Little Pink Starfish

Back when the blood sacrifice divination array was activated, it had revealed a strange and fantastical world. A distant, ethereal voice had confirmed the existence of Ziche Shubai—so without hesitation, Qi Guanrui had leaped into the space-time rift.

But even as a Heaven-Swallowing Python with an extraordinary bloodline, even with the strength of a Martial Venerable, he still couldn’t completely withstand the ravages of the space-time storm.

He transformed into a massive serpent, stretching hundreds of meters long, and relied on the depths of his bloodline’s power to push forward.

It took a long time, but he finally broke through the storm and entered this world.

Severely wounded, his true form shrank to only the length of an arm, and he ended up landing… on a tree in a wealthy district.

The mansion closest to that tree belonged to none other than Wu Shaotang.

Qi Guanrui knew nothing about this world. He needed information. So, after gathering a bit of martial energy, he slithered into the mansion in his snake form, transformed into a human, and took control of Wu Shaotang.

But it wasn’t through the use of a snake parasite.

When Qi Guanrui had reached the Martial Venerable level—essentially the peak of power in his original world, strong enough to shatter space—he had gained a deeper sensitivity to the laws of reality. He quickly realized that while he could still use his Martial Ancestor-level strength here, snake parasites wouldn’t work.

If he used them, he could control nearly every person in this world. If he truly went down that path, he might even be able to destroy the entire world.

But this world was not his by birthright. It would never allow him such unrestricted power.

So, snake parasites were out of the question.

Instead, he had to control someone through more conventional means.

His luck was excellent. The first person he encountered, Wu Shaotang, turned out to be someone with significant influence—not because of his own power, but because of his family’s. A resource Qi Guanrui could easily exploit.

At the same time, Wu Shaotang’s luck was terrible.

He had no choice but to live under the same roof as a monster.

As Qi Guanrui’s martial energy gradually recovered, he pulled out Ziche Shubai’s body, which he had kept hidden within his python form’s internal space. One reason was that he deeply missed him, but the other was for divination.

After all, divination wasn’t something exclusive to his old world.

Wu Shaotang, miserable as ever, fetched the luxury takeout he had ordered earlier and laid out more than ten dishes on his expensive European-style dining table. Then, like a proper butler, he stood to the side, waiting.

High-society types always liked their Western aesthetics, and Wu Shaotang himself had enjoyed playing into that trend. But now that he was literally playing the role of a servant, he wasn’t having much fun anymore.

Who the hell is this monster to act so high and mighty?!

Poor Wu Shaotang had lived his entire life without ever having to watch someone else eat.

Qi Guanrui, however, had little appetite.

At his level of power, eating was optional. But since his martial energy hadn’t fully recovered yet, food could at least speed up the process a little.

However, after tasting this so-called luxury takeout, he found himself disappointed.

Back when the Swallowing Heaven Society was at its peak, their wealth and power were unparalleled. As its ruler, Qi Guanrui had been served only the most exquisite meals. Everything in Heavenly Capital City had been tailored to his perfectionist standards.

Even though this food came from a high-end restaurant, compared to the carefully curated delicacies once prepared for the most powerful figures, it was mediocre at best.

Not to mention, while it contained some nutrition, it was nothing compared to the blood and flesh of ancient beasts.

Still, considering that he still needed to make use of this waste of space, Qi Guanrui graciously ate everything.

Wu Shaotang stared in disbelief. What the hell kind of stomach does this guy have?! He really is a monster! I didn’t even get a single bite!

Qi Guanrui glanced at him.

Wu Shaotang immediately straightened up. “Do you have any other orders?”

Qi Guanrui spoke calmly. “No need for cooked food. Bring me one hundred stone of fresh meat.”

Wu Shaotang =口=

Even if he wasn’t the most educated man, he still had some basic knowledge. One stone equaled 120 catties. One hundred stone meant 12,000 catties—six tons of meat!

Who the hell eats six tons in one meal?!

Even the cheapest pork would cost over a hundred thousand yuan for that amount! He might be rich, but if every meal cost that much, even a second-generation heir like him couldn’t keep up!

And how the hell was he supposed to transport that much meat without raising suspicion? What was he supposed to say—he was starting a pig farm?!

But of course, he didn’t dare voice any of these thoughts.

Who knew if this monster would eat him instead?

Wu Shaotang took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Would it be acceptable if they were… alive?”

Qi Guanrui nodded. “Alive is even better.”

Wu Shaotang: Alright… forty pigs shouldn’t be too obvious.

Faced with a life-or-death crisis, even a useless playboy could perform miracles.

Within hours, Wu Shaotang had made all the necessary arrangements. He contacted people in his older brother’s network, got in touch with a supplier from a local farm, and secured two large trucks. Using the most enthusiastic business approach of his life, he had forty pigs delivered to his estate.

Of course, this required some sneaky maneuvering, and he even had to bribe the security guards.

In the end, under the disbelieving stares of the mansion’s guards, forty live pigs were transported to Wu Shaotang’s backyard.

The air was soon filled with the deafening squeals of pigs.

Qi Guanrui looked at these “beasts” and was immediately dissatisfied.

The energy in their blood was pitifully weak, nowhere near what he needed. Even with forty of them, they probably wouldn’t provide much power.

Better than nothing, though.

Wu Shaotang, seeing Qi Guanrui’s frown, began to feel uneasy.

Then, the next moment, his entire body froze in horror.

He watched as Qi Guanrui casually flicked his fingers—and in an instant, the corpse in his arms disappeared.

Then, his body split into multiple shadows.

Before Wu Shaotang could react, a chilling series of crack, crack sounds filled the air.

The forty pigs… had all had their necks snapped.

A flood of scarlet blood gushed onto the ground, turning the backyard into a crimson swamp.

Wu Shaotang clutched his own neck, feeling extremely unsafe.

I could easily be next… yeah, definitely better not resist.

Then, his eyes widened even further.

The blood pooling on the ground formed intricate symbols, glowing with eerie patterns.

Then, with a loud burst, the pigs’ bodies exploded into mist, turning into pure blood vapor.

Qi Guanrui opened his mouth—and inhaled all of it in one breath.

Wu Shaotang’s neck stiffened. His body refused to move.

Qi Guanrui, barely satisfied, traced out a divination formation with the pigs’ limited energy. He focused, channeling the power, and then—

A message entered his mind.

His eyes snapped open.

The formation instantly shattered, dissolving into dust.

Qi Guanrui slowly exhaled. “…Bai?”

So that’s the clue…

He turned to Wu Shaotang. “Within a day, I need information on every person in this city with the character ‘Bai’ in their name.” His voice was gentle, but his gaze left no room for defiance. “You can do that, right?”

Wu Shaotang, still reeling from the horror, frantically nodded. “Absolutely no problem!”

At that moment, he abandoned all hope.

This was no man. This was a monster.

At this point, Wu Shaotang had completely abandoned any last shred of wishful thinking.

A person like this, a monster like this… he had no choice but to comply.

---

A very ordinary three-bedroom apartment.

In the living room, the most comfortable spot was the long, soft sofa.

On the main couch sat a bespectacled homebody. To his left, curled up on a single-seater, was a charming beauty. To his right, sprawled in another chair, was a handsome young man. Both of them were hugging pillows, staring intently at the bespectacled man as he told his story.

Their expressions were entranced.

Finally, after a long while, the homebody’s flat voice came to a stop.

Wei Liang took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

“So, what you’re telling us is… in that long-ass dream of yours, you fell in love with the psychotic, man-eating python from your own novel?”

Gu Bai, completely deadpan: “Yeah. I went gay.”

Wei Liang: “…Damn. That’s some heavy stuff, man.”

Meng Jun finally snapped out of it and gasped, “Da-da, you’re amazing! Even falling in love is so extraordinary! I fell in love with your novel because of that book! Xiao Rui Rui is my favorite male lead—no exceptions! You and him are the perfect match!”

Wei Liang ruthlessly poured cold water on her excitement.

“Too bad it was all just a dream.”

Gu Bai: “…” Do you have to stab me right in the heart?!

For hundreds of years, he had been a city lord, standing at the peak, ruling over all. And then—bam!—he woke up and realized, “Oh. It was all just a dream.”

Do you have any idea how miserable that feels?!

He had finally made peace with the fact that he was gay, and he had even been enjoying it. But then—boom!—turns out the guy wasn’t even real. He had somehow imagined himself into his own relationship.

It was like he had accidentally seduced himself.

The sheer tragedy of it all! And you want me to go over it again?!

I’M JUST A CLOSET CASE, DAMN IT!

Feeling Gu Bai’s death stare, Wei Liang shrank back a little. “…Alright, alright.” He composed himself, then asked, “So basically, the reason you’ve been acting all dead inside lately… is because you got dumped in a dream?”

Gu Bai expressionlessly nodded.

Wei Liang let out a weird laugh. Then, as if testing the waters, he suggested, “How about… we go get wasted?”

Gu Bai: “Thanks, but I’d rather mourn in peace.”

The two stared at each other in silence for a long moment.

And then—CRASH!

The sudden noise snapped them both out of their daze.

Meng Jun, ever the bold one, had just slammed down an entire crate of liquor onto the floor.

With an air of absolute confidence, she pried open a bottle and shoved it into Gu Bai’s hands.

“Da-da! Let’s go!”

The remnants of his previous buzz seemed to resurface.

For a split second, a certain handsome face flickered through Gu Bai’s mind.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the bottle and took a deep swig.

Screw it. Drink first, think later!

At this moment, he had no idea that the person he was desperately missing…

Had already arrived in this world.