Little Pink Starfish

As Yuan Yuanyuan wiped her dagger, the man behind her slowly turned around.

A thin, long scar now marked his face. The face was still the same as before—but at some point, his hair had turned completely white.

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t turn around. But somehow, she just knew his hair had gone white.

The fog inside the room had almost thickened into moisture. Surrounded by the red mist, Yuan Yuanyuan felt like she could see everything.

As if… even the people inside had melted into the mist.

“You… can you live with yourself after doing this to your sister?” the man behind her said. “My daughter… she’s not very bright, which is why she couldn’t see through you. But you used the skills you honed as a spy to deceive her? Years of espionage, just to trick a little girl?”

“Your daughter?” Yuan Yuanyuan sneered. “And what does your daughter have to do with me?”

“You’re her uncle!”

“Uncle? Your daughter? I don’t recall getting saddled with any extra relatives.” Yuan Yuanyuan looked at the demon whose hair had turned white. Her sneer deepened. “I had one sister. Just one. We depended on each other. She’s dead.”

Her voice trembled slightly, so she forced herself to take a deep breath before continuing, “Isn’t this something everyone already knows?”

She realized her voice cracked a bit on that last sentence.

“You still…” The white-haired man was visibly furious. He tried to suppress it. “So disrespectful…”

“Disrespectful?” Yuan Yuanyuan chuckled coldly.

“Then tell me—how exactly did I deceive your daughter?” she asked as she walked toward him with a strange smile, clearly eager to hear what he had to say. “I really want to hear your take.”

As she walked forward, she flipped the dagger in her hand with a flourish.

The man silently stepped back.

Yuan Yuanyuan pretended not to notice and kept approaching.

For some reason, ever since the fog began filling the room, Yuan Yuanyuan hadn’t felt a trace of fear.

She didn’t know why. It just felt like, in this moment, in this place… she could do anything.

Maybe once she left, she’d go back to being nothing—but right now, this room was her domain.

“If you have even a shred of decency,” the man said, “then spare my daughter. I know you’re good at seducing girls, but what do you think people would say? A brother avenging his sister by seducing her fiancé’s daughter?”

The room fell into a long silence after he said that.

Yuan Yuanyuan kept her head down, saying nothing.

Just as the man began to regain his smirk, she lifted her head and asked:

“Is there any blood relation between us?”

The man’s smile vanished completely.

He stared at her coldly, but said nothing.

“In that case…” Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly stepped right up to him, their faces just inches apart. “What are you so worked up about… brother-in-law?”

“This is my last warning.” He stared her down. “If anything happens to me here… you might not make it out alive.”

“No matter what, the Li family is still one of C City’s oldest clans.”

Yuan Yuanyuan’s blade paused.

“You really think I’d be afraid of you?” she traced the clean side of his face with the knife, mirroring the scar she had already given him. “Dying once, dying twice—what’s the difference? Kill me now if you’ve got the guts, and carry my head outside for all to see.”

The man smiled faintly. “Then you can look forward to that happening again.”

“You plan to kill me again?”

“I think about killing you all the time.”

The way he said it—with that same eerie smile—was just like what he had described earlier.

His smile looked beautiful, but the look in his eyes made Yuan Yuanyuan loathe him.

She didn’t know if her eyes reflected that same glint.

“So, that box during New Year’s—that was from you?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked, sitting down again, ignoring the previous topic. “The one who delivered it…”

“Were you surprised when you saw him?” the man asked.

“…No. I wasn’t,” she replied, picking up the smoking pipe again.

“No, you must have been. I thought you’d ask why Li Si Qun turned into that.” He laughed again, louder this time. “He’s gone dull, you know that, right?”

“Fate is always a mystery. Some people have it easy their whole lives. Others struggle endlessly, only to fall victim to their fate anyway.”

His laughter was carefree, as if he’d just seen something hilarious. But it chilled Yuan Yuanyuan to the bone.

After laughing, he wiped a tear from his eye and said to her, “You’ve always been the one most resigned to fate.”

Yuan Yuanyuan was silent.

Her head tilted down. Then, suddenly, she let out a soft laugh.

“You played everything perfectly—got the Blood Jade Demon Army recognized, moved in to protect the nursery district, cultivated goodwill from the other families, even started winning over the people. But it’s all meaningless.”

“You think the clans in C City are fools?” he leaned in, locking eyes with her. “Besides the Ma family, who else would support you? Why did you come back? You always acted like the calmest one, but in truth, you’re the darkest, most calculating, most terrifying among us.”

“You always used that harmless look to deceive people. Look at your face now—so full of hatred, so fake. You’re…”

The room went utterly still for a moment.

Yuan Yuanyuan sat silently, head bowed, a faint, almost invisible smile on her lips.

“Leave C City now. Stop involving yourself with my daughter, and I’ll let you go. Otherwise… I’ll make sure you die with nothing left.”

After saying this, he returned to his seat, putting on the same gentle expression he’d worn when he entered. Hands folded neatly on his knees.

He looked exactly like he had when he came in.

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t move. She said nothing.

Her head remained bowed for a long time.

“Hey, lift your head. Speak.” He finally broke the silence. “Or are you as dumb as Li Si Qun now? Can’t understand what I’m saying?”

Yuan Yuanyuan remained quiet for a long while, then finally murmured:

“…No. I understand. And I think you’re right.”

“Is this the first time you’ve complimented me?” He chuckled, pulling one knee up, fingers interlaced elegantly. “I’m honored.”

“Yes, you’re right. I agree with you completely… Especially after meeting your daughter.”

Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly lifted her head.

Her smile widened slowly.

“Isn’t it interesting? Ever since I met your daughter, I suddenly understood you.”

“Ah… so that’s how it is. Turns out, things weren’t as complicated as I imagined.”

“What… what are you trying to do?” The man’s hands dropped from his knees, and his expression turned tense.

“No one escapes their fate.” Yuan Yuanyuan took a drag from her pipe, half-lidding her eyes. “My sister couldn’t. Si Qun couldn’t. And neither can I.”

“So what’s the harm in adding your daughter to the list?”

“You… do you really have to go this far?” His voice faltered. “We can talk this through. I’ll spare you, just leave Yu Mei alone. If it’s about your sister, there’s no need to go this far…”

“Who said I’m ‘harassing’ anyone?” Yuan Yuanyuan stared into his eyes, slowly, word by word:
“I’m doing all this… out of loyalty.”

“I grew up with my sister. Just the two of us.” She didn’t let him interrupt, exhaling smoke. “Later, I got lucky and joined the Blood Jade Demon Army, then the spy corps. I knew nothing—got into trouble with some powerful figure and paid for it with my life, taking the whole spy unit down with me.”

“Yuan has always been vicious, manipulative, ruthless—that’s common knowledge. Go out there and ask any demon… hell, ask any human. They’ll tell you.”

“The Blood Jade Demon Army is gone. The one I swore loyalty to is gone. So now, to show my rage—why wouldn’t I use every tool I have?”

The man was frozen.

Yuan Yuanyuan kept going, then turned to him with a chuckle. “Hey, don’t you think so too? Loyalty’s such a lovely word.”

“It lets someone kill another without any guilt at all.”

“It lets someone murder their own kin and still shout ‘justice’ as if they’re righteous.”

“Betrayal, targeting people’s weaknesses, delivering the fatal blow. You came to me in person… seems like your daughter holds a special place in your heart.”

“You’ve taught me so much,” Yuan Yuanyuan gently brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and looked at the now-silent man. “I really ought to thank you.”

She added, “Did you ever tell your daughter I’m Yuan? You can if you want. But you should know… I’m not short on tricks.”

The man opened his mouth to respond, but just then—there was a loud knock on the window.

“Master Li, are you inside?” a young man’s voice called from outside. “The City Lord has ordered you to come out immediately. If something’s wrong, we’ll break the door down. Can you hear us?”

Lin Gubone and the woman in white exchanged glances. Lin was wildly signaling with his eyebrows.

The woman sighed and shouted, “Sir? It’s me. Is everything alright in there with Master Li?”

The door creaked open. A thick cloud of fog spilled out, followed by a white-haired old man.

Cough, cough. “It’s nothing… sorry to worry you,” the old man said.

“No problem, no problem.” Lin Gubone and the woman in white rushed to support him, helping him out of the house.

Inside, a man in black still sat lazily in the chair, smoking, his back to the door, only the side of his face visible.

“Well then, sir… we’ll be going now.” Lin Gubone snuck a glance—only catching the back of the head and a partial profile—then quickly lowered his eyes.

“Take all those idiots camped outside with you. I’ll give you ten minutes,” a lazy voice called from within.

Lin Gubone froze.

The City Lord hadn’t said anything about this, but within three seconds, he signaled behind him.

Everyone outside dispersed like flowing water—silent and swift.

The clearing outside the house stayed quiet for a long time. After Lin Gubone and the woman left, a figure crept in from the darkness.

“Boss, what happened? I heard people saying you snagged some rich girl?” Liu An asked.

His boss looked at him.

“Whoa—what’s up with your eyes? Why are they red?” Liu An gasped. He was about to ask more when suddenly, his boss slumped from the chair like a limp fish.

“Boss!?” Liu An rushed forward. “Boss, are you okay!?”