Little Pink Starfish

While the warriors were still holding meetings one after another, the demons had already made their decision.
#The effect of more or fewer people on meeting lengths#
#Flowing meetings, ironclad warriors#
#Bureaucrats shifting blame causing endless delays in decisions#
#Those parasitic bloodsuckers unwilling to contribute#

Hesitation leads to disaster, dear!
The downside of a vast empire is precisely this—being too large makes governance difficult. As the largest warrior empire, the Celestial Empire has deeply intertwined power structures, where every move affects the entire system. Each faction’s interests, contributions, and private calculations constantly counteract each other, preventing a clear resolution.
—Of course, one widely accepted view is that the demons must be completely crushed.
But who would do it, how to do it, and how many warriors to send—these were serious and complex issues.

However, up until this point, the matter was still confined to the Celestial Empire.
After all, the demon attacks occurred in the imperial capital, and the casualties were all Celestial Empire citizens.
But reality was far from that simple.

Even while the warriors hesitated, the demons had already begun their assault.
As impulsive, bloodthirsty, and continent-coveting demons, they charged forward like a fearless suicide squad!
Under Qi Guanrui’s urging, a series of plans were swiftly set in motion.
The first step: widespread terror attacks.

In numerous prosperous cities of the Celestial Empire, various imperial industries and major family enterprises were completely looted within just two or three days. All encountered customers were slaughtered, their bodies found in horrifying conditions, with most of their flesh and blood missing.
At the same time, many noble heirs and future prodigies met brutal and tragic deaths. Entire towns were massacred, leaving behind ghost cities. Although many warriors resisted, they were caught off guard by the well-prepared enemies. Often, they were ambushed in their sleep or killed silently by drugs that left them completely unaware of their impending doom.

The death toll quickly escalated to an astonishing number.
And the carnage wasn’t limited to the Celestial Empire—several weaker empires and many small nations suffered the same devastation.
In short, these terror attacks were nothing short of an all-out war against the entire continent!

Thus, the entire Lingwu Continent was in an uproar. The warriors’ fury ignited a blazing fire, vowing to tear the enemy to pieces!
They had identified the culprits—demons who had been exiled overseas years ago!
Warriors and demons could never coexist.
Their only possible relationship—
Kill or be killed.

At this point, an increasing number of incidents made it impossible for the empire to continue “holding meetings.” Other affected empires and small nations quickly contacted the Celestial Empire, preparing for a counterattack against the demons.
The great war between warriors and demons from years ago, fueled by scheming individuals and the demons’ unyielding desire to reclaim the continent, was about to erupt once again.
From small skirmishes, it was set to engulf the entire continent!
In the blink of an eye, months had passed.

Qi Guanrui stood by the window, gazing at the pale moonlight outside, his expression slightly twisted.
His eyes were deep and dark, unfathomable, but the smile on his lips was soft and gentle, as if everything that had unfolded over these months was simply a natural progression.
Everything was within his plan, every step under his control.
Though he had merely played the role of a subtle instigator, the ensuing chaos was fuelled by the demons’ greed and hatred, exacerbated by the warriors’ indecisiveness and cunning.
And this realization made him feel immensely satisfied—

Gu Bai: Your mum*, this is some seriously messed-up logic, do you even realise that?!

_{*[T/N: Equivalent to ‘fuck’ but personally I like ‘your mum’ better.]}

Ziche Shubai·Fake, who had just walked out of the bathroom wearing only an undergarment, shivered at the sight of the unmasked grin on Qi Guanrui’s face.
At some point, he had grown accustomed to this guy’s behaviour.
—Alright, to be fair, this man had always been a complete psycho. Now, he was simply playing at a larger scale.

Hearing movement behind him, Qi Guanrui instantly resumed his refined and gentle facade. He turned around, walked over, and took the soft white towel from Gu Bai’s hands, carefully drying his damp hair. “Gege, why are you coming out like this again? Be careful not to catch a cold.”

No, no, laozi is a dignified Wu Di—I don’t get ‘colds’ anymore.

Gu Bai stared expressionlessly at Qi Guan·Master of Mask-Changing·Rui and sighed.
No matter how much he pretended, his aura screamed villain! Damn, it really made one’s hands itch to slap him!

After meticulously drying Gu Bai’s hair, Qi Guanrui took his hand. “I’ve been very busy lately. Has gege been feeling lonely?”

Gu Bai remained poker-faced. “Aren’t you going out tonight?”

Joy flashed through Qi Guanrui’s eyes. “Gege, you really missed me…” He leaned in, wrapped his arms around Gu Bai’s waist, nuzzled against his neck, and murmured, “Since gege misses me so much, I’ll stay with gege…”

Gu Bai: Who the hell misses you?!

…But he didn’t say it out loud.

Qi Guanrui swiftly took a battle-speed shower, then hopped into bed, hugged Gu Bai, and closed his eyes.

He didn’t make a move?!
He didn’t even mention rolling in the sheets?!

For a moment, Gu Bai had complicated feelings.
They hadn’t done anything for seven days—this was a little unusual.
The original novel’s stallion protagonist, who had rolled with countless girls, wouldn’t suddenly become impotent just because he was with him, right?
Where was that lecherous snake who couldn’t go a day without fooling around, even after days of meetings?!

…Of course, it wasn’t like Gu Bai wanted to roll around.
He just found it… a bit illogical.
Academically speaking, this didn’t align with the established pattern of events.
The logic seemed… no, maybe this was the logical outcome?

For a moment, Gu Bai felt lost.
Could it be that after unlocking the novel’s true main storyline, the pervert had lost interest in sex and switched to world domination instead?
That didn’t make sense either. The true main plot of this stallion novel was actually just collecting girls…

Unable to figure it out, Gu Bai naturally lay in Qi Guanrui’s arms and, burdened with questions, drifted into slumber… yeah, right.
He was merely resting his eyes, pretending to sleep.

And just as expected! Past midnight! Qi Guanrui got up!
He didn’t sleep through the whole night!
He jumped out the window again!

Gu Bai: “……”
So laozi really has lost his appeal to this pervert, huh.
Time to cut him off for good!

A surge of anger burned in his chest, and Gu Bai leaped up as well.
He… changed into black clothing.
Heh, you think I can’t adapt, foolish human!

Then, he too, jumped out the window.

Now, we must mention how ridiculously generous this former stallion protagonist was toward his beloved.
Among the many inherited abilities of the Devouring Heaven Mystic Python, quite a few were actually useful for humans.
Later, Qi Guanrui sorted them out and passed many of them to Gu Bai.
…To enhance Gu Bai’s combat abilities.

Since Qi Guanrui had been busy networking with the upper echelons of the empire, Gu Bai had been spending his days alone at the inn, feeling bored. So, he had gone through the abilities one by one, practicing them for fun.
After all, his outward persona was that of the “aloof and untouchable Tian Du City Lord, a peerless genius dedicated solely to martial arts and Qi Guanrui.” He might as well make it even more convincing while killing time.

In pursuit of finding loopholes in Qi Guanrui’s actions, Gu Bai mastered a skill.
Called “Shadow Meld Step.”
In simple terms, it allowed him to blend into someone’s shadow and follow them undetected—a very practical ability.
—And doesn’t it look very familiar?
Because Qi Guanrui used this all the time ╮(╯▽╰)╭

Holding his breath, Gu Bai quickly caught up and melded into Qi Guanrui’s shadow as he dashed away.
Too easy!

Qi Guanrui was extremely cautious. After exiting the inn, he immediately dashed away at full speed.

Gu Bai quickly merged into Qi Guanrui’s shadow, seamlessly blending in.

It was almost too easy!

Of course, this was because Qi Guanrui had zero defenses against Gu Bai—after all, they had done everything together.

Thus, Gu Bai remained still, letting Qi Guanrui carry him along at lightning speed, traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles in a flash.

This speed… seriously, it’s faster than a race car!

Good thing I don’t get motion sickness!

Qi Guanrui didn’t run for too long—after about an hour or so, they were already far, far away from the imperial capital.

Back when his combat strength was lower, he could already travel between multiple cities in a single night. Now that he was a Wu Huang-level top-tier expert, he was even faster, steadier, and deadlier!

So, when Gu Bai snapped out of his dizziness and realised that he (and the pervert) had arrived in an unfamiliar city, he wasn’t too surprised.

But why the hell did this psycho come all the way here in the middle of the night?

Could it be…

That he has a secret lover hidden here?!

Gu Bai’s expression darkened.

…If that’s the case, I really should cut it off.

Qi Guanrui turned a corner and disappeared into the shadows beneath a building’s eaves.

Gu Bai took a deep breath, calmed himself, and followed.

Then, he noticed something.

This was a lively dark street—even at night, it was bustling with activity.

After midnight, this place became even more indulgent and extravagant.

Many high-ranking officials, noble elites, and even top-tier warriors came here for pleasure.

This was one of those classic locations in every stallion novel—
The place where the male lead has endless romantic encounters with countless beauties!

Qi Guanrui appearing here…
His intentions seemed obvious, didn’t they?

But just then—

From the most extravagant pleasure house, a woman’s shrill scream suddenly rang out.

Then, more cries of terror and the sounds of fighting followed in quick succession!

Chaos erupted in an instant.

Gu Bai’s heart tensed, and he immediately turned to look at Qi Guanrui.

And Qi Guanrui—

That psycho was smiling like a complete maniac!

Gu Bai: …WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

Qi Guanrui’s body blurred for a moment before transforming into a massive shadowy python that melted into the night.

Then, he exhaled a thick, inky-black mist—instantly engulfing the entire dark street.

In the next second—

All sounds vanished.

Qi Guanrui returned to his human form, retrieved a bottle from his spatial storage, dipped a brush into it, and began meticulously drawing on the ground—each stroke filled with an overwhelming stench of blood.

---

Pinky says: Nothing.