Transmigrated as the Little Concubine of a Paper-Thin Man - Chapter 33

The woman and the butterfly stood facing each other in the pavilion. For a moment, the only sound was the gentle trickling of water.

After a long silence, Shin Yunjii didn’t want to waste any more time and directly laid out her terms: [I don’t trust you.]

Having caught Huan Zhu’s attention, she continued: [Therefore, you must give me two doses of the antidote for the Inner Demon, and you must find someone who is also affected by an Inner Demon. I will use your method to help that person recover, and only after seeing the effect will I help you.]

Huan Zhu scoffed: “Heh, your appetite is far too great.”

Shin Yunjii showed no weakness: [After all, you have a tarnished record, haven’t you?]

She stood up: [If you can’t do it, right? Then let’s not waste each other’s time.]

“Wait!” Huan Zhu called out to her.

The butterfly hovered over Shin Yunjii’s head: “Can you guarantee that you can steal the ‘Dao Heart Box’?”

[Yes.] Shin Yunjii answered without hesitation.

The butterfly circled around her, as if Huan Zhu was scrutinizing her.

Soon, the butterfly landed on Shin Yunjii’s shoulder. Huan Zhu’s seductive voice sounded: “Prove it to me.”

Shin Yunjii didn’t react immediately: [How do I prove it?]

Huan Zhu didn’t beat around the bush and said directly: “I want the Key of All Souls.”

Shin Yunjii was momentarily confused: [The Key of All Souls?]

“I can satisfy everything you want: two doses of the Inner Demon antidote, and a demonic cultivator for testing the medicine,” Huan Zhu said slowly. “But I also need to see your capability.

“As long as you steal the Key of All Souls and bring it to me first, I will give you the things and proceed with the arrangements.”

Shin Yunjii frowned in thought.

“Heh, what’s wrong? Turns out you can’t do it?” Huan Zhu’s tone was full of mockery.

Shin Yunjii took a deep breath.

She spoke calmly: [Tomorrow at this time, right here, I will bring the Key of All Souls.]

The butterfly landed on the railing of the pavilion.

“That would be wonderful. I will wait here, waiting for your… good news,”

The voice still carried a hint of sarcasm, as if Huan Zhu didn’t believe she could succeed.

But Shin Yunjii no longer had the mind to pay attention to her. She turned and walked straight out of the small pavilion, returning to the Jade Bell Palace.

That night.

As Yan Ling pushed the door open, she smelled a strong aroma of wine. She walked into the room and indeed saw Shin Yunjii sitting behind the table, with several jugs of jiuniang (fermented rice wine) placed next to her. The moment their eyes met, Yan Ling’s expression softened considerably.

She walked up to Shin Yunjii and asked softly, “What made you decide to drink?”

Shin Yunjii looked up at her, and after seeing the expression in her eyes, she lowered her gaze slightly to avoid it.

She took a cup for Yan Ling and slowly filled it: [Recently… I haven’t been sleeping well. I thought perhaps getting drunk might help me have a good sleep.]

Yan Ling sat down beside her: “You just worry too much.”

She picked up the cup of wine and sniffed it close to her nose: “In the future, our lives will only get better, and there will be nothing and no one who can threaten you again.

“Just slowly get used to it.”

Shin Yunjii retorted: [Do you sleep well?]

Yan Ling paused the hand holding the wine cup, then smiled: “If you sleep well, I sleep well.”

With that, she drank the wine in the cup in one gulp: “Mm… isn’t this ‘Three-Day Drunken’?”

Shin Yunjii didn’t look at her and filled another cup for her: [Don’t like it? I saw there was new wine in the side chamber, so I brought it to try.]

Yan Ling watched her actions and didn’t stop her, merely saying, “This wine is even stronger than ‘Three-Day Drunken.’ Don’t drink it.”

Hearing this, Shin Yunjii felt a spark of competitive spirit.

She picked up the cup of wine that was already filled in front of her, brought it to her mouth, and took a small sip to test it, then tilted her head back and drank the rest. Although she tried to be careful, the wine was hot going down her throat, and she couldn’t help but cough a little.

“Cough, cough, cough—”

Yan Ling quickly patted her back: “I told you, this wine isn’t suitable for you.”

She waved her hand, conjuring a small bowl of Spirit Spring water, and brought it to Shin Yunjii’s lips: “Drink some Spirit Spring water to suppress the alcohol.”

Shin Yunjii took several sips with the help of Yan Ling’s hand. She felt the burning sensation in her throat and stomach gradually disappear, and finally recovered.

The Spirit Spring water in the bowl was already depleted. She looked at Yan Ling: [Is there any more?]

Yan Ling smiled: “Of course.”

She waved the bowl in the air, and it was immediately refilled with Spirit Spring water: “Want some more?”

This time, Shin Yunjii politely declined her feeding, took the bowl, and drank it herself.

While drinking, she glanced out of the corner of her eye to peek at Yan Ling’s reaction.

Yan Ling asked, “What’s wrong?”

Caught in the act, Shin Yunjii put down the bowl a little sheepishly.

She stared at the depleted Spirit Spring water in the bowl: [This water is different from what I usually drink. It’s so sweet and refreshing.]

Yan Ling nodded and explained: “It’s a gift from the Qingya Sect in the south. Do you like it?”

Shin Yunjii was still staring at the bowl: [It’s very comfortable to drink.]

“The Qingya Sect has a Spirit Spring within their gates. The flow of water is very small, but the water it produces is rich in spiritual energy. Drinking it often is beneficial for the body and cultivation,” Yan Ling said. “However, this kind of Spirit Spring water is difficult to preserve. In ordinary environments, the spiritual energy easily dissipates, turning it into ordinary spring water. It must be stored in jade that can store spiritual artifacts.

“The Qingya Sect sent a large jug over, but the jade jug is huge, so I was worried it might be troublesome if you wanted to drink it.”

After speaking, Yan Ling directly brought out the jade jug.

The emerald-green jade jug was enormous. Shin Yunjii roughly estimated that it could easily hold five or six people her size.

The jug was full of Spirit Spring water at the moment, clearly untouched except for the two small bowls Shin Yunjii had just drunk.

Shin Yunjii then asked: [But… why can you take it out so easily?]

Yan Ling handed her a brocade pouch: “A storage pouch.”

She placed the object directly into Shin Yunjii’s palm: “You made this for me, too. Have you forgotten?”

Shin Yunjii’s heart skipped a beat.

She pretended to be nonchalant and slowly opened the brocade pouch to look inside. During this process, she paid attention to Yan Ling, but found that the other woman was merely looking at her with the same gentle expression, showing no other reaction.

This made Shin Yunjii unsure whether to be happy or sad.

Soon, her consciousness was drawn into the brocade pouch, and she indeed “saw” countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures. The next moment, a thought flashed through her mind, and the two things she had been thinking about appeared directly in front of her.

The first was a key that was completely transparent and shimmered with a seven-colored glow—the Key of All Souls.

The second was the ordinary-looking “Dao Heart Box” that she had already opened before.

Shin Yunjii focused on the “Dao Heart Box,” and then issued the command to leave the brocade pouch. Her vision shifted, and she found her consciousness back in the room.

The difference was that besides the brocade pouch, she now held the “Dao Heart Box” in her arms.

She stared blankly at Yan Ling. Seeing no sign of displeasure on the other woman’s face, but rather a smile, she asked: [I can take things out too?]

Yan Ling stroked her long hair: “You are the creator of the pouch. It won’t be on guard against you.”

Shin Yunjii avoided her gaze.

She played with the box: [You still keep this? It… it should be useless now, right?]

Yan Ling’s gaze also fell upon the box, and her voice was soft: “Yes.

“I am very grateful to it. It allowed me to recognize you and gave me the opportunity to communicate with the Divine Being.”

Upon hearing this, Shin Yunjii’s face involuntarily flushed. She simply took a deep breath, trying to calm her erratic heartbeat.

At this point, she had confirmed the location of the two items she needed, so she put the “Dao Heart Box” back and handed the brocade pouch to Yan Ling: [Here, take it back.]

Yan Ling accepted the brocade pouch but did not put it back on her waist. Instead, she put away the Spirit Spring jade jug and handed the brocade pouch back to Shin Yunjii.

“Keep it with you. Since you want to drink the Spirit Spring water, having the pouch nearby means you won’t have to exert yourself. You can take it out whenever you want to drink.”

Shin Yunjii was momentarily stunned.

Her original plan was to confirm that the Key of All Souls and the “Dao Heart Box” were both in the brocade pouch, then find a way to get Yan Ling drunk and secretly steal the items. After all, there were so many things in the pouch that Yan Ling wouldn’t notice two items missing immediately.

But what she hadn’t expected was that her plan didn’t need to be carried out at all. Simply by making an excuse and asking a couple of questions about the Spirit Spring water, Yan Ling willingly offered the entire brocade pouch to her.

[But, but…] She looked down at the brocade pouch, [There are other very important things inside, aren’t there? Giving it to me… won’t it interfere with your affairs?]

Yan Ling tucked the brocade pouch into her hand, then smiled and said, “This sentence of yours is already more important than everything inside.”

Shin Yunjii’s heart raced, and she nearly dropped the weightless brocade pouch.

Yan Ling leaned in closer, asking almost right next to her ear: “So, Divine Being… will you always have mercy on me? Only on me… okay?”

The ambiguous breath tickled her ear, adding another layer of blush to Shin Yunjii’s already rosy face.

She instinctively leaned back, pushing against Yan Ling’s shoulder to move her away.

Tonight, Yan Ling was compliant, quietly returning to her own seat.

She picked up the wine jug on the table, filled a cup, and then tilted her head back to drink it.

Throughout the long, quiet night, neither of them spoke. For a time, the only sound was Yan Ling pouring and drinking cup after cup of wine.

The alcohol was truly intoxicating. She quickly finished an entire jug and reached for a new one nearby.

Shin Yunjii bit her lower lip and stepped forward to stop her: [Don’t drink anymore.]

Yan Ling looked at her with hazy, drunken eyes: “Hmm? Didn’t… didn’t you bring so much wine because you wanted me to drink it?”

Shin Yunjii slowly let out a breath: [I, I didn’t know this wine was so strong. It’s not suitable for sleep.]

She pressed down on Yan Ling’s hand: [I won’t drink it, and you shouldn’t drink it either.]

Yan Ling looked at her silently, reaching out to touch her face, but Shin Yunjii dodged it.

She then gave a self-mocking laugh: “Let me drink. I want to drink.”

Because the hand holding the wine cup was pressed down by Shin Yunjii, she didn’t struggle. Instead, she used her left hand to grab the wine jug and bring it to her lips, tilting her head back to pour large, unrestrained gulps into her mouth.

Only when the jug was empty did she put her hand down, look at Shin Yunjii again, and laugh as if she were crying: “Like this… I’ll feel… a little better.”

Shin Yunjii’s eyes instantly welled up.

She set the brocade pouch aside and cupped Yan Ling’s face: [Yan Ling… Yan Ling… pull yourself together. You are only, you are only being controlled by the Inner Demon.] She took a deep breath: [We have already overcome so many hurdles together. You can successfully defeat this Inner Demon too, right? Don’t be controlled by the Inner Demon. You can defeat it…]

But the more she spoke, the more her lips trembled, as if even she didn’t believe the words she was saying.

Yan Ling stood up and pinched her chin: “What if I don’t want to defeat it?”

In Shin Yunjii’s surprised gaze, she bent down and pressed her lips fiercely onto Shin Yunjii’s.

It was a kiss filled with the strong aroma of wine.

Shin Yunjii suspected she was also drunk. This jiuniang was too strong. She had only had one cup earlier, and now tasting it from Yan Ling’s mouth, it far exceeded what she could tolerate.

She must be drunk. Otherwise, she couldn’t understand why she was responding to Yan Ling, cooperating with her to deepen the kiss.

She must be drunk. That’s why she stood on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around Yan Ling’s neck, and, as if soliciting, parted her teeth to invite the other’s tongue to invade.

She must be drunk. That’s why she vaguely followed Yan Ling, kissing their way from the table piled with wine jugs all the way to the bed in the room.

She must be drunk. That’s why, when Yan Ling pulled back to let her breathe, she tightly gripped the fabric over the other woman’s chest, preventing her from leaving.

In the haze, she saw the expression on Yan Ling’s face: delight, astonishment, and an incredible fragility—

It was the ecstatic look of a devout believer whose years of prayers had finally been answered, yet also fearful that this was a mere illusion, thus experiencing uncontrollable joy and sorrow.

The first emotion that arose in Shin Yunjii’s heart was pity. She understood too clearly, and she couldn’t deceive herself.

She cupped Yan Ling’s face, tenderly tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ear.

Yan Ling was still, like a doll, letting her do as she wished, impossibly obedient.

When Shin Yunjii withdrew her hand, Yan Ling suddenly leaned down, pressing herself onto Shin Yunjii, burying her head in Shin Yunjii’s neck.

Shin Yunjii froze. She raised her hands, subconsciously wanting to embrace her back, but paused them halfway.

She felt some kind of moist liquid soaking the skin of her neck.

After slowly letting out a breath, Shin Yunjii lowered her hands and gently patted Yan Ling’s back.

In this rare, tender atmosphere, she somehow drifted off to sleep. When she woke up again, the day was already bright.

Shin Yunjii sat up, looking at the sunlight outside the window, realizing she had woken up a little later than usual. The next moment, her gaze moved inward, falling upon the table in the room.

The exquisite storage pouch, filled with heavenly materials and earthly treasures, lay quietly on the corner of the table.

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