[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 90

Got him!

Shiliu’s heart leaped with joy, chattering like sparrows on a rooftop, but she kept a solemn expression on her face.

“Then it’s settled—no taking it back. We have to pinky swear and stamp it. Do you even know how?” By the end of her sentence, her tone carried a hint of provocation, clearly and seriously provoking the child.

True to his childish nature, Child in White bounced up like a radish pulled from the mud. His tiny finger hooked tightly around Shiliu’s hand, and he even gave it an enthusiastic shake before pressing his thumb firmly against hers, putting so much force into it that his little spine leaned into the motion.

The pressure made Shiliu sway backward slightly before she steadied herself. This time, she couldn’t help but let a small smile show.

“It’s done,” Child in Whitesaid, pouting. “Pinky swear, sealed with a stamp—a hundred years, no changing.”

Shiliu’s smile faded, replaced by a serious look in her eyes as she launched her question like a surprise attack, “You’re from a circus troupe, aren’t you?”

Child in White’s triumphant eyes widened instantly, then his long lashes drooped, masking his emotions as he glanced around evasively. “No, I’m not. What circus troupe?”

But Shiliu leaned in, looking straight into his eyes.

“Eyes can lie, ears can lie, but the nose never does.”

“At my sect, I was neither skilled in academics nor martial arts, so I had to take on chores—feeding oxen, washing horses. The sect members often brought back strange and exotic creatures of all kinds, and they’d hand them over to me to care for.”

“So, I recognize that smell—the smell I carried after a day of washing horses, grooming giant birds, and being too exhausted to straighten my back, only to find the hot water all used up by my unlucky shixiong.”

The child in White fell silent, biting his lip as he shoved her hand away from where it rested beside him. “I don’t understand!” he shouted.

But Shiliu caught his hand and spread it open in her palm.

“Then what is this?” Her tone was calm, yet held a faint, well-concealed ripple of emotion.

Child in White attempted to pull his hand back abruptly, but Shiliu held it firmly.

“What kind of parents would let such a young child tug on ropes day after day? But a circus troupe is different. Pulling tents, tying things up, walking tightropes high in the air—all of that leaves calluses like these on your hands and feet.”

Child in White said nothing, bowing his head as he let her warm palm envelop his hand.

“And earlier, you refused to take off your clothes because of the scars on your body, right? I saw them—thin, sharp marks that are hard to notice unless you look closely. That’s another trick of their trade—beating people in a way that hurts terribly but doesn’t easily break bones, so it won’t affect their ability to work.”

Child in White finally looked up, his large, round black eyes glistening with a hint of moisture as he spoke at last, “Have you been beaten too?”

That was an admission. But he was just a child, unaware that Shiliu was coaxing information from him. His first reaction upon hearing her words was to wonder if she had suffered the same hardships as he had.

A lump stuck in Shiliu’s throat, refusing to go down no matter how hard she swallowed.

She felt an inexplicable sadness. There were so many wicked people in the world, and she was one of them—using a child’s pain to extract information.

It took Shiliu a moment to continue. “I haven’t suffered.”

“Our sect often interacts with those who make a living on the rivers and lakes. We have some understanding of how they operate.”

After all, it hadn’t been long since their own sect had “changed banners on the city walls”—they, too, had come from unconventional origins.

Child in White was taken aback, then nodded to himself, a hint of happiness in his eyes, so transparent you could see straight to the bottom. “That’s good. A scaredy-cat like you would definitely cry if you were there.”

Then he smiled slightly, two small dimples appearing beside his lips as he boasted, “I never cried.”

Shiliu averted her gaze, unable to look at him any longer, and continued.

“Did something happen to your family, or were you kidnapped and sold to the circus troupe?”

Child in White froze, then a wave of excitement washed over his face. “How did you know? Are you… are you my…?”

But Shiliu didn’t see his expression and went on. “You’re wearing a longevity lock around your neck, with such a plump, round peach carved into it. Your family must have loved you dearly to engrave something so charmingly adorable.”

“You also have pierced ears. When children are frail in their early years, they’re sometimes raised as girls. I imagine your mother was worried about you, which is why she pierced your ears.”

“With so much love and care, how could they willingly send you to a circus troupe to suffer? Either your family is gone, or you were kidnapped by traffickers.”

Child in White had fallen silent the moment Shiliu interrupted him. After listening to her, he lowered his head and said, “The circus troupe leader kidnapped me.”

“They perform tricks and need small, skinny children to squeeze into narrow holes or hide in secret compartments to assist with the illusions. If the child is a girl, she disappears when she grows up. If it’s a boy, he’s put to work.”

“I was frail as a child, so I was even shorter than most. Dressed as a girl, they targeted me and kidnapped me. But when they found out I wasn’t a girl, they were furious and often beat me. Luckily, I was small and could still squeeze into holes to help with the tricks, so eventually, the beatings stopped.”

By the end of his account, Child in White even let out a somewhat innocent laugh.

But Shiliu knew what happened to those missing girls. Girls who fell into the lowest rungs of society couldn’t even hope to be sold as decent servants to wealthy families—they were sold into brothels, the kind where they had to entertain clients day and night, without refusal.

The troupe leader squeezed every last bit of value from these young children. Once they grew too big to help him deceive audiences, he sold them off like livestock.

But she didn’t say it—she couldn’t bring herself to. Instead, she smiled and patted White Lad’s head, asking, “What happened after that?”

“After that, a great fire broke out. Everyone burned to death, and Red Lad and I escaped.” He smiled again, the dimples beside his lips faintly visible.

Shiliu said nothing, then smiled at him and said, “Are you hungry? I’m really good at eating, and I’m really good at cooking too. I’ve hidden away lots of delicious treats—I bet you’ve never tried any of them.”

Child in White was easily cheered up and immediately bounced up, ready to follow her. Shiliu barely managed to hold him down before going to retrieve her treasured snacks.

When she entered the other room, Li Xuanci, He Chong, and Jin Zhan were already waiting there.

Shiliu steadied her emotions and said to her shixiong, “This time… I’m afraid it’s a Living Corpse Sha.”