Little Pink Starfish

After lowering the curtain, the slight smile at the corner of Hua Rongyue’s lips disappeared, and she returned to her usual calm expression.

She sat quietly inside the carriage, silently reviewing the moves she had planned beforehand while rehearsing her lines.

Before setting out, Hua Rongyue had carefully considered how she should act for this mission and decided it was best to play it safe. In her understanding, “Yi Linglong” was someone whose masculine and feminine traits shouldn’t be randomly mixed — their combination was something that needed delicate balance.

A scruffy middle-aged man speaking in an exaggeratedly effeminate tone, or a delicate girl growling hoarsely, would make people feel uncomfortable — such clumsy combinations were failures.

Just like Yi Linglong in her past life — a “strange temper,” “terrifyingly exaggerated makeup,” and a “shrill voice” — had ultimately created an impression of a complete disaster.

So how could disparate traits be combined successfully?

— Hua Rongyue… cough, wasn’t entirely sure either.

But she did know how to act like a “soft” girl.

After all, she had spent far more time being a girl than pretending to be a man, unlike Yi Linglong, who had often disguised herself as a man for years.

At least… she could manage that much, right?

The carriage creaked forward. As Hua Rongyue pondered her next move, a sudden flurry of horse hooves disrupted her thoughts.

Her own caravan hadn’t moved erratically, so the chaotic hoofbeats definitely weren’t from their group. Hua Rongyue perked up, straining her ears.

Were the people they were expecting finally here? She didn’t rush to peek outside but focused intently on listening.

Indeed, it was the bandits from the nearby stronghold, as intelligence had warned. They often lurked in this area, robbing any travelers they could.

At this time and place, their conspicuous caravan was a perfect target. It would almost be an insult to the bandits’ profession if they didn’t rob them.

Hua Rongyue sat quietly, listening to the sounds of fighting outside. Jiang Lianhuan, in character as a green, inexperienced young hero, cried out, voice trembling with “fear,” “What do you want from us?!”

Good grief, that acting.

Hua Rongyue silently praised him. No wonder this man had once fooled Yi Linglong so thoroughly — just by listening, you’d really think he was some naive kid fresh from the countryside.

Inwardly, Hua Rongyue also apologized to the bodyguards who had come along. Sorry, but it looked like this escort mission was doomed.

The bandits quickly subdued them. Jiang Lianhuan very “calmly” collapsed on the ground and pretended to faint, while also moaning theatrically, “Who are you? My family won’t let you get away with this!”

Soon, the bandits noticed the ornate carriage clearly meant for a woman. A few of them gathered around it, muttering crude jokes about whether a pretty little lady was inside — if so, they would haul her back to the stronghold as a “wife.”

Oh, wonderful.

Inside the carriage, Hua Rongyue gripped her knife, ready to strike if anyone dared lift the curtain. That would fit Yi Linglong’s character better. But the bandits surprisingly tried to act “gentlemanly” — calling out to her through the curtain, “Little lady, we’re gonna carry you back to the stronghold now!” followed by coarse laughter.

Hua Rongyue: “…”

Inside the carriage, she didn’t even know what expression to make. Smiling felt wrong; not smiling felt awkward. After wrestling with herself for a moment, she realized — no one could see her anyway. Why was she stressing?

“Don’t be afraid, miss!” Jiang Lianhuan shouted from outside, acting every bit the passionate, righteous youth. “I’ll save you!”

His tone was so pure-hearted that it made even strangers want to believe in him.

“Save her? You’re coming with us too, kid!” a bandit shouted. “You look rich — your family can ransom you later. As for the girl, we’re taking her!”

And so, Hua Rongyue and Jiang Lianhuan were captured.

Along the way, the noisy Jiang Lianhuan had his mouth gagged.

Hua Rongyue marveled at his acting. If his usual persona was that of a refined, noble swordsman, now he truly resembled a bumbling young boy — naive and foolish.

Despite the gag, Jiang Lianhuan somehow still managed to “chat” with her using subtle sound transmissions.

“You holding up okay?” he asked casually.

“Still alright… just a little gross,” Hua Rongyue replied.

“…What about the bodyguards?” she asked.

“They’ll be fine, just lost the cargo. As for you… get ready. When they bring you out later, you’re gonna be laughed at,” Jiang Lianhuan teased.

“I’ll try to fix it,” Hua Rongyue muttered.

“I doubt you can,” Jiang Lianhuan joked. “Just remember, once you step out, it’s not just bandits around here — there are… others.”

They were now entering the bandit stronghold. It reminded Hua Rongyue somewhat of Liangshan — checkpoint after checkpoint, walking from daylight into nightfall.

She, inside the carriage, was relatively fine — just hungry. Jiang Lianhuan, however, was probably not so comfortable. From the bumps and jolts, Hua Rongyue guessed he was lying face-down over a horse, stomach pressed painfully, enduring a full day of tossing about.

Yet when they finally arrived, he showed no signs of weakness. Truly impressive.

Inside the carriage, Hua Rongyue saw flickering bonfires through the curtain. After a whole day cooped up, the pitch darkness in the carriage had been suffocating — she could barely even see her own hands.

She heard many voices — but not all of them sounded like rough mountain bandits. Some were gentler, calmer, more refined.

Hua Rongyue’s heart stirred.

No way all these “bandits” were scholarly strategists, right?

“Yo, what’s with the carriage?” someone at the checkpoint asked.

The bandits escorting them laughed, “Picked up a little lady along the way. Figured the second boss would be happy.”

“Why bother with a carriage? Just drag her back!” someone else jeered.

“Can’t do that — last time we caught hell for roughing up a girl,” a bandit joked, turning back toward the carriage. “Come on out, little lady!”

Inside, there was silence.

“Hey, don’t tell me she fainted?” he said, reaching out to lift the curtain — when suddenly a slender, pale hand gently pulled the curtain aside first.

A woman in a light purple robe appeared.

Her phoenix eyes were slightly raised, her lips vividly red, wearing an almost imperceptible, chilling smile.

— She was stunningly beautiful, her allure effortless and natural. Purity intertwined with innate seductiveness, yet even that seduction couldn’t overshadow her flawless beauty.

For these crude bandits, such a sight was beyond anything they had ever seen in their lives.

In fact, Hua Rongyue had once mused that the most natural-looking beauty often came from careful, deliberate effort — what modern people called “no-makeup makeup.”

Of course, these ancient thugs would have no idea. Many modern men didn’t even realize that “natural beauty” often involved layers of primer, foundation, and concealer.

This look had taken Hua Rongyue a long time to prepare — especially since ancient makeup standards were… well, let’s say primitive (just slap white powder everywhere).

Thankfully, Young Master Jiang had deep pockets and fulfilled all her strange requests for specific colors and powders.

The stunned bandit froze, hand still reaching toward the curtain.

Hua Rongyue cast a cold glance at him, making him shudder instinctively.

He wasn’t sure why — but though he had flirted with countless women before, the look this girl gave him sent a chill down his spine. His hand retracted as if electrocuted.