"Your Majesty, you should get some rest. We're heading home tomorrow." In another inn, General Nee arrived just in time to overhear what Charlie Qiao was saying. After they finished drinking, he joined Ethan Chu in the inn to start packing their bags.
"Look, the moon is so beautiful tonight. Do you think Xin'er is looking at the same moon right now?" Ethan Chu stood by the window, looking nothing like a mighty emperor—just endlessly lonely, desolate, and wistful.
Seeing this, General Nee dropped what he was doing and came to the window to look at the moon outside. "Miss Shen must be seeing the same moon too," he said, glancing at Ethan Chu. "Your Majesty, it's getting late. You should go rest—we have a long journey tomorrow!"
Ethan Chu turned his head and gave General Nee a faint smile. "You're the one who needs to rest. Tomorrow, you're heading home."
"Huh?" General Nee blinked, totally confused. "Your Majesty, what do you mean?"
"Are you dense? I mean, tomorrow you go back home and take care of things for me," Ethan Chu replied, glancing at him again. "Didn’t one of Charlie Qiao’s men just tell you all this during our conversation?"
"But... but I still don’t get it, Your Majesty. Wait, are you not going back?" General Nee stared, eyes wide, shocked.
Ethan Chu smiled faintly. "Finally, you’re starting to think straight."
"Wait, if you’re not going back, then where are you going, Your Majesty?" General Nee asked anxiously.
"To the imperial palace!"
"The imperial palace?"
"Ever since I left the palace, I've had this nagging feeling something big is about to happen. I can't shake the worry, so..."
"So you're really going, Your Majesty?" For the first time, General Nee interrupted Ethan Chu. "Your Majesty, you're the ruler of a whole kingdom—you can't go! You know what Soaring Phoenix Realm is like, we've been there back and forth so many times. That place is packed with traps, we've seen how deadly those things are. If you just rush in, I'm afraid..."
"You think I'm afraid of dying?" Ethan Chu answered, voice firm.
Seeing this, General Nee realized he couldn't talk Ethan Chu out of it, so he quickly suggested, "If that's the case, then just use your real identity, Your Majesty. Even if Song Zhijue suspects you, he wouldn't dare go against you openly. Plus, if something happens to Miss Shen, you'll be able to help her." Since he couldn't change Ethan's mind, he tried to offer a helpful idea instead.
"Heh." Ethan Chu smiled at General Nee. "Didn't expect you to get smarter after just a few days apart."
"Your Majesty, please don't mock me," General Nee replied seriously, not in the mood for jokes at all.
Ethan Chu sighed. "Your idea's actually pretty good, but this time it won't work. Song Zhijue is already on guard after my sudden visit and abrupt departure. If I show up again, he'll definitely get suspicious—and that could put my elder sister in danger."
He knew exactly what kind of person Song Zhijue was—paranoid to the core. If Ethan showed up again and Song couldn't figure out his motives, he'd definitely go after his elder sister.
His elder sister had no idea about any of this. If she got dragged into trouble, Ethan would regret it forever.
"But how are you going to get in? Sneak into the palace at night?" General Nee asked nervously. There's no way to get in during the day—was Ethan planning a midnight break-in?
Ethan Chu just smiled and pulled out a mask from his robes, giving it a little shake. "This!"
"Wait... is that a human-skin mask?" General Nee was stunned. Had Ethan already planned all this? Why else would he have something like that ready?!
Seeing General Nee's shock, Ethan Chu laughed. "Butterfly Rogue really is a master of disguise. This is the best, most realistic mask I've ever seen." He nodded in approval, clearly very satisfied with the craftsmanship.
Last time he went into the palace, he watched Butterfly Rogue make amazing masks for Lucian Vane and Adrian Night. He'd asked for one himself, and since they were close, Butterfly Rogue agreed right away and made him one exactly to his specs. He did wonder why Ethan wanted a mask of an old man, but Ethan had planned to use it to get close to his elder sister and ask how she was doing—since every time he saw her, Song Zhijue was always there.
He knew his elder sister was kind-hearted—if she saw an old man, she'd always come over to check on him.
But things hadn't gone as planned, and he never got to use the mask. Who would've thought he'd actually need it now?
"Your Majesty, whose old man mask is that? How do you plan to get in?"
"If I remember right, there's an old man in Draken City whose job is to clean oil residue in the palace. Supposedly he's a distant relative of some minister, so they gave him this gig. Now he has two helpers—think about how much grease there is to clean every day in the palace, so..."
"So what?"
"Are you slow or what? Of course I'm going to knock him out, pretend to be his younger brother, and sneak in." Ethan Chu rolled his eyes at him.
General Nee finally got it. "If you're determined to go, Your Majesty, then I'll go with you!" he said quickly.
Ethan Chu frowned. "You? With your martial arts skills? Are you trying to get me killed?"
"Uh..."
"Enough. I'll take care of myself, so stop worrying. Tomorrow, head back to Chu and whip all the guards into shape—train them well. We're gearing up for a big war, got it?" Ethan knew this trip was risky, but he was willing to face danger for Ivy Shen. Besides, even if he died, Ivy still had six outstanding husbands. Losing one wouldn't make much difference!
"But..."
"Enough! When did you get so whiny?" Ethan Chu snapped, annoyed.
General Nee could only nod. "I obey, Your Majesty." He looked at Ethan Chu, then suddenly knelt. "I'll do as you say and go back to train the guards, but Your Majesty, you have to promise me—you must come back safe."
"Wifey, you say you're worried I'll get caught stealing and drag you down, but I know you're just worried about me, aren't you?" At the candlelit table, Butterfly Rogue fiddled with his potion, busy with his mysterious work.
Silly wifey, I'm not that easy to catch!
Butterfly Rogue chuckled at his own joke and kept working under the lamp.
"Wifey, I know I'm usually good-for-nothing—can't write poetry, not strong in martial arts, just good at running away. But even so, I want to do my best for you, I want to help you." He muttered to himself, still busy with his hands.
As a flower thief all these years, he'd always been alone. He seemed carefree, but he longed for a love of his own.
She was the first woman he'd met who wasn't dazzled by his looks—in fact, she was downright hilarious.
Thinking back to their first meeting, Butterfly Rogue couldn't help but smile. His wifey was just that fun, just that mischievous.
She was the kind of woman who lingered in his thoughts, who made every sacrifice worth it.
After a while...
"Finally done!" Butterfly Rogue wiped the sweat from his brow and proudly picked up his new human-skin mask—a middle-aged man's face, complete with a bushy beard.
"Wifey, we're going to see each other soon." Butterfly Rogue took a deep breath and glanced out the window. He still had one thing to do: steal a token!
A token matching his disguise—a pass to enter the palace.
With that thought, he hurried to the table and destroyed his handiwork, worried someone might discover his secret.
"Xin'er, don't worry. With Lord Shangguan's mask, I'll find you for sure." In Draken City, everyone knew Empress Waner trusted Lord Shangguan. His daughter was now a minor consort in the palace, so Butterfly Rogue figured he could use a visit to her as an excuse—and once inside, he'd find Xin'er. With his disguise skills, he'd pick whichever identity got him closest to her.
He glanced up at the stars, feeling as if his wifey was watching too. He couldn't help but smile. Adrian Night was right—without martial arts, he might cause her trouble. But he swore, he'd never be a burden. If he ever became a threat to her, he'd bite his own tongue and end it. After all...
After all, Xin'er still had the others, didn't she?
One less useless guy like him wouldn't be such a loss, right?!
Butterfly Rogue gave a bitter smile, then opened the window and leapt into the night.
Now, he had to kidnap Lord Shangguan and steal his official seal. That way, he could enter the palace openly tomorrow!
Tonight, he had to succeed. For his wifey, he had to succeed!