Little Pink Starfish

To Yuan Yuanyuan, the sudden assignment came as a bit of a shock—but she still packed up to set off. After all, traveling around with her Sky and Earth techniques was pretty easy.

Before leaving, she tried to find out where Fa Ning was. The most efficient way? Check the Demon Chronicle manga. As soon as she opened it, she realized there was a new chapter.

Wait, what day is it today?

She checked her calendar and realized she’d gotten the dates wrong. She quickly opened the latest chapter and started reading it carefully.

…Huh?

…Huh!!

She read it all the way through, and by the end, she was left in a fog of confusion.

Something… felt off.

She glanced at the comment section and realized she wasn’t the only one. Other readers had also noticed the same thing. That’s when she finally accepted the truth:

Jiuqiu was selling BL vibes on purpose.

Yuan looked at that guy leaning by the door with a face full of disgust. She didn’t care if the artist sold fluff to boost popularity—fine, go ahead. But pick someone better, for crying out loud! She didn’t want to be part of some hate-flavored ship. This guy made her want to kick him the moment she saw him. How was she supposed to sell fluff with him?

Scowling like she’d stepped in something nasty, Yuan closed her phone. She’d already figured out roughly where Fa Ning was—according to the manga, he was in a rogue cultivator gathering in the south. That place was full of blooming flowers, which gave her a direction to head in. Fa Ning was a southern kid anyway, so the chances of him being there were high.

She bought a train ticket, asked around about notable cultivator hotspots in the south, and headed off—carrying her black outfit and the faceless mask. She left a note on her shop door saying she’d be back in a few days.

Not that her shop ever saw much traffic. She was supposed to sell clothes, but had really only sold one outfit.

Yuan dozed off on the train. Two nights of rough sleep later, she arrived in a lush, quiet southern town surrounded by mountains. It was known as an ancient gathering place for Taoist cultivators.

Naturally, they weren’t going to let strangers waltz in. Yuan figured she’d scope out the area and sneak in wherever she felt spiritual power was strongest.

If you asked her whether she was really planning to kill Fa Ning—her answer would be a firm no. First off, the guy had main character plot armor, and that stuff was scary. Second, Yuan didn’t want him to die. If he died, humanity might really be doomed. Deep down, she still thought of herself as a human agent working undercover in the demon world.

She was a demon now, yes—but her mindset was still mostly human. “I’ll help humans unless they lump me in with the other demons and treat me like an enemy,” was how she saw things.

Sure, that was an idealistic dream. But she was confident she could run faster than most anyway.

The air in this new town was wet and lush. Yuan breathed in deeply—southern air felt amazing.

She hadn’t expected to like it so much. Using the Chessboard Technique, she scanned the surroundings for people with high spiritual power and started walking in that direction.

Before night fell, she reached an area her technique had pointed out. It was way too crowded for a deep-mountain place—unless this was some kind of black market mine.

As she drew closer, she saw a strange mist between the mountain gate and the forest. The mist was a faint green color that seemed to come from the stone wall nearby. She cautiously hid her demon aura and passed through the fog without issue.

Beyond it was a lush, green mountain—already looking like midsummer despite the calendar saying it was just early summer.

Sneaking forward quietly, Yuan thought about how she’d deal with Fa Ning. If I let him off like in the manga, maybe I can steal the charm and bounce?

Best case: Fa Ning didn’t exist. Or was just an illusion. That’d be perfect.

Just as she was thinking that, she spotted a small mirror on the side of the road. Red letters were scribbled on it, but it was too far to read.

She immediately tensed.

No way…

She rushed over and squatted down. The mirror had been written on with lipstick: “Go left.” A big red arrow pointed toward a distant path.

As soon as she stood up, the mirror shattered with a crack—and so did the red writing.

Yuan stared at the broken mirror on the ground, deeply troubled. Seriously… this is literally “into the tiger’s den.”

She took out a small bundle, changed into her black uniform, and held the eyeless mask in her hand. Wearing it turned her vision completely dark, so she activated the Chessboard Technique to help sense people and obstacles nearby.

But even with that, she tried the mask a few times and gave up. This thing’s useless. Who designed it? Were they blind?

She stripped off the outfit and mask, bundled them up, and hid them nearby. It seemed like a quiet area—she could come back for it later.

As she kept walking, she noticed more and more small mirrors on either side of the road. Each time she looked at one, it shattered behind her.

What kind of illusion spell is this? she wondered. It’s almost too obvious.

But she hadn’t seen another soul on the way here—also suspicious.

The mirrors led her through alleys and narrow streets, and finally to a small courtyard.

Nothing about it resembled the manga’s version. No signs, no unique features. She crouched in a tree to watch from above.

Then she saw a familiar face—and her whole mind went blank.

That’s him?! He’s actually real?! He’s just walking around with that face and nobody’s caught him?!

She cursed the incompetence of everyone else—and then the person below just happened to glance up.

Their eyes met.

A long silence fell over the courtyard.

Yuan slowly drew her twin blades. Fa Ning, sensing danger, began to back away.

Just one step—and clang—a blade sank into the ground behind him.

Yuan, crouched in the tree, was absolutely stressed. If I’m in the manga now, everything I do might get seen by the readers! I can’t blow my cover as part of the secret group!

So what reason could she give for being here?

She had to please three parties:

1. The demon higher-ups
2. The secret organization
3. The readers of Demon Chronicle

In short: steal the charm, don’t make demons suspicious, and don’t kill Fa Ning.

She wanted to die—but she had to try.

Fa Ning looked up and asked cautiously, “Why are you here?”

“…Came to see an old friend. Didn’t expect to run into you,” Yuan replied flatly from the tree.

Her inner self was sobbing with pride. Yuan! You did it! You spun the perfect lie!

It was plausible—Yuan had been a spy for the Taoists once. She could be here to visit an old contact.

Fa Ning’s face changed instantly.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry. I’m not here for you,” Yuan added.

She still needed an excuse for showing up. The organization had told her to kill Fa Ning and bring back the charm, but she wasn’t doing the former.

How could she explain that?

She thought of all the classic villain mistakes—Just shut up and don’t attack first—and decided actions would speak louder.

Also, she still had a grudge to vent after being turned into BL bait.

She threw her second blade—just missing Fa Ning’s cheek.

Standing in the tree, she said, “Taoists these days… much weaker than before.”

Fa Ning’s eyes started to burn with anger—but he still looked respectful.

Yuan didn’t care how he looked at her. They were supposed to be enemies anyway. So she messed with him—like a cat toying with a mouse—cutting him again and again.

Within ten minutes, she had him bleeding all over. Then she spotted the charm in his left pocket.

She plucked it out. “Why do you have this?”

“Senior, that’s my elder’s keepsake. Can I have it back?”

“Back to you?” Yuan laughed, pocketing the charm. “If you can take it from me, go ahead.”

Fa Ning lowered his head silently.

“But I don’t think that’ll happen anytime soon,” Yuan said, glancing at the sky. “Looks like someone’s heading this way. Did you call for backup?”

Fa Ning quietly pulled a fresh charm from his pocket.

“Put that away. I don’t want anyone showing up,” Yuan warned. With the charm secured, she turned and bolted the way she came.

A faint red glow hung in the air before dispersing.

—

Yuan Yuanyuan, fleeing like a hunted dog, retrieved her hidden bundle and sprinted away.

She wasn’t scared of reinforcements—she just needed a reason to not kill Fa Ning.

As for how to explain this to the organization?

Old wound flared up again, maybe?

If they asked why she didn’t just finish the job? Oops, brain cramp.

On the way back, Yuan clutched her head. If worse came to worst, she’d just blame Jiuqiu. There was some expert near Fa Ning. Couldn’t kill him. Could only slice him up a bit.

Who was this “expert”?

Obviously, Jiuqiu.

Yuan mentally spun a solo lie, praying Jiuqiu wouldn’t expose her—at least not too soon. As long as Fa Ning stayed alive, the lie would hold.

She ran all the way to the train station and caught a ride home before the weekend.