The next days were not peaceful for Mai.

Everyone who had witnessed her duel with Wang Hao wanted to be friends with her, and she was sure it wasn't because she had defeated him. She had helped soldiers who were suffering from minor illnesses, which she fixed with The Finger System. She was afraid of overusing it and experiencing side effects, but fortunately, God had heard her prayers because today everyone was to greet the emperor, who had returned from a long expedition. Or rather, the emperor was to see everyone from the military after his inspection, which had taken place a few days ago. Mai had never seen him before and was nervous and excited at the same time.

"How does he look? Is he handsome?"

She suddenly remembered that she must avoid making eye contact with the emperor because it was seen as imposing. She put on her imperial army uniform, consisting of a black robe, tied her hair up in a tight bun, and put in a golden hairpin. According to Imperial Physician Liang Gu, the hairpin indicated her status.

"Today, the Grand Inspector is coming too, whom I have never seen before."

He belonged to the Investigation Bureau, which solved mysteries and crimes in the Thousand Blossom City. It was the highest rank after a General. The title made the person sound like a grand master in martial arts, so Mai wondered if he was an old man.

She was 158 cm tall, slender, and petite. Her skin was fair, and compared to the other dark-skinned women, she looked like a corpse.

One must not appear dirty in front of the emperor, so she had to skip her homemade "poor-ass" makeup.

"It's surprising that no one has discovered my identity yet."

The enormous imperial square had a large white staircase, and at the top was a huge palace adorned with golden dragons and beautiful decorations. The entire square was filled with people, and from above, they would look like ants. Everyone stood in their respective sections in their colorful clothes indicating where they belonged. The ministers were dressed in red, the imperial army in black, the doctors in dark green, and there were palace maids and attendants in white and pink clothes.

Mai stood with her section of imperial soldiers, and because she was in Unit 1, which was the elite, she had to stand with them. She felt out of place, but it was only for today that she had to be here, so it would be fine. In the past years, she had not been asked to attend formal events. It was as if she didn't exist. She wondered why she had to show up now.

"Behold, His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Xiao Jinling has arrived!"

It was a loud and clear voice belonging to a eunuch that everyone heard, and everyone bowed, their gazes focusing on the white stones of the imperial square.

Mai was nervous and took deep breaths to avoid getting too tense. Her hands were sweating profusely, and it was mid-morning with the sun beating down on them. There were good and bad emperors, so she hoped that the one in front of her was the good one. She heard footsteps approaching from the right side and held her breath.

Emperor Jinling walked past her, but suddenly he sniffed the air and stopped. He turned his head to the left side and caught sight of Mai.

"What is your name, soldier?" he suddenly asked in a loud and cold voice.

Mai didn't think he was talking to her and didn't respond.

It was completely silent.

Suddenly, an officer walked up to her and stood in front of her.

"The Emperor is speaking to you, soldier."

"Tuo Lian is my name, Your Majesty." Mai immediately replied, still focused on the square.

"You have been a diligent soldier and have done your job well. As a reward, I have transferred you to the Investigation Bureau today." Emperor Jinling said.

His words made Mai's heart skip a beat. What the fuck?! She didn't want to go there. That's where they solved murder cases. She felt irritated and felt a knot in her heart.

"Your Majesty is generous." she said in a loud and clear voice.

Emperor Jinling nodded, and a satisfied smile spread across his lips. He moved on, sniffing the air in front of him and casting one last glance at Mai before focusing ahead again.

When the ceremony was over, Mai went to the Investigation Bureau, which was close to the military base, in the building to the right of it.

She stared at a door to a large room and muttered, "What the hell am I supposed to do here?"

Why had the emperor sent her here?

"Is it because of the incident with Wang Hao?"

"It reminds me I haven't seen Brother Wang Hao these days even though he promised to be my bodyguard. So he wouldn't be my friend anyway."

Was it too much she had asked about?

She knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in." said a crisp male voice.

Mai opened the door cautiously and walked in to see a very handsome young man sitting at a table scribbling something down. He wore a plain white robe, and his hair was tied up in a bun with a black hairpin. He was tall and slender, resembling a bishounen taken out of a manga. His eyes were dark with a turquoise and purple glow, emitting something mysterious.

She cleared her throat, formed a fist in salute, and bowed. "Esteemed Grand Inspector Lin. Tuo Lian is at your service."

Grand Inspector Lin suddenly stopped writing and looked up at her. His eyes slowly widened, and he studied her carefully.

"Are you Tuo Lian? How old are you? You look very young and small." he said in a curious tone.

"I am 33 years old and will be 34 soon, Grand Inspector." Mai replied, focusing her gaze on the dark brown wooden table.

Grand Inspector Lin suddenly stood up and walked over to her, now standing in front of her. Mai could suddenly smell his scent, which was fresh and reminded her of nature. She felt comfortable, and her heart beat faster. She had only been around sweaty men, so it was strange and nice to meet someone who wasn't part of the military.

"You are slender, petite, and short. Just like a woman." he suddenly said in a playful tone, moving closer to her so that her nose almost touched his chest.

Mai was surprised, and reflexively she took a step back. Is he trying to intimidate me? It did work!

"Let me remind you that there are also men with feminine traits, Grand Inspector." she said in a low voice.

She suddenly regretted her words and hoped he wouldn't punish her.

Me and my big mouth!

"Really? It's limited how feminine they can look. Look at me." he said suddenly.

Mai slowly shifted her gaze upward, making eye contact with him. She was met with a flawlessly masculine face and was completely captivated. She swallowed a lump of saliva, and suddenly, the temperature felt very hot. There was a strong scent of fresh nature that made her heart dance. He smells so good!

Grand Inspector Lin studied her carefully, and suddenly his gaze fell on her chest where some of the white bandage was sticking out.

He blinked and asked, "Have you been out in the field recently?"

"No, I have never been out in the field, Grand Inspector." she replied immediately.

"Okay, come over here. Stop using titles when you are with me. It sounds silly coming from you. When you speak, it sounds like you're trying too hard in a fake way." Inspector Lin said and walked over to the table.

Mai followed and spotted a drawing of an animal resembling a crocodile or a Komodo dragon.

"There have been some strange cases of animals attacking people and their crops, and I can't figure out if they are attracted to something in the crops." Inspector Lin said, putting her to work searching for things in the texts that made sense.

Mai was placed to his left, which made her nervous because they were sitting so close to each other. Their elbows almost touched, and she wondered why they had to sit so close together.

She loved specific types of animals and oddly enough had always feared a Komodo dragon because she had heard that their bite caused tissue injury. A Komodo dragon wouldn't be interested in crops, and those she knew only lived on Indonesian islands and other places that weren't China. Is this really ancient China?

"A Komodo dragon usually lives by itself and isn't interested in humans since they are already carnivores. They have no reason to destroy crops or attack people.” she said.

She looked at Inspector Lin and asked, "Is it one that has existed in the country, or has someone brought it here from outside?"

"We believe they come from the Srivijaya Empire or thereabouts." he replied, leaning on his right arm on the table as he looked at her.

If Mai remembered correctly, the Srivijaya Empire was modern Indonesia, consisting of many islands.

"Either the Komodo dragon is real or it's fake. Are you sure it attacks people?"

"It has attacked and eaten villagers and has taken babies. It is a plague, and there are several of them." Inspector Lin replied, looking worried.

"I assume you've already sent hunters out to catch them but without success," said Mai, thinking that a ninja warrior or something similar would fix their problem. "I'm an amateur at this and have no idea how to solve the tasks."

"You're doing fine on your first day, Luo Tian. That's your real name, isn't it?" Inspector Lin said in a playful tone, looking deep into her eyes.

She furrowed her brows and replied, "What else would I be called? King Carrot?"

He blinked and suddenly chuckled loudly. "Where did you get that from? I've never heard that saying before."

"It's just a proverb my master taught me." Mai replied, suddenly reminded of her master, and missing him.

Her heart ached, and she sighed deeply.

She continued to look through all the papers, but there was simply something that didn't make sense. A Komodo dragon wouldn't attack crops when it was a carnivore, and it wouldn't seek revenge because they stuck to their own territory.

Several hours later, Mai finished her work and was sent home. She was asked to come back the next day.

That evening, she lay in her bed and touched her right elbow. She could still feel Inspector Lin's elbow and smell his scent. When she pictured his face, her heart beat faster, and her body felt hot.

Do I stand a chance with him?

Suddenly, she remembered her situation and felt a tingling sensation in her stomach and pain in her heart.

"He's probably already married and has children."

She sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

She hugged her pillow and mumbled, "He's handsome and strong and has status. It would be strange if he didn't have a wife."

But that didn't mean she couldn't dream about him. Dreams were harmless.