Little Pink Starfish

Tang Shi stared at the words on the forum — each post felt like it was stabbing at her nerves.

【Will humans and demons really go to war?】
【If war breaks out, who will be sent from the Northwest to fight?】

This forum never had a lot of people — even at its peak, there were only about a thousand users online at once. Yet at this moment, every time Tang Shi refreshed the page, new posts popped up.

Everyone who could get online had gone crazy, posting sensational rumors all over the forum.

Meanwhile, Yuan Yuanyuan was still on the phone with Qiu Ling, listening to every piece of information, her brain working furiously.

“Yeah, Tang Shi said it’s something happening over in the Northwest,” Qiu Ling said, trying to remember. “The Northwest is pretty far from us though… If they really fight, will it have anything to do with us?”

“Wait, what?” Yuan Yuanyuan knocked on her pounding head, flipped open her communication mirror, and glanced at it. “Hold up. Did you say the Northwest?”

“What’s wrong, Boss? You know something?” Qiu Ling asked.

Qiu Ling was different from Tang Shi — Yuan Yuanyuan could personally feel it.

Tang Shi treated her with an attitude like, “Oh, just a salted fish.”
Whereas Qiu Ling’s attitude was more like, “Okay, you’re a salted fish, but at least you’re a salted fish among big monsters.”

The difference was huge.

So at this moment, Qiu Ling didn’t look down on Yuan Yuanyuan’s usual laziness at all. She still came to ask her for advice — a clear sign that Qiu Ling’s intelligence completely crushed Tang Shi’s. At least she hadn’t forgotten that her boss was a “big demon.”

Honestly, even Yuan Yuanyuan herself sometimes forgot about that.

But… it just so happened that she did have some insider information right now.

Yuan Yuanyuan stared at the words on her mirror, thinking deeply.

This timing… Was it a coincidence? Well, not really — things with such high stakes naturally attracted more attention.

She carefully examined the wording again.

Negotiation?

She thought for a moment. They said they were forming a negotiation team — not sending armies directly.

With that in mind, Yuan Yuanyuan told Qiu Ling, “Tell Tang Shi to calm down — there’s no war yet. Stop scaring yourself… And even if there were, a high school kid like her wouldn’t be sent to the frontlines.”

“Really, Boss?” Qiu Ling’s tone immediately relaxed. “You’re not lying to me, right? Tang Shi scared the hell out of me earlier.”

“At least for now, nothing’s happening… And even if it does, neither of you could do anything anyway.”

“Boss, where did you hear this from?” Qiu Ling asked. “Is the source reliable? I mean… with people like me who have a bit of spiritual sensitivity, should I be worried?”

Ordinary people, upon hearing this kind of thing, would always first ask: Is the source reliable?

Yuan Yuanyuan used to think the same way. Every time something big happened, she would worry a lot, because low-level demons had so little power or rights. She had suffered enough from lack of information.

But this time…

She glanced down at her mirror.

Source — Top-level officials.

…Untouched. Pure.

First-hand news. Exclusive.

Yuan Yuanyuan stared blankly for a few seconds, unsure how to even describe her feelings.

Somehow… it felt kind of surreal?

She chatted a bit more with Qiu Ling but couldn’t exactly tell her the truth, so she kept reassuring her that it would be fine before hanging up. Then, leaning on the wall, she went upstairs.

The higher-ups must be super busy right now, Yuan Yuanyuan thought absentmindedly. Not that it has anything to do with me.

Since no one had come to call for her, she decided to just catch up on sleep.

——

Outside, the situation was turbulent. Across different regions, the demons had already heard about the incident, and every settlement was in chaos.

Liu An lived in a demon-populated area, so he mainly heard rumors circulating among demons.

Compared to them, he was more curious about how things looked on the Taoist side, because ever since he first heard the rumors, it all sounded fishy to him.

Why would they just randomly capture seven demons?

And why is there still no official statement?

The relationship between humans and demons had always been tense. It didn’t take much to trigger a massive crisis. Yet now, days had passed, and no one had offered any proper explanation.

Liu An felt like a blanket had been thrown over his senses — he could neither hear nor see what was happening.

Demon communication methods were so outdated that it made his head hurt. Even now, he hadn’t seen a single official announcement, while among the demons, rumors were flying everywhere.

Honestly… compared to the demon side, the human bureaucratic systems — though heavily criticized — actually seemed kind of advanced.

For the first time, Liu An felt a strong urge to go back to his hometown — just to see for himself.

The two places weren’t even that far apart — less than two days by train. But emotionally, it felt like they were separated by an ocean.

He agonized over it for a whole day and finally decided to take a trip home. At least he could gather some information firsthand. He also wanted to pass along what little he had learned.

When he mustered the courage the next day to tell his boss, Yuan Yuanyuan was surprisingly calm:

“Ah? You’re leaving too? Good timing. I’m heading out as well.”

“Huh? Boss, you’re going too?” Liu An froze, then suddenly realized, “Wait… Boss, you’re also…”

She only packed a large suitcase — stuffed a couple of clothes she had made herself, some daily necessities — and then turned to him, saying, “Everyone’s saying they want to visit home. C City’s getting a little unstable lately… so, yeah, I’m going to check on my grandson.”

“You’re going home?” Liu An asked.

“Home?” Yuan Yuanyuan paused, then said lightly, “My old house was gone ages ago. Nothing to go back to.”

After speaking, she closed the suitcase, pulled out a gold bar, and handed it to him. “Use this for the trip. Come back early if you can. Don’t worry too much — but stay sharp, alright?”

——

After Liu An left, Yuan Yuanyuan sat with her suitcase, waiting for her escort.

She had already requested leave from the tavern. Rent and utilities were paid. The fridge was empty.

She didn’t know why, but it oddly felt like she was going on vacation — even though something huge seemed to be happening.

Normally, whenever she was “waiting for transport,” it was always in a panic — a habit formed from years of running for her life. So sitting here relaxed felt almost weird.

Tonight, the sky was especially clear. A big, bright moon hung like a painting.

Yuan Yuanyuan stared at the sky, bored out of her mind.

When will they get here?
They had contacted her days ago about joining the negotiation team.

Given her “Yuan” identity… she didn’t really have a good excuse to refuse.

Still… she had no idea what she was supposed to do. Negotiations? Wasn’t that a diplomat’s job? She wasn’t trained for this.

In the afternoon, Liu An had left. The shop was empty except for her. It was almost 2 AM now…

When are they coming?

She sat there, bored, thinking maybe she should just lie down for a bit — when suddenly she saw a dazzling star in the sky.

The star appeared near the moon — but oddly, it kept getting bigger.

Bigger.

Until it filled Yuan Yuanyuan’s entire field of vision.

Her mouth fell open wider and wider…

The grass around her started to shake — lightly at first, then more violently.

The big tree outside swayed heavily.

Above her head, a massive “ship” slowly descended.

The whole street plunged into darkness.

The ship blocked out all the moonlight.

Yuan Yuanyuan clamped her jaw shut. She could only see the ship’s wooden underside when she looked up.

Further away, she could just barely make out glimmers of red, purple, and green lights — all on the ship.

The ship was bizarrely long, stretching beyond sight. Looking around, Yuan Yuanyuan realized several neighborhoods and even a nearby school were under its shadow.

It wasn’t landing — too many high-rise buildings below — so it hovered just above the rooftops.

The school’s bell tower almost touched the ship’s bottom.

Suddenly, there was a gentle knock at the door:

“Please board the ship.”

The voice in the darkness was so ghostly it almost made her soul jump.

Yuan Yuanyuan cursed silently, grabbed her suitcase, and left.

She forced her expression into something neutral, pretending to be calm.

Looking at the ship’s height… she quickly turned into a puff of red mist and floated upward.

——

The moment she stepped onto the ship’s deck, she froze.

Below was a dark void.

Above — blazing lights everywhere.

It was like she had stepped into a nest of demons.

At least a hundred demons were gathered on the deck, under shimmering lamps.

They all looked like they had walked straight out of ancient paintings.

Nearby, a half-naked female demon danced gracefully in an open space.

The moment Yuan Yuanyuan appeared, all the demons turned to look at her.

Hundreds of eyes — glowing red or green — locked onto her.

For a second, the whole ship seemed to fall silent.

Her heart almost stopped too.

Not a pleasant feeling at all.

Especially when everyone nearby looked terrifying in their own way.

The demons wore elaborate ancient-style clothes, their hair styled into complex buns, adorned with luxurious hairpins that gleamed under the demonic lights.

Closest to her was a woman lazily smoking a long pipe, her half-bared shoulder covered in red cloud tattoos.

The woman glanced up and down at Yuan Yuanyuan.

Meanwhile, Yuan Yuanyuan stood awkwardly in her casual clothes, sneakers, and dragging a Crayon Shin-chan suitcase.

“Would you like me to carry your luggage to your room?” a soft voice asked nearby.

Turning her head, Yuan Yuanyuan saw a woman in a cheongsam — her hair elegantly pinned up, her red lips oozing charm.

“…Sure,” Yuan Yuanyuan muttered, tossing her suitcase at her.

Almost like running away, she hurried after the cheongsam girl toward her room.

All the while, she didn’t dare look back.