Little Pink Starfish

The old man’s name was Kule, 58 years old. He grew up in Enhé Village. In his twenties, he went to China, met his wife there, and stayed for over three years. After having a child, he returned to Mongolia and made a living hunting and gathering herbs in the mountains. Later, his wife passed away from illness, and now it was just Kule and his son.

The house was small—Zhang Qiu didn’t see the son Kule mentioned.

“Amur went into the mountains,” Kule said, frowning slightly, as if he were remembering something.

Zhang Qiu hesitated. Kule was old and looked scrawny. It seemed risky to have him lead them over the snowy mountains. He wasn’t the only one thinking this—everyone else looked doubtful.

“Bayin, can you find someone else?” Qi Xi spoke first, bluntly.

“No need. Don’t trust me?” Kule’s gaze swept over them, then he smiled. “You young people shouldn’t underestimate me. I guarantee, you won’t find a better guide than me in this region.”

It was true—Kule spoke Mandarin, and time was short. Right now, he really was their best option.

“But, Grandpa Kule, we’re just worried your body won’t handle it,” Zhang Qiu said.

Kule glanced at Zhang Qiu. “I’m more worried your bodies can’t handle the cold of our beautiful mountains.” Then he swiftly cut off their next objections. “Alright, alright. Don’t worry about me. Aren’t you in a hurry? I need to prepare a few things. We’ll leave early tomorrow.”

“We’ve brought all our gear for the trek. Can we head out now?” Qi Xi asked.

Kule waved his hand, brow serious. “I’m not used to your stuff. Don’t rush. When we get inside, we’ll need the old tools.”

Zhang Qiu saw the urgency on Qi Xi’s face and held his shoulder. “Wait a bit longer. We’ll set off soon.”

Qi Xi opened his mouth, but finally said nothing.

That night, they stayed at Kule’s house. There were no spare rooms or beds. They made do for the night. Zhang Qiu noticed how sparse and dusty the place was, with barely any food. It seemed neither Kule nor his son was much of a cook. Bayin left that evening.

At night, the cold wind howled like ghosts wailing, rattling the windows with bang bang noises.

Half-asleep, Zhang Qiu awoke to a figure moving. He jumped until he realized it was Qi Xi.

“What are you doing?” Zhang Qiu whispered.

Qi Xi froze at the door and turned back. “I can’t wait anymore. Xiao Rong is still waiting for me to save him.”

“There’s a blizzard outside, you don’t even have a map. Are you trying to get yourself killed?!” Zhang Qiu kept his voice low. He understood Qi Xi’s feelings—back when Li Shu vanished, he had been desperate too. But now that they were here, charging in recklessly like a hero from a cartoon would only get them killed.

Qi Xi paced in agitation. The closer they got, the more urgent he felt. He couldn’t bear to imagine what more Qi Zhirong might suffer.

“We’ll set out at dawn. Wait a bit longer,” Li Shu said from the side.

Zhang Yushui, Pei Qing, and the others also woke up. Truthfully, none of them had slept well. They held down the anxious Qi Xi and waited in silence for dawn.

Before light broke, Kule came out wearing a heavy coat, carrying an old rifle on his back.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Kule opened the door first. The freezing wind mixed with snowflakes hit them straight on, waking everyone up.

Zhang Qiu tightly wrapped a scarf around Little Jiang, bundling him like a cotton ball. He finally understood why his mom used to stuff him into thick pants every winter. Xiaofei was tucked in Zhang Qiu’s coat pocket. To keep him warm, they’d bought a down coat with zippered pockets and put a little hand warmer inside—Xiaofei was by far the most comfortable one.

It had started snowing again in the second half of the night and hadn’t stopped since. Everything was blanketed in white. The village looked like it had been swallowed.

Zhang Qiu was afraid Kule might say the weather was too bad and suggest waiting it out. But the old man didn’t seem fazed, leading them swiftly out of the village.

…

“I used to have a black hunting dog called Xiao Guai. My wife named it. Took it with me into the mountains all the time…” Kule pulled out a military-style canteen and took a swig. “Anyone want a sip? On a day like this, a little liquor warms the soul.”

Everyone quickly shook their heads.

After deciding to set off last night, Zhang Qiu had given the map to Kule. One glance, and the old man knew exactly where they were headed.

“I know there’s a lake there. I heard it used to be a city. That’s where you’re going, huh?” Kule said thoughtfully.

They were now standing at the foot of a mountain. Kule pointed westward. “See that? The place you’re looking for is over that tallest peak. On the other side is a lake. Go a bit further, about a kilometer, and that’s your destination.”

He was quite specific.

From a distance, the mountains blurred together. But Kule had pointed out the highest one. Once they entered the snowy range, everything would look the same—just endless white, with no way to tell directions.

“If you move fast, we can get there in two days.” As soon as he said this, a roar echoed behind them, making them flinch.

Zhang Qiu immediately knew—it was Qi Xi. Spending two days just finding the place was unacceptable to him. He’d rather risk being exposed as something other than human.

The massive and powerful xiezhi—Zhang Qiu looked up at Qi Xi’s original form. Compared to the glimpse he got back in May in Beijing, Qi Xi looked even more grown.

Kule froze, stunned. Before he could react, a loud cry echoed again. In front of him was a glowing golden bird—wait, it had nine tails. The snow blinded him partially, but that… that was a phoenix?!

Qi Xi and Zhang Yushui stood in their original forms on the snow. Zhang Qiu quickly pulled the still-dazed Kule onto Qi Xi’s back. Bell entered the ghost pearl, and Pei Qing, along with the Prince of Xiapu, got on Zhang Yushui’s back.

Golden wings flapped, sending snow swirling as they took off.

Kule’s face crinkled in the wind. After a moment, he finally reacted, though his mouth couldn’t form words.

“Just guide us. We won’t hurt you.” Zhang Qiu’s words were scattered by the wind.

Kule’s lips trembled as he mumbled something. Then he pulled out his flask and took two big gulps. His face flushed from the cold, but his eyes gleamed. “Are you immortals?”

“No.”

A flash of disappointment passed through Kule’s eyes. Zhang Qiu didn’t notice and shouted, “Grandpa, where do we go now?”

They flew fast and couldn’t waste time talking—didn’t want to miss the route. From above, everything looked the same. To Zhang Qiu, it was all just snow. His eyes blurred from staring too long.

Li Shu handed Zhang Qiu goggles. Kule squinted against the wind, lying on Qi Xi’s back, carefully watching for direction.

In just two hours, they reached the peak Kule had described. From above, they saw a frozen lake below. Black dots moved across the ice.

“People?” Zhang Qiu asked, squinting.

Li Shu nodded. He patted Qi Xi’s back. “Lower down. Don’t alert them.”

Zhang Qiu’s heart jumped—Christine’s group. If they rushed in and Qi Zhirong was used as a shield, it would be bad. Zhang Yushui noticed too, and they didn’t get too close. They landed behind a slope for cover. After two hours of flying in freezing winds, Qi Xi and Zhang Yushui returned to human form, their clothes covered in frost. Kule handed over his flask.

“Dab this on to wipe down first.”

Pei Qing’s wife accepted it with thanks and used wet wipes moistened with the liquor to clean Zhang Yushui’s face. He quickly bundled up again.

Qi Xi dressed too, but his bloodshot eyes stayed locked on the distant figures.

“We’ll sneak over,” Li Shu said.

They packed up fast and shouldered their bags again. Judging by the lake’s size and the visible tracks, the people were heading to the far side—maybe two kilometers away. They picked up the pace. Kule’s stamina was impressive. Zhang Qiu hadn’t trekked in snow before, and even after a short distance, he was struggling. The wind battered their faces, and the snow beneath was unstable. Without Kule leading, they could’ve stepped into a hidden pit.

By noon, they reached the lake. The tracks were faint, mostly covered by new snowfall.

“Master, they went that way,” Bell suddenly appeared and said.

Kule didn’t even blink anymore—he was used to the weirdness. Didn’t even look over.

Turns out Bell had followed Christine’s group earlier. Since being with Pei Qing, his strength had improved greatly. As a ghost, he was hard to detect in the snowstorm. But even so, he hadn’t dared get too close.

“I saw Qi Zhirong.”

Pei Qing was about to say something, but Qi Xi grabbed Bell’s arm first. “How is he? Is he hurt anywhere else?”

Bell shook his head. “I didn’t get close, just saw from afar. Two people were watching him. Other than the eyes, he seemed okay. The leader was a woman—really strong. When I got closer, she suddenly turned and looked right at me. I was so scared I ran off.”

Qi Xi sighed in relief, knowing Qi Zhirong was still alive. But imagining that proud man, now blind and imprisoned, made his eyes flush red with anger.

“Let’s follow them,” Li Shu said.

They followed Bell’s path across the lake. Once ashore, Li Shu made a hand signal. “There’s movement up ahead.”

They slowed down and crept forward. In the snowy wilderness, they found cover behind a slope. Just a kilometer away, the enemy was setting up camp. It looked like they planned to stay the night.

Qi Zhirong wore a camel-colored down jacket, disheveled. He had sunglasses on. A tall man beside him tripped him on purpose. Qi Zhirong couldn’t see, so he fell—drawing loud laughter from the others.

If Li Shu hadn’t grabbed Qi Xi, he’d have rushed out already.

“Tonight,” Li Shu narrowed his eyes toward the camp.

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Pinky says: The author was adamant that the little children are not incestuous, that is all.