to continue living as a small nation within your capital as long as you give us annual tributes to please us. If you agree to such conditions, we will allow you to return to your palace safely,” Madame Red explains. It is clear that they are now threatening him. If he does not make the dark clans the rulers, he will not make it out of here alive. I see Jimin try to take a hold of his sword, but it was confiscated long before he even entered their banquet. They were so quick at it that even I barely noticed it.

            “They disarmed you right when you entered the banquet, kiddo,” I whisper. He looks at me with wide eyes, but I just give him an innocent smile. “Just so you know~” I turn my head back and look at Taehyung who is still composed.

            “Your conditions do not seem unreasonable as it does prevent a useless war over our own people,” The dark clans are still civilized people. They wish to not kill off the king to ease the peasants from possible uprisings and riots, so they will not hold do anything unnecessary. As powerful as they are, if all the people rise up, it would not be ideal for them. They would like to have us pass the throne to them so it won’t be seen like they stole the throne and killed off the royal family. The easier the transition, the less the people resist. “But unfortunately, I am not the emperor of this country.” With this, the dark clan members all pull out their weapons. The dark clan leader holds his hand up to halt them.

            “Then who are you?” he asks sternly.

            “I am the crown prince,” Taehyung says. “Of course, I am in no position to sign such a treaty. His Majesty is suffering from a cold and sent me here instead, as it would be rude to cancel.”

            “Well, you are the crown prince. You can represent your father and sign this treaty. If he dies, you would be the new emperor anyways,” Madame Red says. The dark clan members put their weapons down. This must be why Taehyung went despite it being so dangerous. If they send a nobody to dress as the king, the dark clans can use this as an excuse to start a war. Because he is the crown prince, they feel like they can step over him and force him to sign the treaty or hold him as hostage if things don’t turn out as planned. Taehyung must be crazy to think that Jimin and Baekhyun hyung can hold off all these people unarmed.

            “As you wish,” Taehyung nods. “I believe that His Majesty will approve such demands if you do a few things yourself. If you do these small tasks, I am sure he will allow the throne to be passed to you.” Baekhyun hyung leans into Taehyung’s ear and whispers a few things to him.

            What is the crown prince thinking? Does he want to test them? They’re literally going to capture him if he does something stupid. Wait…does he not care? The emperor adopted him after he tried to kill off Minho hyung so that means the crown prince can be easily replaced. He would just be a sacrificial pawn if he dies here. That means the minute he offered to come to this banquet, he agreed to be killed off. Sh*t, that’s why he doesn’t care. I can’t let him do something so reckless.  

            “What would you like for us to do?” the Dark Lord asks.

            “It’s simple, really. First, you must hold a public discussion to ask the people of this country the permission to rule.”

            “Don’t worry, the people will most definitely listen to us,” Madame Red chuckles. More like you plan to force them into agreeing.

            “Secondly, you would need to hold a ceremony to pray to the gods and the ancestors of our royal family to get acceptance be those above.”

“Will do.” The dark clan leader nods.

            “Lastly, if you and your wife kowtow every step you take all the way to the palace, give all of your money and treasures to the peasants as you pass them, and beg His Majesty, I’m sure he will consider hearing you out,” Taehyung says.

            “You dare look down on us?!” the Dark Lord’s booming voice silences everyone. “You’re in a tiger’s den, yet you dare to act like you’re the ringleader. Treating the dark clans as your subjects?” the Dark Lord laughs. “Guards, cease the crown prince!” Jimin and Baekhyun rush forward and block Taehyung. They would rather die than let the dark clan get a hold of their prince. It’s my showtime.

Minho’s POV~

            I hear the familiar tune that the Peacekeepers used to play when I was a kid. This must be their way of reminding me to kill off Jong Kook hyungnim and capture Taehyung when time comes. I am in control of my future. No one else can change my mind. Jimin entered the banquet so I hope Taehyung is safer. Only the White Masked Hero and I are out here, ready to join them once they leave the dark clans after a certain distance. I clutch onto my flute and recite the spell in my head over and over again. When I was younger, the Peacekeepers taught me many tunes that can control and combat those that happen to be in the direction I face when I play it. If I play well enough, I can even control or hurt as many as the amount of people in Heroes’ Rebellion. As long as no one is able to counter my song, I can keep it up for a good five minutes or so. If someone were to counter my song, I can get injured internally and that could be a problem…good thing no one besides the Peacekeepers can reverse the tune…

            Surprisingly, the White Masked Hero has been silent this entire time. He actually is so nonchalant about this that he’s napping atop a tree. He must have a lot of faith in Jimin (A/N: in reality, Gun Tae is just too worried that if he’ll talk it’ll ruin the cover, so he’s pretending to sleep to avoid conversation lol). I don’t, though. They can easily be outnumbered, but the dark clans will not kill Taehyung since they need to hold him as hostage anyway, so I am not too worried…I hope that when the full moon rises tonight, everything will fall into place.

Jonghyun’s POV~

            The clan members, Kai, Jong Kook hyungnim, and I are patiently waiting for our signal. Minho is supposed to light the fireworks to signal for us to join them. This will be easy to spot since the day is slowly slipping to evening. Kai has been leaving and coming back multiple times this entire wait. I bet he is feeling uneasy (A/N: in reality, he just needs to collect beads while he can). I really hope everyone gets out of here alive. Wonder how they are holding off at the palace.

Onew’s POV~

            I stand on the tallest position of the palace to look out for any incoming danger. We have brought all peasants into safe spots, so the capital is vacant. Joon keeps looking up at me and I nod back, signaling that we are okay. Key is currently standing inside the throne room with the royal family to ensure no one infiltrates from the inside. This means that the dark clans would have to kill off Joon’s army while deflecting all the arrows we will send out, break through the wall surrounding the palace, get pass Key’s army, in order to even enter the throne room. Nonetheless, we have no idea how many people may or may not come and if monsters will be added into the picture. All we can do now is be attentive, flexible, and ready to risk our lives when necessary. I hope the crown prince is doing okay…

Jimin’s POV~

            The eunuch that talked to me earlier steps forward and sends out a surge of immense internal energy, pushing all of the charging dark clan members back. I look at Taehyung in awe. Who is this eunuch and how can he be so powerful? “Angel…” Taehyung murmurs. Angel? What does he mean by that?

            “Your Highness,” the Dark Lord darts his eyes to the powerful eunuch. “At such a refined banquet, why did you bring along a guard?” The eunuch smiles and folds his arm. “Such a powerful one at that…”

            “Such a beautiful man with an immeasurable amount of internal energy,” the Dark Lord’s wife says with admiration. “What is your subject’s name and title, if you don’t mind me asking? There is no way he can be a simple eunuch.” I look at Taehyung who has a calm yet confident expression. He’s is trying to act like he isn’t confused, isn’t he?

            “I shall introduce myself in honor of His Highness. There is no point in him wasting his precious and elegant words on such barbaric people,” the eunuch says, his voice full of power. “I am just a mere member of Heroes’ Rebellion.”

            “Even if you are a just a member, you still must have a name. With such skill, you cannot simply be a minor person,” the Dark Lord says.

            “If you wish to find out, then clean up your ears and listen up. I am the third disciple of the celestial being that resides in the mountain in the west, member of Heroes’ Rebellion, and a humble subject of His Highness. I am Lee Taemin, here to protect my crown prince.” Lee Taemin? Isn’t that the name of the person that Minho hyung loves? Isn’t he supposed to be dead?

            “Lee Taemin…” I can see the Dark Lord’s wife, Madame Red searching for his name in her mind. She must know the whereabouts of most people in the martial realm. “Lee Taemin?” Her eyes widen and she looks at him from head to toe. “Are you Lee Taemin, the clan member that passed away due to the Living Corpse poison?!”

            “Do I look dead to you?” he smirks.

            “That old man is your master? I thought he only took in Kim Heechul and the White Masked Hero.” Madame Red exclaims.

            “Thanks for the poison by the way. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to meet my master.”

            “You are indeed very worthy of our poison,” Madame Red snickers. “Let’s see what else you have up your sleeve!” She whips out her lengthened red sleeve. Taemin pulls out a long spear out of thin air and wraps the sleeve before it reaches him. “That’s the White Masked Hero’s acclaimed spear!”

            “No no no~” Taemin waves his finger. “Our master isn’t so biased. Of course, his third disciple shall also obtain a formidable weapon. Now, are you going to retract your sleeve or would you like my spear to cut it off for you?” Madame Red scoffs and pulls back her sleeve. His spear must be able to cut through that material. Taemin puts away his spear and turns to look at Taehyung. He bows politely. “Your Highness, these barbaric people dare to displease you during this defective banquet. What would you like me, your loyal subject, to do?”

            “The Dark Lord dares to look down on the crown prince of this country and let his subjects dishonor me. Taemin, show them your skills,” Taehyung says and sits back down on his seat. Baekhyun hyung takes my hand and pulls me next to him. It’s like he completely trusts this stranger although it is their first encounter. This is so strange.

            “Yes, Your Highness; your wish is my command. I shall test my strengths with these savages.” Taemin charges forward, propels himself up, lands in the middle of the clansmen, and attacks them while unarmed. He locks every member’s acupuncture that he gets in contact with and flips backward, returning to the position he was in moments ago. He has proven to them that if he wished to, he could kill them all.

            “I believe that you had enough fun on this fine evening,” Baekhyun hyung says as he pats Taemin’s back.

            “I express my deepest gratitude to the Dark Lord for such great entertainment during this fine banquet.” Taehyung says and gets up. “Now, we shall take our leave.”

            “I hope you will forgive our lowly guards for acting out of line,” Madame Red says and whips her sleeve at same of the men that tried to attack Taehyung and kill them.

            “There was no need to kill them,” Taehyung says with a blank face.

            “Those useless people need not exist in our clan anymore. We only keep around useful people. Besides, they dare risk our peaceful relationship~ if you were to die, that would have been very unfortunate,” she grins. “Would you allow us the honor to you back?”

            “That would be unnecessary,” Baekhyun hyung says. “We know our way back. We thank you for your hospitality.”

            “May you have a safe trip back,” the Dark Lord says. “Adieu.” The dark clans’ guards open the gate and we all exit without struggle. As we walk further and further away, we notice how still everything is. I have an uneasy feeling about this…

Taemin’s POV~

            I can sense that there are vast amounts of people following us from a far distance as we walk further and further away from the lair. The Dark Lord allowed us to exit the banquet so he can ambush us outside…not to mention that Minho hyung and the Peacekeepers are one team. Since Minho hyung is supposed to meet with us soon, when we unite, they’ll make him get Taehyung. Then, when we reach Jong Kook hyungnim, Minho has to kill him and force us all to march to the capital as if we all retuned safely. Then, when they infiltrate the palace, they will kill the royal family and obtain the throne. Their plan seems unflawed…the only way to avoid such an outcome is to make sure Minho hyung doesn’t betray us. Or…I can change the plan myself. I don’t want him to know that I am alive since my body has been taken by the guys that call me their appa. That means I might return to my time period if anything else happens. I need Minho hyung to not betray them, but I can’t let him know I’m back. If we do not meet with Minho hyung, none of this can take effect. I let out a gush of internal energy and send a message to Gun Tae who can sense my message with his wolf bead. Distract Minho hyung. I need to protect everyone at all costs.

Thanks to lily_bunny for pointing out that I forgot to include the reason for needing to kill Jong Kook! I added a sentence in chapter 28 to clarify it, but the Peacekeeper explains that it's just because Jong Kook is the leader of Heroes' Rebellion and helps connect the king to the martial realm so they want to get rid of him (but there actually is an underlying reason behind it which you will find out in the next chapter). 

~Comments are loved~