42 The Shadow Army

"And just how do you plan on doing that?" Kesi retorted, rolling her eyes. Gesturing to the high palace walls and then pointing out Mu Luming's height, she scoffed. "Do you think you can easily leave the palace under the watch of all these people? Within moments, the Empress would have received word of you leaving and send more assassins after you."

She paused for a moment, dropping her voice lower and leaning closer to Mu Luming.

"And then you'll become a little meat pie."

Raising her eyebrows, she stared him straight in the eye and pressed her fingertips together as if squashing a little bug.

He held her gaze, a little corner of his lips turning upward.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

Kesi couldn't believe her eyes. Could this little boy actually be mocking her?

Just when she was about to open her mouth, a few shadows dropped to the ground, almost as if they materialized from thin air.

Until the three figures stood right before her, she hadn't even noticed them and had no idea where they appeared from.

Unsure whether it was her aging senses or that these people were trained to perfection, either way, Kesi felt uneasy that she hadn't sensed anything at all.

"Your highness," they chanted, dipping there heads and putting their fists together in a simple acknowledgment of their young master, the Crown Prince.

Smirking and fanning his robes out like a proud peacock, Mu Luming cleared his throat and spoke in the most princely tone that he could muster. He looked straight at Kesi, smirking. "You may all rise."

In perfect synchrony, like perfectly crafted pieces of machinery, the men raised their gaze and let their arms fall stiffly to their sides.

"Go find the family of A'Hong and bring them to the palace," Mu Luming's voice was cold. "Tell them that the Crown Prince invites them for a feast in the Imperial Kitchens."

The men nodded.

"I don't think that I need to tell you any more details, correct? I'm hoping to enjoy a nice supper with A'Hong's family today."

They nodded once more, clearly more understanding of the issue than Kesi. In shocked silence, she watched as Mu Luming commanded these grown men to do his bidding.

Before she could ask about any details, as soon as they had appeared, the mysterious men disappeared again.

This time, Kesi could see their routes clearly as they jumped onto the tree, nearly flying as they soared over the garden wall effortlessly.

They were dressed in the plainest of clothes, and nothing about their clothes betrayed any hints of their identity. Their long swords were standard, not the usual sleek blade suited for an assassin nor the heavy one for a fighting soldier. Their faces were plain, nothing ugly but nothing too handsome either, the type that a passerby wouldn't even remember meeting after a brief encounter on the streets.

"My birth Mother, the former Empress, had left them for me." Seeing straight through Kesi's concern, Mu Luming hid away his cold expression, exchanging it instead for his usual harmless one. "These were her personal guards from her original manor before she entered the palace, and I was only notified of their presence right before entering the palace."

"They're only personal guards?" Kesi raised an eyebrow, skeptical.

"Well…" Mu Luming scratched his head. "They're more of a trained organization. And they have a name?"

"Like what?" She could tell that he really wanted to share the story of their name, so she simply played along even though she was much more interested in their function.

"The my we're called the Shadow Army, but I thought it was too unoriginal, so I renamed their organization."

"Into?" She had a horrible feeling about what she was going to hear.

"The puffballs!" And she was not surprised to find that she was right.

She didn't even want to ask what the reason behind the name was.

"Do they do everything you command?" She pointed at the direction these "puffballs" had disappeared into, and Mu Luming nodded in response.

"They only appear to protect me when I'm truly in grave danger," he added. "Or when I summon them. Otherwise, I don't even know where they are. Like the other day you saved me from those assassins, they appeared right after you had disappeared and told me about all of your details."

Something didn't add up in Kesi's mind.

"They appeared right after I left? Meaning, they appeared after you were nearly killed?" She tapped her fingers menacing against his shoulders, demanding an explanation.

"They only found me right after! Apparently, they were only notified to come find me at that time since I was about to enter the palace!"

Kesi narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but it was clear that Mu Luming either didn't know anything else about the situation either or was making a conscious effort to hide something.

—

Nevertheless, by sunset the same day, these "puffballs" appeared again. Since they materializes out from the shadows like they belonged to the darkness, Kesi couldn't help but think that their original name of "The Shadow Army" was more well-suited.

Reporting that the deed was done and that members of A'Hong's family were on their way to the Imperial Kitchen, they soon slipped away into the background.

There was no report of how they accomplished this in such as short time frame nor how they managed to even sneak people into the palace in the first place.

All they left behind were a suspicious Kesi and an excited Mu Luming.

It wasn't long that there were news of a break-in at the Imperial Kitchen and that the suspects claimed that they were guests of the Crown Prince.

Upon hearing the news, Mu Luming only casually took another bite of his pastry and shook his head at the eunuch sent here on behalf of the Empress.

"They weren't my guests."