Transmigrated as the Little Concubine of a Paper-Thin Man - Chapter 11.1

After a long silence without a response, Shi Yunji looked up to see Yan Ling’s reaction, and was surprised to find the other woman staring blankly at her neck.

She tilted her head and lightly tugged at Yan Ling’s sleeve.

Yan Ling snapped back to reality, lowering her gaze to meet Shi Yunji’s eyes, but quickly averted her sight.

She walked two quick steps, turning her back to Shi Yunji. Her right hand, trembling from suppressing the intent to kill, clenched into a fist, hidden beneath her long sleeve.

Shi Yunji was unaware of the darkness in her heart. She picked up the now suitably warm medicinal broth from the table and offered it to her.

Yan Ling resistantly turned her face away, asking only, “When will He appear?”

Shi Yunji shrugged.

“You don’t know?” Yan Ling narrowed her eyes slightly and asked again, “When was the last time He appeared by your side?”

A single lie requires a thousand lies to cover it up; at this moment, Shi Yunji profoundly understood the meaning of this statement.

She frowned and pondered for a while, then used her free hand to trace a long timeline in the air.

Yan Ling was startled, grabbing her wrist: “You haven’t seen Him for a long time either?”

Shi Yunji nodded.

Yan Ling fell silent.

The Jade Bell Palace was cast from jade, and although there was only one candlelight in the room, the reflection from the jade illuminated the sleeping quarters brightly enough. Yan Ling’s eyes were lowered, hidden in the shadow of her temple hair, with only her beautiful, thin lips reflecting a warm glow.

After a long moment, she looked up: “Did He send you to find me?”

Shi Yunji lowered her head, thought for a long time, then looked at her and nodded heavily.

Yan Ling curled her lips into a cold smile: “To find me for what?”

Shi Yunji used sign language: [Help me.]

“Something concerning your family?” Yan Ling had heard of the Yun family sect, but didn’t know much about it. She put on a cold expression and asked plainly, “Why should I?”

Shi Yunji was stunned.

Yan Ling took the bowl of medicinal broth from her hand, drank it in one go, and walked gracefully back to the soft couch: “He has never given me instructions to help you. What if you’re lying to me?”

Shi Yunji tightly clenched her hands in front of her chest, unable to refute her.

Being an introverted and sensitive person by nature, she felt deeply embarrassed at this moment. Taking a deep breath, she performed a clumsy salute to Yan Ling and turned to leave.

“Did I say you could go?” Yan Ling watched her back.

Then, an invisible force suddenly appeared in front of Shi Yunji, pushing her back towards Yan Ling. She couldn’t help but look up at the aloof and indifferent young girl on the soft couch, her eyes revealing unconcealed reproach and grievance.

Just that one glance struck Yan Ling like a bolt of lightning.

She leaned against the soft couch in a daze, even forgetting what she intended to say—

For a fleeting moment, she had the absurd feeling that the young immortal servant glaring at her was the long-lost deity she had been searching for. And only her deity would look at her with such reproach in this situation.

Reproaching her for her arrogance.

Reproaching her for neglecting His new pet.

Reproaching her for being far from the righteous and selfless person He had hoped for.

But why did such a gaze appear on an immortal servant?

Yan Ling could understand Shi Yunji feeling sad, wronged, even angry or scared of her, but she simply could not accept the reproach in her eyes.

How dare she reproach her?

What right did she have to make such an expression toward the mistress of this place?

By the time she realized it, Yan Ling had instantly moved in front of Shi Yunji, pinching her cheek with her hand.

The silver bell on her wrist jingled faintly. She lowered her head, looking directly into Shi Yunji’s eyes, and enunciated every word: “Don’t look at me with that kind of gaze.”

A flicker of doubt crossed Shi Yunji’s eyes, quickly replaced by surging anger.

The touch of the skin under her fingers was delicate. Yan Ling was momentarily distracted, her attention somehow falling onto the girl’s fair skin. The tender cheek pinched by Yan Ling had already turned red. She subconsciously rubbed it, but failed to make the redness recede, instead drawing out more blushes.

The blushes merged, like mountains covered in blooming flowers in spring.

The bright color forced her to turn her head away.

At this moment, she seemed to understand why the deity had chosen this person as the new divine favored one, yet the new favored one showed no fear of her, and her spoiled appearance made Yan Ling feel defeated.

She pushed the person away and said again, “Get out.” As the words left her mouth, she realized her tone was no longer as sharp as before.

Shi Yunji covered her face and ran out of the sleeping quarters without looking back. After crossing the threshold, she didn’t forget to turn back and close the door.

The closing door isolated her figure, and also the night outside the window.

Yan Ling stood rooted for a moment, then returned to the soft couch. Impulsively, she summoned a water mirror. Her eyes scrutinized her own reflection in the mirror, but her mind was filled with the face of the just-departed Shi Yunji.

After a while, she waved her hand to dismiss the water mirror, then flicked her sleeve to extinguish the candlelight in the room.

When the candle went out, the sleeping quarters were immediately conquered by darkness. The jade was cold, making the entire Jade Bell Palace feel empty like an ice cellar.

In the corridor.

Shi Yunji returned to the kitchen only to remember she had forgotten to retrieve the medicinal bowl.

She didn’t want to go back to face Yan Ling. As she hesitated, she saw the silk handkerchief that had been discarded earlier. The handkerchief was still hanging on the jade railing, swaying precariously in the breeze. She stepped forward, untied the handkerchief, and clutched it in her hand, then leaned against the jade railing to rest. Remembering the terrifying image of the handkerchief stained red with Yan Ling’s blood from the corner of her eye that day, she brought the handkerchief to her nose to sniff it.

There was no trace of blood, only a faint, hard-to-distinguish cool fragrance remaining on the silk.

She suddenly sighed, tucked the handkerchief into her embrace, and looked distractedly into the distance.

At some point, the originally dense layers of dark clouds had split open, and a faint starlight escaped through the gap, scattering onto the jade steps.

The next day.

Shi Yunji was woken up by noise.

“Stop sleeping. How can you sleep like a pig in a place like this? Get up quickly.”

Shi Yunji opened her eyes and saw Huan Zhu with her hands on her hips.

She looked at the other woman with confusion, stopping her half-yawn.

“Steward Zhao sent me, of course.” Huan Zhu sat on the railing, her two legs dangling in the air. “You’ve really got guts. I can’t believe you actually survived intact.”

Shi Yunji stretched, not wanting to argue with her, and turned to get water to wash up.

Huan Zhu blocked her way.

She glanced at Yan Ling’s sleeping quarters, confirming there was nothing unusual, and then pulled Shi Yunji’s wrist: “Good sister, tell me, how did you manage to handle her? We need to share information, so I don’t give away our secret in front of the Immortal Master later.”

Shi Yunji thought for a moment, then used sign language.

[The Ten Thousand Spirits Key was stolen by you. It has nothing to do with me. What is there for me to handle with her?]

Huan Zhu took some time to figure out what she meant. She pressed down on Shi Yunji’s hand and grinned: “Don’t talk nonsense. When was the Ten Thousand Spirits Key ever in my hands?”

Shi Yunji stopped signing and simply stared at her meaningfully.

Huan Zhu’s eyes darted around: “Anyway, it was something no one wanted. Whoever picked it up owns it, right?”

She was very smart, seizing the core point and smiling: “So actually, the Immortal Master never asked about the Ten Thousand Spirits Key, did she?”

Shi Yunji pulled her hand free and walked toward the kitchen.

Huan Zhu shouted behind her: “Steward Zhao told me to help you. We can serve the Immortal Master together again from now on. You need to be more clever and don’t drag me down.” Shi Yunji pretended not to hear. Huan Zhu, in a good mood, continued: “How is the Immortal Master doing? That medicinal pot was used last night, right? Where are the medicine packets?

“I’ll decoct the medicine today, to ensure the Immortal Master recovers quickly.”

All morning, no matter where Shi Yunji went, Huan Zhu stuck to her like a shadow, incessantly asking this and that. It wasn’t until noon, when the two delivered the newly decocted medicinal broth to Yan Ling’s sleeping hall, that Huan Zhu finally toned down and quietly shut up.

The surrounding noise finally ceased for a moment. Shi Yunji secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that even seeing Yan Ling again wasn’t so difficult to accept.

Yan Ling’s expression was normal. She drank the medicine under their watchful eyes.

Huan Zhu’s eyes quickly scanned the room, and she proactively stepped forward to take the empty medicinal bowl: “Immortal Master, how do you feel?”

Yan Ling ignored her. Huan Zhu cleared her throat and continued: “Steward Zhao said that Divine Physician Fu wasn’t able to diagnose you thoroughly before, and the remaining medicine packets were just for stabilizing spiritual power, so the effect might not be significant.

“If you feel unwell anywhere else these days, should you go to Medicine Peak for Divine Physician Fu to examine you carefully?”

Yan Ling: “No need.”

Huan Zhu bit her lower lip: “Then… should we continue to decoct this medicine?”

“Yes.” Yan Ling glanced at Shi Yunji, “Don’t be lazy.”

Shi Yunji looked down, keeping her thoughts to herself, as quiet as a statue.

As the two were about to leave, Yan Ling spoke again: “You stay and fan me.”

Shi Yunji frowned, looking back at her.

She had personally devoted effort to building the Jade Bell Palace, making it warm in winter and cool in summer. The temperature was always very pleasant, and fanning was completely unnecessary. Furthermore, a powerful cultivator like Yan Ling wouldn’t have trouble with cold or heat.

This request was ten out of ten meant to specifically make things difficult for someone.

Since Yan Ling didn’t specify which “you” she meant, Huan Zhu shoved the empty medicinal bowl into Shi Yunji’s hands.

“Is the Immortal Master hot? Your servant will fan you.”

Yan Ling had already returned to her desk: “Not you.”

Huan Zhu looked back at Shi Yunji, then continued to plead: “Hmm, is there something I did wrong?” She tried hard to promote herself: “My strength is greater than hers. I’m definitely better at fanning than she is.”

Yan Ling finally looked up, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.

She said, “You are too noisy.”

Huan Zhu looked utterly bewildered: “???”

Although both were unwilling, no one dared to disobey Yan Ling’s decision. Ultimately, Shi Yunji could only pick up the silk-faced bamboo fan, watching with open eyes as Huan Zhu, puffing out her cheeks in indignation, left.

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