"In the palace!"
She stepped forward, the pond rippled, and her figure vanished.
"Sister…"
Li frowned with concern.
"Who's there?"
"Daring to trespass in the palace!"
From the void, stern voices laced with power rang out. In this tense time, the palace's guardians were on high alert.
"Qing of Bright Hua!"
High above the palace, her moon-like presence shone, her aura clear. She flashed the emperor's personal pass.
The palace's terrifying auras paused, sensing the dragon qi on the token. With no rejection from Bright Hua's dragon qi, they faded back.
In Yong Row, the outer eunuchs and maids were all slaughtered. Blood flowed like rivers, bodies piled up, sprawled in rooms or against walls, faces twisted in horror.
Guards surrounded a rotting shack, eyeing each other warily.
It stank too much.
Like decades of shit, piss, and garbage stewing together. Even ten meters away, the guards felt last night's meal rising.
Kai walked past the walls, where red paint mixed with blood. His sharp, grim eyes checked every corpse, satisfied only after seeing each one.
Reaching the guards, he saw them circling the shack but not entering. "What's this? Why aren't you going in to kill?"
"Lord Kai, it's not that we don't want to… it's just too damn smelly."
Kai stepped closer, and the stench hit him like a wall. The pampered eunuch puked on the spot, and guards yanked him back dozens of feet.
He retched until his guts felt empty, then gritted his teeth and pointed at a guard. "You, drag him out. I want to see him die!"
"Huh?" The guard froze, face twisting. He couldn't disobey, so he tore off cloth, stuffed his nose, and charged in under everyone's gaze.
Inside, his eyes watered instantly. The smell was unbearable, outside was bad, but here it blinded him with tears. Squinting, he spotted Elder shivering on the wrecked bed, dirtier than the filthiest beggar. Fighting the urge to puke, he grabbed him.
"Don't kill me, don't kill me!"
The guard yanked the struggling eunuch, catching a glimpse of his torn pants. Even soft, that cock was massive, bigger than most men's, enough to spark jealousy.
*Damn, good thing he's a eunuch!* The guard envied it for a second, then saw the empty sack below that python-like dick and felt better.
He dragged Elder out and threw him before the group.
"Ugh!"
The source of the stench arrived, and the guards turned away, some gagging. Kai, already emptied, puked again until he was dizzy, seeing stars.
Shaking his head to clear it, he didn't even glance at Elder. Waving a hand, he shouted, "Kill him!"
The guard, stomach churning, raised his sword to hack the skeletal eunuch.
"Stop!!"
A cold voice cut through, and an unstoppable force knocked the sword away.
The group snapped back to see a girl in white, skirt fluttering.
Her inner white robe hugged her full boobs subtly, their perfection clear through the fabric. Her tall, slim figure was flawless, waist trembling slightly, hips round and balanced, legs long and straight. A breeze lifted her skirt, showing jade-white calves that dazzled.
Qing frowned at the blood and bodies around her, like clouds dimming the moon, half-annoyed, half-charming.
Even the stopped guard stared, reluctant to ruin her beauty.
"Princess Qing!"
Kai reacted first.
As the emperor's beloved granddaughter and Ren's eldest, she'd visited the palace often lately. How could he not know her? He stood with help, bowed, and didn't ask why she stopped them or explain the killings. He just stated a fact.
"Princess, this is His Majesty's order. Even you can't interfere. Let this old servant finish his last task for him. I'll take the blame after."
But Qing didn't look at him. Her moon-like eyes gazed past the palace lanes, filled with unshakable sorrow.
*Dong! Dong! Dong…*
Heavy bells tolled, mixed with cries and wails from the palace. The timekeeping eunuch struck the bell tower nine times.
In Bright Hua's rites: one toll for time, two for an emperor's summons, three for court, four for seasons, five for ceremonies, six for an empress's death, seven for military affairs, eight for national crisis.
Nine tolls, the emperor's death.
Bright Hua's founding emperor, the supreme ruler, the victorious time-traveler, was gone.
Kai's face turned ashen, and he collapsed.
—
[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 calmed, even softened in a way it never had 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…"
Elder sobbed, feeling a burning heat in his lower belly, so intense he rolled on the bed in pain.
His dick, cut of 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 bulged 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.
—
Last month, when news of the emperor's sudden illness spread from the palace, it reached the princes and grandchildren scattered across the land. Some spies had already leaked that the emperor's sickness lingered.
Especially the few princes who seemed calm on the surface but fought to the death underneath, they'd long been ready. All sides moved their pieces, placing bets and making plays.
The emperor had seventeen sons, but only three had the background and hope to claim the throne. The rest were too young, already out of the game, locked up, or sent to distant lands.
One was Ren, the fourth son. Mature and steady, deeply cunning, he kept a low profile. Respectful to the emperor, flawless with officials, sometimes even overly ordinary.
One was Tao, the ninth son. Known for his literary grace, he had a great reputation among scholars and the common folk, with influence in culture and politics.
The last was Zan, the twelfth son. Young and bold, fiery-tempered, free-spirited, and ruthless, he had a heroic air. His mother's clan was powerful, and he had the army's loudest support.
Qing, Ren's eldest daughter, was sent to an immortal sect as a child to train. A direct disciple of the Xian Sect, she had rare talent, some said she had the makings of an immortal. It also tied Ren to the righteous immortal sects, a hidden alliance.
She returned to the capital this time for two reasons: to visit her dying grandfather, the emperor, and to show which prince the immortal sects backed, making the final move.
Ren had such power and support behind his quiet facade, it shocked everyone.
Sure enough, the immortal sects' stance shook the court. Zan gritted his teeth in rage at home, and even the usually composed Tao sighed and shook his head.
This wasn't just a mortal world, it was a real one with immortals wielding incredible power. The sects' support mattered hugely, no wonder the other princes lost it.
After over a decade away, Qing became a star among the capital's noble ladies. As a high-level cultivator, she gained a mysterious allure that obsessed people.
But for days, aside from a few public appearances, she stayed silent in Ren's mansion. Only a handful saw her; others couldn't even get close.