Those trained in the use of Qi and martial arts can use Qi to achieve supernatural feats. Strengthening weapons, guiding weapons after they have been thrown, jumping great heights, surviving falls from deadly heights, greater agility and speed, among other things. Masters of particular techniques can manifest Qi as forces of nature, such as fire, ice, water, and wind.

  “It seems that as soon as I’m able to stand again, I owe you a proper introduction myself.” Min said. He gritted his teeth as the burning sensation in his veins got more intense. He could feel that the focus of it was where he’d been cut by the assassin’s blade. It felt like his veins, both physical and Qi, were being flooded with liquid fire. He knew his friends were just as surprised as he was over the identity of the man who had just saved his life.

  Who would have thought that the elusive general from the war, the great hero who had saved them all, the war dragon himself, had been living quietly in the capital under everyone’s noses. Min glanced at the man behind Tae-Hwan. Shin looked wary. He seemed both pleased and worried about his friend’s decision to reveal himself. This meant that the man who fought so well with Tae-Hwan, followed his orders like it was second nature, and was far more skilled than anyone Min knew besides the man in whose lap his head currently rested, was likely of the Seong clan. Which, since his name was Shin, and with what Min knew of the clan, the man was likely the next clan head.

  Min laughed, it turned into a cough as the movement worsened the pain. Yes he definitely owed these two a proper introduction as well. His brother had told him more than once that he trusted the Seong clan almost as much as he trusted Min, and that the difference was only due to personal relations.

  “The pain should subside soon.” Tae-Hwan told him calmly.

  Min hadn’t missed the flash of bitterness on Tae-Hwan’s face when Min had recognized the name. If the heroic general had gone this far to hide himself among ordinary citizens then he clearly did not want to be treated with reverence. From what Min knew of men of war that was understandable. They lived through horrors and carried many more scars than the eye could see. The glorification of the gruesome hell they’d survived called war often left them more than a little uncomfortable.

  He clenched his jaw to keep from making any sound as the pain flared. White spots danced in his vision. He gripped Tae-Hwan’s hand to ground himself. A few excruciating breaths later the pain vanished. Min blinked in surprise. He’d expected it to fade slowly, but it was just gone. He released Tae-Hwan’s hand smiling apologetically and moved to sit up. The man’s hand went to his back supporting him, and Min felt a strangely pleasant shock go through him.

  When Min shifted in preparation to stand, a hand gripped his good arm and Min smiled at Tae-Hwan in thanks as the man helped him to his feet. Min glanced at his wounded arm and realized that at some point Tae-Hwan had bandanged it for him. Min hadn’t noticed but with the amount of pain he’d been in that wasn’t surprising.

  “Thank you.” Min said. “And thank you both for protecting me and aiding my men and I.”

  Shin had stepped closer and now stood just a little behind Tae-Hwan. The man was just shorter than Min, and not by much, but he looked small next to the hulking man. The chances of coming across someone who didn’t look small next to Tae-Hwan were slim.

  “While I would much prefer to keep things quiet, I’m more than happy to compensate you both.” Min began. Both Tae-Hwan and Shin looked mildly offended and Min couldn’t help but smile. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t offer, and I will be compensating you for the damages to your restaurant.”

  “Not like you sent assassins after yourself.” Shin muttered.

  “It would damage both my honour and my brother’s honour if I didn’t.” Min explained. “Before you object, please allow me to properly introduce myself.”

  Both men waited quietly. Min heard shuffling and knew his friends had gotten into position behind him. They didn’t usually bother with these kinds of formalities, but were quick to switch into them at a moment's notice.

  “Chief royal advisor, and imperial prince Han Lee, MinJun.” Min said with a nod of his head. “I am in your debt.”

  Both men went to their knees and Min winced.

  “Representative and heir of the Seong clan, Seong, Shin, at your service your imperial highness.”

  “Dragon general Seok, Tae-Hwan, affiliate of the Seong clan, at your service your imperial highness.”

  Min knelt down in front of them. “Is it too much to ask that you treat me as Lee, Min?”

  The two men glanced at each other before looking up and grinning at him.

  “As long as it's not a formal setting, my father would have my hide.” Shin replied.

  “It’s not too much to ask.” Tae-Hwan assured him, smiling. “Unless of course you’re planning to treat me like some legendary mythical hero.”

  Min nodded. The three of them stood.

  “How is killing a demonized dragon deity not something that makes you a legendary hero of myths?” Shin teased. Tae-Hwan glared at his friend and the other man laughed. “I mean, really, I know you hate it, but people have solid reasons.”

  “As long as we’re not in a situation that calls for it, I’d rather treat you as a friend, a companion, an equal.” Min interrupted.

  “Now that everyone’s secrets are out, I vote we get this place and then ourselves, cleaned up.” DoYun said.

  Min scanned the restaurant, it was a mess. There were far more bodies than he’d thought. How were they going to dispose of that many bodies without bringing attention to this place? Min glanced back at Tae-Hwan feeling apologetic. This mess had happened because of him after all. He watched a mostly silent exchange occur between Tae-Hwan and Shin. He caught the words Kim, eat, absorb, and blood. After a moment Tae-Hwan sighed in defeat.

  “Fine.” Tae-Hwan said, resigned. “But you need to do something about how we’re going to get all the way there without drawing attention.”

  “Wait until I get them upstairs.” Shin replied.

  Tae-Hwan shot his friend a dirty look, as if Shin wasn’t playing fair somehow. Min was beginning to wish he had context for what was going on. There was a lot these two weren’t saying.

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Follow Shin and get cleaned up a bit in the kitchen. He’ll take you upstairs to find some robes that will cover your clothing.” Tae-Hwan said. He glanced at the three men behind Min before meeting Min’s eyes. Pain, resignation, annoyance, something Min couldn’t place, and trust shone in the man’s eyes.

  “What about you?” Min asked.

  “I’ll… deal… with the corpses first.” Tae-Hwan answered. “Once you’re upstairs, don’t come down until Shin tells you to.”

  Curiosity sparked and Min wanted to ask, but held his tongue. This wasn’t the time. Min filed away the questions and what information he had put together for later. It wasn’t like he didn’t know how to wait.

  Min quietly followed Shin to the kitchen. The five of them wiped up themselves and their weapons quickly. Shin then guided them through a door and up some stairs. He opened the door at the top of the stairs, standing to the side he motioned for them to go inside. They filed in. Min didn’t know what he’d been expecting but it wasn’t this. The room was extremely neat and tidy, almost excessively so. Shelves lined two of the walls and were filled with books, scrolls, and the most organized and orderly piles of boxes he’d ever seen.

  The shutters were closed on the windows. But a low table and cushions were positioned next to them on a slightly raised platform. There was a desk on the opposite side of the room from the little sitting area. The cushions and rugs made the place feel cozy despite how overly tidy everything was. Min then realized that the restaurant and kitchen had been the same. Everything had been very purposely organized and extremely clean.

  Shin disappeared through a door opposite the one they entered. Moments later he came back with an armful of clothing and some cloth sacks. He set everything on the table.

  “Take off your outer robes and put these on. Put the blood-soiled clothing in the sacks, we’ll be taking them with us.” Shin said. As soon as he’d given the directions he stripped off his own outer garment, shoving it in one of the bags. The rest of them followed suit.

  It didn’t take long before they were all changed. Shin set the sacks beside the door and disappeared in that other room again. Min assumed it was a bedroom or something of the sorts. Shin reappeared with another robe and sack. Min could easily tell that this robe was larger than the ones he’d given them. Obviously it was for Tae-Hwan.

  “Wait here a moment.” Shin said, not checking to see if they’d listen, simply trusting that they would stay put. After everything Shin and Tae-Hwan had done for them tonight, none of them were inclined to push no matter how curious they were on how Tae-Hwan was going to get rid of all those bodies by himself.

  Min moved to the door and waited, listening. He wasn’t able to hear everything, but he did catch some.

  “Dammit… breathe… that’s it.” Shin said. Even though he missed several of the words, Min could tell that Shin was trying to be reassuring but was concerned.

  “I… know.” Tae-Hwan responded. There was a strangely rough edge to his voice. He said something else but Min couldn’t make it out. “This is why… didn’t… obviously…”

  Shin replied but Min didn’t hear what he said.

  “You think?” Tae-Hwan’s voice was heavily laced in sarcasm. It sounded like they’d moved to the kitchen, their voices were clearer. The almost rumbly undertone to his voice remained. It reminded Min of the angry growl a wild animal would make.

  “I thought it wouldn’t be any worse than earlier.” Shin said after a moment. It was clear he felt bad about something.

  “Clearly you didn’t think it through then.” Tae-Hwan growled. “It woke up Shin. Using that ability right afterwards would obviously have consequences.”

  “I can get you more medicine, father sent me with lots as well as the golden pills.” Shin was clearly trying to reassure his friend. “I shouldn’t have asked that of you, I’m sorry.”

  “No, you were right.” Tae-Hwan told him. “There wasn’t another way to deal with the situation.”

  “I know.” Shin sighed. “But I’d rather you never have to do that again.”

  “If it weren’t for the… side effects, I wouldn’t mind.” Tae-Hwan paused. “Honestly, Shin, I have decent control on it now.”

  “Then what was that earlier?”

  “Really stupid timing for a flashback.”

  “You’re not - ?” Shin asked.

  “No.” Tae-Hwan said quickly, interrupting him. “No, things were just a little too… familiar. The situations a bit too similar.”

  There was silence for a moment.

  “You know, if I didn’t know how hellish it was, I’d be inclined to convince you to do that more.”

  “You know Shin… There are times when it’s hard to believe you’re not still fifteen.”

  “That’d be awkward. Fifteen, married, and with two kids.” Shin laughed.

  “I’m surprised Bitna puts up with you.”

  “Honestly, me too.”

  Things were quiet for a moment. Min could hear them moving around.

  “Touch my hair and you’ll lose your hand.” Tae-Hwan growled.

  “Right. Sorry.” Shin apologized.

  “My eyes?”

  “Normal.”

  “You four can come back down now.” Tae-Hwan said. He didn’t speak any louder than when he was talking to Shin. Min started, surprised. He had been starting to feel guilty for listening in, but it seems that Tae-Hwan had known he was there the whole time. Min grabbed one of the sacks and signalled for his friends to follow him. He led them into the kitchen where Shin and Tae-Hwan waited.

  “There’s a bathhouse run by a trusted acquaintance that we can use.” Tae-Hwan told them. “The man who runs it will deal with our clothing for us, and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’d be much more comfortable taking a bath and getting properly cleaned up.”

  “Lead the way.” Min replied.

  Tae-Hwan opened the backdoor and held it open while they followed him out. He closed and locked it behind them. Tae-Hwan went to lead them but Shin shook his head and took the lead. Tae-Hwan chuckled. They all followed Shin around the house and onto the main street. Shin somehow managed to herd the others so that Tae-Hwan and Min were in the back of the group together. Shin met Min’s eyes and winked.

  “He’s not nearly as subtle as he thinks he is.” Tae-Hwan said after a moment.

  “Doesn’t make it any less appreciated.” Min replied. He looked up at Tae-Hwan watching the man’s reaction.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d feel that way about it.” Tae-Hwan looked down, meeting his eyes. There was a question there. Subtle would be the wrong approach it seems.

  “How many rooms does this bathhouse have?” Min asked.

  “A few.” The confusion on why he’d asked was clearly written on Tae-Hwan’s face.

  “Think we can count on your friend to wrangle mine into one with him?”

  “I…” Tae-Hwan stuttered. He stopped trying to respond and looked to the head of the group. Min glanced forward as well. Shin nodded, DoYun rolled his eyes, and YeJun and HaJoon were grinning.

  “I won’t be offended if you’d rather not.” Min told him. As much as he’d like to spend some one-on-one time with the handsome man, it’d all be for naught if it made him uncomfortable.

  “And undo the whole point of letting you know about the bet?” The man was blushing. Min hadn’t realized that someone so big could be cute until that moment. He hadn’t expected Tae-Hwan to be shy. It made him want to tease him, but Min held himself back.

  It didn’t take very long for them to arrive at the bathhouse. It was a bigger building, but otherwise didn’t stand out much in this neighbourhood. Nothing about it was grand, but it was a rather solid and sturdy looking building.

  “Hey Kim.” Shin said as they entered. “Mind if we take over the facilities for a bit?”

  “Got yourself in trouble after all, young master?” an older man standing behind the counter replied.

  “Been a while since I’ve been called that.” Shin laughed.

  “The facilities are all yours.” Kim said. “Just mark which rooms you’re in and I’ll leave some clothing in the changing room for you.”

  “I’ll use the same room as last time.” Tae-Hwan told the man. “My clothes from last time still here?”

  “Folded and in the cubby.” Kim replied.

  The man disappeared, and Min guessed he was off to go gather clothes for them to change into. As soon as the older man disappeared Min felt Tae-Hwan’s hand grasp his. He let himself be led into another room, leaving the others behind. His stomach fluttered slightly. While the shyness from earlier had been cute, there was something about not being in charge that had his veins humming with excitement.