Little Pink Starfish

In the past few days, Yuan Yuanyuan hadn’t the faintest clue what the meetings were about. No one came to get her anyway, so she just slept through the nights and reread that latest issue of the comic over and over again.

The second time she read it, it was still like sleepwalking. But by the third time, she had vaguely pieced together the general plot.

This chapter seemed to cover the early stages of the war…

She focused on each dialogue bubble one by one, carefully examining them. The issue started with Yi Qi and that woman under the moonlight, drinking and conversing—discussing matters related to war.

Yet even in such a moment, the two of them were unnervingly calm. Especially Yi Qi—if Yuan Yuanyuan hadn’t known he was a general, she would have thought he was some ghostly civil servant, completely void of tension.

The dialogue hinted vaguely at pieces of wartime history. Upon rereading, Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly realized something—the place where Yi Qi was seated in the comic… she’d actually been there. And it wasn’t far from here.

It was at the base of a nearby tower. A few days ago, Yuan Yuanyuan had passed by and noticed a large platform there, surrounded by lush flowers and greenery, practically overflowing. She had looked at it curiously because there was a corridor leading up to it, neatly swept and basked in sunlight. It had been daytime then, and the corridor was crowded with people—some even on dates.

Ah… so that’s where it was.

Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly recalled it clearly. She got up and peeked out the window. From where she was, she could just barely see that upper level—now swarmed with people, like an impromptu tourist spot.

Since she hadn’t gone out lately, many others had already woken up and were moving around. Yuan Yuanyuan sighed, thinking that corridor was probably going to be mobbed again… She even wondered if someone was going to carve “So-and-so was here” once the crowd cleared out.

She pulled the curtains shut and started compiling all the battlefield-related information that had been hinted at in the comic, just in case she slipped up and said something she wasn’t supposed to.

Last night, she had accidentally revealed to the old man that she could use a smartphone—but told him it was a secret. Even when speaking to the humans, she had insisted she didn’t know how. It was a hidden card of hers. Whether or not the humans believed it… she had no idea.

The demons were basically on her side. Showing a few “cards” wasn’t a big deal. Especially since this old guy had been acting a little suspicious, it seemed fine to exchange a few secrets with him. For Yuan Yuanyuan, that was already a bold move. But after thinking about it all night, she had a strange feeling that the old man… was trying to push her into stirring up some trouble.

She wasn’t sure what trouble exactly. But since he was sent by the King of a Hundred Demons, things got a bit murky. The way he acted didn’t seem to match his supposed status, so she couldn’t help but suspect he might be a double agent. Last night, she tried three times to get him to talk directly—but he said nothing. Just invited her to drink.

She seriously wanted to drag Fat Cat over and force him to explain what the hell this old guy wanted. Still, she did notice one thing—

The old man seemed to trust Yi Qi to a fault. It was almost fanatical. After thinking it over, Yuan Yuanyuan came to a conclusion: this old guy might just be Yi Qi’s… fanboy.

Just maybe. After all, who knows what these people are really thinking? She was just going with a hunch. But the way he talked about Yi Qi—it was all, “Oh, if you’re here, there’s no problem,” or “Back then, even worse situations were solved by you…” He knew everything about Yi Qi’s past feats, leaving Yuan Yuanyuan completely dumbfounded.

Thanks to him, she learned quite a bit about Yi Qi’s legendary exploits—like extracting an enemy commander’s head from within an army of a million, or leading a mob to cause chaos in the human world and making the sky glow red with magical flares… Those were apparently his ideas.

The old man clearly admired him, but Yuan Yuanyuan could only think: Wow, so cringe. That explained why the tone of the comic had felt familiar—it was classic edgelord stuff.

Back then, she too had had such cringey thoughts. But unlike her, Yi Qi had actually acted on them. While she’d only argued with herself in her teens, Yi Qi had literally changed the world around him.

Just as she was thinking this, Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly heard a burst of noise—arguing, maybe shouting. She pressed her ear to the wall and listened intently. It sounded like the meeting had reached a conclusion.

They were discussing what to do with the seven detained demons, and whether to relocate the Northwest line.

She didn’t understand all of it, but she grasped one thing: if things escalated, she might need to be ready to draw her twin blades. Judging by how the humans had acted recently, their intentions didn’t align with their polite tone. Yuan Yuanyuan was well aware that humans could be just as cunning as demons, if not more so. So she wasn’t surprised by the backdoor deals—just wary.

All day, she wrestled with conflicting feelings.

She called it “the bond of blood”—that same blood flowing through her and them, despite how much she hated it. So now she was stuck in a state of inner conflict… walking forward one step at a time, not really knowing where things were headed.

She opened the window a little more and listened again.

“…Why is the human side agreeing to let those seven demons go? We don’t need to fear them! Demons have slaughtered countless humans. Those seven are all murderers. If we let them go, aren’t we just letting wolves back into the wild?”

Yuan Yuanyuan nodded to herself. Hell yeah, that’s what I’ve been saying! But… she also knew the demon side would explode if those seven died in human hands.

So… they had to be brought back—alive and whole. Disgusting as it was.

As a human, she obviously couldn’t stand demons who killed indiscriminately. But for some of them, this behavior was practically baked into their bones. It was like breathing for her—something they couldn’t help. She had no right to judge.

She kept listening. The argument grew fiercer. It sounded like the humans were beginning to protest in earnest after learning the demons would be released.

Oddly enough, Yuan Yuanyuan was relieved to know the seven were safe, even though she had no idea how this standoff would end.

Clearly, the humans were pissed. Historically, they’d suffered endlessly under demon attacks. Every culture had stories about demons wreaking havoc. If this kind of precedent got set—letting killers go free—it was inevitable that the humans would resist.

Now, journalists were rapidly transmitting news of the decision. Yuan Yuanyuan saw quite a few of them. She wasn’t sure if the protest would escalate into a riot, so she stayed alert, watching everything.

When she saw security guards arriving to maintain order, she figured things wouldn’t spiral out of control. With that, she finally lay down to sleep.

By all accounts, this should have been a very important day. That morning had dealt with the fate of the seven demons; the afternoon would be about the Northwest line.

But there she was… napping through it all.

Sometimes, it really was kind of funny—how she always seemed to be absent when things got serious.

Then again… maybe those seven demons only got saved because she blew up that house the other day.

As she drifted off, she muttered to herself, Guess we’ll see what happens this afternoon.

Later that day, when everyone had left the hall, Yuan Yuanyuan slowly came out of her room. Just as she entered the main lobby, she saw someone watching a video on their phone. She glanced at the screen and recognized the meeting room—one of the major demon representatives was speaking.

She’d seen this demon a few times before, though didn’t know her name. The woman stared at the humans and slowly said, “Perhaps you can ask us to withdraw from the Northwest… but allow me to remind you of one thing.”

Yuan Yuanyuan picked up a bun, casually nibbling as she eavesdropped.

“The Northwest has always been a mixed zone. From ancient times until now, that has never changed. After the war, your predecessors could have purged us from there—but they didn’t. Perhaps you don’t understand why. Then let me offer a reason.”

“The Northwest is one of the oldest demon settlements. It’s not just about geography. It’s because… there are many things there that tie us to that land.”

“For instance—Red Sand Well.”

The woman smiled. “Of course, we can leave. But if Red Sand Well erupts again, we will not interfere. If you truly wish to make the Northwest a human-only region… we won’t stop you.”

Yuan Yuanyuan stopped mid-bite.

“Wait… if the demons back out, then we have to deal with Red Sand Well?” The guy watching the video paused it and turned to his friend. “Just how dangerous can it be? Wouldn’t a missile be enough?”

“I don’t know…” his friend replied. “But I’ve heard that demons used to seal it with their lives. If we had to do it ourselves, we might suffer huge losses.”

“Do the demons even have anyone strong enough left to seal it?” a nearby taoist asked. “I don’t buy it. What use are they now?”

“Shhh. The last guy who sealed Red Sand Well is still alive.” Another person smacked him. “Don’t you remember?”

“Oh—right,” the taoist said, eyes widening. “I totally forgot… the guy who sealed it came back from the dead.”