After Death, I Became My Shijie’s Palm-Sized Birdie – Chapter 11

Events of the Past, Part 10

She wanted to kiss her shijie, wanted to keep her shijie confined by her side

With the God Realm having become legend, the True Immortal Realm was now the highest cultivation level in the Cangwang Realm. The reason the Demon Realm had been relatively quiet these past years was probably because none of the three Demon Lords could reach the threshold of the True Immortal Realm.

            

Dongzhao Domain had a True Immortal overseeing it, so they could only keep their heads down for the time being. But now that the Demon Realm had produced a True Immortal Realm cultivator as well, the situation across the Cangwang Realm suddenly grew delicate.

It was no surprise that a Demon Lord would provoke war, but what was surprising was that the one who had quietly cultivated to the True Immortal Realm was the Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord. His strength had been the weakest among the three Demon Lords — how could he have crossed several major realms in a mere ten years?

Yun Heng combed through every last one of Elder Zhu’s belongings and eventually found a few traces.

            

The Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord had likely obtained some fortuitous encounter that could help one advance their realm. Elder Zhu had been stuck in the Earth Immortal Realm for far, far too long. After several failed attempts to break through to the Golden Immortal Realm, he developed a Heart Demon¹. It was at that very moment that the Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord dangled an irresistible lure, and he took the bait.

In the end, greed had bred disaster. What good outcome could come from making a deal with a demon? From the very beginning, the Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord had never intended to honor his promise. Once the demon achieved his goal, the useless tool could simply disappear.

After the traitor’s death, Yun Heng became extremely busy. The Cangwang Realm had been at peace for tens of thousands of years, and people had gradually let down their guard. No one knew to what extent the five domains had been infiltrated by the Demon Lords. Now Yun Heng not only had to discuss matters concerning the Demon Realm with other sects but also had to investigate within her own. From that day on, the number of times Wen Qiwu and Yun Heng saw each other noticeably decreased.

            

She hadn’t expected her birthday to fall right in the middle of the busiest period. Wen Qiwu told Lu Qiaoyi that perhaps they should skip it this year.

But Lu Qiaoyi rejected the idea without a second thought. “In past years it was either your shijie² in seclusion or you in seclusion. I never found the chance to celebrate your birthday. This year, I’m definitely making it up to you.”

“It’ll just be our own people celebrating. It’s not that much trouble — leave it to me. Who knows… there might not be such a good opportunity later.” Lu Qiaoyi looked down to examine her physical condition, and Wen Qiwu couldn’t see her expression. “Very good. Your recovery is coming along well. The Spirit-Drinking Flower is even more effective than I expected. We can increase the dosage from here on.”

            

There might not be such a good opportunity later? Wen Qiwu looked at her in confusion.

“You probably don’t know yet, but your shijie is about to push for the late stage of the True Immortal Realm. Once your body recovers, she’ll likely go into seclusion. Barring any surprises, that’s another several decades to a century.” Lu Qiaoyi explained.

So that was how it was…

            

Wen Qiwu’s mood sank a little. It was her illness that had delayed her shijie’s cultivation progress.

After readjusting the prescription ratios, Lu Qiaoyi did something rare — she packed up her medicine box right away and prepared to leave.

“Are you busy too, Elder?” Wen Qiwu set down her medicine bowl and asked.

            

Today’s medicine seemed to carry a faint, slightly choking sourness. Perhaps Elder Lu had added some strange new ingredient. Preoccupied as she was, she didn’t pay it much mind.

“It’s all because of that traitor business. No one knows whether someone like Elder Zhu was an isolated case. Today several elders argued in the Discussion Great Hall all morning. In the end, your shijie decided to conduct a thorough investigation of the entire sect. In particular, all elders at the Earth Immortal Realm and above must undergo the Heart-Contemplation Body-Tempering Trial³.”

Lu Qiaoyi was the elder they were closest to and most familiar with apart from their shizun⁴, and she had watched them grow up. Yun Heng and Wen Qiwu naturally trusted her, but the required procedures couldn’t be skipped.

            

Just as they were talking, the Jade Token hanging at Lu Qiaoyi’s waist flashed twice. She glanced down at it and said in a huff, “I know, I know. Didn’t I say I had things to do and would be late? Why the rush?”

“You should go, don’t be late.” Wen Qiwu rose to see Lu Qiaoyi out.

Lu Qiaoyi didn’t want to keep the others waiting on her account either, so she grabbed her medicine box and headed to Wendao Mountain.

            

After seeing Lu Qiaoyi off, Wen Qiwu’s residence fell quiet all at once. Only the sound of Qingtuan hopping about in its birdcage remained.

Wen Qiwu added some spirit grain and chopped spirit fruit to the cage. Qingtuan was a finicky little thing — it wouldn’t eat fruit unless it had been cut up for it.

“Qingtuan, you need to work hard on your cultivation too.” While the little one was eating, Wen Qiwu gently stroked its head.

            

Wen Qiwu knew the little creature could understand her words — it just didn’t like to pay her any attention when she was nagging.

She had encountered the little creature when she was three. At that time, Qingtuan was already at the Heart-Contemplation Realm. Now she herself had reached the Void Refining stage, yet this little thing was still stuck at the Heart-Contemplation Realm. If it didn’t cultivate harder, its natural lifespan would soon run out.

“Jiu Jiu Jiu!” Little Qingtuan suddenly opened its beak and chirped out a string of bird language.

            

Wen Qiwu and Qingtuan stared at each other.

She couldn’t understand bird language.

Qingtuan got angry. It puffed up into a white ball tinged with green, then turned its tail toward Wen Qiwu.

            

“…Why are you angry again?” Wen Qiwu poked it. She had a feeling this little dumpling was mad because she couldn’t understand what it was saying, but she was human — how could she possibly understand what it was saying?

“Qingtuan, a Demon Lord’s spy has infiltrated the sect. The Demon Realm might provoke a war, and it won’t be safe outside anymore. You love flying out to play, and if your strength isn’t sufficient, it’ll be very dangerous…” As Wen Qiwu spoke, she suddenly felt her consciousness growing hazy.

The bird dumpling, which had its back turned, noticed the sudden silence behind it. It immediately spun around, and its dark little eyes reflected the image of Wen Qiwu slumped over the desk.

            

“Jiu!” Qingtuan immediately hopped to the edge of the cage nearest to Wen Qiwu.

“Gazhi…”

Her door suddenly opened, and a silhouette walked in against the light.

            

Qingtuan spread its wings, a dangerous gleam in its dark eyes. The runes that Yun Heng had personally carved into the cage actually began to fluctuate.

It wasn’t until the figure drew close and the bird dumpling saw the person’s face that it folded its wings, and the fluctuations on the cage returned to normal.

When Wen Qiwu woke, it was already dark outside. She wasn’t slumped over the desk but lying in bed. As her illness gradually worsened, she had grown accustomed to occasionally falling into uncontrollable bouts of unconscious sleep, but today felt somehow strange.

            

Her stomach churned with nausea, and waves of dizziness swept through her mind.

“Are you unwell?” The candlelight beside the bed was dim, outlining Yun Heng’s silhouette. When she returned, her shimei⁵ had already fallen asleep, but there were still things to do today. If Ah Que didn’t wake soon, she would have to rouse her.

“Shijie?” Wen Qiwu looked at the person beside her with bleary eyes. Because she was feeling unwell, she looked all the more fragile.

            

Yun Heng gently stroked her forehead, and a cool thread of spiritual energy eased the dizziness.

“I probably slept too long. My head is a little dizzy.” Wen Qiwu nuzzled against her shijie’s hand.

Yun Heng felt the warmth against her palm, and the irritation that had built up from all those wretched affairs seemed to vanish entirely.

            

“Qiwu, today is the day for your medicinal bath. Can you walk on your own? Or would you like your shijie to carry you there?”

“I can manage on my own.” She hadn’t asked her shijie to carry her since she grew up. Thin-skinned Wen Qiwu immediately sat up, though she swayed when getting out of bed — a worrying sight.

Yun Heng realized her shimei was putting on a brave front, so she simply scooped her up.

            

Her body suddenly suspended in midair, Wen Qiwu widened her eyes and instinctively wrapped her arms around her shijie’s neck.

The gesture was somewhat intimate. Wen Qiwu’s face flushed slightly.

“Sh-Shijie, I can walk on my own.” Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum.

            

“You can barely stand and you still want to act tough?” Her shijie’s tone carried an unmistakable firmness that brooked no refusal. Wen Qiwu buried her face in her embrace. Though her words were reluctant, Ah Que’s heart was brimming with joy.

Yun Heng had built a large bath pool for Wen Qiwu. The Medical Immortal had carefully formulated various spiritual medicines to dissolve in the water, specifically for tempering Wen Qiwu’s body.

Wen Qiwu was carried to the edge of the bath pool. The hot steam rising from the water hit her face, and her cheeks, which hadn’t cooled down the entire way there, seemed to burn even hotter.

            

“I’ll be right outside the door. If anything happens, remember to call for me.” Yun Heng repeated this instruction several times before leaving. Her shimei’s condition today was truly cause for concern.

Sometimes her shijie was too cautious. She was a Void Refining cultivator, not a three-year-old child. Wen Qiwu smiled as she slipped off her outer robe, leaving only a thin inner garment.

But Wen Qiwu hadn’t expected that without her shijie’s spiritual energy, the dizziness would strike again. She seemed to step on a wet spot, and her foot slipped — she tumbled into the bath pool.

            

Just as her head was about to strike the edge of the pool, a force yanked Wen Qiwu aside at the critical moment.

“Putong!” Water splashed in the pool.

Wen Qiwu pushed herself up in a sorry state. She was thoroughly soaked, the thin inner garment clinging to her body, tracing the contours of her graceful figure.

            

The water in the pool was being continuously heated. Steam rose in swirling clouds, making everything hazy.

But hazy steam could not obstruct an immortal’s vision. The propriety-minded immortal quietly looked away.

When Wen Qiwu opened her eyes and saw her shijie beneath her, her expression froze in a daze, and for a moment she forgot to get up.

            

Her shijie had been dragged down with her and drenched through as well. The clothes clung to skin as white and smooth as jade, and as her shijie sat up, water droplets trailed down her neck and disappeared beneath the collar.

The moon-like immortal, fallen into water — the mundane liquid seemed to strip away some of her ethereal immortal aura, replacing it instead with an indescribable, alluring softness.

Yun Heng was breathing slightly heavily, her chest rising and falling. Those lips, glossed with a layer of water, looked all the more vivid and red. Wen Qiwu’s gaze trembled uncontrollably. A longing, along with certain dark thoughts, took root in the depths of her heart and broke through the soil.

            

She wanted to kiss her shijie. She wanted to keep her shijie confined by her side, where no one else could see her.

When Wen Qiwu’s reason returned, she found that she had already drawn perilously close to her shijie!

She recoiled in alarm, the movement so drastic that she nearly fell back into the pool. Yun Heng’s swift hands pulled her back, and this time Wen Qiwu crashed directly into her shijie’s embrace.

            

She didn’t hurt from the impact, because the place she buried herself into was very soft.

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The author has something to say:

So the reason Ah Que forcibly kisses her shijie after drinking is entirely because she holds back too much normally.

            

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