153: The Capital

Outside the window, the moon cast its slanting shadow, and the lights of the Post Station flickered slightly in the cold wind.

Inside the room, however, a warm fragrance permeated the air. Yao Linger's fair, scallion-like hands were holding a crystal-clear grape, carefully peeling off the purple skin to reveal the jade-like translucent flesh inside, which she then obediently offered to Lin Chen's lips.

"Master, this grape was tribute from the Western Regions, and it is very sweet and refreshing." Yao Linger's voice was soft and sticky, her eyes full of devotion. In the Great Qian Divine Dynasty, where women held supreme reverence, she, as the successor of Medicine King Valley, willingly served Lin Chen as a maid, pouring tea and water.

Lin Chen opened his mouth and took the fruit flesh, feeling the cool juice burst open in his mouth. He narrowed his eyes slightly, savoring this rare tranquility.

However, a set of heavy, rhythmic footsteps shattered this intimacy.

The footsteps carried a chilling aura of war and bloodshed, each step seemingly landing directly on one's heart.

"Bang!"

The door was pushed open, and Red Makeup Ye, dressed in a tight outfit, strode in. She had clearly sneaked in, avoiding the eyes and ears of the patrol. Instead of her signature dark crimson heavy armor, she wore black narrow-sleeved casual clothes, a dark leather belt cinched tightly around her waist, outlining a breathtaking curve of hips and waist. Her long, jade-like legs, which stood proud in the Divine Dynasty, looked even straighter and more powerful under the tight trousers.

Her heroic face still bore the marks of border winds and frost, and her gaze was sharp as a knife, fixed intently on Lin Chen.

Yao Linger frowned slightly, about to stand up, but was startled by a flash of cold light that sliced past Red Makeup Ye's waist.

"Clang—!"

A personal dagger was fiercely plunged by Red Makeup Ye into the sandalwood table in front of Lin Chen, penetrating deeply, its hilt still vibrating.

"Lin Chen, my old injury can no longer be suppressed. If you can cure it, whatever official post or wealth you desire, I can give it to you." Red Makeup Ye's voice was low and hoarse, carrying an undeniable sense of command, yet hidden deep within her eyes was a near-mad determination. "But if you fail to cure it... I will kill you first, and then myself, to spare me the Agony of Ten Thousand Worms Gnawing at my Heart in this world!"

Faced with a threat that would terrify an ordinary man, Lin Chen merely chuckled. He slowly straightened his posture, his gaze brazenly sweeping over Red Makeup Ye's curvy, exquisite body, finally resting on the taut buttons at her neckline.

"Great General Ye, is this the attitude of someone seeking medical help?" Lin Chen extended two fingers and unhurriedly pushed the dagger aside. "You want me to treat your illness? Fine. But the rules of the healer must be followed according to my terms."

"Speak!" Red Makeup Ye took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling violently, the already tight casual clothes nearly bursting from the astonishing curve.

"Disrobe." Lin Chen uttered two words flatly. "Take off these clothes. Your internal injuries are all located where the Meridians converge. Through clothing, I cannot apply needles or clearly see the extent of the wounds."

"What did you say?!" Red Makeup Ye's pupils constricted, and she resembled an enraged lioness.

She was the Crimson Blood Female War God of the Divine Dynasty, the Commander of Ten Thousand Armies! In Great Qian, a woman's body was regarded as a symbol of power and dignity, especially for someone of her status. Undressing in front of a man? For her, this was even harder to accept than death itself.

"What, are you scared?" Lin Chen stood up and walked toward her step by step. His masculine, virile aura instantly invaded Red Makeup Ye's perceived territory. "General Ye, who kills without blinking on the battlefield, doesn't even have the courage to take off a piece of clothing? If that's the case, then please leave, and wait for that internal injury to torture you into a cripple on the next full moon night."

Red Makeup Ye clenched her fists tightly, her fingernails digging deeply into her palms. She wanted to draw her blade, wanted to rebuke him, but at that precise moment, her Meridians delivered a searing pain, reminding her that her time was running out.

Silence spread through the room, and the air seemed to solidify.

Finally, Red Makeup Ye closed her eyes and squeezed a single word through gritted teeth: "Fine."

Her hands, which had slain countless enemies, now trembled slightly as they reached for the buttons at her neckline.

This was a moment fraught with ritualistic tension. As the first button came undone, the general's intimidating aura, which had always kept others at a distance and enveloped Red Makeup Ye, began to show its first crack.

Layer after layer of black casual clothing slipped down in the candlelight.

When the last layer of form-fitting undergarment drifted to the floor, even Lin Chen, who had seen countless beauties, couldn't help but hold his breath slightly.

What kind of body, like a work of art, was this?

Due to years of martial arts training and campaigning, her skin possessed a healthy wheat color, gleaming alluringly in the candlelight. Her waist was extremely slender, yet due to immense core strength, it boasted clear mermaid lines and abdominal muscle definition. Extending upward was that dizzyingly full and firm presence, which rose and fell restlessly with her breathing in the air.

However, interwoven with this ultimate sexiness was a heartbreaking sense of fragility.

Across her shoulders, abdomen, and flanks were several hideous scars. There were puncture wounds left by feathered arrows, and long, narrow gashes from battle blades. Far from detracting from her beauty, these scars were like medals, adorning her body of wild beauty, radiating a fierce yet vulnerable, fatal attraction.

"Have you seen enough?" Red Makeup Ye bit her lip, her face flushed so deeply it looked ready to bleed, a manifestation of extreme shame. Instinctively, she tried to cover herself, but Lin Chen pressed down on her shoulder.

"Don't move. Get on the bed and lie face down." Lin Chen's voice became low and aggressive.

Red Makeup Ye walked to the couch and lay down like a puppet on a string. At this moment, where was even a trace of the Female General's prestige? The taut curve of her back extended to her hips, outlining an extremely exaggerated arc, her legs weakly pressed together.

Lin Chen took out a golden needle, his fingertip tracing lightly over her spine.

"Mmm..." Red Makeup Ye shivered violently. The sensation of being touched so intimately by the opposite sex, something she had never experienced, made half her body go weak.

"If it hurts, scream it out, don't hold it in." Lin Chen's fingertips weren't just searching for Acupoints. Every touch he made carried a subtle probing intention.

When the golden needle pierced the site of her old injury on her waist, years of stagnant blood and violent Spiritual Qi immediately found an outlet. The intense pain, followed by a tingling sensation that shot through her body like an electric current, caused Red Makeup Ye to instantly lose control.

"Ah... ha..."

She desperately clutched the pillow, burying her face deep into the silk quilt. Yet, the sounds of whimpering, emanating from her very core, still intermittently escaped through the gap in her lips.

This woman, who wouldn't frown even when breaking bones on the battlefield, was now trembling violently due to the kneading of Lin Chen's fingertips and the insertion of the golden needle. Fine beads of sweat slowly trickled down the grooves of her perfect back, soaking the bedding beneath her.

"Lin Chen... you... hurry up..." Her voice was tinged with a cry, a sign that her rationality was slowly being dismantled by desire and instinct.

Lin Chen ignored her plea, instead leaning down during a break in the treatment and whispering close to her ear: "General Ye, remember this feeling. From now on, this body of yours, and these scars, all belong to me."

Red Makeup Ye's body stiffened violently, then she slumped limply onto the couch like a deflated ball. Her eyes were completely unfocused; all her pride and all her armor had, in this moment, dissolved into dependence on the man before her.

After an unknown period, Lin Chen put away the golden needle, picked up a long robe, and covered her slightly twitching body.

"It's done. The most dangerous hurdle has been passed." Lin Chen patted her smooth back lightly with his palm, as if comforting a hunting dog returning victorious.

Red Makeup Ye lay there exhausted, allowing Lin Chen to help her sit up. She looked at Lin Chen, her eyes extremely complex—there was the relief of surviving a calamity, fear of this man, and even more, a deep sense of submission that she hadn't even realized herself.

"The document..." Her voice was weak. From her scattered clothing, she retrieved a Dark Iron Token and a signed Travel Document.

Lin Chen took the document, casually smoothed out the creases, and a satisfied curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Just then, the System's cold electronic voice sounded in his Sea of Consciousness:

[Congratulations, host! You have successfully dismantled the psychological and physiological defenses of the Daughter of Luck (Red Makeup Ye) and established a deep bond!] [Acquired Divine Dynasty Military Reputation: Awe-Inspiring!] [host Charm Value increased, acquired Passive Skill: Master of the General Star!] [Next Objective: The Imperial Capital! The Field of Fame and Fortune has opened. Please proceed to the Imperial Capital and conquer the core of the Great Qian Divine Dynasty's power!]

Lin Chen turned his head and looked toward the distant view outside the window.

There, in the Imperial Capital of the Great Qian Divine Dynasty, was the Field of Fame and Fortune where monsters and demons ran rampant, and also the location of the supreme Empress.

"Let's go, Linger." Lin Chen put away the document and, taking Yao Linger, who was still immersed in the shock of the preceding scene, turned and walked into the night.

Behind him, the Female General who had once been so arrogant was tightly wrapped in his outer robe, smelling the lingering masculine scent on it, her eyes gradually becoming unfocused.

The storm in the Imperial Capital should finally begin to stir.