After Death, I Became My Shijie’s Palm-Sized Birdie – Chapter 36
by Little PandaTaking Human Form
Wasn’t she the Fellow Daoist from the teahouse upstairs that day?
Dong Shiyue was suddenly snatched up by a giant paper crane that came flying at her on her way back. The people around her were so startled they all summoned their artifacts.
“Don’t panic, it’s the Sect Master summoning me. I’m heading back to the sect first. Elder Li, I’m leaving the disciples in your hands!” Dong Shiyue recognized the immortal power on the paper crane as Yun Heng’s, so she told the others not to worry.
Yun Heng had applied the Ten Thousand Li Divine Stride1 to the paper crane, which consumed immense immortal power. Dong Shiyue had assumed the Sect Master had something urgent to discuss, but after rushing over, she was only entrusted with a sleeping little bird puff.
Since there was no cage, the soft little bird puff was placed directly in her hands, and Dong Shiyue instinctively lightened her grip.
What surprised her even more was that the sky over Yunwu Mountain had cleared. The blizzards that had surrounded this place for a century had vanished completely, as though returning to the scenery she remembered from her youth.
The Sect Master had changed a great deal as well. The deathly stillness that once clouded her brow had nearly vanished, replaced by an emotion Dong Shiyue couldn’t quite name—a warmth that tinted her features. Dong Shiyue had only ever seen the Sect Master like this when Elder Wen was still alive.
What had happened during the days she was away? How had the Sect Master changed so much?
Dong Shiyue didn’t know what Yun Heng had been through, but she felt it must be something good. The Sect Master’s condition had been deteriorating day by day—they could see it and worried endlessly, yet didn’t know how to help her. Some, like Dong Shiyue, had grasped at straws in desperation, but nothing had worked. After all, not everyone had her luck—step out the door, casually grab a bird, and happen to encounter Wen Qiwu, who had just emerged from the Endless Tree Sea.
As long as the Sect Master was improving, that was cause for joy. Dong Shiyue’s eyes curved slightly as she held the little white puff in her hands and asked whether the Sect Master truly didn’t plan to keep her anymore. Was it because she wasn’t well-behaved?
“She’s very well-behaved. It’s just that I have matters to attend to afterward and can’t keep her for now. Take her back to Shangqing Mountain. She likes her fruit chopped up and doesn’t care for spirit grain—remember to cut the fruit before feeding her.” Yun Heng instructed.
“Yes.” Dong Shiyue sneakily rubbed the little white puff’s head. This little one was no simple creature either—in all these years, the only one who’d had the Sect Master personally prepare food and deliver it to her lips was Elder Wen, and now this little one had joined those ranks. The Sect Master must be quite fond of her.
But if the Sect Master still had matters to attend to, there was nothing to be done.
Dong Shiyue said she would take good care of her, then bowed and took her leave. Yun Heng watched her back until it completely disappeared from sight, then turned and headed toward the subterranean dungeon where the Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord was imprisoned.
The Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord sensed his pet’s death. His eyes held deep venom, but the moment Yun Heng entered, he carefully concealed that emotion.
Until he successfully escaped, he couldn’t let the other side detect his true thoughts. He had to feign weakness, then wait for Yun Heng to lower her guard and find an opportunity to flee!
The Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord’s soul had recovered slightly, but he still feigned a listless demeanor, huddled within the array.
Clang!
The Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord suddenly heard the sound of a blade being unsheathed. Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he cautiously lifted his head.
The shadow of the sword-wielder loomed over him on the ground. The Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord knew he was no good thing, but at this moment, Yun Heng looked more like a vengeful asura.
After waking, Yun Heng had come to a realization: the Demon Realm’s secret techniques were ultimately demonic heresy. Even if her shimei2 could barely be revived through such methods, her future might hold even greater suffering…
She couldn’t harm her shimei out of selfishness.
“Y-Yun Heng—n-no, Immortal Venerable! I still have value! Whatever you want, I can try my best to obtain for you. Please don’t kill me!” The Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord saw the undisguised killing intent in Yun Heng’s eyes—she wanted to kill him! But her shimei hadn’t been revived yet, so how could she bear to destroy him now?!
But he had miscalculated. When Yun Heng approached him, she brought her sword down without hesitation, cleaving his soul completely asunder. From this day forth, the scourge known as the Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord would plague the world no more.
Yun Heng didn’t need the Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord to do anything. She only wanted him dead—and not just dead, but with his soul scattered to dust. The suffering her shimei had endured had to be repaid in full by this chief culprit!
The Demon Lord’s piercing shrieks echoed throughout Yunwu Mountain. The walls and floor of the dungeon cracked from the force. Some of his scattered soul fragments tried to escape, but before they could even leave the dungeon, they froze into solid ice, then shattered into powder under Yun Heng’s sword intent, dissipating from the world.
Yun Heng walked to the rear of the dungeon. The entire floor and walls were riddled with cracks—only this one patch of ground remained intact, looking conspicuously out of place.
She condensed a mass of icy immortal power in her palm and channeled it into the ground. Instantly, dense arrays of runes surfaced across that section of floor.
As Yun Heng continued pouring in her immortal power, the runes grew clearer and clearer, and something beneath that floor seemed to be rising.
These runes were a seal Yun Heng had placed long ago. The moment the seal broke, a surge of chaotic energy shot skyward, and from within it, Yun Heng cradled out a small ash urn.
This was power drawn from the Chaos Rift3. The Ten Thousand Souls Demon Lord had said one could find a method to reverse time within the Chaos Rift—how could Yun Heng not know? She had gone there long, long ago and found the legendary forbidden technique for reversing time.
But from ancient times to the present, almost no one had succeeded.
To execute the Great Time Reversal Technique4, Yun Heng had only one chance. If she failed, she would lose her own life as well. They would either live together or die together.
And the blurry yet warm scene from her dream made her feel that was the refuge she would have after death.
…
After Dong Shiyue returned, she ran into her second disciple. The lively girl came bouncing over to greet her, then noticed her master’s rather strange posture—she seemed to be cradling something.
When she drew closer, she found it was a fluffy little bird.
“So cute!” Unable to resist the allure of the fluffy little puff, the second disciple reached out and gently stroked her.
“Shizun, where did you steal this little one from?”
“Mind your manners.” Dong Shiyue, known outside as the cold and ruthless Elder Dong, seemed to have no authority at all in front of her second disciple. Her tone sounded stern, but the second disciple knew her master was the classic type—icy exterior, soft heart.
The second disciple stuck out her tongue playfully. “You brought this bird back from the Sect Master, didn’t you?”
“How did you know?” Dong Shiyue wondered—she had only just returned, so how did her second disciple know so much?
“I heard from Eldest Senior Sister that the Sect Master summoned you away, and when you came back you had a bird in your hands. It must have come from the Sect Master. Is this little one the Sect Master’s pet?” The little bird puff’s feathers were exceptionally soft, like a ball of fluffy cotton. The second disciple couldn’t bring herself to let go.
Dong Shiyue gave her second disciple’s hand a light smack. “Don’t disturb her rest.”
“Oh.” The second disciple reluctantly withdrew her hand.
“This little one was previously given to the Sect Master by this master. The Sect Master can’t keep her for now, so she’s staying at Shangqing Mountain temporarily. The Sect Master might want her back later.” Dong Shiyue felt the Sect Master treated this little one quite well—once she finished with her current matters, she might even take her back for a few days.
“Should we get this little one a birdcage?” The second disciple worried that if the bird flew off and couldn’t be found, they wouldn’t be able to explain it to the Sect Master if she asked.
“Let’s get one.” Dong Shiyue nodded.
There were plenty of birdcages in the Beast Garden. Especially after the Feather Tribe gradually left a century ago, the empty cages over there had practically piled into mountains.
The little puff in Dong Shiyue’s palm vaguely heard the word “birdcage” and trembled. The next moment, her eyes snapped open.
She saw Dong Shiyue and an unfamiliar young girl about to place her into another birdcage. It was just an ordinary birdcage, but Wen Qiwu puffed up into an even rounder ball of fluff at the sight. With her power no longer restricted, a single flap of her wings sent the cage flying. The second disciple, standing close by, wasn’t spared either—she was slapped right across the face by the wind.
Wen Qiwu looked around in bewilderment. She was finally out of that wretched cage, but where was she now? This was… Shangqing Mountain?
Where was her shijie6? Why was she here?
Wen Qiwu paced anxiously in Dong Shiyue’s palm. The second disciple, her hair mussed by the wind, leaned in and asked, “Shizun, is she scared?”
Some birds were timid by nature and easily frightened when moved to a new environment.
“Maybe. Let’s take her back first—” Before Dong Shiyue could finish, she suddenly heard a voice beside her ear.
[Shij… where is Yun Heng?]
Dong Shiyue froze. Then the little bird puff in her hands hopped down to the ground and transformed into an extraordinarily beautiful green-robed young woman. Dong Shiyue couldn’t see through her cultivation—the woman’s power was far above her own.
More importantly, she recognized her.
…Wasn’t this the Fellow Daoist from the teahouse upstairs that day?!
Beneath Dong Shiyue’s seemingly unchanged expression, her composure had shattered piece by piece. She realized she had made a massive mistake—she had actually brought a senior demon cultivator7 back thinking she was a bird!
She wanted to dig a hole in the ground and bury herself in it. At least Dong Shiyue would never be able to face this senior demon cultivator again for the rest of her life!
“Where is Immortal Venerable Yun Heng?” Wen Qiwu asked again anxiously.
“The Sect Master… the Sect Master… when I left just now, she was on Yunwu Mountain.” Dong Shiyue stammered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”
So her shijie had awakened. That was good, that was good.
“It’s fine.” Wen Qiwu waved her hand. If Dong Shiyue hadn’t brought her here, she wouldn’t have known what had happened at the Wenshen Sect. If something had truly happened to her shijie…
No. That couldn’t be. Wen Qiwu refused to imagine such a thing.
But why was she here? She should be on Yunwu Mountain, shouldn’t she? She had only asked her shijie to melt the cage—why had her shijie thrown her out along with it?
Wen Qiwu asked Dong Shiyue what had just happened. Dong Shiyue, still piecing together her shattered composure, didn’t think too much and recounted everything that had occurred.
Dong Shiyue said the Sect Master had changed a great deal. This might have been related to the dream she’d just had—it wasn’t surprising. But why had her shijie been in such a rush to send Dong Shiyue back? Was she trying to get rid of her because she had something to do?
No wonder Wen Qiwu was jumping at shadows—Yun Heng’s heart demon was simply too heavy. Anyone else would have taken their own life long ago. Not being able to see her shijie even for a moment left her uneasy.
Never mind. She’d go back and check first. Wen Qiwu didn’t hesitate any longer and flew straight toward Yunwu Mountain.
Footnotes
- A movement technique in xianxia cultivation fiction; 'li' is a traditional Chinese unit (~500 meters), and 'ten thousand li' signifies an immense range.
- Junior martial sister; a respectful address for a female fellow disciple of lower seniority.
- In Chinese cosmology, hundun (混沌) represents primordial chaos preceding creation; here it names a void between world domains containing chaotic energy.
- A forbidden technique name from Chinese cultivation fiction; literally 'Great Time Reversal Technique,' referencing the taboo of reversing time's flow.
- A respectful address for one's direct master in cultivation.
- Senior martial sister; a respectful address for a female fellow disciple of higher seniority.
- A cultivator who is originally a non-human spirit being, having achieved human form through cultivation.
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