Encountering the Dragon (Part 2)

"Dragon Lord awakening, Heaven bestowing blessings? Such—such a tremendous event, and no one noticed it in advance?"

Who had said the Dragon Maiden was young and not worth worrying about? Clearly, Heaven had already acknowledged her!

Having discovered such a momentous matter, how could the Daoist continue refining pills in peace?

"You two guard the pill furnace here. No one is to approach, whoever they are. Understood?" After giving this order, the Daoist quickly left the great hall.

There was still quite a distance from here to the palace where the Emperor resided.

Because he carried a special waist token, the patrolling guards he encountered along the way let him pass without question. Yet when he reached the Emperor's bedchamber, he was stopped by the chief eunuch on duty that day.

This chief eunuch had some standing before the Emperor. Not yet thirty, he looked mild-mannered and upright, every inch the face of a good man.

Faced with the Daoist's request, he merely smiled and said, "Huo True Person, I could help you with other matters, but it is the dead of night, and His Majesty has only just fallen asleep... Please, do not make things difficult for me. In another hour and a half, it will be time for court. When that time comes, whatever you need to report can be presented to His Majesty. It will not make much difference, will it?"

The Daoist frowned. "This concerns the safety of the realm and cannot be delayed. I ask that you immediately enter and report it. If we wait another hour, I fear it will be too late."

But the eunuch did not listen at all. Ministers loved crying wolf, and he had heard claims even more exaggerated than this. If everyone refused to tell him anything and simply