The Big Monsters Emerge

The emperor's procession arrived, and Li Qinwu got up to leave.

"Genpei, good luck."

Genpei nodded.

"Yes."

Li Qinwu ran to the bushes beside the road and found a place to hide. He wanted to see whether Genpei could pull it off.

If he were the emperor, he would take Genpei in. With a build like that, the man could at least serve as a ceremonial guard.

Genpei straightened his armor and watched the approaching imperial procession intently.

The mounted warriors at the front spotted someone ahead, and several of them galloped over.

The warrior in the lead shouted, "Who goes there? The emperor is passing through! Clear the way!"

Genpei knelt and bowed his head to the ground.

"I am Genpei, a warrior from the countryside. I have trained my body and practiced martial arts day and night, hoping only to enter the emperor's service."

One mounted warrior returned to the emperor's palanquin to report.

Someone lifted the palanquin's gauze curtain, and a man with a heavily powdered face poked his head out.

The man took a bite of the apple in his hand and muttered,

"Another person wants to serve me? How annoying!"

The mounted warrior lowered his head and reported,

"Your Majesty, the man carries himself well. His armor and sword are of fine quality, and he is unusually tall. I doubt he is an ordinary wandering warrior."

The emperor asked, "Is he a noble?"

The mounted warrior rode back to Genpei and asked,

"His Majesty wants to know: are you a noble?"

Genpei said, "My lord, I am only a wandering warrior, but one of my ancestors once held the rank of great general."

The mounted warrior returned to the emperor and reported,

"Your Majesty, he claims an ancestor of his was once a great general."