The ink-dark night enshrouded the towering Imperial City.
As Zhang Chu followed the slender eunuch through tier upon tier of palace gates, the entire Zhongzhou City receded inch by inch behind him.
The flying eaves and bracket sets that had stood in his field of vision just moments before, the bluestone-paved long streets bleached white by the moonlight, and the figures peeking out at the edge of the ruins all seemed pushed back by an invisible hand, relegated behind a thin, bottomless curtain.
The Imperial City was much larger than he had seen from the outside.
It was not the kind of sprawling, open largeness, but a layered, bottomless "largeness".
Behind every palace gate hid yet another, and behind every high crimson wall stood one even taller.
The glazed tiles emitted a chilling, dim sheen in the moonlight, resembling rows of frozen waves rolling from his feet all the way to the horizon's edge.
Patrolling Imperial Guards occasionally walked past from a distance, the sound of armor clanking echoing down the empty palace lanes, only to be swallowed by the next palace wall.
Zhang Chu walked along the palace lane, his boot soles treading on the smooth bluestone slabs, every step carrying a faint, light echo.
The imperial edict had been stowed away in his tunic, and the edge of the silk scroll transmitted a faintly cool touch through his clothing, like a piece of old paper that had been folded repeatedly.
The eunuch walked about five paces ahead of him, his back arched, his pace hurried and mincing, turning back to glance at him from time to time before snapping his head straight again.
It was as if he were confirming whether Zhang Chu was keeping up, yet also as if he dared not look too much.
"Eunuch." Zhang