Little Pink Starfish

【I called it! I knew Yuan would make it into the Yearly Compendium!】 Fei Mao was screaming excitedly in the group chat. 【You losers, not a single one of you guessed it right!】

【BlackRed: Where’d you place your bet? What were the odds over there?】

【Group Owner: Yeah, the casinos were hyped about this. Ours opened bets a while back—I put in a hundred bucks.】

【BlackRed: …How much did you win?】

【Group Owner: A ton, obviously! Why else do you think I’m handing out red envelopes?】

Yuan Yuanyuan stared blankly at the group chat, completely lost. She’d originally opened it to ask what was going on, but the moment she got in, they were already deep into the discussion. Fei Mao was so excited he even sent out a generous red envelope for the first time ever.

She glanced at the one she received and couldn’t help but mutter, “What the…” Then quickly typed into the chat: “Wait… you guys are betting on this kind of thing??”

【BlackRed: I was gonna bet too… but couldn’t bring myself to do it. I really didn’t think they’d actually put Yuan into the Compendium.】

【Group Owner: This is what we call a massive face-slap moment, okay? Not long ago, people were screaming that Yuan was a traitor. In the demon world, his name was practically synonymous with disgrace. Everyone wanted him to kneel and beg for forgiveness. But now, bam—he’s in the Compendium. I bet even in just this one hour, public opinion is already shifting.】

【Quan Quan: So how powerful is this Compendium anyway? I know it’s a big deal, but can someone give a noob-friendly explanation?】

【BlackRed: Uh… examples, huh? Let me think… that’s actually a hard one to explain.】

【Group Owner: She’s not gonna get it no matter how you explain it. I’ll just say this—making it into the Compendium means you’re a source of pride for all demons. Is that clear enough?】

Yuan Yuanyuan’s eyes widened at that reply.

Pride… for all demons??

She thought she must’ve misread, but no—the characters on the screen were plain and clear. There was no lying to herself now.

She stared at Fei Mao’s avatar, fingers flying as she typed a whole mess of messages.

【Quan Quan: Wha-wha-WHAT??? WHAT?? NANI??? P-pride? Like… actual pride? For demons?? What the hell?? Isn’t it just a book??】

【BlackRed: That book is recognized by both the demon world and the human world. Even humans read it. Out of the countless demons out there, only a handful make it into the Compendium. It’s incredibly selective…】

【Group Owner: Just tell her it’s mainly for humans to read—and to scare them a little. I honestly didn’t think they’d include Yuan. Guess they were so desperate for a strong enough demon this year that when one finally popped up, they rushed to paint him in and put him on the roster.】

【BlackRed: Yeah, but now that they’ve done it…】

【Group Owner: The same people who cursed him as a traitor are now calling him the “Last Glimmer of the Blood Jade Demon Army.” Hah. You tell me—are the humans just doing this to slap the demon world in the face?】

【BlackRed: Who knows… They make the rules. But right now, it looks like the humans have officially acknowledged Yuan. Kinda tragic when you think about it. An entire demon realm, and the only one they can lean on is a disgraced old demon.】

【Group Owner: Heh.】

【BlackRed: Can you not sound so gleeful about this… You’re the kind of guy who gets punched the moment he steps out the door, aren’t you?】

Yuan Yuanyuan watched their bickering trail off into a meme war.

BlackRed accused Fei Mao of being manipulative and scheming. Fei Mao called BlackRed a brain-dead idiot. They were so busy roasting each other that they completely abandoned the original topic.

Yuan turned to the student forum and dug around for a better explanation. Eventually, she found a short summary:

“Demon Compendium – Published by the demon realm and acknowledged by the human world.”

“Contents include: Annual event records, Great Demon index, interspecies diplomacy reports, etc.”

“Distributed to all demons around the New Year.”

Yuan Yuanyuan flipped through the Compendium again. It matched that description pretty well. On her second read-through, she noticed something else interesting:

That golden petal she received… it wasn’t just for demons.

The last page of the booklet listed “partner organizations”—among them were the names of several human Taoist sects… and even a government seal. To be honest, seeing that bright red stamp on a demon booklet gave her the surreal feeling that she’d just time-traveled.

Wait—humans are involved too?

Yuan blinked in disbelief. She rubbed her eyes and checked her phone again. Fei Mao and BlackRed had finally wrapped up their sticker war.

【Group Owner: Look at the portrait of the demon they picked…】

【BlackRed: What, you trying to talk trash again?】

【Group Owner: No, seriously. That image they chose—he doesn’t look like the other demons, all seductive and flashy. It’s such a clean, pure-looking portrait. Doesn’t that seem off to you?】

【BlackRed: Right?? He’s got tons of other, way more scandalous pics. But they picked this innocent-looking one. Makes him look like a fresh-faced rookie. Outsiders would think we added some clueless little demon to the list.】

…Yeah. Yuan Yuanyuan had never understood this aesthetic.

All the powerful demons she’d encountered had weird, flashy tastes. The stronger they were, the more “junk” they wore—crazy fashion, deep tattoos, dramatic accessories.

Like back at the tavern—if a demon walked in decked out in massive furs and face tattoos, like a cosplay version of Sesshōmaru, you could bet your butt they were terrifying.

The weaker demons dressed more plainly, without all the flair.

So far, the only powerful demon Yuan had seen without all the frills… was Si Qun. Though his choppy bangs were still pretty emo. Most people couldn’t pull off that look.

Yuan Yuanyuan herself didn’t wear much. At the tavern, some baby demons would show off any tiny new accessory like it was a big deal.

Maybe it was because her school had a strict dress code back in the day. She always felt like wearing too much made her neck sore—cosplaying with props was exhausting enough, and these demons dressed like that every day?

She’d heard the Compendium was a big deal, but still didn’t really get how big. By the time she finished reading, her eyes were sore, her head foggy, and her whole body felt spiritually drained.

After thinking it over, she hesitated, then finally locked up the shop and quietly snuck home for some sleep.

Before leaving, she stuck a new note beside the “Fated Encounters” sign on the door:

“If you’re looking for the shopkeeper, just say it directly. Don’t beat around the bush.”

---

Yuan Yuanyuan ended up sleeping for a whole day.

When she woke up, she lay there staring out the window for a long time, reluctant to get up.

She’d slept right through New Year’s Day and into the second day of the new year. The sky outside had just gone dark. The evening news was probably about to air.

She almost curled back up in bed, but then she noticed a new group of little demons flying across the sky. Forcing herself up, she rubbed her eyes and stretched, peering out the window.

So it was the Hundred Demon Festival… She’d squeezed that bit of info out of Fei Mao a few days ago. It was supposedly on the fifth or sixth day of the new year. But she hadn’t prepped at all—not even figured out the exact day.

She got up, tidied herself, and returned to the little shop, wanting to see if anyone had come by.

When she got there, she found someone had left something at the door. Not a stranger—but someone she knew.

“…Tang Shi?”

She picked up the small box on the ground. Tang Shi’s name was written on it in elegant traditional characters, complete with a tiny sigil.

Looking at it, she suddenly remembered—Tang Shi had sent her a bunch of photos from the plaza a few days ago. Something about those photos had looked really familiar.

At the time she couldn’t place it, but later it hit her—it was the packaging on those boxes.

It was the same as the one Si Qun had given her: thick, multi-material wrapping, sealed with a sticker bearing her name in traditional characters and a drawn talisman.

The only difference—his box had the name “Yuan” written on it, and this one said “Deng.”

Yuan Yuanyuan looked at the talisman. She’d seen that exact symbol before—on Tang Shi’s homework notebook.

She’d thought it was a pretty little design and even tried copying it. Tang Shi had told her it was her family’s crest—an abstract design derived from the shape of a bull.

So this box… was from Tang Shi?

Yuan felt oddly flattered as she took the box inside.

---

“Dad! Dad! She took it!” Tang Shi, who had been spying from upstairs, turned and shouted.

“She did?” Her dad peered down and finally sighed in relief.

“Dad… why didn’t you let me tell her about the gifts at the plaza? You know how poor the shopkeeper is, right?” Tang Shi pouted.

“That shopkeeper… her status in the city is complicated. If she’s staying put, then that probably means she has to,” her dad replied.

“Wow… I don’t really get it, but it sounds cool. Still, being a big demon sounds kinda sad. Didn’t you tell me to study hard so I could become a great demon and have others offer me gifts? Why does it feel like being a big demon is worse than not being one?” Tang Shi asked.

“Stop being cheeky.” Her dad flicked her on the forehead. “Go memorize your notes. You, a great demon? In your dreams.”