[To Become a River of Stars] Dong Xiange - Chapter 91

Shiliu steadied her emotions and said to her senior brother, “This time, I’m afraid it’s a Living Corpse Fiend.”

He Chong immediately stood up, his expression turning grave. “Are you certain? Is it truly a Living Corpse Fiend?”

Shiliu shook her head slightly and recounted her conversation with the White Child.

Jin Zhan looked puzzled and asked, “But you both said that White Child shows no trace of demonic aura. How can you tell he’s that… what was it… Living Corpse Fiend?”

Li Xuanci, however, narrowed his eyes for a moment before looking up and asking, “This Living Corpse Fiend—I presume it isn’t actually alive?”

Shiliu was surprised. Living Corpse Fiends were extremely rare; even within Daoist circles, not everyone was familiar with them, let alone someone like Li Xuanci, who had never studied esoteric arts. Yet, judging by his tone, it seemed he had already discerned the truth.

Perhaps her astonishment was too evident, for with just one glance, Li Xuanci understood completely.

“Based on what you just said, if he wasn’t lying, then there must be something peculiar about it,” he began.

“Take his longevity locket, for example. If he had truly been in such a place, would they have let him keep it until now? It would have been stripped away long ago.”

“Moreover, he claimed that the fire burned everyone in the circus troupe to death, yet somehow he and the other child escaped unscathed, without even a single burn scar. And now, they possess the ability to control sinister flames. If he were truly alive, I’d be nothing short of impressed.”

With just a few words, Li Xuanci laid bare all the inconsistencies. He sat sideways under the lamplight, his profile as sharp as if carved by a fine blade. Casually toying with a blue porcelain cup in his hand, he appeared nonchalant, yet his words struck with deadly precision.

He had never believed that there were so many coincidences in the world. Whether good or evil, cause and effect were often intertwined—one only needed to tug at a single thread to unravel the truth from the tangled mess.

Shiliu blinked twice, suddenly feeling a sense of frustration. An urge surged within her to knock herself on the head—why couldn’t she be as clever as him?

No, she was already quite intelligent. Since childhood, she had devoured countless books. Even the bookworms gnawing through ancient texts in the library probably hadn’t memorized as much as she had.

Yet, why couldn’t she be like him? Even without being at the scene, even with only a brief retelling, he could instantly pinpoint the crucial details.

But Shiliu wasn’t one to dwell on discouragement.

When her horse stance wasn’t as steady as her senior brother’s, she had strapped sandbags to herself and practiced for three days straight, until she collapsed exhausted on her bed. When her talismans weren’t drawn neatly enough, she secretly saved her allowance to buy stacks of blank talisman paper, yet no matter how much she practiced, they still didn’t look perfect.

But so what? Every time Shiliu pushed herself to the limit, she would rub her sore arms and legs, then pat her belly to comfort herself—at least she had a hearty appetite. She could eat, and she loved to eat. That was a strength others couldn’t match. So, it was only natural that she might fall short in some areas compared to others.

Now, Shiliu once again gave her belly a little pat before nodding in response.

“You guessed right,” she said, her round head bobbing slightly. Then she continued, “And his longevity locket is engraved with his birth date. I calculated it—he should be twelve years old by now, yet he still looks like a child of five or six. No matter how frail he might be, he shouldn’t appear that young.”

After hearing this, He Chong rested his chin on his hand in deep thought before saying, “If that’s the case, it really might be a Living Corpse Fiend.”

However, when he turned and saw Jin Zhan standing quietly behind Li Xuanci, his face filled with an expression of “I don’t understand, but as a loyal and reticent subordinate, I won’t ask unnecessary questions,” He Chong nearly laughed aloud. Hurriedly, he employed the same pretentious solemnity he had inherited from his junior sister and began to explain with a serious demeanor.

“Human life is divided into the living and the dead. The living have complete souls, while the dead have dispersed souls—either passing into the underworld or vanishing into the great cycle of heaven and earth. If a soul drifts aimlessly, it becomes a ghost. In any case, every being in this world—human, ghost, spirit, or demon—has its place.”

“But the Living Corpse Fiend is different. It is already dead, yet unlike ghosts, which have no physical form and only wandering souls, and unlike spirits, which are cultivated from living beings, it has no soul. Yet, it behaves exactly like a living person—it can breathe, bleed, and experience the full range of human emotions. It is an extremely rare phenomenon.”

“The Living Corpse Fiend is more like a manifestation of a mortal’s lingering attachments from their lifetime. Thus, its appearance and temperament often reflect these attachments.”

Shiliu nodded and continued, “In the case of the White Child, he was lost when he was about five or six years old. Before that, he was deeply loved by his family, but afterward, he suffered immensely. That’s why, after becoming a Living Corpse Fiend, his appearance remained that of a young child. He still has the ear piercings his mother gave him and the longevity locket his family placed around his neck.”

“His lingering attachments likely also include the torment he endured in the circus troupe, which is why the whip marks on his body and the calluses on his hands and feet remain.”

He Chong’s expression turned troubled. He glanced at Shiliu and finally spoke up, “If it really is a Living Corpse Fiend, we must not take it lightly. A single misstep could lead to disaster. We must… deal with it as soon as possible.”

Shiliu remained silent. She knew her senior brother was right. Living Corpse Fiends defied the natural order of heaven and earth, existing outside the bounds of fate, and were extremely dangerous. Moreover, the fire the previous night had already revealed the potential calamity.

Having been a Daoist for sixteen years, Shiliu knew what she ought to do. She neither agreed nor disagreed, instead evasively changing the subject. She mentioned that she had promised the White Child to bring him some tasty treats and couldn’t go back on her word. Then, she left first.

She left behind a worried He Chong, the stoic-faced Jin Zhan, and Li Xuanci, who watched her retreating figure with thoughtful eyes.

Shiliu had made a promise, but when she did, she had forgotten that her carefully hoarded snacks had been completely burned in the fire. So, she went out to buy some ordinary treats, feeling somewhat guilty inside.

Fortunately, it seemed the White Child hadn’t eaten snacks in a long time. He held the peach-shaped pastry for a long while before finally taking a bite. As he did, his eyes lit up.

But after eating just one, he carefully wrapped the remaining pastries in a paper bag. Shiliu found this strange and urged him, “There are so many left. Have a few more. If it’s not enough, I’ll buy more for you.”

The White Child, however, just gently patted the paper bag hidden in his sleeve, pursed his lips to swallow the soybean powder on them, and then smiled, revealing his small canine teeth. “I want to save some for others. They’ve never tasted such sweet treats either.”

Shiliu’s heart stirred, but she kept her expression neutral as she asked, “Are they your family?”

The White Child nodded slightly. “The Red Child and Lady Mouse—they’ve never had any.”

Lady Mouse? Just as Shiliu was about to ask, the White Child lowered his head and whispered to her, “Actually… actually, you look like someone too.”

Shiliu was taken aback, remembering how during the earlier interrogation, when discussing his background, the White Child had once excitedly asked her if she was, if she was his…

“Is it your family? That Lady Mouse?” she asked.

The White Child shook his head.

“It’s my family from before. I had an older sister,” he said, looking up with a bright gleam in his eyes and a smile. “She was like you—round face, round eyes.”

Shiliu was speechless. The lump in her throat grew heavier, so heavy it made her uncomfortable, so heavy she could no longer sit there.

She made an excuse and fled. She didn’t go to her senior brother, nor did she go to buy more snacks. Instead, she sat alone in an inconspicuous, dark corner at the turn of the stairs, burying her head in her hands, unwilling to think about anything.

She didn’t know how long she had been sitting in the darkness when something lightly hit her head. Shiliu opened her eyes and instinctively caught a date that had fallen from above.

Beside her, Li Xuanci leaned against the wall with an unconcerned, roguish demeanor, casually tossing a date in his hand. When he saw her look up, he smirked.

“Getting so worked up over such a small matter—how useless.”

Shiliu stared blankly, too stunned to respond.

Seeing her dazed expression, Li Xuanci tossed another date at her, as if to knock some sense into the foolish girl.

“Say something nice. If you make me happy, I might let you keep him.”

Though his words were mocking, his eyes were like beautiful glass, holding a flicker of warmth within.