Little Pink Starfish

Li Shu’s eyes carried a hint of amusement as he looked at Zhang Qiu. “Oh?”

With just a single word, Zhang Qiu felt that Li Shu was teasing him, as if enticing him to take things further. But he wasn’t falling for it this time. Grinning, he teased back, “Little Uncle, didn’t you notice?”

“Look at you, being clever.” Li Shu finished speaking and turned to look at the retreating figure in the distance, his voice turning cold. “Su Zhichai isn’t hiding anymore—he’s getting anxious. He’s making a big show of things just to make sure we know.”

After the banquet, the other side had stepped out from the shadows. Now, both sides were locked in a standoff. Zhang Qiu and his group wanted to use the divine veins to resurrect Zhang Yushui, while Su Zhichai was after even more—the Phoenix Pearl in the hands of King Hui of Xiapi, the still-unawakened Pei Qing, and the Xiezhi, Qi Xi, who had already been identified.

But for now, they were still a step behind Su Zhichai. Who knew what traps awaited them in Xinjiang?

“Actually, we could have left Pei Qing behind,” Zhang Qiu suggested.

Li Shu’s expression was cold. “That’s not up to us.”

Su Zhichai had already come out into the open and was making direct moves—there was no way he would let Pei Qing slip away. Zhang Qiu thought the same. As the two of them reached the entrance, they suddenly heard the sound of sobbing. A shadow rushed towards them. Zhang Qiu was hit and staggered back a step, but Li Shu caught him just in time. When he looked down and saw someone clinging to Zhang Qiu, his face darkened.

“D-Daren, S-Saint—Big Brother is missing.”

Lingdang sobbed, her eyes red like a rabbit’s.

Li Shu pulled her away. Lingdang was terribly afraid of him and dared not cling to Zhang Qiu anymore. She looked at him pitifully, teary-eyed. “Please, Daren, save my brother. He was taken because he was trying to save me.”

“Calm down and explain clearly,” Zhang Qiu comforted her, patting her back. Lu Feng and Hua Ting also came over from the living room.

“She’s been crying since five in the morning. Pei Qing was taken last night,” Hua Ting said.

Lingdang, crying miserably, recounted the events of the previous night.

Back in the hospital room, they had discussed monitoring the Su family father and son. Lingdang had wanted to do something to repay the kindness she had received—after all, if it hadn’t been for the Yin Soul Pearl on Zhang Qiu, she would have died long ago. But Pei Qing had opposed the idea, thinking it was too dangerous, so she had given up on it.

Last night, Pei Qing took Lingdang out for a late-night snack. Lingdang, now able to take physical form at night, was enjoying herself. But when Pei Qing went to the restroom, Lingdang saw Su Zhichai’s son, Su Yu, approaching her.

“He looked at me once, and I became dazed. By the time I snapped out of it, I had already followed him far away. I was terrified and tried to escape, but I couldn’t shift back to my ghost form. I don’t know what he did to me. Then, my brother caught up, trying to save me, but he got taken instead. And there was a dark shadow chasing me the whole time. I ran and ran…”

Lingdang blamed herself. “It’s all my fault for being useless! I couldn’t save my brother! Hic It’s all my fault!”

She was crying so hard she started hiccupping, barely able to breathe.

Zhang Qiu soothed her, glanced at Li Shu, who was looking grim, and said, “You were right—Su Zhichai really does want to take us all in one sweep.” Then he turned back to Lingdang and reassured her, “Don’t worry. Pei Qing should be fine. Su Zhichai is trying to make a major elixir—he still needs to gather all the ingredients. He’s waiting for us to walk right into his trap.”

If Su Zhichai was killing them one by one, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to lure them all to Xinjiang.

Lingdang stopped crying for a moment but then started again, asking pitifully, “Daren, will they hurt my brother?”

That—Zhang Qiu wasn’t sure. But seeing how miserable little Lingdang looked, he could only comfort her. “No, they won’t.”

Hearing that, Lingdang gradually calmed down. Eventually, she curled up against Zhang Qiu’s chest and fell asleep.

Zhang Qiu could feel a cold, piercing gaze on him. He didn’t need to look up to know it was Li Shu. His Little Uncle really is jealous all the time!

“Lingdang was injured last night and exhausted herself worrying. Crying herself to sleep is normal,” Zhang Qiu explained. Lingdang, though now in physical form, was still small and delicate, looking like a pretty little girl. She wasn’t even 1.7 meters tall, so holding her wasn’t much effort.

Li Shu reached out to take her, but Zhang Qiu refused. “She’s not heavy.”

After settling Lingdang in the guest room, Zhang Qiu noticed her long lashes were still wet with tears, her little nose twitching as she sniffled sadly. She was even cuter than his little Jiangshi. He couldn’t help but wonder—If my Little Uncle turned into a mini version of himself and curled up in my arms…

Ah, the thought is making me feel things!

“Stop dreaming.”

Li Shu’s cool voice snapped him back. He pulled Zhang Qiu by the collar, wrapping his arms around him as they left the room.

“Hey, hey, how did you know what I was thinking?”

Li Shu lowered his gaze, smirking. “You said it out loud, you fool.”

“Ugh, shut up!” Zhang Qiu huffed. But when he met Li Shu’s gaze, he just snorted. “I won’t argue with you.”

In the living room, Lu Feng looked up as they came out. “I have something to tell you. After the banquet, I had people tracking Su Zhichai’s movements. I just found out that yesterday, he invested in a movie.”

“Desert Falcon,” Zhang Qiu answered.

Lu Feng was surprised. “How did you know?”

“I was about to tell you.” Zhang Qiu recounted the conversation between Qi Xi and his manager. “I think Qi Xi is the Xiezhi from that car accident night.”

Lu Feng turned to Li Shu for confirmation. Li Shu nodded. Lu Feng glanced at Hua Ting, who was in the kitchen, then lowered his voice. “The place you’re going—does it have the divine veins? I want to come with you.”

Zhang Qiu was about to refuse, but he saw the determination in Lu Feng’s eyes and suddenly thought of his senior brother’s short lifespan. Even though they had broken the array, his fate in this life and the next was still to die young.

“I’ll find a way for you,” Li Shu said.

Lu Feng shook his head. “What if the divine vein only works in specific conditions? Don’t try to talk me out of it. I can’t gamble with Hua Ting’s life.”

“Alright.” Li Shu nodded. Seeing Hua Ting coming over, he stopped talking.

That night, in their room, Zhang Qiu sat on the bed watching Li Shu undress. Without looking up, Li Shu asked, “What do you want to ask?”

“You and Senior Brother, in the past—”

Li Shu paused mid-movement, looked up at Zhang Qiu, and walked over shirtless. “It’s not what you’re imagining.”

“How do you know what I’m imagining?” Zhang Qiu retorted. But hearing Li Shu’s answer, he still let out a breath of relief. Li Shu had always treated his senior brother differently, and Zhang Qiu hadn’t forgotten how Li Shu had once said he went into the pit to save someone—Hua Ting. It was only natural for him to overthink things.

Li Shu pinched Zhang Qiu’s cheek, enjoying the soft texture, before speaking. “Your senior brother was born into the gentry in the Gu Mu Kingdom. I was different. We had opposing political views and were always at odds. I never expected that in the end, the one who saved me would be my greatest rival. He was dragged into this because of me.”

Zhang Qiu had never heard Li Shu talk about his past before, so he listened intently.

Li Shu noticed Zhang Qiu was interested and continued, “I don’t remember anything before I was nine. After that, I survived in the military. I had no noble family background, no knowledge of whether I had parents. Although Gu Mu was small, the various factions were constantly fighting for power. My background was always something the aristocrats criticized, but Ju Wang valued me—perhaps because I had no connections to support me.”

Zhang Qiu could guess what happened next. Ju Wang valued Li Shu, but in the end, he was also the one who wanted Li Shu dead. It was the classic case of a ruler growing wary of a subordinate’s rising power, and it never ended well. But those were just cold, impersonal words in history books. The man standing in front of him was not some name in a textbook—he was Li Shu.

“No need to feel sad for me.” Li Shu pulled Zhang Qiu into his arms and placed a soft kiss on his hair, half-closing his eyes with a rare hint of warmth. “If not for him, I wouldn’t have met you.”

Zhang Qiu still felt a little down but knew there was no point in dwelling on the past. He didn’t want Li Shu to suffer, but if Li Shu hadn’t died, he wouldn’t have met him. It was a paradox he couldn’t resolve.

Forget it, no use overthinking.

Zhang Qiu exhaled and suddenly recalled something. “Back at Qinling, was it because I was so good-looking that you pounced on me right away? You just woke up and immediately took advantage of me.” He muttered in a low voice, “If you weren’t so handsome, I really would’ve gone under my uncle’s wing to become a professional Jiangshi-hunting Taoist!”

“Good thing I’m beautiful,” Li Shu replied with a perfectly serious face.

Zhang Qiu burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as he rolled onto the bed. From the moment he met Li Shu, he had always been cold and serious—he never imagined that one day he’d hear something like that come out of his mouth.

Li Shu watched Zhang Qiu rolling around on the bed, laughing so hard he couldn’t stop. His eyes softened with amusement. But as Zhang Qiu moved, a section of his pale waist was exposed, and suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. Li Shu’s gaze grew dark with possessiveness.

“Stop right there!” Zhang Qiu coughed, quickly emphasizing, “I’m still injured! My head still hurts!” Like hell it does! If he didn’t claim to have a headache, it wouldn’t be his head hurting—it’d be his backside.

A faint blush spread in Li Shu’s eyes, and Zhang Qiu stared, mesmerized for a moment. They kissed deeply on the bed, both of them panting. Zhang Qiu was starting to feel something stir, a small tent forming under the covers.

“You’re injured. Get some rest.”

Li Shu wrapped Zhang Qiu up tightly like a silkworm cocoon and lay down beside him, perfectly disciplined.

Zhang Qiu: ……

He was completely turned on, already half-undressed, and now he was supposed to just cuddle under a blanket and sleep?

Zhang Qiu had the urge to bite Li Shu, but in the end, he huffed and closed his eyes, deciding to take a nap instead. But not long after, the room filled with Li Shu’s steady, even breathing. Holding Zhang Qiu tightly, he placed a soft kiss on his forehead before quietly getting up and leaving the room.

The next morning, Zhang Qiu slept in until noon. Downstairs, in a corner of the living room, the little Jiangshi and Hua Hua were playing with building blocks. Lingdang was curled up on the sofa, staring blankly ahead. Her eyes were swollen like peaches—she had clearly cried in secret. At this point, her face was so scrunched up, she probably couldn’t cry anymore.

Zhang Qiu greeted her, and Lingdang, seeing him, seemed to gain a sense of security. She walked over and asked in a small, pitiful voice, “Daren, when are we going to save my brother?”

“Soon. Don’t worry, Pei Qing will be fine,” Zhang Qiu reassured her, patting her shoulder.

Lingdang felt a little better after hearing that.

King Hui of Xiapi had returned. Hearing their conversation, he also comforted Lingdang, “The Desert Falcon crew has already arrived in Xinjiang. They’re just waiting for Qi Xi. It should happen within a day or two.”

Qi Xi was essentially leading them there like a walking map. Su Zhichai was smart—he was making sure Qi Xi lured them all to Xinjiang.

Everyone was keeping an eye on Qi Xi’s movements. His agent had mentioned he had an audition that afternoon. They waited until past six in the evening before hearing the news. As expected, Qi Xi had been selected.

Inside a nearby villa, Qi Xi lazily tossed a piece of candy into his mouth, rolling it around with his tongue. His agent, Sister Ping, was overjoyed. She no longer minded his usual laziness. “I knew you’d get picked. Your luck is something other people can only dream of. I have other work to handle, so I can’t go with you into the crew. Tomorrow, Xiao Wang and Xiao Zhang will accompany you. Listen, make sure you seize this opportunity and don’t complain about the hard work. If you mess this up, you might as well stay in the desert and never come back.”

Qi Xi rolled onto his stomach on the sofa, lazily nodding without a word. He looked completely lifeless.

Sister Ping nagged at him for a while longer. Seeing his usual lazy attitude, she was furious but held back. “The filming will be tough this time, but once you’re back, I’ll arrange for you to take a break.” Then she muttered to herself, “I don’t know what Director Zhang is thinking, rushing you into the crew like this. You’re just a supporting actor, yet they’re pushing you so hard. Whatever. Your flight ticket is already booked. Xiao Zhang will come by later to help you pack.”

She had completely resigned herself to Qi Xi’s lazy nature. After saying her piece, she grabbed her bag and left, high heels clicking as she walked away.

Before long, Qi Xi’s assistant, Xiao Zhang, arrived. He was a tall, sturdy young man in his early twenties. Seeing Qi Xi, he greeted him respectfully, “Qi-ge.”

Qi Xi waved his hand lazily and pointed upstairs. “Pack whatever you think is necessary.”

Watching Xiao Zhang head upstairs, Qi Xi propped up his chin and bit down on his candy with a crunch.

Well, whatever. Might as well go with the flow.

The next morning, Hua Ting had already sent Hua Hua to Yang Bao’s house for safekeeping. After what happened in Shandong last time, he knew Lu Feng would try to sneak off on another tomb-raiding mission, so he took action first.

Lu Feng had planned to leave quietly, but Hua Ting had outsmarted him this time.

“What if the divine veins need to be activated on-site?”

Lu Feng had no response to that. In the end, he had no choice but to agree.

Zhang Qiu had also finished packing. Summer clothes were easy—just a few light outfits. They were traveling light. Lingdang entered the Yin Soul Pearl, which Zhang Qiu placed in his pocket.

At the airport, Lu Feng had booked VIP tickets. They entered the lounge, and before long, they heard someone laughing loudly outside. The little Jiangshi perked up at the sound, turning to Zhang Qiu. “Papa, it’s Xixi-ge.”

Zhang Qiu thought to himself—This might be the only fandom in the entertainment industry where the fans are literally called “Xixi.”

Ten minutes later, the lounge door swung open.

Qi Xi strolled in wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and a pair of sports sandals. Yawning, he nodded at them as a greeting, then flopped onto the opposite couch, pulled down his sunglasses, and fell asleep instantly.

Two people followed him in—one man and one woman. They were dragging five or six suitcases. The young man grinned and introduced himself as Xiao Zhang, Qi Xi’s personal assistant. The young woman just nodded, focused on her phone.

Qi Xi seemed to wake up properly then, blinking drowsily at the group. He looked confused.

“You guys… why are you here?”

Zhang Qiu rubbed his little Jiangshi’s soft hair and grinned. “Just going on a trip. What a coincidence.”