Little Pink Starfish

The phone on the coffee table rang. The ringtone was a track from Inuyasha called “Soul Collectors.”

Mellow and haunting flute music played — a wistful, eerie tune. It was the background music that accompanied Kikyo’s appearance, after she had been resurrected with no one left by her side, only surrounded by glowing soul collectors, floating like orbs of light.

Every time she showed up like that, this was the song that played.

Yuan Yuanyuan walked into the bathroom to wash her face, bringing her phone along and tapping the speakerphone button.

“Yuanyuan, what are you up to?” came the cheerful voice of a girl on the other end.

“Mmmpf…” Yuan Yuanyuan had her face submerged in water and let out two muffled sounds.

“Oh, washing your face.” The girl replied knowingly. “Hey, Yuanyuan, have you read that new comic strongly recommended on DreamComic lately?”

“Which one? Amazing Class 3-B or whatever?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked, patting her face dry and glancing over at her phone.

“No, I mean Monster Chronicles!” the girl said.

Yuan Yuanyuan hung up the towel, raised her head, and looked up at the ceiling.

“Yeah, I’ve read it. What about it?” She picked up a comb and started tying her hair into a small bun as she talked.

“No big deal. I just wanted to ask if you could make a costume for Ran-niang,” the girl asked on the phone.

“…Sure.” Yuan Yuanyuan finished her hair, stuck the wooden comb back in place.

Even though she sounded calm when the girl brought up Monster Chronicles, inside Yuan Yuanyuan was freaking out.

What if she asked something she shouldn’t?

— “Did you see the guy in black?”

…Yes. Yes, I did.

— “What do you think of him?”

…Pretty cool. Yeah. Cool.

DreamComic was the platform where Monster Chronicles was published — both online and in print. The print version often featured popular comics and bonus content at the end, like author interviews or behind-the-scenes sketches — little Easter eggs for fans.

Today was the release of the latest print issue. Normally, Yuan Yuanyuan only read the web version, but today she had gotten up early to grab a copy from the newsstand downstairs.

She ripped open the plastic packaging and flipped straight to the interview section in the back. Names flew by: Widuka, Appetizer, Li Xiaoli… all familiar artists.

But “Jiqiu” was nowhere to be found.

She clicked her tongue and tossed the comic back onto the table — thirty bucks down the drain.

Yuan Yuanyuan had been trying to figure out who this “Jiqiu” was. But even the print edition didn’t offer a shred of info about the mysterious artist.

Plenty of comic artists even posted photos of themselves in interviews — but not this one.

Over the past few days, she had scoured the internet for anything related to “Jiqiu.” All she found was the name… and a big hand-drawn cat avatar. The cat had dead eyes and a pervy expression.

No Weibo, no QQ, no contact info at all.

Yuan Yuanyuan was at her wits’ end. She’d considered all kinds of crazy plans, even thought about applying for a job at the magazine…

At one point, she even thought about transforming her whole appearance again — maybe dye her hair pink or something…

All of these were desperation moves — cornered-animal level thinking. But to her surprise, after a whole week of anxiety, no one showed up to confront her. Her life went on as normal, completely undisturbed.

Only in the last couple of days did Yuan Yuanyuan start to calm down. She thought, Since the comic ended with the exorcist not catching the guy in black… maybe that means the artist never figured out it was me either?

One thing’s for sure: Yuan Yuanyuan had full confidence in her escape and shapeshifting skills. She’d never failed to pull off a disguise.

She tossed the comic onto her shelf, returned to her bedroom, and thought back on the phone call.

The caller was a college friend from their cosplay club. Back then, Yuan Yuanyuan had just turned half-yokai and was deep in her “edgy second adolescence.”

She and that girl had stayed in touch for years — one of the few connections Yuan Yuanyuan had held onto.

That friend had been the club’s beauty queen — a makeup artist and cosplayer rolled into one. Yuan Yuanyuan had just been a background filler. Years had passed — the friend was married with kids, and Yuan Yuanyuan… was still single and broke.

She flopped onto her bed and flicked on her bedside lamp. The “Ran-niang” her friend mentioned was a character from Monster Chronicles — the girl in red with long black hair.

To be specific, it was the yokai girl who got killed off in the chapter published last week. Her character was a spy who infiltrated the exorcist faction.

Then again, knowing this artist’s style… maybe someone named Ran-niang actually died a few days ago.

Yuan Yuanyuan rubbed her chin. Man, this artist’s scary good — even these hidden details are spot on. How does he know this stuff?

She didn’t dwell on it too long. Instead, she opened Taobao and searched for Ran-niang cosplay outfits — and found quite a few.

Monster Chronicles had built up a decent fanbase, thanks to its high-quality art and storytelling. Fans showed their love through merch, cosplay outfits, or T-shirts printed with iconic character lines…

Judging by how many cosplay options there were, Ran-niang was definitely popular.

Yuan Yuanyuan set her phone down, picked up a roll of red fabric, and ran her hand across it. The material felt right. She set it aside, planning to make the costume and send it to her friend.

That night, she locked the door, turned off the lights, and climbed into bed.

Maybe she had thought too much during the day — her mind was a mess. As she drifted off, her dreams were chaotic.

“Don’t forget…”

“Even in death, don’t forget…”

…

In the pitch-black room, a sudden whisper echoed.

Yuan Yuanyuan sat bolt upright, drenched in sweat. She looked outside — still dark.

That dream again.

She reached for her alarm clock — 3 a.m.

Still time for more sleep.

Yuan Yuanyuan got up, went to the bathroom, poured herself a glass of water, drank half, and lay back down.

…Ten minutes later, she opened her eyes again and switched on the small bedside lamp.

She couldn’t sleep.

She rubbed her temples, got out of bed, and turned on the living room lights.

She’d had this dream countless times — especially during the period when she first became a half-demon. And yet, she could never remember what exactly the dream was about. Just a voice — repeating itself endlessly.

It was a woman’s voice, slightly hoarse, but still pleasant to listen to.

Yuan Yuanyuan always thought the speaker must’ve had a beautiful voice… she just couldn’t remember who she was.

In fact, she didn’t even remember how she became a yokai. A few years back, it had just… happened. One big blur.

And then, endless running.

She sat on her bed in a daze for a long time. Suddenly, she caught a strange scent. Her eyes darted to the window, its curtains drawn tightly — nothing visible.

But the smell was getting stronger, seeping in constantly like an uninvited guest.

Yuan Yuanyuan got up cautiously, cracked the curtain, and peeked outside. A thick layer of clouds blanketed the sky, hiding the moon completely.

The street was empty. Only the streetlights flickered — and then, with the moon gone, they suddenly died, plunging the road into darkness.

No one else seemed to notice. Not a single other resident peeked out. It was like the entire building had been hit with a mass “soul freeze” spell — not a stir.

Yuan Yuanyuan stared at the sky. The air had turned bitterly cold. She nearly lost control of her demon energy — her red tendrils almost burst out on instinct.

Hyakki Yagyō.
(Night Parade of One Hundred Demons)

Yuan Yuanyuan had never participated in one of these, but now she saw glowing lights rising from every direction, drifting into the sky and merging with the clouds.

Some of the lights floated up from the apartment buildings. Others emerged from shadowy alleyways. As the clouds moved, the number of glowing points increased — until they covered the entire sky, like a sea of stars.

Only at times like this could Yuan Yuanyuan truly grasp how many yokai lived in this city.

She watched in silence, then slowly drew the curtain closed and pulled out another blanket from the closet.

The cloud layer grew thicker. The temperature continued to drop.

The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons was an age-old tradition — and even today, it remained a spectacular sight.

Yuan Yuanyuan lay back down and closed her eyes. Within half an hour, she fell asleep again.

No strange dreams this time, but her sleep was restless.

…Something around her kept disturbing her.

---

The next morning, Yuan Yuanyuan drew open the curtains that had stayed shut all night.

Outside, the streets bustled as usual. People came and went. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Warm sunlight poured in through the window. She stood there, hands on her hips, soaking it in with a smile.

Sunlight really does make you feel better… It was like the warmth cleansed her from the inside out.

She stretched lazily, washed up, and checked her phone.

After going through her messages, she opened the DreamComic app again and scrolled through the updates.

Unexpectedly, she found a bunch of comments under the latest Monster Chronicles chapter — all about the guy in black.

“Who’s that guy in the black coat? Looks like he’s really handsome!”

“OMG those phoenix eyes! He seems like a total badass. Could he be a major character?”

“Definitely. With how good Jiqiu’s art is… there’s no way he’d draw a side character that stunning. Trust me.”

“Maybe he’s a yokai who sides with humans… This comic has been pretty realistic so far. I have a bad feeling this guy’s gonna die horribly.”

“Don’t jinx it! We just got a character that vibes with me — don’t say he’s gonna die!”

Yuan Yuanyuan stared at the comment: “Die horribly.”
She fell silent for a long time.

Then she climbed back into bed, drew the curtains shut, and quietly hugged her blanket.

And went back to sleep.