Función clerical

Capítulo 52

Seeing Shen Zhili's increasingly dark and volatile face, Su Chenche composed himself, brushed aside Shen Zhili's hair with his finger, and said softly, "You've only slept for an hour. Your senior brother hasn't been found yet, but judging from the speed of the tunnel excavation, it should be completed in at most another half hour... Moreover, the person we captured in the Southern Border Palace knows the path to the Southern Border tunnel, so he should be able to lead the way to your senior brother quickly. So, Zhili, don't worry."

Shen Zhili lowered his head, his brows furrowing even more deeply: "One hour..."

An hour is enough for Hua Jiuye to go through several near-death experiences...

Su Chenche grasped Shen Zhili's hand, his voice gentle: "There's no use in worrying now. If the King of Southern Xinjiang wanted to kill your senior brother, he's already dead... Besides, his biggest reliance right now is your senior brother, so why would he kill him so quickly?"

His hands were dry and warm, and his steady voice brought a sense of reassurance without us even realizing it.

The room was comfortable and clean, with two newly opened peach blossoms in a vase, their faint fragrance gently spreading and soothing the soul.

After a long while, Shen Zhili looked up and stared at Su Chenche, saying, "Thank you... thank you for coming to save me, thank you for everything you've done for me."

Su Chenche raised an eyebrow: "...Why are you suddenly thanking me?"

Shen Zhili: "It's nothing... I should have thanked you, no matter what your reason was. After all, you helped me, and you've helped me so many times... so many times that I don't even know how to repay you..." Her voice grew softer and softer, somewhat sour, and more so, at a loss.

Do you want to pay me back?

Stroking Shen Zhili's smooth cheek, Su Chenche asked gently.

Shen Zhili nodded.

Su Chenche: "...Actually, all of this was done voluntarily, whether it was saving you, helping you, or anything else, so it doesn't matter whether you pay it back or not..."

Shen Zhili pursed her lips.

"...Is this what you wanted to hear me say?" Su Chenche paused. "You already know what I want..."

Shen Zhili blinked, looked away, and didn't know how to answer.

From the very first time they met, Su Chenche had made it clear to her.

He likes her.

So what do you want...?

Su Chenche turned Shen Zhili's head back, his amber eyes looking at her gently. He pressed his forehead against Shen Zhili's, not giving her any room to escape: "Zhili, how about I trade these for a special privilege?"

At such close range, Shen Zhili could even see Su Chenche's long, thick eyelashes, which trembled open as if brushing against her heart.

She instinctively asked, "What?"

Su Chenche said earnestly, "No matter what happens, under what circumstances, please don't tell me to get lost, okay?"

His eyes reflected her image, like a gentle wave that stirred his heart, waiting only for her reply before rippling outwards.

Shen Zhili was swayed and whispered, "Okay, I agree."

Su Chenche smiled, the smile gradually spreading across his face, making him look infinitely beautiful.

Unfortunately, this kind of beauty is destined to be short-lived...

With that smile on his face, Su Chenche put an arm around Shen Zhili's waist, brought his clean little face close to hers, and innocently blinked, saying, "Zhili...can I kiss you?"

Shen Zhili: "No!" ==|||

Su Chenche: "Auntie said that when a girl says no, it means yes..." He smiled and said, "Then I won't be polite!"

Seeing someone getting closer and closer, Shen Zhili struggled: "Get out..." She suddenly paused.

In that instant, Su Chenche pressed his lips to Shen Zhili's.

Unlike his previous fleeting touches and forceful actions, his movements were gentle. He licked Shen Zhili's lips inch by inch, as if savoring a delicacy, focused and careful, with boundless tenderness. It took him a long time to penetrate her lips, but the warm and gentle emotions had already been unconsciously transmitted through the kisses, flowing into her heart.

An intimate breath brushed against my cheek, bringing a tingling sensation.

The hand that had been pushing him away had somehow softened.

A sense of peace and tranquility filled my heart.

Home is where my heart finds peace...

The peach blossoms in the vase stretched out their tendrils, blooming brilliantly and beautifully, their delicate fragrance carrying a slightly intoxicating sweetness in the air.

It's just unclear whether it's the flowers or the people who are intoxicated.

******************************************************************************

After an incense stick has burned.

Qingxing weighed the judge's pen in her hand: "Valley Master Shen, don't worry, we will definitely find a way to rescue your senior brother."

Shen Zhili smiled gratefully: "Thank you for your trouble."

Qingxing: "I haven't thanked Valley Master Shen for taking care of my master during that time. It must have been very hard for him."

Shen Zhili: "...It's alright."

Qingxing: "No need to force yourself, I understand!" She looked at Shen Zhili with sympathy.

Shen Zhili: "..." What exactly do you know about Master Qing?!

Qingxing weighed it again and suddenly said, "By the way, does Valley Master Shen know the prince of Southern Xinjiang? He's even asking about you."

Shen Zhili then remembered the Holy Mother Prince and hurriedly looked at Qingxing, saying, "I recognize him. You didn't do anything to him, did you?"

Qingxing laughed: "Don't worry, he's just under house arrest. This prince of Southern Xinjiang seems to be very popular with the people. When we said we wanted to kill one or two of the Southern Xinjiang kings, they openly and secretly guided us. But when it came to making a move against this prince, the guards of Southern Xinjiang were willing to fight to the death..."

Shen Zhili breathed a sigh of relief: "He... should be a good person. I hope Master Qing will show mercy."

Qingxing smiled wryly: "...For this kind of thing, Master Shen, one word from you to the Lord is more effective than a hundred words from me."

Shen Zhili: "Uh, I understand." Her face felt a little hot.

Qingxing glanced at Shen Zhili and suddenly couldn't help but say, "By the way, Valley Master Shen, are you running a fever? Your face was so red when you came out just now..." and it remained red for a long time...

"Huh?" Shen Zhili opened his mouth, then coughed twice, pressing his fist to his lips. "I'm fine... cough cough, it's probably just the hot weather. Ah... Master Qing, where is the tunnel being dug? I'll go take a look..."

After Shen Zhili walked away, Zhai Feng leisurely approached, patted Qingxing on the shoulder and said, "Don't tell me you didn't see it?"

Qingxing asked, puzzled, "What did you see?"

Zhai Feng lowered her head gossipy and said, "Our master has probably succeeded again."

Qingxing was even more puzzled: "Successfully?"

Zhai Feng: "That's not called a fever, that's called blushing, you know? Blushing, blushing, and didn't you notice that her lips looked smoother and shinier than usual? Based on my years of experience managing the Twelve Nights of Love and Lust, that's definitely from being moisturized by a man!" She spread her hands and shrugged, "...Who knows what the master did to that girl alone in the room just now?"

Qingxing exclaimed in surprise, "But Commander Lei said..."

Before he could speak, Zhai Feng quickly covered Qingxing's mouth and looked around: "Idiot, who told you to say it? What if the master hears it... This kind of thing will be resolved after Commander Lei and that witch surnamed Ye come back from their meeting. We shouldn't get involved in this mess."

Qingxing blinked, and after a long while sighed in resignation, "This is too pitiful for Miss Shen..."

As Zhai Feng dragged Qingxing along, she said, "Don't meddle in so many other people's business. We still have a ton of things to do. The Lord is showing off, but in the end, we're the ones who have to clean up the mess! I don't even know if we have enough people. The Southern Border Royal Palace is so big, does the Lord think he can just take control of it like that? Does he think it's a game or his backyard? It's such a hassle..." She paused, then continued, "But Miss Shen seems to be a pretty strong and smart girl, so she probably won't... Anyway, in the end, it's all that Su guy's fault!"

She sighed in conclusion, "I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to have such a master!"

Before the tunnel was dug.

Shen Zhili looked down with distress; it was a deep pit.

The man beside him nervously rubbed his hands together, a fawning smile on his face: "Um... sir, I only know part of the tunnel's internal structure, and I'm not entirely sure how deep it is..."

Su Chenche smiled gently: "Isn't there a staircase leading down to the tunnel?"

The man hurriedly replied, trembling with fear, "Yes!"

Although Su Chenche seemed very easy to get along with, for some reason the man always felt a strong sense of danger, a danger level that was no less than that of the King of Southern Xinjiang.

Su Chenche smiled even more gently: "Can't you estimate how high one step of the stairs is, and how many steps you've gone down?"

The man trembled, and said in a trembling voice, "The tunnel... there were no lights. I've only been down there once. I really didn't know..."

Suddenly someone exclaimed, "We've made it through!"

Shen Zhili bent down to reach down, but Su Chenche stopped her. Su Chenche pointed at the man and said gently, "You go down first."

The man was taken aback, then nodded hastily and was about to get down.

Su Chenche: "Wait... someone find him a rope, tie it around his waist, and I'll tie the knot. While you're at it, go and prepare some tinder, torches, two pieces of damp cloth, and uh, get me some explosives too."

Shen Zhili called out to him, "Explosives... what are you going to do with them?"

Su Chenche grasped Shen Zhili's hand and smiled, "I know you definitely want to go down, so of course we need to be fully prepared... By the way, Zhili, do you have any sleeping potion that can float in the wind? Let's fumigate it a little first, then take the antidote and go down. Oh, and we can also pour water in to see how wide it is inside..." He pondered.

Shen Zhili: "..."

This person is truly shameless...

Chapter 44

The underground area was dark, but having someone to guide us made things much better.

Shen Zhili unconsciously tensed up; she was terrified... that she would see Hua Jiuye's corpse after going down.

The hand being held tightened, and turning her head, she saw Su Chenche's smiling face: "Don't worry, nothing will happen."

Shen Zhili: "...I don't know why, but after hearing what you said, I felt even more uneasy..."

Su Chenche blinked: "Hehe..."

After walking for about the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn, the man stopped in front of a huge stone door and said nervously, "M-Sir, the center of the tunnel is just ahead, and the King is most likely inside..."

Su Chenche nodded, and the man inserted his ten fingers into the hole in front of the door and pressed it a few times.

The giant stone gate rose up with a roar, followed by a deluge of arrows.

Su Chenche immediately grabbed Shen Zhili and parried with his sword. After the rain of arrows, there was an empty platform, and the man had disappeared without a trace. Only the severed rope remained on the ground.

Just as Shen Zhili was about to chase after him, Su Chenche quickly grabbed her and, at the same time, flicked his finger to throw a pebble into the platform.

Almost the instant the stone hit the ground, the stone door slammed shut, and a series of clanging sounds could be heard from inside.

Shen Zhili: "...Have we been tricked?"

With a smile, Su Chenche pulled a plump white pigeon from his pocket. The pigeon rubbed its head with its wings in dissatisfaction, completely unwilling to move.

Su Chenche flicked its tail without any mercy. The pigeon winced in pain, flapped its wings and flew into the air, looking accusatory. Su Chenche pretended to draw his sword, and the pigeon shrank its head, turned its tail and obediently flew inside.

Deep inside the tunnel.

The man knelt on the ground and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I have led them in alone."

"What is the situation in the palace?"

The man said, "It's almost completely controlled by those outsiders. The one I brought in was their leader. The woman doesn't seem to know martial arts, but the man is..."