Transmigrated as the Little Concubine of a Paper-Thin Man - Chapter 3

The Jade Bell Palace was situated on the peak of the Lingling Summit. The entire palace was cast from premium green jade, its corridors winding and roofs soaring, flashing with a chilling, yet soft, light under the moonlight. The night wind on the summit was relentless, teasing pedestrians with its chill. Shi Yunjii, who was lightly dressed, shivered and wrapped her sheer shawl tighter around her shoulders.

The next moment, the thin veil she had just gathered was pulled away.

“Do you know how to seduce someone?” Huanzhu skipped lightly and jumped in front of her.

Under the moonlight, the young girl was barefoot, wearing only a fully embroidered moxiong (a form of strapless bodice) and loose gauze trousers. Silver ornaments on her waist jangled softly as she moved. She narrowed her eyes and earnestly advised, “If you’re so timid and awkward, are you worthy of Director Zhao, who risked everything to present us?”

Shi Yunjii’s face flushed, and she uncomfortably turned her head away.

Huanzhu didn’t let her off, turning back to face her again: “Watch me carefully, I’ll teach you how to seduce Yan Ling.” She lifted her chin and began her analysis with confidence: “You know this, right? Zhao Feng has found many male cultivators/furnaces for the Immortal Lord before, and they were all driven down the mountain looking disheveled and injured. I secretly went to look; there were no shortage of extraordinarily handsome men among those male concubines. I really don’t know how the Immortal Lord could bear to hurt them.

“It seems the Immortal Lord definitely dislikes male charm.”

Shi Yunjii shook her head in displeasure, disagreeing with her viewpoint.

The young girl she raised was upright and would never engage in an outrageous act like taking male concubines. If they were injured, it must have been because those men were presumptuous and offended Yan Ling.

Huanzhu ignored her and continued, “Since the Immortal Lord dislikes male charm, what does she like?”

She turned to look at Shi Yunjii.

Shi Yunjii was stunned, frowning and thinking for a long time, her mind a blank.

What does Yan Ling like? It couldn’t possibly be women, could it?

While she was still bewildered, Huanzhu suddenly smiled, swayed her hips, and struck a seductive pose. Her lips slightly hooked, she said alluringly, “Naturally, it’s women like us—with graceful figures and a fragrant jade body.”

Shi Yunjii rolled her eyes and walked past her.

Huanzhu, ignored, chased after her angrily: “Little mute, what’s with your attitude?” She adopted a haughty posture: “Wait until I win favor; you’ll be green with envy.”

With that, she petulantly sped up, darting ahead.

The two stopped communicating and ascended the steps one after the other. The moonlight stretched out two long, slender shadows, slanting across the green jade bricks. By the time they reached the palace’s sleeping quarters at the summit, the night was very deep. The room was silent, and faint wisps of alcohol aroma leaked out from the half-open window lattice.

Huanzhu ran a few steps, peered through the window crack for a long time without figuring anything out, then quickly walked to the door, intending to push it open and enter. But just as her hand touched the jade door, she paused and looked back at Shi Yunjii: “You go in.”

Shi Yunjii didn’t know what trick she was up to now.

Huanzhu stepped back two paces and pointed at the door: “You go in first and check out the situation.”

She put her hand on Shi Yunjii’s shoulder: “Don’t worry, if it goes wrong, I’ll cover for you.”

Shi Yunjii frowned, stepping back two paces to avoid her touch.

But she didn’t show any resistance to Huanzhu’s decision. Instead, she stepped forward and lightly knocked twice on the door.

There was no sound from inside the room. She thought for a moment, pushed the door, and quietly stepped in.

Putting aside the current complicated situation, she was actually very willing to stay by Yan Ling’s side—in this strange world, the young girl was the only person she was familiar with.

Of course, the young girl now was unaware of her existence.

Huanzhu leaned against a pillar on the corridor behind Shi Yunjii. She appeared casual, but her gaze followed Shi Yunjii until her figure disappeared into the door crack. Only then did she lower her head and subtly sneer.

Not long after entering the sleeping quarters, Shi Yunjii found Yan Ling slumped over the desk.

The Immortal Lord, whom everyone dared not approach during the day, was now completely drunk. Blue threads of hair covered her cold eyebrows, and only her cheeks showed an unnatural flush. Several wine pots, some upright and some toppled, were on the desk. A fine brew was pouring out of the overturned spout, dripping onto the floor.

Shi Yunjii stopped.

She had never seen Yan Ling look like this; she didn’t even know Yan Ling drank alcohol.

She wasn’t boasting, but because she had raised her carefully, her young girl had almost no bad habits. Even at an age when her power was weak and everyone looked down on her, Yan Ling had never drowned her sorrows in wine—

She was very rational, always habitually maintaining sobriety.

At this moment, Shi Yunjii couldn’t help but wonder, was the Yan Ling in this world really the young girl she had “raised” since childhood? Had she encountered the ‘her’ who played the role of the Heavenly Dao? Had she struggled with her in this dog-eat-dog world?

In the empty sleeping chamber, a sudden chill ran through Shi Yunjii’s body. She interrupted her own thoughts and walked forward to right the two overturned wine pots.

Looking up again, she met a pair of pitch-black eyes.

She clearly saw a look of disgust in Yan Ling’s eyes, but it was quickly hidden. The owner of the eyes stood up, suppressing her impatience: “Did Zhao Feng send you?”

Shi Yunjii nodded, squeezing out an “En” from her nasal cavity.

Yan Ling loosened her collar without looking at her: “Go to the side hall and bring two pots of Three-Day Drunken here.”

Shi Yunjii looked over in surprise. After meeting Yan Ling’s puzzled gaze, she suddenly came to her senses, hurriedly tidied up the empty wine bottles on the desk, and turned to leave the room.

She suddenly remembered something—Yan Ling did drink alcohol.

It was shortly after Yan Ling was honored as a distinguished guest by the Flying Immortal Sect. There was a BUG in the game; Yan Ling, who should have begun enjoying endless glory, had her character card’s mood value drop below a normal level.

Shi Yunjii received the news of her mother’s impending marriage during that time and was extremely busy, so she could only submit the problem to the official website. One night, she was busy until late, and thought of opening the game to check on her young girl, only to see Yan Ling drinking alone, holding a wine pot. She clicked on the item description of that wine pot and saw the descriptions “Three-Day Drunken” and “Strong Liquor.”

She was very surprised, but seeing Yan Ling’s still low mood value, she couldn’t bear to scold her. She simply replaced the Three-Day Drunken in the wine pot with acacia honey water before returning it.

She thought Yan Ling’s mood would plummet further since she couldn’t drown her sorrows in wine, but unexpectedly, the value even rose a little. Shi Yunjii was very happy, but she was too tired and fell asleep without figuring out the logic behind it.

Thinking of this now, she unconsciously frowned.

Arriving outside the door, Huanzhu immediately approached: “How is it?”

Shi Yunjii pointed to the wine pots in her hand.

Huanzhu was very smart: “She wants you to fetch wine?”

Shi Yunjii nodded.

She led Huanzhu to the side hall and found the storage location for the Three-Day Drunken. Huanzhu volunteered to fill the wine, and Shi Yunjii tiredly rubbed her temples. A moment later, she took an empty wine bottle and entered the adjacent kitchen.

She and Yan Ling had built this palace together, so she was not unfamiliar with its layout.

Soon, she reunited with Huanzhu.

On the way, Huanzhu leaned close and whispered a reminder: “Yan Ling is very perceptive. I advise you not to make a move without absolute certainty.”

Shi Yunjii didn’t stop, nor did she even look at her.

This time, Huanzhu followed her into the sleeping chamber, and the two delivered the wine to Yan Ling. With one more person in the room, Yan Ling merely frowned but said nothing more.

She picked up the wine pot again and poured herself a drink, her pace becoming increasingly urgent.

Huanzhu waited a while, then daringly stepped closer, lifting the wine pot to pour for Yan Ling: “Immortal Lord, slowly, there’s plenty more here.”

Yan Ling didn’t look at her; her eyes seemed only to hold the mellow, fragrant wine. She drank cup after cup, completely unconcerned about what was happening around her. At this rate of consumption, the wine pots they brought back were quickly half empty. Huanzhu continued pouring while simultaneously giving Shi Yunjii a meaningful look.

Shi Yunjii, mute since childhood, naturally understood her meaning. She glanced at the increasingly intoxicated Yan Ling, gritted her teeth, and left the room.

The moonlight on the corridor was like water, making the green jade floor tiles glitter. The shadows of Huanzhu and Yan Ling were projected on the window, one pouring, one drinking, a harmonious sight. Shi Yunjii was truly unwilling to admit that this alcohol-addicted Yan Ling was the young girl she had personally raised, yet she couldn’t help but feel heartbroken—heartbroken for Yan Ling, who was troubled for some unknown reason, and heartbroken for herself, who was utterly alone in this world.

She quickened her steps to the side hall, brought back two more pots of Three-Day Drunken, and on her return, she saw on the window paper, the graceful silhouette of Huanzhu leaning softly towards the seated Yan Ling. A beauty throwing herself into one’s arms, the atmosphere couldn’t be more intimate. Seeing that Yan Ling was about to have a fragrant, soft beauty in her embrace, Shi Yunjii blushed and looked away.

But the next moment, she heard a loud crash from inside the room, accompanied by Huanzhu’s scream.

“Ah—”

Shi Yunjii was startled and looked back, only to see Huanzhu’s silhouette had vanished from the window paper. She subconsciously ran into the sleeping chamber and saw Huanzhu, her clothes already slipped to her shoulders, lying against a pillar.

The young girl’s face was still a good color, but her snow-white body was bruised from the impact. She was wailing softly on the ground in pain.

Yan Ling had already stood up, her anger spreading to Shi Yunjii, who had rushed in. The hostility between her brows intensified.

Shi Yunjii froze in place. Her hand went limp, the tray she was holding slipped, and the two pots of Three-Day Drunken were completely sacrificed to the green jade floor. The aroma of wine scattered, so thick it was hard to breathe.

She knew Yan Ling well; at this moment, only one thought remained in her mind: It’s over.

Yan Ling, however, seemed to enjoy it. The corner of her mouth even curled up slightly as she slowly walked towards the two. Silver bells on her body jingled unnaturally as she moved—a prelude to her anger and impending attack.

On the way, she picked up the last pot of wine on the desk and took a shallow sip, as if to enhance the upcoming slaughter.

As the fine liquor went down her throat, she suddenly stopped, then her face showed complicated expressions of surprise, joy, and grievance, and she froze entirely.

Huanzhu seized this opportunity to crawl up, quickly ran to the door, and looked back inside.

Shi Yunjii didn’t know what had happened and remained motionless. She even subconsciously took a step forward, wanting to check on Yan Ling’s condition.

The next moment, Yan Ling looked up, her eyes blazing with fury.

“Get out.”

Shi Yunjii stopped.

“Get—Out—” Yan Ling repeated.

Shi Yunjii took a deep breath, ignoring the mess on the floor, lifted her skirt, ran out of the sleeping chamber, and, along with Huanzhu, shut the palace door. Once Yan Ling’s figure was completely cut off, both of them sighed in relief simultaneously.

They sat down on the steps in front of the sleeping chamber to rest. Huanzhu spread out her limbs: “So lucky, we saved our lives.”

Shi Yunjii only buried her face in her knees, shrinking like a quail.

Inside the room, Yan Ling held the pot of wine, looking up at the void. If one looked closely, one would notice tears visibly welling up in her eyes.

She reached her hand upwards, murmuring incessantly: “Did you come back? Touch me, please? Come out and see me… why did you suddenly disappear…”

The murmuring lasted all night, but because it was so utterly pathetic, it didn’t even reach the ears of the people just a door away.

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