on the way

The Imperial Capital was in the centermost of the Empire, surrounding it were many farming fields and fruit gardens, which Ji Li came to see after he left the capital through a special side-gate. The side-gate was a tunnel that went out of the Eunuch Palace down into an underground tunnel. In the tunnel there were four exits, showing the direction of each of the main gates. They left the tunnel eastward and slowly went up as they ended up at a military post just a kilometer away from the gate. They could still see the bustling gate with a long range of visitors.

They could of course also leave normally, but because of the mission's urgency, which was ever so present as they had to recruit as many as possible, and just recruiting one would normally take weeks upon weeks. If they didn't recruit enough, that would be too much of a failure!

So as Ji Li was in the carriage, he looked outside on the farms, which were more than abundant. One could only praise but also complain that the empire was just way too rich in greenery! No wonder there are so many border wars and internal conflicts, who wouldn't want to have just a piece of the land? Well unfortunately, all conquered land would gradually lose its vitality over a course of a decade, as it loses the origin for the vitality, the main emerald tree.

What brought Ji Li's eyes to a stop weren't the fields, but the 'horses' and the carriage, that were used. They weren't normal horses at all! The horse alone looked just like a normal horse, but it's white fur and silky and voluminous mane and tail were breathtaking. What surprised him the most was the mist around the hooves of the horses! There was a dense and beautiful mist around the four horses pulling the sturdy and comfortable carriage, and four other horses which were behind the carriage. The mist of these horses generated a small cloud wherever they went, making it difficult to perceive the hooves and how fast they moved, because they truly moved so fast that the scenes outside moved quite like a waterfall flowing downwards.

'So, these are the mist horses I read about? They really produce mist when they run, and all together they seem to make the carriage and all people atop the horses difficult to discern. I can see why they are liked so much, especially with their rapid speed. I read in the mission letter that the town is around 500 hundred kilometers away. That's roughly around 5 hour journey with a car if it's constantly driving 100 km/h… a usual horse's speed is around 30 km/h and they can speed up to 50 km/h for a short time. I can see that the horses here are very fast, so let's see how long we will need! I think, just from what I see, the speed should be roughly the same as how fast a car would drive on a normal highway… so it'll also be around 4-5h! 100 km/h for a horse is really fast. If they are not exhausted after riding for such a long way which would take 15h for a normal horse, then I can expect that all the tier two monsters specialized on transportation, such as this, will not inconvenience me in the slightest! Especially since tier two monsters are the lowest after tier one, which can barely be considered monsters at all!'

…

The ride wasn't that interesting, so after looking for a bit, Ji Li waited in his seat, Qianyu to his left stood up after half an hour when he saw that Ji Li nodded to him. He stood up and knocked three times shortly on the carriage wall, to which Shixuan slowed down and went slightly left. Shixuan then stood up and made a hand signal, telling the guards to enter the carriage. And so they did, entering the carriage slowly and bowing inside while saying "We greet Intermediate Eunuch Li"

Ji Li nodded, he then waited shortly as he pulled his hand from his sleeve and fixed them at the seats opposite him. Qianyu next to him turned around to the wall of the carriage and knocked once again, telling Shixuan to begin riding once again.

"I have seen the guards. The mission is considerably important and since we will stay together for at least a year, we should at least talk together for a short time and discuss how we will act"

Hearing what Ji Li said, both guards understood as they cupped their hands "We ask senior to enlighten us. We only serve as guards and have not thought about the mission, please forgive us for our incompetence senior."

Ji Li nodded; indeed, he didn't ask for their opinion, but wanted them to understand their standing and just follow his commands. Stone and Monkey were his loyal followers and friends, he could talk to them casually and discuss situations with them. Even if they didn't tell him anything he didn't know, it helped knowing there were friends listening to him, making him think more calmly. But he didn't want that from strangers who would only stay with him temporarily, especially since he saw that both guards were already middle-aged and didn't have a big chance to advance in their cultivation. He liked that they knew their stuff and just followed commands, so he started the plan.

"For this mission, we will need to first build a base for ourselves and then begin the preparations. I want you both to command at least two guards to stay with Shixuan and Qianyu, this here is Qianyu, and the one outside is Shixuan. They are both my assistants and will follow my orders, so any harm to them will be your responsibility, as they are working currently for me in this mission. You both just need to follow me, you don't need to do anything special, but I want you to at least do a few things. First off, from the moment we enter the town, you are not to speak one word. When we are with each other in private, you can talk. This situation is such a case, but not when you are just together guarding a door or of the sort, just keep quiet and if possible, look stern and menacing."

Ji Li wanted the two of them to make the perfect image of loyal dogs guarding a very prominent figure, instead of a new eunuch. His age was perfect, together with two dogs heeding to his every word, he will seem like some sort of young master, or in his case, a protégé of some highly ranked eunuch. This would make people think thrice before rejecting him, the first time being because he's a eunuch and the second being his own strength.

"Even when I am talking to you, I do not expect an answer, don't nod either. Just follow what I say and do it, and I don't want any questions regarding my behavior, is that clear? I know both of you are already such high ranked guards and regarded as pretty important among your troupe of servants, and I do admire you for reaching your rank. But do not forget that in the end, you are all servants of the Eunuch Palace, while we eunuchs are servants of the empire. You are serving the empire, so put away any pride or prejudice you have regarding us.

The same is for the other guards, tell them what I told you and make sure that they know, because they are your responsibility in any and every case. I know that that's not the usual way of handling things with guards when they are temporary and it's a newly formed group. For you this might seem like a burden, but for me you all are potential burdens, because it is I who suffers most in a failure, so just follow my lead and we will not only succeed but also be rewarded."

After Ji Li finished talking, he just turned to the window. Then he waited for another half an hour, just staring outside and not intending to tell them anything anymore. The guards understood from his movement that he intended to test them already, giving them some pressure. They understood what the eunuch meant, and how important the mission was from the tone of the eunuch which was younger than them. To prove themselves, they just kept quiet and waited, not moving the slightest in the carriage. They thought for a second and then took on neutral yet also stern expressions and put their hand on the handle of their swords, giving a dangerous energy, like they would jump at someone the moment they heard the order.