The capital was a storm of banners and noise, its towering walls glowing crimson under the late sunset. Within that vast city of marble towers and hidden pavilions, whispers of the Chu Clan Hall Incident spread faster than wildfire.
Everyone had heard of the blindfolded young man who had walked into the clan as a guest and left as its silent nightmare. Some called him a demonic prodigy. Others a new sovereign star rising. But to the nobles who thrived on hierarchy and fear, Yue Zihan was something far worse: unpredictable.
He arrived through the eastern gate at dusk, hood drawn, the faint scent of bamboo clinging to his robes. The streets bustled with merchants closing their stalls and guards exchanging lazy shifts, yet the crowd seemed to part subtly around him. It wasn't intentional; it was instinct like wild animals stepping aside for a passing predator they couldn't see.
[System Comment: Capital city ,Yun Zhou detected. Population: too many people who'd sell your information for pocket change.]
[System Note: Hidden Authority still active. Try not to make eye contact apparently it counts as intimidation.]
Zihan ignored the chatter, weaving through the crowds until the noise thinned, he had chosen a quieter route. He preferred the anonymity of dusk the hour where schemes thrived and the streets whispered of ambition.
The inn he selected was modest but elegant, run by an old man who looked like he'd retired from some forgotten sect. As Zihan took the key, the man bowed slightly, eyes flicking to the blindfold but asking no questions. In this city, curiosity was a currency that could bankrupt you.
That night, the system hummed softly as he meditated by the window. The moonlight poured over his face like water, reflecting faintly off the threads of his blindfold. His qi spiraled gently round his meridians gates ,polishing his foundation ready for breakthrough. Beneath the calm, though, he could feel it the subtle stirrings of something watching.
[System Warning: Three unidentified energy signatures approaching from multiple directions. Average power Core Formation. Estimated hostility high. Ah, the welcoming committee's here.]
Zihan smiled thinly. "Assassins?"
[System: Or fans. Very stabby fans.]
The first blade came through the window without sound, slicing the candle in half. Zihan tilted his head slightly; the flame died as the glass shattered. A figure cloaked in grey stepped through, face hidden behind a veil of spirit mist. Another emerged from the shadows by the door. By the time the third assassin crept through the roof, Yue Zihan was already standing, calm as still water.
"You could have just sent a letter," he said. His tone was light, conversational. "But I suppose professional jealousy demands theatrics."
They didn't reply. Their movements were crisp, efficient trained killers from a sect that valued silence over drama. Swords hissed free. The moment stretched, then broke.
The first lunged. The second followed, blades crossing toward his chest. But Zihan didn't move not immediately. A pulse of faint, invisible pressure rippled outward. The floorboards creaked, groaned, then shattered under the weight of his qi. Both assassins froze mid-step as if the air had solidified around them.
[System Note: Hidden Authority amplification 10%. Mood detected: mild annoyance.]
Zihan stepped forward once, and the air responded. One of the assassins' veils tore away, revealing a terrified young face beneath. "W-we were ordered"
"Of course you were," Zihan murmured. "They always are."
He snapped his neck. The other a finger to his forehead injecting chaotic chi into his body. A whisper of sound, and both attackers dropped, unconscious before their blades hit the floor.
The last assassin, still on the roof, tried to flee. Zihan lifted his hand slightly, and the runic glow stretched upward from his body filled with chaos like threads of moonlight. When it faded, only silence remained
.
[System: Targets neutralized. Loot value: disappointing. But hey, look on the bright side you're officially popular enough to be hunted.]
[New notification: 'Sin Points +5.' Congratulations! May moral ambiguity continue to bless your journey.]
Zihan sat down again, brushing a stray splinter from his sleeve. "Sin points, hm? You reward me for self-defense now?"
[System: I reward entertainment value. You're doing splendidly.]
Outside, the city was quiet, but far away in the capital's higher chambers, voices argued old ministers, jealous sect envoys, and hidden nobles discussing the boy with the blindfold who walked like he owned destiny. Political pressure was mounting like storm clouds.
Zihan glanced toward the window, feeling the faint echo of that unseen tide. "So they want a game of politics," he murmured. His blindfold gleamed faintly in the moonlight, the runes tracing along its edges like smirking eyes. "Then let them play. I'll answer in kind."
[System: Excellent. Shall I prepare the sarcastic victory theme?]
He chuckled softly. "No. Save it for when they realize they were never playing the same board."
As dawn began to stain the horizon crimson once more, Yue Zihan leaned back, the faint hum of power surrounding him like a low note of music. Outside, the assassins' bodies were already gone vanished eaten by the corpse inside in their bodies The capital had begun its dance, and he, blindfolded and smiling, had already taken the first move.
. ...…..
Morning light spilled across the capital like liquid gold, but beneath the shimmer, the capital was trembling. The night's events the attempted assassination of Prince Yue Zihan had turned the city's into wires of rumor. By the time the first bells rang from the Temple of Dawn, the news had already reached the palace.
Servants fled down corridors like startled birds, ministers gathered in disarray, and in the imperial garden, two figures stood by the koi pond, their faces pale with fury and fear.
Emperor Yue, a man whose presence usually stilled entire courts, looked as if he might shatter the marble beneath his feet. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back, knuckles white. "They dared," he said softly, the kind of quiet that makes even the wind hesitate.
Empress chu stood beside him, her golden hairpins trembling. "He was alone," she whispered, voice sharp with restrained panic. "Who guards the prince when the capital itself cannot?"
A eunuch knelt nearby, shaking. "Your Majesty, all three assailants are dead killed by the prince"
"My son ?" King Yue's voice was calm, yet the koi pond rippled as if from invisible thunder.
Zihan stood a few paces away, blindfolded as always, his tone unreadable. "They were skilled," he said simply, "but not very imaginative."
The queen turned toward him, relief flooding her expression. She reached out, brushing his sleeve. "My son… you could have been hurt."
He smiled faintly beneath the blindfold. "Mother, I've been through midterms on Earth. I can handle assassins."
[System: Ah yes, the deadliest of trials group projects.]
Even the king's stern features softened slightly. "You jest too easily, my son," he said, but his voice carried affection beneath the rebuke. "Still, you did well to defend yourself. I will not let this go unpunished."
The hall behind them buzzed with activity generals, spies, and ministers whispering about which faction could be foolish enough to strike at the prince.
Some blamed rival kingdoms, others muttered about jealous sects. But the most persistent rumor spoke of a shadow faction an invisible hand moving against the royal line since before Zihan's birth.
In truth, the investigation was chaos. Spies vanished, reports contradicted one another, and strange seals of black fire appeared on the bodies of the spies before they could be interrogated.
[System: Someone really doesn't want their Yelp review posted.]
Zihan walked through the palace corridors, his presence calm amid the panic. He could feel his mother's gaze following him even when she wasn't near protective, watchful. To her, he was still the child who'd once run through the palace gardens chasing paper cranes.
To the rest of the world, he was the untouchable prince whose existence made the court nervous.
When night came, he stood by his chamber window, gazing out over the glowing roofs of Yun Zhou. He could sense the hidden watchers, the unspoken currents of fear. Somewhere beneath that calm surface, the shadow faction was laughing.
[System: Well, look at that. A whole capital panicking, and all because you decided to sleep at an inn instead of home. I'm proud.]
"Accidents reveal truths," Zihan murmured. "Whoever sent them didn't want me dead they wanted to see how I'd react."
[System: Which, to be fair, was magnificently smug. Should I record your victory pose for future blackmail?]
He chuckled softly, folding his arms. "No need. I'll make new ones at the council meeting tomorrow."
Below, the royal banners fluttered in the night breeze, carrying the sigil of the Yue dynasty twin phoenixes circling a sun of flame. The guards had tripled, the city gates were sealed, and a royal decree had been issued: the search for the assassins' employer would continue until the truth was laid bare.
But behind those orders, Zihan could sense it the real tremor, the one hidden even from his parents. Something ancient and familiar had recognized his qi.
The chaos within him had not gone unnoticed.
[System: Oh, look. Someone's sniffing around your primordial secret already. You really do attract trouble like a divine magnet.]
"Good," Zihan whispered, a slow, amused smile touching his lips. "Let them come. I'm done being a mystery only to myself."
Above the palace, thunder rumbled without clouds. Somewhere deep beneath the capital, a faint rune flickered in answer an echo of chaos acknowledging its heir.