Little Pink Starfish

Jiang Lianhuan

Currently, the only person in Baicao Hall who could keep Xiao Han in check was Hua Rongyue. Not even Wan Fulian could manage it sometimes.

Like that time when Xiao Han came looking for trouble, Wan Fulian had called out to him several times without success. In the end, it took Hua Rongyue stepping in to subdue him. Since then, Xiao Han had been afraid of her.

Though he wasn’t exactly willing, under Hua Rongyue’s intimidating presence he dared not complain. Grumbling to himself, he headed to the back where Hua Rongyue handed him all the freshly delivered herbs and told him to slice and dry them in bamboo trays.

Her mind was a mess. Ever since she first met the artist Wu, she hadn’t found peace. As a result, she wasn’t in the mood to be nice to Xiao Han and simply threw the whole workload at him. Xiao Han seemed like he wanted to pick a fight, but in the end, he silently swallowed his frustration and got to work.

Some people just have a natural presence — when they put on a stern face, they can command the whole room. Hua Rongyue was one of them. Back when she was in Tianyi Tower, just her cold stare would make all the assassins keep a wide berth of at least three meters. So Xiao Han? He was nothing.

Now, she didn’t even have to say a word. Just standing there was enough to make the rowdy Xiao Han obediently go to work. Watching from the side, Doctor Qi could only chuckle and shake his head.

“What’s funny, Doctor Qi?” Hua Rongyue asked.

“It’d be nice if he could stay like this,” Doctor Qi said with a mix of satisfaction and melancholy. “But who knows when you’ll be leaving…”

He clearly assumed Hua Rongyue would be joining the Six Doors soon.

Hua Rongyue didn’t respond, just looked out the window.

Doctor Qi still looked quite cheerful. That tree outside — supposedly a white chaenomeles — seemed to be blooming again, budding with new life.

—No one knew how anxious and uneasy the seemingly calm and composed Hua Rongyue truly felt. No one knew what she was afraid of.

---

In the “studio” at Shibatíng (Eighteen Pavilions), the artist Wu Ming was coloring a painting. He was painting butterflies over the blank areas — pale grey butterflies. Behind him, another man was flipping through a different artwork.

“Did you hear about what happened last night?” asked the man, dressed entirely out of place for Shibatíng.

His surname was Jiang. His full name: Jiang Lianhuan.

He was dressed in pure snow-white garments — immaculate. Everything he wore was luxurious. The small white jade ring on his finger alone was likely worth half of Shibatíng. The only spot of color on his entire person was a tiny red jade earring — the size of a grain of rice — used as an earplug.

Someone like him seemed far more suited to glamorous palaces than this humble studio, yet here he was, moving about as if he owned the place.

“You mean Li Qing?” Wu Ming asked indifferently as he painted. “I warned him long ago to stop that business, but he wouldn’t listen. This outcome isn’t surprising.”

The man they were discussing — Li Qing — was the very one Hua Rongyue had knocked out the day before. Yet Wu Ming spoke of him as though they were strangers.

But it was obvious the two had known each other, perhaps even had dealings. In fact, most of the people in Shibatíng who had gone berserk had some connection to Wu Ming.

Despite the stark contrast in appearance and temperament between Wu Ming and Jiang Lianhuan, the two seemed oddly in harmony when in the same room. Something invisible tied them together.

“Li Qing was a sadist, never cared about others. What happened to him — well, it’s about time. Good for everyone else he finally got caught by the Six Doors.” Jiang Lianhuan didn’t seem too concerned about Li Qing’s fate.

“But here’s the odd part,” he added, turning to Wu Ming. “It wasn’t the Six Doors who caught him.”

“Oh?” Wu Ming paused. “Then who?”

“Apparently, someone else from Shibatíng.”

Wu Ming, who had previously shown no reaction, suddenly turned to look at him. His brush stopped. Slowly, he said, “Someone from Shibatíng?”

Many who had lost control lived in Shibatíng, but there was an unspoken rule — they didn’t harm their own kind.

Jiang Lianhuan smiled. “Could’ve been an outsider. I just heard that the person who injured Li Qing had a red mole under their eye. You know anyone like that?”

“A red mole…” Wu Ming furrowed his brows. “Haven’t heard of anyone new breaking the rules recently…”

“That’s all I could dig up,” Jiang said. “But it’s suspicious, right? Li Qing was no pushover — especially after going ‘mad.’ If someone could knock him out, their skills must be excellent… any rumors of a skilled fighter going berserk recently?”

“No idea,” Wu Ming replied.

“Shame. Would’ve been fun to meet that person,” Jiang Lianhuan said casually.

Wu Ming’s eyes lit up as if he’d suddenly remembered something. He looked out the window and said, “Though, a few days ago, I did meet someone interesting.”

“Oh? Who?”

“A young apprentice at a clinic.”

At this, Jiang Lianhuan instantly lost interest — until Wu Ming added, “I painted his portrait.”

“You what?” Jiang looked genuinely shocked.

Wu Ming fetched a small bottle from a shelf as he explained, “He’s a new apprentice under Doctor Qi. Came to my shop with him the other day. I drew his portrait in exchange for payment. His features matched perfectly with that red chaenomeles flower you gave me. I painted his eyes red.”

Jiang Lianhuan raised an eyebrow. Seemed like he wanted to laugh but didn’t.

“Giving someone a painting like that… no wonder people call you crazy,” he said. “Good thing he’s got a good temper, or he might’ve slapped you on the spot.”

“It really was a beautiful portrait. If you get the chance, you should see for yourself,” Wu Ming replied, unfazed by the insult. He filled the small bottle with red liquid and handed it to Jiang Lianhuan. “You staying to finish it here today?”

“No, I’ll head back.” Jiang put the bottle away. “You really should move out of this place. Every time I come here, it makes my skin crawl.”

Whether Wu Ming heard him or not, he didn’t respond. He watched as Jiang threw a large black cloak over his pristine white clothes, hiding even his face. Limping slightly, Jiang walked toward the exit.

At the red lantern hanging by the door, Wu Ming suddenly said in a low voice, “Oh right — be careful. I heard she’s back in the area.”

“She?” Jiang turned around in surprise. “That woman? I thought she was in the Third Tower…”

Wu Ming didn’t say who “she” was, but both men clearly knew.

“Word is, she’s back because of something to do with Yi Linglong.”

Jiang Lianhuan paused, as if he wanted to say more, but in the end, he just looked at Wu Ming for a long moment, then turned and left, his black cloak wrapping tightly around him.

---

“Someone’s at the door. Rongyue, can you check it?”

“Coming.”

Baicao Hall was bustling as usual. Say what you will, young men are physically strong. Even Hua Rongyue had to admit that Xiao Han’s stamina was impressive.

After slicing the herbs, he carried them out, laid them out to dry, and even flipped them over regularly. He didn’t look particularly happy about it, but he worked diligently.

Grumbling as he worked seriously — wasn’t that a little dumb?

Hua Rongyue stepped out to greet the guest and saw him chatting cheerfully with Doctor Qi. When Doctor Qi noticed her, he called out, “Rongyue, bring over a pack of needles.”

“Got it.” She responded as she turned back inside — but needles?

Why would a patient come to buy needles?

Of course, Doctor Qi wasn’t talking about sewing needles. These were acupuncture needles — thinner and longer. It wasn’t unusual for someone to come in for acupuncture, but it was rare for anyone to buy the needles themselves.

When Hua Rongyue came back, she only gave the man a quick glance — didn’t see his face clearly. All she noticed was that he was dressed entirely in white, with refined clothing and bearing. The kind of person Doctor Qi usually visited on house calls, not someone who’d come to the clinic in person.

He carried a sword. Hua Rongyue’s gaze instinctively moved to the long sword on his back.

“I just happened to be passing by, so I thought I’d come get it myself. Nothing strange about that,” the man said, as if reading her mind.

“Next time, just let me know and I’ll deliver it,” Doctor Qi replied as he handed over the needles.

The man’s voice was pleasant. As he took the pack, he even thanked Hua Rongyue before turning to leave.

After he left, Doctor Qi said, “That was Jiang Lianhuan — a young master from the Jiang family. I make house calls to their place all the time. Last time, he asked me to bring him some needles. Guess he got impatient and came himself.”

Wait a minute… who?

Hua Rongyue’s hair stood on end.

She froze.

Jiang Lianhuan?