Little Pink Starfish

That day, Qi Zhirong didn’t come out of the hotel room. Zhang Yushui got a bit of money and wanted to take them out for some fun nearby. Qi Xi smiled and declined, saying he wanted to accompany his little Rongrong at home. “You don’t know, my little Rongrong turned out to be obsessed with plushies.” Happily, he turned into a cub again to take advantage.

It was good that someone was specially keeping an eye on Qi Zhirong’s movements. Zhang Qiu originally wanted to ask Li Shu if he wanted to come along, but after searching around, couldn’t find him anywhere.

“So strange.”

In the end, he could only go by himself holding little Jiangshi. Pei Qing was carrying Lingdang, and today Lingdang was dressed all fluffy, in a white fur coat, with two floppy pink bunny ears on the hood. Her face was mostly hidden inside, leaving just a palm-sized face showing. At the moment, she was tugging on Pei Qing’s clothes, looking utterly young and easy to kidnap.

Zhang Qiu was used to the two of them being a willing pair of fool and enabler. They were staying in a small county town, near Inner Mongolia. The lifestyle here was quite similar to that of Inner Mongolia, but also had Northern Shaanxi customs—a unique blend. Especially the food; it was like being in two cities at once.

The economy here was underdeveloped. There were some out-of-town tourists, but not at this time of year. As soon as they entered a restaurant, the people inside all turned to look.

“Not open?” Zhang Yushui asked flatly.

The owner, a burly man with a highland red complexion, quickly came out to greet them. They ordered food, and the owner went to prepare it. The other diners retracted their stares, but a few still looked at them with clear curiosity.

Zhang Qiu felt prickly from the stares. His second brother and the others were used to it and didn’t mind, but he couldn’t take it. He glanced back at the people, only to find one of them smiling at him with no malice.

After a while, someone couldn’t resist and asked, “Was it you who ran into a ghost yesterday?”

“I saw them coming from West Street. Must’ve been Old Li’s hotel,” another person added before Zhang Qiu’s group could respond.

The first man continued, “You’ve got bad luck. That kind of thing hasn’t happened in five years. Who’d have thought you’d run into it. Still, you’re lucky—heard everyone came back first thing in the morning. Not like five years ago, sigh…”

Five years?

Along the way, everyone who talked about this abnormal weather mentioned four years ago. Zhang Qiu had just started thinking about it when Zhang Yushui noticed and said, “Yulin is farther from here. It’s normal that it was affected later.”

That made sense. Zhang Qiu nodded and asked the man who had spoken earlier, “What happened five years ago? We’re all from out of town and didn’t used to believe in this stuff, but last night, while sleeping fine, suddenly a woman was whispering by my ear—”

Zhang Qiu noticed that as soon as he said that, all the men chatting in the restaurant had expressions that were both fearful and faintly excited.

“Don’t even bring that up. I still remember. If that woman wasn’t a ghost, I’d have married her—so damn pretty. Never seen a woman that good-looking before,” one burly guy chuckled.

Another spat to the side. “Saying that is asking to die. But yeah, she really was pretty.”

The more they talked, the more outrageous it became. Recalling how the female ghosts seduced people five years ago, they all got interrupted in the act and only remembered the illusion of the ghosts being seductive and enchanting.

But Zhang Qiu had heard the bodyguards returning from the graveyard say, at first they looked good, but by the end, they were bloody and skinless—almost vomit-inducing.

“For something so big five years ago, the government didn’t step in? No news reports either,” Zhang Qiu said deliberately.

Sure enough, the men looked at him like he was dumb and said, “Nowadays it’s all about believing in science and rejecting superstition. Who’s going to report it? But it really happened. Five years ago, it started with villages around the county. A bunch of 18- or 19-year-old boys had accidents one after another at Moon Bay. Then it spread into town—all guys. The stronger ones managed to come back alive, but within a few days their bodies were found at Moon Bay. Sigh, back then, every household in the county tied up their 17- or 18-year-old sons at night, wouldn’t let them out…”

“Moon Bay?” Zhang Qiu noticed they all looked fearful when mentioning Moon Bay, so he changed the subject slightly: “When we got off the highway, we saw how gloomy the sky was in that direction, but there was no rain. Really weird.”

The restaurant owner brought the dishes and said sternly, “That’s Moon Bay. You out-of-towners, take a word of advice—don’t go messing around there. That place is really cursed.”

“Yeah, yeah, they say there was a war there in ancient times and people died—”

“Stop talking about that. Let’s eat.”

The group returned to eating, drinking, and bragging at the table.

Zhang Qiu’s group exchanged glances. They all realized that Moon Bay was most likely the place Qi Zhirong was looking for. The only question was, what was he waiting for, not taking any action yet?

After the meal, Pei Qing drove them around the nearby countryside. The plains outside the town had rolling hills. The grass had turned yellow, and if the weather weren’t so cold and nasty, the scenery might’ve been bleakly beautiful. But no one was in the mood to appreciate it.

Back at the hotel, they ran into Li Shu returning, carrying a small black bag. It didn’t look like gear for a pit dive—too little.

“Second brother’s treating today. We wanted to call you along, but you weren’t around,” Zhang Qiu said casually, his gaze drifting to Li Shu’s hand. He asked directly, “What did you buy?”

Li Shu paused, then shook his head. “Nothing.”

Zhang Qiu looked a bit disappointed. As Li Shu was about to leave, he suddenly said, “Knowing too much isn’t good for you.”

“I’m just curious,” Zhang Qiu brightened immediately—Li Shu was worried about him.

Dinner was settled at the hotel. The restaurant had a new roast lamb leg special that was a great deal. Second brother got one. Zhang Qiu snatched a plate from the wolf-like pack. The lamb was crispy outside and tender inside, and the local chili and cumin were way more fragrant than what they had back home—just smelling it made people drool.

Qi Xi was still eyeing Zhang Qiu’s plate while chewing. When he saw Zhang Qiu packing it up to take upstairs, he grinned and said, “Little Qiuqiu, bringing meat for your lover?”

What meat! Zhang Qiu’s ears turned red—people might think he was offering himself.

Zhang Qiu ignored him and kept walking up the stairs. Behind him, Qi Xi shouted loudly, “Little Qiuqiu is bringing meat! When you come back there won’t be any left!”

Yo yo yo! Zhang Qiu tapped a beat to drown out Qi Xi’s shouting. The restaurant stairs led to the guest rooms. Li Shu stayed on the second floor. Zhang Qiu figured it was shorter than taking the elevator and went straight up. Just as he turned the corner and took a couple steps, he suddenly heard the sound of a chair falling over inside a room.

The hotel rooms were carpeted, but the sound was loud.

Zhang Qiu looked—it was Qi Zhirong’s room. Inside came heavy breathing. The next second, the grinning Qi Xi from downstairs charged up with a pale face and kicked Qi Zhirong’s door.

Bang!

The door flew open. Qi Xi rushed in, and Zhang Qiu quickly followed. What met his eyes was Qi Zhirong on the ground, clutching his chest tightly, face pale. A chair was overturned on the floor—probably knocked over during the pain attack.

Qi Xi held him, face just as pale as Qi Zhirong’s. Both of them had sweat on their foreheads. In just a short while, Qi Zhirong’s lips turned purple—he looked like he wouldn’t make it. Qi Xi didn’t look much better.

It all happened in a few seconds. Zhang Qiu didn’t even have time to call for help. The others were all downstairs. He felt that if he ran to get help, the two might be gone already. Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him, and before he could turn around, a figure was already at his side—it was Li Shu. He slashed his palm decisively and fed a few drops of his blood into Qi Zhirong’s mouth. Very quickly, Qi Zhirong’s complexion began to recover.

Qi Xi also recovered.

“My blood can only suppress, not cure. You’d better think this through,” Li Shu said blandly.

Qi Zhirong’s eyes looked unfocused. After a while, he said, “The closer I get to here, the faster the attacks come. But my heart tells me I have to urgently go somewhere. Still, before I figure it out, I don’t want to be controlled by someone—or something—else.”

“You decide for yourself,” Li Shu said and turned to leave.

Zhang Qiu saw that Qi Zhirong and Qi Xi were fine—especially Qi Xi, who was winking at him madly to get lost. Seriously, this guy was just near death and now acting all horny again! Zhang Qiu carried the still-hot, fragrant roast lamb leg out and handed it to Li Shu. Noticing the cut on Li Shu’s hand had healed, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, “Second brother treated. Tastes great. Try it.”

“Thanks.” Li Shu opened his room door, then after a moment said, “Want to come in?”

“Yes yes yes!” Zhang Qiu beamed and followed him in. Pointing to the meat, he said, “Better eat this while it’s hot.”

Li Shu opened the box. A wave of spicy cumin scent rushed out. A memory flickered in his mind, overlapping with the current Zhang Qiu—seemed this guy really liked grilled meat.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Zhang Qiu asked, then noticed there were no chopsticks. He quickly said, “Just wash your hands, you can eat.” He was thinking my hands are clean, I’ll feed you! But then he fell silent—Li Shu had found disposable chopsticks on the desk.

Zhang Qiu choked. Li Shu handed the chopsticks to him. Zhang Qiu was happy again in a second. Only he could eat spicy lamb skewers with a sweet taste.

“Why did you come here with Qi Zhirong?”

“Money.” Li Shu put down the chopsticks. “He offered a high reward.”

Zhang Qiu had thought of many reasons but didn’t expect such a simple one. His brain stalled for a second before asking, “Are you short on money?” Li Shu didn’t seem like someone who cared about money.

Li Shu’s eyes flashed with confusion, but quickly calmed.

“Don’t know. Seems useful.” Then added, “Apparently to buy a big house.”

He said it so blandly, as if buying a house wasn’t even for himself, with no passion or longing.

Zhang Qiu couldn’t make sense of it. Didn’t Li Shu have amnesia?! Why didn’t he remember him or little Jiangshi, but was obsessed with buying a house?

“You’re angry,” Li Shu asked with a frown.

“Not really, just confused—forget it, I’ll understand eventually.” Zhang Qiu didn’t know how to describe his feelings. Was he supposed to say that not even a house could compare to him?!

After Zhang Qiu left, Li Shu stared blankly at his back. That flash of memory—why was it of that person? Did he really know Zhang Qiu before?

Downstairs, Qi Xi the shameless one was munching meat. When he saw Zhang Qiu, he waved, “Yo, little Qiuqiu’s back! But there’s no meat left, what to do!”

Zhang Qiu gave him a sideways glance. “Kicked out by Qi Zhirong?” Otherwise, the horny Qi Xi wouldn’t be down here eating meat.

“Cut me deep, little Qiuqiu.” Qi Xi tried to throw an arm over his shoulder, but Zhang Qiu avoided it because his hands were greasy. Qi Xi didn’t care and kept gnawing. “My little Rongrong is so cold and heartless. At night, he hugs me and calls me sweetie. By day, he tells me to get lost. Sigh.”

Zhang Qiu didn’t believe Qi Zhirong would say something gross like “sweetie,” and judging by Qi Zhirong’s behavior, he really didn’t seem like a plushie lover. He started to suspect Qi Xi was lying. “Did you do something sneaky last night? How else would Qi Zhirong sleep so well hugging some weird creature?”

“How do you know?” Qi Xi looked confused.

Gotcha. Zhang Qiu snorted. “I invented that trick. Back when I was with my Li Shu, I’d drug him every night and then hehehe…”

“You can do that?!” Qi Xi rubbed his chin, clearly tempted to try it.

Zhang Qiu panicked—he didn’t dare joke anymore. Qi Xi might really do it, and Qi Zhirong might kill him.

“I was just kidding, don’t take it seriously—”

“Hahahahaha, little Qiuqiu, you’re so easy to fool. You look like a total bottom, but you blow such big lies and really think I’d believe you? Hahahaha, so dumb!”

Maybe killing Qi Xi now was a better idea.

Zhang Qiu didn’t want to talk to him anymore, but Qi Xi stopped him and said seriously, “My little Rongrong really seems a bit off.”

“Everyone knows that. Say something new.” Zhang Qiu saw his little Jiangshi toddling over with his short legs, holding a big chunk of meat♪meat, tiptoeing up and saying in a soft voice, “Daddy eat!”

Zhang Qiu was deeply moved. “My son knows how to be sweet. Good little Jiang.”

As he gnawed on the meat, he heard Qi Xi say, “Little Rongrong seems to have an obsession placed in his heart.”

“Isn’t that you? Heart-to-heart and all that—”

“Not that.” Qi Xi couldn’t explain clearly, frowning seriously.

Zhang Qiu stopped joking. “Second brother once talked about that kind of obsession. Don’t know if it’s external influence or something he had all along.”

The two talked for a while but couldn’t figure it out. They couldn’t ask Qi Zhirong either—he probably didn’t know himself.

Zhang Qiu thought the attacks were coming more frequently for Qi Zhirong, probably meaning he’d enter the pit in a day or two. He had to get ready tomorrow.

Everyone went to bed early. That night, Zhang Qiu slept well. He didn’t know that little Jiang, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly flipped over at the slightest noise, eyes wide and staring into the dark. He showed two tiny tiger teeth and sneered, “Don’t know what’s good for you.”

Not cute at all. As soon as the female ghost poked her head out, little Jiang swiftly and silently grabbed her. The ghost didn’t even have time to cry before he ruthlessly devoured her. Burp.

Then he obediently lay back beside his dad. Midnight snack was great tonight. Burp.