Little Pink Starfish

Close Your Eyes, I’ll Send You Off

The woman once again rubbed her lips against Yu Xiaoxiao’s hand, then lay prone on the ground, her milky-white eyes gazing up at her.

“Someone’s coming,” Yu Xiaoxiao said to Xiao Wei. “Wei, go take a look.”

Xiao Wei glanced at the woman and, smart enough not to ask questions, turned and vaulted over the courtyard wall in a flash.

Yu Xiaoxiao gently stroked the woman’s matted hair. “You’ve been following Wuhuan all this time, haven’t you?”

The woman whimpered softly.

“You don’t need to admit it—I know,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “Mo Wen must’ve arrived in Fengtian long ago. That bald bastard is just waiting for Wuhuan to come and die.”

The woman’s whimper grew more urgent.

“Hiding and watching Wuhuan from afar… that must’ve been painful, huh?” Yu Xiaoxiao’s voice turned heavy. She could understand why the woman hadn’t shown herself. After all, who wouldn’t want the person they loved to remember them at their most beautiful?

The woman tugged lightly at Yu Xiaoxiao’s sleeve, urging her, then pointed at the well behind her.

Yu Xiaoxiao placed her hand on the woman’s head. “After people die, they go to another world. I heard that in this world, souls go to the underworld or something. Wuhuan’s still pretty young. Once you’re in hell, make sure to reincarnate quickly. When you’re reborn and grow up to around sixteen or seventeen, you’ll be a perfect match—uncle and loli. A very sweet CP. My nanny said money can make ghosts work—I’ll burn lots of cash for you. You must be bold and spend it. Let those ghost servants grind the mill for you.”

Though she couldn’t understand what the princess was babbling about, the woman still tried her best to smile at Yu Xiaoxiao.

At that moment, a faint slithering sound rose from the courtyard floor. Yu Xiaoxiao turned around and saw red worms—hundreds of them—crawling across the bricks toward her. The men she had previously buried in the soil were now biting off their own tongues. The worms surged out of their gaping mouths, black blood flooding the ground like a putrid swamp.

The woman cried out frantically again.

“It’s alright,” Yu Xiaoxiao turned back, gently stroking her head and whispering, “Close your eyes. I’ll send you off.”

Without a second’s hesitation, the woman closed her eyes.

A bolt of lightning shot from Yu Xiaoxiao’s palm.

The woman, along with all the parasites in her body, was instantly reduced to ashes.

Yu Xiaoxiao pulled out a handkerchief, scooped up some of the ashes, and tucked it into her robe.

By now, the worms had completely surrounded her.

Yu Xiaoxiao placed both palms on the ground. Visible arcs of electricity surged through the courtyard, searing every inch with divine wrath. No matter how strong their vitality, the worms and the mindless men met the same fate as the woman—burned to nothing.

Outside the courtyard, Xiao Wei saw the blinding flash and yelled, panicked, “What happened?!”

“Nothing,” Yu Xiaoxiao answered as she stood, leaning over the edge of the well. “Just wait a moment, don’t come in yet.”

Xiao Wei leapt toward the wall, ready to hop over.

Yu Xiaoxiao added, “I’m naked.”

Xiao Wei froze mid-jump and did not enter.

Yu Xiaoxiao peered into the well. It was dry. The air rising from it carried that familiar smell—of rot and bitterness, like medicine mixed with death.

Just how many of those half-human, half-ghost monsters are hiding down there? Yu Xiaoxiao frowned, took a deep breath, and placed both palms on the stone well’s edge. Two bolts of lightning surged down the well walls and into the underground passage below.

Everything alive down there—no matter how deep—was turned to ash. The earthen walls and stone bricks scorched black from the current’s destructive heat.

When Yu Xiaoxiao finally pulled her hands away, she glanced down at them. This body was still too young, too fragile. Overusing her powers had caused the skin on her hands to wrinkle. The moment she moved her fingers, capillaries burst beneath the surface, and blood soaked her hands like they had been dipped in red dye.

At this moment, Xiao Wei ran into the courtyard. He figured that by now the princess should’ve dressed herself. When he entered and saw the blackened wreckage, he was stunned speechless. Was there a fire?

Yu Xiaoxiao was still shaking blood from her hands, annoyed at how weak this body was.

From a distance, Xiao Wei could see her shaking her hands, but not the blood. The thick burnt smell in the air made it hard to see clearly. “Princess?” he called, walking toward her. “What happened?” Don’t tell me the Empress appeared again and summoned lightning? But I didn’t hear any thunder…

Yu Xiaoxiao tucked her hands behind her back, wiped them on her clothes, and said casually, “Oh, those guys… they breathed fire.”

Xiao Wei stared like he’d been struck by lightning. They not only had worms growing inside them, but could also breathe fire?!

Yu Xiaoxiao added, “Xiao Wei, I think those people were Mo Wen’s men. Damn it, I think Mo Wen is trying to take over the world.”

Xiao Wei stammered, “Yong… Yongsheng Temple people?”

Yu Xiaoxiao shook her head. “You think they still count as people?”

Xiao Wei paused. Yeah, if they’re not people… then what the hell are they?

“Come on,” Yu Xiaoxiao hopped off the stone platform beside the well. “They tried to burn me, but ended up burning themselves.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Well, they missed me and burned each other instead.”

Xiao Wei’s mouth twitched. No one’s going to believe that…

Yu Xiaoxiao was still shaking her numb hands—they didn’t even feel like hers anymore.

“Are we still… going to set the fire?” Xiao Wei asked.

“Uh…” Yu Xiaoxiao considered it. “We’ve got the antidote. Do we still need to fight Mo Wen?”

Xiao Wei really wanted to leave. Any human who saw monsters would want to run away. But he still asked, “What about Prince Jing?”

“Right,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “And Tian Xingzi’s there too.”

Xiao Wei held his forehead. Can’t we just leave the old Taoist to his fate?

“Let’s go burn the place,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, heading toward the courtyard gate.

On the pagoda terrace of the temple, one of Mo Wen’s attendant monks watched the blinding flash in horror. “What kind of light was that?” he muttered.

Tian Xingzi looked toward the northeast corner, convinced that it had to be Princess Linglong’s doing.

Jing Mo turned to Mo Wen. “Master, has something happened at the temple?”

Mo Wen remained calm, but cast a glance at Chengguan, who still sat silently by his side. “Such an omen… I’ve never seen one before. Someone—go check it out.”

Two monks received the order and, skipping the stairs, leapt directly from the terrace.

In the northeast courtyard, Mo Wen tapped his teacup with a finger, his gaze darkening. Something’s not right.