Transmigrated as the Little Concubine of a Paper-Thin Man - Chapter 2

It was as if an old friend, unseen for many years, suddenly appeared face-to-face. Initially, there was a doubt, but the second and third glances were enough to link the person before her with the memories—

The young girl who had accompanied Shi Yunjii for several years in the game truly stood before her, with warm breath and delicate touch.

Yan Ling rubbed Shi Yunjii’s chin with her left thumb, her eyes cool and expressionless, detached as if assessing a still-acceptable artifact. This was entirely foreign to Shi Yunjii; usually, when the girl looked up at her, even though she was only gazing at a point in the void, every corner of her eyes overflowed with warmth.

Indeed, the girl had grown up and developed her own temperament.

Soon, Yan Ling quickly lost interest. She walked forward, the slight movement of her lotus steps raising a crisp, silvery chime. As if deliberately trying to provoke Hua Shu, she slowly uttered, “Much more pleasing to the eye than you.”

The moment the words fell, some maidservant suddenly let out a suppressed giggle, and as the laughter spread, the atmosphere immediately lightened. Of course, the inner disciples looked insulted, and Hua Shu’s already ashen face grew three shades darker, making her beautiful features appear distorted. She didn’t dare anger Yan Ling, so she shot a vicious glare at Shi Yunjii, her eyes filled with cold malice.

The next moment, Yan Ling added an unceremonious jab: “Zhao Feng, see them out.”

Zhao Feng’s ability to gauge the situation was extraordinary. He immediately called out a high-pitched “Understood,” then stepped up to Hua Shu with a forced smile, bowing slightly as he gestured: “Fairy, please?”

Hua Shu, as the foremost inner disciple and the Sect Master’s daughter, rarely found herself in such a humiliating position. She could no longer control her expression, but thankfully, she managed to maintain basic etiquette, flicking her sleeve and instructing Zhou E and the others, “Let’s go.”

The few inner disciples, already fidgeting, immediately retreated to Hua Shu’s side.

Shi Yunjii didn’t want any more trouble and deliberately stepped aside to make way. But her desire to avoid trouble didn’t mean others would easily let her off. As Zhou E passed her, she suddenly reached out and heavily pinched Shi Yunjii’s wrist. Before Shi Yunjii could struggle, the other party released her hand and walked on as if nothing had happened. When they were gone, Shi Yunjii checked her wrist, only to see a dark mark coiling there.

The black mark was bizarre; no matter how she rubbed it, it wouldn’t fade, yet strangely, there was no pain. Shi Yunjii hesitated for a moment and then disregarded it, letting her long sleeve cover her wrist.

She turned around and saw Yan Ling, pristine in white, standing on the mountain steps, giving instructions to Zhao Feng. The young girl was otherworldly, shimmering with a faint light, captivating the eye. But the next second, as soon as Yan Ling finished speaking, she instantly vanished, so swiftly and cleanly that it was as if she had never been there. Shi Yunjii snapped out of her daze and awkwardly rubbed the tip of her nose.

Zhao Feng came over, comforted the maidservants, and then sent them back to their rooms.

Shi Yunjii’s mind was reeling from the morning’s overload of information, and she became so groggy that the moment she touched the bed, she fell into a deep sleep, not even waking up when someone called her for lunch. She slept until the sun was setting in the west. When she got up, she saw a person sitting by the table, and her post-sleep laziness instantly vanished, her body stiffening.

“You didn’t eat lunch, so I brought you some snacks.” A pleasant female voice rang out.

Shi Yunjii focused her gaze and met a pair of cunning fox-like eyes. She recognized the person as the only maidservant who had helped her that morning, and her guard dropped significantly.

She thanked the person with sign language, but seeing the woman’s blank expression, she suddenly realized she was in a different world. She lowered her hand and nodded at the woman in gratitude.

“You’re really mute?” The woman rested her chin on her hand.

Shi Yunjii couldn’t explain. While getting out of bed and putting on a gauze outer robe, she forced a polite smile. However, the woman’s very next sentence almost made her fall back onto the bed.

The woman’s fox-like eyes narrowed, her gaze full of curiosity.

She asked, feigning innocence, “Is this the price for changing your soul’s aura? Trading it for your voice?”

Shi Yunjii froze on the spot, her eyes wide in shock. By the time she realized something was amiss and tried to hide her emotions, it was too late; the woman at the table had fully registered her reaction.

Believing she had seen through Shi Yunjii, she grinned contentedly: “Oh-ho, I guessed right again.”

Shi Yunjii pursed her lips, trying to adjust her emotions while pondering the word “again” the woman had used.

“That’s a really inconvenient price. How long will you be mute? A month? Three months?” The woman stood up, crossed her arms, and stood before the table, looking at her.

Shi Yunjii shook her head.

The woman chuckled, then suddenly pulled a folded piece of parchment from her sleeve.

“But you being able to escape today is half my doing, isn’t it? How did you think of keeping this thing hidden on you? Were you certain they wouldn’t dare touch Yan Ling’s people?”

A dull pain shot through Shi Yunjii’s temple. She covered her forehead and retreated two steps, sitting back down on the bed.

A memory belonging to the original Yun Jii floated into her mind—

Last night, after secretly finishing the task Zhao Feng had assigned, Yun Jii snuck out. She cautiously approached the main peak of the Flying Immortal Sect and ran into a disturbance halfway there. Yun Jii did not leave because of it. On the contrary, while the thieves diverted several inner disciples, she secretly slipped into the nearby Scripture Pavilion and stole the Flying Immortal Sect’s map.

Because most of the nearby guards were drawn away, she managed to escape back smoothly. But late that night, just as she finished reading the map and was about to sleep, a voice came from outside the window—

“You left your soul aura at the scene. They’ll find you soon.”

“Who?!” Yun Jii was startled, flew to the window, and opened it, but saw no one.

The voice chuckled: “Time is short. If you don’t want to be thrown into a dungeon, hurry up and figure something out.”

Yun Jii leapt out the window. Fearing she would alarm others, she could only cautiously search the vicinity, eventually returning without success. After leaving those two sentences, the voice completely disappeared and did not reappear all night.

It was after receiving this warning, realizing the fatal mistake she had made, that Yun Jii chose to activate a secret technique, summoning Shi Yunjii from another time and space. The two were inherently different; no matter how keen a Hellhound’s nose was, it couldn’t detect that the soul in this body had been replaced.

Looking at the map in the woman’s hand, Shi Yunjii suddenly remembered the body search this morning. She guessed the woman had used the opportunity of speaking up for her to secretly steal the map from her person.

Seeing her stare at the map, the woman carelessly offered the item: “I’ve already made a copy. Here, I’m returning this one to you.”

Shi Yunjii shook her head, refusing.

She was in no position to hide this stolen item now. If Hua Shu and the others came back and discovered this stolen goods, she wouldn’t be able to explain herself.

The woman smiled sweetly: “You dare not? That’s fine. I can help you dispose of this small item. But…” She paused, a look of contempt flashing in her eyes: “Is this all the courage you have? Do you still intend to steal Yan Ling’s Life-Bound Artifact?”

Shi Yunjii’s forehead was slick with sweat.

She felt completely exposed before the woman, as if naked, with no secrets that could be hidden or covered up. She didn’t even understand why the woman knew that Yun Jii’s true purpose for infiltrating the Flying Immortal Sect was to steal Yan Ling’s Life-Bound Artifact for revenge. After all, she had only just figured out the girl’s original plan while sorting through Yun Jii’s memories.

“Scared? Want to retreat?” The woman pressed closer, leaning into her ear, “Go find your ‘fiancé.’ With your looks, maybe you won’t be killed after all, right?”

Shi Yunjii frowned, pushed the person away with a cold face.

The woman smiled, about to say something, when her head suddenly tilted towards the doorway. The next second, she quickly stepped back, hid the map again, and adjusted her expression to one of concern.

Before Shi Yunjii could recover from the woman’s instantaneous change of face, she heard a knock on the door.

Since she couldn’t speak, the woman answered for her: “Come in.”

Zhao Feng pushed the door open and was startled to see the woman: “Huan Zhu?”

The woman smiled: “Steward Zhao.” She proactively pointed to the pastries on the table: “I came to check on Yun Jii.”

“Oh.” Zhao Feng didn’t give it much thought, nodded, and looked at Shi Yunjii on the bed. Seeing her face was still a bit pale, he asked with concern: “Were you frightened by the scene this morning? Those inner disciples from the main peak are just power-hungry, one more arrogant than the next.”

Huan Zhu covered her mouth and chuckled: “It’s a good thing you were here, Steward, or this courtyard would have been turned upside down by them.”

Hearing this, Zhao Feng cleared his throat awkwardly.

He turned to Shi Yunjii: “Yun Jii, come out with me. I have something to tell you.”

Shi Yunjii was unsure what Huan Zhu was planning and didn’t want to be alone with her anyway, so she nodded and followed Zhao Feng out of the room.

Zhao Feng didn’t beat around the bush. He found a quiet corner and instructed: “Tonight, you are to go to Lingling Peak to attend to the Immortal Master. Be smart about it, understand?”

Shi Yunjii paused.

The original owner’s memories told her that Lingling Peak was Yan Ling’s residence, and none of them, the maidservants who had come here, had been permitted to step onto Lingling Peak. She pointed to herself uncertainly, confirming the order with Zhao Feng.

“That’s right, it’s you.” Zhao Feng confirmed with a nod.

He leaned in close to Shi Yunjii: “You saw it today; the Immortal Master intervened to save you all, and her attitude toward you, especially, was quite favorable.” As he spoke these words, his eyes sparkled: “This is a great opportunity for you. Strike while the iron is hot, show your face more often before the Immortal Master, and maybe one day you’ll rise to power.”

Before Shi Yunjii could react, he narrowed his eyes and smiled: “Of course, don’t forget the Steward who led the way then, huh?”

Shi Yunjii anxiously tried to ask for more details but was interrupted by Huan Zhu, who suddenly jumped out.

“Steward, if you send her, can she handle it?” Huan Zhu stood next to Shi Yunjii. “Yun Jii can’t speak recently, I’m afraid she won’t be able to take good care of the Immortal Master.”

Zhao Feng: “This…”

Huan Zhu: “How about this, let me go with her. We two can support each other.”

She intimately took Shi Yunjii’s hand: “Don’t worry, the two of us sisters will definitely serve the Immortal Master well and strive to be elevated to concubines soon. When that happens, we absolutely won’t forget your kindness.”

Zhao Feng didn’t hesitate for long, nodding: “Fine, then you go with her.”

Shi Yunjii pulled her hand away, secretly frowning as she lowered her head—caring for Yan Ling was something she was familiar with, but to become Yan Ling’s concubine…

She looked up helplessly, seeing the pink sunset clouds in the sky.

Support Transmigrated as the Little Concubine of a Paper-Thin Man