Little Pink Starfish

Before the Saturday update of Demon Chronicle, Yuan Yuanyuan already had a thick little notebook in her hands, filled with notes and speculations she had gathered from all kinds of books during this period.

She didn’t use any symbols or coded language in it anymore—because she was afraid even she might not understand it later. Besides, she figured this part of demon history wouldn’t stay buried much longer. Even though the demon authorities were doing their best to hide it now, it wouldn’t take more than a few drawings from Ji Qiu to reduce decades of effort to ashes.

Lately, Yuan Yuanyuan had become increasingly afraid of Ji Qiu. Especially as more and more narrative threads started to come together, she had a growing sense of unease. She didn’t know what that man was planning, but she was sure of one thing—

This wasn’t just about drawing a manga. No way. This was something big. Earth-shaking, world-upending kind of big.

These days, just seeing Ji Qiu’s cat avatar made her flinch.

There was no helping it. The fear was ingrained.

But even so, Yuan Yuanyuan had begun to accept the situation. In her notebook, she’d outlined several major categories, the first being: who had real conflicts with Yi Qi (一七) back then?

Yi Qi was likely a political casualty, a loser in some grand internal struggle. So who were the winners? There had to be someone who came out on top, right?

Yuan Yuanyuan circled two names: the head of the Li clan, and Yu Wu (渔伍).

The Li family head was on the list because of what he said in the comic: “For loyalty.”

Yu Wu was there for the same reason—he had once said something eerily similar.

Yuan Yuanyuan drew a big question mark above their names.

Which led to the next question—loyal to whom? Who exactly was this mysterious figure that both these people were so loyal to?

Yuan Yuanyuan reasoned: If they were the loyal ones, that made Yi Qi the disloyal one. But who was he “disloyal” to?

The two she listed could be considered generals back in the day, even if they didn’t outrank Yi Qi.

Looking at analogous moments in human history, especially those involving racial purges, the instigating side usually had a common spiritual leader—someone who symbolized their ideology. That leader usually became notorious afterward. Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t need to finish that comparison out loud…

She started drawing parallels to a historical “leader” in demon society and, yeah, the conclusion she came to…

…

…Well, it was something she’d been subconsciously avoiding. But now, all the signs were pointing in that direction, and she couldn’t ignore it any longer.

The moment she reached that conclusion in her mind, a single thought echoed:

Holy shit… this is bad. If that’s really the case, we are so screwed.

No wonder the higher-ups had it out for Yi Qi. He’d pissed off the boss of the boss of the boss of the boss. Her own superior probably wasn’t even a blip on that guy’s radar… and she was still relying on that superior for protection.

So in other words…

The King of a Hundred Demons back then might’ve been a proponent of bloodline purity and implemented terrifying policies. Yi Qi opposed those policies, maybe even resisted with his Blood Jade Demon Troops. He might’ve led some internal rebellion.

Yuan Yuanyuan followed this logic step by step.

—Yi Qi was suddenly branded a traitor.

—Someone once said the Blood Jade Demon Army was wiped out because of him.

—All traces of Yi Qi had been erased. Suspiciously clean.

…No surprise. That era was probably embarrassing even for demons now. History gets whitewashed all the time.

Still, the higher-ups hadn’t really made any useful changes. Odds were, there were plenty among them who still believed in that old bloodline doctrine.

Especially among older demons. That demographic tends to be more stubborn. Add in their personal experience of the era… their worldview would naturally be different.

Like the Li family head.

Or Yu Wu.

Even the old man at the tavern who threw a cup during that one conversation. And the big demons who surrounded her during that time at the outskirts nursery. The crow demon who challenged her to a duel…

As for the supposed massacre of humans by Yi Qi—Yuan Yuanyuan leaned toward it being a setup. Or at the very least, there had to be deeper context. As the head of the spy corps, Yi Qi couldn’t possibly have had clean hands. But when it came to this specific issue, Yuan Yuanyuan believed he had integrity.

Honestly…

She shook her head. Thinking back to how the demon world used to operate—it was kind of unbelievable.

Well, that’s history for you. She wasn’t going to judge. Humans didn’t play clean either, and they were often far worse.

Still… something didn’t sit right.

Just then, someone pushed open the door. It was Liu An, wearing a new coat he’d recently bought. He’d finally tossed his old one.

“Boss! I’ve developed a new demon technique recently. Want to see it?” Liu An peeked in at her.

Yuan Yuanyuan capped her pen, stood up, and followed him out. Liu An had the look of a kid who just found a cool toy.

He grabbed a small stool for her. Yuan Yuanyuan sat down and rested her chin on her hand.

Ever since the golden tree had appeared in their yard, loads of small demons had moved in. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t get rid of them. Now they were poking their heads out from the branches to watch.

Liu An stood before her, took a deep breath, and muttered a spell. Instantly, golden light flared all around.

Yuan Yuanyuan blinked as her vision was flooded with gold, and then… a warm sensation began to spread.

That warmth quickly filled the entire yard. Yuan Yuanyuan felt her own heart warm up as well.

“This place was always cold,” Liu An said, exhaling. “The warmth we felt before was all fake. Now it’s truly warm.”

“How’d you do this?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked.

“I read a book the other day,” Liu An replied. “It was all about fire-based spells. I modified one.”

“This… is pretty impressive.” Yuan Yuanyuan reached out and caught a falling spark.

She had never seen a demon use a fire spell like this. Most just burned things.

Yuan Yuanyuan had always wanted to use spells gently, like those fairytale spirits. But all she ever managed was aggressive fire-bursting.

Still, she knew there were demons out there who used beautiful spells—like flower spirits who made all flowers bloom overnight, or fish demons who revived dry rivers.

She just wasn’t one of them. No matter what she did, her spells always leaned toward destruction.

If she tried to make flowers bloom, it’d probably be all illusion.

If she tried to make a river flow again… she’d probably cause a flood.

Her skill points were clearly all in violence, shapeshifting, and escaping.

Demon abilities were closely tied to their original forms. Yuan Yuanyuan was pretty sure she wasn’t born as a particularly elegant type of demon.

Even that beautiful tree she conjured—an illusion.

Blink, and it could freeze someone to death.

“So Liu An, you’re that type of demon, huh…” Yuan Yuanyuan murmured, chin in hand.

“Huh? What did you say, boss?” he asked.

“Nothing…” Yuan Yuanyuan felt slightly annoyed. What the hell, did we switch roles or something? You, a dude, are out here being all graceful, and I’m the one smashing everything like a berserker.

“You taught me this, you know. You’re basically my master now. You should name this technique.” Liu An smiled.

“You want me to name it?” Yuan Yuanyuan panicked. “No, no, I can’t do that. I barely taught you anything.”

“You taught me all the basics,” Liu An said. “Even if the style is totally different from yours, please give it a name.”

“Uh… give me some time to think. I don’t want to ruin it with a bad name.”

“No rush, boss. Want me to teach it to you? I can give you the incantation.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I wouldn’t be able to use it anyway.” She turned to grab a dictionary from the shop—a romance novel–writing one—and flipped through it. “I’m just not wired for that type of magic. Not annoyed by it or anything… just no talent for it.”

“Boss, your spells are all super destructive. That illusion spell you taught me—yours could cover a whole area and deal damage. Mine just hides me.”

“You don’t need to overthink that. Spells are tied to who you are.”

“Boss… do you think it’s connected to our mindset? Or life experience? Or maybe the events we’ve witnessed? Different inner worlds create different magic styles. Like, cold personalities won’t use healing spells, warm ones won’t use illusions…”

Yuan Yuanyuan cut in, “Hey, that’s a little too idealistic. Look at me—my best skill is illusion. All kinds of illusions. So what does that say about my personality?”

“You’re a weirdo. Doesn’t count,” Liu An said flatly, booting her out of the category. “I’ve been watching lots of demons and keeping notes. I think my theory holds water.”

“You… actually took notes on this?” Yuan Yuanyuan took his notebook and flipped through it in silence.

“Tsk tsk… everyone except a few oddballs like you fits the pattern,” Liu An said. “Plus, some demons’ abilities shift with time. Things they didn’t used to know can develop. But once you learn something, it’s rare to forget it.”

“I don’t get half of this…” Yuan Yuanyuan tossed the notebook back. “So you and I are just polar opposites, huh?”

“Not really. I thought we were similar… didn’t expect us to be this different.”

“You thought I’d have gentle magic too?” she asked.

“No.” Liu An paused, then said, “I thought I’d have scary magic.”

…

Yuan Yuanyuan looked at him. His expression had turned serious.

“But when I use magic… I always think about happy memories. I just naturally gravitate toward that stuff. I guess I’m just a big softie. I can’t bring myself to be intense or harsh.”

“Actually, the fact you can use magic like that… is a really good thing,” Yuan Yuanyuan said.

Liu An looked up at her.

“Going by your logic, demons who can use that kind of magic… must be pretty happy inside, right? And being happy is a good thing.”

“…I’m not sure my theory is all correct. I mean, take you for example…”

“Don’t include me. I’m a total weirdo.” Yuan Yuanyuan waved it off. “Train hard. There’s no such thing as useless magic. If you really want to learn mine, maybe I’ll teach you someday. We’ll see if you can handle it.”

She walked a few steps forward—then suddenly stopped.

The mirror at her chest was vibrating.

“Stay inside,” she told Liu An, slipping on a coat and heading out the door.

Liu An called after her, asking where she was going, but she didn’t answer.

Outside, she pulled out the mirror and saw a new message written on it:

[Certain higher-ups are unhappy with what you’ve done recently. Please be cautious in the coming days. Also, a clan head who opposes your actions is on their way to you now.]