Transmigrated as the Little Concubine of a Paper-Thin Man - Chapter 32

In the following days, Yan Ling began keeping long hours, going out early and returning late, appearing exceptionally busy.

The familiar Zhao Feng and several immortal maidservants were assigned to care for Shi Yunjì at Yuling Palace. However, Shi Yunjì knew that rather than care, their more important duty was to monitor and keep watch over her. Yet, whenever she thought of this, she found it slightly amusing—

How could Yan Ling think she could run away? Even Shi Yunjì herself didn’t know where else she could go.

From Zhao Feng, Shi Yunjì learned that Yan Ling was recently busy consolidating power among the various factions of the Flying Immortal Sect. She used violent suppression against those who resisted and incorporated those who were pragmatic, turning them into her own people. After such a thorough cleanup, the entire Flying Immortal Sect, along with all the nearby large and small sects, now bowed before Yan Ling.

After all, those who were disobedient had already been dealt with.

Sometimes, Shi Yunjì would secretly breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that only Yan Ling’s busyness allowed her a moment to breathe. During this respite, she didn’t rest, instead racking her brain to figure out how to solve the current predicament.

But one day, Zhao Feng surprisingly led several immortal maidservants to decorate the usually deserted Yuling Palace with lanterns and streamers.

Shi Yunjì was puzzled and asked Zhao Feng, who replied, “Ah… hasn’t Fairy Yunjì received the news yet?”

Since Yan Ling’s return to the Flying Immortal Sect, most people had recognized Shi Yunjì’s importance to her, and no one dared to treat her as a maidservant anymore, addressing her respectfully with the title “Fairy.”

Shi Yunjì shook her head blankly.

Zhao Feng looked a little awkward: “Oh dear, well… it’s just that the Dao-Companion Ceremony between you and the Immortal Lord, ahem, ahem, no, between you and Sect Master Yan, was put on hold because of some issues, wasn’t it?

“The Sect Master’s intention is to hold it during her Ascension Ceremony, making it a grand, spectacular event to let the entire world know the news of you two becoming Dao-Companions.”

Upon hearing this, Shi Yunjì froze.

These days, because she didn’t want to face Yan Ling, she forced herself to go to sleep before the other woman returned. Even if she woke up in the morning, she would continue to pretend to sleep until Yan Ling lightly kissed her and left before getting up. Because of this, the two had almost no communication during this time, and she had never heard the news about the Dao-Companion Ceremony being re-held.

[Stop it.] Shi Yunjì instinctively spoke.

Zhao Feng understood her mouth movements: “Hmm? Stop what?” He pointed at the silk drapery above: “Does the Fairy dislike this decoration? I’ll have them take it down and replace it with a mandarin duck knot, how does that sound?”

“Alas—” Shi Yunjì sighed.

Knowing that saying this to Zhao Feng was useless, she shook her head and left the palace alone.

Zhao Feng, seeing her leave, didn’t dare to stop her, only instructing two small immortal maidservants to follow.

Shi Yunjì instinctively wanted to find Yan Ling, but Yan Ling was never on Lingling Peak all day, so she couldn’t find her even if she wanted to.

She could use a sound transmission to communicate with her, but for some reason, she hadn’t used this feature for a long time. Perhaps she knew in her heart that even if she sent a sound transmission, Yan Ling would only gloss over the matter.

Walking and walking, Shi Yunjì left Yuling Palace, which was surrounded by restrictions, and came to a small forest with pleasant scenery on Lingling Peak to clear her mind. There was a pavilion by a mountain stream, and she entered the pavilion, gazing blankly at the trickling water.

The two maidservants who had followed were sensible and did not approach, just standing far away, only ensuring she remained within their line of sight.

Unbeknownst to her, a colorful butterfly flew out of the forest, fluttering its wings and landing on Shi Yunjì’s arm, which was resting on the railing.

Shi Yunjì looked down, and just as she was about to move her hand to shoo the butterfly away, a voice strangely sounded in her ear.

“Congratulations, Fairy Yunjì. I didn’t expect you to truly win Yan Ling’s heart. You’re about to leap up and become her Dao-Companion.”

Shi Yunjì’s eyes widened, and her lips silently formed the name: [Huan Zhu?!]

The butterfly’s antennae twitched slightly.

“Tsk, you still remember my voice. I’m truly honored.”

Shi Yunjì pursed her lips, then spoke after a moment of silence: [You haven’t left? What do you want to do?]

The butterfly, which Huan Zhu had transformed into, spread its wings and circled her twice, looking exactly like an ordinary butterfly.

“Don’t slander me, what could I possibly want to do?

“An old friend is holding a Dao-Companion Ceremony, yet forgot to invite me, a friend. Can’t I just show up uninvited and join the fun?”

Shi Yunjì’s expression was cold: [I advise you not to have any wicked ideas. If Yan Ling knows you’re still in the Flying Immortal Sect, she won’t let you off.]

Huan Zhu said: “Alright, alright, I know your Dao-Companion is powerful. Do you know that to avoid her, I didn’t even dare to approach the Flying Immortal Sect with my real body this time? I could only use the Borrowed Body Technique to come here.

“Don’t let my ability to talk to you now deceive you; I genuinely can’t do anything else.”

Shi Yunjì stared coldly at the butterfly.

Huan Zhu laughed, that same familiar laughter.

“What? You don’t believe me? Then, if I were truly capable, and had already transformed into a butterfly and flown right up to you, why wouldn’t I just abduct you?

“You are about to be Yan Ling’s publicly announced Dao-Companion. There’s no reason I wouldn’t want to hold you hostage, right?”

[So you went through all this trouble to come and find me just to reminisce and watch the excitement?]

Huan Zhu’s voice paused: “You’ve changed. You’re so straightforward, not cute at all.”

Shi Yunjì made a move to stand up: [I’m going back. You can enjoy the show slowly.]

“Wait!” Huan Zhu called out to her almost immediately.

Shi Yunjì watched the butterfly land on the railing in front of her.

“You can probably guess what I want to do, can’t you?” Huan Zhu countered.

Shi Yunjì: [Do you think I’ll help you?]

The outside world did not know that Yan Ling’s “Dao Heart Box” had been opened by her, and the contents were only useful to her and Yan Ling. Thus, in the eyes of the outside world, the “Dao Heart Box” in Yan Ling’s possession still contained a treasure capable of making one instantly ascend to immortality.

The moment she recognized Huan Zhu’s voice, Shi Yunjì knew that the other party was certainly not giving up and had returned, still wanting to steal the “Dao Heart Box.”

Of course, she would not tell the other party the truth. She just wanted to know what tricks Huan Zhu was up to.

“It’s a collaboration; we have to talk slowly, don’t we?” The butterfly’s antennae trembled, as if Huan Zhu was gesticulating while speaking. “I hadn’t planned to approach you initially. You’re already Yan Ling’s person; it would be too presumptuous for me to seek you out. But…” She suddenly laughed, her voice like crisp bells, “I see you haven’t been having a good time lately. Imprisoned in Yuling Palace, watched closely even when you step out.

“How can the future official Dao-Companion of the dignified Sect Master of the Flying Immortal Sect live so restrictively?”

Shi Yunjì fell silent.

The butterfly moved a little closer to her: “Tell me about it. The fact that you didn’t expose me immediately means you wanted to find someone to co… cough, to confide in, right? Now the entire Flying Immortal Sect belongs to Yan Ling. Is there anyone better than me?”

Shi Yunjì glanced at her: [Do you think I can trust you?]

With that, she ignored the butterfly and turned to leave the pavilion.

The two maidservants saw her rise and followed, but to their surprise, this time Shi Yunjì dutifully returned to Yuling Palace.

That night, Shi Yunjì fought off sleep and waited for Yan Ling to return.

Perhaps it was because she had only seen Shi Yunjì’s sleeping face for several consecutive nights; Yan Ling was somewhat startled to suddenly see her awake.

But she quickly smiled and asked caringly, “So late? Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

Shi Yunjì looked at her: [Zhao Feng said you plan to re-hold our Dao-Companion Ceremony during the Ascension Ceremony?]

Yan Ling nodded naturally: “Yes.”

She sat down next to Shi Yunjì and reached out to touch her: “I’ve been too busy these past few days. I should have told you this news myself.”

Shi Yunjì turned her head, avoiding the hand reaching for her.

She asked: [Initially, we planned the Dao-Companion Ceremony because you feared I might encounter danger in the Flying Immortal Sect. But now you have control over the Flying Immortal Sect; who would dare to bully me?]

Yan Ling gazed deeply at her.

Her hand remained suspended in mid-air. Instead of dropping it because of Shi Yunjì’s evasion, she firmly pressed down on Shi Yunjì’s shoulder: “Afraid you might encounter danger? That has never been the reason why I wanted to hold a Dao-Companion Ceremony with you.”

Shi Yunjì: [What?]

Yan Ling smiled: “Still don’t understand?”

She forcefully leaned in, pushing Shi Yunjì back against the corner of the bed. They were pressed tightly together, their thighs touching without any gap: “The reason I’m holding a Dao-Companion Ceremony with you is simply because I want to possess you.”

Shi Yunjì was stunned.

She wasn’t entirely surprised, as she had anticipated this answer from Yan Ling. But hearing it, she found her heart filled with mixed emotions. She wanted to laugh, yet felt breathless. It was so complex that she didn’t know how to face the other person.

Yan Ling also didn’t need any response from her.

She lowered her head, accurately capturing Shi Yunjì’s slightly parted lips in her stupor.

“Wuu…” A soft whimper escaped Shi Yunjì’s mouth, quickly drowned out by Yan Ling’s increasingly skilled kissing.

After a brief moment of being lost, she suddenly woke up and pushed the person away.

Yan Ling looked at her with profound eyes.

Shi Yunjì wiped the corner of her lips: [You, you’re not Yan Ling at all… you’re the demon controlling her.]

With that, she scrambled to the edge of the bed and almost stumbled as she ran out.

But before she could take a few steps, Yan Ling caught her wrist and gently pulled her back onto the bed.

Shi Yunjì lay helpless amidst the bedding, while Yan Ling supported herself on all fours, hovering directly above her.

Their eyes met, and the emotions revealed in Yan Ling’s gaze were frantic, yet also sorrowful.

Sorrowful?

Shi Yunjì was startled by the word she had interpreted.

Sorrowful? How could she be sorrowful? Shouldn’t a person controlled by an inner demon only have desire and greed in their eyes? Why was there only clarity left in Yan Ling’s eyes, besides the franticness?

It was precisely this clarity that made her sorrow so distinct and jarring.

It’s hard to apply both frantic and sorrowful to the same person at the same time, but at this moment, Yan Ling was indeed contradictory enough to alarm Shi Yunjì.

She even had the illusion that Yan Ling was conscious—

Consciously not controlled by the inner demon, consciously going mad, consciously sorrowful because of her words and resistance.

But how could that be?

Shi Yunjì bit her lower lip, unable to stop herself from calling her name: [Yan Ling…]

Yan Ling didn’t speak, only continued to stare intently at her, the sorrow in her eyes fully exposed.

Shi Yunjì suddenly burst into tears.

She reached out, stroking Yan Ling’s cheek: [Yan Ling… what exactly happened? Please, please don’t scare me, okay?]

But upon seeing her lip movements, Yan Ling slowly closed her eyes.

She let go of Shi Yunjì, allowing herself to fall onto her, pulling the other person tightly into her embrace. Just as Shi Yunjì began to tremble with sobs, Yan Ling spoke: “It’s too late…”

Shi Yunjì looked up at her, still choked up.

“Sleep,” Yan Ling gently wiped away the tears on her cheek.

Shi Yunjì shook her head in protest.

Yan Ling got up, gently kissed her forehead, and then surprisingly left the bed and walked out of the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.

After she left, Shi Yunjì finally couldn’t hold back, covering her face and crying hysterically to vent her feelings.

The next day.

She composed herself and returned to the small pavilion where she had spoken with Huan Zhu before.

The butterfly was indeed still there.

Huan Zhu’s voice sounded in her ear again: “Have you thought it through?”

[I want to see Jiang Shu.] Shi Yunjì stated, [Jiang Shu, the Sect Master of the Yun Clan in Yunshuang City.]

She looked at Huan Zhu: [I want to see him and ask him some questions.]

The butterfly’s antennae trembled in the air.

“The Yun Clan Sect is the territory of the Righteous cultivators. We Demonic cultivators fear those Righteous cultivators the most. As long as Jiang Shu has some self-protection methods as a Righteous cultivator, I can’t do anything to him.”

Shi Yunjì glanced at her: [You don’t even have that much capability? It seems I chose the wrong partner for collaboration.]

Huan Zhu quickly said: “Wait…”

She was silent for a moment: “It’s genuinely difficult to let you see him. Think about it: I can’t even get close to the Flying Immortal Sect myself, so how could I sneak a person in for you to meet right under Yan Ling’s nose? As for taking you out, that’s even less realistic.

“However, since you only want to ask questions, why don’t you let me help you ask them?”

Shi Yunjì frowned.

Of course, she had considered this method, but frankly, she didn’t trust Huan Zhu.

[You are a Demonic cultivator… Do you know… about Inner Demons?] Shi Yunjì asked, pondering for a moment.

“Inner Demons? I’m very familiar with them! The main way our Demonic Realm recruits from your Cultivation World is through Inner Demons, ha ha ha ha.” Huan Zhu laughed gleefully, but soon, she thought of something, and her laughter abruptly stopped.

A moment later, she asked cautiously: “Yan Ling… has developed an Inner Demon?”

Shi Yunjì bit down hard on her teeth, taking a deep breath.

[How can one… get rid of an Inner Demon?]

“Tsk tsk, oh my… Aren’t you giving me a tough problem? That’s not easy at all.”

Huan Zhu’s voice became deeply meaningful.

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