Little Pink Starfish

Bloodline cleansing.

It was a word steeped in the weight of history—because in the human world, this idea was forever tied to the image of the Führer. Everyone knew that part of human history.

So the moment Fat Cat mentioned it, Yuan Yuanyuan immediately formed a general idea of what he meant.

But… what exactly did “bloodline” refer to in this context? Non-demon bloodlines?

Unlike in the human world—where history books preserved those dark times and continually reminded people to reflect and atone—this part of demon history had never appeared in any book Yuan Yuanyuan had read. In other words, at the “official” level, this part of history had been erased. Just like Yi Qi.

If Fat Cat wasn’t pulling her leg, then it seemed like she had stumbled upon something. Or at least, something close to the truth.

Was this why so many demons called Yi Qi a “traitor”? Was it because… he went against their ideology?

That would actually explain a lot. Why a supposedly loyal, all-for-the-demon-kind military leader of the spy corps would suddenly turn on them. Why he betrayed everything.

…

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t sleep again that night.

When she got up the next morning, she looked in the mirror, flashed herself a grin—and scared even herself.

Lookin’ like she’s down two kidneys…

She’d been haunted all night by that one sentence. When she finally drifted off, a sudden wave of fear surged up from the depths of her heart right before she fell asleep.

Her eyes flew open. And then… she just lay there wide awake, staring at the ceiling till dawn.

One thought filled her head:

Yi Qi might really have crossed into territory he wasn’t supposed to touch.

In her half-asleep daze, she remembered another detail. And that detail chilled her to the bone.

In Demon Chronicles, there was a scene: Yuan was surrounded by corpses, dragged forward by someone, asked something…

What had Yuan replied?

She couldn’t recall the exact wording… but the meaning was burned into her mind.

“Everyone’s dead. Enemies, allies—there’s only me left.”

Then there was the verdict at Yi Qi’s trial: mass murder of humans.

What the hell? Wasn’t he the one who opposed bloodline cleansing? How did it end up with him slaughtering so many people?

Yuan Yuanyuan’s brain was fried. She could feel her temples throbbing.

Honestly, when she first saw that scene in the manga, she hadn’t felt anything strange. But now, after what she’d learned… that image became deeply disturbing.

Was Yi Qi a hero… or a villain?

Even now, Yuan Yuanyuan had no idea. She thought hard but couldn’t reach a conclusion. Instead, another line came to mind:

“Even if he was lying, he’d lie in a way no one could tell it was a lie.”

…Damn it. You even lied to yourself, didn’t you.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone in the spy corps must’ve had no choice in what they did… or maybe the artist, Ji Qiu, was drawing with bias—intentionally leading people in a certain direction.

But what really happened, she didn’t know. She was just guessing. No real answers.

Still… deep down, Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t believe Yi Qi was capable of such cruelty. She didn’t know why. She just felt it.

Maybe it was the impression he’d always left on her: weird, eccentric, with a questionable exterior—but at his core, he was someone with morals, with conviction.

So she mentally handed him a “good guy” card… not that it meant much. She knew that herself.

She didn’t even dare hang out in her own boutique anymore. A place she used to visit all the time now gave her the creeps.

She’d once liked being there, but now… the moment she sat down, she was terrified someone would burst in and try to kill her.

Though that hadn’t actually happened—yet—she couldn’t shake the anxiety. Eventually, she couldn’t avoid it anymore. She had to go back.

Sitting there, she was jittery and tense, feeling like a hunted animal. Then the door creaked open. She jumped up, eyes snapping to the entrance.

It was just Liu An.

He looked at her strange expression, then glanced around before saying hesitantly, “Boss… did something weird happen in the shop recently?”

“No, why?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked. “Why weren’t you here the last few days?”

“I came by… but when I got to the door, I got spooked and left,” Liu An mumbled.

“Go sleep upstairs if you’re tired,” she said quickly. “I brought some extra blankets.”

Liu An looked relieved and darted off. Before he went, he added, “Boss, maybe strengthen the illusion over the courtyard. It might help keep… people away.”

She found it odd. Would illusions even help? Probably depended on who showed up.

She hadn’t used any illusions in a long time. Now, looking at the tree in the yard, she plucked a few leaves from a small orange on the table and whispered a spell.

The tree shimmered—and its green leaves suddenly gained a soft golden hue, like the color of the orange leaves in her hand.

---

The next day.

“Boss, someone’s gonna steal that thing,” Liu An said, staring out the window at the tree.

“…Uh.” Yuan Yuanyuan leaned over and stared too. Her head hurt.

The tree had slowly turned completely golden overnight.

Demons loved gold.

“Hey! No picking the leaves!” she shouted, just as a small winged demon snuck up, yanked a leaf, and tried to scurry off.

“Boss… this made it way more noticeable,” Liu An said with a wry smile.

“…Yeah.” Yuan Yuanyuan watched the little guy run off. “But the illusion shouldn’t last long…”

And sure enough, the golden leaf dissolved in the little demon’s hand a moment later. The poor thing froze in shock—then quickly fluttered back and dove head-first into the golden tree.

“…Forget it.” Yuan Yuanyuan shut the window. Let them have their fun.

She opened the latest Demon Chronicles chapter and wandered into the comments section.

[“The ultimate flex is always the quiet kind.”]
[“Su-mei is gorgeous. She gives me major yandere vibes.”]

Su-mei? Oh yeah—that was the white-dressed demon girl. Yuan Yuanyuan figured she was probably the female lead. She looked like one: pretty, distinct personality, and seemed competent.

Still… this was a shounen manga. Female leads were often sidelined. All those stories ended in fanservice and big-breasted final picks anyway.

So Yuan Yuanyuan was pretty chill about it. She kept reading, wondering… Where’s the red-robed guy? Haven’t seen him in ages.

Come on, where’s the fanservice bromance stuff? You guys are slacking!

As she scrolled, she heard the growing chatter of little demons outside. Seemed like they were multiplying. Her illusion had turned into a kiddie attraction.

She sighed and wrote a sign:

“Careful—it’s an illusion. Don’t take off your coat.”

Then had Liu An hang it by the tree.

Why is my life like this…

She continued scrolling through comments. As usual, some readers were posting fanfiction, complete with spicy NSFW lines.

Honestly, they were pushing their luck—risking bans for this stuff—but their obsession was unmatched. The comment section was wild.

Still… Yuan Yuanyuan enjoyed reading it. She needed the distraction—she couldn’t shake the unease in her chest.

There were comments about Yuan x Fa Ning, Yuan x Red Robe… but Yuan x Fa Ning was by far the most popular—and spicy enough to make her want to gouge her eyes out.

Yet something compelled her to keep reading until she finished… and the moment she did, she refreshed—and was hit with two more spicy fics.

…

“Why are there so many smutty fics for Demon Chronicles?” Gao Ling asked, staring at her screen.

“It’s just the easiest manga to write smut for,” someone in her QQ chat replied.

“Yeah, especially for Yuan. His character is perfect for that classic ‘flirt on the outside, repressed on the inside’ submissive trope.”

This QQ group, Human-Demon Borderline, only had thirty-something people.

No, it wasn’t a group for gender identity issues. The name was misleading.

Gao Ling had found the group by accident. She was out walking with a friend, pointed at a sketchy flyer on a telephone pole, and asked if her friend could see it. Her friend said no.

So Gao Ling joined the group on the spot.

She wrote in her intro:
[I’ve seen Yuan in real life.]

And she was instantly accepted.

Then she got mobbed by the whole group.

Turned out, she was the only human in the group who’d actually seen someone from the manga in real life. Everyone else just had partial info or secondhand knowledge of demons or Demon Chronicles.

Suddenly, she was the VIP. Everyone called her Big Boss. Every new member had to ask about her meeting with Yuan.

“Sometimes I wonder,” someone in the group typed, “if Yuan saw all this smut… would he just blow up?”

“Nah… I bet he wouldn’t read it. He’d think it’s trash. Don’t you?”

“Big Boss, we need a ruling! What would Yuan do?!”

“Big Boss!”

Gao Ling typed:
“Uh… I don’t know either…”

“C’mon, what’s he like?”

“He’s actually… pretty gentlemanly, pretty chill. Honestly, a lot like his character in the manga.”

“That’s it?”

“Well… he looks like a flirt, but he’s got principles. A bit of justice, a bit of stubbornness.”

“Damn… now I feel bad writing smut about him. Gotta make it extra tasty then.”

“Hey!”

“What? You’ve seen that doujinshi where they drew him like that, right? If they’re not scared, why should I be?”

Gao Ling stared at her screen, speechless.

…Sorry, Yuan. My bad for the OOC art.

She watched the chat explode with new messages.

“You dare read your smut to Yuan’s face?”
“I mean, it’s not like I’m Big Boss—I’ve never even seen him IRL.”
“If you did, you’d probably render him speechless.”
“Pfft… poor guy, so refined, being dragged into this mess. He probably doesn’t even know what BL is!”

…

“…Why is this actually kinda entertaining?” Yuan Yuanyuan muttered, blinking at her screen. “Snap out of it, girl!”

“Boss, someone’s looking for you,” Liu An suddenly called from outside.

“Oh! Be right there!” Yuan Yuanyuan panicked, slammed her phone shut, and dashed out.