Little Pink Starfish

The Gates of the Underworld Open, Evil Spirits Roam the Mortal Realm

The head of the household burst out of Huixin Bank in a frenzy, anxiously scanning the surroundings from the front steps. Young Master Gu had promised to keep watch outside—so where was he?

Both Gu Xingnuo and Gu Xinglang saw the frantic headman dash out of the bank. Gu Xingnuo subtly signaled his younger brother to stay calm, then knocked on the carriage wall.

The horse pulling the carriage snorted in response and pawed at the ground.

Hearing the commotion, the headman rushed toward the alley where the carriage was parked.

“What’s going on?” Gu Xingnuo leaned against the window and asked.

Peering inside the carriage, the headman immediately spotted Yu Xiaoxiao asleep in Gu Xinglang’s arms. His heart sank. They had been fighting a bloodbath inside, and she had the nerve to be napping in her man’s arms?!

“Xiong Xiong?” Gu Xingnuo called.

The headman threw himself against the carriage window. “Princess!”

Yu Xiaoxiao, a light sleeper who never fully shut her eyes, had long sensed the headman’s presence. Without opening her eyes, she asked, “You guys done in there?”

“Princess, you need to go quickly! Xiao Wei’s about to get beaten to death!” the headman cried.

That jolted Yu Xiaoxiao upright. “What happened to Xiao Wei?!”

The headman wasn’t about to admit, especially in front of Young Master Gu, that they’d tried robbing Yongsheng Temple’s money. He only yelled, “It’s monks from Yongsheng Temple—they were in the bank too! They’re after Xiao Wei!”

Yongsheng Temple!

Just hearing the name pissed Yu Xiaoxiao off. Why did this temple keep turning up wherever she went? Could they just not?

Gu Xinglang was skeptical. “You see monks and just assume they’re from Yongsheng Temple?”

“They said they were!” the headman shouted. “Princess, are you going to help him or not?!”

“Xiao Gu, big brother, I’m going,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, and instead of using the door, she slipped right out the window.

Gu Xingnuo wanted to warn her—be careful, don’t expose your identity—but by the time he leaned out to speak, she was already running off with the headman.

He sighed. Might as well go check on the bank himself.

Seeing his older brother get ready to leave, Gu Xinglang quickly grabbed him. “What are you doing? You going to fight too?”

“I can’t let anyone recognize the princess,” Gu Xingnuo said.

Gu Xinglang looked sheepish. “She’s wearing a veil.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, big bro. The princess isn’t stupid,” Gu Xinglang muttered.

Gu Xingnuo’s lips twitched, then he rubbed the corner of his mouth, finally managing a deadpan, “The princess is very smart.”

Leaning against the carriage window, Gu Xinglang stared at Huixin Bank. Right now, he wasn’t worried about anything—except what if his wife ran into one of those bug-filled monsters again? Of course, even though he wanted to go with her, he forced himself to stay put. In his condition, he’d only be a burden.

Gu Xingnuo sat beside him and lightly patted his shoulder. “Tell me about that monster.”

Gu Xinglang looked at him.

“You think it was human?” Gu Xingnuo asked seriously.

Gu Xinglang was stunned. A body full of bugs, black blood, arrows couldn’t kill it—how could that be human? But if it wasn’t, why did it still look like one?

“I don’t know,” he shook his head. “Maybe the gates of the underworld opened, and the evil spirits escaped to the mortal world?”

Gu Xingnuo stared at his little brother, torn between laughing and crying. A general believing in ghost stories—had he told him too many bedtime tales as a child?

Meanwhile, Yu Xiaoxiao stood in the courtyard where the carriage had been parked. Xiao Wei leaned weakly against the headman behind her. She could smell the strong stench of blood—his injuries were serious.

Two warrior monks already lay on the ground, unmoving—dead or unconscious, it wasn’t clear.

The lead monk studied Yu Xiaoxiao’s figure, sensing he’d seen her before.

The headman whispered to her, “Princess, that carriage is full of money.”

Yu Xiaoxiao glanced at Xiao Wei. “You want it?”

If Xiao Wei said no now, it’d be a disgrace after all that beating. He nodded.

Seeing that, Yu Xiaoxiao pointed to the carriage and told the monks, “I’m taking that.”

Xiao Wei bled for that loot—of course she wasn’t going to leave it.

“You’re Princess Linglong?” the head monk asked.

“Nope,” Yu Xiaoxiao shook her head without hesitation.

“You—” the monk fumed. That voice—it was totally her!

Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t waste words. She lunged forward and started beating them up. Lightning was off the table for now, but beating up monks? Child’s play.

In a flash, all the monks were down.

The headman shrank back. Watching the princess fight, he realized just how kind she’d been to him in the past.

After flooring the monks, Yu Xiaoxiao looked around. “Where’s Xiao Zhuang and the others?”

“They’re at the treasury,” the headman said quickly. “I took the banknotes, but the bank staff wouldn’t hand over the money.”

“Drive the carriage out,” Yu Xiaoxiao ordered. “I’m going to check on them.”

The headman beamed. “Yes, ma’am!”

Yu Xiaoxiao walked under the veranda, opened several room doors, and emerged with boxes—stacked ten-high—balanced on her shoulder.

The headman trailed her, eyes shining. As for how heavy those twenty-something boxes were, he didn’t even question it. He’d witnessed the princess’s freakish strength firsthand.

Xiao Wei sat on the ground in the courtyard, staring blankly at the monks.

Yu Xiaoxiao loaded all the boxes onto the carriage, then turned to the headman. “Take good care of Xiao Wei. He’s injured.”

“Yes, Princess,” the headman said earnestly. “I’ll take care of him.”

Yu Xiaoxiao crouched by Xiao Wei. “Where are you hurt?”

He looked at her and shook his head. “No internal injuries. They didn’t want me to die too fast.”

“I beat them all up,” she said.

He smiled. “Thank you for avenging me, Princess.”

She pulled out a packet of candy and shoved it into his hand. “No chocolate right now. Eat this to regain your strength. I’ll check your wounds when we get home.”