[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 23

That night, after Shiliu’s stomach had chosen the most inappropriate moment to growl, Li Xuanci had stared coldly at her for a long time before finally uttering, “You’d better know what’s good for you,” and leaving with his sword.

Left behind on the bed was a stunned Shiliu, her face still smeared with blood.

She felt utterly wronged. From start to finish, this entire ordeal had been Li Xuanci’s one-man show. Had she not been obedient enough?

He had barged in in the middle of the night, gone mad, severed a lock of her hair, suddenly turned hostile, made her neck and chest bleed, and finally, like a lunatic, smeared blood all over her face.

Just to survive, she had exhausted a lifetime’s worth of flattery in one go.

Shiliu was usually taciturn and reserved around outsiders, but within her inner circle, she was quite the sly one—acting cute and coquettish with her master, playful and cheeky with her senior brothers. Fortunately, she was generally well-behaved. Aside from being a bit gluttonous, she had no major flaws, and she tended to forget past grievances quickly. So, her sect secretly indulged her.

But now, tied to this king of hell, Shiliu couldn’t act spoiled or play her usual tricks. Instead, she had to constantly curry favor.

Because of this Fate-Link, Shiliu was forced to reclassify Li Xuanci from “outsider” to “insider.”

Fuming, she climbed out of bed and struggled to find some cloth to bandage her wounds. In truth, the cuts weren’t deep—if she had delayed a little longer, the bleeding would have likely stopped on its own.

What truly startled her was when she went to wash her face and caught her reflection in the bronze mirror atop the washbasin. She nearly stumbled and fell flat on her back.

For a Taoist, this was truly a disgrace to her sect’s dignity.

After finally bandaging her wounds and washing her face, Shiliu climbed back into bed, her heart filled with anxiety.

But her worry wasn’t about the uncertain road ahead or the looming threats. Instead, she was fretful that, now fully awake from the commotion, would she even be able to fall asleep? If she didn’t sleep now and overslept tomorrow, missing breakfast, what would she do? She had specifically asked the steward to prepare duìjiā and pea flour cakes for her. It would be such a waste to miss them.

Burdened by such concerns, Shiliu slept soundly until daybreak.

The next day, after finishing breakfast—fully satiated and energized—Shiliu made her way to the back hill. She took out the pigeon whistle hidden in her robe and blew into it a few times, producing short, rhythmic notes.

Then she lay down on the grassy hilltop, kicking her feet idly as she waited. Sure enough, a pigeon with a distinctive white ring around its neck soon descended.

She retrieved a message from the thin bamboo tube attached to its leg, then pulled out some leftover egg yolk from her robe. While the pigeon eagerly pecked at the treat, Shiliu unfolded the letter and read it carefully.

Her expression grew serious as she read, and after a moment, she let out a soft sigh of relief. Her senior brothers were continuing north, tracking the Heavenly Dog, while also gathering information about the strange bird for her.

According to her senior brother, they had encountered many small, newly transformed spirits along the way, all fleeing outward.

This was rather peculiar. Generally, spirits—whether derived from plants, trees, or animals—would not easily leave the place where they had cultivated their physical forms, as they relied on the local spiritual energy. Before their foundations were stable, they seldom moved away. Yet, entire groups were fleeing—truly peculiar.

Her senior brother had used some methods to learn from them that these spirits had originally resided near Tongzi County.

Recently, the area had been hit by continuous floods. Although casualties were few, rumors spread that an unprecedented great flood might soon occur. These spirits, closely connected to nature and its energies, had sensed it early and were fleeing to avoid such a catastrophic disaster.

Moreover, it was said that just before the floods, a winged, eerily agile creature had been spotted. Her senior brother urged her to investigate whether it might be the same bird monster from that day and to be extremely careful not to approach it lightly. If she confirmed its whereabouts, she should inform him immediately. Once he finished investigating the Heavenly Dog matter, he would personally come to capture the bird monster.

Shiliu sighed, plucking a blade of grass to chew on anxiously. Of course, she didn’t dare act recklessly—she valued her life far too much.

But Prince Ding was like a powder keg—not only unpredictable in his moods but growing increasingly volatile. She had only managed to temporarily save herself and her martial brothers by promising him she could capture the male bird and break the Fate-Link curse.

If she delayed any longer and failed to find that bird, she feared her skin would soon be stripped off to line his carriage.

No—wait—to decorate his grave.

The thought of their shared fate made her chuckle foolishly for a moment.

But her amusement was short-lived, soon replaced by another sigh. Why was her luck so wretched? On her first journey far from home, she had to encounter a calamity even more troublesome than any yaoguai.

With a pout, Shiliu rolled over carefully to avoid pressing on her wounds, secretly steeling her resolve.

She had to go to Tongzi County.

And she had to make Li Xuanci—with his power, wealth, and strength—take her there. She had no intention of ending up drowned in some flood without even knowing why.

She had to capture that male bird.

After all, she couldn’t stay tied to someone like him for life. Never mind his unwillingness—she was even less willing herself.

And she even had to keep Li Xuanci appeased.

If she failed to catch the bird, she needed to coax him into not tormenting her further. If she succeeded and the curse was broken, he would be free to kill her without restraint.

So, she had to win him over now, make him useful to her, and then flee the moment the curse was lifted.

The road ahead was long and winding, and Shiliu would have to navigate it with care.

Lost in thought, she tossed the remaining egg yolk from her palm, brushed her hands clean, and headed for the study.

Tongzi County.

Inside a dim woodshed, its small window haphazardly boarded up, light struggled through the gaps in fractured beams.

The room was heavy with a stagnant chill that seeped into the bones. Roughly scattered straw covered the floor, where a small figure lay motionless.

Outside, the sunlight was brilliantly warm, and the soft laughter of children drifted faintly on the air.

“My kite—it fell down,” murmured a little girl, delicate as carved jade, in the courtyard.

She had sneaked out during nap time to fly her kite, avoiding her nursemaid Chunqing. On tiptoe, she followed where the kite had landed until she reached a strange building she had never seen before.

Curious, she peered through a gap in the wooden boards, but it was pitch-dark inside.

Rising on her toes, she strained to see into the deep, hollow darkness that seemed to stretch endlessly.

Suddenly, a pair of eyes appeared—whites and dark pupils—staring back at her from an unnervingly close distance.

The girl stumbled backward, nearly falling, trembling too much to run.

But after a moment frozen in fear, she realized they were human eyes, not like the monsters from storybooks.

Gathering a shred of courage, curiosity overcoming her fear, she looked inside again. This time, she could make out a child who seemed about her own age.

In a soft, gentle voice, she asked, “Who are you?”