Two beams of light pierced through the pitch-black forest. As the light source grew brighter, Zhang Qiu could already hear the rumbling of a car engine.
Li Shu had chosen a particularly tall and dense tree for them to hide in. Their position was high up, concealed by layers of branches. With no artificial lights in the mountains, the darkness and silence made it nearly impossible for anyone to notice them.
“Is it those four?” Zhang Qiu whispered.
Li Shu nodded. Zhang Qiu suddenly thought of Xiapi Prince Huai. Li Shu pointed to a large tree across from them. Zhang Qiu stared at it for a while but couldn’t spot Xiapi Prince Huai at all. Impressed, he said, “Your eyesight is really sharp.” Then, recalling his own night vision had inexplicably vanished, he asked curiously, “Why do you think I can’t see in the dark anymore?”
“No idea.”
Li Shu’s gaze flickered toward Zhang Qiu’s stomach for a brief moment, but Zhang Qiu didn’t notice. All his attention was on the approaching vehicle.
The forest was eerily silent. The vehicle’s high beams illuminated the distance as it drove up to their parked car. Suddenly, the screech of brakes echoed through the night, making Zhang Qiu’s heart pound. He slowed his breathing, afraid the four people below would notice them.
“They found their car.”
The burly bodyguard, the first to jump out of the SUV, walked over to their car and peered through the windows. Then, shaking his head, he turned to the three others getting out. “No one’s inside.”
“Did they realize we were following them?” The man who seemed to be in charge spoke.
The short man holding a flashlight swept the beam up toward the tree where they were hiding. Zhang Qiu nearly died from fright, clutching tightly onto Li Shu’s sleeve. The light passed over them without pause, and the short man continued, “It doesn’t matter. We just need to complete the task the boss assigned. You all know that if we succeed, besides money, there’s also…” His voice trailed off into a whisper.
“I don’t believe in immortality. I just want money,” the bodyguard said.
The short man made a silencing gesture, but before the bodyguard could respond, the woman next to him laughed. “There’s not even a ghost here, what are you shushing for? But Xiao Gao is right—I don’t believe in immortality either. Money is the only thing that’s reliable. Just look at Lao Jin from the underworld—after coming back from Xiangxi last time, what did he turn into? If I ended up like that, I’d rather be dead.”
“Enough talking!” The boss waved his hand impatiently. “Get back in the car. This is such a hassle. Stealing the pearl should have been enough, but now we have to go down the tomb too. I don’t know what the boss is thinking.”
“You have to be able to steal it first,” the woman teased playfully, linking her arm through the bodyguard Xiao Gao’s. Her voice was sweet and seductive. “Little brother, when we go down, you better protect your big sister. It’s been years since I last entered a tomb, and I’m feeling nervous.”
Xiao Gao was obviously pleased and nodded enthusiastically.
“Cui Hong*, are you flirting with anything that moves? Even the Jiangshi in the tomb?” The boss laughed loudly at his own joke, clearly entertained.
*[T/N: Vulgar or old-fashioned nickname used for low-class working women like entertainers and prostitutes. I guess an old man would call you that while groping your ass.]
The woman snapped, “Pig Intestines, you bastard! Call me Cui Hong again, and I dare you to see what happens!”
“Alright, alright, my dear Hong-jie, let’s just get going!”
One by one, the four of them got back in the car. Before leaving, the short man swept his flashlight over the trees again.
The boss scoffed. “Come on, get in! There’s nothing up there, why are you looking?”
The SUV quickly started up and drove away.
Li Shu held Zhang Qiu’s waist as they climbed down from the tree. Xiapi Prince Huai also descended from the other tree. He and Li Shu exchanged a glance. Zhang Qiu didn’t understand their silent exchange and asked anxiously, “Did you hear them mention Lao Jin? Do you think it’s the same Lao Jin we know?”
“The Xiangxi tomb, the underworld, and his ‘ghostly appearance’—it must be the Lao Jin I killed,” Xiapi Prince Huai said, a cold smile forming. “If I run into him again, I’ll have to grind his bones to dust.”
Zhang Qiu also felt it was obvious, but the thought was too horrifying. He had seen Lao Jin’s skull smashed open, blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. He didn’t want to believe this man had somehow come back to life.
For some reason, an image suddenly surfaced in his mind—Lao Jin in the tomb, chewing on a shriveled-up Jiangshi with sickening crunching sounds.
Connecting that to Lao Jin’s “resurrection,” Zhang Qiu was instantly nauseated.
Li Shu gently rubbed Zhang Qiu’s back. “Why are you suddenly feeling sick?”
“Just thinking about Lao Jin makes me want to puke—ugh.” Zhang Qiu retched, eyes watering, but still worried about delaying their journey. “Let’s go quickly before we lose them.”
“No rush.”
Li Shu unscrewed a bottle of water and handed it to him. “I have a way.”
Zhang Qiu was curious. “What is it?”
“Kiss me, and I’ll tell you,” Li Shu smirked.
Zhang Qiu, previously nauseous, suddenly felt fine. His ears turned red. Li Shu was getting bolder! Huffing, he retorted, “Forget it. Keep your secret.” See if I care.
To his frustration, Li Shu really didn’t say anything after that. The three of them got in the car, and Li Shu leisurely started driving, showing no urgency. Instead of frustrating Li Shu, Zhang Qiu was the one growing more impatient by the second.
“How do you know where they went?” Zhang Qiu finally caved.
Li Shu smirked. “Two kisses, and I’ll tell you.”
Infuriating!
Zhang Qiu fumed and leaned back into his seat. He had never realized Li Shu was this type of person! The cold, aloof first impression was completely a lie! But the more he refused to think about it, the more he wanted to know the answer.
Later, as they followed the other group’s route through the forest, Li Shu suddenly stopped the car and turned off the lights.
In the darkness, Zhang Qiu barely had time to react before he felt something cool against his lips. Startled, his mind went blank as Li Shu’s tongue brushed lightly over them, cool like jelly. Reflexively, he parted his lips—only to be thoroughly kissed.
His breath grew rapid, his body weak. Luckily, he was sitting—
Sitting!
Zhang Qiu suddenly remembered that Xiapi Prince Huai was in the backseat. He panicked.
The shadow withdrew slightly, but not before planting another soft kiss on his lips.
“I kissed you too,” the shadow murmured in satisfaction.
Zhang Qiu burned with shame. “Li Shu!!!”
“Hm?”
That deep, magnetic hum made Zhang Qiu lose his ability to argue. Dammit! He hated how much of a sucker he was for good looks, voices, and hands!
“I turned off the lights,” Li Shu said innocently. “I know you’re shy.”
Damn it! Zhang Qiu gritted his teeth. “I haven’t forgotten that Xiapi Prince Huai has night vision just like you!”
“I can pretend I didn’t see anything,” Xiapi Prince Huai said from the backseat.
“You—I—I’m going to kill you, Li Shu!!!”
Li Shu chuckled, ruffling Zhang Qiu’s soft hair. “Didn’t you want to know how I found the route?”
“Who cares—”
“The short man with the mask? That was Lao Jin.”
“???”
Zhang Qiu was stunned. Processing Li Shu’s words, he gasped. “Lao Jin?! The dead Lao Jin?”
Li Shu smirked. He’s so easy to distract.
“Otherwise, how do you think they knew the tomb’s location?”
Hearing Li Shu’s hint, Zhang Qiu suddenly realized—they had the map, and those people never managed to steal it. Yet somehow, the other group knew the tomb’s exact location while they only had a rough idea of the city.
“In Xiangxi, I got the soul essence first. When I looked inside, Lao Jin had already opened the box. He probably memorized the location back then,” Xiapi Prince Huai added.
Thinking of Lao Jin again, Zhang Qiu couldn’t help but remember him gnawing on that dried-up Jiangshi. Feeling nauseous, he quickly waved his hands. “Enough! Change the topic—I’m seriously gonna be sick.”
Li Shu restarted the car, slowly following the route. “Do you remember the green insects in the Xiangxi water pool?”
How could he forget?!
Those bugs had killed two people in minutes, leaving them looking like dried-up corpses.
“One of those insects is inside Lao Jin. The other…” Li Shu opened his palm. A glowing green worm wriggled across his fingertip.
Zhang Qiu felt a chill run down his spine. Without thinking, he blurted out, “Don’t touch me with that hand—” Then, realizing something, he froze. Wait… Li Shu touched my hair earlier.
His scalp tingled in horror.
Li Shu chuckled, knowing exactly what Zhang Qiu was thinking. With a flick of his fingers, the little green worm crawled onto the car’s hood. It wriggled forward in a straight line, then twisted and changed direction.
“You’re not planning to bring that thing along to breed more of them, right?” Zhang Qiu asked warily.
“No, they require specific conditions to survive. Once they leave—” Li Shu paused, then simply said, “We’re here.”
The worm abruptly stopped moving.
Following its path, they parked the car under a tree. Zhang Qiu could faintly hear voices and the sounds of setting up a campsite. It was the four from earlier.
He couldn’t make out the words, but Li Shu and Xiapi Prince Huai, with their enhanced hearing, caught everything.
“…The pearl isn’t urgent. Without gathering the other items, it’s useless.”
“They said it was urgent before. Now it’s not? It’s been years since I last went down a tomb. We were only supposed to steal the pearl…”
“The boss just found out that without the Divine Vein, the pearl can’t refine into a human. But they’ll never get their hands on the Divine Vein. Even if they find it, they won’t leave alive. Perfect…”
Divine Vein?
Xiapi Prince Huai’s face lit up with surprise. If he could find the Divine Vein, then Dai’er could be revived. The pearl in his hand seemed to react, growing hot. He opened his mouth slightly and whispered, “Wait for me.”
Zhang Qiu, who couldn’t hear anything, glanced at the time. It was already 11 PM, and his stomach growled. He reached down to rub his belly—then froze.
Something inside moved.
“What’s wrong?”
Zhang Qiu swallowed hard, his face pale. “Nothing. Just hungry.”
Ever since Qinling, aside from nausea and fatigue, his stomach had been completely normal—not even growing bigger. But just now, he had clearly felt something inside move, like a tiny hand pressing against his skin.
For the first time, he truly felt that there was something growing inside him.
It’s real.
There’s a baby Jiangshi in my stomach. And when the time comes… how is it going to come out? After draining all my nutrients, will it rip me open from the inside?
Zhang Qiu’s imagination spiraled out of control. He was so terrified he felt cold all over.
Li Shu gently pulled him into his arms. “Don’t think about anything else. I’m here.”
Zhang Qiu was still dazed. Li Shu patted his back lightly. His touch was warm, steady. Slowly, Zhang Qiu felt his eyelids droop, and he drifted into sleep.
Behind them, Xiapi Prince Huai’s voice was calm but questioning.
“If he knew the truth, would he still sleep so peacefully in your arms?”
Li Shu turned, his scarlet eyes gleaming coldly in the darkness. “You talk too much.”
For the first time, Xiapi Prince Huai felt a faint chill run through him. Swallowing back his words, he decided to say no more.
Nothing else matters. As long as I find the Divine Vein, Dai’er will be revived…
Meanwhile, Li Shu carefully adjusted Zhang Qiu’s seat into a reclining position. He covered him with a blanket, then quietly got out of the car. Nearby, he set up a simple stove and started cooking instant noodles with canned beef.
The aroma filled the night air.
Zhang Qiu’s nose twitched, and he slowly woke up, rubbing his eyes. “How did I fall asleep?” He vaguely remembered thinking about something, but couldn’t recall what. Then he caught the scent of food. “Li Shu, what are you making? Smells so good!”
Li Shu handed him a disposable bowl. “Be careful, it’s hot.”
Even though it was summer, the mountain nights were chilly. A hot bowl of noodles was the perfect comfort. Zhang Qiu blew on the broth and took a sip. Smiling brightly, he said, “Li Shu, you’re so virtuous!”
Li Shu glanced at him but didn’t refute it. “There’s more if you’re still hungry.”
“No, this is enough! You and Xiapi Prince Huai should eat too, or the noodles will get soggy.”
As Zhang Qiu ate, he felt ridiculously happy. Feeling shameless, he grinned and added, “I have such good taste—Li Shu, mwah!”
To his shock, Li Shu actually replied, “Mwah.”
Zhang Qiu: !!!
What the hell is wrong with Li Shu today?!
Pinky says: He’s feeling a little fruity. Xiapi Prince Huai’s name gets shuffled around, Xiapi is the kingdom, Huai/Hui and prince/wang is his title. In English it would be more like Prince Huai of Xiapi but you get the idea.
Little Pink Starfish 
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