Little Pink Starfish

Wuhuan — Half Radiant, Half Grim Reaper

The gang leader carried his true love and, along with Xiao Zhuang, waited anxiously at the palace gates. They waited and waited, but there was still no sign of Yu Xiaoxiao. With the imperial guards gathering in increasing numbers at the entrance, the place was starting to resemble a military encampment. Left with no choice, Xiao Zhuang and the gang leader ran off again, arriving at a dark courtyard in the palace grounds that showed no signs of light or activity.

Perched atop the wall, the gang leader watched the armored guards and inner palace enforcers running everywhere with torches in hand. He whispered to Xiao Zhuang, “You don’t think your princess has been caught, do you? Are they after her?”

Xiao Zhuang climbed up beside him, peeking out carefully. “Don’t talk nonsense. You think they’d mobilize the whole army just to catch the princess?” From Xiao Zhuang’s perspective, this wasn’t a search—it looked like they were preparing for war.

“But she burned down the emperor’s place,” muttered the gang leader. “You think he’s not going to lose his temper?” He’d heard the saying before—when the Son of Heaven is angered, corpses pile for a thousand miles.

“You don’t understand,” Xiao Zhuang replied. With his princess’s skills, would she really be caught by some guards? Anyone who crossed her would be looking for a beating, not an arrest.

“Fine, I don’t understand,” the gang leader didn’t argue further. “But I think the soldiers are getting closer. When’s the princess coming to get us?”

Xiao Zhuang fell silent.

The gang leader, staring at the brilliant flames lighting up the sky, began to panic. “She didn’t forget about us, right?”

Xiao Zhuang finally spoke again. “Impossible. The princess isn’t that kind of person!”

And so, the two of them waited on top of the wall, experiencing firsthand the agony of waiting in vain.

Meanwhile, Yu Xiaoxiao had chased the black-robed man across half the capital. At last, he stopped at a small temple in the southern district.

Standing on the flying eaves of a rooftop, Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t even look winded. She stared at the black-robed man, who now stood not far away, his breath noticeably labored. After such intense movement, his previously pristine black robe was now askew, and Yu Xiaoxiao finally noticed he was wearing a silver mask.

“So you’re rich,” Yu Xiaoxiao commented. “Could’ve just used a cloth to hide your face, but no—you had to wear a silver mask! Alright, Mr. Big Money, spill it. What were you doing at my dad’s place?”

Being called “Mr. Big Money” made the masked man pause. Then he said coldly, “You really don’t know who I am?”

Yu Xiaoxiao replied, “Oh, I know exactly who you are. I’m just asking why you were there. You still wanna run? I can chase you to the edge of the world. Why not give up and confess already?”

“They say Princess Linglong is cunning,” he said. “Didn’t expect you to be so good at playing dumb too.” After all, anyone who saw his silver mask should immediately recognize him.

Yu Xiaoxiao’s expression remained flat. She was in no mood to keep bantering. Since words weren’t working, it was time for fists.

“Wuhuan,” the man said, just as Yu Xiaoxiao was about to strike.

Wuhuan? The name tickled something in Yu Xiaoxiao’s memory, but she couldn’t quite place it. Well, whatever. She decided this fight was still happening.

Wuhuan hadn’t expected her to attack even after he revealed his name. Furious, he asked, “You really don’t know who I am?”

Suddenly, six or seven black-clad fighters appeared out of thin air and shielded Wuhuan.

Since Yu Xiaoxiao insisted on playing dumb, Wuhuan decided to just reveal himself: “I’m from Yongsheng Temple—”

The moment Yu Xiaoxiao heard “Yongsheng Temple,” she snapped. Before, she was just suspicious. Now she was enraged. She hadn’t even gone to cause trouble for Yongsheng Temple yet, and they’d already come knocking? Clearly, this was a battle to the death!

Fueled by fury, Yu Xiaoxiao went all out. The six or seven black-clad fighters didn’t even last one move under her onslaught—they were all sent flying off the rooftop, falling unconscious on the spot.

Wuhuan was shocked. These subordinates, whose combined strength rivaled his own, couldn’t even withstand one of her strikes. It was clear—he was no match for Princess Linglong.

Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t care what he was thinking. She launched a punch straight at him, shattering the silver mask on his face.

When she saw the face beneath, she froze.

Wuhuan hadn’t expected her to break his mask either. He stood still on the rooftop, unmoving.

The shards of silver glittered in the moonlight at his feet, casting a pale glow on his face. Yu Xiaoxiao frowned. The left side of his face looked perfectly normal—like it belonged in a sketchbook of ideal human features. But the right side… the right side had been horribly burned. It was as if someone had drawn a line of fire across his face, separating beauty from ruin. His cheekbone had collapsed; his eye, nose, and mouth were deformed. Compared to this, Li Xiaomei’s scars were nothing.

Wuhuan looked down at the broken silver mask but didn’t raise a hand to hide his face. He simply looked at Yu Xiaoxiao, still motionless.

Other than her initial surprise and a slight frown, Yu Xiaoxiao had no further reaction. She’d seen worse—zombies with rotting flesh. Compared to them, Wuhuan was hardly shocking.

“So Yongsheng Temple can stop people from dying, but can’t fix a few burn scars?” she mocked. “Can’t even do skin grafts? And you call yourselves ‘Eternal Life’? What a joke.”

“You’re not scared at all?” Wuhuan asked.

“We’ll talk about fear later,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “First, tell me who you are. Did Wen Fenglin send you?”

“Wen Fenglin?” Wuhuan raised an eyebrow. “So he even told you his secular surname?”

“Secular surname?” Yu Xiaoxiao said, “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not close to him. Now talk—what dirty business did he send you to do?”

One of the fallen black-clad men began to regain consciousness. Sitting up, he looked up and caught sight of his master’s half-handsome, half-horrifying face. He quickly lowered his head, not daring to look again.

Wuhuan studied Yu Xiaoxiao from head to toe. He began to suspect she wasn’t pretending—maybe this Princess Linglong really had perfected the art of playing dumb.

Since she wasn’t going to stop, Yu Xiaoxiao cracked her knuckles and prepared to fight again.

“I am Wuhuan,” he said, slowly and clearly. “I am the national preceptor of Zhuri. This is our first meeting, and you, Princess Linglong, truly live up to your reputation.”

Yu Xiaoxiao wasn’t fazed by his face, but his identity did catch her off guard.

Zhuri’s National Preceptor? Wen Fenglin’s senior brother?

Oh hell.

Yu Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes. So the big brother came to avenge the little one?