Chapter 57: Extra: Wuqing's "If" (End) [Extra]

"This feeling can wait to be a memory..."

Wuqing didn't even know how he'd turned back from there.

The flickering candlelight in the room, reflected in those cold eyes, was like a blazing fire flickering through ice, burning away to a thin layer of glass. Then, with a single touch, it would shatter, revealing a tangled mess of thoughts beneath.

When he closed his eyes, he could still see Sun Yaohong and Tiexiu gazing at each other through the window.

Whether Tiexiu, a monster neither human nor beast, could truly be considered Gongsun Yangmei, no one could say. But one thing was certain: fate had cruelly destroyed this once sweet relationship, leaving only a bloody mess.

Yet, no one could say it was their lack of courage that had led them to this point. It was entirely human desire, the complexities of the world, and the ruthlessness of fate that had wrought this tragedy.

So... what about him?

With Shi Qingruo's martial arts prowess and current status, she wouldn't have fallen like Sun Yaohong. Nor would he have become rust. But even a relationship that was once mutually committed doesn't guarantee a happy ending, let alone a secret crush like his.

The more he hesitated, perhaps the more... the harder it would be to find words.

Shi Qingruo's words, "This feeling can be cherished as a memory, but it was already gone then," were merely a pity for Sun Yaohong and Gongsun Yangmei, but also a wake-up call for him!

...

Tie Shou paused. "...Sorry, I seem to have disturbed you."

He had just pushed the door open when he was met with Wuqing's eyes, several times more serious than usual, as if he were about to make a desperate decision.

He was startled, wondering if he had interrupted some crucial plan of Wuqing's.

Considering the news of the Master Alliance's assassination today, it seemed like there was going to be a major commotion at the border.

Although the sound of him pushing the door open and walking in was not loud, seeing Wuqing suddenly break free from his deep thoughts and glare at him with a sharp knife-like gaze, it was hard not to wonder if he had interrupted Wuqing's thoughts and made him miss some inspiration.

So he might as well go out.

But before he even stepped out of the door, Wuqing pursed his lips and smiled: "It's okay, I was just thinking about something. How's the situation with the Master?"

He left early, leaving Tie Shou and Sun Qingxia to handle the handover, and temporarily handed Tiexiu over.

If the news was to be passed to Bian Jing and attract the attention of the court, Tiexiu would have to be escorted back.

And he...

Wuqing looked at the document in front of him, which was only the beginning, and felt that he had lost his composure today.

But perhaps, this short day of loss of composure was not necessarily a bad thing for him.

At the very least, he had gained a clearer understanding of his own heart.

"You mean over there... The assassination plan of Mountain Jun Sun Jiang has been foiled. There is no other threat to Madam Shi, otherwise you would not have come back." Tie Shou replied, "But as for a small trouble, there is indeed one."

Wuqing's gaze, which had softened a bit before, hardened again and asked hurriedly: "What trouble?"

"It's like this." Tie Shou smiled bitterly, "Although that Miss Sun has woken up from her coma, according to Mr. Bayu, she should be able to walk normally soon, but she has a big problem mentally, and some of her memories are fuzzy." "

According to Madam Shi's guess, Mountain Jun Sun Jiang's wife Gongsun Xiaoniang, that is, Sun Yaohong's mother, is very likely to have been in trouble, and died at the hands of Sun Jiang. In addition, a part of her lover was transplanted to the monster's body, which caused another stimulation to Sun Yaohong." "

It happened that Madam Shi rescued Sun Yaohong. According to Sun Qingxia, her profile is somewhat similar to Gongsun Xiaoniang. Finally-" "

When Miss Sun spoke again, she actually thought... that Alliance Leader Shi was her mother."

Wuqing: "..."

This is really a trouble. The plan was to resolve the assassination crisis and rescue someone, but how come they also rescued a "daughter"?

"What does Alliance Master mean?"

His heart skipped a beat, feeling that Shi Qingruo might make a choice that others would not expect.

Iron Hand held his forehead. "Madam Master said that Miss Sun is still seriously injured. If the truth is revealed rashly and Tiexiu is taken away from her, it could be a fatal blow to her. The Misty Heaven Alliance doesn't lack for a livelihood anyway, so more daughters are better."

"Besides, Shanjun Sun Jiang was once the most powerful leader of the Divine Spear Society, and Gongsun Xiaoniang was the jewel in the crown of the Anle Hall leader. This represents a marriage between the two most powerful factions in the Divine Spear Society. Although the Divine Spear Society has now collapsed, using Sun Yaohong's name to recruit a group of people who originally did not want to serve Fu Zongshu and are now forced to flee is a good idea."

"I knew it," Wuqing muttered.

His guess was correct. While this was undoubtedly a troublesome matter, it was also very likely an opportunity for Shi Qingruo.

She has always been good at seizing such opportunities.

He himself could not see the sudden turn of events in his mind, but Tie Shou, who was also there, could see it. On this calm face, a knowing smile slowly blossomed at the corner of his lips, and in an instant, a gentle spring breeze appeared on his face.

Tie Shou couldn't help but complain in his heart. This shouldn't just be a relief for Sun Yaohong. She could find a place to take her in temporarily... right?

He could also see that when Wuqing went out the next day, the depression of the past few days, or the hesitation and confusion, had been swept away, making people feel that the young man in the wheelchair was really handsome.

Even though he couldn't walk like an ordinary person, he was still the most outstanding one in the crowd.

He slowly pushed the wheelchair to the window and looked at the scene outside. His eyes were less cold and more gentle like jade.

Through the window, he saw Sun Yaohong holding Shi Qingruo's arm.

Perhaps the previous shock and the long journey had completely robbed her of her sense of security. She clutched the object in her hand almost greedily, like a red flower about to fall, held high by the cliff face, preventing it from being blown away by the wind.

Shi Qingruo turned and patted her shoulder, whispering something. Her face, shrouded in sorrow, suddenly cleared for a moment, and he released her hand, allowing her to stand. Sun Yaohong,

unconcerned with romance

, never took her eyes off Shi Qingruo's back, watching her walk to the wheelchair-bound young man...

and the gentle beauty.

"I was just about to report to the Alliance Leader on the situation in Bianjing when I heard you'd recognized a sister for me," Guan Chun said, lowering her eyes and chuckling softly. As

she spoke, she caught a flicker of displeasure on the face of the ruthless Chief Constable, as if she had preempted her from speaking to Shi Qingruo.

Normally, given the captain's temperament, even if he had such thoughts before, he would definitely not let anyone know through his words or expression, but now things were a little different.

Even so, Guan Chun, always a sharp-minded person, only remembered this change in his mind and focused his attention on the present.

"Since I know you've been recognized as a sister, I thought you should address me more intimately, lest someone else overtake you," Shi Qingruo teased, glancing sideways toward the window. "But no matter what, until her sanity returns, she'll be treated as the Second Young Lady of the Misty Heaven Alliance."

"I understand." Guan Chun was silent for a moment, ultimately not responding to the first half of the question, only agreeing to the second.

Shi Qingruo clearly didn't care, trusting Guan Chun to do her bidding.

As the powerful eldest daughter of the Misty Heaven Alliance, Guan Chun's current position is even greater than her time as the Young Lady of the Six and a Half Hall. It's as if her early experiences in the Six and a Half Hall were just a dream from which she must awaken. The

reality of the world will emerge upon awakening. This was true

for her as well as for Di Feijing.

"Go ahead. I'll come and talk to you later about what's happening in Bianjing." Shi Qingruo waved her hand, indicating that the eldest daughter should go to the Second Young Lady to reconnect with her.

Although Guan Chun felt this was unnecessary, she guessed Shi Qingruo was looking for Chief Constable Wuqing to discuss something, so she dismissed her and obediently walked towards Sun Yaohong.

When she reached the poor girl and looked out the window, Shi Qingruo and Wuqing had already walked a distance along the path in front of the house, their figures now obscured by the trees.

Sun Yaohong, still resting her hand on her chin, stared blankly in that direction.

Guan Chun was about to ask her something when she suddenly heard her voice: "Father is in a wheelchair and isn't as tall as Mother. Does that mean he won't eat her?"

Guan Chun's pupils suddenly trembled. "What did you say?"

Sun Yaohong seemed to have not heard Guan Chun's words and continued to speak. "Mother is so powerful now that those monsters won't eat her either."

She curved her eyes and smiled with relief. "Is that so?"

Guan Chun shuddered at the thought, and for a moment, she didn't know how to respond to Sun Yaohong's question.

She was a brilliant woman, having heard some news about the Divine Spear Society on her way here. Sun Yaohong's few words were enough for her to surmise that her insanity was more due to this tragedy than Gongsun Yangmei's.

It's no wonder that Madam Shi didn't want to expose her for the time being, wanting her to slowly recover under the care of the Misty Heaven Alliance.

"I..."

"My name is Sun Yaohong. What's your name?" The girl, draped in fox fur and looking sickly, still had a hint of her former liveliness in her eyes. As she smiled back at Guan Chun, the previous trance vanished, leaving only a hint of childishness.

At first glance, she looked quite like a pleasant girl.

Guan Chun took a deep breath and extended his hand toward her, as if making a firm decision.

...

This scene was reflected not only in the window frame but also in the eyes of both of them.

Wuqing asked helplessly, "If you're so worried about a conflict, why don't you introduce Miss Guan to Miss Sun yourself, instead of squatting here in the bushes to watch them get along?"

If anyone were to see the dignified Saint Leader of the Mitian Alliance hiding in a thicket like this, what would that look like?

Look at her. Previously, she was a proper "loving mother," but now, first, she parked Sun Yaohong and his wheelchair behind the bushes, making sure the low shrubs concealed

her form, then returned and squatted beside him, watching his every move. "Why would there be a conflict? I still have confidence in Chun'er. The fact that she was so ruthless towards Di Feijing and Lei Dongtian proves that my education has been half successful," Shi Qingruo replied calmly. "I just wanted to see how Yaohong would behave without me as her mother."

Taking Sun Yaohong in was one thing, but she hadn't forgotten her current status.

Having a constant burden around was clearly not the way for a United Front leader.

Seeing that Sun Yaohong remained calm after she left, she finally felt relieved.

Wuqing suddenly realized, "This is something I should pay attention to."

"Then what kind of adoptive father do you think I should find for these two cheap daughters?"

"...What did you say?"

Wuqing was about to speak, but he was half a beat too late to react. What did Shi Qingruo say? He froze in place.

He was also a step too slow to realize that Shi Qingruo had already put one hand on the armrest of his wheelchair and took a step closer to him.

It was precisely because of this close distance that he could see more clearly that the eyes in front of him were filled with an extremely serious look.

"I said, I want to find an adoptive father for them."

Wuqing's throat was a little dry: "Why do you suddenly ask this?"

"Yesterday, you behaved very strangely." Shi Qingruo did not give Wuqing any chance to change the subject. "First, you thought something happened to me, so you pulled my escort to interrogate him, and almost tore someone's sleeve. Then, when you should have stayed to discuss with me how to deal with him, you ran away. I say, Chief Constable..."

Shi Qingruo raised the corner of his lips playfully: "You are not here to apologize for this matter today, are you?"

The sunlight that passed through the gaps in the trees above her head was shining into Shi Qingruo's eyes, but strangely it did not blur the look in her eyes, but made the black darker and the white whiter, as if it wanted to see straight into his heart while they were looking at each other.

Wuqing's heart trembled, but because of all the reflections he had yesterday, he didn't lower his head to avoid her gaze as he had previously. Instead, he endured the slight pain of his fingertips pressing against his palms, swallowed the uneasiness in his throat, and spoke: "If I say that I'm indeed not here today to apologize, but to confess my feelings to you, would you think I'm fanciful?"

He sat in a wheelchair. When he met people, he had to look up, unless they were sitting down. This often allowed him to see hidden expressions of many people. Because of his meticulous mind, he could always see into people's hearts through subtle clues.

But even now, he still couldn't understand Shi Qingruo's thoughts.

Just like now, when she half-leaned against his wheelchair, seriously and solemnly evaluating his previous words, it was difficult for him to guess her thoughts.

Or perhaps it was because his heart overloaded and over-raced the moment he said it, and he had to breathe hard to calm his mind and slowly clear it. How could he understand people's hearts?

What he heard seemed to be a pure question without any emotion: "Why do you think so?"

Wuqing said slowly and solemnly: "Because compared to you, I am not good in a thousand ways."

This was a truth for him, and it weighed heavily on his heart.

"I am not mobile. Even if you really encountered a troublesome assassination yesterday, I might not be able to get to you in time. Just like that year, I wanted to rescue Qi Shaoshang from the hands of the God Capture and left him a reminder note, but was taken advantage of by the Nine Nether God. He created a scam and made the Golden Sword Boy next to me die at the hands of the God Capture. I didn't have the ability to save him, and could only watch this child die."

Also, in Shi Qingruo's plan to kill Yuan Shisanxian that day, Wuqing's actions were obviously not in line with hers.

And -

"I can't cultivate internal energy, and my meridians are weak. If they were to be damaged, I would most likely die young. These are scars from my childhood, and nothing can erase them. I'm still a constable in the imperial court, and I might not be able to escape this status for ten years..."

Shi Qingruo couldn't help but laugh. "You're saying this one by one, as if you're asking me to reject you as soon as possible and dispel your thoughts, not to confess my feelings."

Who would expose their own shortcomings so immediately?

However, just as she was about to release her hand, a slender, white hand covered the back of hers.

This sudden movement not only surprised her, but also made Wuqing's face look slightly drunk.

But the words that followed were no shy whispers; every word was utterly resolute. "Because I'm convinced that, despite the myriad constraints that have prevented me from expressing myself before, I want to... no, I should say, I can be your soulmate."

His gaze grew focused, the courage building within it creating a massive wave on the usually placid lake, seemingly poised to pour down upon Shi Qingruo.

Yet, before this wave, his fingertips trembled for a moment, enough to make the hand he held feel the momentary panic.

This immature expression shouldn't have been associated with the name "Ruthless Chief Constable," but it was like a gentle breeze on a spring lake, elevating anyone who caught it.

Even more childishly, he seemed to be trying to transmit his feelings, through the hand he held, all the way to Shi Qingruo's heart, and he tightened his grip on his fingertips a little. "I understand your ambition and determination. I'm willing to give you everything I have, whether it's that flower or my life."

The belated arrival of sunlight seemed to melt the last thin layer of ice, releasing the fiery fire beneath.

He stuttered for a moment, struggling to find his voice in this eye contact. "It sounds like empty words, but if you give me this opportunity, I will prove to you—"

"Shh. It's best not to make such vows casually." Shi Qingruo interrupted him.

She gazed into Wuqing's beautiful eyes. "I have always believed that life is more important than anything else."

In fact, just those words from a kindred spirit were enough.

This Chief Constable Wuqing always claimed to be impartial, but he understood her intentions without even consulting her and played along, seemingly doing so more than once.

If she didn't see the thoughtfulness behind this gesture, she would be remarkably insensitive.

While enforcing the law impartially, he was almost outspoken about his partiality.

But she also really disliked his hesitation stemming from his low self-esteem. Despite possessing an admirable temperament and appearance, he always seemed to believe that, like the morning dew before the rising sun, he would eventually dissipate, and so he kept giving in.

The word "friend" was a luxury enough for him, a comforting comfort enough.

But the word "love" brooked no compromise.

"I'm not the sun, and you're not ice and snow. Some things... don't have to wait this long." Shi Qingruo sighed, then straightened up.

Her hand, however, was still held in a merciless grip.

This hand was meant to replace his leg, aiding his Qinggong rise and fall, a skill he possessed. Now that he had his target in his grasp, how could he let go so easily?

Shi Qingruo glanced at him with amusement. "Heartless Chief Constable, you've just emerged from that shell, so I can only give you a chance to show your abilities. Don't push your luck. I want a clear answer now."

She was already busy with other matters, with a sickly daughter to care for, and she certainly wouldn't lure the chief constable from the Divine Marquis's residence to the Misty Heaven Alliance at such a critical moment.

If this news reached Divine Marquis Zhuge, who knew if he would come charging at them with his arrogance spear in hand?

Shi Qingruo wasn't afraid of him. After all, she had privately criticized the Divine Marquis's management strategies many times, and she simply believed that less trouble was better than more.

"No, I'm not trying to push the envelope." Wuqing didn't let go, but his words addressed Shi Qingruo's concerns. "Master Alliance Master, rest assured. I won't let any other rumors spread before I've made my thoughts clear to my uncle."

He lowered his eyes, a sigh in his voice. "The grudges of the previous generation of Zizai Sect were mostly related to relationships. Tianyi Jushi and Zhinu parted ways, one residing in Baixu Garden, the other at the Divine Needle Sect, never to meet again in this life. My uncle and Miss Xiaojing were separated by national hatred, family feuds, and numerous misunderstandings, ultimately parting ways. I grew up under my uncle's care, and I wouldn't claim to understand how to manage relationships. I can only do my best to help you."

He couldn't walk normally, and his bowing of his head, because of those words, didn't seem like shyness, but more like a concession unwilling to cause trouble.

Only the hand that never let go revealed the stubbornness beneath this frail body.

And that "Master Alliance Leader" was still the same name, but it seemed to be several times more intimate than before.

The smile on his lips became clearer and clearer, and as he raised his head, he presented that blooming smile in front of Shi Qingruo. "I am just glad that when you married Guan Qi, you asked someone to find our Shenhou Mansion first when you encountered trouble."

Perhaps their fate was destined from that time.

I just don't know if there will be a chance to make that substitute sedan chair become real one day...

"Hiss-" Wuqing took a breath softly.

Shi Qingruo withdrew the hand that had touched his forehead.

She raised the corner of her lips slightly: "Since you said you are a soulmate, you should know that I can guess what you are thinking. So-"

"If you want to be the partner of the Saint of the Misty Heaven Alliance, if you want to be the adoptive father of Chun'er and Yaohong, don't think about jumping in three steps."

He was thinking too much.

Wuqing continued with a smile: "Then let me put it another way. Master Shi, what is going on today that requires me to be your accomplice?"

He loosened his hand, but the wheelchair had already moved forward one step, catching up with Shi Qingruo's footsteps.

Therefore, there was no need for the wind to convey it, the voice had already reached his ears, "accomplice..."

Shi Qingruo felt that this was really a pleasing word, just like the person who said it.