The Dragon Prince's Warrior

Gray day in Forbidden City

Despite the brilliant dawn, around eight in the morning, a cluster of gray clouds had covered the celestial expanse. Now the town of the Forbidden City reflected the true mood that hung over the entire realm and its people.

Within the walls of the Forbidden City, which were reserved for the emperor, his courtiers, and his servants, An's episodes of convulsions had ceased, at least for the moment, and the palace healers were attending to her, while Heng and Shun returned to the chapel to pray for the umpteenth time.

"And your brother?" the emperor inquired with a dry tone.

"Uh, he's..." Shun couldn't come up with anything at that precise moment. Besides, he hated lying to his father; he had never been able to do it and preferred always telling him the truth. So, that was the only thing that came out of his lips.

"Don't tell me..." Heng said with a certain conviction, not stopping his steps towards the chapel. "That stubborn one has left the palace again."

"Something like that, I honestly don't know, father," Shun replied, shrugging his shoulders, as he hadn't even mentioned where he would be exactly.

Heng didn't make any further comments; he just shook his head.

Everyone was busy with their tasks, too occupied to notice an individual, dressed as a retainer, slipping out through the servants' side. In other times, no one could leave without justified authorization, but this wasn't the moment to dwell on a man venturing out into the town.

As soon as he stepped out onto the cobblestone streets, he could sense a certain tension in the air, and it wasn't just the weather; the people seemed subdued and even irritable. In less time than he realized, a group of young boys raced past him, one of them knocking his coolie hat off as if a mischievous gust of wind had done it, but no... those hooligans seemed more restless than if they had red ants in their pants.

"Unruly brats!" he thought with a furrowed brow. "There's something in the air, and it's not exactly good. Could that radiance have been infernal, or am I turning into a paranoid lunatic?"

The young man retrieved his coolie hat and dusted off any dirt it might have caught. While he was doing that, a group of men pulling a cart full of fruit approached him with a certain enthusiasm upon recognizing him.

"Young Jin, Your Highness," one of them said, as the five men offered a slight and discreet bow.

"Hush, boys!" Jin exclaimed in a whisper, waving his hands to try to stop their actions. "Don't make a fuss. I'm incognito today, in case you haven't noticed."

Everyone's eyes went wide. It was hard for them to guess when the prince was incognito or in a public setting since he always dressed in commoner or servant attire, whether he was alone or escorted by the Emperor's advisors and attendants to make deliveries and provide aid to the villagers, as that had been his assigned task for the past two years.

The men didn't know how to react and began attempting to act "normal," but pretending didn't seem to be the workers' strong suit. Some walked one way, others went another, and one stumbled awkwardly. They were mumbling among themselves and gradually dispersed to continue with their own tasks.

Jin shook his head, discreetly chuckled at the behavior of those he considered good friends, and quickly replaced his hat before continuing on his way, as he was deeply concerned about the entire environment.

He leaned against a distant post where he could have a better view of the town of the Forbidden City. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and casually lit it. He couldn't do that in the palace, especially not in the presence of his father; the Emperor might order his beheading before he even had a chance to react.

As he observed, Jin analyzed the behavior of those working men. They had certainly been polite in his presence, but among themselves, it was a different story; they shouted and bickered. He watched them all as they walked away.

"This isn't normal, not here. People have always treated each other with respect in the Forbidden City," he thought, exhaling as he watched the smoke from his cigarette rise, as gray as the clouds that obscured the sunlight.

A shout snapped Jin out of his reverie, and he immediately stubbed out his cigarette against the wall before rushing toward the growing crowd and the direction of that strident sound. He blended in with the people and managed to get to the front just as a circle of onlookers was forming.

"And what are you all gawking at, bunch of incompetents? Mind your own business!" The furious voice of a man could be heard. This prompted Jin to maneuver through the crowd even faster.

His eyes widened as he saw a man dragging a woman by her hair. He immediately jumped forward and struck the man's arm to make him release her; he didn't even ask about the conflict, his desire to stop the spectacle was stronger. If anything angered him, it was abuse and injustice.

The woman was sobbing and covering her face; the worst part was that everyone there knew her. She truly felt exposed before the crowd. While the man massaged his arm, he then grabbed Jin by the shirt and lifted him up. It was Shin, the village vegetable seller, who also had knowledge of martial arts.

"You, good-for-nothing busybody, you're going to regret sticking your nose in this!" threatened Mr. Shin, raising his large fist.

Jin acted immediately and struck the man's abdomen with his knees, causing him to emit a small grunt, but he didn't let go, despite the evident pain he had caused. This only further infuriated the burly man, who punched Jin in the face, causing his coolie hat to fly off his head; it had split his lip, and blood dripped down to his chin. The people who were watching nearby let out a chilling cry upon realizing the prince's identity.

"The prince! Your Highness, Jin! His Majesty!" The voices of the people could be heard amidst murmurs and exclamations.

As Mr. Shin laughed victoriously and looked at Jin's face, his expression tensed with nervousness upon realizing whom he had just struck. He immediately set Jin down, but the damage was already done. People bowed and others approached to assist him.

"Your Majesty, forgive me! I... had no idea! Mercy, I beg you." Mr. Shin cowered on the ground at the prince's feet, who had been handed a cloth to press against his split lip. The crowd continued to murmur.

"Answer me something," Jin said, looking at him with bewilderment. "Why do you treat your wife like this?"

"Sir... they are personal matters, they are of no importance. I swear it," Mr. Shin replied.

"Personal..." Jin muttered under his breath, turning to look at the poor Mrs. Shui.

Jin clenched his lips in frustration and bent down to grab the man's shirt. He managed to make him stand up and pulled him toward where his wife was curled up in pain and embarrassment.

"You should be apologizing to her," Jin pushed him, and he fell to his knees in front of her. "There's nothing personal here," Jin continued. "You made it public and humiliated this poor woman. Now you will apologize to her publicly, or I will take drastic measures."

Jin could see the man's trembling lip and hands, his gaze shifting from looking at her in anger to looking at him in fear. His pride was stronger than anything else. The woman looked at him with a mix of anticipation and fear.

Finally, after several minutes, the man complied. He muttered an apology, and Jin ordered him to lift her off the ground. The vendor couple entered their stall, and the crowd began to disperse. From within Mr. Shin's tent, loud arguments between the two spouses could be heard, along with a couple of thuds; the violence had now continued in private. The prince shook his head, but he no longer intended to intervene.

When Jin thought things were returning to "normal" and was about to return to the palace, the shout of a crowd alerted him and the others, who rushed to another location. This infuriated him because most people were just going to gossip, not because they actually wanted to help with anything.

"Your Highness, Jin," a very distressed elderly woman intervened. "We need help, please!"

What Jin saw, he couldn't believe: a horde of young men was armed and attacking people in their path. They were also destroying vendors' stalls, and most alarmingly, they had already left many injured on the streets. Who were they? What did they want exactly? These mysteries paled in comparison to what really mattered, which was stopping them drastically.

"I knew something was wrong, but this is serious. Just what we needed to add to our misfortunes. We need reinforcements now," Jin thought as he ran back to the palace.