Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan followed the Taoist priests, her mind still turning over what the white-bearded old man had told her a few days ago. Her hands hung naturally at her sides, showing she carried no weapons, and her gaze was obediently lowered.

Beside her were a few of the Taoist sect’s people, slowly walking ahead with her. Yuan Yuanyuan was surrounded, and from her angle, she could see the flying hems of the priests’ robes and their expressionless profiles.

Her eyes slowly dropped, watching the shadows cast by the group on the ground.

Ever since that all-night talk with the white-bearded old man, Yuan Yuanyuan had been replaying some of the things he’d told her—how since the war, the monsters had never fully recovered their momentum. So although they came with a negotiation team this time, intending to negotiate with humans, the truth was that monsters weren’t in a strong position. The old man had subtly told her to keep a level head… In other words, he’d been reminding her in every way possible to behave herself.

At first, Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t understand why her attitude needed to be adjusted. But after another long conversation with the old man, she eventually figured it out—it was just that this city was… special. What she deduced made her almost lose her sanity, so she ended up moping for a long time.

She remembered a classic phrase from her high school politics class: “If you’re backward, you’ll get beaten.” A group with power can afford to be tough. But if you’re weak and still trying to act tough, you might just push the other side into retaliating. Thinking back on the old man’s advice, Yuan Yuanyuan interpreted it this way.

But this time, the monsters came with quite a show of force, almost like they were preparing for war. When the white-bearded old man talked to her, she found it a little absurd. He himself acknowledged that the monsters were in a bad spot, even told his subordinates not to provoke the humans—so why act so high and mighty?

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t fully understand political games, but to her, the monsters now looked like caterpillars trying to disguise themselves as snakes. Still… she kind of got it. Insiders knew it was just a caterpillar, but what outsiders saw was snake skin. A caterpillar that grew up to look like that was still a product of natural selection.

Such caterpillars had scared off quite a few predators before… So it wasn’t surprising they’d make such a choice now. The old man had likely warned Yuan Yuanyuan in advance so she wouldn’t mistakenly think the monsters were the same as they used to be—strong and unyielding. Because truthfully, they couldn’t handle another war.

Yi Qi (One-Seven) was once a famous general. Though he died tragically, his reputation remained from that peak war era. Back then, if the monsters got angry, they’d organize raids and slaughter humans—violent and arrogant.

The old man probably feared that Yi Qi, seeing this dramatic setup, might misunderstand and think today’s monsters were still following that bloodthirsty tradition. So he spent a whole night talking to Yuan Yuanyuan, trying to persuade her not to act rashly—because the monster army was no longer what it used to be. In truth, Yuan Yuanyuan, though human at heart, felt a strange sadness that night. It had nothing to do with race—just the natural melancholy of seeing beauty fade and heroes grow old.

As the saying goes, “Under the eaves, one must lower their head.” Thanks to the old man’s earlier reminder, Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t resist much now. She just quietly followed along, left her room, and walked down a sealed corridor before being taken into another room.

Before that, when the Taoists weren’t paying attention, she had gently touched the small mirror hidden at her chest.

It was small, tucked inside her clothes, and not easily spotted. After touching it, she calmly followed the priests to a room, where a large door stood before her. She looked at one of the priests—he signaled for her to enter. She pushed the door open.

She really hoped those monsters would hurry up and act. After all, they were the ones who told her not to make a move. If anything went down, and she ended up snapping, it wouldn’t be that surprising—she’d already lost it several times before, what’s one more?

As soon as Yuan Yuanyuan opened the door, a cacophony of heartbeats and breathing noises flooded her ears. She quietly shut the door behind her and scanned the room.

There were a lot of people inside. She spotted several faces already—human.

Her eyes fell on the leader of the human delegation—a striking woman. Yuan Yuanyuan had only been here a day, but from all the gossip, she already knew this woman was quite famous among humans. For a woman to survive in politics usually meant she was far more ruthless than her male counterparts. Yuan Yuanyuan instantly grew wary.

The woman smiled at her as she entered, straightforward and direct. “Yuan, we invited you here because something’s come up regarding the Monster Chronicle. Did you watch last night’s entry?”

Yuan Yuanyuan’s heart skipped. She had watched it—stayed up late for it, even. But why were they questioning her about it so early in the morning?

In that brief moment, she instinctively chose to lie. Her mouth moved faster than her brain. “No. Isn’t the print version of the comic only released on the first day of the month and mid-month?”

She was referring to the physical issue from Dream Comic, which indeed followed that schedule. It sounded exactly like what an old-school monster who only read physical copies would say—fortunately, she had bought the print edition before. Otherwise, she’d have failed at lying entirely.

The woman smiled faintly. “Actually, this time we…”

She hadn’t finished speaking when a subordinate behind her whispered something too soft for Yuan Yuanyuan to hear—probably some sort of telepathy. The woman’s expression suddenly changed. “…Open the door.”

Yuan Yuanyuan instantly sensed something—probably monster reinforcements arriving.

Though she’d never been particularly fond of monsters, at that moment, she realized she truly belonged to their side now. If anything happened, humans would just toss her into a black room and interrogate her. But monsters? They’d rush in to save her.

She turned—and saw the white-bearded old man. Her heart immediately settled. At least now it wasn’t a one-on-one. If it came to a group fight, her odds were better.

The old man walked up calmly and placed a hand on her shoulder.

He turned to the woman and said, “Why exactly did you summon one of our own so early in the morning… and in this rather unfriendly place?”

As he spoke, Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly noticed something—her pupils widened as demon energy surged, and she caught faint sigils in the room’s corners.

Only at certain angles could one see the complex symbols inscribed on the ceiling and walls—Taoist seals. The kind that looked bolder and rougher than monster glyphs.

The demon energy faded from her eyes. She felt genuine panic. Half-asleep, barely awake, and already caught in something like this? What if she had gone out last night and killed someone in her sleep?

Did I really go out and murder someone in my dreams?

While she was trying to figure things out, the woman across from her said calmly, “We didn’t invite Yuan to threaten her. This was for our own protection. Everyone here knows what Yuan is capable of.”

“You know?” The old man’s tone suddenly turned severe. “No, you don’t know. If you did, this situation wouldn’t have happened in the first place. Enough talk—just tell us what you want.”

The woman took a deep breath, looked him in the eye, and said, “We hope Yuan can remain under surveillance for a while.”

Yuan Yuanyuan was stunned—and immediately furious.

She hadn’t spoken yet, but the white-bearded old man voiced her exact thoughts in a much more refined manner: “If that’s your request, you’d better give us a good reason.”

“She frequently appears in the Monster Chronicle,” the woman said. “Because of her special identity, sensitive information leaks out through her scenes… especially in recent issues.”

That doesn’t make sense! Yuan Yuanyuan wanted to scream. If you’re worried about leaks, shouldn’t you be watching Fa Ning instead?

Then it hit her—Fa Ning was in hiding, but she was in plain sight. They couldn’t find Fa Ning, so they went after her instead.

No… Something was still off. If it was just about tracking Fa Ning, they wouldn’t go to all this trouble. They must be hiding something.

Maybe… they wanted to use this as an excuse to detain her.

Yuan Yuanyuan’s hand slowly moved toward her thigh, but the old man suddenly tightened his grip on her shoulder. She remembered what he’d said to her before and slowly lowered her hand again.

The old man looked at the woman. “I’m sorry, but we can’t comply. We’ll be leaving now. Isn’t the conference about to start? Don’t you want to attend?”

Just as Yuan Yuanyuan was about to leave, the woman said coldly, “If Yuan insists on leaving… we may be forced to take stronger measures.”

Her words made Yuan Yuanyuan stop—and so did the old man.

The room fell silent. Yuan Yuanyuan turned around. “Then… what exactly do you want me to do?”

“We hope you’ll cooperate,” the woman said again. “Stay in a designated room under supervision. We’ll make the best arrangements—but we will assign a special overseer, and you must not harm them.”

Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly felt some sympathy for the monsters. Especially with the old man’s words from earlier still fresh in her mind.

The monsters really did seem like they were in decline. The fact that she had been called in for this negotiation only underscored how bleak things were.

She looked at the woman and asked quietly, “What makes you think… you can keep me here?”

The woman was still smiling, but there was a flash of ruthlessness in her eyes. It disappeared quickly, replaced by her usual calm.

She was impeccably dressed, makeup perfect, lips painted a sharp red—an elegant yet imposing look.

“Yuan, your power is formidable. But times have changed… The first war is over. So is the second. You may not fully understand modern human methods, but I believe things will go smoother once we talk things through.”

At that moment, a man in a black suit stepped out from behind the folding screen. He wasn’t wearing Taoist robes, but Yuan Yuanyuan immediately recognized him.

Not because of anything recent—but because he had appeared in the comic.

He had been a top enforcer during the attack on Yu Wu. Back then, half of Sanqing Sect was destroyed, but the other half had survived largely thanks to this man. Fa Ning called him “Shishu” (Martial Uncle)—he was one of Sanqing’s top fighters.

He had a square face, a rigid demeanor, and a powerful but unremarkable presence—not popular, but extremely capable. Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t dare underestimate him.

“Forgive me,” the man said, drawing a sword shaped like a willow leaf. Yuan Yuanyuan immediately drew her twin blades.

She remembered that Yu Wu was also in this restaurant. If he walked into this room now, it would be absolute chaos.

This man had once fought Yu Wu to a standstill in the comic. Yuan Yuanyuan felt a heavy pressure and gave a signal to the old man to stay back—if their top monster representative joined the fight, it would become a political disaster.

She steadied her breath, preparing to use her Void Step technique to escape, though she sensed it might be difficult—the energy field in the building felt off, like it blocked sound, and perhaps more.

As she darted forward, she turned to smoke and appeared behind the Taoist—but he dodged her attack. The first to ever do so.

He’s strong, she thought. Stronger than any Taoist she’d fought.

She turned to smoke again and rushed him, but he was muttering something, holding a tiny jade willow leaf inscribed with characters.

“Mind births creation, creation contains sun and moon…”

The words stunned Yuan Yuanyuan so much that she broke her stealth. The Taoist struck and stabbed her in the ribs.

Silence. Blood dripped.

“Yuan!” the old man shouted as black curse markings crawled up the sword into her body like worms.

Yuan Yuanyuan’s hand grasped the blade—and bled more.

The humans watched the curse markings crawl up as if drawn by the blood. In Yuan Yuanyuan’s ears, their breathing sounded like hounds finding prey.

She looked at the woman—still smiling, though her heartbeat had quickened.

Thump, thump, thump.

“Yuan,” the woman said gently, “you should feel honored. That’s Sanqing’s sacred treasure being used on you today.”

“I should feel honored?” Yuan Yuanyuan gasped.

“Yes. After all, this is—” The woman suddenly paused and stepped back.

She’d noticed something first.

Yuan Yuanyuan chuckled. “Looks like it didn’t work. I wanted to use my blood to draw the curse up the sword—but you saw through it.”

She stood. The wound on her abdomen healed completely, though her hand still bled.

“How did you…?” the woman finally looked shocked.

“‘Mind births creation, creation contains sun and moon…’” Yuan Yuanyuan recited mysteriously. No one understood her—except the man in the suit, whose face turned pale.

Seizing the moment, Yuan Yuanyuan vanished into smoke, snatched the jade leaf, flipped it over—and saw an inscription:

1906.10.17

Everyone was still stunned when she laughed aloud.

“Haha…”

She raised the jade leaf mockingly. “You think this can defeat me? This piece of junk?”

She tossed it back. “With that?”

“With that, you think you can beat Yuan?”

She laughed until tears came.

The old man behind her looked at the jade leaf and his expression changed—more shocked than pleased.

“You want to beat Yuan… with that?” she repeated, grinning.

Then—boom! The door exploded like popcorn, smoke billowed out.

“Yuan, calm down,” the old man grabbed her arm. Her eyes were blood-red.

“Let them go,” he said. “Only the strong… can bring everyone home.”

Yuan Yuanyuan stared at him, then slowly stood.

Before leaving, she stomped on the jade leaf, shattering it, stepped through the broken door, and slammed the other half shut behind her.