Little Pink Starfish

They smoothly followed the tunnel downward—just as they had guessed, there were no traps along the way. It led directly to the grandest palace hall, filled with dazzling treasures sparkling from every corner.

“This is practically a treasure vault,” Zhang Qiu marveled.

Ignoring the rest, they quickly found the wooden box Grandpa Kule had knocked over. Amid the piles of treasures lay a square jade seal. Perhaps due to its age, it wasn’t as translucent or lustrous as Zhang Qiu had imagined. Although free of impurities, it seemed covered in a kind of misty veil.

“Could this be a fake?” he muttered. After all, this was said to be carved from the legendary He Shi Bi.

“Fake or not, let’s just take it first,” Qi Xi said, reaching for it. The moment he touched it, his face changed and he instantly threw it aside. Zhang Qiu, closest to him, reflexively caught it.

“Even if it’s fake, don’t just throw it!” Zhang Qiu scolded, turning it over. On the underside were eight Qin script characters—realistic enough to not seem fake.

Qi Xi eyed Zhang Qiu warily. “You don’t feel anything?”

“Feel what?”

“The moment I touched it, it started draining my energy—totally evil stuff.”

Zhang Qiu flipped it a few times and still felt nothing. He handed it to Erge (Zhang Yushui), whose face also changed the moment he touched it. Zhang Qiu quickly took it back. One by one they tested it—Pei Qing, Zhang Yushui, and Qi Xi all had adverse reactions. Bell turned red in the face within seconds and started shouting, “Brother, there’s some kind of energy going crazy inside me—I’m so hot—I’m gonna explode!”

Zhang Qiu panicked and snatched it away. The jade seal seemed beneficial to Xiaojing, Bell, and Grandpa Kule, but the energy inside was wild and domineering—they dared not test it further.

Only Zhang Qiu and Li Shu felt nothing, as if it were an ordinary jade seal.

Considering Grandpa Kule had briefly touched it and reformed his physical body, the jade’s power was clearly extraordinary.

“Didn’t this thing just get brighter?” Zhang Qiu noticed it while packing the seal into the wooden box—it was subtly more lustrous than before.

“Seems like it,” Zhang Yushui nodded. “Pack it up. We’ll study it later.”

Zhang Qiu was about to hand it to Xiaofei for safekeeping when Li Shu suddenly warned, “Someone’s coming.”

The group exchanged glances. Bell quickly hid inside the soul orb. Li Shu pulled Zhang Qiu up to the rafters, carrying Xiaojing. Zhang Yushui followed suit with the Prince. Soon the rafters above the great hall were full of them.

This crystal palace was built in traditional Yuan Dynasty style. The rafters were high, wide, and long, supporting the entire dome. They weren’t crowded up there, but Zhang Qiu still worried whether the centuries-old beams could hold them all.

As he fretted, footsteps echoed closer—messy and panicked. Zhang Qiu held his breath and peeked downward.

The palace wasn’t dark—illuminated by luminous pearls. But the dome was more than five meters high and shadowy, enough to hide their forms.

“Shut the door.”

A woman’s voice. Zhang Qiu didn’t dare stick out his head, remembering how she’d sensed them from hundreds of meters away during the ambush.

The chaotic footsteps followed. A dozen or so people entered behind the woman, flustered as if being chased. At her command, they slammed the doors shut. Her brows were twisted in irritation as she lashed her whip with a curse. “Start searching! What are you standing around for?!”

The henchmen dared not argue. Disheveled and wounded, they looked nothing like they did the previous day.

Qi Xi’s gaze locked onto one particular man—he had tripped Qi Zhirong that day. A dangerous glint flickered in Qi Xi’s eyes.

Surrounded by glittering treasures, the group couldn’t hide their greed. The woman whipped them again. “Forget the treasure! If you don’t find what we came for, I’ll leave you all behind!”

“Yes, Miss,” they murmured.

The woman paced, suddenly glancing up at the rafters. Zhang Qiu’s palms sweated in fear. She hadn’t noticed them, though red mist now surrounded their group in a protective veil—Xiaofei’s doing.

“There’s something outside the door,” Li Shu whispered.

Zhang Qiu nearly panicked. How can you talk at a time like this?! That woman has hawk eyes!

Li Shu just grinned and pointed at Zhang Qiu’s chest. He looked down—red mist. So Xiaofei’s mist can also cloak people? Zhang Qiu marveled silently. She’s incredible.

Outside, the pounding grew louder. “Did you find it yet?” the woman snapped.

“No jade seal, Miss.”

“Nothing! No wooden box either!”

“Impossible!” she growled, shoving people aside. “My father said it’s here—it has to be!”

The pounding intensified. Uniform footsteps echoed like death knocking. Zhang Qiu whispered, “What’s outside?”

Li Shu shook his head. “Not living.”

The crashing continued. The people below panicked. “Miss, should we retreat—”

The woman’s whip lashed out, coiling around one man’s neck. His face turned purple.

“If I hear that again, you’ll feed my little snake.”

She loosened the whip. The man bent over, coughing and hiding his hatred.

“As long as we get the jade seal, those creatures outside will obey me,” she sneered. “Now search!”

The minions frantically tore through the treasures, tossing antiques like garbage. Outside, the pounding neared a crescendo.

“Miss, we’ve searched everywhere. It’s not here!”

She raised her whip—then BOOM.

The door exploded open.

A small army burst in—thirty to forty soldiers in full armor, armed with rifles. Their movements were mechanical, synchronized, and their weapons pointed straight at the intruders.

“Just puppets,” the woman hissed. Her whip snapped out, coiling around one of the armored figures.

The moment she acted, all hell broke loose. The minions clashed with the puppet soldiers. From above, Zhang Qiu’s group watched the chaos, waiting for their chance.

The whip yanked one puppet’s head clean off—but its body still moved. Its rifle blew a hole through a henchman’s gut.

Soon the puppets were losing—limbs torn, but still fighting. The henchmen dropped like flies. Blood coated the floor.

The woman licked blood from her lips, her whip dancing wildly before breaking free from her hand. It circled midair with a pop pop pop—and the remaining puppets all fell.

That was the moment.

Qi Xi leapt from the rafters. No one noticed the small, black, gleaming scale that flew in from the open door.

The woman dodged Qi Xi, but the scale struck her directly. She dropped to one knee.

Zhang Qiu’s group pounced, knocking down the last four thugs.

“Just in time,” Yue Qincang called as he pushed in a wheelchair.

Kaiming sat thinly dressed in it, his handsome face dark and dangerous.

“You took the golden bone,” he said coldly.

The woman smirked. “So what if I did?” Her lips curled cruelly. “You’re just vessels for my father. Now it’s time to return what was nurtured.”

Qi Xi pressed a dagger to her eye, grinning. “Then let this vessel dig out your eyes and see what grows.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

The blade sank in. She clutched her face in shock as blood poured down.

Qi Xi still grinned. “Tell me your father’s name!”

“Hah! You think you’re worthy of meeting him?” she sneered, seemingly unfazed by the pain.

Zhang Qiu shouted, “Watch out!”

BOOM—the woman exploded.

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere. Everyone froze, especially Qi Xi, who never imagined she’d self-destruct.

A crimson mist gathered from the blood, forming a giant red serpent.

“Wretches, you destroyed my body—next time, I’ll skin you alive.”

The serpent’s eyes glittered with venom. Before Zhang Yushui could pull out his talismans, it vanished.

“No wonder she didn’t fear death,” Zhang Qiu muttered.

Christine had escaped again. The golden bone was lost. Kaiming’s face darkened. Yue Qincang, pushing the wheelchair, cursed her inwardly. Christine treated him like a slave—tea, massage, errands—and punished him whenever she was displeased.

The palace stank of blood and gore, with corpses and mutilated limbs everywhere. The treasures didn’t tempt anyone now. At least they had the jade seal.

They exited through the main gate. The traps had already been triggered. Near the corridor entrance, they found Amur’s corpse—frozen, missing a hand, likely eaten by zombie corpses. Grandpa Kule wept, cradling his son. “Baba’s taking you home… back to Mama.”

Outside, a modified jeep waited.

Yue Qincang carried Kaiming in, grumbling. “Can’t wait for you to heal. I’ve never been princess-carried in my life…”

Kaiming gave him a sharp look. Yue Qincang quickly shut up and helped Grandpa Kule carry Amur in. He didn’t mind sharing the back seat with two corpses.

Qi Xi returned to beast form, letting Qi Zhirong ride on his back. Li Shu stopped Zhang Qiu, gesturing toward Zhang Yushui.

“You go with Erge and Xiaojing.”

“You’re so petty, Li Shu! Zhang Qiu and I are just friends—don’t you know what friendship is?!” Qi Xi huffed.

Zhang Qiu ignored him and climbed onto Zhang Yushui’s back.

“You traitor!” Qi Xi called.

“Shut up,” Qi Zhirong finally snapped.

Qi Xi was stunned. Ever since the tent incident, Qi Zhirong had been cold and distant. He hadn’t expected this outburst and immediately shut his mouth.

That afternoon, they reached Grandpa Kule’s house and buried Amur. Kule begged to see his wife and son before reincarnating. Zhang Yushui wasn’t sure if that was possible.

“We could ask Xiao Lin,” Zhang Qiu offered.

Zhang Yushui smiled. “Didn’t expect we’d have connections in the underworld.”

“Hey, Kaiming—you said you could cure Qi Zhirong’s eyes,” Qi Xi said eagerly.

Qi Zhirong paused, hand over his eyes. “It can be healed?”

“I don’t go back on my word,” Kaiming said.

Zhang Qiu had Xiaofei retrieve the box. Qi Zhirong had composed himself, but there was a clear nervousness in his voice. Qi Xi wanted to stay but was kicked out by Qi Zhirong—probably not wanting him to see how awful he looked.

Ten minutes later, the door opened. Qi Zhirong stood tall and cold. His eyes were still foggy, adjusting to sight—but the first person he looked at was Qi Xi.

Qi Xi lit up. After all that, he finally admitted it—he couldn’t let Qi Zhirong go. Past lives or not, he loved him.

“Let’s head home. Xiao Lin can’t cross borders,” Zhang Qiu said.

“Guess the underworld has jurisdiction limits?” he added.

“Don’t forget—Kule’s wife was Chinese. He’s half one too,” Zhang Yushui replied.

Bayin bought them tickets to Beijing. Lu Feng picked them up. Too many people now, so they split into two cars. At the villa, Erge sent word to Xiao Lin. He didn’t come—but the pale-faced man from last time did.

“He’s in the middle of his probation. What do you want?” the man asked, scowling like someone owed him millions.

Zhang Qiu explained Kule’s case. The man grumbled and checked an iPad. “Lin Yuejiao’s already reincarnated. Amur isn’t under our jurisdiction. I’ll check—hang on.” He made a call, then added, “Reincarnated too. If Kule wants to reincarnate in China, I can arrange it now.”

Zhang Qiu was stunned. The underworld was so high-tech now—even handling overseas cases.

“Can I be with my wife again?” Kule asked sheepishly.

Zhang Qiu had never seen the old man look so timid. The agent frowned. “Troublesome. But… your karma’s clean. Your wife’s six months old now. I’ll place you nearby. Whether you meet again or become siblings depends on fate.”

Kule froze at the mention of being siblings but agreed. With his son and wife gone, he had no reason to remain.

The pale agent handled the paperwork and looked around. “Anything else?”

“No, no,” Zhang Qiu stammered. The man’s aura was terrifying.

After he left, Zhang Qiu remembered the jade seal and showed it to their shixiong. Hua Ting examined it carefully.

“Seems authentic. I’d say 90% certain.”

“But something’s strange…” Hua Ting frowned, staring at the Qin script on the base.

Zhang Qiu worried it was draining energy again, like before. But Hua Ting’s complexion was fine.

Suddenly a voice shouted, “What are you holding?!”

Startled, Zhang Qiu nearly dropped it. He turned—only to see the pale-faced man from earlier.

His eyes were locked onto the jade seal, expression darkening.

“That’s the Imperial Ghost Command Seal.”

Everyone in the room froze.

Zhang Qiu subconsciously clutched the jade tighter. “What… what did you say?”

The pale-faced man’s expression was darker than ever, almost twisted in disbelief and suspicion. “That thing in your hand isn’t some Imperial Treasure or national relic—it’s a tool. A command seal used to control ghost troops. It was lost for centuries… and now it’s in your hands?”

Li Shu stepped forward slightly, tone calm but wary. “So you’re saying… this thing isn’t just a jade seal?”

The man gave a cold chuckle. “Of course not. The so-called He Shi Bi that became the Imperial Seal of Qin… It was always special. But this—this was reforged during the Yuan Dynasty for a different purpose. A forbidden purpose. It controls armies of the dead.”

The room went still.

Zhang Yu Shui frowned. “But why does it react so violently to certain people, and not to others?”

“It chooses,” the man replied. “Only those with certain types of souls or bloodlines can hold it without backlash. The rest… it will devour.”

Zhang Qiu looked down at the wooden box in his hands, then back up. “What would someone want with an army of ghosts?”

A long silence fell. The pale-faced man’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “What do you think people in the underworld want with power? Domination, revenge, immortality. If that woman wanted it—if her father wants it—then I’ll tell you this: you’ve just stepped into a much, much bigger game.”

Zhang Qiu’s heart sank. So this wasn’t the end at all.

Qi Xi snorted from the side. “Doesn’t matter what kind of game it is. They touch my people—I’ll break their bones.”

Qi Zhi Rong, who had been silent until now, calmly removed his sunglasses. His newly healed eyes were still adjusting, but the sharpness in them had returned.

“Then we better prepare,” he said. “This isn’t over.”

Outside, the spring wind of Beijing stirred faint cherry blossoms. But inside the villa, the air was tense with a silent understanding:

The next battle wouldn’t be just over ancient treasures, or grudges from a forgotten dynasty—
It would be for survival.

And the dead?

They were only just beginning to wake.