[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 21
Shiliu was sleeping soundly, dreaming of gnawing on a cured pork hock.
In her dream, she had everything: the cured sausages and pork hocks she secretly sun-dried in the backyard, the walnut cookies she excelled at making, the red berries from the mountains, and the fragrant soy sauce rice mixed with lard.
She was happily munching on the pork hock, sighing inwardly, Master, this is pure bliss.
Then the pork hock flew away, the walnut cookies crumbled, and she was left being grabbed by the collar and shaken awake, her whole body lifted mid-air, dangling precariously.
Before her eyes were fully open, she saw a frosty, icy gleam flash through the darkness.
Clang! Before Shiliu could react, the sharp blade swept past her hair and plunged deeply into the bed beneath her, a full three inches deep, revealing the wielder’s determination.
Her face still wore that cold expression, but this time it wasn’t put on—she was utterly terrified.
Who wouldn’t be scared out of their wits if they were dragged from their bed in the middle of the night and suddenly had a sword thrust at them?
Shiliu blinked, finally seeing clearly the dangerous figure looming over her. It was actually Li Xuanci.
Who else but this lunatic would go crazy in someone else’s room in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? she thought resentfully.
But she couldn’t help relaxing slightly. After all, Prince Ding couldn’t kill her, couldn’t beat her, and still needed her to break the Fate-Link Curse, so he couldn’t imprison or torture her either.
Since realizing this, Shiliu had become increasingly bold inwardly. The thick-skinned nature deep in her bones had increasingly manifested as an unflappable calm on the surface. The prince who loved killing, was skilled at killing, and wanted to kill, had become a paper tiger in her mind.
But the paper tiger looked extremely terrifying right now. Even Shiliu, thick-skinned and tough as old boots, secretly swallowed hard.
His eyes gleamed with a cold light, colder and more desolate than the moonlight filtering through the window paper. Hoarsely, he interrogated her like a criminal, demanding, “What sorcery have you cast?”
His words were full of anger when he started speaking, but by the last word, his tone had oddly softened, making it even more frightening.
Shiliu was baffled, then suddenly remembered something and felt a bit guilty. Could Li Xuanci… have discovered that the Fate-Link Curse was actually related to her array?
Her mind raced, and a trace of panic showed in her eyes, which Li Xuanci caught without missing a beat. He reached out and pinched her chin, squeezing her face out of shape, intimidating her as he said, “Speak! Did you design the nightmare I had?”
Shiliu’s eyes widened slightly. First, she felt relieved—it seemed her array hadn’t been discovered. Then she thought, He had a strange dream too? That really is odd.
“I… didn’t.” She struggled to say these three short words because Li Xuanci had her chin pinched so tightly her face was deformed. Her mouth was squeezed together like a chick’s, and she mumbled her denial unclearly.
“Lie to me, and I’ll skin you alive.” There was venom in his eyes as he spoke through gritted teeth, leaving no room for misunderstanding that this was a joke.
Unable to speak clearly, Shiliu simply shut her mouth and shook her head like a rattle-drum, quietly raising her left hand with three fingers upright as if taking an oath.
Li Xuanci’s gaze scraped over her face like a blade. Even in the darkness, she could feel how intently he was scrutinizing her, like a lion poised to snap a lamb’s neck.
Shiliu’s gaze grew even more resolute. After all, the weird dream wasn’t my doing. What I did was the Fate-Link Curse. Since Li Xuanci asked about the dream and not the curse, I’m justified and unafraid.
After a while, that spine-chilling gaze finally withdrew. The pressure on her lessened, and she finally sat up.
Seeing he was less angry, Shiliu hesitated, then asked with a serious expression, “Your Highness, actually, I had a strange dream too. Do you think it could be…?”
She wasn’t sure if it was the Fate-Link Curse or the influence of that creature, so she could only ask vaguely.
But Li Xuanci’s reaction was more intense than she expected. His jaw clenched tightly, and a vein throbbed at his temple.
“You dreamed of that enchantress too?” he asked very softly, but the killing intent in his words was thick and heavy.
Only then did Shiliu realize that… So Prince Ding also had a… sensual dream? With an enchantress?
She was about to say she dreamed of a man, but suddenly remembered that outwardly, she was a man. If she had a sensual dream, naturally, it should be about a woman. So, she stammered, “Y-yes, I also dreamed of an en… enchantress. A really fierce one.”
Li Xuanci’s gaze immediately shifted to her, faintly containing a murderous aura, as if he wanted to silence her permanently. Shiliu instinctively swallowed and tried to act obedient. “Your Highness, we’re both men. Having strange dreams isn’t exactly a loss. I heard from my master that it’s quite common.”
Her master had never taught her any such thing! But survival came first now; she could spout any nonsense.
Driven by survival instinct, Shiliu, contrary to her usual self, became talkative and began improvising wildly. “Your Highness, this matter might be related to that strange bird. Perhaps we can use this to investigate what kind of monster it really is, track its traces, and capture it sooner.”
Li Xuanci gave her another heavy look before finally averting his gaze. During his earlier movements, his outer robe had come loose, revealing the inner garment underneath—black silk, which just caught Shiliu’s eye. She was still chattering away, but her gaze drifted downward, where there seemed to be a darker patch.
“You… wet the bed?” Half-asleep, her mouth moved faster than her brain, and the words slipped out. Just how terrifying was that dream to scare him into wetting himself?
Li Xuanci pulled his robe closed as fast as lightning, then raised the sword he still held and pressed it horizontally against Shiliu’s neck.
The blood vessels in his eyes seemed to burst, revealing clear and visible fury. He applied real force, the blade cutting into Shiliu’s slender, fragile neck. Blood welled up, flowing in a dark red line against her jade-like skin.
“Do you really think I won’t kill you?” he asked, narrowing his eyes, his voice barely a whisper.
Shiliu was terrified, numb even to the pain, finally realizing her question had truly poked the tiger’s backside.
Her mind went blank, leaving only basic reflexes.
“N-no… you wouldn’t, right?”
Shiliu stared wide-eyed, trembling as she told the truth.