Chapter 69-Shy Red Silk

Translated by Snowfall77

Bairen’s black mask might’ve had a white smile carved across it, but underneath the mask, his face was far from happy.  Evidently familiar with Black Rock cave’s passageways, he found the site of the auction with ease.

Going down blood-red carpeted stairs, he came to a blood-red open door.  Two frog-masked figures in black robes stood on either side of the door, nodding and bowing deferentially to anyone who entered.

Bairen flicked his sleeves and walked through the door, not giving the frog-masked figures a second glance.

Once inside, a spacious area was revealed, resplendent with glittering gold and jade, far different from the cramped murkiness of the ‘small’ black markets.  Meanwhile, people in every kind of mask imaginable were coming and going, while acquaintances chatted with each other.  Under a ceiling festooned with gorgeously colored glass lights, there were three or four levels of elegant private rooms for guests of honor.  Then, in front of a brightly lit stage, were seats that were already almost filled up.  Less ostentatiously, and off to a corner, was a formation that transported one directly to their private room.  Bairen headed directly for it.

No one noticed the small paper doll that fluttered down and tightly stuck to the floor right before Bairen stepped onto the formation.

After all, sometimes the most dangerous place was also the safest place.

For the fallen piece of paper was actually Xia Ge.  She’d used fifteen points to buy a ‘Paper Pill’ and eat it.  Disguised as just another piece of paper amongst the pile of countless paper blades that’d flown past the closing bronze door earlier, she’d made her narrow escape.

Clinging to the floor, Xia Ge stared up at the effulgent ceiling, her mind slightly in a daze.  She had speculated……but she hadn’t been sure.

When she’d caught a glimpse of that white jade in the ‘small’ black market, she’d just thought that the person was like her, there to buy and sell.  However……

Thinking about it……although unexpected, it did make sense.

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And she could now be absolutely certain that that white jade pendant was one that thoroughly masked a person’s aura.

Even when voices changed, that jade pendant stayed steady.  Turning Bairen into Huo Bai?  Shouldn’t such a stellar jade be mass-produced?

Huo Bai……Bairen.

One by one, what a fucking king of the silver screen.

The system interrupted Xia Ge’s musings to issue a warm reminder: [Host, The Effect Of The Paper Pill Only Lasts For Half An Hour.  It Would Be Advisable For You To Find A Safe Place To Regain Your Original Form And Put Your Clothes Back On.]

Xia Ge: “……”

Yes, yes, the ‘Paper Pill’ was very useful, allowing people to store themselves within the paper body’s ‘internal space.’  And within its ‘internal space,’ a person could control the paper’s movements, including sticking the paper to where desired.  Floating up and down was wonderfully convenient, yet there were drawbacks.  While a body could be stored within the paper, clothes could not……

And the fragile paper was easily ripped.

Besides only working for half an hour.

That was why Xia Ge hadn’t dared stick to Bairen for any longer than she had……it’d been tempting to try and follow Bairen to whatever private room he’d been going to.  Eavesdropping would have been very convenient……until Xia Ge’s half hour was up and she reverted to her natural body.  Then she would have been simply waiting for death.

Thankfully, Xia Ge’s silver ring was also a special item, so it could be stored in the paper alongside herself.  Xia Ge had swallowed the ‘Paper Pill’ first, then hurriedly thrown everything into the silver ring, including her clothes.  The split second the bronze door was kicked open, she’d thankfully joined the puddle of paper blades, managing to sneak her way out of her predicament.

The system’s warning had been kindly given, so Xia Ge silently flipped over and initiated flight, wanting to find a protected place to hide.

Yet as she rode the breeze up into the air, she suddenly found herself confronted by a very large eye looking right at her!

Trembling in fright, Xia Ge fell back down to the ground, playing dead.

“Eh?  The wind?”  From behind a mask, the distressed owner of the big eyes stared at the paper on the floor in confusion, “Where did this blow in from?”

Xia Ge stared back, realizing that the other was another ‘curse of wealth child puppet,’ wearing a toad mask and gripping a broom.  From Xia Ge’s vantage point, the puppet’s broom appeared giant and deadly, filling her heart with dismay.

Hey, hey!  What are you thinking of doing?!

“Oh, you can’t stay here.”  The puppet crouched down, its twisted, juvenile hand about to pick Xia Ge up, making Xia Ge’s heart thump.  She couldn’t let this kind of puppet touch her!

If a ‘curse of wealth child puppet’ touched you, you’d be infected with their resentments and your good luck would be irreparably weakened!

Or, to put it more simply, you’ll be doomed to poverty!!

That little hand about to touch her delicate paper body, Xia Ge prioritized survival over concealment.  With a ‘whoosh,’ she flew up from the ground, trying to mimic being tossed about in a breeze by making a few twirls, her feather-light paper form floating higher and higher, defying gravity.

Easily rising higher than the puppet’s forty centimeter height, Xia Ge thought she might be in clear.  However, the puppet had been ordered to ‘clean until everything’s spotless,’ and naturally it would obey the command to the end.  Even though Xia Ge was high up, the puppet didn’t give up, vigorously trying to snatch the paper floating in midair, going: “Ai, you stupid, stinky piece of trash, hold still!  Stop trying to get away!”

You’re calling me stupid?  I’m the stupid one?  You tell me to hold still and think I’ll listen?  You’re the stupid one, alright?

Complacently hovering at a height of 1.7 meters, Xia Ge disdained the puppet below jumping and waving its broom.

See how high I am?  That’s right, I’m far above you now!  Stupid puppet!

Alas, pride went before a fall.  For without warning, everything before Xia Ge’s eyes went dark!

Dry and warm, a bandaged hand held Xia Ge gently within its curled fingers.

Faced with a completely unexpected situation, Xia Ge was dumbstruck and simply laid there in a daze.

So dark.  Hello……

The muffled sound of the puppet’s fawning voice could be heard: “Ai, guest, please let me relieve you of that waste paper and then I will guide you to a private room……”

Now you’re calling me waste paper?!  Who told you to talk, huh?!

Torn between wanting to struggle while also not wanting to attract undue attention, Xia Ge’s cautiousness won out and she remained motionless.

“Not necessary.”

The voice was low and hoarse, as if the speaker’s throat had been damaged somehow: “This belongs to me.”

Hearing these words, the puppet seemed shocked for a second, but eventually it nodded its head up and down like it was pounding garlic: “Yes, very good, if the guest says it’s theirs, then it’s theirs!”

After all, it was just a piece of waste paper.  The second rule of hospitality was that whatever the guest says goes.

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Xia Ge: “……”  Um, hello……

“And……”  The low-voiced person took two cold, menacing steps towards the puppet, causing it to instinctively take a step back.

“Uh……yes, guest?”

The low and raspy voice continued in an icy tone: “This is not waste paper.”

“……yes, very good.”  Hopelessly confused, the puppet retreated another couple steps before answering in a frightened whisper: “In that case……you must be busy……”

The puppet gloomily scuttered away.

Held in the palm of a stranger’s hand, Xia Ge knew that by rights she should be dying of anxiety.  Yet when she’d heard their words……for some strange reason, she’d felt a sudden feeling of reassurance.

As if the stranger had no malice……?

There was no need to worry overmuch?

But soon after Xia Ge snapped back to her senses, scolding herself for being an idiot.  Some stranger had her trapped in their hand, and since when had lack of malice guaranteed goodwill?  Xia Ge needed to hurry up and find a way to escape!

Finished speaking to the puppet, the stranger started walking in an unknown direction.  After a little while, Xia Ge found that the hand around her had slightly loosened, the bright lights of the auction room glimmering through fingers.  Xia Ge wanted to stick her head out and the stranger seemed to read her thoughts, allowing Xia Ge enough room to do so.

Xia Ge stiffened.

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……mmm……such an action……did the stranger know Xia Ge was more than just a piece of paper?

Hit with the intense desire to turn her head and find out who the stranger was, Xia Ge tried doing so.  Too bad she was currently made of liable-to-tear paper.  Moving her head proved to be too difficult and Xia Ge had to give up on the idea in the end.

……nevertheless, who was this person?

Their steps were steady, the hold of their hand was steady, and after a few moments Xia Ge heard them lightly chuckle.  Next came the sound of fabric ripping, leaving Xia Ge even more curious.  The hand suddenly opened, but before Xia Ge could see anything clearly, her whole paper body was quickly wrapped in red silk.

Xia Ge: “???”

Huh?  Who are you?!  And what do you want?!

After bundling Xia Ge up, the stranger continued carrying Xia Ge until they reached a mysterious destination.  Xia Ge guessed that it was a private room, for after she was carefully put down, the stranger’s footsteps retreated, followed by the ‘creak’ of a door closing.

Then there was the indistinct sound of a puppet’s voice going:  “Aiya, honored guest……”

Leaving just like that?  Who was this person?

Xia Ge: “……”

Well, with the stranger gone, Xia Ge no longer had to pretend.  She set about carefully extracting herself from the loose layers of red silk, made difficult by the fact that she had to be so careful of not tearing her paper body.

Once Xia Ge had successfully gotten out of the fabric, which was very soft to the touch, she realized that the silk was a long strip that’d clearly been ripped off of something.  Looking at her surroundings, Xia Ge saw that her guess had been correct.  She was in a private room, furnished with a small table which she was currently on, an elegant, yet comfy-looking sofa, and a screen.  The décor was rather grand, matching the dazzling style of the auction area that Xia Ge could see through the room’s glazed window.

Xia Ge played with the piece of red silk, still completely bewildered.  Just who was the person who’d brought her here and what was their purpose in doing so?

Gazing down at the fabric that her two paper ‘hands’ had to strain to hold, Xia Ge pondered what to do next.  No matter how she thought about it, the right move was to slip away immediately.  Xia Ge dropped the silk.

She jumped off the table, light as a feather, before floating her paper body over to the door.  However, the second Xia Ge touched the crack of the door, her body was bounced back by a transparent barrier that was neither light or heavy.

Xia Ge: “……what the?”

Disbelieving, she endeavored several times to circumvent the barrier.  Yet no matter how hard she tried, her fragile paper body could not get past.

After about a half hour of striving with no result, Xia Ge was thoroughly exasperated: “What the hell is going on?”

The system chimed in uncertainly: [The Paper Pill Works On The Same Principle As A Yimei Works.  Your Soul Left Its Physical Body……Not Unlike A Yimei.  So Perhaps There’s A Formation On The Door Blocking Yimei?  If There Is, You Won’t Be Able To Go Anywhere Until You Revert To Your Original Form.]

Xia Ge: “……”

Really?!  This was too much!

“That person is venomous……”

Xia Ge was unresigned, but turned away from the door anyways, only to suffer an unwelcome surprise.  The red silk she’d left on the small table had silently moved to the floor, one end stretching up and  the other end wrapped around the corner of the table, like a red snake taking a peek.

She didn’t know why, but Xia Ge actually got the feeling that the cloth was……shy?!

What the hell did it have to be so shy about?!

No, no—wrong question.  How the fuck did it get down there?!  Was it actually alive?!

金碧辉煌   [jīn bì huī huáng]

Gold and jade vied with each other

Or-

old and jade in glorious splendor (idiom) / fig. a dazzling sight (e.g. royal palace)