Chapter 18: Morning in the Heavenly Flame Palace
The room was bright.
Rising from the bed, Jincheon looked around, suddenly aware of his surroundings again.
The maids had already completed their morning duties and now stood before him, their heads bowed in perfect, respectful silence.
In front of them stood Gi Seoran and Po Eunryeong as well.
A row of beautiful women standing in still formation—it was such a surreal scene that it somehow snapped Jincheon back to reality.
‘Oh. So I really am...’
The memories of yesterday flooded in like a crashing tide.
Arriving in Jiuquan... the tavern they visited, the white-curtained carriage, the enormous estate... Gi Seoran suddenly kneeling before him...
Then the moonlit plains they galloped across, the winding mountain paths, the strange city hidden deep within the mountains—and the countless people who followed, as if encircling him.
All those overwhelming, dreamlike moments from the Palace replayed themselves in a single instant.
Gulp.
Jincheon swallowed without realizing it.