I Raise My Wife in a Supernatural Story (Infinite) - Chapter 32

Qi Yan felt dazed, her last memory lingering on the moment when the little ghost named Yanyan unleashed a surge of ghostly energy powerful enough to engulf the entire arcade.

After that, it was as if she had fallen into a dark, hollow void. Instinctively, she called out Bai Qing’s name, no longer caring about their cold war, all she wanted was to survive.

She drifted unconsciously for what felt like an eternity before regaining awareness, only to find herself in a sea of pure white flowers.

What kind of flowers were they? They looked like dandelions, fragile enough to scatter with a single breath.

Qi Yan climbed to her feet amidst the blossoms and glanced around, spotting a narrow path leading to a solitary wooden cabin. She followed the trail, noticing along the way that the dandelions carried by the wind seemed to coalesce into faint, shadowy figures.

“What a brat! She’s got quite the temper!”

The shadows could talk? Qi Yan stared in surprise, finding the voice oddly familiar. But before she could get a closer look, the shadow vanished.

Suppressing her confusion, she pressed on. More and more shadows appeared along the path, their fragmented whispers swirling around her.

Once she recognized whose voice it was, Qi Yan froze in shock, pausing mid-step as she tried to make sense of the words.

“This little one so young, yet so stubborn! Accusing me of being unreasonable, how reasonable is she herself?”

“She can’t even tell that woman Sanshui has feelings for her.”

“She’s really dug in her heels this time. I don’t understand how modern humans interact, she could’ve just told me properly.”

“Actually, she did tell me, but I…”

“Little one, danger!”

Listening silently to these looping murmurs, Qi Yan suddenly wondered where was she? It was almost as if, she could hear the inner thoughts of that infuriating fox?

The question gnawed at her until she reached the cabin.

There, beneath a tree, Bai Qing lay draped in white on a reclining chair, a gourd of wine dangling from her hand.

The fox was sharp she sensed Qi Yan’s presence instantly, her eyes snapping open before she lunged forward and caught Qi Yan before she could react.

Caught red-handed, Qi Yan curled her toes in embarrassment.

Bai Qing studied her with narrowed eyes for a long moment before finally speaking. “Little one, how did you end up here?”

“You, you can be here, so why can’t I?” Qi Yan retorted reflexively, still clinging to the remnants of their cold war.

To her surprise, Bai Qing chuckled, her tone laden with meaning. “Because this is the depths of my consciousness.”

What?

Her consciousness?

Qi Yan’s mind blanked for a moment before she finally grasped the meaning.

She stared at the woman before her, certain it was Bai Qing yet somehow, not quite.

“So you’re saying this is, inside Bai Qing’s mind?”

“More or less.”

“Then, how did I get here?”

Bai Qing’s fox-like eyes gleamed as she answered, “You were in danger. At the critical moment, I pulled your consciousness in.”

Qi Yan scrutinized her, a hint of wariness in her gaze. “I feel like you’re not quite the same as the Bai Qing I know.”

Bai Qing raised an eyebrow. “I’m glad you have such vigilance. However, I am the deepest emotion from the sea of consciousness. Compared to the person you’re familiar with, I might be a bit more lively.”

The most genuine and pure emotion deep within everyone’s heart is always fervent and intense, slightly different from the personality outwardly displayed.

Qi Yan pondered carefully and said, “So it’s like how humans grow up, the more they mature, the more they disguise themselves, and the more they differ from their original, purest selves?”

“Hmm… that interpretation isn’t entirely wrong. But let me clarify, I am not the real her, because I’m merely the embodiment of her most intense emotions. Little one, the person you see and interact with is the real her.”

The Bai Qing before her reclined back into the lounge chair, leisurely remarking, “Don’t confuse the concepts. I’m just a manifestation of the emotions in her sea of consciousness. The her you know and interact with is the real her there’s no disguise or what you humans call ‘the price of growth.'”

Qi Yan felt dizzy from her words, but one thing became clear to her: this place could reflect a part of Bai Qing’s inner thoughts, just like what she had heard earlier!

This fox sometimes sharp-tongued and tsundere, making it impossible to deal with her.

Her thoughts drifted further and further off track, preoccupied with how to end this cold war that benefited neither of them.

Her figure in the sea of consciousness gradually faded.

Bai Qing glanced at her and suddenly waved a hand. “It’s time for you to go back, little one.”

Qi Yan’s eyes snapped open everything before her was still white! Except,. this sensation this perspective something wasn’t right.

The whiteness before her now was different from the ethereal expanse of dandelions earlier. This whiteness was close at hand, within reach, and soft to the touch.

Qi Yan focused on the sensation and realized she seemed to be cradled in someone’s arms along with the familiar delicate silk, embroidered with silver-threaded cloud patterns.

Qi Yan abruptly sprang up and jumped backward, but for some reason, her body was incredibly soft and completely out of her control. Before she could even leap, she was scooped back.

Wait, scooped back?

Qi Yan blinked, finally taking in the sight before her. In front of her was a Bai Qing magnified countless times over. That peerlessly beautiful face was right before her eyes, but enlarged several times, like a giant!

“Ah, who are you?!” Qi Yan shrieked, jumping back again, only to notice even more problems.

Her body wasn’t just soft. it was also completely inflexible. Her joints were stiff, making movement difficult, and everything before her seemed magnified not just Bai Qing’s face, but her entire body.

“Awake?”

A familiar voice rang out. The giant before her spoke with Bai Qing’s exact voice!

A sense of foreboding rose in Qi Yan’s heart. She slowly lowered her head to look at her own body.

Her neck felt stiff, and the moment she moved it, she realized this wasn’t the familiar sensation of human joints moving.

Qi Yan’s heart sank further and further, hitting rock bottom when she saw her own tiny, soft hands.

Stiffly, she clenched her fist. The fabric, stuffed with cotton, felt like human flesh supporting this small body.

“I… what’s happening to me?” Qi Yan jumped up again, looking up at Bai Qing in horror. “What’s wrong with me? I’ve turned into a doll?!”

She reacted quickly, and Bai Qing nodded silently in response.

“I knew it!” Qi Yan spun around anxiously, her short, stubby, and soft little legs moving rapidly. “I saw the little punk Qiangzi turned into a green-haired turtle! I had a bad feeling right then, these little ghosts can turn humans into toys!”

“But I seem different from the green-haired turtle. He became a motionless creature, but I’m like a doll? And I can move, I can even talk!” Qi Yan’s doll-like eyes stared at Bai Qing. “What’s going on? I just remember that little girl named Yanyan emitting a surge of ghostly energy, and it rushed at me, trying to envelop me. After that, I don’t remember anything!”

Jiang Miao, who had been standing nearby, chimed in, “It was this, uh fairy who saved us! At that moment, we both lost the game against the little ghosts, and just as the ghostly energy was about to consume us, a bright white light shielded us. That’s when I managed to use my Qiankun Bag to hide us temporarily.”

Fairy?

Qi Yan’s tiny doll eyes studied the two of them. Knowing Bai Qing as she did, she was certain the fox hadn’t introduced herself to Jiang Miao.

Her little mouth twitched, and she hesitated. Before being engulfed by the ghostly energy, she had been sulking at Bai Qing. Now even though she had heard some of Bai Qing’s inner thoughts, she still felt awkward, unsure whether to speak up first.

Bai Qing looked down at her, gently cradling her in her arms. “When the little ghost attacked you, I temporarily sealed your consciousness and transported you to a safe place before bringing you back. That’s why you’re different from the other toys.”

The other toys had their consciousness stripped away, but Qi Yan’s soul and awareness could still return to her doll body.

Qi Yan blinked her tiny eyes, recalling the brief moment she had touched Bai Qing’s mindscape, and pieced together what had happened.

“So now, I’ve just shrunk down into this form?”

Bai Qing gave a lazy smile. “Pretty much.”

Her smile was like spring thawing ice, stunning Jiang Miao. Just two or three minutes ago, when they had been talking, this “fairy” had been nothing like this barely responding to every eight sentences Jiang Miao spoke, her face as cold and expressionless as jade.

But now, after speaking with Qi Yan, her entire demeanor had softened, no longer as frosty as before.

Thinking back to their conversation before Qi Yan regained consciousness, Jiang Miao fell silent again.

“She is my wife.”

Jiang Miao had been certain it was a joke. After all, Qi Yan looked young, barely in her early twenties, fresh-faced and tender. It wouldn’t be surprising if she had a boyfriend, but to say she was married to a wife Jiang Miao found it hard to believe.

Our country hasn’t progressed that far yet, has it? It’s not even legal!

But now looking at the state of these two. Not to mention Qi Yan’s exuberance and wild bouncing around this “fairy,” the cold-faced “fairy” who had been indifferent to her was now looking at a certain doll with a truly gentle and indulgent expression, as if she could tolerate everything about it. Qi Yan seemed accustomed to this kind of indulgence. In short, there was an unspoken understanding between the two that outsiders couldn’t quite articulate.

Jiang Miao felt complicated emotions; she had to admit that the first time she saw Qi Yan, she felt something different for this pretty little girl. Because of this feeling, she took the initiative to suggest teaming up with the girl temporarily. After all, they were both alone, and teaming up could only bring benefits, with the possibility of developing deeper feelings during the process.

As a result, an inexplicable third person appeared, and Jiang Miao couldn’t quite figure out what the relationship between the two was, so she could only observe them quietly for now.

“Bai Qing, what should I do now?” Qi Yan sounded a bit dejected, her chubby doll body flopping into Bai Qing’s arms as she said, “I can’t just not turn back, right? This is my body! I don’t want her to turn into a doll made entirely of cotton.”

Bai Qing held her and said, “It won’t happen. As long as we leave this world, your body will return to normal.”

Qi Yan still looked gloomy, “But if I don’t restore my body first, am I still considered a player? How can I collect all the items in this state? If we don’t gather all the items, we won’t be able to leave.”

Bai Qing didn’t know how to respond to this. When it came to strategizing, she prided herself on not being as clever as the quirky Qi Yan, and for a moment, she couldn’t come up with any ideas.

“Actually,” Jiang Miao, who had been silent, finally found an opportunity to speak. She hesitantly said, “Actually, there’s another way. I just don’t know if you two are willing.”

Qi Yan’s little bean-like eyes widened as she looked at Jiang Miao and eagerly asked, “Sister San Shui, what is the method?”

Jiang Miao glanced at Bai Qing and noticed that since Qi Yan had woken up, Bai Qing had been less cold towards her, and now she even turned to look at her with a hint of inquiry in her gaze.

Encouraged, Jiang Miao said, “If we team up temporarily, as long as I collect all the stamps, then Shijian can also leave with me!”

Upon hearing this, the doll-like Qi Yan jumped up on the spot, running back and forth around Bai Qing twice before clapping her little hands and saying, “I think this idea is great!”

She agreed, and Bai Qing did not voice any objections. Jiang Miao cautiously glanced at her and, seeing no particular turbulence in her eyes, inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief. The initial pressure Bai Qing had exerted on Jiang Miao had left a significant impact, and just thinking about that initial tremor still made her uneasy.

“My time with this bag of holding is about to run out, so we need to make a decision quickly.”

Hearing Jiang Miao say this, Qi Yan tilted her little head to look at Bai Qing and said, “We don’t know how to turn my body back. The time in this story is already very limited, and if we waste more time trying to restore my body, we don’t know what might happen or how much time we could waste. So, to be safe, let’s temporarily give up on restoring my body and just focus on leaving this story!”

Jiang Miao continued to explain, “It’s just a one-time temporary team-up. The partnership won’t persist after we leave.” She took out a team-up card, which clearly stated the words “one-time” on it.

Bai Qing finally looked at Jiang Miao and then said, “She can make the decision.”

Her agreement instantly put Jiang Miao at ease, and Qi Yan also breathed a sigh of relief. She still remembered the words she had heard deep within Bai Qing’s consciousness. Though she didn’t know how Bai Qing had figured it out or whether Bai Qing had misunderstood out of possessiveness, she kept the matter in mind, fearing that their previous cold war might drag the innocent Jiang Miao into it.

Now that Bai Qing was being so agreeable, Qi Yan naturally relaxed. She even stretched out her tiny plush hand to touch Bai Qing’s, taking the initiative to show goodwill.

Bai Qing grasped her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. The doll’s fabric wasn’t bad quite sturdy, actually and stuffed generously with cotton. Holding it in her arms felt nice, soft and pleasantly bouncy.

With the agreement reached among the three, Jiang Miao and Qi Yan successfully formed a temporary team. At the same time, the time limit for the Qiankun Bag expired, and the three appeared out of thin air in the arcade.

Jiang Miao checked the temporary team-up information, which listed only her and Qi Yan. This Bai Qing really wasn’t an ordinary player. Jiang Miao had a bold suspicion that Bai Qing was most likely some kind of powerful, rare summonable item belonging to Qi Yan!

If her guess was correct, then these two probably weren’t in a marital relationship either?

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on such thoughts. The arcade manager, seeing them reappear, walked over with a smile. “I didn’t expect you to be so capable, vanishing right in front of those three.”

As he spoke, his gaze landed on Bai Qing, his eyes flickering slightly, his expression freezing for a moment.

He couldn’t sense this person’s exact aura. All he knew was that her presence felt contradictory as if she didn’t belong in this script, yet was inextricably tied to it.

The manager’s eyes slowly trailed downward, finally settling on the doll in Bai Qing’s arms.

“Well, miss, if those three little ghosts saw you like this, they’d probably get excited again.”

For some reason, Qi Yan felt that the manager’s tone carried a hint of affection when he mentioned the “three little ghosts” like a gentle, kindly elder.

The manager didn’t waste any more words. He stamped Jiang Miao’s pass with the clearance seal and let them go.

“The roller coaster downstairs had an accident. It’s quite a commotion, you might want to check it out.”

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