Chapter 69: Outside Lumen City Lies the Deer Platform (7)
A soul-tearing pain radiated from his Nascent Soul, like countless fine threads weaving across the surface of his body, only to suddenly yank downward all at once.
In the blink of an eye, Bai Chunsheng’s entire soul was forced into a vessel far too cramped for him to endure.
The candlelight flickered on the ground, trembling and dancing. Its straight shadow slowly twisted and warped. The floor, the corpse, the village, the townspeople—everything felt like fragile bubbles on the verge of bursting, all exploding inside Bai Chunsheng’s mind.
No wonder Nan Chiye had turned into that. It wasn’t just because he had stayed in the fishing village too long. It was because he had put on that piece of clothing.
That explained why wearing the outfit was the only way to blend into the town. Nan Chiye had become such a monstrous creature just so the townsfolk could see him. Naturally, once Bai Chunsheng put on that same outfit, the same thing happened to him.
Following that line of thought, Nan Chiye probably attacked him for exactly this reason. Perhaps once you put on the outfit, you couldn’t take it off by yourself. So he had been looking for a scapegoat to wear it in his place.
Bai Chunsheng, his head spinning and aching, wanted to curse out loud—only to remember that this stupidity was entirely his own doing.
So he couldn’t.
He had no choice but to swallow his frustration with a bitter, muffled groan.
Was this the end for him—the most talented demon king the cultivation world had seen in generations? Falling here like some kind of joke?
Then he thought again: what if, someday, someone stumbled upon this place and saw his corpse lying there, and found out how he had died? What if—what if—someone actually laughed at how foolish his death had been? He’d probably die again from sheer shame.
He anxiously hoped that this person wouldn’t turn out to be Yan Jingqiu after regaining his memories.
—If it were him, then even as a ghost, Bai Chunsheng would want to die of embarrassment all over again.
But then again…
It wasn’t like anyone would actually figure it out, right?
With that thought, he felt slightly better.
When the dizzying waves of pain finally started to subside, Bai Chunsheng struggled to open his eyes. What lay before him was no longer that empty room—he had no idea where he was now, only that he was surrounded on all sides by piled-up objects.
Light filtered through the gaps between the clutter. Through one of those slivers, Bai Chunsheng looked outside and spotted, not far off, a wall adorned with finely detailed paintings—birds, flowers, insects, beasts, and vivid depictions of noble ladies.
As for anything more, Bai Chunsheng soon realized he couldn’t move a single inch. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a pair of yellowish webbed duck feet… but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t exert any strength at all. He couldn’t move.
Bai Chunsheng seemed to have reverted to his original form. His wings were twisted behind his back, and the feathers on his chest were a translucent white—clearly made of jade.
It was the same strange kind of jade Bai Chunsheng had seen before.
Directly above him loomed a tall jade figurine, and all around him were piles upon piles of jade trinkets in a chaotic heap. There were all sorts of shapes and styles—as long as one could imagine it, it seemed to be here. When Bai Chunsheng glanced around, he realized the sheer amount of clutter was practically blocking off most of his access to information about his surroundings.
His dantian remained completely empty—not a single trace of spiritual energy left. He felt as if he had truly become a jade statue incapable of moving.
As his gaze swept over the mountainous piles of puppets, Bai Chunsheng noticed something in his front-left—a jade figure’s face was directly facing him. The features were delicate and lifelike. Bai Chunsheng recognized her immediately—it was the wonton shop owner from the fishing village, the one who had argued with “Hong Chunfeng.” She looked nearly indistinguishable from a real person, though the unique sheen of jade betrayed her true nature.
This place looked like the workshop of a jade artisan, cluttered with the remnants of his former creations.
Bai Chunsheng came up with a theory—perhaps the so-called “locals” and “outsiders” were differentiated this way: the “locals” were personally crafted by the original owner of this ruin, while “outsiders” were transformed into jade figurines due to some kind of misfortune.
But then why did Nan Chiye gradually turn into a jade puppet after putting on the white robe, whereas Bai Chunsheng had transformed instantly into this miserable state?
As Bai Chunsheng pondered, he suddenly heard a sound from a distance—someone was pushing a door open and walking in.
Wait—a person?
Though he had turned into a jade puppet, Bai Chunsheng’s eyes—once agile and expressive—couldn’t even move anymore. He tried with all his might to shift himself, hoping to draw the newcomer’s attention, but only then did he realize how thoroughly he had been remodeled. He could barely do anything, and the realization left him disheartened.
Both of his Lingyu Mountain puppets were in his storage pouch. It was unlikely that Yan Yi would be able to rescue him in time. There were so many jade puppets stacked around like mountains and oceans. Someone as small as him—chances of being noticed were slim to none.
Bai Chunsheng sighed inwardly, already on the verge of giving up hope. Maybe, after a few years, he would truly become just another lifeless jade puppet, not even a shred of consciousness remaining.
For a brief moment, Bai Chunsheng thought of his grandmother, thought of his past. Everything felt dim and muted, like a montage flashing before death.
He wondered: Was he about to die?
Would anyone mourn him? …Would Yan Yi—or the Yan Jingqiu who hadn’t regained his memories—remember him?
That thought made Bai Chunsheng scoff inwardly. Why was he thinking about that guy again? Honestly, he would rather Yan Jingqiu forget him as soon as possible. Being remembered by that guy never led to anything good—it might even ruin his chance at reincarnation.
In his next life, he was determined to be born with even more talent than Yan Jingqiu! So much so that even Yan Jingqiu would be envious and look up to him.
Lost in his fantasy, Bai Chunsheng’s heart began to swell with excitement. His ignorance even gave him a little sense of anticipation.
He then heard the footsteps stop nearby. Bai Chunsheng keenly noticed that the light filtering in from outside had grown slightly stronger. The large jade statue above him seemed to have been pushed aside. A hand reached in and pulled Bai Chunsheng out from the pile of jade figurines.
“How interesting,” Yan Yi said, holding him up by his wing.
Author’s note:
Bai Chunsheng: “Aaoooww!”
Huge shoutout to @_nyanmaru_ on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
