Check out my new translation!
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Had you arrived a minute later, or two minutes earlier, you wouldn't have witnessed this scene at all.
One thousand four hundred forty-four minutes in a day, and you managed to land exactly within these three—what impeccable timing!
Sylvester raised an eyebrow, watching Qingque with clear amusement.
She wasn't even his direct subordinate, yet by ridiculous coincidence she had barged in on her superiors' embarrassing moment.
Little sparrow… your life has taken a turn.
"Stop!"
As Sylvester opened his mouth to halt her, Lingsha shouted at the exact same moment.
But unlike Sylvester, she had no calm disposition left, nor the mindset for saying anything senseless.
Her sharp cry shot out faster than lightning, her voice nearly cracking.
Qingque had clearly misunderstood something strange between her and Sylvester. If Qingque ran out of this shop now, who could guarantee rumors about her private life wouldn't flood the entire world by tomorrow?
Shocking! The new Cauldron Master of the Alchemy Commission is actually the Curio Trash Can Shopkeeper's mistress?
Confirmed! For the sake of a trash can, Lady Lingsha was willing to do such things…
Heavens…
She absolutely could not let her leave!
Driven into a corner, Lingsha reached for the Jade Abacus at her waist, ready to give Qingque a physical sleep aid to the back of the head.
But Sylvester moved quicker, acting before she could.
"Seal!"
With a single sweep of his hand, the shop's doors and windows were pulled shut under a mysterious force.
The walls and ceiling glowed with the same color as the Lightning-Lord. The entire shop interior instantly became a massive box sealed by a barrier.
This was Sylvester's mastery and full extrapolation of the Lightning-Lord's power.
Not only could he summon the Lightning-Lord to fight, he could use Its power in any form he desired.
Sylvester lowered his hand. The visible shimmer of the barrier vanished, and the shop looked normal again. But in truth, the outside world had been completely cut off. From outside, the shop appeared completely empty.
And if anyone tried to force their way in, they would need at least ten times of Jing Yuan's power. Otherwise, they had no chance.
Though this was far more complicated than simply tapping Qingque on the back of the head, she was still half his assistant. He should at least protect her a little.
Qingque, who had been about to flee, smacked directly against the door with a thud.
No escape to heaven, no escape to earth.
Her mind was already a chaotic storm. Walking in on a man and woman doing that—embarrassing, but she could have pretended she saw nothing and left.
But walking in on two of her superiors?
Suffocating…
Qingque turned around, gripping the doorframe, her back pressed tightly against it. She looked pitiful as she said, "Sylvester, we—we're friends, right? I've got elders above and no children below—if I die here, I won't die in peace!"
After speaking, she pressed her palms together and bowed her head. "Let me go. Please, I'll do anything!"
After frying her brain in panic, Qingque had come up with exactly zero solutions.
So, she used her life-saving technique for when Fu Xuan caught her slacking at work.
Immediate begging!
Surely, they wouldn't really silence her over something like this… right?
"Hm…"
Seeing this, Lingsha fell silent for a moment, then put away her weapon and slowly climbed off Sylvester.
While adjusting her clothes, she felt a wave of anguish.
Just as Qingque feared—how could she possibly bring herself to eliminate Qingque? Even though she did have certain medicines that could make someone disappear without a trace… but she obviously couldn't use them.
But what came after? She could stop Qingque now, but what then?
Explain?
Miss Qingque, don't overthink it. Sylvester only saw the nude model of me in the computer, so I had to stop him…
How was that an explanation?! That was a confession!
What kind of innocent pair would have nude body models of each other on a computer? Even people who aren't innocent don't normally have that!
Not only would it fail to clarify, it would make things sound even worse!
Looking at the machine on the counter, Lingsha was completely cornered. She really wanted to cry.
It was too much. Those damn Chaos Doctors were truly vile!
Sylvester saw Lingsha's struggle.
Alright, enough. Time to step in.
He took over, speaking with interest. "You'll really do anything? I do have a method to make this incident as if it never happened. But… you'll lose something important. Are you willing?"
Whew…
Hearing a possible solution, Lingsha finally relaxed a little.
She cast Sylvester a grateful glance.
And she began to wonder—what method did he have? And what did "losing something important" mean?
Sensing Sylvester's gaze shift, Qingque swallowed hard. "O-Of course."
He wouldn't ask for something outrageous… right?
She desperately searched her memory for similar cases.
Her years working in the Divination Commission library finally paid off.
She found an example in an old forbidden book: Silver Bottle Apricot.
In that story, when the maid discovered the heroine Lianlian's secret tryst, the heroine demanded…
They become pole sisters together.
No, please…
She hadn't even had a passionate romance yet—she absolutely did NOT want to get swept into some unspoken-rules nightmare!
"Since that's the case, I won't hold back."
Sylvester pinched his chin, smiling wickedly.
Seeing that smile, Qingque's soul nearly dissolved.
No way… she guessed right?!
Lingsha also connected some dots, her mind conjuring strange images. Her cheeks flushed red.
If that's what he meant… wasn't that a bit too beastly?
Lingsha said, "Let's use a different method!"
Sylvester replied, "I can make you lose your memory."
"?"
"?"
"?"
Qingque, though she had misunderstood, felt overwhelming relief.
But the other two reacted very differently.
Sylvester looked up; Lingsha looked down. Their gazes met—both filled with confusion.
But in Lingsha's case, realizing she had been imagining bizarre things made her face burn hotter, a wisp of imaginary steam puffing off her head.
So, so embarrassing…
He had been trying to help her, yet she imagined something so absurd and obscene, nearly painting a good man as a monster.
A bud of guilt rooted itself in her chest.
But she obviously couldn't admit any of that. Her eyes darted around as she struggled to produce an excuse.
"I—It's just… we don't have memory-erasing medicine, do we?"
Her lips trembled as she desperately tried to salvage her dignity.
Seeing her face nearly as red as her sleeves, Sylvester basically understood she had imagined something… but he didn't know what.
Why? Did he say something misleading?
Aside from "losing something important," everything he said was normal.
And even that wasn't wrong. Memory is important, right?
But best not to question her further.
"Of course we do."
Sylvester's gaze drifted toward the prescription machine.
Lingsha's intelligence, battered repeatedly by embarrassment, finally made a comeback.
She said, "Ah—right. We do have medicine that can erase memory. But it does have some side effects."
She turned to Qingque. "So? Will you take it or not?"
Qingque was curled in the corner by the door, small, pitiful, helpless.
Did she have a choice?
She took a deep breath. "I'll take it!"