Chapter 64: Stress Relief in the Office**

The segmented forging process had begun.

Under Madam Shen’s authority and Lin Tian’s cold oversight, the Tier-2 restricted workshop became a relentless machine. Apprentices poured molten profound iron into molds without question. Aunt Lin engraved the Wind-Compression Arrays in isolation, fingers moving with flawless precision.

By the time the moon reached its highest peak in the night sky, marking the Hour of the Ox (2:00 AM), the entire Crimson Nimbus Sect had fallen into a deep, silent slumber.

However, the lights within the Head Manager’s private office in the Resource Hall remained brightly lit.

Madam Shen sat behind her mahogany desk. Jade slips and ledgers piled high. Spirit-pearls cast pale light across her exhausted face. Managing tens of thousands of Outer Sect disciples was already crushing work. Tonight she was also diverting materials, laundering spirit stones, and masking every trail of Lin Tian’s Spirit-Fire Repeating Crossbow.

She rubbed her throbbing temples, letting out a soft, weary sigh. Even as a Qi Gathering Level 9 cultivator, the mental strain of deceiving the entire sect’s administration was pushing her mind to its absolute limits.

Suddenly, a warm, large hand gently cupped her shoulder.

Madam Shen flinched for a fraction of a second before a familiar, scorching wave of masculine Yang energy washed over her senses. The icy, untouchable Queen of the Outer Sect instantly melted, her rigid spine softening as she leaned back into the solid, muscular chest behind her.

"Master," she whispered softly, her eyes fluttering shut as she breathed in his deep, intoxicating scent.

Lin Tian stood in the shadows.

[Ding! Scanning Target 1: Madam Shen]

[Obsession Level: 100% (Extreme Devotion)]

[Physical Status: Severe mental fatigue. Qi flow in the cerebral meridians is sluggish due to over-calculation and stress.]

"You have been staring at these ledgers for six hours, Shen." His low voice filled the quiet office. Calloused hands moved to the nape of her neck, kneading the tight muscles with slow, deliberate pressure.

She let out a soft moan. "The Weapon Exhibition is only three days away. Deacon Liu’s spies watch our supply lines. If the Inner Sect Elders notice any discrepancy before then..."

"They won’t."

His thumbs pressed deep into the pressure points along her collarbone. A thin stream of Primordial Yang Qi flowed into her tired meridians. Scorching heat soothed aching muscles and sent a sharp jolt of electric pleasure straight down to her lower abdomen.

"You executed my plans flawlessly, my Queen. You are working too hard. It is time to rest."

Madam Shen’s breathing hitched. Outside this room she was the terrifying Matriarch who held the livelihood of thousands in her grasp. Here, beneath his hands, she felt small, cherished, and beautifully helpless.

"I live only to serve you, Master." She tilted her head back, offering the pale expanse of her neck.

Lin Tian’s eyes darkened with raw hunger. He gripped the armrests and spun the chair so she faced him directly.

With one smooth motion he lifted her by the waist and set her hard on the edge of the massive desk.

Clatter!

Jade slips and ledgers crashed to the floor.

"Master!" she gasped as the cool wood pressed against her.

He stepped between her parted thighs, trapping her completely against the desk. His hands seized the lapels of her high-collared crimson robes.

"You wear this heavy armor all day to intimidate the deacons. Let me take it off."

Golden clasps came undone one by one. The heavy crimson silk slid from her shoulders and pooled around her waist. Beneath it a tight silver-white spirit-silk undergarment clung desperately to her generous curves. Her heavy breasts heaved with quickening breaths, threatening to spill free from the tight fabric.

Lin Tian traced the curve of her jawline. His thumb brushed slowly over her full lips. Then he leaned in and captured her mouth in a fierce, consuming kiss.

Madam Shen melted instantly. She wrapped her arms around his thick neck and pulled him closer, opening her mouth to welcome the dominant invasion. Their tongues tangled in a heated dance, exchanging scorching Yang heat and the refined sweetness of her Yin energy.

Thump... Thump... Thump...

Booted footsteps suddenly echoed from the stone corridor outside.

Her eyes snapped open in pure panic. She broke the kiss, gasping for air.

"The Disciplinary Patrol," she whispered, heart hammering against her ribs. "Deacon Liu must have bribed them to patrol near my office. Master, if they hear us..."

Lin Tian’s lips curled into a dark, wicked smirk.

"Then you will stay very, very quiet, my Head Manager."

Before she could protest his hands gripped the hem of her undergarment and pulled it upward in one smooth motion, exposing her flat stomach and the soft, sensitive skin of her waist.

He lowered his head. Open-mouthed kisses trailed along her collarbone. His teeth gently nipped the sensitive tendons of her neck, sending shivers racing down her spine.

Outside the frosted glass three silhouettes came to a halt.

"Is the Head Manager still inside?" a muffled voice asked.

"Lights are on. She’s probably still reviewing the ledgers. Deacon Liu said keep a close ear for any suspicious activity."

Inside the room Madam Shen trembled violently. The heavy mahogany desk was cold against her back. Lin Tian radiated the heat of a furnace.

His large hand slid upward and firmly captured one heavy, silk-covered breast. He squeezed and kneaded it with a dominant, possessive rhythm. His thumb brushed expertly over the peak that had already hardened into a tight, aching pebble beneath the fabric.

"Mmph—!"

A high-pitched whimper escaped before she could stop it. She quickly slapped both hands over her mouth, eyes wide with a mixture of absolute terror and mind-numbing pleasure.

Only a thin wooden door and a basic privacy ward stood between them and complete ruin.

Lin Tian looked up at her flushed, tear-streaked face. Her eyes begged for mercy, yet her body arched desperately into his touch.

"Hold it in, Shen," he commanded in a hushed, vibrating whisper. "Show me how well you can keep our secret."

His free hand trailed lower, sliding beneath the waistband of her silken trousers. Long, calloused fingers found the soft, damp heat hidden between her thighs.

Her entire body went rigid.

She was already incredibly slick, her body weeping with desperate need. Lin Tian did not hesitate. He slid two fingers deep inside her tight, scalding passage, claiming her at once.

"MMMMMNNN!"

She bit down hard on her own fingers to muffle the scream. Tears of pure, overwhelming ecstasy streamed down her mature cheeks. Her hips bucked wildly off the desk, completely out of her control as she chased the agonizingly good friction of his hand.

Lin Tian pumped his fingers in and out with a slow, deliberate rhythm. With every thrust he channeled a faint pulse of scorching Yang Qi directly into her most intimate meridians, amplifying every sensation.

"Did you hear something?" a guard’s voice echoed from right outside the door.

"Sounded like a chair moving. Let’s wait here for a minute."

The proximity of danger was an intoxicating drug. Madam Shen’s heart pounded so hard she felt she might faint. Her inner walls clenched convulsively around his fingers, milking him with desperate, hungry strength. She was so wet that the soft, scandalous sounds of wet friction threatened to fill the quiet room.

Lin Tian leaned forward, pinning her firmly against the desk with his heavy chest so she could not squirm away. He captured her earlobe between his teeth, hot breath sending fresh shivers down her spine.

"You are so sensitive tonight, my Queen," he whispered darkly, fingers increasing their relentless pace. "Are you going to fall apart right here on your own desk while your guards stand right outside?"

She could not answer. Her mind had completely short-circuited.

Her voluptuous body tensed like a drawn bowstring. Toes curled tightly. Fingernails dug deep into the polished wood of the desk.

With a violent, muffled sob against her own hands, Madam Shen shattered.

Wave after wave of intense, blinding orgasmic pleasure ripped through her body. Her inner walls clamped down on his fingers with crushing force, flooding his hand with her sweet, pure Yin essence. Her thighs trembled uncontrollably as she rode out the intense, silent climax, breath coming in ragged, quiet gasps.

Outside the door the guards finally spoke again. "Nothing’s happening. She’s probably just working. Let’s continue the patrol."

Heavy footsteps slowly faded away down the corridor.

Inside the office silence returned, broken only by Madam Shen’s heavy, erratic breathing. She lay limp against the desk, crimson robes and silver undergarments in total disarray, face flushed with a beautiful post-climactic glow.

Lin Tian slowly withdrew his hand. He looked down at the powerful Matriarch who had been completely, beautifully broken by his touch alone.

He unclasped his dark belt, letting it hit the floor with a metallic clink. His eyes burned with unquenchable fire as he gazed at the flushed, desperate woman lying on the desk.

"The guards are gone," Lin Tian growled softly, stepping forward and pulling her hips to the very edge of the desk. "Which means you don’t have to stay quiet anymore."