Little Pink Starfish

“Be reasonable…” Gao Ling felt a headache coming on as she looked at the lively discussion in the group chat. “Why is everyone so excited? They weren’t like this a few days ago.”

These past few days, everyone in the group had been strangely giddy, caught in a state of inexplicable excitement—as if they had each just discovered some huge secret, looking like they wanted to yell, “I just found something amazing, do you want to ask me? Want to ask?!”

It all traced back to the news they had brought back that day:
“Yuan was injured—and it looked extremely serious.”

[Hey uh…] Gao Ling privately messaged the admin, [is it really okay to let everyone keep talking about this?]

[What else can they talk about…] The admin replied, [everyone seems really interested. Besides, even if you tell them not to, they can’t hold it in.]

It… sounded kind of reasonable.

Gao Ling thought about it. Forcing them to stop now might really be impossible…

After all, thinking back carefully, the events they experienced that day were absolutely terrifying. Gao Ling herself refused to recall it—whenever she did, she had nightmares.

But for those who hadn’t been there, it wasn’t the same. After hearing their recounts, many said, despite being scared half to death, it was totally worth it.

Some people even joked that if they could trade places and experience what happened in the bathroom, they would actually be willing to do it…

It seemed like encountering Yuan in such a setting was seen as something very interesting—and in the end, Yuan hadn’t actually harmed them, right?

[What, you wanted something bad to happen?] Gao Ling asked. [With monsters like Yuan, if they make a move, it’s likely a one-shot kill.]

[But Yuan’s temper seems pretty good, right?] someone replied. [They didn’t even attack you guys, and now you’re badmouthing them behind their back.]

Gao Ling thought to herself… Does Yuan’s temper really count as “good”?

Strictly speaking, judging by that day’s events—it probably did.

However, there was something that none of them had mentioned to the group:

They had, in fact, discussed Yuan’s possible death right in front of Yuan while hiding in the bathroom.

…

The most excited ones in the chat were the younger girls—especially the younger teenagers.

That day’s events were honestly too frightening, so a lot of the details hadn’t been mentioned, especially considering there were minors in the group.

But now, it seemed like the ones most excited were exactly these little brats, which made Gao Ling seriously consider whether she should just “add fuel to the fire” and tell them everything that happened.
Maybe then they’d stop being so damn excited.

[Why bother worrying about them?] someone whispered in the group chat. [Those kids have spirit-sight anyway. If they’ve lived this long, they must know some survival tricks. I heard one of them even comes from a family of exorcists.]

[From an exorcist family…?] Gao Ling was astonished. [Then why are they fangirling over Yuan? Isn’t that weird?]

[Let them chase whatever star they want,] the person replied. [Besides, kids these days are clever.]

[Do their families know they’re fans of Yuan?]

[Probably not.]

[Then… do they know what kind of monster Yuan actually is?]

[Of course they know.]

[Then…] Gao Ling started to say something but couldn’t continue. She rubbed her aching forehead.

Thinking about it, that little girl from the exorcist family seemed to be the most excited—asking endless questions about Yuan’s injuries, even howling like a wolf in the chat…

Maybe she’s hoping Yuan dies sooner… Gao Ling thought weakly.

After all… exorcists.

By now, Gao Ling understood that the exorcists in Demon Notes were basically the real-world exorcists.

The hyperactive girls in the group kept chatting nonstop until two in the morning—two were in middle school, one had just entered high school—and since they were on winter break, they could stay up late.

[What if Yuan’s really badly injured?] one of the younger girls said. [He just got selected as a top figure representing the monsters on this year’s annual rankings, and now he’s already like this… But probably no one besides us knows how bad it really is.]

[Annual rankings? What’s that?] someone asked.

[It’s a list picking the top fighters among humans and monsters,] the girl explained. [Like a show of force from both sides. Each side picks their best fighters to display, and then they act all friendly about it on the surface.]

[Oh, the one where humans and monsters jointly create the rankings?] another girl asked. [Send a pic—we want to see!]

The girl hesitated a bit, then sent a photo.
It was a golden-embossed page with a small portrait of Yuan, and a line of text underneath:

“The Last Glimpse.”

Everyone stared at the image silently. Then someone asked:

[The Last Glimpse? Wasn’t he considered a traitor? Who wrote this?]

[It’s jointly drafted by humans and monsters, but because humans currently hold slightly more influence,] the girl explained, [this kind of description mostly comes from the human side. The “Blood Jade Demon Army” that Yuan used to belong to is still a big name among exorcists, even if the monsters themselves despise it.]

[So…] Gao Ling said, [this is like… an award from the enemy?]

[Yeah, pretty much.]

Gao Ling stared at the image for a long time.

The document clearly said that the words came from a major monster figure named Fish Wu.

Comparing the reality to the document, Gao Ling was at a loss for words.

What is this…

Your friends didn’t recognize you. In the end, the one who acknowledged you… was your enemy?

How would you feel… seeing that?

…

“It’s almost fully healed,” Yuan Yuanyuan said quietly as she glanced down at her chest. “Only a small scar left…”

She pulled out her bottle of gentian violet and dabbed the little wound again. Around the area, her skin was stained an ugly purple color that wouldn’t wash off.

After it dried, she pulled her clothes back down, grabbed the bowl of soup on the table, and drank it in one gulp.

“Boss, how come you never gain weight?” Liu An asked.

He was holding a small notebook—Yuan Yuanyuan had lost track of how many notebooks he’d gone through. He switched them faster than that high schooler Tang Shi.

“Probably a natural talent,” Yuan Yuanyuan said. “Or maybe just being too busy lately.”

She’d been busy hunting for new books to read…
Ever since she finished Blood Jade Demon Code, she felt strangely empty and bored.

As usual, Yuan Yuanyuan calmly waited for midnight.
Today was Demon Notes’ Monday update. She sat eating snacks and drinking tea, waiting for the clock to strike twelve.

The past few issues had been focused on Fa Ning’s increasingly badass moments.
He had even unlocked a necromancer skill and could now communicate with ghosts.

Ever since Fa Ning started working in that creepy place filled with corpses and research notes, the ghost clan members had taken a strange liking to him.
Meaning, in future battles, the ghost clan might actually step in to help him.

So what’s the relationship between the ghost clan and the demon clan? Yuan Yuanyuan wondered as she spat out a watermelon seed.

Actually, they were very closely related—ghosts were part of demons, and demons contained ghosts.

She vaguely remembered reading a book that said long ago, ghosts and demons weren’t even distinct from each other.
Later on, ghosts evolved into a hierarchy: upper, middle, and lower classes.
The “heavenly ghosts” at the top essentially became deities—or monsters—depending on their origins.

Breaking it all down was messy. It was like trying to distinguish decomposition reactions and acid-base neutralization in chemistry class… except nobody could do it properly except specialists.
Yuan Yuanyuan had only skimmed a little out of curiosity.

Still, if you thought carefully about it, it was pretty wild.

This basically means Fa Ning already has a whole faction of monsters inherently friendly to him. That’s a gigantic cheat for the future plot.

She shook her head, listening to the clock, getting ready to open the new comic chapter.

Just as she was about to click, Liu An peeked in, “Boss? I’ve got something tonight, might not be back.”

“Okay, go,” Yuan Yuanyuan waved him off.

She opened the comic, and as the new issue loaded, she froze.

Today’s cover… was her.

But it was an extremely chilling image—something that would make anyone’s skin crawl.

[Holy crap, what a symbolic cover!] People were shouting in the group chat.

[Who said Yuan’s injury was old? It’s confirmed now—Jiuqiu is hinting at it!]

On the cover, Yuan was wearing all black—casual clothes, simple and plain, relying purely on her physique.

Yuan usually dressed casually, mostly black, no fancy decorations. It all depended on how good your figure was.

And Yuan wore it stunningly well.

She sat casually on a corridor, with a pot of tea beside her, watching the sunset.

Half her face was bathed in the warm glow—half hidden in shadow.

The side exposed to sunlight was breathtakingly handsome.

Sharp features, deep-set eyes, high nose bridge, flawless skin.

But the other half…

The other half, from the eye socket to the cheekbone, was nothing but exposed white bone.

This issue’s title was: “Return from Hell.”

[Holy crap, what does this mean?] someone asked. [Is this a metaphor? “Return from Hell”?]

[Definitely fits the theme,] another said. [God, Yuan’s gorgeous here. I used to think he looked rough… but damn, now he looks like he really could’ve impersonated Ran Niang.]

…

Yuan Yuanyuan touched her chest lightly.

Did they… transfer the chest wound to the face?

What the hell—how much grudge do they have against me?

She stared at the cover.
Jiuqiu had drawn it so beautifully—like a classical ukiyo-e painting mixing beauty and skeletons.

Yuan wasn’t idle in the picture, either.

[He held a brush dipped in deep crimson ink and carefully painted flowers blooming across the left side of his skeletal face.]

[The crimson blossoms spread, delicate and vivid, like fresh blooms on a vine.]

Yuan Yuanyuan glanced down at her own chest again—covered in blotchy purple stains from the gentian violet.

Mr. Violet Solution…

Thanks for turning my ugly reality into something artistic, comrade Jiuqiu.

She looked back at “Yuan” in the manga and had an immediate triple-denial:

—Who’s this freak?

—Not me.

—Never met them.

Speaking of which…

She mimicked the pose shown on the cover—then slowly showed a pained, conflicted expression.

If you’re injured like that… wouldn’t drinking water leak out?

And if you slept sideways at night… wouldn’t you drool all over?