Though the illness aura hadn't yet reached the dark, near-cancerous stage, if things continued this way, it wouldn't be long before it did. But back then, Song Miaozhu had only bought ¥10,000 worth of white bark paper from Dai Xiaojia's shop. She left a glowing review praising her craftsmanship but never got her personal contact details.
Now, even if she wanted to reach out and urge Dai Xiaojia to get a medical checkup or return to papermaking, she had no way to do so. The best she could do was send a private message through the platform.
With a million followers, Dai Xiaojia's inbox was surely flooded. Even if she hadn't disabled DMs, the odds of her seeing Song Miaozhu's message were slim.
Song Miaozhu didn't hold out much hope. Still, while Dai Xiaojia's health seemed poor, it likely wasn't yet life-threatening.
The SEIU was already planning to publicly announce the existence of spiritual energy and promote cultivation for the masses. Once that happened, Dai Xiaojia would naturally return to her craft, and the spiritual energy she absorbed would be enough to restore her health.
But for now, getting spiritually infused paper from her was impossible.
Song Miaozhu had to look elsewhere.
Perhaps all the truly skilled masters had sensed the spiritual revival and were now focused on cultivation—after hours of scrolling through social media, she couldn't find a single other papermaker producing spiritually charged sheets.
Left with no choice, she contacted Wu Zhuxiang again.
[Miaow Zhu]: Zhuxiang, do you know any other traditional paper-making masters? I'm trying to buy another batch of paper, any kind is fine, as long as it carries spiritual energy.
Yunnan and Guizhou provinces had the most Intangible Cultural Heritage projects related to traditional papermaking. Maybe the masters there were connected.
[Grandmaster Wu's Granddaughter]:Let me ask my grandpa.
A short while later:
[Grandmaster Wu's Granddaughter]:Got it. There's no one in our Xiangzhigou village who can make spiritual paper anymore, but my grandpa knows an old lady in Shiqiao. She's a white bark paper inheritor and also makes colorful paper crafts. Her work is excellent and should meet your needs. If you're interested, I can give you her granddaughter's number.
[Miaow Zhu]:That's amazing! You really helped me out!
Song Miaozhu hadn't expected that after losing the Dai Xiaojia lead, she would find another elder who could craft both white bark paper and paper for spirit crafting.
She called the number immediately.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end spoke with a heavy local accent, but when she heard Song Miaozhu's voice, she switched to accented Mandarin. "Hello! Are you Boss Song, the one Grandmaster Wu mentioned, looking to buy white bark paper?"
"Yes, that's me." Song Miaozhu found her voice oddly familiar but didn't dwell on it. "I'd love to see the paper made by Granny He."
"Sure! Add me on WeChat, same number as this one. I'll send over some pictures of her work."
After hanging up, Song Miaozhu added the contact on WeChat. Ten minutes later, she received a set of images and videos.
The white bark paper was stacked loosely in a corner, unlike Grandmaster Wu's meticulously stored bamboo paper.
Still, it seemed to be kept in an attic and hadn't absorbed moisture.
Even so, the paper clearly carried traces of spiritual energy.
Granny He's craftsmanship was probably on par with Grandmaster Wu's.
And she didn't just make white bark paper, she also produced colorful paper, perfect for use in the Secret Art of Paper Crafting.
[Miaow Zhu]: I'll take all the paper Granny He made this year.
[Dreamlike Days]:All of it? Everything?
[Miaow Zhu]: Everything. And if the quality stays consistent, I'll take all future batches too. How much for this lot?
[Dreamlike Days]:Let me calculate.
A pause, then:
[Dreamlike Days]:Total comes to ¥58,000…
[Miaow Zhu]: ¥58,000?
[Dreamlike Days]:If you're taking it all, we can do ¥50,000.
[Miaow Zhu]:No, I meant ¥58,000 seems too low.
The first time she bought Grandmaster Wu's bamboo paper, when spiritual energy had just begun to revive, she had spent ¥100,000. Granny He's paper felt even more suited to her needs, and it was a larger quantity, yet it was only ¥58,000? That was way too cheap.
[Dreamlike Days]:Boss Song, you might not know this, but bamboo paper is more refined in process, craftsmanship, materials, and final product than white bark paper. That's why it costs more. The price here is already a bit higher because my grandma holds an Intangible Cultural Heritage title.
[Miaow Zhu]:Since your granny knows Master Wu, has she heard about his recovery?
[Dreamlike Days]: Yes, heaven's blessing. May he live long and prosper.
Clearly, she didn't know about the spiritual revival yet.
But as a heritage inheritor, the SEIU would approach her sooner or later. Since Song Miaozhu wanted to maintain this supply line, exploiting information asymmetry for a cheap deal felt wrong. She patiently explained the situation with spiritual energy to her and suggested she speak to Grandmaster Wu. She advised her to reassess the value of her white bark and colorful paper before finalizing any deals.
But the person on the other end didn't seem too tech-savvy or quick-thinking. Her replies came slowly. Even with Grandmaster Wu as a case study, it seemed the connection between them wasn't as close as Song Miaozhu had assumed. After all, Grandmaster Wu hadn't mentioned anything about spiritual energy to them either.
Worried that she might not believe her, Song Miaozhu thought of someone else in Shiqiao—Dai Xiaojia—and had an idea.
[Miaow Zhu]: You know Dai Xiaojia, right? The big influencer from your town with over a million followers.
[Dreamlike Days]:I do... why?
[Miaow Zhu]: If you ever get the chance to see her, could you convince her to get her stomach checked at the hospital? She might have moderate gastric lesions, and left untreated, it could become cancerous. With cultivation and an opened Heavenly eye, you can see the "sick aura." I noticed it in her videos.
[Dreamlike Days]:I... I am Dai Xiaojia... I'll go get checked...
After that, there was no further reply. Song Miaozhu sat in stunned silence.
"So I guess this is fate," she said with a laugh, setting her phone down and turning her attention to crafting her replacement paper servants.
She felt confident now. With Dai Xiaojia and Granny He's spiritual paper supply secured, she could move forward with peace of mind.
Her little paper servants were ready. With a large batch of spiritual paper on hand, she could now prepare extra replacement paper servants too. Only then could she rest easy.
Sure enough, three days later, Dai Xiaojia reached out again.
She called directly this time.
Song Miaozhu had expected her to ask about her health or spiritual energy.
Instead, the moment the call connected, she heard her ask, "Boss Song, are you really planning to buy all the paper my grandma made this year—and commit to buying future batches too? Even if the price rises by 80 percent compared to the price difference between bamboo paper and spirit-infused bamboo paper, will you still accept it?"