With the spiritual version of the Spirit Paper Carriage, a transformable artifact that could shift size, finally complete, Song Miaozhu was ready to try her hand at other vehicles.
Cars were easy to acquire. Boats and planes, not so much. Even if she bought them, getting them into the ghost workshop's storage without raising suspicion—and getting the ghost instructors to study them—was another matter entirely.
So instead, she bought a few high-fidelity model kits, including realistic replicas of helicopters and speedboats. She studied the blueprints herself.
With her prior experience, even the stumbles helped. The process honed her ability in the Secret Art of Paper Crafting, pushing her to evolve from copying patterns to designing her own. It was a necessary step, a threshold every practitioner had to cross.
After half a year of trial and error, she succeeded.
A Spirit Paper Helicopter and a Spirit Paper Speedboat.
At least according to the Spirit-Appraising Bronze Mirror, both could function just like their real-world counterparts.
The problem? Song Miaozhu didn't know how to operate a real helicopter or speedboat. Even if the paper-crafted versions had recognized her as their master and responded to her thoughts, she couldn't just take them out for a test drive like she had with the Spirit Paper Carriage.
If something went wrong in the air or in the water, she had no way to save herself. So, she simply cultivated the two into spiritual items. Once they gained spirit, they could shift into miniatures, making them easy to carry.
Still, she couldn't just keep them stashed away forever. If she ever wanted to fly or sail with them, she'd need proper backup mounts—those that could glide through the sky or swim through the water—to step in when things went awry.
And so, she turned her focus to crafting Spirit Paper Bird and Spirit Paper Fish mounts. Like the Spirit Paper Horse, these required the Mount Spirit Awakening Method. Song Miaozhu had already crafted Yin Paper Horses and even a spiritual version of the Spirit Paper Horse. The awakening method wasn't the problem—she just needed to make a convincing bird and fish out of paper.
For vehicles, realism mattered. They had to be modeled on real objects with fixed dimensions in order to pass as genuine. But for mounts, the rules were looser. Ground-based mounts like horses, bulls, or even fantastical beasts like qilins all rode the same. Their capabilities were bound to the mount's spiritual nature, not its appearance.
The only difference in form was comfort. A miniature Spirit Paper Horse was obviously too small to ride. She could craft a large cat the size of a tiger instead, but it would only look fluffy, not feel like the furred feline conjured from He Zhen's embroidered butterfly-cat masterpiece.
What applied to land mounts also applied to those that flew or swam. This time, she wasn't in a rush. She wanted to challenge herself. So instead of making basic birds and fish, she chose more ambitious targets:
A phoenix and a black tortoise.
Both were legendary forms recorded in the Secret Art of Paper Crafting, known for their flair and their difficulty. Even her Spirit Paper Horse was due for an upgrade. She planned to replace it with a qilin. With her goal set, Song Miaozhu threw herself into the work.
Her days were already packed: crafting Yin Paper offerings for the ghost workshop, making spirit-gathering dolls for the SEIU, attending lessons from the ghost instructors, cursing Japanese ghosts, training her body, nurturing her spiritual energy. The rest of her time was devoted to perfecting these three dazzSpirit mounts.
She went through piles of bamboo strips. Half a year passed before the phoenix, the black tortoise, and the qilin were finally born into the world. Surprisingly, cultivating them into spiritual items didn't take long. They were as easy to raise as the Spirit Paper Pony. Once awakened, they could vanish into her hidden space at will—undetectable, untouchable, but always ready to appear with a single call.
Back when she first finished the Spirit Paper Horse, she hadn't dared ride it in the human realm. She was afraid of falSpirit off and injuring herself, having never ridden a real horse. But with the phoenix and the black tortoise, she wasn't worried. Their movement—whether flying or swimming—wasn't as jarring as the gallop of a horse. She planned to start slow and ease herself into it.
Unfortunately, the cliffside where she lived wasn't suitable for takeoff. It would risk exposing her home. So today, during her training, she deliberately ventured far—crossing to the other side of Yunwu Mountain. There, on a peak with a clear view, she summoned her spiritual Spirit Paper Phoenix.
The enormous bird tore through space, appearing before her with a sweep of radiant wings. Its nine tail feathers shimmered in the sunlight, casting a multicolored glow that stole the breath from her lungs.
Even though she had crafted the phoenix herself, once it gained spirit, it felt completely different—like something straight out of legend.
It was just an illusion of course. When she touched it, the familiar texture of paper pressed against her palm. This was the one flaw of all paper-crafted mounts. They only looked real. They didn't burn in fire or dissolve in water like ordinary paper, but that paper feeSpirit gave them away.
Still, Song Miaozhu was more than satisfied.
She climbed onto its back and patted it gently. "Easy now. Steady. Don't drop me."
The phoenix lifted its head and let out a melodic cry. Its wings stirred, and they rose into the sky. They were already a hundred meters above the ground, but the wind brushing her face was only a soft breeze—no stronger than riding a bicycle. She felt perfectly fine.
That was thanks to a built-in feature all mounts had, shielding the rider from wind and water. It could even be adjusted for comfort, preventing accidents during travel. With no gusts to knock her off balance and the phoenix flying steadily, the ride was smooth and safe. Its broad back gave her plenty of space, and as long as she didn't wander near the edge, there was no risk of falSpirit.
She quickly grew accustomed to the rhythm of flight. Her nerves faded, replaced by exhilaration.
"A little faster. Head that way. The Xiao Li River is deep and wide, and there aren't many people nearby. We'll test the black tortoise there," she said.
Water-based mounts could both swim and dive, carrying their riders beneath the surface. The phoenix flapped harder and picked up speed. Song Miaozhu couldn't help laughing in delight. The little paper servants were even more excited than she was. The Spirit Paper Pony, once their favorite, was now out of favor. Their desire for flying mounts had reached its peak.
Song Miaozhu shook her head. "If you shrink down the phoenix, it won't look good. A smaller paper sparrow would be better. You make the form, and I'll awaken it for you."
After making a massive phoenix, crafting sparrows was nothing.
But as their spiritual intelligence grew, she preferred letting the little paper servants train their skills. Even if they couldn't awaken spirits on their own, they could still craft the forms, which saved her a lot of time.
The moment they heard "sparrow," the little paper servants were thrilled. Some of the ones staying behind in the cave immediately ran off to start slicing bamboo strips.