Little Pink Starfish

As Yuan Yuanyuan listened to the two people talking, she suddenly realized something—so the Red Sand Well was here. From what they were saying, the place was basically like an active volcano, capable of erupting at any time.

Before realizing this, she had been sitting here carefree and oblivious. But now that she understood… her entire body felt unwell, like someone on a business trip who had just found out they were staying in a high-seismic-risk zone with daily tremors.

…Of course. Yi Qi had died here, so the Red Sand Well must also be nearby. After all, executions are typically held close to the courts—who would drag a condemned criminal all the way to the central plains from the northwest, risking an escape?

Yuan Yuanyuan should’ve figured this out earlier, but she had never thought in that direction. The name “Red Sand Well” had always felt distant—like ancient Luoyang or Rome. Not just geographically, but mentally. She’d always imagined it as some relic, probably reduced to ruins long ago.

But now she knew—it wasn’t just real, it was active… and it might erupt again. Judging by their tone, it sounded like no one was going to stop it.

The last one to “seal” the Red Sand Well—the last demon to die there—the only one she knew of who had died there—was Yi Qi.

Yuan Yuanyuan’s expression went deadpan.

She looked around in panic and then bolted upstairs. She whipped out her suitcase and frantically began stuffing her belongings into it.

Nope. Nope nope nope. Yuan Yuanyuan was halfway through packing when it hit her—wait, does this make me a deserter? Isn’t desertion punishable by… not being allowed to take civil service exams or something?

Wait, why would a demon deserter need to take the civil service exam? Also, when did I become “enlisted”…?

Still, she continued stuffing clothes into the case until—bang bang bang!—there was a frantic knock at the door. Yuan Yuanyuan froze. Something about the rhythm of the knock sent a chill down her spine.

She shoved the suitcase under the bed with one swift kick and pretended nothing had happened before opening the door.

The moment the door opened, someone lunged at her and threw their arms around her. And then—Yuan Yuanyuan heard a woman sobbing, “Lord Yuan! We won! We won!”

All she could see was the top of a red-haired woman’s head pressed against her chest, giving off a faint, cool, and oddly enchanting fragrance.

Before she could react, she looked past the woman—and there was the old man with the white beard.

…Okay, Yuan Yuanyuan thought. So this must be the same woman from before.

She looked down at the sobbing girl, feeling a bit awkward.

Uh… big sis? Can you, uh… let go?

I… I really don’t know how to comfort people who cry…

---

Meanwhile, Liu An sat on his bed, brows deeply furrowed. He couldn’t understand it. How had those seven demons been released so easily?

They’d been planning to push the demons out of the northwest for ages. And now… just like that, the whole plan was scrapped?

This wasn’t some casual proposal—it was a major initiative that had taken forever to prepare. And yet, a few words from the demons, and poof—gone. He was sure something fishy was going on behind the scenes.

He clearly remembered the loud explosion from a few days ago, coming from the direction of the inn. No one else had really talked about it, and only those staying inside the building seemed to know anything. No one said a word publicly.

As he sat in thought, the reporter guy was sitting in front of the TV eating snacks.

“Can’t you watch this at home?” Liu An asked, annoyed. “Why come to my room?”

“I’m scared,” the reporter replied. “I think I’m cursed. Last time I went to eat, I ran into Yuan. I feel safer in your room.”

“That’s dumb,” Liu An snapped. “You forget I was with you when that happened? And you still want to hang around me?”

“…Oh.” The guy tensed up but didn’t leave. Liu An ignored him and sent a message to his boss: Boss, the results are out. You know yet?

“Yeah. Everyone here is crying…”

…Crying? Liu An blinked. That’s their reaction?

He went out into the hallway and listened to what the humans were saying—they were all losing their minds, swearing, furious. The kind of outrage that only happens when something completely unexpected crashes your expectations.

He even heard people accusing the human leadership of being bribed by demons. And honestly? It sounded kind of plausible. He looked at the door and figured, Better hole up for a day or two, ride this out.

Now that most of the decisions were finalized, only one item remained: the post-war handling of high-level demons. Liu An heard that the meeting for that would be invite-only—no press allowed. Which meant their work here was basically done.

He flopped onto the bed, pulled up the latest issue of Yao Ji, and opened the comment section—his guilty pleasure. Normally, he avoided looking at comments, but sometimes he peeked, especially when he was feeling sneaky.

He liked reading heated debates. Sometimes he’d even argue back. Other times he took screenshots and quietly gave likes. He was that kind of person.

Today’s comments? Almost all about Yuan.

“I didn’t understand a word of the plot. I just know Yuan is insanely hot. The art? Gorgeous. The colors? Perfect. Everything is perfect. This whole chapter was just art.”

“Same… I just kept rereading every panel with Yuan in it. Went out for a run halfway through, came back, kept rereading… stayed up ‘til 4AM. Still not over it.”

“I seriously admire Jiuqiu. I mean… how can the same face give off such different vibes? The current Yuan and the past Yuan? Night and day. Just… wow.”

“WHAT HAPPENED TO YUAN?! WHY IS HE LIKE THIS NOW?! JIUQIU PLEASE KEEP DRAWING HIM LIKE THIS FOREVER!”

The chapter had gone viral. Apparently even readership numbers had spiked since yesterday.

Liu An muttered, That’s not fair. He’s just got one face, and suddenly the fandom goes wild?

Didn’t everyone just curse him out for being a traitor a while back? How did opinions change this fast?

One comment read, “Looks > morality”. Liu An could only laugh bitterly. Yuan… seems like a decent enough guy. Pretty normal. Down to earth. Doesn’t really deserve a redemption arc based on looks alone.

Online, there were still rumors that Yuan was a traitor—or maybe not. Honestly, Liu An couldn’t even tell if the guy was good or bad. Way too early to judge.

As a straight guy, he didn’t usually care much for handsome male characters. But even he had to admit—last chapter really hit different. It felt like a door had opened.

The contrast was intense—the old Yuan was flamboyant, flashy. The current one is brooding, mysterious.

Both styles had their own power. Maybe he’d been through something. That would explain the change.

But what was that change?

---

Meanwhile, Yuan Yuanyuan was still letting the woman cry in her arms, utterly drained. And even more exhausted was the fact that the woman kept leaning into her.

This girl had bigger boobs, a prettier face, and a sweeter voice—and now she was cuddled up in Yuan Yuanyuan’s arms.

Yuan Yuanyuan ground her teeth. Endure it. Just endure it. She’s part of the plan. Think tactically. She leaned back against the wall, cradling the woman like a sleazy old lord at a hostess club, quietly glaring at the old man in front of her.

This was, tactically speaking, a textbook honey trap. And with a woman like this? Smart move. If they’d sent a man instead, Yuan probably would’ve folded on the spot.

The woman poured her a drink. Yuan Yuanyuan downed it in one go, feeling like she’d reached the “screw it” stage of acceptance.

The crying had finally stopped. Now the girl was snuggling up close, and Yuan had no choice but to awkwardly hold her.

So this is what working in a bar must be like…

She looked at the old man. He was still talking.

“The Red Sand Well won’t erupt so easily,” he said. “But just the fear of it happening again is enough to make the humans think twice about opposing us.”

Red Sand Well… Apparently it had originally been used for sacrifices. Rumors said demons had thrown their own into it. Yuan Yuanyuan had once thought that was just savage myth, but now…

Maybe it had a purpose.

Maybe it was holding something in—and the sacrifices were just meals for the monster inside.

She broke into a cold sweat just thinking about it.

“Speaking of which,” the old man continued, “how did you climb out of the Well, Lord Yuan? Do you remember what you saw down there?”

Yuan Yuanyuan shook her head.

“You don’t… remember?” the old man asked.

She accepted another drink from the girl in her arms, gulped it down, and replied, “I don’t remember.”

The old man blinked.

Then Yuan Yuanyuan asked, “You asked me something, so I’ll ask you—why did you people bring me on board? If I recall, we’re not exactly close.”

“It was the head of the Lan family who recommended you,” he replied.

The blue-haired one?

“He said he trusted you… said you’d give everything for the demons.”

Yuan Yuanyuan scoffed. “Wow. Your trust is cheap.”

Suddenly, the pieces clicked together—the Lan family head had acted odd lately. First stalling, then suddenly showing up to drink. Now she knew why.

She drank another cup, and the old man said, “There’s just one meeting left—the post-war handling of demon elites. The humans want to discuss it privately before announcing anything.”

She froze. “So… you’re not attending tomorrow’s meeting? Where are you going?”

“To the Red Sand Well,” he said. “It’s time we checked on its condition. It needs some repairs.”

“Repairs?” Her heart stopped. Repairs?! What the hell do you mean ‘repairs’?

The old man cleared his throat.

“The sacrifices have already been prepared. Please rest assured and come with us.”

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t sleep at all that night. The next morning, she finally found out what the “sacrifices” were.

It was those seven demons they had just rescued.