Little Pink Starfish

The Eye

After that day, Hua Rongyue had thought about not going out on patrol anymore. But after lying in bed for less than half an hour, she felt too uneasy to stay still and ended up trotting out again. Then she just gave up altogether—and began her diligent daily patrols in earnest.

Lin Qiya was still missing. Ever since that day on the street, she had vanished as if into thin air. When you didn’t want to find her, she’d pop up in your face. But the moment you started looking, she was nowhere to be seen.

Hua Rongyue had thought hard about what to do if she actually did run into Lin Qiya. After much consideration, the safest plan was to memorize her location and then sprint back to inform Yan Sheng.

Lin Qiya was powerful—but compared to Yi Linglong after his descent into madness in the past life, she was nothing. And even Yi Linglong, in his demonic state, had eventually been overwhelmed and killed by Six Gates’ sheer numbers.

Clearly, the best way to handle someone like that… was with a human wave tactic.

That’s what Hua Rongyue had concluded. But truthfully, what she hoped most was that Lin Qiya had already left Jiangnan. Sure, she could be taken down with enough manpower—but that didn’t mean Hua Rongyue wanted to face her head-on.

And so the days passed. The “Blood Gourd” actually survived. Though he still looked barely human, his condition was stabilizing—Doctor Qi was amazed.

Hua Rongyue wasn’t sure if it was her acupuncture that saved his life. Either way, he was now able to move a bit and even eat. To keep him safe from further danger, they let him stay in the Hundred Herbs Clinic.

But that created a new problem—lack of space.

The clinic had originally four small rooms, one for each person. But now this new patient needed a private room, plus someone from Six Gates to guard him in case an assassin tried to silence him at night.

“How about you bunk with Xiao Han for a bit and give your room to him?” suggested Doctor Qi. “Xiao Han’s room is bigger—it has two beds.”

“No.”
Both Hua Rongyue and Xiao Han said in unison.

“…,” Wan Fulan couldn’t help laughing at their rare moment of complete agreement.

“Then bunk with me,” said Doctor Qi. “I’ll tidy up and bring in a small bed for now.”

Hua Rongyue looked conflicted and frowned. Doctor Qi would probably make a decent roommate—good temperament, doesn’t lose his temper, has a sense of humor, a bit of a neat freak—but the problem was… the wrong gender.

Logically, she should bunk with Wan Fulan—but that would get her labeled a pervert for sure.

What now…? Hua Rongyue paced in her room, thinking. Suddenly, she spotted an old, long-unused cabinet in the corner, which had once stored herbs. Now it was nearly empty, just holding random odds and ends.

She stared at it thoughtfully.

The next day, the rest of the clinic discovered that the cabinet had been cleared out—and a bedding set had been placed inside.

“You’re really sleeping in there these days?” Doctor Qi asked, incredulous.

“Just for a while,” Hua Rongyue replied. “Once he stabilizes, he’ll be sent back to the constables’ office. And with how unsafe it’s been lately, sleeping in the main hall means I can also keep an eye on things.”

“But… in the cabinet?” Doctor Qi looked her up and down doubtfully. After all, Hua Rongyue always appeared well-groomed. Wasn’t it said that people often mistook her for a spoiled noble?

“Sure I can,” she replied. “Don’t forget, I’ve traveled the jianghu too—plenty of meals eaten under the sky and nights slept in the wild.”

Thus, under the skeptical eyes of Doctor Qi and Wan Fulan, Hua Rongyue spent her first night in the little medicine cabinet.

The air inside still carried lingering scents of herbs. Some were pleasant—but others Hua Rongyue didn’t care for. Her current favorite was licorice—smelled good, tasted good.

Lying in the small cabinet, moonlight streaming in through the doors, she was reminded of all the times Yi Linglong camped under the stars in her memories.

The cabinet was small, but oddly cozy and secure. Hua Rongyue even found it… fun. She quite liked her little hideaway.

In truth, the Blood Gourd probably didn’t need a Six Gates guard. Lin Qiya usually acted on impulse. If she came after you, it was on a whim—she rarely circled back, especially for nobodies like this guy. She probably didn’t even remember what he looked like.

…

The next morning, Hua Rongyue appeared neat and tidy as usual, as if she hadn’t spent the night curled up in a cabinet.

Doctor Qi was impressed to see her up early, dressed sharply, just like every other day. He looked at her with an expression full of admiration.

She felt a bit embarrassed under his gaze—and like something was off.

“You really slept in there all night?” Wan Fulan asked. “Did you hear anything strange?”

“Not really…” Hua Rongyue replied.

Why did everyone look like she’d done something earth-shattering?

That day, she had to go out to pick up some herbs. Normally, suppliers delivered them to the clinic, or villagers brought what they gathered. But today, one ingredient was urgently needed, so Doctor Qi had her go retrieve it herself.

She left in good spirits, wearing a white robe embroidered with a chaotic bloom flower (chaotic rose), hand-stitched by Wan Fulan.

Ever since Wan Fulan made that embroidery, Xiao Han had taken to sulking and punching random objects whenever he saw it—which Hua Rongyue always witnessed but ignored.

Wan Fulan loved the portrait of Hua Rongyue painted by Master Wu, though Hua Rongyue wasn’t keen on showing it around. Still, after seeing it once, Wan Fulan bought red thread and painstakingly stitched a few red chaotic rose blooms onto her robe.

Hua Rongyue hadn’t wanted to wear it at first…

But it was too beautiful—stunning, even.

After much hesitation, she eventually wore it proudly. Everyone in the clinic knew Hua Rongyue, well… had a bit of a vain streak. Wan Fulan had perfectly struck her weak spot.

Since then, Wan Fulan’s status in Hua Rongyue’s heart had leveled up again.

Beautiful, talented, great cook, embroidery master—how had this amazing girl ended up with a childhood sweetheart like that doofus?

Hua Rongyue strolled through the street at a leisurely pace. She’d only been to this area once before, and the layout was complicated, so she had to walk slowly and might even need to ask for directions.

Yan Sheng had been coming by the clinic often lately to check on the Blood Gourd—always arriving looking windblown and exhausted. Hua Rongyue didn’t even need to ask to know that things weren’t going well on his end.

She stared at the street ahead, feeling vaguely familiar and unfamiliar at once, debating whether she’d been there before. Then suddenly, a woman turned the corner and—

Bang.

They came face to face.

Time seemed to slow.

Hua Rongyue had been searching for this person for days—only to bump into her right here.

Lin Qiya.

After vanishing for days, she now appeared in this narrow alley.

Hua Rongyue immediately lowered her head, heart thundering.

Lin Qiya looked agitated. Her expression was unnatural. Hua Rongyue’s mind raced—and quickly understood why.

She had assumed Lin Qiya had left. But she hadn’t.

She was likely hiding from Six Gates these past few days, hunted and cornered. No matter how powerful a jianghu fighter was, they all avoided Six Gates when possible.

Now, the alley held only two people.

Hua Rongyue walked past her quickly with her head down, hoping not to be noticed. Best-case scenario, they brushed past each other and went their separate ways. Absolutely do not attract her attention.

Lin Qiya had probably come to Jiangnan in search of Yi Linglong. Now that she couldn’t find him, she might start targeting others—like that random victim from before.

Hua Rongyue kept a low profile—but quickly realized she’d been too optimistic.

As they passed, a woman’s sweet and sultry voice drifted to her ears.

“Little brother, don’t go~ Come with me~”

…

Meanwhile, Yan Sheng was listening to a report.

“Everyone’s here, except for one…”

“What happened to the original guy?”

“He got seriously injured recently. Treatment was too late—he died…”

“Figures.” Yan Sheng shook his head. “With his personality, it was bound to happen.”

He looked down at the names on a sheet. “No better candidates?”

“None.” The man beside him sighed. “This was already our most promising choice. Who knew things would go wrong so fast…”

The reason Six Gates was recruiting wasn’t because they were short-handed, like Hua Rongyue had guessed. They were forming a new special team for a specific mission.

In the martial world, the problem of the “mad” ones—those who went berserk—was an ever-present nightmare.

Six Gates had long wanted to take control of this issue. They couldn’t just let homicidal maniacs roam free. But no one wanted to touch this mess. Eventually, it landed on Yan Sheng’s plate—and he’d been thinking about it ever since.

Solving this through sheer strength would be difficult. First, these people were stronger than most jianghu fighters. Second, they were deeply hidden among civilians, making them hard to find.

So, Six Gates formed a new unit.

Its name was—“The Eye.”

Currently, it had only a few members, but their mission was anything but simple.

—The plan was for members to disguise themselves as the mentally unstable, infiltrate circles of madmen, and collect firsthand intel from within.

They had been grooming one candidate for a while—he was basically confirmed—until he unexpectedly died. Yan Sheng now had a headache, especially since all the prep work for that person was already done.

Finding someone suitable wasn’t easy. They needed people eccentric enough to pass as mad, even if they weren’t. Ideally, people who were “weird” even when sane.

Now that they were one man down, Yan Sheng briefly considered asking Hua Rongyue.

But… he wasn’t sure she was the right fit.

Everyone in this unit was bizarre in their own way. Compared to them, Hua Rongyue’s normalcy was too stark—it actually made her stand out.

And with her personality… she probably wasn’t suited for this kind of work.

Yan Sheng shook his head and shelved the idea, folding the list in his hands.