Chapter Twenty-Three: A Game of Shadows
Dan-Bi walked through the scholar's quarters, his pace steady, his expression unreadable.
The War Minister's warning lingered in his mind, a whisper of a threat hidden beneath careful words.
"You do understand, don't you? What happens to those who grow too close to power?"
Dan-Bi exhaled slowly.
He had known from the beginning that his presence at the palace was a gamble.
Now, the stakes had risen.
But he would not retreat.
Not now.
Not ever.
Instead, he would tread carefully.
Move smarter.
Let them watch.
Let them suspect.
They would find nothing.
---
For the next few days, Dan-Bi played the role of a mere scholar perfectly.
He attended lectures, debated policies, studied well into the night.
He made no move that could be seen as unusual.
No meetings with the prince.
No conversations that could be overheard.
Just a scholar.
Nothing more.
It worked.
The whispers quieted.
The ministers turned their attention elsewhere.
And Dan-Bi, unseen, began to move in the shadows.
---
The first thing he did was identify the War Minister's informants.
It was easy.
Too easy.
A servant who lingered too long near his chambers.
A scholar who asked too many careful questions.
Dan-Bi did not confront them.
He let them watch.
Let them report.
And then—
He fed them lies.
Small, harmless details.
Distractions.
A book he had borrowed.
A subject he had debated.
A study session that lasted too long into the night.
Nothing of true importance.
But just enough to keep them satisfied.
By the time a week had passed, the War Minister believed Dan-Bi was nothing more than a sharp-tongued but ultimately harmless scholar.
And that was exactly what Dan-Bi wanted.
---
The real danger came from another source.
It happened when Dan-Bi was returning to his quarters late at night.
The path was empty.
Silent.
But he felt it.
The shift in the air.
The faintest scuff of a footstep behind him.
He did not turn.
Did not react.
Instead, he kept walking, his fingers subtly tightening around the dagger hidden beneath his robes.
A test.
A warning.
Or perhaps something more.
Dan-Bi did not wait to find out.
Instead, he disappeared.
A sudden turn into an alleyway.
A sharp step up the side of a wooden stall.
By the time his pursuer reached the alley, Dan-Bi was already above him, hidden in the shadows.
He watched as the man hesitated.
Looked around.
And then left.
Dan-Bi did not move for a long time.
Then, slowly, he exhaled.
So.
It seemed someone was still watching.
And whoever they were—
They were not satisfied with just observing anymore.