Transmigrated as the Little Concubine of a Paper-Thin Man - Chapter 4

As dawn broke, Huanzhu was already planning the next step: “We can’t stay on Luyue Peak anymore. Zhao Feng won’t give us a chance to serve again. Do you want to come with me…”

She suddenly stopped midsentence and turned her head to look at the palace door.

Shi Yunjii followed her gaze and saw the tightly shut door being pushed open from within.

After a night had passed, Yan Ling showed no sign of fatigue, only a colder look in her eyes. As she passed the two of them, she left a single instruction: “Tell Zhao Feng I will be receiving guests tomorrow.”

With that, she mounted her cloud and departed, quickly disappearing from view.

Huanzhu’s fox-like eyes were filled with calculating light: “You think…” She looked at Shi Yunjii: “Does this mean she’s not planning to kick us out?”

Shi Yunjii stood up and brushed the dust off her clothes.

The two of them went down the mountain to relay the message to Zhao Feng. Zhao Feng didn’t care about the reception; his eyes were shining as he asked, “So, the Immortal Master has accepted you two?”

Huanzhu smiled brightly: “Not yet… I can only say the Immortal Master doesn’t dislike us.”

Shi Yunjii knew Huanzhu wanted to take advantage of the situation and, fearing Zhao Feng might misunderstand, hurriedly waved her hands, attempting to explain.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t speak, and Zhao Feng completely ignored her actions, laughing gleefully to himself: “The Immortal Master has never allowed anyone to serve her closely! Your days of favor are just around the corner, just around the corner!”

After his excitement, he remembered the main issue: “Speaking of guests, this is the first time anyone has come to visit, so we must prepare properly.” He instructed Shi Yunjii and the other: “I’ll have the other maidservants cooperate fully. You two must put in extra effort during the guest banquet.”

That day, various spiritual foods and immortal brews were sent to Lingling Peak like flowing water, almost filling the entire side hall. While working, Huanzhu complained to Shi Yunjii: “Look at this, Immortal Master Lingling’s reception is truly grand. If you didn’t know better, you’d think she was the master of the Feixian Sect.”

These words were definitely not a compliment. Shi Yunjii only frowned upon hearing them, increasingly certain that the woman before her had malicious intentions.

The next morning, one fat and one thin cultivator flew in from beyond the clouds. Yan Ling had not yet returned, so the maidservants welcomed the two into the main hall for the banquet. During the meal, a maidservant offered wine to the fat cultivator, who took a sip and spat the entire mouthful onto the floor.

He loudly complained: “Yan Ling uses this junk to entertain people?”

Zhao Feng stepped forward to smooth things over, but the fat cultivator gave him no face, instead taking the opportunity to mock Yan Ling for not taking them seriously, neglecting them by going out despite knowing they were coming today. Zhao Feng was unable to refute, standing awkwardly to endure the scolding.

Shi Yunjii, who had just finished her tasks, happened to witness this scene. After thinking for a moment, she returned to the kitchen and took out a different kind of wine.

She recognized that fat cultivator.

During the period in the game when she helped Yan Ling level up, one of the projects was to increase other people’s favorability towards the character she was cultivating. After all, connections were also important cultivation resources.

The fat cultivator was named Qin Zhen, a powerful rogue cultivator whom Yan Ling had met in an abandoned immortal’s cave. At the time, to extract useful information from Qin Zhen, Yan Ling’s favorability towards him needed to be raised. Yan Ling was naturally cold-natured and never showed a good face to anyone, so she certainly wouldn’t do such a thing. It was Shi Yunjii who took the effort to discover Qin Zhen’s preferences and helped Yan Ling send two gifts, allowing them to successfully pass that trial.

Shi Yunjii had done this sort of thing often. In a way, as a player, she understood the people around Yan Ling far better than Yan Ling herself did.

Qin Zhen’s features were distinctive, and she quickly recalled his identity. If it had been the handsome male cultivator who was angry, Shi Yunjii wouldn’t have instantly known what to do.

Sure enough, after having a maidservant help send up the jar of “Lietthou” (Throat Burner) wine, which was produced in the north, Qin Zhen stopped causing trouble: “This is more like it.” He pinched Zhao Feng’s face: “Your master really knows how to curry favor. You should learn to be smarter under Yan Ling’s command.”

Zhao Feng ‘hehe’ flattered him, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he fled the main hall.

He summoned the maidservant who had delivered the wine to inquire, learned that Shi Yunjii had helped resolve the situation, and found her to ask: “How did you know that cultivator wanted to drink ‘Lietthou’?”

Shi Yunjii pointed to the originally prepared wine and shook her head.

“Tsk.” Zhao Feng couldn’t make out her meaning and said, “Did you, the little mute, actually guess right?”

He patted Shi Yunjii’s shoulder approvingly: “Keep up the good work; better days are ahead.”

After he left, Huanzhu leaned in: “Did you really guess?”

Shi Yunjii lowered her head to clean up the mess in the kitchen, not wanting to deal with her. Huanzhu didn’t mind, standing beside her and scrutinizing her for a long while. Suddenly, she spoke: “Though the Art of Merit Cultivation is in decline, this lineage always possesses some brilliant techniques that other cultivators can hardly imagine. What good thing did your deceased father leave you?” With that, she suddenly smiled and leaned close to Shi Yunjie’s face.

The distance between them was less than an inch. She stared intently at Shi Yunjii and asked, “How about we make a trade? You help me with a favor, and I can help you steal Yan Ling’s Destiny Artifact.”

Shi Yunjii initially wanted to refuse but was curious about why Huanzhu was lurking here, so she tilted her head to express her curiosity.

“You want to ask what favor you can do for me?” Huanzhu looked her up and down. “True, normally, I wouldn’t even notice a small fry like you.” She shrugged: “Actually, I also want to steal something from Yan Ling, but I haven’t figured it out yet. Can you help me calculate where she hid that thing? And how I can steal it?”

Shi Yunjie: “Huh?”

Huanzhu: “Don’t worry, my goal doesn’t conflict with yours. The thing I want to steal…” She glanced outside: “You should find out soon. If I’m not mistaken, those two people outside came for that very thing.”

With that, she placed her index finger over her lips in a “shush” gesture and, ignoring Shi Yunjie’s attempt to detain her, left the kitchen immediately.

After the two guests in the hall had eaten and drunk their fill, Yan Ling arrived late, immediately inviting them to the study for discussion.

Yan Ling seemed to have no intention of keeping her business private. No restriction spell was placed on the study, so Zhao Feng directed Shi Yunjii and Huanzhu to go in and serve tea, which was exactly what Huanzhu wanted. As soon as she entered the door, Shi Yunjii heard the fat cultivator, Qin Zhen’s voice: “Here, I’ve found what you wanted. It cost this old man a great deal of effort.”

The three people in the room glanced at the maidservants who entered to serve tea, paying them no mind, and continued their conversation.

Yan Ling looked at the tall, slender male cultivator: “The blueprint?”

The male cultivator took something from his sleeve and was about to hand it over, but Qin Zhen pressed down on his wrist.

Qin Zhen looked at Yan Ling: “Have you thought this through? The Ten Thousand Spirits Key is not easy to forge. Not to mention whether the materials Brother Zhou found are correct, even if the blueprint is right, this key is extremely wicked.

“If you insist on going through with this, you might suffer a backlash.”

Zhou Huaibi laughed: “What level of cultivation is Immortal Master Lingling, and what is your level? Don’t judge the Immortal Master by your own realm.”

“You!” Qin Zhen glared, forcefully shaking him off. “Fine, I won’t bother with other people’s business.”

Yan Ling took the blueprint and examined it, remaining silent.

Soon, Shi Yunjii and Huanzhu finished serving the tea and left. That afternoon, the two guests also mounted their clouds and departed, not staying for another moment.

Huanzhu stared at their retreating figures and muttered, “This Yan Ling… is truly impatient.”

Shi Yunjii turned to look at her.

Huanzhu curled her lips: “Just you wait and see.”

That day, Yan Ling announced she was entering secluded cultivation and instructed Zhao Feng to manage the affairs of the several spiritual peaks on her behalf. With no one left to serve, Shi Yunjie and Huanzhu also returned to the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain. A few days later, Shi Yunjie and Huanzhu were cleaning the square in front of Yuling Palace when they suddenly heard a violent explosion from the peak. The explosion was so powerful that it even knocked the broom out of Shi Yunjie’s hand.

Immortal Master Lingling was in secluded cultivation, and Yuling Palace was also closed. At this moment on the peak, only Yan Ling herself was present.

“What happened?!” Huanzhu asked, the look of joy on her face clearly far outweighing her astonishment. The next moment, she threw down the rag in her hand and ran directly towards the peak.

Shi Yunjii could not stop her. She gritted her teeth and quickly followed.

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