Little Pink Starfish

Streaking in a Monastery

Yu Xiaoxiao also looked down. Beneath the courtyard wall was a tall, dark clump of brush, and hidden within it was someone lying prone. She sniffed the air around the figure. At first, she didn’t believe what she smelled. She sniffed again—seven or eight times—before her brows scrunched into a tight knot. There was a scent of decay, like a rotting corpse, but it wasn’t exactly the same as a zombie’s. Mixed within was a distinctly bitter medicinal smell. In the apocalypse, no one fed medicine to zombies—nor did zombies need any.

“I’ll go down and take a look,” Xiao Wei said, preparing to jump.

“Wait.” Yu Xiaoxiao yanked him back. It wasn’t a zombie, which meant whatever it was—it was still dangerous.

“Phew…” The person in the brush groaned again.

“Stay here and wait for me,” Yu Xiaoxiao told Xiao Wei. “Unless I say otherwise, don’t come in.”

“But I—” Xiao Wei started. He couldn’t just let the princess enter the temple alone.

Before he could finish his sentence, the person in the grass suddenly sprang up. Instead of attacking them, the figure dashed toward the northeastern corner of the temple.

Xiao Wei finally got a good look—and was stunned speechless. He turned to Yu Xiaoxiao and blurted, “A woman… She’s not wearing any clothes?!”

“After her!” Yu Xiaoxiao shouted, dragging Xiao Wei down from the wall. She’d changed her mind again—if she left, and something like that came after Xiao Wei, what then? Better to keep him close.

Xiao Wei, still stunned by the sight of a naked woman streaking through the temple, ran along with Yu Xiaoxiao, hand in hand. He wasn’t even thinking about how inappropriate it was for a guard to be holding his princess’s hand right now.

The woman ran fast—but Yu Xiaoxiao could run faster. The woman stuck to the shadows, but with Yu Xiaoxiao’s enhanced eyes, she wasn’t going to lose her.

“She’s really not wearing anything!” Xiao Wei gasped, staring at the woman’s bare backside, bouncing with every step. A naked woman streaking through a monastery in the middle of the night—his entire worldview had collapsed.

Yu Xiaoxiao, judging by the speed of the woman’s movements, confirmed again: this was no zombie. Zombies could run, but their stiff limbs prevented them from moving with this kind of agility.

Now Xiao Wei was no longer shocked by the nudity. Instead, he was in awe of his princess. The wind slicing past his face as she pulled him forward felt like it could cut him—it was hard to tell if they were running or flying.

The woman darted into a pitch-black courtyard.

Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t follow blindly. She leapt onto the courtyard wall with Xiao Wei.

Under the moonlight, the courtyard looked ordinary. There were flowerbeds, corridors, stairs, wide eaves, three main rooms, side wings, and even a well under the left wall.

“Nothing looks out of place,” Xiao Wei said. “Where did that woman go?”

Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t see or hear anyone. She strained her ears—there wasn’t a single breath of life in the place.

Xiao Wei tugged at his collar. “Princess… Isn’t it a bit cold?”

“Stay close to me,” Yu Xiaoxiao instructed.

Before he could respond, she had already pulled him down into the courtyard.

As they landed, there was a sudden crack under Xiao Wei’s feet. He quickly looked down.

“Careful!” Yu Xiaoxiao shoved him aside.

Xiao Wei hadn’t even seen what he stepped on, when something flashed past his eyes.

Before the figure could reach her, Yu Xiaoxiao spun and aimed a fierce kick at its neck. Whatever it was—no head, no life.

But the person swerved suddenly to Yu Xiaoxiao’s left.

Xiao Wei rushed forward, blade in hand, and slashed at the figure’s back. These weren’t legendary swords, but as palace-issue weapons made by the Ministry of Works, they were razor-sharp. Yet when his blade struck the man’s back, the jolt numbed his hand, nearly making him drop it. “Impossible!” Xiao Wei shouted. How could a human body be as hard as stone?

The figure turned and charged at Xiao Wei.

Under the moonlight, Xiao Wei finally saw his face—and his hands trembled so violently his sword nearly fell. The man had no lips; two rows of yellow teeth were bared in a permanent snarl. His eyes… they were nothing but madness. “P-Princess?” Xiao Wei called instinctively.

Yu Xiaoxiao leapt in, pulling Xiao Wei behind her, grabbing his sword mid-spin. With no wasted movement, she swung. One clean strike—she decapitated the man. The blade curled from the force, but the job was done.

Black blood poured from the neck, its bitterness mixing with that same medicinal smell—now even stronger.

What the hell…?

Yu Xiaoxiao stared at the corpse. What kind of creature is this?

“Princess!” Xiao Wei tugged at her arm. “We need to run!”

She didn’t have to look to know—more were coming.

“What are they?” Xiao Wei had no weapon now. Remembering the hardness of that man’s back, his very bones went cold. Have we just run into monsters?

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.” Yu Xiaoxiao pulled Xiao Wei behind her again. Clearly, the courtyard must have some kind of underground chamber—elevated from the ground—otherwise, she would have noticed people earlier from the wall.

Xiao Wei looked at the figures approaching—some well-dressed, some half-naked, one even fully nude. All had grotesque faces, vacant stares or wild eyes, and looked at him and the princess like ravenous beasts seeing fresh meat.

“I knew it—Yongsheng Temple is full of bad news,” Yu Xiaoxiao muttered.

Xiao Wei took a deep breath, then suddenly grabbed her hand. “Princess, go. I’ll hold them off.” He was a guard—if he had to die, he would die protecting her.

Yu Xiaoxiao blinked. This boy lost his mind? He was trembling with fear earlier, and now he’s going all heroic on me?

“Go!” Xiao Wei shouted, shoving her.

The naked man let out a chilling “Woo!” and, in response, all the figures rushed forward—charging straight at them.