After Death, I Became My Shijie’s Palm-Sized Birdie – Chapter 67
by Little PandaSharing a Room
I’m afraid I’ll have to ask my shimei to share a room with me.
Cangwang Realm, Canghai Domain.
Long, long ago, this was the territory of dragons. But several catastrophes swept across the land in Cangwang Realm’s history, and the Dragon Clan couldn’t weather those calamities. In the end, they vanished into the long river of Cangwang Realm’s history.
Later, most of the land-dwelling Demon Race in Canghai Domain relocated to Shiling Domain, while more and more of the Human Race settled here. During that period, relations between the Human Race and the aquatic demon tribes were hostile, and the two sides fought for many years. It wasn’t until several centuries later that the two races clasped hands in peace, and they set the date of the Dragon Gate Grand Ceremony on the anniversary of their reconciliation as a commemoration.
Legend had it that during the Dragon Gate Grand Ceremony, the aquatic demon tribes would use secret arts passed down from the Dragon Clan to summon the Dragon Gate1. Any Water Tribe member who leaped through the Dragon Gate could become a dragon. Countless Water Tribes looked forward to this with eager anticipation, but the summoning ritual had a very high failure rate. Across tens of thousands of years, the recorded successes numbered only a handful — you could count them on one hand.
Yet even so, this couldn’t stop the fervor of the Water Tribe demons. For dragons, like phoenixes, were born directly at the Earth Immortal Realm. Their bloodline was a shortcut to the God Realm. If one successfully transformed into a dragon, it meant that demon had already knocked upon the gates of the supreme God Realm.
So even though the odds were slim, every time this season came around, countless Water Tribes would rush from every domain, waiting for a chance that was perhaps less than one in ten thousand.
Jiaoyue City was the starting and ending point of the ceremony, and also the place closest to where the Water Tribes summoned the Dragon Gate. If the summoning failed, several kings of the Water Tribes would ride Dragon Carriages through the sky above Jiaoyue City, scattering “blessings” before circling several towns and returning to Jiaoyue City at last.
Those blessings were scraps of spiritual matter from the deep sea, beneficial to both humans and demons alike. So even if the Dragon Gate wasn’t summoned, humans and demons who came here didn’t leave empty-handed.
The only problem was that Canghai Domain became overwhelmingly crowded at this time — Jiaoyue City especially was packed to the rafters. Finding lodgings was nearly impossible, so humans and demons alike had to rely on their own resourcefulness, producing all manner of artifacts to fashion temporary shelters for themselves.
Of course, if you didn’t have one, that was fine too. Long ago, someone had spotted the business opportunity, and every time the season came around, stalls would appear renting and selling all sorts of artifacts that could serve as dwellings.
On the streets of Jiaoyue City, many vendors had set up stalls, hawking their wares. Their stalls were piled with various artifacts, spiritual objects, and cultivation techniques, though most were ordinary goods. Finding a treasure among them required a sharp eye.
At the mouth of an alley, a drowsy stall vendor suddenly sensed two shadows blocking his sunlight. He opened his eyes and found two female cultivators — and beautiful ones at that, as though they’d stolen the radiance of the sun itself.
One was as cool and remote as the moon; the other was as gentle and warm as jade. Standing together, the two of them inexplicably inspired the strange thought that they were truly a perfect match.
But what mattered more to the vendor was that both female cultivators’ clothing and accessories were extraordinary artifacts. At a glance, they were clearly from prominent families or major sects — definitely not ones to worry about money.
He immediately rolled off his reclining chair, and when he noticed that the gentle-looking female cultivator was sifting through the pile of shells on his stall, he hurriedly introduced them: “These are Dragon Pearl Shells! I fished them out of an undersea secret realm after narrowly escaping with my life! You only find them on dragon veins! These are excellent goods — even though only the shells remain, feel for yourself, they still retain a massive amount of dragon vein spiritual energy. Doesn’t affect their value as medicinal ingredients at all…”
The vendor talked up these glittering shells until they sounded heaven-sent, and the residual spiritual energy on the shells was indeed convincing. If a less knowledgeable cultivator had come along, they might well have been taken in.
“Ah Que, do you like them?” Yun Heng saw that Wen Qiwu had been looking at this stall for quite a while and assumed she liked these glittering little shells. She was already reaching for her Storage Bag to pay.
“I promised the little ones I’d bring back gifts when I went out, didn’t I? I wasn’t sure what to buy, but these shells would be perfect for decorating their nests. Let me buy a few and see if the little ones like them.” Wen Qiwu picked up a shell. It was crystal clear, marbled with two to three colors, and quite lovely to look at.
Back on Yunwu Mountain, the birds had been especially reluctant to part with Wen Qiwu when they heard she was going away for a while. She couldn’t take a step outside without a flock of birds clinging to her, so she had promised to bring gifts back for the little ones when she returned.
The vendor’s smile widened at those words. Using “Dragon Pearl Shells” for decoration — these really were customers who didn’t worry about money. Looked like he could raise the price a little more.
“Vendor, how much for these shells?” Wen Qiwu’s voice was soft, and she didn’t look like the type who’d haggle.
“These… are all premium Dragon Pearl Shells. I won’t ask for much — one upper-grade spirit stone per shell. If you want to take the whole lot, that’ll be one hundred upper-grade spirit stones, or one immortal stone. Look, there are at least two hundred-plus pieces here. I just opened for business today, so consider this price a gesture of friendship.” The vendor wore a pained expression, as though he were truly taking a loss.
“One upper-grade spirit stone per shell?” Wen Qiwu laughed softly. “The whole lot for one medium-grade spirit stone. Are you selling?”
Ten medium-grade spirit stones could be exchanged for one upper-grade spirit stone, and one hundred upper-grade spirit stones for one immortal stone. The vendor had quoted one immortal stone, yet Wen Qiwu had slashed the price straight down to one medium-grade spirit stone — a staggering drop.
The vendor’s eyes went wide. “Are you here to cause trouble?”
“You’re using a pile of worthless Snail Pearl Shells to impersonate Dragon Pearl Shells, and you’re quoting one immortal stone — what gives you the right to say that?” Wen Qiwu turned the shell over in her fingers. “I’m willing to offer one medium-grade spirit stone because you’ve polished them beautifully. Otherwise, these things wouldn’t even be worth a medium-grade spirit stone.”
The exposed vendor’s face turned awkward. Though Wen Qiwu’s tone remained as gentle as before, the vendor couldn’t help feeling that her voice now carried tiny blades scraping against his soul.
“I recall that the City Master of Jiaoyue City established rules many years ago — anyone caught selling counterfeit goods must pay tenfold restitution on top of the sale price.” Yun Heng’s icy voice sent a shiver through the vendor. Her voice wasn’t like small knives scraping at his soul — it was like a cold force gripping his throat.
Long, long ago, many humans and demons had taken advantage of the Dragon Gate Grand Ceremony to fish in troubled waters. Fraud and deception were the least of it. Jiaoyue City had been exceptionally chaotic in those days, until the new City Master took power and laid down the rules. Only then did Jiaoyue City gradually find peace.
“Or would you prefer to settle this privately?” Wen Qiwu smiled meaningfully and gestured toward the alley behind the vendor.
There was an unwritten rule here: disputes could be resolved two ways — publicly or privately.
Publicly meant going to the City Master and letting her arbitrate.
Privately meant the two parties handling it themselves, so long as they didn’t cause too much of a disturbance.
This vendor had deliberately chosen a spot at the mouth of an alley. The depths of that alley were pitch-dark — a fine place for a private settlement.
“Wait, wait — one medium-grade spirit stone it is, one medium-grade spirit stone! I’ll pack them up for you, and throw in a little something extra.” The vendor waved his hidden hand behind him toward the alley, then smiled and packed the shells, handing them to Wen Qiwu.
As the customers turned to leave, a dark glint flickered in the vendor’s eyes.
The City Master? She was nothing but a paper tiger now — she couldn’t threaten them. But these two seemed to have already spotted his hidden backup lurking in the shadows, and their cultivation was clearly formidable. At this juncture, better to avoid trouble than make more.
“Shijie, didn’t you say the City Master of Jiaoyue City doesn’t allow anyone to cause trouble on her turf? Someone like that… has definitely swindled more than just one person. He’s set up an ambush right out in the open, and the City Master isn’t doing anything about it?” Wen Qiwu could smell a faint trace of blood and resentment from that alley. Someone must have died in there — and not long ago.
They had sensed something off about the city’s atmosphere the moment they arrived in Jiaoyue City. The vendors were still calling out their wares, but few people stopped to browse. Many hurried along as though they didn’t want to linger on the streets.
Later, Wen Qiwu gradually noticed similar situations in many corners of the city — a far cry from the orderly Jiaoyue City of reputation.
Jiaoyue City’s scenery was indeed lovely, but it was now inexplicably shrouded in a layer of gloom.
“I haven’t been in touch with the City Master of Jiaoyue City for a long time. The message I sent her recently went unanswered too.” Yun Heng’s voice sank slightly. Jiaoyue City was the City Master’s life’s work — she had no reason to let the place fall into chaos. So Yun Heng’s first instinct was that something had happened to her.
“Why don’t we go to the City Master Manor and take a look?” Wen Qiwu suggested. She had heard on the way here that the City Master was her shijie’s friend, and her shijie certainly wouldn’t feel at ease without seeing for herself.
Yun Heng pondered for a moment, then gave a slight nod. “Let’s go take a look.”
They had known each other for many years. If something had truly happened to the City Master of Jiaoyue City, Yun Heng couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
So they went to the City Master Manor first, but the news they received was that the City Master had been injured in an undersea secret realm and was currently in secluded cultivation. All city affairs, including the upcoming Dragon Gate Grand Ceremony, had been handed over to the younger generation of her clan.
Perhaps because the juniors couldn’t command respect, Jiaoyue City was showing signs of instability.
The butler asked if there was anything else they needed. Upon hearing about the vendor’s conduct, he immediately grew solemn and said he would report the matter upward.
By the time Wen Qiwu and Yun Heng returned, the vendor and his stall had both vanished. Passersby whispered that he’d been taken away by City Master Manor personnel, and the streets had gained a noticeable increase in patrolling guards bearing the City Master Manor’s crest.
The City Master Manor appeared to have restored order, but Yun Heng’s expression still showed no sign of relaxing. Now wasn’t a good time to investigate — she would wait until she had settled her shimei, then try to contact the City Master.
“Ah Que, let me take you to where we’ll be staying first.” Yun Heng shielded Wen Qiwu and guided her away from the bustling crowd.
“But can we still find an inn or tavern with rooms available?” Wen Qiwu had heard that you needed to reserve far in advance to secure lodgings during the Dragon Gate Grand Ceremony. They had arrived too late, and she had her doubts.
“The City Master once reserved a room for me at a restaurant here,” Yun Heng explained.
The largest restaurant in Jiaoyue City was the City Master’s own establishment. The moment they entered, an attendant apologized and said there were no vacant rooms — they would need to look elsewhere.
Yun Heng placed a jade plaque in the attendant’s hand. Upon seeing the plaque, the attendant’s eyes went wide, and he nearly blurted out a title.
“Imm… ahem, the room the City Master reserved for you has always been kept vacant. But that’s the only one left. Would the two of you be able to share a single room?” The attendant grew even more deferential.
Everyone who worked here knew what that jade plaque meant. It was just that the Immortal Venerable Yun Heng who held it had never once appeared. The innkeeper, who was on good terms with the City Master, had even teased her about whether she’d made friends with the Immortal Venerable in her dreams.
To think the real person had actually come!
“Ah Que, it’s crowded here. I’m afraid you’ll have to make do and share a room with me.” Yun Heng looked at Wen Qiwu with a show of “difficulty.”
It was crowded — and with only the room the City Master had specially reserved for the Immortal Venerable remaining, naturally there wasn’t a single other one to spare.
What Wen Qiwu saw in her shijie’s eyes wasn’t “difficulty” at all, but a small, barely contained thrill. The curve of her lips carried a hint of helplessness. Her shijie’s little schemes were easy to read, and under the circumstances, she could only go along with them.
“Then let’s share.” The moment Wen Qiwu agreed, she caught the smile in her shijie’s eyes that she could no longer quite hide.
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