Little Pink Starfish

[If that little monster really is Yuan… then why hasn’t he come out and said anything?]

…

This was the only question the group finally settled on after debating for a long time.

Before this, there were all sorts of different questions, like [Who exactly is this Ji Qiu guy?], [What’s the relationship between Yuan and the guy in white clothes?], [Why did Yuan do what he did back then?] But now, all those questions were gone, leaving only one—

[Why doesn’t he just say it?! If he had spoken up, things definitely wouldn’t be like this now!]

[…Maybe he had no choice but not to say it.] Gao Ling said helplessly. [Even though the comic shows it pretty simply, real life probably wasn’t that easy… Besides, right now we only know a rough outline.]

[He should have still said something!!!] the girl on the other end kept typing exclamation marks.

[Maybe it’s because he ran into something that made it hard to speak up. Just because he didn’t say anything back then doesn’t mean he can say it now…]

[He should still say it!]

[…] Gao Ling stayed silent for a while, then quietly asked, [Is that the only sentence you know how to say?]

[What she means is, if Yuan had explained things earlier… at least people wouldn’t be left in the dark now,] a boy in the group said. [Don’t talk to her anymore… she’s been stuck on repeat for an hour.]

Gao Ling pressed her temples in frustration.

Yuan Yuanyuan was also scrolling through the comic comments. Most readers were guessing that the little monster was Si Qun, because Si Qun was currently so cool and domineering. Plus, with the way the comic narrated it, the comments were full of [Was the guy in white the little monster?] and [Who exactly is that little monster?]

She kept flipping through the comments. In this week’s Yao Ji, Ji Qiu had drawn Faning’s situation recently. Faning, after all, was male, and at this point his “cheat code” attributes finally started showing, most notably in his amazing talent with demon techniques.

He combined demon techniques with Taoist spells, fusing them into a hybrid magic usable by both demons and Taoists. While watching that scene, Yuan Yuanyuan’s mind was filled with just two words — “cheat code.”

“Ah… finally a golden finger appears,” Xiao Ying, sitting beside her, glanced at her phone and said.

She lowered her head to work on her homework again, but suddenly felt uneasy.

…There was killing intent.

Xiao Ying hesitantly raised her head and saw Yuan Yuanyuan staring at her with an eerie, miserable, and utterly pained expression.

Those two eyes seemed to glow red under the dim light of night.

“Wh-what’s wrong, Yuan Yuan-jie?” Xiao Ying laughed nervously, wiping cold sweat.

“It’s just… do you know how freaking amazing it is to combine Taoist magic and demon techniques, and then invent your own spells?!” Yuan Yuanyuan said miserably. “How come when you say it, it sounds like you’re selling cabbages?”

“…Is it that impressive?” Xiao Ying laughed awkwardly again. “When Naruto learned Rasengan back then, I just said ‘oh, he learned Rasengan.’ You were the same, weren’t you? What other reaction is there?”

Yuan Yuanyuan struggled for three seconds, but realized she had no comeback.

“…Forget it, forget it,” she waved her hand and bowed her head to continue taking notes.

“If you think about it carefully though… yeah, it’s actually super impressive,” Xiao Ying leaned closer again. “So explain it to me, Yuan Yuan-jie. How impressive exactly?”

“How impressive…” Yuan Yuanyuan thought for a moment. “Let me put it this way… before tonight, even if other demons knew where he lived, he might have had a slim chance of survival. But after tonight, he’s totally done for.”

“Why’s he done for?” Xiao Ying asked. “Because other demons would come kill him?”

“Exactly,” Yuan Yuanyuan gestured dramatically with her hands. “Not just one demon either — all of them would come. Combining demon and Taoist magic… that’s a terrifying talent. Enough to crush entire groups.”

Inside Yuan Yuanyuan’s room, a small warm light glowed dimly. From outside, you could vaguely see a shadow inside wildly gesturing and ranting.

Meanwhile, another younger-looking girl was sitting there, nodding enthusiastically, almost clapping her hands in awe.

The two of them looked very harmonious.

Normally, in front of other demons, Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t have the qualifications to brag. She knew too little and didn’t dare — afraid she’d mess up and get exposed. But in front of Xiao Ying… she could brag as much as she wanted and it felt amazing.

“The demons have a Demon King who rules over the others…” Yuan Yuanyuan drank some tea while continuing to gesture animatedly. Somehow she started drifting into a tangent, “He rules over the demons — do you know where he lives? In L City… even though that place isn’t the capital, demons call it their ‘capital.’ Isn’t that wild?”

“L City?” Xiao Ying scratched her head. “Wasn’t that one of the ancient capitals back in history?”

“Sui and Tang Dynasties,” Yuan Yuanyuan said. “One of the ancient capitals… though I haven’t visited it yet.”

“Did the Demon King have a really handsome grandson?”

“And his grandson’s a half-demon who shows off at school during the day and pretends to be cool at night, speaking in cringey lines like some panda…” Yuan Yuanyuan cut herself off, laughing. “No way! Don’t just make stuff up! If the Demon King’s grandson was really a half-demon… it would cause a massive scandal. His grandfather would probably execute him to ‘preserve honor’…”

While talking, she suddenly remembered something, and drifted off for a moment.

“Yuan Yuan-jie?” Xiao Ying called her back.

“N-no, nothing,” Yuan Yuanyuan snapped out of it. She looked down at Xiao Ying’s homework. “Ah, I’ve been chatting with you for so long… you haven’t finished your homework yet, right? Hurry up and write.”

…

“No one showed up yesterday either?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked Liu An, shocked. “Seriously… are they just messing with me?”

“Boss, who exactly are you waiting for?” Liu An asked.

“No one,” Yuan Yuanyuan said, looking at the little shop’s door. On top of the two old notes (“Boss is often out”), there was a new sticky note — [If you’re not coming, I’m not waiting anymore.]

“Hey Liu An, do you know anything about the current Demon King?” Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly asked after a pause.

“What about him?” Liu An thought for a moment. “He only took the throne a few years ago… The previous Demon King died, and his son took over. Humans and other spirit clans even sent congratulatory gifts and attended the inauguration ceremony. I heard he’s decent, but it’s still early to say for sure.”

“…An inauguration ceremony?” Yuan Yuanyuan muttered. “That sounds… kinda weird.”

As she tidied up the front door, she suddenly realized — holy crap, the demons really do have a feudal hereditary monarchy… I’ve been living in a feudal society all this time…

From feudalism to socialism — how many stages did it take to evolve again…

As an engineering student, Yuan Yuanyuan randomly thought back to those ancient history facts she memorized years ago. While lost in thought, she saw a group of guys and girls wearing strange costumes walk by. Liu An looked up, “The students are holding another Hyakki Yagyō?”

Yuan Yuanyuan narrowed her eyes and stared carefully for a long time before speaking, “No… those are humans.”

Half-demons seem to be a little slow at telling humans apart from monsters… Yuan Yuanyuan had made plenty of mistakes back when she first became a half-demon — mistaking humans for monsters and vice versa. It was only later she gained experience.

Maybe it was because monsters raised among other monsters had an innate feel for each other, like how puppies from the same litter could easily tell each other apart. Yuan Yuanyuan, as an outsider — a cat who barged into a pack of dogs — often didn’t even understand the “language,” let alone pick up the vibes.

Besides scent and instinct, another important clue for monsters to tell each other apart was clothing and accessories.

Those humans earlier, although dressed weirdly too, clearly didn’t have the quality or craftsmanship that real monsters had. Their jewelry was fake too. Most importantly, Yuan Yuanyuan saw one guy lugging a huge fake hammer around…

“There must be some anime convention going on nearby…” Yuan Yuanyuan muttered as she patted herself down, preparing to head home. But then she suddenly thought of something. “Hey, Liu An, want to go hang out there?”

“Me?” Liu An pointed at himself, looking incredulous.

“Yeah, come on, let’s go have some fun! I’ve never dragged another demon to a convention before!” Yuan Yuanyuan had always wanted to bring a real demon to a con and use that overwhelming demon aura to stun everyone.

She never really thought of herself as a demon… and anyway, going alone felt pointless, like watching someone else shop for groceries. But suddenly she remembered — Liu An was perfect! He was a real demon!

“Come come come…” Yuan Yuanyuan grabbed Liu An and dragged him toward the shop. Liu An struggled frantically, “What am I supposed to wear?!”

“There’s tons of clothes in the shop! Just grab anything! We’re not selling them anyway!” Yuan Yuanyuan said as she pulled down an outfit to measure against him. “Look, doesn’t this outfit totally work as a Sesshōmaru cosplay? I’ll use lipstick to draw the facial markings! Plus, our clothes are way better insulated than regular cosplay outfits…”

“…Boss, why do you even have lipstick?” Liu An asked, suddenly speechless, as he reluctantly put on the outfit.

“Alright, let’s go!” Yuan Yuanyuan dragged Liu An outside, chasing after the cosplayers.

…

“There’s not much fun stuff in C City… just a bunch of historical sites from the ancient dynasties or wartime era. Good history, but boring to visit,” Gao Ling said as she walked. “Did everyone bring your protective charms? If not, we’re toast. Six fresh spirit clansfolk all together? One monster could wipe us out.”

“We’ve got them, we’ve got them,” the group all nodded. “We strung them up and hung them around our necks.”

“Good. Let’s head out for a walk then. Only five of you showed up. With me and Brother Qun, we’ll take you to the nearby snack streets.”

Gao Ling said this as she pushed open the door. Outside, a gentle snow was falling. A group of brightly dressed cosplayers were passing by her shop, their colorful costumes reflecting in the sunlight.