After Death, I Became My Shijie’s Palm-Sized Birdie – Chapter 38
by Little PandaBiting the Lip
She, just awakened, lightly bit down on her lip
Under the heavenly punishment, crimson, warm blood flowed down Wen Qiwu’s neck. She parted her lips slightly, a faint, suppressed whimper escaping her throat.
No…
A crimson hue tinged the edges of Wen Qiwu’s vision. Yun Heng had shielded her so well—beneath the heavenly punishment, she had not suffered a single injury.
Yet she would rather have taken some of the heavenly punishment for her shijie1.
A faint veil of blood mist clouded Yun Heng’s eyes. The heavenly punishment was agonizing to endure. Had she not kept the person in her arms firmly in her heart, she might not have held on.
She thought she felt warm tears from the person in her embrace—or perhaps it was her own blood. Yun Heng stroked her face, wanting to comfort her, to tell her not to be afraid, but the blood that suddenly surged up her throat stole her voice.
The heavenly punishment was terrifyingly violent. The Immortal Venerable’s divine sword pierced through the clouds, and the power generated by the clash between the two seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth. The half-formed Heavenly Cover Array2 Yun Heng had deployed could no longer conceal a heavenly punishment of this magnitude. No one knew what dangerous act their Sect Master had committed—some even speculated that Yun Heng had broken through to the God Realm3, and this was the thunder tribulation4 of her advancement.
But moments later, blazing fire erupted on Cloudmist Mountain, where snow drifted year-round. The flames were nearly pure white, with only a faint trace of cyan at their uppermost edges.
Immediately after, everyone heard a mournful phoenix cry. From the center of the flames, a white phoenix phantom soared into the sky. The faint cyan flames burning along its slender tail feathers traced beautiful, ethereal streaks through the air. The phoenix’s lament carried far—nearly every member of the Feather Tribe5 across Dongzhao Domain echoed it with cries of mourning.
Shiling Domain.
On this land belonging to the demon race, many powerful avian cultivators—including the Qingluan King—turned their gazes toward Dongzhao Domain. They could feel their bloodlines surging, an instinct guiding them toward that domain.
The phoenix phantom plunged into the thunderclouds condensed by the heavenly punishment. This was no ordinary tribulation cloud—the Heavenly Dao6 had come with the intent to kill Yun Heng. These clouds roiled with destructive and tyrannical power.
With the phoenix phantom’s aid, the divine sword burst forth with brilliant divine radiance once more. Yun Heng also severed her connection to the forbidden technique7 in time. After churning for a while longer, the heavenly punishment gradually lost its initial ferocity.
It took roughly half an incense stick8 before this punishment from the Heavenly Dao finally ended.
But what ended was merely the thunder tribulation. Heavenly punishment was never so simple.
The Medical Immortal had originally planned to return to the valley to prepare medicine before coming back, but before she could even step out of Wenshen Sect, that terrifying heavenly punishment had already descended.
The thunderbolts fell upon Cloudmist Mountain. The Medical Immortal knew Yun Heng’s strength—the woman had been trapped at the mid-stage of True Immortal Realm for over a century. So long as her heart demon9 remained unresolved, Yun Heng could never break through again. So the Medical Immortal knew with certainty that this was no tribulation thunder.
If that child knew how her shijie had ended up like this after her death, she would surely be heartbroken.
The Medical Immortal had failed to save Wen Qiwu, and she had always carried some guilt over it, so she paid more attention to Yun Heng’s affairs.
But even the most skilled physician could not save someone determined to die. The Medical Immortal had wanted to wash her hands of it—yet if she abandoned her post now, someone from Wenshen Sect would surely come looking for her. Fine…
The Medical Immortal could not intervene in the heavenly punishment either. She could only wait at Wanyao Mountain. Sure enough, after the thunder subsided, a young woman came rushing over, cradling a blood-soaked figure.
The Medical Immortal pushed open the door. She paused slightly when she saw Wen Qiwu—this young woman felt somewhat familiar, yet she was certain she had never seen this face before.
Perhaps she had encountered her before and simply forgotten. The Medical Immortal did not dwell on it, merely instructing her to lay the injured person on the bed immediately.
The Medical Immortal first fed Yun Heng a life-preserving pill, then set about examining her injuries. As the examination progressed, her expression grew increasingly grim. She discovered that in addition to Yun Heng’s preexisting conditions and the fresh wounds from the thunderbolts, her body now harbored several chaotic curses.
“Senior Medical Immortal, how… how is she?” Wen Qiwu’s voice trembled. Her clothes were stained with blood, but every drop belonged to her shijie.
When Wen Qiwu had carried her shijie to find the Medical Immortal, she could feel the person in her arms breathing faintly. She did not even dare to pray to the heavens to protect her shijie—because the one trying to take her shijie’s life was those damned heavens!
“Not good.” The Medical Immortal had always spoken bluntly. Hearing those two words, Wen Qiwu felt a buzz ring through her mind, and her body went weak beyond her control.
The Medical Immortal quickly reached out to steady her, and Wen Qiwu barely kept from collapsing.
“Please save her! Whatever medicine is needed, I can find it. Please, you must save her…” As she spoke, Wen Qiwu choked up, tears falling. Her red-rimmed eyes made her look especially fragile and helpless.
“I will do my duty, but whether she survives depends entirely on herself! A patient who refuses to follow medical advice… even the greatest medical arts cannot save her!” Though the Medical Immortal pitied her tears, she steeled her heart and stated the real problem.
Yun Heng’s greatest problem lay in her heart affliction. Aside from the terminal illnesses recorded in ancient texts, the one thing the Medical Immortal could not cure was an ailing heart.
So long as the heart affliction persisted, the outcome would be the same whether she treated her or not.
“I understand. I will make sure she follows your medical advice!” Wen Qiwu promised without hesitation.
The Medical Immortal raised an eyebrow slightly. Make Yun Heng follow medical advice? People had made such boasts before, only to fail every time. Unless that child could come back to life, she did not believe Yun Heng would ever obey.
Still… who was this young woman? Why did she not remember such a person by Yun Heng’s side? From her tone… she seemed very close to Yun Heng.
“That would be best. Now she has several additional curses in her body that were not there before. They feel very similar to the aura of those thunderclouds just now. These things are troublesome. I recall that the Phoenix Lord Tomb10 in the Endless Tree Sea11 contains something that can break curses. If you have the chance, try your luck there. I will suppress them for now—you find an opportunity to go look.”
When the Medical Immortal had attempted to dispel the curses, she discovered they were no simple matter. They faintly carried the aura of the Heavenly Dao—calling them curses was almost inaccurate; they were more like heavenly punishment itself.
Ordinary methods could not eradicate these curses now. The best approach was still to seek a way to break them in the Phoenix Lord Tomb.
“I will remember that! Right—Ah Yue mentioned before that you needed Jade Bone Grass12 to administer to Sh… to Sect Master Yun. Is there anything else besides Jade Bone Grass? I will gather everything and bring it all at once!” Wen Qiwu said.
“The Jade Bone Grass core is no longer effective… She is too severely wounded now. Oddly enough, her condition improved significantly a couple of days ago. I do not know what spiritual medicine she took then—if only we had more of that medicine.” The Medical Immortal sighed with regret. Yun Heng had indeed looked much better a few days prior; she should have asked more questions then.
“A couple of days ago…” Wen Qiwu suddenly recalled extracting a drop of her heart blood13 to feed her shijie a few days prior. A phoenix’s heart blood was the most top-tier medicine there was.
……
Even though Yun Heng was a True Immortal Realm cultivator, forcibly taking several strikes of heavenly punishment had still damaged her foundations. These past days, she had remained in a daze, sleeping—unable to open her eyes even when she tried.
But Ah Que…
Ah Que seemed to have returned.
In the darkness, unable to see her shimei14‘s figure, she grew so anxious she could not sleep peacefully. Yet every time this happened, someone would take her hand—that familiar, warm touch soothing her nightmares.
Yun Heng’s perception of the outside world grew clearer. Gradually, she sensed that someone had been staying by her side all along. That familiar presence… could it be Ah Que? The feeling brought her immeasurable peace.
Yun Heng was too severely wounded. She needed time to recover on her own. And when she regained consciousness once more, something soft fell upon her lips.
That sweet fragrance made her dizzy. But what followed was a rich scent of blood.
Blood?
Yun Heng suddenly opened her eyes. Before her was a pair of unfamiliar eyes filled with shock—no, not truly unfamiliar. The soul reflected in those eyes… she knew it better than anything.
Yun Heng’s eyes reddened slightly. Was this not a dream?
Wen Qiwu was feeding her shijie her own heart blood. She had not expected her shijie to wake so abruptly, without any warning at all.
She—she was not trying to take advantage of her shijie!
Wen Qiwu hurriedly tried to straighten up, pretending nothing had happened. She had only wanted to feed her shijie heart blood—there was no other intent. Who could have imagined that her shijie, just awakened, eyes still glistening with moisture and bewilderment, would chase after her for a kiss? She lightly bit down on her lip—meticulously, tenderly.
The author has something to say:
Here is a little surprise bonus update for the weekend~ I probably will not be able to post tonight, so wait for tomorrow during the day!
Footnotes
- Shijie: a pinyin kinship term for senior martial sister, used here as an intimate address.
- Heavenly Cover Array: an ancient array used to isolate areas from outside communication and the Heavenly Dao.
- God Realm: the highest theoretical cultivation realm.
- Thunder Tribulation: natural lightning tribulation accompanying realm breakthroughs, distinct from lethal heavenly punishment.
- Feather Tribe: avian demon beasts across Dongzhao and Shiling Domains.
- Heavenly Dao: the supreme cosmic law governing the world, which strikes down forbidden technique users with intent to kill.
- Forbidden Technique: generic term for cultivation techniques prohibited by the Heavenly Dao.
- Half an Incense Stick: a traditional Chinese time duration measurement, approximately fifteen minutes.
- Heart Demon: mental corruption caused by obsession and severe grief.
- Phoenix Lord Tomb: an ancient tomb in the Endless Tree Sea rumored to contain artifacts capable of breaking heavenly curses.
- Endless Tree Sea: an ancient forest in Wansen Domain where reborn Wen Qiwu hatched; site of the Phoenix Lord Tomb.
- Jade Bone Grass: a rare medicinal herb found in the Endless Tree Sea, essential for treating severe immortal wounds.
- Heart Blood: pure essence blood extracted directly from a cultivator's heart. A phoenix's heart blood is the highest-grade restorative medicine, capable of reviving severely wounded immortal cultivators.
- Shimei: a pinyin kinship term for junior martial sister.
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