Little Pink Starfish

The red clouds in the sky… only the demons could see them. They looked just like a sunset—absolutely beautiful.

If it were dusk, maybe it wouldn’t be so strange.
The problem was—it was night. Late at night. 9:15 PM.

“Is something big about to happen?” someone murmured while quietly watching the clouds.

But many other demons couldn’t stay calm.
Almost the moment the red cloud appeared, they began sprinting toward the nursery.

What the hell… why are there so many demons?!

Yuan Yuanyuan finally caught her breath underground.
But by the time she emerged, she realized the place she popped out from was far from where she’d entered. Because underground, she’d had no sense of direction—she’d just aimlessly drifted around.

Just as she climbed out, intending to tidy herself up, she was stunned—
Holy crap.
Why was there so much demonic aura?!

Wave after wave of it hit her, almost seeping into her five senses.
She had just climbed out and was so terrified she nearly dove right back into the dirt.

This was not normal.
She looked up at the blood-red sky overhead…

What’s going on?
Since when were there this many demons around here?

And what was up with the sky?
Had an entire day passed? Was it the next evening already?
Had she really been practicing all day without eating, drinking, or sleeping?

Yuan Yuanyuan was still dazed, completely confused.
But by now, the first wave of C City’s elite demons had arrived. These were some of the strongest beings in this chaotic city.

And when they arrived, what they saw was this—
A figure stood alone in the nursery clearing. Long hair, hazy silhouette, surrounded by a thick red mist that blurred their form.

The red light cast the ground, and even the sky, into a crimson hue—
But only in this area. Nowhere else.

There was a fitting phrase for this: a celestial anomaly.

And only one kind of being could cause such an anomaly—

A peerless, supreme demon.

Even the top dogs of C City wouldn’t dare claim they could stir heaven and earth like this. This kind of reaction… had to be from one of those ancient, terrifying, long-hidden relics of the demon world.

Everyone expected to witness something extraordinary.
They came prepared to see miracles.

But when they got here… nothing was happening.

Just a single person standing on the ground.

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t have great perception for demonic energy.
But right now, a bunch of demons weren’t even hiding their presence.
So she could see everything clearly.

The first one to arrive was a burly guy in a leopard-print fur coat.
Their eyes met.

Yuan Yuanyuan almost laughed at how tacky his fashion was—leopard print, thick fur, even a taxidermied leopard head.

Then she looked closer…
Wait—WTF?! That’s the boss!!

Her knees went weak.
She nearly collapsed.
She wanted to run, but her legs had no strength left.
She’d exhausted nearly all her demon power just to crawl out of the earth.

She recognized him clearly—
He was the head honcho of their safe zone.
She’d seen him once during New Year’s when Sister Xue dragged her to his lair—no, his “home”—and said she needed to remember his face.

Then came the second figure—a woman in all white.
Flowing white gown, elf-like ears, soft and elegant aura.
She looked more like a spirit than a demon. Her sharp ears stood tall, and her face was almost too perfect, like it had a beauty filter.

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t know her, but she guessed—
This must be C City’s second-in-command.
Another terrifying female demon who ruled a whole territory.
Deadly beautiful—and actually deadly.

More demons poured in, forming circle after circle.
Yuan Yuanyuan stood right in the middle.

The crowd of demons blanketed the entire area.
Her mind was blank.
Her hands were shaking.
Her heart felt frozen.

The red glow cast over her face and body.
She slowly lifted her head.

The female demon’s pupils contracted.

Yuan Yuanyuan had just surfaced—hadn’t had time to check herself.
She didn’t know what she looked like right now.

And she definitely didn’t dare meet anyone’s gaze.

More and more demons arrived. The weaker ones came later.
Some stood on the ground, some floated mid-air, some soaked in vats of mysterious liquids…

The further out they were, the weaker the demons.

Everyone stared at the lone figure in the middle—
Total silence.
Not even the wind stirred.

Then—
A voice broke the stillness.

“My lord, please… let me follow you.”

A female demon knelt in the second ring of the crowd.

Beautiful.
More pure than any sixteen-year-old girl.
Her voice was like sweet honey.

But everyone who knew anything could tell—
To get this close to the center?
She was not just some innocent girl.

The other demons glanced sideways at her.
No one expected her to make a move like that.

Blood-red sky. Ominous omen.
This being in the middle was definitely not some harmless soul.

Some sharp-eyed demons had already recognized her—

Yuan.

Infamous traitor of the demon realm.
Aligning yourself with him? That wouldn’t end well.

But… they also knew—
Yuan was likely the most powerful demon alive today.
No one could rival him.

If you could just learn one move from him…
Maybe even get access to those legendary Blood Jade Army techniques…

Plenty of eyes shifted.

Damn…
Missed the window.

Didn’t expect that sweet-looking girl to be so ruthless—and so fast.

Demons came from harsh backgrounds.
Most of them clawed their way up from nothing.
Survival of the fittest was the law.

Sure, they might talk a big game.
But when a thigh to hug shows up?
They’d all jump on it.

Yuan Yuanyuan: “…What?”

---

“Mom, is there anything to eat?”

Gao Ling was halfway through her drawing and feeling hungry.
She snuck into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

“Don’t eat too much! It’s late—you’ll gain weight!” her mom shouted from the living room.

“There’s nothing in here anyway!” Gao Ling grumbled as she searched.
She reached for the top shelf and caught a flash of red out the window.

She thought she imagined it.

She walked over to check.
Opened the window.
Peered outside—

And her jaw dropped.
She could’ve swallowed an egg whole.

Only when a dark shadow drifted past her window did she react.
She quickly shut the window like nothing happened.

“Xiao Ling? Did you find anything? There are peaches on the top shelf—wash one for me if you’re eating.”

“Okay, got it.”
Gao Ling still had the image burned in her brain, but she played it cool, grabbed the peach, washed it, and handed it to her mom.

Back in her room, she picked up her phone and messaged someone:

[Did you see the sky to the east tonight?]

They replied quickly:

[East? Near the suburbs? I glanced, but nothing unusual. Someone setting off fireworks or something?]

Gao Ling closed the message, looked at her half-drawn comic page, and thought again about what she saw—

Under a blood-colored sky, countless dark figures were flying toward one spot—like a pilgrimage.

She bit into her peach, pulled her curtains shut, and blocked out the outside world.

Nope. Not looking. Screw this weirdness.

---

Yuan Yuanyuan had now been standing there for ten minutes.

Two minutes ago, several big-shot demons started arguing over her allegiance.

Honestly…
The whole thing was ridiculous.

Even though they were shouting “traitor!” with righteous anger, Yuan Yuanyuan—who had plenty of real-world experience—could hear the recruitment vibes hidden in their tone.

Like:

“Yes, he’s a traitor. But we need to first understand why he betrayed us. Only by knowing the truth can we judge properly. I suggest we take this elder back to Qiuying and discuss it calmly.”

Qiuying your ass…
That’s the nightclub where she works!
Neon lights, dancing girls—what discussion?! You just wanna party!

Then there was the hypocritical whitewashing:

“Although this senior has made some mistakes, I believe we should still treat him with a level of respect.”

As if they weren’t the same ones screaming “kill him!” a few days ago.

Yuan Yuanyuan quietly checked her energy…

Hey. I think… I’ve recovered enough to run?!

She looked around at the surrounding crowd.
Now those were the kind of looks that matched a “legendary being” like her.

Idiots.