In the deep courtyard of Ren's mansion, a stunningly beautiful girl stood gracefully, watching the misty rain and the faint fish in the pond. Her eyes were clear and bright like the moon.
She wore a white dress, pure as the moon in the sky.
A breeze blew, lifting her skirt, revealing a glimpse of her snow-white legs, whiter than finely carved jade.
Qing frowned slightly, her face delicate and gorgeous yet gentle and calm. Her cool eyes gazed into the distance, her long hair fluttering with a white ribbon, exuding natural immortal charm.
Her full boobs rose and fell slightly, as if she had something on her mind.
Qing did have worries, but not worldly ones.
She was naturally serene, like the moon, calm and pure, or like a clear stream in rugged mountains.
She didn't care about mundane things or her father's obsession with the throne.
She thought of the high clouds above the ninth heaven, the mystic dao beyond the sky.
*The Xian Scripture.* Qing's lovely eyes stared at the pond, but her mind recalled her master's words when she left the mountain.
"This *Xian Scripture* is profound and complex. Its creator was a genius who once shook the world… Though it strays from tradition, it points straight to the dao. A pity…"
The emperor had given her the *Xian Scripture* when she left for the Xian Sect. She remembered him then, still in his prime, handing it over while an old advisor hesitated nearby.
And the emperor, Ming, had said with bold confidence, "He was never my match, even till death. My descendants using his dao is an honor to him."
Even the sect elders praised the scripture's creator, yet sighed with regret.
But why they sighed, most wouldn't say, as if it was taboo.
Qing came back this time partly on sect orders and for training, but also to ask her grandfather about it.
Sadly, she'd visited him a few times, and he was either unconscious or too weak to talk.
"Sister! Sister!"
Before she could think more, a sweet, bell-like voice called from outside the pavilion.
Qing's calm face turned helpless, but with a doting warmth.
She turned to see a petite figure hopping toward her.
"Oof, little princess! Slow down, slow down!"
Behind the girl came the pleading, coaxing voice of an old nanny.
This was Li, Ren's youngest daughter.
Unlike her older sister, the lofty moon standing apart, Li was small but curvy. Her boobs were like bamboo shoots or shy lotus buds, her waist slimmer than a willow.
Her pretty face was like the summer sun, brows tinged with peach-blossom red, cheeks like apricots, lips cherry-red. Her almond eyes sparkled, fresh and shy like spring shoots after rain.
She threw herself into Qing's arms, rubbing her pink face against her sister's full boobs, making Qing giggle from the tickling.
Her snowy neck showed creamy skin, and her cleavage peeked out now and then, a fleeting glimpse that could mesmerize anyone.
The sisters laughed and played, one tall, one small, their beauty and innocence a sight unseen by outsiders, only the old nannies watched, a pity no one else could.
After a while, Qing pushed her little sister off, smoothed their wrinkled dresses, and said, "Li, no lessons today? Why're you here?"
At the mention of lessons, Li's flower-like smile faded. Her sly eyes darted, twinkling like a sneaky fox. "Forget that for now, sister! Sister!"
"Brother Feng's here."
Brother Feng?
Feng.
Qing's eyes drifted, picturing that stubborn boy with pursed lips and determined eyes.
In her months of training off the mountain, she'd met him several times, each leaving a mark.
Whether fighting five alone at the Tomb of the Scattered Immortal without losing, or sweeping thousands of demon troops single-handedly in Sky Rift Valley like an unmatched warrior…
But her deepest memory was atop the Lunar Tower under the moonlight, when Feng said, "Cultivating immortality isn't freedom, gods aren't carefree, better to go home and shovel shit."
Free-spirited, loyal, casual yet principled, not a hero by name but always acting like one.
That was Qing's impression of Feng.
"What's he here for?" she asked casually, though her moon-like eyes rippled like water.
At Feng's name, Li perked up. "Brother Feng's great at alchemy! He can make that lost… uh, what's it called… Innate Return… something…"
"Innate Return Origin Pill," Qing filled in.
"Right, right! Innate Return Origin Pill."
Li nodded. "Father made a deal with him, give him materials to make one. It can heal Marshal Jun's old wound. If Marshal Jun sides with Father, uh… helps him, right?"
Though of age and sharp-witted, Li wasn't versed in politics, thanks to Ren's doting. In a normal family, she'd already be a mother running the house.
But now was a critical time. The capital's officials and factions were locked in struggle, one side rising as another fell. Only Qing and Li could still laugh carefree here, outside, the storm was brewing.
Marshal Jun, a founding hero and one of the last, held huge sway among the military nobles. His choice could shift the tide. If he backed Ren, Ren's claim to the throne would be nearly certain, unless the emperor's will said otherwise.
*Feng, I owe you one,* Qing thought with a sigh.
But then, her heart stirred. The wall blocking her cultivation, unmoved for so long, loosened.
"A breakthrough!"
Her aura shifted, turning cold and striking. She became the lofty moon again, her eyes sharp and commanding.
"Sister!" Li said, worried by her change.
"It's fine. My chance has come."
Qing's voice was like the moon on a cold night, so awe-inspiring the nannies knelt instinctively, bowing to this proud, pure light.
"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.