Little Pink Starfish

Zhang Qiu was startled awake from a dream.

“Don’t move, coward.”

It was Li Shu’s voice. Zhang Qiu let out a breath of relief and tried to sit up, but was pressed back down by one of Li Shu’s hands. Beneath him was warm and dry. The dull pain in his stomach brought back his memory, and he quickly said, “The second one—”

“About to come out,” Li Shu said calmly. “Lie still.”

Zhang Qiu didn’t dare move again and obediently lay down. His thoughts were all jumbled. When he gave birth to Xiao Jiang, he’d slept through it and the child came out. Now for the second one—where exactly was it going to come out from?

His belly felt cool. Zhang Qiu felt Li Shu’s hand lift his clothes, the hot palm pressed against his belly, slowly sliding downward. It was warm and ticklish. The pain in his stomach also eased a lot. Just as he was feeling good, a sharp pain like a needle stab struck him. Zhang Qiu couldn’t help but cry out. Looking down, he saw Li Shu’s hand drawing out a strand of rose-colored mist from his abdomen.

As it was pulled out, the pain grew stronger and stronger—like someone was slicing open his belly with a knife and forcibly dragging something out from inside.

Zhang Qiu gritted his teeth, cold sweat forming on his forehead from the pain. When he almost couldn’t take it anymore, all the pain suddenly vanished, leaving only a dull, itchy numbness.

“All done.” Li Shu wrapped an arm around Zhang Qiu, holding a clump of rose-colored mist in his hand and bringing it to Zhang Qiu’s face. He kissed Zhang Qiu’s forehead. “The second one.”

“A ball of mist?” Zhang Qiu remembered how Xiao Jiang looked when he was born and wasn’t too surprised, but this second one really hurt. He poked the rose-colored mist, and as if it felt his touch, the mist wrapped around his fingertip, soft like cotton candy.

Zhang Qiu immediately forgot all the pain and said happily, “So soft! Don’t know how long until he can become a little figurine like his big brother.”

Just as he said that, the apple-sized clump of mist in his palm slowly dispersed. Zhang Qiu’s eyes widened in shock. Lying in the center of the mist was a miniature person, with skin so white it glowed, long black hair covering half his body, lying on his side. His big eyes had rose-colored pupils, long thick lashes, a small nose, and red lips. His almond-shaped eyes lifted slightly at the corners, with a red mole under one eye. He looked a little sleepy, eyes half-closed. His body was delicate and slender, very pitiful-looking.

Zhang Qiu was delighted—he had never seen such a beautiful child, like a little angel. He tugged Li Shu’s hand and whispered, “Our daughter is so pretty.”

“It’s a boy.” Li Shu replied blandly.

A thunderclap!

Zhang Qiu couldn’t believe it. A face that beautiful, and it was a boy? Was this a joke?!

He looked down—and sure enough, there was a tiny little ding-ding. Zhang Qiu didn’t believe it and wanted to check again, but the tiny person in his hand shyly shivered, and the rose-colored mist once again wrapped him up.

Zhang Qiu was stunned. What kind of skill was this second one using? He looked at Li Shu. “I thought the second one would come out like Xiao Jiang—once the mist cleared, the body would be there.”

“He’s weak. He needs this mist for protection.” Li Shu stared intensely at Zhang Qiu, who was still immersed in the joy that his second child was so beautiful—surely because of his great genes. But the gaze from above was becoming more intense, like it could melt someone. Zhang Qiu looked up and met Li Shu’s deep and gentle eyes, suddenly feeling shy. “What’s wrong?”

Li Shu lowered his head and kissed Zhang Qiu’s lips. “Coward, I won’t forget you again. I promise.”

“Forget wha—” Zhang Qiu, already dizzy from Li Shu’s beauty, trailed off. The words circled in his mouth and suddenly hit him. He grabbed Li Shu’s hand tightly. “You remembered?!”

“Mm.” Li Shu didn’t mention that the moment he arrived and saw Zhang Qiu fall from the waterfall, all his memories came rushing back.

Zhang Qiu was overjoyed. This trip hadn’t been in vain—his little uncle had finally regained his memory!

His face suddenly hurt. Zhang Qiu glared. “Why did you pinch me! I haven’t even pinched you yet!”

“I gave birth to the eldest, Xiao Jiang. Can we swap positions in bed now? Hm?” Li Shu pinched Zhang Qiu’s soft cheek and smiled.

Zhang Qiu’s face stiffened. He had completely forgotten the bold claims he’d made before!

“Well, I was just trying to provoke you to see if you’d remember.” Zhang Qiu lied randomly. Li Shu’s intense gaze made him feel like he’d be pinned down and devoured at any moment, so he quickly changed the subject: “Where are the others?”

Only now did he realize they were in a mountain cave, lying on Li Shu’s coat. He reached under—below the coat was a pile of burnt ash from grass and wood, no wonder it felt warm, not cold at all.

“We got separated.”

Zhang Qiu remembered Xiao Jiang being thrown off earlier and hadn’t seen him since waking up. He quickly asked, “What about Xiao Jiang?”

Li Shu’s expression turned slightly bad. When he saw Zhang Qiu fall, he hadn’t thought and jumped down to find him—he didn’t check on their son.

Seeing Li Shu’s expression, Zhang Qiu knew their child was missing. He quickly said, “Let’s find him first. He’s so capable—he shouldn’t be in danger.” He gave himself some mental reassurance, stuffed the rose-colored bundle into his pocket carefully, and quickly put on his coat.

They were behind a wind-sheltering slope, not far from the waterfall. Looking up, Zhang Qiu hadn’t realized he’d fallen from so high—lucky he didn’t die.

“By the way, where’s Yue Qincang?”

“Who’s Yue Qincang?”

Zhang Qiu froze. “You didn’t see Yue Qincang? Yue Donghui’s son—he came too. He was the one staying in the village yesterday.”

“I only saw you when I arrived. No one else.” Li Shu frowned. “But the firepit was newly added—he must’ve just left.”

Zhang Qiu thought for a bit but couldn’t figure out why Yue Qincang left. Finding Xiao Jiang was the priority. Just as he was worrying about how to climb back up, Li Shu wrapped an arm around his waist and suddenly they were in the air. The sudden weightlessness made Zhang Qiu cling to Li Shu’s waist. Remembering the second baby in his pocket, he quickly freed a hand to cover it.

After getting used to it, Zhang Qiu realized Li Shu wasn’t flying—it was just that his jumping ability was amazing. He easily held him with one arm and used the other to grip the cliff wall. In just a few bounds, they were above the waterfall.

“Xiao Jiang!” Zhang Qiu called out. Suddenly, they heard a roar in the sky. “That’s Qi Xi.”

Soon after, Qi Xi landed in his original form, folding up his large golden wings. Zhang Qiu saw a blur and was suddenly hit by a black shadow. Before he could react, a little cannonball threw itself into his arms—soft and pudgy arms wrapped around his neck, big teary eyes, a red little nose, and a pitiful face that made Zhang Qiu’s heart ache.

Zhang Qiu supported Xiao Jiang’s butt. The kid had grown again—so heavy.

“Daddy.” Xiao Jiang sniffled and obediently lay against Zhang Qiu’s chest, holding on tight.

Zhang Qiu stroked his son’s back, knowing the child had been scared and now needed comfort. He quickly whispered soothingly, “Daddy’s here. It was Daddy’s fault for making you worry.”

“When I found him, he was crying like he was about to stop breathing,” Qi Xi said calmly as he pulled clothes out of his bag. He always turned into his original form naked, so he had to strip every time beforehand.

Xiao Jiang had cried so hard earlier. Now, seeing his dad, he quickly calmed down and fell asleep on Zhang Qiu’s shoulder, still with tears on his chubby cheeks.

Li Shu took over carrying him, but the sleeping Xiao Jiang clung tightly to Zhang Qiu’s shirt and woke at the slightest movement. Zhang Qiu felt bad. “I’ll hold him. You take care of the second one.”

“Second one? Don’t tell me you two left the kid behind to go fool around?” Qi Xi grinned as he dressed.

Li Shu looked like he was about to hit someone. Zhang Qiu rolled his eyes. “It’s my second one, just born—hot and fresh. What kind of brain do you have?!” But now that he thought about it, they really needed to name him soon.

“What about Zhang Yushui and Pei Qing?”

“Let me see your second one first. It’s a pity I missed the scene of you giving birth—first time I’ve seen a man give birth.” Qi Xi glanced at Li Shu’s blackened face and quickly returned to a serious expression: “Didn’t see Zhang Yushui. But Gao Zhihao’s guts are big—he tied himself to a rope and dangled off the waterfall like a sausage swinging in the wind. Hahaha!”

Zhang Qiu smiled strangely at Qi Xi, who immediately felt something off. “Don’t smile like that—you and Li Shu both are creepy.”

“Legend says god-beast bloodlines can have kids, regardless of gender.” Zhang Qiu grinned. “If you want to see a man give birth, just do it yourself.”

Qi Xi clicked his tongue. He was going to pat Zhang Qiu’s shoulder, but saw Li Shu’s glare and quickly backed off. “Even if there’s a birth, it won’t be me. Don’t get your hopes up, Xiao Qiuqiu.”

“Who knows?” Zhang Qiu thought of Qi Xi turning into a cub and being spoiled on someone’s lap—this guy still wanted to top?!

As they chatted, they came across two scattered backpacks. Li Shu and Qi Xi grabbed them and headed toward the waterfall. In the distance, they heard Gao Zhihao wailing like a slaughtered pig. The three of them hurried over and just in time to see Gao Zhihao’s rope snap—he fell.

“He’s really asking to die.” Qi Xi said but still rushed to help. Someone beat him to it—an azure dragon tail shot out from the water and flicked Gao Zhihao to the side.

Qi Xi had turned into his original form and rushed in. The dragon tail changed course mid-swing to avoid hitting Qi Xi and flung Gao Zhihao into the waterfall instead.

Zhang Qiu: ……

Pei Qing’s face emerged from the water. “I’ll go check.” He dove back in and surfaced shortly after. “He’s gone.”

“Was he swept away?” Zhang Qiu thought Gao Zhihao was really bold—risking his life for the legendary Silk Clustered Road.

Pei Qing shook his head. “I blocked it. No way he got swept away.”

“There’s a mystery behind the waterfall,” Li Shu said.

Pei Qing understood and nodded. “I’ll take another look.”

Later, Pei Qing came up. “There’s a small cave behind the waterfall—just big enough for one person. But I didn’t see Gao Zhihao.”

That was strange. Zhang Qiu glanced at Li Shu, who decided to check it out. They still hadn’t found Zhang Yushui and the King of Xiapi, but both were strong—one a phoenix, the other a jiangshi—nothing should happen to them. Zhang Qiu left a clear mark and message. Pei Qing turned back into his original form, slapped his dragon tail, and parted the waterfall—revealing a half-man-high entrance.

Li Shu carried Zhang Qiu. Qi Xi couldn’t fit through in his original form and followed with nimble movements, carrying the bags. Pei Qing brought up the rear.

The tunnel was damp and cold at first, but as they went further, it got drier—and there was even faint warmth. Lingdang came out of the Soul Pearl, pulled a towel from a bag, and handed it to Pei Qing, along with clean clothes. Pei Qing teased him, making Lingdang blush.

Zhang Qiu heard all the dirty talk and felt awkward.

Li Shu turned to him. “Do you want that too?”

“What the heck?”

Li Shu quickly kissed his earlobe. “It’s all red—so cute.”

Damn, his little uncle was gonna flirt him to death.

Zhang Qiu hugged Xiao Jiang and whispered hopefully, “When we get back.”

Li Shu’s lips curved up.

Qi Xi up ahead turned back and rolled his eyes. “Guys, I don’t want to eat dog food! Give me a break!”

“Find someone of your own! Single dogs have no rights!” Zhang Qiu laughed.

Behind them, Lingdang shyly whispered for Pei Qing to wait till they got back. Pei Qing took the chance to make all sorts of naughty requests. Lingdang, blushing, agreed.

Qi Xi suffered more dog food in silence.

Zhang Qiu also found Lingdang very cute and bully-able.

The tunnel wasn’t long—about ten minutes later, the path opened up. Though it was deep autumn, and the mountain vegetation should have withered, in front of them was stunningly vibrant greenery and blooming flowers.

A mountain within a mountain.

Zhang Qiu didn’t know how it was done, but it was true. Between two peaks was a 100-meter gap, spanned only by a narrow bridge. The odd thing was the bridge had no chains—just black stone slabs floating in the air, one after another, leading to the flower-covered mountain.

The sound of a stream trickled by. Across the way, a small clear brook flowed down the cliff, disappeared into the base of the mountain.

“Is this the Silk Clustered Road?” Qi Xi pointed at the bridge.

“Could be.” Zhang Qiu agreed. This place was too mystical—more divine than any man-made tomb. Like a world apart.

Qi Xi raised his brows and stepped onto the black floating stone slabs. Zhang Qiu broke out in a cold sweat. These things might collapse! But before he could say anything, Qi Xi stood firm and waved. “What are you guys waiting for? Let’s go find immortality!”

Zhang Qiu smiled like a parent. He really felt like he was raising Qi Xi as a child—sometimes more trouble than Xiao Jiang.

Qi Xi had wings and wasn’t afraid. Li Shu offered to carry Xiao Jiang, but the child had just woken up and, still frightened, clung to Zhang Qiu. He didn’t want to be carried and kicked around. Zhang Qiu reassured him, and Li Shu let the father and son walk ahead.

The slabs floated but were stable. Zhang Qiu looked down and his legs trembled. It was so high. No railings—just enough space for two feet. Qi Xi was far ahead. Xiao Jiang hopped behind like it was a game. Zhang Qiu gritted his teeth—not gonna lose to Qi Xi!

Though it was only a hundred meters, it felt like forever. The stone slabs were endless. The scent of flowers grew stronger. Almost there—but why did the smell seem familiar?

Before he could think, Xiao Jiang missed a step. Zhang Qiu yelled, “Xiao Jiang!” and felt himself falling fast. The next second, Li Shu caught him. They dropped onto golden wings.

“You and your man are heavy! Lose some weight!” Qi Xi griped.

“Where’s Xiao Jiang?” Zhang Qiu looked down. He heard his son’s voice from above. That was strange—he’d just seen him fall.

Li Shu stroked Zhang Qiu’s face. “The flower scent has mild hallucinogenic effects.”

“I thought I was going crazy when I fell.” Qi Xi sniffed. “This scent is familiar.”

“Su Wanling had it.”

Li Shu’s words reminded Zhang Qiu—back in Changsha, underwater, it had smelled like this. But Su Wanling’s scent was too sweet. This was milder, but similar.

“You even remember her scent?” Zhang Qiu side-eyed him.

Li Shu smiled. “I remember yours best—every inch of it.”

Shameless little uncle. Zhang Qiu snorted.

Qi Xi carried them to a flower-covered slope. Xiao Jiang was already there, rushed over and hugged Zhang Qiu’s leg tightly.

Zhang Qiu scooped him up. Li Shu leaned in for a kiss. Zhang Qiu wanted to resist—people were watching—but ended up deepening it himself.

“My eyes are burning,” Qi Xi covered his eyes.

Li Shu pulled back, touched Zhang Qiu’s red lips, and said seriously, “Now the flower scent won’t affect you.”

Actually, Zhang Qiu had divine blood and wouldn’t have been affected anyway. He just got dizzy from staring at the slabs too long. Li Shu’s kiss was just personal benefit. But now, surrounded by flowers, head clear, Zhang Qiu really believed the kiss had helped.

Pei Qing and Lingdang arrived behind them.

“What now?” Zhang Qiu asked, ignoring the teasing looks from Qi Xi and Pei Qing.

Ahead: a stream outlet. Below: water vanishes. Midway up the mountain: floating slabs. Three paths: top, middle, bottom.

“Remember the hallucinogenic fish?” Li Shu pointed up. “Something up there flows down and enters the river. Fish soaked in it gain hallucinogenic effects.”

His gaze swept over the flowers—the brightest bloomed near the stream.

“Go up.”

Qi Xi didn’t bother with clothes. Earlier he had no time and turned into his original form. His clothes were long gone. He carried them all to the top, circling the peak. There was a stream source.

“Wait—it’s Gao Zhihao!”

Zhang Qiu pointed. Qi Xi swooped down. Gao Zhihao knelt, chest pierced by a knife, covered in blood, smiling happily. Zhang Qiu recognized the knife—it was the one he lost.

“He’s dead.” Pei Qing checked. “He stabbed himself.”

He stabbed himself?!

Then Qi Xi shouted, “Guys! There’s a stone door here!”

They came over. The stone doors were wide open. The carvings were so weathered they were unrecognizable. Li Shu wrapped an arm around Zhang Qiu’s waist and tossed his coat to Qi Xi, who put it on and said, “With a body this fine, most can’t even look. Your Xiao Qiuqiu is lucky.”

“Thanks, but I’d rather not get a stye

.” Zhang Qiu snapped back.

Li Shu held his hand. “Let’s go take a look.”

Inside the stone gate was a wide corridor. A few meters in, another door with a carving: a heroic man’s face, handsome features, long body—but a big hump on his back, like a shell. It looked funny on such a noble face.

“Bie Ling,” Li Shu said as he pushed open the door.

Inside, water tinkled.

Floating in midair was a black stone coffin. A person lay atop it—head turning as they entered.

Yue Qincang.

Bloody-mouthed, grinning Yue Qincang.