Transmigrated as the Little Concubine of a Paper-Thin Man - Chapter 5

At the summit of Jade Mountain, clouds and mist swirled.

Shi Yunjii finally caught up, finding Huan Zhu wincing and rubbing her forehead. Seeing Shi Yunji, Huan Zhu rubbed the injury and, uncharacteristically kind, reminded her: “Don’t go up further, there’s a restriction (barrier).”

Shi Yunjii grabbed her sleeve, tugged it down, and gestured for her to quickly follow her back.

Huan Zhu yanked her clothing back: “You go back by yourself. You don’t need to mind me.”

With that, she ducked into a nearby palace building and instantly vanished.

Having learned her lesson from the previous attempt, Shi Yunji knew she wouldn’t be able to catch her, so she simply gave up and found a clean rock nearby to sit and rest. While catching her breath, she looked toward the mountaintop, a feeling of vague worry in her heart—

Only Yan Ling was up on the mountain. With such a loud commotion just now, did something really happen?

Unable to sit still, she decided to follow her instinct and move closer to investigate. She hadn’t forgotten Huan Zhu’s warning about the restriction above, so she agreed with herself to turn back the moment she met any obstruction.

The path up the mountain was not easy. The closer she got to the summit, the thicker the fog became. Strangely, as Shi Yunji fumbled her way forward, she stumbled a few times but encountered no real obstacles. There were a few moments when she felt something ahead of her, but those barriers all popped like bubbles, letting her pass through easily. She didn’t know how long it had been until, just as Shi Yunji was debating whether to turn back, the scenery ahead changed. Following fragmented bricks on the ground, she found a half-collapsed white jade tower.

The white jade tower was teetering, and the remaining standing half was at risk of collapsing further at any moment. Shi Yunji turned to leave, but her peripheral vision caught a flash of plain white cloth. She paused, hurried forward to check, and indeed found Yan Ling lying on the ground.

The supremely noble and unparalleled Immortal Lord Ling was unconscious, with half-dried bloody tears crusted at the corners of her eyes, and her white robe covered in dust.

Seeing the young woman in such a state, Shi Yunji’s breath hitched. She quickly went over, intending to wake her.

But Yan Ling showed no reaction. In a panic, Shi Yunji had no choice but to carry Yan Ling on her back and remove her from the ruins. Perhaps because she was in a new body, the original owner was a cultivator, whose physique and strength far surpassed ordinary people. Shi Yunji did not feel much strain from this effort. Relying on her familiarity with this mountain peak from the game, she quickly found a small stream nearby, settled Yan Ling in the shade of a tree, and fetched water to clean her.

After a thorough check, Yan Ling had no other injuries on her body, but the tightly shut eyes continued to ooze blood incessantly. Shi Yunji used her dampened personal handkerchief to wipe Yan Ling, running back and forth five or six times, but the bloody tears showed no sign of stopping. In the end, Shi Yunji, having run out of options, could only use another clean handkerchief to bandage her eyes.

The seeping blood slowly soaked and stained the handkerchief red. Shi Yunji’s heart began to throb with pain. She tried to cover her ears and her eyes by placing her hand over Yan Ling’s eyes, unable to bear watching any longer.

But suddenly, her hand was grabbed.

“Deity (God/Divine Being), is that you?”

Shi Yunji was stunned.

Yan Ling, however, seemed certain, a rare smile breaking through her icy expression: “Deity, you’ve returned. You didn’t abandon me, did you?!” She affectionately pressed her face against Shi Yunji’s palm: “Why did you leave for so long… I missed you so much… I missed you dearly…”

Low sobs followed, and at the same time, the seeping bloody tears abruptly intensified, instantly soaking the entire silk handkerchief.

Shi Yunji snapped back to reality and grasped Yan Ling’s left hand. Almost immediately, the other person took the initiative, tightly gripping Shi Yunji’s hand.

Yan Ling wept even harder.

Her head rested on Shi Yunji’s shoulder, her posture humble, pleading for pity: “Why aren’t you speaking to me? Is it because I’m too foolish and still haven’t solved the riddle you left behind?

“Please give me a little more time, alright? Soon, I’ll be able to open it…”

Amidst these low, choked sobs, Shi Yunji confirmed one thing in her heart.

She had previously suspected whether this Yan Ling, who drank heavily late at night, was the young girl she had personally raised. But now, she was certain: the person before her was the Yan Ling she held dear—

She had always been aware of Shi Yunji’s existence, called her “Deity,” and prayed for her company while licking her wounds.

During those days when they cleared hurdles and vanquished demons together, whenever Yan Ling was injured, Shi Yunji would always press her finger against the location of her left hand. The Yan Ling in the scene would slightly close her left hand, as if they were holding hands, enduring the long, dark night together.

Time had passed, and now Shi Yunji only felt immense distress.

She was no longer the “Deity” that Yan Ling could take everything from. Having lost her God-like status as a player, she couldn’t help Yan Ling in the slightest now. All she could do was weakly embrace her, watching helplessly as blood constantly oozed from her eyes, unable to do anything else.

Yan Ling slowly calmed down, leaning limply against Shi Yunji. Shi Yunji thought about getting up to fetch more water from the stream, but as soon as she moved, she found her clothing tightly clutched in the other’s hand.

“Don’t go!” Yan Ling struggled to lift her neck, “I feel so terrible… Deity, please don’t leave, alright…”

Shi Yunji remained silent, attempting to guide her toward the stream. Thankfully, as long as they weren’t separated, Yan Ling was excessively obedient, allowing herself to be gently maneuvered.

By the stream, she removed the handkerchief, which was completely soaked with blood, from Yan Ling’s face and carefully examined her eyes, but found no anomalies. She tried gently touching Yan Ling’s eyelids with her finger, feeling Yan Ling’s slightly trembling eyeballs through the thin layer of skin.

“Can I look at you?” The quiet Yan Ling suddenly spoke.

Shi Yunji was speechless, lightly tapping her eyelid with her finger.

If she could speak, she would really like to ask: “Can you really open your eyes now?”

Yan Ling, however, misunderstood her meaning.

“I won’t look,” she tightened her grip on Shi Yunji’s clothing slightly, “Don’t go, don’t go yet.”

Perhaps because Yan Ling was now conscious, the bloody tears slowly stopped on their own, but Yan Ling’s eyes still couldn’t open, even exhibiting an instinctive light-avoiding movement. Shi Yunji re-wrapped the clean handkerchief around her eyes, thinking she needed to take her back to Jade Bell Palace before dark.

At Jade Bell Palace, there would be others to help, and then, whether seeking assistance from the sect or using medicine, it would be better than the current crude bandaging method.

Yan Ling didn’t understand her intentions but very submissively held onto her clothing, allowing Shi Yunji to lead her down the mountain.

As the two walked, they suddenly heard bursts of noise and shouting from below. They were too far away for the sounds to be clear, but Shi Yunji instinctively judged that it was definitely not a normal disturbance.

She cautiously stopped, retraced her steps slightly with Yan Ling, and settled her on a large rock by the side of the path to rest.

“They can’t come up,” Yan Ling tilted her head, listening. “There’s a restriction here. Only you and I can freely enter and exit.”

Shi Yunji had encountered no obstacles going up, almost forgetting Huan Zhu’s words about a restriction. Hearing Yan Ling mention it again, she suddenly realized that was the case.

Yan Ling leaned casually against the rock, her expression more open than when she was sitting formally in the palace, revealing a difficult-to-describe innocence.

“Deity, why don’t we just stay here? We won’t go anywhere, just the two of us.”

Where Yan Ling couldn’t see, Shi Yunji offered a bitter smile.

I’m sorry, Yan Ling. I am no longer your Deity, and I can no longer grant you any favors.

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