Little Pink Starfish

【That monster sitting in the car… if I’m not mistaken, that has to be Yuan!】

【It’s him… he only showed up for a second, but it’s definitely him. I compared it with the previous scene.】

【Damn… he suddenly turned into one of those flashy monsters and threw on this huge fur coat—I’m not even used to it yet. With this outfit, his whole vibe just leveled up.】

【So he’s actually in that league…? Gotta re-evaluate things. Between him and Yu Wu, who do you think would win?】

【I used to think he was on the same level as Yu Wu… but now it seems like he doesn’t even care about Yu Wu. No wonder the higher-ups sought him out. That attitude he had back then makes sense now.】

【So, in terms of power hierarchy, Yuan’s at the top now, and then the rest fall beneath him, right?】

【Probably, but didn’t someone mention the “King of a Hundred Demons” before? The demon king hasn’t appeared yet, so maybe don’t jump to conclusions.】

【Still, I have a question—didn’t he fall out with the higher-ups before? Why does it seem like things are fine now?】

【No clue what’s going on with them… Fa Ning isn’t a demon, so he wouldn’t really understand any of this. Maybe this is just how demons play?】

Yuan Yuanyuan scrolled through the chaotic comment section. It was actually kind of funny how people used comic jargon to describe real-life stuff. Things like, “Fa Ning obviously can’t win right now—he hasn’t awakened yet. Once he does, he’ll be insanely powerful,” or “Yu Wu and Yuan aren’t even in the same league; there’s a whole ‘aura level’ gap between them.”

It made everything sound a bit lighter somehow…

Yuan Yuanyuan tied her apron and walked into the kitchen. There were still some leftover New Year’s decorations hanging from the ceiling. She spotted Si Qun sitting beneath a golden little lantern, looking down at something.

She walked over and tapped Si Qun on the shoulder with one finger. “How many fingers?”

“One.”

How is this kid dumb again? He’s pretty sharp. Yuan Yuanyuan smiled kindly and patted him on the head before going to warm up some liquor.

For Yuan Yuanyuan, her first day at this new job was actually pretty pleasant—especially since the boss lady handed out bonuses to all the new employees. That definitely put her in a better mood.

Her days went back to a chill routine—heating up liquor and then scrolling through her phone. Technically, she didn’t need to work anymore. She had a big pile of gold now. But after thinking it over, she still decided to keep the job.

As a half-demon with no stable income, suddenly quitting could easily lead to trouble. Plus, the bar was a great place to overhear things. Yuan Yuanyuan wanted to hang around longer and see what intel she could pick up.

After she finished warming the liquor, she lined the cups up neatly. When she turned her head, she caught sight of Si Qun. Looking at his face—so eerily similar to that man from the Li family—she suddenly felt a bit dazed.

Even though it was hard to pinpoint exactly how Si Qun and the Li family man looked alike, a closer look showed some differences. The Li man had higher cheekbones, making him look more mature and shrewd. Si Qun’s features were softer.

She wondered if Ji Qiu had made that distinction in the artwork… The Li man had already been drawn. So when would Si Qun’s face appear?

Yuan Yuanyuan had picked up on a few things. She crouched beside Si Qun, who was fiddling with something, and asked, “Si Qun, did you go back home with your sister for New Year’s?”

“Yeah.”

“Is your home far from here?”

“Not far,” Si Qun pointed behind them. “It’s just back there.”

Yuan Yuanyuan looked up. There were residential buildings in that direction. She thought, Seriously? Si Qun lives in an apartment complex…

Awesome. His neighbors probably don’t even have cockroaches anymore.

“How do you live in an apartment complex? Have you always lived there?” she asked.

“My sister told me to stay there,” Si Qun replied.

“Oh, oh.” Yuan Yuanyuan patted his head again and stopped asking.

She could fish for info from Si Qun, but she didn’t dare try that with Li Zi Jie… Now that the topic touched on her, Yuan Yuanyuan decided to drop it.

She got up to clear some glasses and stepped out the door. She wandered around to listen in on conversations and see how the newest issue of Demon Chronicles was affecting the demon community. Honestly, deep down, she didn’t think it would cause much of a stir. Not because she was pessimistic, but because it was a logical conclusion.

First point: Yuan had always had a mysterious and ambiguous presence among the demons. His behavior was always… off. Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t know exactly why, but it was like there was some unspoken understanding.

Second point: Yuan had at least shown disrespect to the higher-ups before.

Yuan Yuanyuan wasn’t proud of these observations, but getting called a traitor still made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure how to feel about this trip to the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.

As she walked, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out and saw—

[Group Leader: Shit! I haven’t written my will yet!]

Oh god, seriously… Yuan Yuanyuan rolled her eyes. Fat Cat always freaked out like this. She was used to it. Last time he was going to Africa; now he’s writing a will.

She placed the drinks on a customer’s table when her phone started vibrating like crazy. Demons had good hearing, and one customer glanced at her.

She paused, gave an apologetic smile, then stormed out, gritting her teeth as she looked at her phone. Fat Cat, you’re so dead. I’m gonna team up with Tang Shi and curse the hell out of you with demon spells.

She opened the chat—dozens of messages from Fat Cat, all over the place.

[Group Leader: My home has no signal and no other contact options, so just bear with me while I leave my will. Save it in a Word doc, then hand-copy it. Mail the handwritten one to my place and keep the Word file for memorial purposes.]

[Group Leader: 1. Regarding my leftover money—don’t worry about it, my family already took everything. Done.]

[Group Leader: 2. Regarding my books—Circle, take them if you want. You could use some basic knowledge.]

…

[Group Leader: 41. Regarding my dried fish snacks—don’t touch them. Anyone who does will be cursed.]

[Circle: …]

[Circle: Nobody wants those, okay? Just take them with you to the grave!]

[Group Leader: Oh, Circle, you’re still here… Perfect. I now appoint you the new group leader. Handle all group affairs from now on.]

Yuan Yuanyuan stared at her phone. There are only two of us in this damn group. What group affairs?

Fat Cat was surprisingly chill, listing everything from his dog (no idea why there’s a dog) to his milk brand. Covered every base.

[Hold up, hold up.] Yuan Yuanyuan finally sensed something off. She asked, [You didn’t really get into trouble, did you? Where are you right now?]

[Group Leader: On the outskirts of City C.]

[Circle: You’re at the edge of City C!?]

[Group Leader: I wanted to see if I could lure out Fa Ning, so I came here in disguise, hoping something would happen.]

[Circle: …What did you disguise yourself as?]

[Group Leader: Yuan.]

[Circle: …Excuse me?]

[Group Leader: Yuan.]

[Circle: …]

[Group Leader: Don’t overthink it… I’m already in this mess. I can’t even speak now. Every time I talk, blood comes out… I kind of want to post a selfie though.]

[Circle: …Did you get beat up?]

[Group Leader: Yeah.]

[Circle: So you showed up, said “I’m Yuan,” and immediately got wrecked?]

[Group Leader: I didn’t say anything! I was super quiet, okay?]

[Circle: Where exactly are you now?]

[Group Leader: City M, Gemstone Road, next to some trash can.]

[Circle: Hold on—I’m getting dressed and coming to find you.]

[Group Leader: Hey! Don’t come! You’re weak. If you get caught up in this, it’ll be a mess… Just stay put.]

Yuan Yuanyuan got dressed and ran out, bumping into Li Zi Jie on the way. She asked for leave in a rush. Li Zi Jie hadn’t even processed what happened before Yuan Yuanyuan dashed off like the wind.

She flagged down a cab and told the driver to go to Gemstone Road in City M. It was late and pretty far, so she had to try several taxis before one agreed.

The car sped off. Yuan Yuanyuan kept trying to call Fat Cat, but he suddenly went dark.

No no no, don’t do this! Yuan Yuanyuan panicked, refreshing her phone nonstop.

City M was next to City C, but there was still a decent distance between them. It’d take her about an hour, and she didn’t know the way. She was afraid she’d get lost.

In the cab, Yuan Yuanyuan kept thinking—

Yuan… has he really become hated to this extent?