Two weeks before Fu Anwen's fifth birthday, deep below the Royal Pace, Fu Jianlong, king of the Fu Kingdom, was seated naked in the lotus position in the middle of a dark, pin stone room. The only illumination came from the gentle glow cast by a small Luminous Pearl set into the ceiling.
Subtle vibrations could be felt emanating from the king's body as he practiced his Internal Energy art.
Murong Xinyi, the personal guard of Fu Anwen and former concubine Fu Qingyu, was kneeling at the edge of the room, ready to give her monthly report to the king.
The room was completely silent. Oddly, no door or other entrance to the room could be seen.
The king soon broke the silence. "How are the preparations for my son's fifth birthday going?"
"All tasks have been accomplished successfully, your highness. Bck Three, disguised as an ordinary vendor, sold the Queen Mother's personal guqin to one of Fu Qingyu's maidservants. Its origins are still unknown to them."
"Very good."
Fu Jianlong's muscles began vibrating with increasing intensity. A loud crackling sound, simir to fat popping on a stove, began erupting all over his body as his muscles could be seen shrinking at a visible speed.
The king quickly removed a pill from the pouch hanging at his waist and swallowed it.
Within seconds, steam began rising from his rapidly reddening skin. His muscles slowly began to expand, eventually returning to their former size. Thick and viscous spots of bckish-red began to dot the king's bare skin as highly refined and wasted blood and other filth oozed from the king's pores.
After a few minutes, his body cooled and his appearance returned to normal, aside from the thick coating of foul-smelling blood and putrid flesh now covering his skin.
A strong pulse of power erupted from the king, which dispersed the filth covering his body and sent it flying all over the room.
"And the precious herbs and medicines?" the king asked, not mentioning what had just happened.
"..."
The bck-cd guard was stunned silent for a moment before regaining her focus and continuing.
"They have all been secretly fed to your son, sire. There have been no changes in his circumstances, however."
"How curious," the king replied before sinking into thought. He was silent for a short while before ordering, "Cut off the supply of heavenly materials for now. Let me know immediately if there's a significant change in his health."
"Yes, your majesty."
The king continued his cultivation. Once more, he underwent the cycle of refining energy from his blood and muscle, taking a pill to rapidly recover, and expelling the filth left behind after practicing his Internal Energy art.
Another pulse of power soon sent a spray of putrid blood and flesh throughout the room.
"That's all for now," the king spoke in dismissal.
"..."
"Yes, your majesty."
Murong Xinyi turned around and pressed the palm of her right hand against an ordinary looking stone near the edge of the floor, which caused a section of the wall to slowly slide away. After she entered the dark hallway beyond, the wall behind her slowly slid back into pce.
Inside the room, the king silently continued refining his internal energy.
~-o-O-o-~
Murong Xinyi quickly headed toward one of the pace's rear exits. She wanted to return immediately to her duty as the ex-consort's guard, but she very badly needed to take a bath first.
She reached up and touched her hair, which was now, along with her brand new outfit, absolutely coated in the nasty, smelly, sticky blood and fleshy bits the king had thoughtlessly spttered all over the room.
Twice!
'Why did I have to stay there for that second bst of filth? That was completely unnecessary!' she screamed inside.
'Just wait, you jackass. I'll get my revenge soon enough,' she thought, smiling wickedly.
'When I get done with your precious Qing'er...'
Murong Xinyi could vividly imagine the king's reaction.
'You'll want to kill me, won't you, you jerk?'
'Ha ha ha ha!'
'Too bad, it'll be far too te by then!'
Laughing crazily inside, the stinky guard hurriedly ran off toward the nearest pond.
