Little Pink Starfish

All because of one bone… Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t sleep a wink that night.

She went to bed with her eyes wide open, and got up the same way. When she finally got up the next morning, there were full-blown dark circles under her eyes—she looked and felt terrible.

Damn… Is my mental endurance really this weak? How am I supposed to handle anything major like this?

Even though she was muttering to herself like this, when a real crisis landed in front of her, it was definitely not as easy to deal with as she liked to pretend.

But she only agonized over it for one night. By the next day, she had returned to normal—at least, outwardly.

All day long, Yuan Yuanyuan kept wondering: Whose bone was this? What was it used for? If there had been anything else in that box, she might not have thought this hard about it.

…but of all things, it was a bone.

It felt cool to the touch, clearly not just any ordinary bone. Compared to the chicken and duck bones she gnawed on normally—this thing was obviously something else entirely.

In the demon world, body parts could be used for many purposes. For example, Taoists often used demon materials to make their weapons. Even demons themselves used blood-soaked components—like demon pearls, which were made from blood.

Yuan Yuanyuan always thought these things felt… cursed. And now, something possibly connected to Yi Qi—she couldn’t just leave it lying around. So she placed it to the side and even lit three sticks of incense for it.

She didn’t tell anyone about the bone—just hid it herself and quietly started trying to dig up information.

After living in C City for over two years, she wasn’t the clueless newbie she used to be. She had more than a few ways to gather intel.

She walked around the tavern, listening in on conversations, mentally sorting through bits and pieces of gossip.

One elder demon caught her attention. She’d already noticed him when he walked in—the clothing he wore was very unusual, probably made of some rare demon hide. Very expensive. He was clearly someone of status.

He was accompanied by a group of other demons. Yuan Yuanyuan asked Sister Li for permission and quickly brought over wine, trotting into the room with a flask.

Once inside, she kept her head down, stayed silent, and did her job pouring wine like a proper little worker. From behind a folding screen, she could faintly hear parts of a conversation. Her curiosity itched like ants under her skin.

She was just about to tell herself to ignore it when suddenly—CRASH! A cup was thrown from behind the screen.

She nearly kneeled on the spot.

A second later, she realized—wait, what the hell am I kneeling for? This has nothing to do with me! Have I been startled into submission or something?!—and managed to hold her ground.

From behind the screen, the elder’s voice came through, furious: “Has everyone from that time died?! Who gave him the right to do this? No one! It was all his own damn idea!”

Outside, everyone went silent. Yuan Yuanyuan caught scattered phrases like “destabilizing the cities around C City,” “acting without regard for the bigger picture,” and “just like before…”

She didn’t hear the rest, because someone outside had started giving her a look—the kind that definitely didn’t mean “friendly.” She gave a respectful nod and scurried out.

Once outside, she turned over those words in her head. None of them had a clear subject, but she felt like they were talking about Yuan.

Maybe it was the line “always acts for himself, never thinks of the big picture—just like before.” Yuan Yuanyuan figured this was the general impression demons had of Yuan—or Yi Qi: eccentric, does things his own way, never listens to others. Total nonconformist.

She didn’t really know what had happened, but at least she learned one thing:

The respected elder demons in C City were not happy about Yuan’s recent behavior.

…Which felt kinda unfair, honestly.

Having gotten nothing more from that line of inquiry, Yuan Yuanyuan went back to Sister Li’s side. While the latter was heating wine, Yuan Yuanyuan sidled up and said quietly, “Sister Li, I overheard some customers saying Yuan showed up in M City again. Is that true?”

“Oh? Why’re you asking that—got a crush on him or something?” Sister Li turned and gave her a teasing look.

“What? No!” Yuan Yuanyuan quickly waved her hands. “Yuan’s not even—”

“Ai ya, he’s got a good rep now,” Sister Li said, lugging over a jug of wine. “At least among the younger ones. Ever since Demon Chronicles started featuring him, he’s looked better. The old folks though? Eh, they’re set in their ways.”

Yuan Yuanyuan went to help her pour. Sister Li continued, “Used to be everyone called him nosy…”

Yuan Yuanyuan’s awkward expression made Sister Li laugh. “What’s wrong? I mean, I like Yuan, but come on. I already know how people talk about him out there.”

Yuan Yuanyuan scratched her nose in embarrassment. Sister Li turned to ladle the wine into bowls, her voice dropping gentle and soft.

“But, Yuanyuan… Sometimes, what people say and what actually happened are two very different things. At the very least, this time—he was just taking back what was his.”

Taking back… what was his?

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t quite understand. But Sister Li clearly didn’t plan to explain.

After a pause, she added, “Just don’t repeat that to anyone. It’s enough that you know.”

Yuan Yuanyuan went home feeling like she’d gotten half an answer. When she stepped in, she found Fat Cat curled up on the couch, tail swishing lazily as he teased Xiao Ying next to him.

Xiao Ying didn’t realize anything—Yuan Yuanyuan suspected she actually thought she was playing with the cat, not the other way around. Thanks to their mutual misunderstandings, they got along… oddly well.

“You’re back,” Fat Cat flicked his tail. “Can you please get this rude human out of here? She’s so annoying.”

“What’d she do?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked.

“She asked me if I’m a tomcat or… a neutered tomcat.” Fat Cat deadpanned.

Pfffft! Yuan Yuanyuan almost spat her tea.

She sent Xiao Ying home. Fat Cat had never shown his human form to her, and with his weird behavior, she really believed he was just Yuan Yuanyuan’s pet cat. So she was especially concerned about… neutering and vaccinations.

Yuan Yuanyuan just shook her head—she wasn’t that talented. And Fat Cat wasn’t the kind of creature you could “raise” into a demon, anyway.

As she simmered more bone soup, Fat Cat lay on the couch, tail twitching. Yuan Yuanyuan grabbed it and toyed with it, asking, “Hey Fat Cat, tell me again—why were you so sure Yuan would go to M City that night?”

She felt his tail twitch in her hand. Fat Cat’s round face turned toward her. “Oh, that… It’s an old grudge. When Yi Qi was executed, a lot of his stuff was looted. I figured Yuan was settling old scores. So I went there and tried my luck. And I won.”

“Looted stuff… Like what?” she asked.

“How would I know? Tons of people went to pick through his corpse. But what M City took was well-known—they grabbed one of Yi Qi’s personal items: the Bone-Jade Whistle. And they made a huge deal out of it. So I started with them.”

“Bone-Jade… whistle? That thing’s a whistle?” Yuan Yuanyuan made a weird face.

“Yup.” Fat Cat curled his tail proudly. “I even took a peek after I stole it. Couldn’t look too long—had to run. But damn, it’s a great item. Made from a skin-peeling ghost. Cold to the touch—feels like it could air-condition a whole room in summer…”

That’s not how that works, Yuan Yuanyuan thought dryly.

“Just getting to touch it was worth it,” he sighed. “Didn’t think I’d ever see it in my lifetime. After Yi Qi fell, all the cities around C City scrambled to show loyalty—especially M City. They stole the whistle, displayed it proudly…”

He rolled over again. “These days, not many demons remember this stuff. It used to be something they bragged about. But after losing the war… well, it became an embarrassment. So everyone started burying the past. Even M City—once a subordinate city to C City—ended up like this. Next is N City, U City, L City…”

“…N, U, L… add M City—” Yuan Yuanyuan rolled her eyes and did a quick count. “Holy crap, that’s all four corners around C City! Are they trying to start some rural siege strategy?!”

“You didn’t know?” Fat Cat said. “Those were the six subordinate cities under C City. And when it came time to wipe Yi Qi’s existence clean, those six were the most ruthless. Without them, Yi Qi might still be known today.”

“…What did Yi Qi do that made everyone hate him so much?” Yuan Yuanyuan was genuinely baffled. “There has to be a reason, right?”

“You don’t know?” Fat Cat turned, surprised. Then suddenly, “Oh. Right… you’re just a baby demon.”

He flicked his tail and beckoned. “Come here.”

Yuan Yuanyuan leaned in.

Fat Cat whispered in her ear:

“Yi Qi refused to support bloodline cleansing of humans.”

…

Yuan Yuanyuan froze.

She stayed frozen for ten minutes.

Bloodline cleansing…?

Oh… so that’s what this is about…

Honestly, she still didn’t understand fully. But somehow, she felt like she got it.

Fat Cat, on the other hand, looked relaxed now. He gave her a flick with his tail and added, “Don’t go blabbing about this, okay? Everyone kind of knows, but don’t say it out loud.”

“Why?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked, still dazed.

“Because…” Fat Cat said quietly, “the people who supported bloodline cleansing…

…are still alive.”