Genpei Drinks the Jade Wine

Dawn gradually broke. Snow had fallen all night, leaving a thick layer on the ground.

Despite the cold, the people of Kyoto were fired up. Today, every monster on Peach Blossom Mountain would be put to death.

More than three thousand elite warriors had assembled at the Barbican. Once Lord Genpei, the bravest man in the land, arrived, they would march on Peach Blossom Mountain.

Meanwhile, in a garden at the Emperor's Palace, stood a huge snowman.

Its eyes suddenly opened and darted around, surveying the area.

Damn it! Why are there so many guards?!

Li Qinwu cursed inwardly. He was too big to find anywhere to hide, so when it snowed the night before, he had piled snow over himself and become a snowman.

Fortunately, he was sturdy, with a furnace burning in his core. Neither heat nor cold bothered him, and he had spent the entire night cosplaying as a snowman without the slightest discomfort.

Li Qinwu had figured that once Genpei led his troops out that morning, all of Kyoto's attention would turn to the battlefield.

The emperor might even go up on the city wall to watch. If so, the guards in the Emperor's Palace would have to accompany him.

With the palace left thinly guarded, Li Qinwu would have a chance to sneak into the Tenshukaku and uncover its secrets.

But dawn had come, and Genpei had probably already marched out. Yet the guards in the Emperor's Palace had increased rather than decreased. There was a sentry every ten paces, with patrolling warriors everywhere.

Li Qinwu was baffled. What the hell is the emperor playing at?

They're about to march out and kill the Big Monster. Why leave so many troops guarding his own home?

*Shouldn't he be throwing every available man into the fight?