Little Pink Starfish

Xiao Liu didn’t know the person who escaped. He claimed that he had originally planned to sneak in during the night, but when another party attacked first, he panicked, afraid someone else would snatch the prize before him. So, he acted rashly—only to find out his opponent was far stronger than expected.

But he had no clue who had spread the bounty.

Li Shu knocked Xiao Liu unconscious again and tied him up in the hotel. Since their whereabouts had been exposed, they had to leave immediately. This hotel—and even the entire county—was no longer safe.

“The bastard behind this bounty is despicable,” Zhang Qiu fumed. “They don’t have to lift a finger—just put out a price, and people will come swarming in to snatch the bead.”

His mind immediately jumped to the person backing Jin Laoda. Back in Xiangxi, Jin Laoda had been dead set on getting the bead. It was likely that his benefactor was the one who spread the bounty.

The situation was already a mess, and the road to Shandong was bound to be filled with obstacles.

Li Shu drove onto the highway but didn’t use navigation, randomly choosing an exit after a while. They ended up in a small town. It was already midnight, so he parked the car in a sparse grove outside the town, using the darkness as cover. The three of them planned to rough it out for the night.

At six in the morning, Li Shu drove into town, where they grabbed a quick breakfast. Zhang Qiu bought some food and water, and then they hit the road again.

“There’s a car tailing us.”

Li Shu made a sharp left turn onto a side road. Zhang Qiu turned back and, sure enough, saw an inconspicuous sedan following them. Through the windshield, he could make out four people inside. Since their own car had tinted windows, the people behind them probably hadn’t realized they’d been spotted yet.

“What do we do now?”

“Hold on tight.”

Before Zhang Qiu could react, Li Shu suddenly floored the gas, sending the car speeding forward. The sedan behind them immediately accelerated to keep up.

The early morning streets of the town weren’t very crowded, leaving them with no cover to shake off their pursuers. The driver of the sedan was clearly skilled, keeping up closely.

“There’s no shaking them off,” Zhang Qiu muttered.

“Keep it steady,” the Prince of Xiapi suddenly instructed.

Li Shu slowed down slightly. Seeing this, the car behind them sped up, attempting to ram them. The Prince of Xiapi rolled down his window, and with a quick flick of his hand, something silver flashed through the air. Zhang Qiu barely saw what it was before—

Screech!

A series of loud crashes followed by yelling erupted behind them. The pursuing car, unable to control its momentum, veered off and crashed into a greenbelt.

Zhang Qiu turned back and saw that the car’s front tire had burst.

“What did you just throw? That was badass!”

“A fruit knife.”

Zhang Qiu’s eyes sparkled with admiration. He had always thought of the Prince of Xiapi as the elegant and delicate type, but his technique was deadly. He was about to ask more when Li Shu interrupted.

“Check the map.”

“Oh, right.” Zhang Qiu quickly pulled up the GPS. “We’ve veered off course by ten kilometers. We need to take G08 National Highway, then get back on the highway—it’ll be faster that way.”

“We can’t use this car anymore. Find the nearest train station.”

Zhang Qiu realized he was right. They had just been involved in a car chase—modern surveillance systems would make it easy to track them down. “But we need ID to buy train tickets.”

“We won’t need to buy them.”

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at a small, rundown train station. Carrying their bags, they followed Li Shu inside. Zhang Qiu had no idea how he did it, but the ticket inspectors acted as if they didn’t even see them, letting them pass without a second glance.

The train was heading to Shanxi. Zhang Qiu checked the map and suggested, “We can get off in Henan and rent a car. That’ll be faster.”

By ten at night, they arrived at a small county in Henan. They were only about twenty kilometers from Shandong, but getting to Laizhou, where Senior Brother Hua had pointed them, would take another half-day by car.

After getting a hot meal and settling into a hotel, Zhang Qiu collapsed onto the bed and quickly fell asleep.

---

When Zhang Qiu woke up, he was in a car—again.

He groggily sat up and muttered, “Why do I always wake up in a car?” Seeing the familiar figure in front of him, he sighed in relief. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You have to be wakeable for that to work,” came a rare sarcastic remark from the Prince of Xiapi.

Zhang Qiu chuckled. “I’ve been sleeping a lot lately.”

The Prince of Xiapi mumbled something, but Zhang Qiu didn’t catch it. Just as he was about to ask, the Prince of Xiapi changed the subject. “We’re almost in Laizhou.”

“Really?!” Zhang Qiu looked outside—the scenery had changed to rolling green mountains.

Li Shu, however, seemed unfazed. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Someone will lead us there.”

Sure enough, after checking into a luxury hotel, within an hour, someone came looking for them.

The visitor was a well-dressed, bespectacled young man with a refined yet composed demeanor. He swept his gaze over the three of them before directly addressing the Prince of Xiapi.

“Mr. Liu, I’d like to buy your Phoenix Bead. Name your price.”

Of course, Zhang Qiu thought, as if the Prince of Xiapi would ever sell his brother.

He shot a glance at Li Shu, signaling him to intervene if things got heated.

Li Shu, however, just smirked and pinched Zhang Qiu’s cheek. “Blinking so much—doesn’t it hurt?”

Zhang Qiu: …

Ugh! No teamwork at all!

“The bead is not for sale,” the Prince of Xiapi said coldly. “And if anyone tries to take it, they will die a horrible death.”

Their guest didn’t seem surprised, but his expression darkened. “If you change your mind, I’m staying in the room next door. This bead is very important to me.”

Leaving a business card on the table, he turned and left.

That night, Zhang Qiu and his companions returned from eating grilled meat. As they entered the elevator, four other people stepped in—three men and one woman.

The woman wore a red spaghetti-strap dress, making her skin appear as fair as snow. She had a curvy figure, bright red lips, and though she wasn’t stunningly beautiful, her gaze was incredibly seductive. From the moment she stepped into the elevator, she had a charming smile, which made her look even more attractive.

The three men beside her were quite different from each other—one had the air of a businessman, another was a burly bodyguard type, and the third was a short, thin, and rather plain-looking middle-aged man. Their clothing styles were so mismatched that Zhang Qiu felt that the “boss” didn’t quite look like a boss, and the “bodyguards” didn’t seem like real bodyguards.

The woman noticed Zhang Qiu staring at her and curved her exquisitely painted red lips into a smile. “Handsome boy, you’ve been staring at me for quite a while now. Are you planning to buy big sis a drink?”

Zhang Qiu’s face turned bright red, unsure where to look. To make matters worse, the moment she spoke, he felt a chilling aura behind him—it was Li Shu.

This was a life-threatening situation!

“How adorable, his face is all red!” The woman teased with a laugh.

Zhang Qiu suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder—it was Li Shu’s arm. Cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead, and he gave Li Shu a pitiful look, silently declaring his innocence. I swear, I won’t even glance at another woman from now on!

The woman seemed to enjoy teasing him. It was rare to find someone so pure and innocent. But when she glanced up again, she was met with a sharp, icy glare from Li Shu. She smacked her lips in amusement. This tall man was undoubtedly handsome, but her instincts told her he was extremely dangerous. More importantly, his gaze was filled with blatant possessiveness toward the “handsome boy.”

With a knowing smile, she said, “Ah, so this little cutie is already taken.”

Without thinking, Zhang Qiu nodded frantically, expressing his loyalty. “Taken, taken!”

The moment he finished speaking, he heard Li Shu’s low chuckle above his head. He instantly realized what he had just blurted out and turned crimson.

Waaah! I just embarrassed myself to death!