After a few days...
It appears this journey will be quite long and uneventful. But there's a silver lining; the robe of secrecy that shrouds me is my shield against harm during this voyage. I'm in the company of an elite soldier from the clandestine Black Dragon Squad, a silent guardian of my safety.
The inconvenience lies in my need for anonymity. To avoid raising public awareness of my absence, I must hide my true identity. Information flows slowly in this Murim world, tightly controlled by a select few elite groups.
So, I find myself sitting idly, with only my silent escort – the nanny – accompanying me. She's the only one permitted to share the king's carriage, aside from me, of course.
In the absence of other diversions, I decided to count the centiseconds, starting from 1, to pass the time until our next stop.
Moments before departure, we bid farewell.
"We wish you a safe and blissful journey, my Lord," the provincial leader says, wiping away crocodile tears.
"My Lord, I have complete trust that you will emerge victorious," the commander states with unwavering pride.
It seems the commander is disappointed about not accompanying me.
"Provincial Leader, you hail from a prestigious family, primarily operating in villages. I hope for the smooth implementation of the policies I've proposed."
"The changes you've asked me to implement, my Lord, will be executed as per your wishes."
"Excellent," Ji Yan says with his charming face.
I place great hope in the success of these policies and anticipate the result and unrest among the public due to this. I am fully aware that I'm no saint; I need the masses to love and revere me to consolidate and expand my rule.
You see, the Sects, with their immense cultural, social, and corporate power, stand as titans in our realm. On the other hand, the Empire wields the heavy hammer of administrative and legislative authority, while the kingdom only maintains supervision and appointive powers.
The recent Empire Sect Act passed is a masterstroke, granting sects their own laws, judiciary, and legal framework within their premises. They operate like autonomous nations within our borders.
All these people of Books, they're more than just priests and educators; they are the custodians of our society's spiritual essence. With the Emperor and influential kings among their disciples, their influence and power are colossal.
But, let's be honest, I can't allow these cultists to hold sway over what belongs to me indefinitely.
Now, these Sects follow either Chan Daoist Theocracy, Abram Daoist theocracy, or Sram Daoist Theocracy, which have aligned in recent times to maintain social and cultural powers.
Chan Daoist Theocracy is concerned with achieving the state of Zen and becoming one with the Dao, whereas Abram Daoist Theocracy is focused on upholding divine order and its purpose is to transform the character of humankind and to develop, within those who respond, moral and spiritual qualities.
On the other hand, Sram Daoist theocracy is concerned with believing in the Constellations so they can control their fate and then achieve the Zen state.
With roots in all sects and authorities of government, their alliance makes up the entire Murimfantasia alliance and occupies all the top posts of the Empire Imperial Court, which is the apex court of the world.
The great thing is the gateway to our Upper realm is closed off all martial arts from the Upper Vamphiem realm and no martial artist from the lower realms from the Third-order Universe worlds and middle realms from the second-order Universe worlds have found our realm passage yet, so that'd be one more complication on my path to power.
Otherwise, there'd be so much to do.
"Lord, we have arrived at the inn."
Approximately 8 hours have passed, or 28,700,00 centiseconds to be precise.
Simulating qi in my Upper Dantian, connected to my brain while counting numbers in this manner enhances my concentration and accelerates my thought processes.
"Good job," I commend.
Alas, it's a bit of a hassle to talk to people and not be able to use their names. Only Rich Merchants or Powerful martial artists are graced with Official names, and even then, only the deserving who earn the status to form a clan get Official surnames.
Servants, serfs, peasants, and other commoners remain nameless. But I'm not one to fuss over this system; it's not my concern.
In my previous life, my father was an immigrant, and my mother, a drug addict. They never paid me much heed, yet I ascended the ranks to elite society, amassing a fortune though it was through questionable means.
If I can climb the ladder, so can they. Wasting time contemplating whether money buys happiness is a luxury I couldn't afford, unlike them when I was broke.
Here they emphasize principles of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, and non-possessiveness, guided by the teachings of the Abram Daoist Theocracy and Chan Daoist theocracy.
They are exactly where they deserve to be with this mindset. These poor people make self-comforting delusions and hence don't try very hard. So, if you try very hard, it's impossible to be poor.
But that's not my issue.
What troubles me is the lack of names, making the act of addressing people a cumbersome chore.
As I contemplate this, our arrival at the inn interrupts my unnecessary nonsense monologue.
The inn is somewhat uneventful, but we are, after all, concealed within the heart of a forest, and my royal identity demands discretion.
I walked inside the inn, escorted by some of the guards who had cleverly disguised themselves as vagabonds to blend in with the crowd.
Others remain hidden outside and completely surround the Inn to keep an eye on everyone coming inside and outside.
My so-called Nanny booked the room for me.
The nanny took the key and requested me to follow her to the room.
It is quite a good Inn if looked at from the viewpoint that it was made in medieval times.
The nanny waited outside, and I entered the room.
I had no problem with the inn, but from inside, my heart was quite displeased seeing the interior, though it was quite better than many places I stayed in my past life.
It seems that after my memories merged with this kid's body I have started to whine a lot, even with a bit of discomfort, something which shouldn't be the case for my past self.
Later, I wash my face, change my clothes, and proceed to go for dinner, as quite a bit of time has passed since I ate.
I also talk a bit to some people while having dinner who are obviously my guards but in disguise.
My guards are divided into two units. One unit is trained to hear and see nothing and has the sole purpose of protecting me, and the second unit is trained to carry out my personal tasks.
The best part is they were trained by the father's Unit and are trained for absolute devotion and loyalty towards me. Not that they are very useful because even without any security, I'd be safe.
It's common sense for a prince, irrespective of being talented, non-talented, wise, foolish, or cunning, to be safe after all because my brother as an emperor needs to maintain his great image.
If I get assassinated, it would not only brand him as unfit but drown all his traditional image, especially in this type of world where tradition and rules are respected the most because of cultists who rule by their totalitarian hands.
3
2
1
...
Throughout the dinner, the guards remained vigilant, their trained senses ever alert to potential threats.
Ji Yan then asked the Inn owner to send some drinks for him in his room and walked back to my room after finishing dinner.
As he entered the room and turned the lamp on, he saw halfway across the dimly lit room, a man standing, holding a slender blade in his hand.
Naturally, as a human being, he couldn't help but blink a few times in surprise.
But soon Ji Yan's senses sharpened themselves instinctively as he assessed the intruder's presence.
"What are you doing in my chamber?" Ji Yan demanded with a tone a mix of surprise and irritation.
Intrigued by the unexpected appearance of a stranger, Ji Yan decided to play along, maintaining his calm demeanor.
The intruder, slightly bigger than average with a 70-headed blood-less kangaroo-like countenance, held a blade but still somehow managed to appear less menacing for Ji Yan.
With a sigh, Ji Yan moved to a bed, voicing his determination and pointing to the window, "I'm going to give the inn owner a piece of my mind now, you can bet on it. They still haven't repaired the window, and now you've come through that balcony."
Assassin's eyes darted to the single window, its glass reflecting the inky night outside.
"Balcony?" the intruder asked, his voice curious.
"Yes, now you came here through it."
"No, a passkey. I was unaware of the balcony. Knowledge of it might have spared us some trouble. Wait, why didn't they make me come here? If I had been seen by any of his Security, they would have not only tortured me but also sent me for experimentation."
Ji Yan explained, his irritation evident. "It's not my balcony; it belongs to the next room."
Ji Yan continued, "You see, I was informed by one of the individuals during dinner that this room used to be part of a larger unit. The next room through that door used to be the bedroom, which had a balcony extending beneath my window. Weirdly, you can access it from the empty room 5 doors down, and I overheard my guards in the dining hall mention that it was done just last week. The owner promised to block it off at that time, but they haven't."
Deep in thought, Assassin mused, "Interesting."
Ji Yan asked back, "I wish I knew how you learned about my presence here, my son."
The little spy smiled mischievously. "And we wish we knew how your people managed to eliminate our subordinates. But no harm has been done," he added with an evil grin. "We will reclaim our territory after your demise."
"Hmmm, so he is someone from the bandit camp who is here to take vengeance on me, but he can't bypass the security of both my units. There must be someone who has carefully planned for all this and an insider who helped them," Ji Yan wondered.
He couldn't know the actual perpetrator.
As per his current thoughts, he imagined it could be either just some nobody who wishes to kill him to create unrest in his kingdom or someone from the Empire. That could never be the case, which he himself agreed.
Suddenly, the knocking at the door startled the intruder.
"What is that? Who is at the door?" Assassin inquired, with his guard up.
Spy was shocked at the sudden knocking.
Ji Yan's smile remained calm, and he explained, "That will be my Secret Guard. You should have known, my child, that someone as important as me deserves extra protection. I instructed them to check on me, ensuring everything is in order, especially because I practice a rather dangerous cultivation art."
The bandit anxiously nibbled on his lip while the knocking persisted.
"If I do not answer the door, they will enter anyway. To them, my security is paramount," Ji Yan explained. "They might think something has gone wrong during my cultivation practice. The door is unlocked, and the moment they see you, my child, they will attack. Everyone you've had contact with will be targeted."
Assassin's face darkened with anger, backed swiftly towards the window. He swung a leg over the windowsill, ready to escape to the balcony.
"Send them away!" he warned Ji Yan. "I will wait on the balcony. Send them away, or I'll use my blade, and we'll see what fate decides."
The knocking at the door grew louder, and a voice was raised.
"Young Master! Young Master!"
The assassin twisted his body and positioned himself by the window, holding onto the frame for stability. In one quick movement, he swung his leg over the windowsill, ready to enter unnoticed, and as he stepped out, blood drops gushed out, and a shrill scream pierced the air.
The door swung open, revealing no one to Ji Yan's disappointment.
Ji Yan was a cautious man. He deliberately asked the inn owner to have a waiter bring drinks periodically so that if anyone attacked him he will have someone to scream like a crybaby.
Another reason was he also never trusted anyone, not even his shadow guards, who would lay down their lives for him, which he was well aware of.
And as he imagined, both layers of defense were bypassed.
In fact, he also asked the head maid to check on him every 15 minutes or send a shadow guard without disturbing him, in addition to that, and the assassin still managed to enter the chamber.
But what a tragedy for the assassin. The plan and strategy were perfect, but an invariable arose.
Ji Yan's soul had fused and ascended to the next stage.
Ji Yan was a police officer in his previous life who had betrayed people, killed people, and, above all, caught international thieves, gaslighting the entire country into believing he was a super-cop while framing innocent people as criminals when he was the one who committed all the crimes.
He had experienced everything, so though he was still human, he was unfazed by the tension in the room. Of course, the assassin also didn't feel any tension but for a different reason altogether. ( he was no longer in a condition to feel it.)
He was so unfortunate that no guards were present outside the door, and he still jumped like a fool. Even though he should have had a map of the inn, showing there was no balcony near his room, he still got tricked into believing there was one.
What a fool indeed.
All that remained there now was a recording formation Ji Yan attached to the door for his security as an extra caution.
The recording formation that directly started playing the fake voice of Ji Yan to give the illusion that there was someone outside the door to the assassin the moment Ji Yan's life was actually in trouble.
Therefore, now what would most probably await the assassin was infinite torture as his Guards were outside surrounding the Inn.
And it was the assassin's fault himself so he couldn't blame anyone as the Guards outside were unaware of any happening inside the room due to the Illusion formation and Silence formation imbued in the room by perpetrators, but as the fool moved his leg outside in panic and anger, the arrow pierced his hand, and since there was no Balcony, he fell on the ground.
...
"Let's analyze, who could be the real perpetrator and also the Insider who sold me out, The All-Father," Ji Yan said aloud as he lay down on his back.