Little Pink Starfish

Black Hair Wrapped Around My Fingers

Yu Xiaoxiao checked Chengguan’s wound, then watched him drink the herbal medicine that Granny Wang had brought over. Only after confirming all was well did she finally leave the room.

Naturally, Granny Wang followed closely behind her princess. These days, she found everyone an eyesore. Even when she saw His Majesty that afternoon, she felt like shouting at him for no reason. Granny Wang began to seriously wonder if she really had that so-called “menopause” illness her princess had mentioned.

“Granny,” Yu Xiaoxiao said after stepping out of the room where the State Preceptor had fallen asleep, “you should go sleep now. It’s bad for a woman’s looks to stay up too late.”

Granny Wang knew this was her princess being concerned, but years of scolding Yu Xiaoxiao made her instinctively retort, “Then why aren’t you sleeping, Your Highness?”

“I’m a doctor right now,” Yu Xiaoxiao replied matter-of-factly. “If I go to bed, who’ll take care of the patient?”

“You are the princess!” Granny Wang stressed again.

Yu Xiaoxiao nodded without argument. “Alright, I’m the princess.”

“It’s not ‘alright’—you are the princess!”

“Yes, I am the princess,” Yu Xiaoxiao said obediently. “Now go to bed. If you’re feeling irritable, go yell at someone.”

Granny Wang blinked. “Your Highness, who could I possibly go yell at?”

Without thinking, Yu Xiaoxiao replied, “Tian Xingzi.”

Just the mention of that shabby scammer made Granny Wang’s temper spike again.

“I’m going to bed,” Yu Xiaoxiao said quickly, seeing Granny Wang’s plump face starting to twist. She turned and bolted.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Gu Xingnuo sat in silence, listening to the departing footsteps. Only once Granny Wang’s steps faded did he whisper to the State Preceptor, “Thank you.”

Chengguan gave a slight shake of his head. “I don’t know if what I did was right.”

Gu Xingnuo let out a bitter laugh.

Seeing the blood trickling from Gu Xingnuo’s lips, Chengguan sighed deeply. “You’re wounded, too. Take care of yourself—for your brother’s sake.”

Gu Xingnuo stood, cupped his hands in a salute, and walked out.

Chengguan stared at the pale canopy above his bed, a mess of thoughts tangled in his mind. The failed mission, Gu Xinglang… He couldn’t make sense of any of it.

Outside, Gu Xingnuo wandered the corridors like a lost soul. The courtyard was silent in the deep of night, broken only by the chirping of autumn insects. Before he knew it, he was standing outside the courtyard shared by Yu Xiaoxiao and Gu Xinglang. The room was lit inside. He stood there, stunned, grief rising in his chest to the point where he nearly sobbed out loud.

Yu Xiaoxiao pushed open the door and entered to find Gu Xinglang sitting on the bed, hugging his head.

When the door opened, Gu Xinglang looked up, lowering his hands.

Yu Xiaoxiao immediately approached. “Xiao Gu, does your head still hurt?”

Gu Xinglang shook his head. “Xiaoxiao, I feel like I’ve forgotten something.”

She sat beside him. After some rest, he looked better, though the deep purple bruises around his throat still looked terrible. Yu Xiaoxiao reached out to touch his face. “If it’s about Mo Wen hitting you, just forget it. It’s not exactly a pleasant memory.”

“My brother said I have a strong life,” Gu Xinglang murmured.

“Exactly,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “Even the State Preceptor was seriously injured, and so many people died, but you survived without a scratch. You were really lucky.”

Gu Xinglang clutched the bedding. “How many people died today?”

“I don’t know,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “My dad didn’t tell me.”

“There were twenty-three of us who went to Huguo Temple,” he whispered.

Yu Xiaoxiao tilted her head. Living in a post-apocalyptic world had taught her to value life but also to accept death. She didn’t quite understand why he looked so stricken. “So?”

“They’re all dead,” Gu Xinglang muttered. “Only I survived…”

Before he could say more, Yu Xiaoxiao pressed a hand to his mouth. “Then you’ll have to avenge them. We’ll figure out how to kill that bastard Mo Wen together.”

“Do we still have a way?” he asked her.

Yu Xiaoxiao scowled. “If my body weren’t so small and my stamina so crap, how could Mo Wen have escaped? It’s all your fault! I said from the beginning we should get rid of Mo Wen and Wen Fenglin, but you all told me the Yongsheng Temple was untouchable, and attacking them would mean national doom. So I held back. And now look what happened—you failed to kill him yourselves. Who else is there to blame?”

Gu Xinglang bit his lip until a small hollow formed. “It’s my fault.”

“Are you stupid?” Yu Xiaoxiao poked his forehead. “You can’t even walk right now. How were you supposed to fight Mo Wen—bite him to death?”

Gu Xinglang had no response to that.

Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered something and slapped her thigh. “Right, I forgot to ask the State Preceptor why he sealed your senses. Was he afraid you’d be scared by the bloodshed or something? You’re a soldier—afraid of blood?”

“I asked him on the way to the temple,” Gu Xinglang said. “He wouldn’t tell me.”

“Wouldn’t say?” Yu Xiaoxiao snorted. “That’s how you know he’s from Yongsheng Temple. All cryptic and mysterious—talking in riddles.”

Gu Xinglang nodded in agreement. “I’ll ask him again when I visit tomorrow.”

Yu Xiaoxiao lightly patted his cheek. “What’s done is done. Now we deal with the consequences. Don’t beat yourself up.”

Gu Xinglang pulled her into his arms. After waking up, his heart had felt unsettled. Holding her finally eased it a bit.

“I’m not even undressed,” she muttered. “You want to sleep like this?”

Smiling faintly, Gu Xinglang helped her take off her shoes and outer robe. “Now?”

She pointed at her hair.

He looked at her bun, reached up, and began to carefully undo her hairpin and unravel her hair.

Yu Xiaoxiao fiddled with the jade hairpin in her hand and sighed. “I don’t know how to do these hairstyles, or undo them. What am I supposed to do?”

“I’m here,” Gu Xinglang said gently, his fingers weaving through her soft black hair. Silky strands coiled around his fingers like spring mist. Suddenly, he pulled her down into bed with him.