Little Pink Starfish

Beside the immortal island of Penglai, two wild orchid grasses grew from the same root. Nurtured by the essence of sun and moon over a long time, they gradually matured.

One day, Penglai held a grand banquet. The Heavenly Emperor was invited and, while passing by the river, casually looked down. His expression was cold and elegant. The immortal of Penglai followed his gaze and saw the two orchids. He chuckled softly, “Didn’t expect such delicate plants to grow in the wild.”

The Heavenly Emperor’s face remained stern and impassive. He said nothing and looked away.

After the immortals had gone, the shorter orchid trembled slightly.

During the feast, the Heavenly Emperor drank only two cups of wine before taking his leave. Penglai’s host tried to send him off, but was stopped. Watching the retreating figure of the emperor, the immortal thought: it was already a great honor to have him attend at all—everyone in the heavens knew the Heavenly Emperor was cold and ruthless.

For some reason, as he left, the emperor’s gaze fell once more upon the fragile orchid. His face, always frosty, seemed to twist slightly.

“Weeds,” he muttered.

And yet a cup appeared in his hand—it was the wine the Penglai immortal had gifted him. With a flick of the wrist, he poured the celestial dew upon the orchids. When the cup was empty, he discarded it and vanished.

He didn’t know that because of that small gesture, the wild orchids gained sentience. A hundred years later, they took on human form. The immortal of Penglai, seeing how pure and naïve the siblings were, took them in to do odd jobs around the island.

Another century passed.

One day, the Penglai immortal brewed a new batch of fine wine and wanted to host another banquet.

“Xiao Lan, take this invitation to the Luli immortal.”

The boy who received it looked delicate and lovely, of average build and fair skin. He nodded obediently. Before he left, the Penglai immortal reminded him again, “Don’t cause trouble in the Heavenly Realm.”

“Xiao Lan understands.”

With the Penglai token, Xiao Lan smoothly entered the Heavenly Realm. He delivered the invitation and was returning when a strange sweet scent drifted by. Xiao Lan sniffed the air—it smelled pleasant yet made him uncomfortable.

“I better head back before the immortal scolds me again… What is that smell? Weird.”

But a few steps later, his head grew dizzy, his heart pounded rapidly, and his mouth went dry. He’d never experienced anything like this—his whole body felt like it was burning.

“Hot… I need water…”

He stumbled forward and bumped into something hard. Clutching his forehead, he looked up, dazed. “Two of you…? You… stop moving… So hot… I need water…”

He slid down weakly, legs trembling, but something between them was also becoming uncomfortably hard.

Panicking, Xiao Lan clutched at the person before him, tears forming.

Am I dying?

What about my sister if I die?

The person held him steady, preventing him from collapsing. Xiao Lan grabbed at the smooth, cool robes. His hazy eyes tried to focus.

“So hot… it hurts…”

His soft, supple body burned like a furnace. The Heavenly Emperor’s frosty gaze lowered, and he muttered, “Weed.”

Called a weed, Xiao Lan only leaned closer. His senses were ablaze—his lips parted to drink in the coolness touching them. It tasted like the best immortal wine stored in frozen ponds—refreshing at first, then more intoxicating.

“So hot…”

His clothes were stripped layer by layer. At only two hundred years old, Xiao Lan was just reaching adulthood by immortal standards. The scent he had earlier caught was his own—his orchid had bloomed, igniting his first true heat.

Soft-skinned and sweet-scented, the originally emotionless Heavenly Emperor’s gaze deepened.

…

As a plant-based spirit, Xiao Lan had self-healing abilities. After their intense encounter, he recovered quickly. In fact, he looked even better—refreshed and radiant.

The red marks vanished quickly. Dressed again, he looked around the now-empty room and quietly slipped away.

This room is so nicely decorated… If the immortal finds out, he’ll be mad I messed it up…

Feeling guilty for enjoying and leaving, Xiao Lan fumbled around, pulling out a jade bottle from his robes. It was his own collected dew—best for clarity and refreshment.

He left a note: “Thank you.”

Back at Penglai Island, sometimes at night, Xiao Lan would rest his chin in his hands, gaze up at the moon and mutter, “Once I collect enough dew again, I want to bother that immortal for more… it’s just that…”

Back in the Heavenly Realm, the immortal stared at the jade bottle and the note on the table. His expression was frostier than ever.

That weed…

At the Penglai wine banquet, not only did the Luli immortal show up—surprisingly, so did the Heavenly Emperor. Penglai’s host was honored beyond belief and prepared flattery—only to hear the emperor coldly ask,

“Do you have a weed here?”

“……”

The emperor’s face grew darker. Penglai immortal trembled and quickly responded, “Does Your Majesty mean the little orchid who went to the Heavenly Realm last time?”

“Yes. Give me Xiao Lan.”

Both Penglai and Luli immortals were stunned. The emperor had come just to request a minor spirit?

But when the Heavenly Emperor asked—even if it were Penglai’s treasure—they had to offer it with both hands.

Meanwhile, Xiao Lan was proudly admiring his fully filled dew bottle, thrilled.

Finally, he could go enjoy that again.

Of course, to outsiders, he looked like he was diligently saving up for another “appointment.”

Told he would return to the Heavenly Realm with the emperor, Xiao Lan was excited at first—he thought he’d have a convenient sleeping partner. But then he worried—what about his sister, Da Lan?

Still, with the summons, he had no choice. Packing his dew bottle, he headed for the palace.

“The Heavenly Emperor’s carriage is waiting. Once in the Heavenly Realm, no slacking!” the Penglai immortal warned him.

Xiao Lan, full of thoughts about doing the deed, nodded obediently.

The imperial steed was tall, pure white, not a hair out of place. Xiao Lan, barely reaching its belly, craned his neck to look up at the carriage and said, “Your Majesty, I’m ready!”—fully intending to run alongside.

“Get in.”

The cold voice made him pause. Familiar. Without thinking, he clambered into the carriage.

Inside, he came face-to-face with those icy eyes. Startled, he blurted out what was in his heart:

“I saved up another bottle of dew… Can we continue feeling good again?”

Then he realized—this was the Heavenly Emperor!

Oh no… one bottle definitely wasn’t enough for him. Who knew how many would be? It would take forever to save that much again.

Maybe he should find a cheaper immortal. He wasn’t picky.

But would the cheaper ones be as vigorous as the emperor?

Sigh.

Xiao Lan sat in the corner, chin on hand, lost in thought.

The emperor watched this little thing muttering to himself and, hearing clearly, his face darkened.

Back in the Heavenly Realm, Xiao Lan officially became a minor immortal. Every day, he served in the emperor’s quarters, doing small chores. His carefully saved dew bottle was never used.

The emperor remained cold as ice.

Guess one bottle isn’t enough, Xiao Lan thought.

“I miss sister… hope she’s doing okay.” Clutching his bottle, he decided to ask the gatekeeper for a favor—just a quick trip down to see her.

As Xiao Lan reached the Southern Gate, bottle in hand, he was unaware of the frost-covered Heavenly Emperor following behind.

From a distance, the emperor saw Xiao Lan offering the bottle like a treasure to the guard.

Cold energy exploded off him. His glare pierced Xiao Lan.

“This… this isn’t allowed. It breaks the rules,” said the gatekeeper nervously.

“I’ll collect another bottle! Please try it—this is my best batch…” Xiao Lan pleaded, about to share the long story of how he’d carefully collected it under full moon nights, in his original form.

The gatekeeper hesitated. Xiao Lan was pitiful and served the emperor—maybe this would earn him a favor someday.

“Then—”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

A cold voice stopped them both.

The gatekeeper nearly collapsed in fear. “It—it was Xiao Lan who asked. I was just about to refuse!”

The emperor didn’t even glance at him. His eyes locked on Xiao Lan and the pristine bottle in his hand. His eyes filled with scorn.

So, this weed wasn’t so pure after all. Just like his origins—lowly and disgraceful.

The gatekeeper trembled. When he looked up, both emperor and orchid were gone.

Xiao Lan had been thrown onto a bed. A hot body quickly pinned him down.

“Wait—!” Xiao Lan clutched the bottle, eyebrows furrowed. He did want to do this again, but his sister was important too. He hadn’t seen her in so long, and this dew was meant for her.

Resolving himself, Xiao Lan declared righteously, “This dew isn’t for Your Majesty. It’s for—”

“That gatekeeper?”

The emperor’s voice was biting. His tone ridiculing.

“Such lowly origins.”