403: Chapter 43 Kidneys in Crisis! The Empress Locks the Door with an Imposing Aura, and Su Shenzi Emerges Supported by the Wall!

"Review... the... memorials."

These four words spat out from Ji Hongxue's flame-red lips were as light as a feather, yet carried the weight of a thousand tons.

It was as if they carried a dimensionality-reducing strike that said, "Even though I didn't say it, you understand."

The bit of composure Su Chen had been forcing himself to maintain shattered instantly; he couldn't even piece it back together.

He knew all too well the weight of these words.

Was this any kind of proper office work?

This was clearly a high-end game with maximum intensity, titled "Paying the Grain Tax" but actually meaning "I Want Your Life!"

Moreover, this was a mandatory demand from the Client; the Contractor had no right to refuse, not even the qualification to bargain.

Su Chen's face, which usually wore a salted fish smile, collapsed visibly to the naked eye.

He became as wilted as an eggplant hit by frost.

He looked at Ji Hongxue.

Those phoenix eyes burned with a raging fire—deep and domineering—as if they could pierce directly through his skull and set his very Soul ablaze.

Su Chen only felt his legs go weak, his kneecaps protesting, ready at any moment to give Her Majesty the Empress a grand prostration ceremony.

[Holy crap! I knew it!]

[This Crazy Woman really had no good intentions! This is blatant entrapment!]

Su Chen's inner self was frantically banging its head against a wall.

[She wants to do a clearance sale on me before I leave!]

[Is she planning to collect all future debts in one night, principal and interest combined?]

A chill of impending doom rushed from his tailbone straight to his forehead.

[Is she trying to use practical actions to tell me who the real "Top Boss" of this harem is?!]

[Too ruthless! This woman's possessiveness is simply ridiculous!]

[With my fragile physique, isn't this just pure suicide?!]

He wanted to refuse.

He really wanted to shout "No."

He wanted to say: Your Majesty, your humble servant has to travel far to the Immortal Realm tomorrow to save fallen young women... ah no, to save your sisters. The kidneys are the capital of the revolution; can we do an installment plan?

Or, Your Majesty, please go ahead with your work, your humble servant just remembered I left the gas on at home?

But he didn't dare.

He had a strong premonition that as soon as that word "No" dared to poke its head out.

In the next second, this Great Xia Empress before him would instantly darken.

Then, she would hang him from that golden beam in Fengming Hall and subject him to inhumane "torture."

She wouldn't withdraw her forces until the last drop was squeezed dry!

Under Ji Hongxue's highly oppressive gaze.

In the air within the hall that was about to solidify.

Su Chen felt like he was being roasted over a fire.

Finally, he painfully squeezed a single word from the depths of his throat.

His voice was weak, yet it carried a tragic solemnity like a warrior going to his death.

"...Fine."

The corners of Ji Hongxue's lips finally curled into a satisfied arc.

It was the victorious posture of a hunter watching their prey fall into the net.

Beautiful, dangerous, and lethal.

She released her arms from around Su Chen's neck with elegant composure, turned, and walked back to the Dragon Throne, her Imperial Robe brushing against the floor with a rustling sound.

Immediately, she spoke coldly toward the outside of the hall.

"Someone, come."

"Pass on My imperial decree."

Her voice instantly switched back to the iron-blooded emperor mode that ruled over ten thousand miles, devoid of any personal emotion.

"Tonight, Fengming Hall is under Level One Alert!"

Every word carried the unquestionable dominance of imperial power.

"Within a hundred yards, no one is allowed to approach."

She paused slightly, her eyes scanning outside the hall, her tone icy cold:

"Those who disobey shall be executed!"

The voice echoed in the hall, as if even the air was intimidated.

From outside the hall, the uniform and clanging response of the female soldiers immediately rang out, shaking the heavens.

"We obey the decree!!!"

Listening to that life-claiming talisman that seemed to come from the Palace of the King of Hell.

Su Chen's heart went completely cold.

[It's over, it's BBQ'd.]

[I'm completely surrounded now, no escape even with wings!]

[Tonight, I, Su Chen, am afraid I'll have to leave my entire hundred-plus pounds right here in Fengming Hall.]

He looked at Ji Hongxue's back—which appeared even more enchanting and domineering against the backdrop of her bright red Imperial Robe—and wore a smile that looked worse than crying.

It was the resolve of a warrior heading to a certain-death battlefield.

...

The night was deep.

The cold wind was biting.

Inside Fengming Hall, the originally serene sandalwood incense had long been replaced by a thicker, more suggestive scent.

The lights were brilliant, as bright as day.

The heavy hall doors were tightly closed, like an insurmountable chasm.

Outside the hall, the Golden-Armored Female Guards stood like statues, their long halberds flashing with cold light; not even a fly could fly in.

A "Contention for the Great Dao" that no one knew about, yet was enough to be recorded in the Su Family's history.

Was being fiercely staged inside the hall.

It was the collision of Yin and Yang, the contest between spear and shield.

The battle was so tragic that even battle-hardened Cultivators would call it "terrifying to such an extent" upon seeing it.

Because the scenes were too otherworldly and involved a large amount of the Profound Truth of high-level life harmony.

The Heavenly Dao Laws blushed and immediately applied the highest level of censorship.

Ten thousand words of VIP exclusive content are omitted here.

...

The next day, early morning.

The first ray of sunlight, carrying the warmth of surviving a disaster, spilled onto the glazed tiles of Fengming Hall.

"Creeeeak—"

A sharp, grating sound.

The hall door that had been tightly closed all night finally opened slowly.

A white figure, like a ghost, drifted out unsteadily.

It was Su Chen.

At this moment, his face was as pale as paper, his eyes were circled in black and deeply sunken; he looked exactly like a scholar who had been sucked dry of his essence by a demon.

His steps were hollow, every step feeling like he was treading on cotton, and his legs were shaking as if he had the jitters.

Just as he crossed the threshold, he had to reach out a hand and firmly grip the thick, Dragon-Carved Jade Pillar nearby.

Only in this way could he barely maintain the final dignity of a Divine Son and not collapse on the spot.

So tragic.

It was truly too tragic.

But the light in his eyes was exceptionally resolute.

It was the light of a sage who had seen through the Mortal World and achieved complete detachment.

Su Chen looked up at the rising sun on the horizon and let out a long breath of turbid Qi.

[Alive...]

[I, Su Chen, actually walked out alive...]

[That Crazy Woman, she's not human at all!]

[She's a demon! A juicer! A landlord's wife who won't stop until the ox is worked to death!]

Su Chen subconsciously clutched his lower back, only feeling that it was empty, as if his Soul had been hollowed out.

[It feels like a hundred thousand years of cultivation were forcibly poured into my body, and then two hundred thousand years of essence and blood were instantly drained.]

[These kidneys... I'm afraid they're going to be scrapped.]

Su Chen wanted to cry but had no tears, silently lighting a candle in his heart for his two "good brothers."

It seemed that upon reaching the Immortal Realm, the first thing wasn't to find a wife, but to find some Divine-Grade goji berries to nourish himself.

Just then.

A lazy, hoarse voice that carried a sense of extreme satisfaction drifted lightly from behind him.

Like a cat that had eaten its fill and was contentedly licking its paws.

"What? Leaving already?"

"Won't you accompany Me for breakfast?"

Su Chen's body stiffened suddenly, like a cat that had its tail stepped on.

He turned around mechanically and stiffly.

He saw Ji Hongxue leaning lazily against the vermilion doorframe.

She was loosely draped in a wide red silk sleeping robe, the collar slightly open, revealing a large area of snow-white skin.

Her long hair was scattered like a waterfall, showing a messy beauty from not yet being groomed.

On that peerlessly beautiful face, the blush had not yet faded, and her eyes were full of charm; where was there even a hint of her usual majesty?

She was simply a Soul-hooking Prodigy!

She looked at Su Chen's appearance as if he might fall at any moment, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes.

It was reluctance, it was playfulness, and there was also a deeply hidden tenderness.

She didn't try to make him stay again.

Because she knew that a young eagle must eventually strike the sky; this salted fish... cough, this hidden dragon, ultimately did not belong to this small pond.

What she could do, before letting him fly.

Was to fiercely brand him with the mark belonging to her, Ji Hongxue.

No matter how far he flew, this mark would never fade.

Ji Hongxue lightly raised her hand toward Su Chen, making a farewell gesture.

There were no extra words.

Just that one look was worth a thousand words.

All the dominance and deep affection were condensed in this gaze:

Go, My man.

I will guard this empire and wait for your return.

Looking at her like that, the resentment Su Chen had been frantically complaining about in his heart actually dissipated by more than half, miraculously.

Taking its place was an indescribably complex emotion.

There was touched emotion, there was helplessness, and there was also a delusion of... "this wave doesn't seem like a loss."

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something witty in response.

But considering his current physical condition, he'd better save his strength.

In the end, he just gave a heavy nod to the woman in red as bright as fire.

Then he turned around.

Supporting himself against the wall, step by step, although it was difficult, he walked with incomparable determination.

He shuffled toward the nine heavens vessel in the center of the square.

Farewell, Great Xia.

Immortal Realm, this young master is coming!