Little Pink Starfish

There were two demon men—one for you, one for me—simply put, that was the plan.

Qiguan Rui intended to let the patrol squad continue searching while he first released his snake gu to parasitise the targets and test the waters. Of course, even if these demons weren’t the brightest, they were still wu di-level powerhouses, so he couldn’t use just any low-grade gu. Moreover, complete control wouldn’t happen instantly; there would always be a delay.

He needed to stall for a bit before leading the others there. Once everyone was gathered, he had ways to orchestrate a perfect performance.

The snake gu could expand or shrink at will, slithering unseen across the ground. It swiftly crawled along the shadows of rooftops and through cracks in the walls, moving far ahead. Soon, it located the two well-hidden demons and burrowed into their bodies.

For a brief moment, the two men’s expressions flickered with confusion before they gradually fell under the subtle influence of the gu…

Qiguan Rui sensed the effect and was quite satisfied. Since their combat strength was significantly lower than his, controlling them was faster than expected. Glancing at the young elites around him, he sighed inwardly.

Long Yuanba’s physique made him a difficult host, almost impossible to parasitise. Moreover, most of their current squad consisted of Long Yuanba’s admirers and followers. For the sake of a smooth operation, it was best not to touch them for now.

Although Qiguan Rui looked down on most people’s intelligence, he was still a cautious man. Until he had secured greater authority, he wouldn’t act as if he ruled the world—he was a man with responsibilities now!

After several rounds of house searches, enough time had passed. Testing the control, Qiguan Rui found no issues. If he didn’t use this moment to earn some credit, then when would he? This was a golden opportunity to build trust! He knew that in the eyes of the higher-ups, he was still under evaluation—a young wu huang was both a symbol of genius and a potential threat.

And so, Qiguan Rui suddenly turned his sharp gaze toward a particular direction. “Who’s there?!”

Long Yuanba reacted immediately. “Rui-di*, what did you find?” _{*[T/N: Younger brother.]}

# Every grand, soul-stirring novel has its X-brother and X-little-brother.
# There is always an inexplicable tension between the protagonist and his rival.
# When the protagonist and his rival grow close…

…No, no, no. If I keep thinking like this, I’ll be stealing my own partner.

—Gu Bai, upon first hearing “Rui-di”

Qiguan Rui’s lips twitched. “Long-xiong, I think I saw someone over there.”

Indeed, whenever someone says ‘There’s someone over there’, the odds of an event triggering skyrocket! It’s also the prime moment for schemes to be exposed!

Sure enough, Long Yuanba and the other lackeys—no, the other young elites—all turned their heads in sync. “Could it be…?”

Qiguan Rui nodded solemnly. “We must pursue and investigate immediately!”

Someone echoed, “Indeed, it’s worth a look!”

Better to chase the wrong lead than to miss the right one! If it was correct but they let it slip by, that would be a tragic loss!

Just as Qiguan Rui anticipated, everyone charged in that direction.

And naturally, the fastest runners were Qiguan Rui and Long Yuanba.

Since Qiguan Rui had the highest combat strength, he took the lead in directing their movements.

Under his subtle guidance, the group quickly arrived at a narrow alleyway.

This area was filled with similar alleys, home to many ordinary martial artists and non-practitioners. It was essentially a slum. Why such places existed in the grand imperial capital? Well…

Plot convenience.

In the original novel, the protagonist had once hidden here after a battle injury, conveniently stumbling upon the flower of the slums—a beautiful girl who stood out despite the setting.

Even if every other resident looked malnourished and sickly, the slum flower would always be radiant, with skin as fair as jade and a conveniently tragic yet noble background.

Of course, in this timeline, that slum flower was still under ten years old, so there was nothing to worry about.

Sure enough, as soon as they reached the alley entrance, all the young elites had the same reaction—

Disgust.

What the hell is this?! Even if we don’t have a cleanliness obsession, why is there mud and black sludge everywhere?!

And why is dirty water randomly being dumped from above?!

Everyone here walks around with murderous looks—where’s the kindness?!

Are we still young elites?! Shouldn’t we be treated with a little more dignity?!

Not to mention the occasional creepy face peeking out from corners, eyes flickering ominously before retreating into the darkness.

The faces of the residents were so obscured by grime that identifying anyone would be a nightmare. It was as if they had stepped into an entirely different world.

Yet, Qiguan Rui remained composed, smiling gently. “They’re in here. Be cautious, gentlemen. Use your wu qi to protect yourselves.”

At that moment, the young elites looked at Qiguan Rui with conflicted expressions.

How is he so calm?

This doesn’t make sense—he’s a wu huang! Shouldn’t he be more sensitive to the environment?!

Long Yuanba cleared his throat. “Capturing demons is the priority. It’s precisely in places like this that they’re most likely to hide!”

The young elites exchanged glances before reluctantly agreeing. “Long-xiong is right. We should search thoroughly!”

Then, everyone pinched their noses and ventured inside.

Layers of wu qi shielded them from the filth. Even when random liquids dripped from above, they were blocked from contact.

Still—

Damn it, would you enjoy having dirty water splashed onto your umbrella?! NO! This sucks!

And wu qi is transparent, so we can still see the disgusting stuff running down the sides—

This is like walking through a nightmare!

Determined to escape this hellhole as soon as possible, Qiguan Rui swiftly led them deeper into the maze of alleys, away from the worst of the grime.

As they neared the centre, the surroundings improved slightly. Some stronger martial artists had chosen to live in this area.

Pretending to scan his surroundings, Qiguan Rui pointed to a spot. “They should be over there!”

Long Yuanba and the others knew he couldn’t possibly see that clearly. If he could, they’d have to start questioning him. So, they took his word for it and surrounded the area.

Onlookers were swiftly cleared away.

Long Yuanba raised a hand. “Search every house!”

Determined to leave as soon as possible, the young elites worked efficiently, knocking on doors and searching each home.

Most of the buildings were small, single-storey structures, making searches quick. Even the taller ones had simple layouts.

In just under two hours, they had searched dozens of homes—

With nothing to show for it.

The young elites were getting impatient.

Seeing this, Qiguan Rui knew it was time.

He stopped at a previously searched house—coincidentally the very place the demon men were hiding.

“Wait, something’s off here.”

Long Yuanba immediately rushed over with his men. “Rui-di, what did you find?”

Qiguan Rui pressed a foot against the ground. “Something feels… strange here.”

Being wu huang-level, his sensory perception was naturally more refined.

Everyone believed him instantly.

Long Yuanba turned serious. “Tear up the floor!”

The young elites sprang into action.

The next moment, the floorboards shattered and two black shadows shot out like lightning!

Long Yuanba’s eyes lit up. “Stop them!” These guys were clearly guilty! Rui-di was amazing—another major contribution!

Feeling as though his luck had been unstoppable ever since meeting Rui-di, Long Yuanba personally leapt forward to intercept them.

Even at wu di level, the demon men couldn’t break through the encirclement.

A swarm of young elites descended upon them. Escape was impossible.

As the strongest fighter present, Qiguan Rui stood guard at the outermost edge, blocking their path.

The young elites, still fuming from their ordeal in the slums, unleashed their frustrations. Even Long Yuanba, usually composed, struck harder than necessary.

Despite their formidable strength, the demon men were eventually overwhelmed.

Qiguan Rui nodded in satisfaction. All according to plan.

Long Yuanba, elated, declared, “Rui-di, it’s thanks to your keen instincts that we caught them! I will personally ensure you receive great merit!”

Qiguan Rui smiled and clasped his hands. “It was only possible thanks to everyone’s skill. Even if I sensed them, we couldn’t have caught them without you all.”

The others beamed with pride.

Yes! They had succeeded where others failed! Time to bask in the glory!

But as they marched toward the imperial palace, Qiguan Rui made his next move…

****

Pinky says: This really doesn’t feel like the end of a novel, how is this going to end in four chapters.