A great bird flew across the sky, soaring straight into the clouds.
Wisps of smoke and faint lamplight began to glow as the high-hanging sun slowly sank below the horizon, disappearing between the mountains and plains.
The lingering clouds seemed dyed with rich colors, like yellow ink splashed across the sky. The glow between the cloud layers pierced through the mist, shining down on the streets beneath the towering city walls and grand archways.
It also illuminated the dazzling golden palace gates, casting a touch of dusk and a lingering sense of decay over the scene.
Pedestrians hurried along, carriages and horses pressed forward without pause, and no one dared to linger. Black-armored soldiers wielding knives and axes marched with heavy steps down the streets.
From the alleys, ornate carriages emerged from lavish mansions, moving with urgency. One after another, they gathered and sped along the stone-paved roads.
Without exception, they all headed toward the solemn, ancient palace at the city's heart, encircled by rivers.
A sudden thunderclap roared from the distance. Dark clouds rolled in like a surging black tide, heavy with the promise of rain and a deep, mournful weight.
Tiny raindrops fell amid the howling thunder, wetting the green stone roads. Gradually, the rain mixed with dust, forming layers of mud.
This wasn't just rain. It was a moment that would determine the fate of countless lives, steeped in uncertainty and turmoil.
Rainwater dripped from the eaves, falling onto flowers in costly pots, creating a steady drip-drip as it struck the leaves. Yet it couldn't mask the stench of medicine and rot lingering in the air.
Beneath pillars carved with five mythical beasts and dragon motifs, alongside leaping koi fish, stood exquisite porcelain works crafted by master artisans of the fallen dynasty. Now, they were mere ornaments. Under the red-lacquered railings, designs of dragons and phoenixes soared in flight.
The red paint on the wooden walls, weathered by time, carried the heavy scent of age and a faint rustic charm.
The main gate faced south, grand and radiant, but now it stood slightly ajar. The wind rustled the light silk curtains by the screen, producing a soft swishing sound.
Oil lamps flickered within their covers, casting shadows that resembled man-eating beasts onto a group of people kneeling on the floor, hardly daring to breathe.
The candlelight danced, the silk swayed, rain poured outside, and inside reigned a deathly silence.
It was eerily quiet. So quiet that the fall of a needle would ring clear. Yet no one dared make a sound.
"Cough…"
After an unknowable stretch of time, a few faint coughs broke the stillness from deeper within, injecting a trace of life into the lifeless palace.
But it only made the kneeling figures shrink lower, as if those coughs had shattered their spirits. Their backs bent further, their heads dipped deeper.
The founding emperor of the Bright Hua was wise and mighty, a brilliant strategist. With a three-foot sword, he conquered the world, unified all lands, and forged an unrivaled legacy for eternity.
Yet even he couldn't escape time, couldn't halt decay, couldn't defy death.
As long as he drew breath, he remained the sole sovereign of this vast empire, the supreme shepherd of the world, the Son of Heaven chosen by destiny.
"Haah…"
A long sigh escaped from the lavish dragon bed, brimming with reluctance to age and a deep yearning for the power he couldn't release.
"…If only I could cultivate immortality, how wondrous that would be…"
But he knew the world wouldn't abide an immortal emperor, nor would the heavens permit an eternal ruler.
And he harbored no regrets for this path. Becoming an emperor who grasped the lives of all beneath the heavens, wielding the fates of billions. Given another chance, he'd still choose dominion over wandering free.
"…Summon Kai."
The emperor, his face wrinkled, pale as parchment, hair and beard white, features buried in folds of skin, eyes clouded, suddenly sharpened his gaze. His voice surged with strength.
An aged eunuch waiting by the door stepped lightly over the threshold and glided across the carpeted hall without a sound. He reached the dragon bed swiftly, knelt in silence, and performed a full kowtow nine times, pressing his forehead to the floor, motionless.
"For me… go do something…"
The emperor spoke faintly but with clarity, his tiger-like eyes gleaming, impossible to meet head-on.
It almost recalled his youthful vigor, though all knew this was merely the final flare before the end. The emperor who once reigned supreme wouldn't outlast the night.
"This servant obeys."
Kai's voice quavered, nearly breaking into sobs. After listening, he slid backward across the floor, head bowed, until the dragon bed reeking of medicine and decay faded from view. Then he rose.
"Go… I won't last much longer."
The emperor's tone was calm.
Kai staggered as if struck, trembling violently. He drew a deep breath, steadied himself, and hastened off with a few eunuchs and loyal armed guards toward the depths of the palace's Yong Row.
Yong Row was where aged palace maids and eunuchs were cast aside. Those over forty, stripped of favor or rank, ended up there.
Some could leave after their service and return home, but most perished in the cold, shadowed alleys, forgotten like dead rats. Only when the stench of their corpses grew unbearable would guards drag them out for burial.
Kai didn't know why the emperor sent him to Yong Row or what the final command entailed. He only knew this was the last act he could perform as the emperor's servant.
Stepping through sewage and filth, Kai grimaced and sought the row's overseer. Looking at the bowing eunuch, he asked, "Is there a eunuch surnamed Li in Yong Row?"
"Lord Kai, there are countless eunuchs named Li in the palace. Even though I'm surnamed Li. This… it's hard for me to say."
The overseer smiled awkwardly, unease creeping in. Yong Row was a dumping ground for discarded servants. Why was the emperor's chief eunuch here?
He only hoped trouble wouldn't ensnare him.
"Named…" Kai frowned. Truthfully, he didn't know. The emperor had ordered him to kill a eunuch surnamed Li in Yong Row, but no specific name was given.
Did that mean he shouldn't kill?
No. This was the emperor's dying wish. As a servant, Kai had to fulfill it.
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. He signaled his men and fixed his gaze on the overseer. "You said you're surnamed Li too?"
The overseer blinked, puzzled. What was this chief eunuch planning? Still, he bowed and answered truthfully, "Yes, I am surnamed Li."
"Li's good enough."
Those were the overseer's final words. A sharp pain struck his neck, the world spun, and darkness swallowed him.
Blood gushed from his severed neck. His head, still bearing a fawning expression mixed with shock, rolled like a ball across the ground. His body twitched a few times before collapsing, blood pooling and staining the mossy bricks.
"Lord!"
The guard who beheaded the overseer turned to Kai.
"Leave no one alive," Kai said coldly. "This is the emperor's will."
The guards didn't hesitate. They drew their swords and stepped silently into Yong Row.
"What are you doing?!"
"Don't kill me!!"
"Help! Help!!!"
"I'm innocent! No!!"
Cries and the sound of blades slicing flesh reverberated.
Deep in Yong Row, in a rotting room reeking of excrement and urine, an old eunuch lay on a bed. His clothes were tattered, his skin festered, his hair was white, and his body was mottled with corpse-like spots. Thin as dry wood, he appeared over seventy, teetering on death's edge.
The bed was broken, the bedding soaked in filth. One leg jutted out, as if he were already half-departed.
"Killing… they're killing?"
Hearing the screams outside, the old eunuch clutched his ragged blanket, trembling and whimpering, "Wuu… I don't want to die, I don't want to die!"
[Don't bother, you're dead anyway.] A voice echoed in his mind.
"Please, spare me! Spare me!" Tears and snot streamed down his filthy, unwashed face.
"Why? Why? I didn't do anything. Why do I have to suffer and die?"
[Why? Yeah, why…] The voice grew clearer.
[Why are you dying? You want to know why? Because…] The voice sharpened, turning wild, almost unhinged.
[Because that old bastard Ming is dying! He's finally dying!]
[Hahahahahaha! Laughing my ass off!]
[That Ming who said we'd be brothers, who said we'd return to Earth together. Bright Hua's founding emperor, the wise and mighty eternal ruler, the great emperor. He's dying!]
[Hahahahahaha… he's got his day too! Wasn't he so badass?]
[I helped you build this empire, just wanting to go back, and this is what I get? I was blind, I deserved it! Two time-travelers, only one survives. I was too naive… See this? Trapped in this useless body for thirty years! Over thirty damn years!]
[Afraid my soul would escape, he locked me in this wreck of a body. Now I'm about to fade away completely, but guess what. You're still dying before me!]
[Hahahahahaha…]
"Wuu…" The old eunuch shook harder, terrified by the mad voice in his head.
[Old eunuch… don't worry, I'm dying too. Soul scattering, gone for good. I won't bother you anymore.]
After the crazed laughter, the voice softened, taking on a gentleness it had never shown before.
[But now, I don't want you to die.]
[I want you to live. Live well… then go fuck Ming's descendants. Fuck his daughters and granddaughters, knock them up, put a giant green hat on his lineage, let them bear your bastards, and piss on his grave.]
"Wuu… it hurts!"
"So hot!! It hurts so bad!! Wuu…"
The old eunuch sobbed, feeling a burning heat in his lower belly, so intense he rolled on the bed in agony.
His dick, cut off its balls long ago, old and limp, suddenly swelled like a balloon. It grew into a fiery hot sausage, standing tall, ripping through his filthy pants like an angry dragon.
Veins bulge on it, wrapping around the shaft. It stretched to a jaw-dropping size. 28 or 29 centimeters, maybe even over 30, and 7 or 8 centimeters thick. The head ballooned to a terrifying 10 centimeters wide, like a giant python spitting in the forest.
The castration scar stayed unchanged, making it look like a clawless, ridiculous beast.
After a while, the monstrous cock softened, shrinking back between his legs. Even limp, it was huge. 15 or 16 centimeters long, hanging between his wrinkled, bony thighs like a third leg.
[There. In a month or so, your balls will grow back. Then you can shoot as much as you want. Too much, never too little…] The voice sounded tired and weak.
[As for how you survive… heh!]
It turned mocking and bitter.
[Ming, didn't you look down on me? Then why… Why do you let your descendants practice my dao techniques?]
The voice faded until it was gone.