After Death, I Became My Shijie’s Palm-Sized Birdie – Chapter 1

Whispers of the Bright Moon Beyond Reach

Cangwang Realm, Wansen Domain.

This domain was composed almost entirely of rolling mountain ranges and a dense sea of trees. Rumor had it that this was where the Yao Emperor¹ and the Demon Lord fought their decisive battle a thousand years ago, and countless mighty cultivators had fallen within that boundless ocean of foliage. Here, peril and opportunity coexisted. Every year when the Wansen Domain’s passages to the outside world opened, innumerable cultivators would slip into the sea of trees to seek their fortunes. Naturally, this period was also the liveliest time of the year for the domain.

            

On the easternmost edge of the Wansen Domain lay its sole human town. Whenever the outer passages opened, it became prime time for local cultivators to conduct business. Stalls lined both sides of the streets, peddling wares—some genuine, some fraudulent—said to have been recovered from the Endless Sea of Trees.

Heading straight out from this human town, one could see the Endless Sea of Trees.

In this human town was a bustling teahouse where cultivators from all corners of the world stopped to rest, sip tea, and gather intelligence. Consequently, the place was always exceptionally lively.

            

On the first floor of the teahouse, a storyteller took a sip of tea to wet his throat. With a sharp rap of his gavel², he prepared to spin his tale for the day.

“Master storyteller! I’ve been staying in this teahouse for three days, and your stories are always the same few tales. I’m sick to death of them! If you don’t tell us something fresh and novel today, don’t expect a single coin from me!” shouted a young cultivator sitting on the first floor.

“Exactly! It’s always the same old things. How boring!”

            

“Ahem…” The storyteller stroked his beard. “Since that’s the case, today I’ll tell you the story of Immortal Venerable Yun Heng of Yunwu Mountain, how about that?”

By a window on the second floor of the teahouse sat a woman dressed in a quiet green gown. Her slender fingers, looking as though they’d been carved from fine mutton-fat jade³, held a delicate teacup. Plumes of steam drifted upward from the rim as the rich aroma of tea wafted through the air. Amidst the clamor of the establishment, her corner alone remained serene and peaceful, as though she occupied a sanctuary where time itself had ground to a halt.

It was only when she caught the name “Yun Heng” that her mind, once as still as a placid lake, rippled as if a pebble had been dropped into its depths. As if waking from a dream, she lifted her head and looked down toward the noisy first floor.

            

How long had it been since she last heard that name?

Wen Qiwu immediately turned her gaze toward the bustling marketplace outside the teahouse, hoping the clamor of the mortal world would drown out the chaotic emotions surging in her chest.

“Qiwu? Qiwu!”

            

Her companion, who had just returned from buying things, had to call her several times before Wen Qiwu finally snapped out of her daze.

“Ah… I’m sorry. I was a bit distracted just now.”

The companion softened her voice and asked with concern, “Qiwu, is something troubling you?”

            

“It’s nothing. I only… recalled something from a very, very long time ago. It’s already in the past, so there’s no need to worry,” Wen Qiwu replied with a gentle smile.

Yet her companion didn’t think Wen Qiwu looked like nothing was wrong. Still, since she was unwilling to speak of it, her companion couldn’t pry further.

“My family lives over in the Canghai Domain. In another month, they’ll be hosting the decennial Grand Ceremony of Leaping the Dragon Gate. It’ll be incredibly lively then. Would you like to come visit my home, Qiwu? You can treat it as a chance to clear your mind.”

            

Clear her mind? That didn’t sound bad. Wen Qiwu nodded and agreed.

“As everyone knows, Immortal Venerable Yun Heng was gravely wounded during the great war between immortals and demons a century ago…” The storyteller’s voice drifted up to the second floor.

Clatter!

            

Wen Qiwu accidentally knocked over the steaming teacup beside her hand, spilling the scalding tea over her fair, jade-like hand.

“Qiwu!” Her companion was startled.

The woman’s pale lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to ask something.

            

“Immortal Venerable Yun Heng went to the Demon Realm alone ten years ago and slew the Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord… Her wounds should’ve healed by now,” a low discussion nearby drifted into Wen Qiwu’s ears.

Had she truly recovered?

“Are you alright? Why do you look so pale?” her companion asked in concern.

            

Although the tea in the cup was scalding hot, it wasn’t enough to burn a cultivator of high cultivation.

“I’m fine…” Wen Qiwu lowered her eyes and poured herself another cup of tea. The ripples in the cup mirrored the state of her mind.

“If you’re feeling unwell, let’s head back first. This market will stay open for another dozen days or so, so there’s no rush to explore it today,” her companion suggested, seeing how pale Wen Qiwu’s expression was.

            

“Let’s sit a bit longer.” Her voice seemed to carry a slight tremor. Her gaze drifted uncontrollably toward the first floor; she hadn’t stepped outside in a hundred years, and she didn’t know what had happened during her absence.

After wetting his throat with another sip of tea, the storyteller continued, “After recuperating for several decades, that Immortal Venerable marched into the Demon Realm entirely alone. She killed the Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord, who had led the invasion against the Wenshen Sect all those years ago, executing him by a death of a thousand cuts⁴. Word has it that every agonizing torment he’d devised over the centuries was turned back upon him by the Immortal Venerable. His soul wailed day and night, begging the Immortal Venerable to grant him a swift end.”

“Whoa, those are some ruthless methods.”

            

“You’re mistaken. The Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord nearly destroyed the Wenshen Sect back then. If we had faced such a thing, I’m afraid even these methods wouldn’t be enough to satisfy our hatred!”

“That’s true, killing the Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord is a good thing after all. As long as Immortal Venerable Yun Heng is around, the other two Demon Lords definitely won’t dare to make a move. The Cangwang Realm can finally have some peace for a while.”

Others chimed in agreement. Though a few individuals muttered about how this dark tale seemed uncharacteristic of the storyteller’s usual repertoire, just as they were muttering about how strange it was, they heard the storyteller let out a sigh.

            

“You’re all correct. Only two Demon Lords remain. If the Immortal Venerable were well, the Demon Realm certainly wouldn’t dare provoke us. It’s only a pity that physical wounds are easy to heal, but the tribulation in her heart is hard to overcome.”

Wen Qiwu frowned slightly. She remembered that this storyteller was fond of peddling far-fetched rumors. As she scanned the crowd on the first floor, her eyes suddenly snagged on several young people wearing the disciple robes of the Wenshen Sect.

Her immediate instinct was to conceal her presence, but then she remembered that her appearance had undergone a drastic transformation. Even if she were to stand directly before them, these young disciples would never recognize her.

            

The storyteller lowered his voice conspiratorially. “What you all don’t know is that the Immortal Venerable’s decades of seclusion weren’t because of her heavy injuries, but because she developed a heart demon.”

“A heart demon? How is that possible!” The vast majority of the patrons refused to believe it. That was Immortal Venerable Yun Heng, whose cultivation was closest to the God Realm. How could she suddenly fall prey to a heart demon?

The storyteller smiled and shook his head, pointing meaningly toward the sky. As the audience watched in confusion, he lightly fluttered his folding fan and said, “Because deep in her heart, Immortal Venerable Yun Heng harbors a bright moon—one she can gaze upon but never touch. Denied what she desires, her longing has twisted into delusion, and naturally, a heart demon was born.”

            

He spoke indirectly, but everyone else understood. In other words…

“Immortal Venerable Yun Heng loves someone she can’t have, so she ended up with a heart demon?”

“Isn’t that just a baseless rumor? Even Immortal Venerable Yun Heng is tumbling into the mortal dust?”

            

The crowd below was either incredulous, laughing it off as a joke, or mixing in some jealousy and malice.

Bang!

On the second floor, Wen Qiwu suddenly rose to her feet and walked over to the railing, staring down at the crowd below. Her companion, utterly bewildered, followed close behind. The surrounding discussions grew increasingly heated, yet Wen Qiwu remained exceptionally silent. Her companion stole a glance at her face and was shocked to see an icy coldness settling over a woman who was usually so gentle.

            

Her companion found it a bit hard to believe. Although they hadn’t known each other long, in her memory, Wen Qiwu had never argued with anyone, nor had she ever given anyone a cold shoulder. Even when they encountered cultivators in the Endless Sea of Trees who tried to murder them for their treasures, Wen Qiwu would still say, “My apologies,” right after killing them… Cough, maybe that wasn’t the best analogy, but her companion had always thought she was someone who never lost her temper.

Her look today was extremely rare—no, she’d simply never seen it before.

“…Utter and complete nonsense!” After a long silence, her companion heard Wen Qiwu speak in an icy voice.

            

Based on her understanding of Wen Qiwu during this time, her companion suspected that Qiwu had spent her silence trying to think of words to curse those people, but her good upbringing left her unable to think of anything nasty, leaving her to only say those four words.

The companion then tried to help Wen Qiwu scold them. Sure enough, with every sentence she spoke, the woman beside her would nod seriously in agreement, looking inexplicably well-behaved.

Her companion tilted her head slightly to keep the smile on her face from being too obvious.

            

“By the way, Qiwu, are you close with that Immortal Venerable from the Wenshen Sect?”

Wen Qiwu’s hand tightened over the wooden railing, a tempest of complex emotions churning in the depths of her eyes. “Not close…”

“Not close? Then why…” Her companion looked at the Wenshen Sect disciples drinking tea with their heads down below. “Those guys down there are from the Wenshen Sect, right? They aren’t even refuting it. I honestly feel like it’s hard to say if it’s true or not. Of course, it’s probably not as exaggerated as the storyteller made it sound. Besides, that Immortal Venerable doesn’t walk the Way of Heartlessness, so it’s only normal for her to have someone she likes…”

            

Her companion’s muttering fell into Wen Qiwu’s ears, making her swallow the words she was about to say.

Was she really not close with Immortal Venerable Yun Heng?

Wen Qiwu’s eyes glazed over slightly. She had only said that to distance herself, but hearing her companion’s words, she suddenly realized that she had indeed been the person who understood Yun Heng best in the world. But that “once” was a century ago. To her, it felt like she’d merely taken a long sleep, but the world had already changed. Perhaps they really had become people who weren’t close anymore.

            

That’s fine too…

Yun Heng wouldn’t have to be troubled by the rebellion of loving her own Shimei, and she, too, could finally let go of the past. Though a smile touched Wen Qiwu’s face, her eyes were filled with bitterness.

“Qiwu, do you… have an acquaintance in the Wenshen Sect?” her companion suddenly asked, noticing a woman among the Wenshen Sect disciples who had raised her head to look toward them, staring blankly.

            

Wen Qiwu followed her gaze and locked eyes with the person who was staring at her in a daze. That stranger—Wen Qiwu didn’t recognize her, but the woman’s eyes and brows felt inexplicably familiar.

Wen Qiwu instinctively smiled, but to her surprise, the other woman suddenly jerked her head down, staring intently at the teacup in front of her.

“Elder? Did you see something?” Her reaction was so sudden that the disciples beside her cast puzzled looks her way.

            

“It’s nothing,” Dong Shiyue shook her head. She didn’t look up, otherwise her disciples would’ve noticed that this stern Elder’s eyes were red, brimming with tears.

She had only… only seen a shadow of Elder Wen in that cultivator. When she smiled, she looked even more like her, but in the end, it couldn’t be her.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met her,” Wen Qiwu said. Perhaps she was someone who’d joined the sect after her “death.”

            

“It sounds like you’ve been to the Wenshen Sect before?”

“…Yes.” More than just having been there. To be precise, from the moment she first opened her eyes as an infant in swaddling clothes, what lay before her was the scenery of the Wenshen Sect and her Shijie—Yun Heng.

The people and things there had occupied almost all of her past life. Even with her eyes closed, she could depict every blade of grass and tree on Yunwu Mountain, and… that Immortal Venerable Yun Heng, who could make the mountain moon pale in comparison.

            

Perhaps it was for this very reason that trying to tear it from her heart felt so raw and bloody.

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