Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan lay on her bed. Things had been stirring wildly outside lately with people searching for her, but she had been holed up inside, sleeping for an entire week.

The curtains were tightly shut, the door closed. She had brought back a box of instant noodles and pickled mustard greens, and now spent her time in the room reading novels, eating, and sleeping—she hadn’t stepped out in seven days.

She hadn’t shapeshifted either, staying in her form as Yuan Yuanyuan. Of all her identities, Yuan Yuanyuan was the safest—this was something she had realized during these past few days.

By returning to this form and hiding at home behind closed curtains, nothing from the outside world could affect her.

As long as Ji Qiu didn’t come looking for her.

And surprisingly, Ji Qiu really hadn’t come. Yuan Yuanyuan let out a small sigh of relief, and even vaguely felt like Ji Qiu had gifted her this unexpected vacation.

If only there weren’t so many damn problems—she could just stay curled up under the blankets in peace… Enough, stop daydreaming, time to get back to work.

After days of being shut, the curtains were finally pulled open by Yuan Yuanyuan. She looked at the bright sunlight outside and suddenly felt a chill run through her. This house was cold and shadowed to begin with, and the lack of sunlight these past days made it even worse.

Depressed, she sluggishly washed her clothes and bedding, hung them out to dry, and then dragged herself downstairs to buy groceries and toilet paper.

Then she was suddenly tackled by Xiao Ying, who wasn’t depressed at all.
“Yuanyuan-jie! Do you know what the big news is recently?”

“No idea,” Yuan Yuanyuan answered flatly, then trudged back home, cooked, ate, and lay on her bed, sunbathing lifelessly.

After about half an hour of sunbathing, she changed position.

She glanced at her phone. The SIM card she’d been using lately hadn’t been active, so she had no clue what messages she might’ve missed. However, she’d been checking the account she used while posing as “Yuan Yuanyuan,” and saw a flood of information. So she wasn’t totally out of the loop.

The group chat she had randomly joined before had been blowing up every day. It always showed “99+” new messages, and with her mild OCD, she kept clearing them out.

During the cleanup, she’d read plenty of discussion about recent events. She hadn’t even read the latest issue of the comic—she didn’t really feel like it—but she’d already picked up most of the plot through the chat. Which was… honestly, a bit of a trap.

[Yuan is insane. Who can even fight him now?]
[Not sure, but he seems to have become number one among the monsters.]
[Wasn’t there a powerful old white snake? The one Fa Ning fought recently? Who’s stronger, them or Yuan?]
[No contest… the white snake can’t beat him. If it’s like in the comic, Yuan’s the strongest trickster demon.]
[Are trickster demons really that strong? I thought they were better for one-on-one fights, not group battles.]
[Well, now he can even handle group fights. That makes him number one, right?]
[OMG… What happened? How did our little angel Yuan turn into such a savage top?]

So what exactly was happening out there? What were people saying about her?

Even though Yuan Yuanyuan really didn’t want to read the comic, she couldn’t avoid it. She had a strange aversion to it now, but if she didn’t keep up with the information, what if she ended up dying out there?

After struggling for a while, she finally forced herself to read the latest two chapters. It made her liver hurt… Damn it, how could he draw this stuff? Just one fight and she was already some overpowered god-tier figure. If she fought two more times, would she start flying?

Things seemed to have gone unexpectedly wrong. Yuan Yuanyuan shook her head. If she were really that powerful, fine—but honestly, she only had one move that helped her survive crowds, and had only used it twice so far.

But now the comic made it look like she could escape from mobs of monsters at will. Probably more people would be out to kill her.

The comic showed that no one could find Yuan lately—no matter how hard they searched. People speculated that Yuan had hidden himself somewhere very secret, or used some mysterious technique.

They weren’t wrong. Yuan Yuanyuan’s stealth techniques were actually pretty advanced.

No wonder so few people could tell she was crossdressing as a man… Yuan Yuanyuan sat up and looked at the screen. Every time she saw “herself” like this, it felt like that person wasn’t really her—even though she knew she had done those things. It was a surreal, blurry feeling, unsure of how to judge her own actions.

Her identity had changed dramatically. If she used the “Yuan” persona, she’d immediately be swarmed by enemies. Only by staying as “Yuan Yuanyuan” could she catch her breath.

Sometimes she was even thankful to be Yuan Yuanyuan—it meant she wouldn’t be run ragged. If she had to stay outside as Yuan… sigh. Don’t believe me? Just look.

After several days of being a couch potato, Yuan Yuanyuan quietly tried to guess what Ji Qiu might be thinking…

Time to put on a bit of a show for the outside world.

Yuan Yuanyuan spent a few hours drafting a mental script: a powerful demon on the run in the city for days, grievously wounded but still slipping away like a fish.

The goal was to be in character without going out of character—and maybe get some exposure. If Ji Qiu wanted to draw something, this could work as “daily life on the run.”

Even though she could hide at home, it didn’t mean she should be completely inactive. Regardless of whether Ji Qiu would draw it or not, she needed to submit her part.

Resigned, Yuan Yuanyuan got up. She pulled out a sealed box from the fridge, dipped a cotton swab into the blood inside, and slowly smeared it on her face. Then she grabbed a piece of clothing, slashed a few cuts into it with a heavy heart, and put it on.

She looked into the mirror a few times. This seemed like a reasonable appearance for someone who’d been on the run—shouldn’t draw too much attention. Then she prepared to head out.

Next came the crucial question: where to go?

She opened Baidu Maps and searched. Finally, she found a quiet, secluded street where not too many people would see her. She shapeshifted and set out.

…

And just like that, the ragged-looking Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly appeared on the street.

She glanced around and silently held her hand to her chest. Then frowned—wait, was that her waist? Maybe a little lower…

Where is this… her kidneys?

She trudged forward like someone with kidney failure.

She walked in a stagger, weak manner, stopping to rest now and then—exactly like someone completely exhausted.

In the shadow by the street, a faint trail of blood marked the path… drop by drop, chilling to look at.

Dressed like this, she was just waiting for the prey to take the bait.

Yuan really was a terrifying persona. She never had to worry about people not attacking her. Honestly—not to brag—but with her current visibility, the only concern was whether she’d get ganged up on.

As the beloved Jianghu public figure, it didn’t even take half an hour before people trying to kill her showed up.

Wow, that was fast.

…Except this time, it wasn’t monsters—it was a group of Taoists.

No one but Yuan Yuanyuan knew this, but recently, a bunch of Taoists had entered City C specifically to hunt Yuan down. This part hadn’t even been drawn in the comic—only Yuan knew about it.

If word got out… she thought City C might fall into chaos. It had been a long time since Taoists had come here, and their arrival could shake up the fragile peace between humans and demons. But they came anyway.

Look at this—Yuan’s mere presence summoned both Taoists and monsters.

Yuan Yuanyuan sighed in exasperation and stared at the Taoists in front of her, still putting on a sickly expression. The leading Taoist stepped forward. She could smell the faint human scent beneath their strong demonic aura… a detail only a half-demon skilled in disguise could detect. She’d only recently learned to notice this.

The first Taoist had long, fox-like eyes. As Yuan watched, he flicked his fingers and a small yellow talisman ignited on its own. He was from the last group that had chased her. Seeing her on the verge of collapse, he didn’t bother hiding—he openly displayed the talisman.

The smell of burning paper mixed with a faint metallic tang drifted into Yuan’s nose. A vague, shadowy figure emerged in front of her.

Ah. Exorcism.

“Long time no see. Looks like you haven’t been doing well,” the Taoist said with a smile.

Yuan had never seen an exorcist in real life before—only Fa Ning’s master in the comics. Still clutching her “kidney” area, she stared blankly ahead, face expressionless.

“Don’t look at me like that. Since you’re dying, I’ll let you die knowing why.”
The Taoist smiled again. “So, how has the hunting been? Honestly, I admire your stamina.”

Dude, stop talking—you’re just raising flags for yourself.

But truthfully, no one had hunted her these past days. She’d been hiding at home, undetectable. It felt like multiple groups thought others were chasing Yuan, but in reality, no one was.

This was her first appearance in a week.

The ghost conjured by the Taoist lunged at her. Yuan sensed a dangerous aura from it.

She winced in pain, but her movements remained swift. Despite her “mangled” body, she dodged quickly to the side.

“Eh?” The Taoist smiled, his eyes narrowing. “Still got energy? Or just pushing through?”

Yuan’s face stayed blank, unreadable. Inside, she was thinking—

Aww, didn’t see that coming, huh? ⊙▽⊙ You mad? You mad?

The Taoist lit several more talismans. More ghosts appeared before her—some possibly monsters too.

Based on what she read in the comic, this Taoist was probably a high-level boss. Summoning this many ghosts at once… if Yuan were actually as injured as the comic said, she’d be dead meat. But this was well-rested, well-fed Yuan Yuanyuan.

Suddenly her gaze turned icy. It was an expression she’d discovered herself a few days ago—after a particularly brutal fight, it turned out to be quite intimidating.

She looked at the approaching ghosts. Gasping in pain, she staggered again. Blood dripped from her pale fingertips onto the ground.

In the Taoist’s eyes, Yuan was gasping for air. Her left shoulder seemed severely wounded, soaked with either sweat or blood.

A fallen hero.

He thought the chase had drained her dry. Maybe just a little more…

The Taoist smirked and flicked his talisman.

The ghosts surrounded Yuan. Confident of victory, he believed she wouldn’t survive this.

The final general of the Blood Jade Demon Army was about to fall by his hand. Everyone would think Yuan died in an internal monster conflict.

Stunning, tragic Yuan—he would die here today.

No matter what he had done. No matter what he might do.

But just as he was thinking that, Yuan suddenly dodged again. She lifted her head. Her demon markings glowed, and her knife flashed.

The ghosts exploded. Some turned into broken talismans and fell.

Despite her “serious injuries,” Yuan had unleashed a devastating strike!

The Taoist’s arm went numb. He pulled back quickly, eyes full of caution.

But Yuan clutched her abdomen, clearly strained from that blow.

The Taoist was shocked. He hadn’t expected Yuan to still fight back.

Clearly, this was no ordinary monster.

Yuan kept her head down, breathing heavily. Blood from her shoulder was flowing faster.

Beneath her lowered head, her eyes glowed with a fearsome light.

…

At that moment, with her eyes glowing menacingly, Yuan Yuanyuan thought:

Aww, didn’t hit again~ ⊙▽⊙

Screw it, I’m done playing. This should be enough. I’m going home to sleep.

She planned a dramatic exit. Hopefully, she could laze around for a few more days after this. Since Fa Ning was still leveling up in the comic, she could slack off for a bit.

This part in the comic would show a seriously injured Yuan—maybe it’d even earn her a little sympathy. Hopefully.

She was just debating whether she should let them stab her once for realism, when suddenly, a faint laugh echoed from above.

“Seventeen, you’re really a mess.”

Yuan Yuanyuan froze. Before she could look up, a flurry of glowing lights descended from the sky, enveloping the area.

Through the glowing light, she saw a figure emerging.

“When you’re in this much pain… didn’t you ever think of changing something?”