SBTW 14

Shuttle Between Two Worlds: The Chief Minister’s E-Commerce Minion

Chapter 14: The Bride-Stealing Thief Steps Right into Qiqi's Anti-Wolf Trap

Deep in the night at eleven-forty-five.

Inside the Minister of Rites' estate, red silks fluttered in the midnight breeze across lanterns draped along every courtyard, and festive double-happiness characters plastered the window lattices.

Yet the Minister's daughter, who ought to have been seated upon the bridal bed, had long since been quietly escorted to a safe haven by the Court of Judicial Review.

Taking her place was Tian Qiqi, clad in a black-and-white athletic outfit and sporting a neat high ponytail.

Only fifteen minutes remained until her mandatory daily return to the modern world.

Tian Qiqi, however, felt not a shred of tension.

Squatting on the floor, she clutched the can of [Ultra-Strong Invisible Anti-Wolf Adhesive Spray] and went on a manic, aggressive frenzy spraying down the blue-grey bricks near the window.

"Spray a bit extra here, and right here too."

Her movements were as brisk and efficient as restocking warehouse shelves; the transparent adhesive spread rapidly across a wide patch of the floor, rendering itself almost completely invisible to the naked eye.

Next, she stuck a pair of compact infrared alarms onto both sides of the window frame, before sliding a returned night-vision pinhole security camera with a scratched lens right behind the bed curtains.

The phone screen lit up, displaying a monochrome night-vision feed that illuminated every blind spot in the bridal chamber with crystal clarity.

"Splendid." Tian Qiqi nodded with satisfaction, sliding her high-voltage stun gun smoothly up her sleeve.

"Daring to steal a bride right before my wedding—if I don't shock this bride-stealing thief until his muscles cramp tonight, you can write the name Tian Qiqi backward."

Meanwhile, up on the roof of the Minister's estate, the midnight wind bit with bone-chilling cold.

Huangfu Ye stood cloaked in shadow in a deep purple robe, a dozen secret guards holding their breath in formation behind him, leaving the entire rooftop as silent as the grave save for the howling wind.

Tucked tightly inside his right ear was that white Bluetooth earphone. On the other end of the line, Tian Qiqi was still humming a cheerful tune.

The upbeat melody flowing into his ear helped stabilize the taut, aching tension in Huangfu Ye's chest just a fraction.

Yet his hand clamped around his sword hilt remained glacial.

He simply couldn't bring himself to relax.

Even knowing how absurdly overpowered Tian Qiqi's "immortal realm artifacts" were, the mere thought of her sitting alone in that room waiting for a criminal to take the bait made his surging restlessness and anxiety impossible to suppress.

"Qiqi," Huangfu Ye murmured low, his voice severely rasped. "This official is right above you."

His gaze locked deathly still onto the candlelit bedchamber. "Should there be any disturbance, this official will drop down instantly."

Tian Qiqi's cheerful laughter quickly drifted through the earphone.

"Relax," her tone was lighthearted enough to sound less like she was hunting a criminal and more like she was organizing a group-buy livestream. "You just focus on looking handsome up there; leave the rest to me."

As the night grew deeper, the clamor within the estate gradually faded away.

While the distant murmurs of guests could still be heard earlier, approaching the midnight hour, the entire Minister's estate was reduced to the rustling whisper of wind through leaves.

A dark figure swept soundlessly across the eaves, moving with such extreme agility that had Huangfu Ye's inner energy not been deeply cultivated, he would have barely detected it.

Like a massive black bird, the figure landed lightly outside the window—none other than the bride-stealing thief who had recently thrown the capital into a panic.

He was evidently supremely confident in his methods.

Upon landing, he even leisurely fished a bamboo tube of sleeping incense from his sleeve, preparing to blow it straight through the window crack.

Yet little did he know that waiting inside the room tonight was no fragile, delicate noble miss.

It was Tian Qiqi—a woman capable of single-handedly hauling cement and chasing hooligans down three blocks with a stun gun.

The window was gently nudged open, and as the thief took a single step into the room, almost simultaneously—

[BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP——!!!]

[ALARM! ALARM! INTRUDER DETECTED! CATCH THE THIEF—!]

A shrill, ear-piercing electronic alarm shrieked into explosion within the bridal chamber.

The noise was entirely beyond anything an ancient person could process, sounding like hundreds of bronze gongs clashing all at once right against the eardrums.

Scared completely out of his wits, the thief slipped on the spot and tumbled headfirst right through the windowsill.

"What in the world—AAARGH!!"

He tried scrambling up to flee, but his shoe soles suddenly caught with a sticky snick, locking his boots dead to the floor.

The thief's expression warped instantly. He frantically channeled his inner energy, attempting to wrench his feet free by sheer force.

Instead of escaping, even his heels couldn't budge half an inch; it felt as though his feet had been welded to the floorboards with molten iron.

"Wh-What sorcery is this?!" Panic finally seized the thief as cold sweat poured down his forehead in sheets.

Standing up with a beaming smile, Tian Qiqi offered, "Mister, this is called anti-wolf adhesive." She gave her stun gun a casual twirl.

"A top-selling immortal realm item, 199 a can, buy two get one free—super economical."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than she lunged forward in a single bound.

Zzzzt—! A burst of violent blue current erupted instantly.

The thief shuddered violently from head to toe, seizing into a frantic spasm as his hair instantly puffed out into a bird's nest and white smoke puffed from his mouth.

"AAAAARGH—!"

Crash! The rooftop tiles shattered into pieces!

Huangfu Ye descended like a bolt of lightning, his sword cleaving the air as an aura of pure slaughter solidified around him. But the instant he landed and took in the scene before him, his steps ground to a sharp halt.

The thief was glued to the floor, convulsing rhythmically while foaming at the mouth.

Meanwhile, Tian Qiqi stood right beside him, spinning her stun gun with high-spirited flair and beaming brighter than anyone else.

"Lord Huangfu!" Her eyes sparkled. "Solved in under ten seconds again, oh. Shouldn't the Court of Judicial Review consider giving me a raise?"

The heart that Huangfu Ye had kept lodged in his throat finally dropped safely back into place.

Gazing at the woman before him who beamed with such unbridled, dazzling radiance, the frantic terror and tension threatening to drive him mad slowly melted into a profound, overwhelming tenderness.

Before he could even speak, the digital watch on Tian Qiqi's wrist suddenly chimed.

[Countdown: 00:00:30]

Tian Qiqi’s expression shifted. "Crap, time's up!"

Huangfu Ye’s pupils contracted. This time, he didn't hesitate for even half a second.

Yanking her fiercely into his arms, he clamped his arm securely around her waist and dipped his head to press a kiss straight to her brow.

The kiss burned with startling heat. "Qiqi," Huangfu Ye murmured hoarsely.

"Tomorrow at noon, this official will still be waiting for you at the Court of Judicial Review."

Though breathless from the tight embrace, Tian Qiqi still managed a smile.

"Got it, Lord Heir." She reached out to pat his chest. "Never processing returns, right? I remember."

[Countdown: 00:00:00]

A faint glow flashed instantly.

Amidst the stunned gazes of a room full of bailiffs and secret guards, Tian Qiqi vanished completely into thin air once more.

Huangfu Ye's embrace suddenly turned empty, yet this time, he didn't spiral out of control.

Standing quietly in place, his fingertips still lingering with her warmth, the tenderness resting deep within his eyes grew too thick to ever melt away.

A moment later, Huangfu Ye turned his head to look at the twitching thief still glued to the floor.

His eyes hardened back into the absolute frost becoming of the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

"Drag him to the death cell," he commanded flatly. "This official will interrogate him personally."

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