Little Pink Starfish

“For the demon race.”

Yuan Yuanyuan almost bit the tip of her tongue, forcing herself to say those words.

——

Everyone tells a few lies growing up.

In fact, Yuan Yuanyuan lied a lot more as a child than she did after becoming an adult.

As a kid, she lied to get out of school, claiming to be sick. She lied when she was scared of being punished, saying that the scratch on her face wasn’t her own doing but caused by the neighbor’s kid…

Childhood is the most fragile time. Back then, kids had almost no power to resist the world. So, when faced with unsolvable problems, without proper guidance, most would naturally choose to escape.

Later, as Yuan Yuanyuan grew up, she gradually understood — you can’t just lie.

This was partly because she grew wiser, but also because as she became stronger, there were fewer and fewer things she needed to lie about. The stronger her heart, the more prepared she was to face problems head-on.

Lying is, at its core, a form of weakness.

Someone capable of facing everything head-on has little reason to lie.

People who lie all the time — say what you will — are simply fearful.

After growing up, Yuan Yuanyuan no longer lied about small things. If she forgot to wear thick clothes and her mother scolded her, she could simply admit it.

That way, there was no need to lie about trivial matters.

Over the years, Yuan Yuanyuan considered herself very honest and reliable, almost never lying. The only lie she had told in recent years was about her identity as “Yuan.”

Yet at this moment, drowsy and drunk, she almost instantly felt like she was that small, helpless child again.

As if some hidden switch inside her had been flicked.

Without even knowing why, Yuan Yuanyuan opened her mouth and spoke.

Half-asleep, she wasn’t even fully aware of what she was saying. Subconsciously, she said, “I came back for the demon race.”

“Truly, for the demon race.”

“Maybe you don’t believe me… but I can prove it with actions.”

When she said this, she didn’t even manage her own expression.

But if someone were standing in front of her at that moment, they would have seen a sincerity on her face so real it would have been impossible to doubt her.

She wasn’t crying, nor smiling — she simply sat there, quietly speaking those words.

Her face was flushed red, and although her eyes were open, they couldn’t focus. Her breath was full of the smell of alcohol.

After saying those two short sentences, she didn’t add anything else — just those calm, simple words.

Yet these two sentences weighed more than any grand speech.

Even the Blue Clan Leader, who had considered the best possible answers beforehand, found these words better than anything he had expected.

He, too, was drunkenly flushed, but he suddenly lifted his head and stared at Yuan Yuanyuan.

Then, right in front of him, Yuan Yuanyuan wobbled twice, then suddenly collapsed face-first onto the table, completely silent.

——

“How could something like this happen?” Tang Shi stared at the forum, unable to sleep. “What about the ceasefire agreement? What about the treaty?”

Scrolling through the posts, Tang Shi read the summaries written by other students:

【Early Monday morning, near the northwest border between human and demon settlements, seven demons went missing after being captured without cause. Their whereabouts remain unknown.】

【At dawn, inspection teams noticed the incident and tried negotiating with humans. The talks failed. Human forces then sent Taoists to seal the border and issued a red alert.】

【By early Tuesday, no progress had been made. Human forces remained aggressive and were even attempting to capture more innocent demons.】

“They’re pushing us too far…” Tang Shi’s chest burned with anger as she read, and the replies underneath were filled with the same rage.

【How could this happen? Where’s the Northwest Army? Where’s the General?】

【There’s no General in the Northwest now, just someone temporarily promoted from Lieutenant General.】

【Isn’t it that rabbit who used to just do inspections?】

【Damn, they’re just bullying the Northwest because there’s no one left! All the old generals are either dead or wounded. Why don’t they go grab people in the Central Plains instead, huh?】

Tang Shi was so furious she was about to jump in and post a reply when her phone rang.

“Hello? Qiu Ling?”

Tang Shi heard Qiu Ling’s anxious voice, though she tried to sound casual, “Tang Shi, what’s with all the crows yesterday and today? They’re all demon crows, right?”

“Nothing, nothing serious,” Tang Shi quickly composed herself. “It’s just for sending messages.”

“Really? But… what happened? Something big, right?” Qiu Ling asked.

Tang Shi hadn’t planned to explain, but she was hot-tempered. Once Qiu Ling asked, she immediately rattled off everything like a machine gun, leaving Qiu Ling stunned.

“So, why did they start capturing people?” Qiu Ling suddenly asked.

“What else? Those idiot humans think they can bully us demons because they think we’re weak!” Tang Shi snapped, then immediately apologized, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Qiu Ling said. “Sometimes, I think we humans are idiots too… But can you show me that ceasefire agreement?”

“Sure.” Tang Shi quickly copied it down and sent it to her. It was actually the first time she had read through it carefully herself.

Before this, she had never taken the time — just like how few people ever bother to read the treaties from World War I or II.

Qiu Ling soon replied:

“You see? It clearly says humans aren’t allowed to step into demon territory without permission… How did they still go capture demons?”

“I don’t know. They just crossed the border and grabbed them,” Tang Shi said.

“I’m not sure what’s going on with you demons,” Qiu Ling said, “but… just stay put. No matter what, don’t move. Stay home. I’m coming to find you.”

Tang Shi was still confused when she noticed another flock of crows flying past her window.

C City was practically a ghost town these two days… flocks of crows everywhere, even on TV, though experts insisted it was a seasonal phenomenon. Bullshit.

Tang Shi turned back to her computer and saw new posts popping up.

One post was titled:
【Have you heard? War might be breaking out!】

She stared blankly at the screen.

Outside, the crows soared, delivering message after message to the demons of the city — like clouds of black mist rolling over the sky.

——

“I just got drunk for one night… and now what the hell is going on?” Yuan Yuanyuan grimaced, clutching her pounding head, staring at the crows outside.

“I heard something happened on the border,” someone said. “Humans mistakenly captured demons.”

“Mistakenly?” Yuan Yuanyuan thought, “How do you mistakenly capture demons? Are they treating the ceasefire and surrender agreements like toilet paper?”

【No unauthorized human entry into demon settlements.】

This wasn’t just a written rule — it was an agreement sealed in blood.

Unlike human-to-human treaties, demon-human treaties had actual enforcement consequences.

Something about all this felt off to Yuan Yuanyuan. She glanced up — more crows again?

As she was wondering, her phone rang — it was Qiu Ling, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Boss, I just called Tang Shi… she said humans and demons might be going to war. Is it true?”

“What the hell, who told you that?” Yuan Yuanyuan nearly dropped her phone.

“Tang Shi said it’s all over the demon internal forums,” Qiu Ling said. “I wasn’t sure, so I wanted to check with someone reliable.”

Someone reliable… me? Yuan Yuanyuan thought.

“I just…” She was about to say she got so drunk last night she passed out and knew nothing when her chest mirror suddenly buzzed.

“Hey, Qiu Ling, I gotta go for a second,” Yuan Yuanyuan said, juggling the phone while picking up the mirror.

The text on the mirror read:

Respectful Salutations to Lord Yuan:
After unanimous discussion among the Clan Leaders and the Elder Council, we have decided to invite you to join the negotiation team.
Regarding the issue of the Northwest border, we hope you will represent us in negotiations with the humans.

What the heck is this?

Yuan Yuanyuan wanted to keep reading, but her head throbbed so badly she nearly cried.

“Why did you drink so much?” Liu An walked over. “Even if it’s the Blue Clan Leader, you didn’t have to go that hard.”

“You know him?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked.

“Of course,” Liu An said. “The Blue Clan is one of the most prominent families in C City. I recognized the bottle design this morning. Why’d you drink with him anyway? What were you thinking?”

“I dunno.” Yuan Yuanyuan said, “Quick, rub my head, it hurts like hell.”

She turned back to Qiu Ling, “What were you saying?”

——

In a warm house, an old man with gray hair paced anxiously. Suddenly, the door opened and some people carried a man inside.

“How could you let the Clan Leader drink himself like this!” the old man roared. “What the hell were you all doing?”

“Don’t, don’t scold them…” the drunken man mumbled, “It’s fine… Yuan… it’s all fine…”

The moment he spoke, a girl nearby shouted, “Brother!”

“Alright, alright, get him inside,” the old man said. A woman came over to help carry him back to his room.

Even after being laid down, the Blue Clan Leader’s face was still flushed, his expression almost manic.

The woman looked worried and said, “Quick, make some sobering soup… How did he drink this much? I’ve never seen him this drunk before.”

“All… drank…” the Blue Clan Leader slurred.

“All of it?” the girl’s eyes widened. “You two finished the whole bottle?”

The Blue Clan Leader tried to say more, but gagged and dry-heaved.

“Hurry, bring the sobering soup!” the woman cried out. “If he keeps this up, one day he’ll drink himself to death.”

“Seriously, hurting the enemy a thousand, but wounding yourself eight hundred,” the girl laughed bitterly. “Forget it. I’m heading back. We’ll deal with the Elder Council stuff tomorrow.”

She left with the woman, quietly shutting the door behind them.

Only the Blue Clan Leader remained.

After a while, lying there, the Blue Clan Leader suddenly mumbled:

“Like a little brat like you could make decisions for the Elder Council.”

He flipped over again and finally drifted into a deep, drunken sleep.