Little Pink Starfish

If a normal person is like a car running smoothly on the road, then a “madman” is a car that’s lost control.

Most people can’t handle a vehicle that’s gone out of control — among those in the martial world who fall into qi deviation, many don’t even survive the moment it hits.

But there are always a few, due to strange twists of fate, who not only survive but manage to keep driving that runaway car — and before the crash, they often become the most dazzling thing on the road.

Under normal circumstances, Yi Linglong would never have survived the Gu worm — after all, every Tianyi Tower assassin knows how lethal those worms are. Except in one case: if he’d gone mad.

You can’t compare madmen to ordinary people. There’s no reference point for madness — because every madman is mad in their own unique way.

“Do you notice anything different about him?” The assassins in Drunken Residence had already confirmed the person on the roof was the real Yi Linglong.

It was clear their entire plan had failed — and might soon become a laughingstock in the martial world.

But right now, the most pressing question was figuring out why Yi Linglong was still alive — and how exactly he’d lost his mind.

Hua Rongyue listened to the silence around her and felt a moment of disorientation. What had just happened felt so similar to memories in Yi Linglong’s mind that she’d been able to “perform” fluidly until now. But the eerie stillness wasn’t quite the same — and that broke her trance, pulling her back to herself.

Far away at Baicaotang, not long after Hua Rongyue had left, the doctors heard from patients about what was happening. Doctor Qi sighed regretfully, “Ah… what a pity. If only we’d followed her this morning…”

“It wouldn’t have mattered,” Xiao Han said, sprawled over the table. “All the carriages were rented out. Unless you can fly, you’re not getting there.”

“Did Rongyue even manage to rent a carriage?” Wan Fulián asked worriedly.

“If he didn’t, that’s just bad luck,” Xiao Han chimed in. “He was headed to the countryside, right? Probably hasn’t even heard the news yet.”

Back in Drunken Residence, things were still buzzing with excitement. The “interviewers” watching Hua Rongyue’s performance were already quite satisfied. Even though the fake Yi Linglong sent by Tianyi Tower had made an appearance, the one sent by the Six Gates turned out to be superior — a delightful surprise.

But Hua Rongyue still had a mission to complete. It wasn’t just about convincing people she was Yi Linglong — she also had to make them believe that Yi Linglong had gone mad, and convince the entire martial world of it.

Jiang Lianhuan stared hard out the window.

Everyone in the room was waiting to see what Hua Rongyue would do next.

She, too, remembered her mission. While she thought her performance so far was mad enough, it clearly wasn’t — people too far away wouldn’t have seen the red mole at the corner of her eye. So now she needed something even more intense.

What came next had little to do with Yi Linglong’s actual memories — it was all up to Hua Rongyue’s improvisation.

She looked at the Tianyi Tower agents and said, “Go back and tell Elder Zuo — Yi Linglong’s life and death no longer concerns Tianyi Tower.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, which made the way she uttered “Elder Zuo” all the more casual and chilling. She knew that aside from the Tianyi Tower killers, no one else nearby could have heard it.

But those assassins did — and their expressions changed instantly.

“You… your eyes…” gasped the fake Yi Linglong, still not dead despite the blade to his chest.

Hua Rongyue gently touched the corner of her eye and said, “Ah… this?”

“Is that… is that why you’re still alive?” the imposter asked.

“That doesn’t really concern you, does it?” Hua Rongyue replied calmly.

She stared at his face — even disfigured, it looked familiar.

Then she vaguely recalled something from Yi Linglong’s memory: Tianyi Tower had once sent some foolish young man to impersonate Yi Linglong. When Yi Linglong found out, she was furious and slashed his face. If memory served, this was the guy — only, his appearance now was a bit different than in those memories, so she hadn’t recognized him at first.

What a twist of fate, brother.

Despite that karmic link, neither Hua Rongyue nor Yi Linglong had ever known his name.

“I…” the fake murmured.

Hua Rongyue found his tone strange — was he actually happy to be alive? It felt… off.

Yi Linglong hadn’t interacted with this guy much. Was he some kind of fanboy?

Curious, Hua Rongyue gave him a few extra glances. When he met her gaze, something flickered in his eyes.

She leaned down suddenly, whispered something into his ear.

Even she didn’t know why she said it — it just felt right. As if something inside her was pulling the strings.

Everyone nearby was watching Yi Linglong — he had come, as expected, to take the lantern. But he looked nothing like the Yi Linglong they had imagined.

They had imagined black robes, black hair, a cold face, a heartless man like a shadow in the dark. But the one standing on the rooftop was radiant, captivating — someone impossible to ignore.

And his looks far surpassed expectations. Some had thought the rumors exaggerated — but after seeing even half his face, they understood the truth.

He lowered his head and looked at the Tianyi Tower assassin.

Everyone wondered what he was going to do.

Before their eyes, Yi Linglong bent down, leaned close, and whispered something.

The assassin’s pupils widened slightly, as if he’d just heard something truly shocking.

He looked up at Yi Linglong, dazed. Yi Linglong seemed to smile.

Those farther away couldn’t see Yi Linglong’s face — but they could clearly see the assassin’s reaction.

That smile — it left the Tianyi Tower killer frozen.

Everyone saw the assassin suddenly go stiff. And in a moment like this — when one wrong move could mean death — that was unthinkable.

What kind of smile had he seen?

Hua Rongyue hadn’t meant anything by it. She whispered the line and smiled instinctively. She didn’t know her smile would freeze someone on the spot.

Even she didn’t know what she looked like when she smiled.

But Yi Linglong’s smile, in the past, had been infamous. In Tianyi Tower, people feared it the most — that eerie, sharp, grating laugh often preceded bloodshed. So in Hua Rongyue’s memory, this was the first time someone had gone still because of it.

In a small private room of Drunken Residence, someone chuckled coldly, “Neither man nor woman — a true monster.”

No one expected this little twist at the end — and yet, it would become one of the most talked-about moments in the entire Yi Linglong tale.

By sheer accident, that assassin froze just from Yi Linglong’s smile. No one ever knew exactly what that smile looked like.

“I went mad for someone.”

That’s what Hua Rongyue had whispered in his ear.

After saying it, she leapt from the rooftop — and vanished from sight.

She came as suddenly as a dream, and left just as swiftly. No one could stop her. All they could do was watch. They would remember her blade, and they would remember her face.

Minutes later, a wave of uproar exploded from the streets near Drunken Residence — loud enough to blow off the roof.

But what most people would remember about Yi Linglong wasn’t the blade.

It was the face — a face so dazzling it outshone even the swordplay. A face more beautiful than any woman’s, capable of making Tianyi Tower’s assassin go slack-jawed. That blend of masculine and feminine charm became the talk of the martial world.

In ancient times, a face like that wasn’t necessarily praised. People called it ominous — blurring the lines of gender, bringing chaos to the world.

From across the street, in a neighboring tavern, a voice spoke quietly:
“The play is over. Shall we go see our Yi Linglong now?”

…

After jumping from the rooftop, Hua Rongyue quickly changed out of the outfit, took off the mask, and hurried through the crowd with her head down.

After five or six minutes, she bumped into someone — hard. Their body was so solid it made her nose ache.

Startled — since she’d been actively avoiding people — she looked up and saw a familiar face.

“Come with me,” said Jiang Lianhuan.

Hua Rongyue let out a breath of relief. Finally, someone from the Six Gates had come to back her up.

…She was starting to think they’d never show.