Little Pink Starfish

That day’s accidental discovery left Yuan Yuanyuan deeply shaken… but the strangest thing? That fanfic writer had actually guessed right—Yuan truly hadn’t intended to kill Fa Ning.

The writer had picked up on something real, albeit interpreted differently. For example, they asked an implicit question: Why didn’t Yuan just kill Fa Ning the moment he saw him?

The truth was, she didn’t want to kill Fa Ning at all. But the fanfic read it as: “Yuan was training Fa Ning, but since he’s a tsundere, he acted cold and punchable.” Okay, maybe not tsundere, but she was cold. It was because her mind was busy plotting a way to save Fa Ning—without breaking her cover.

Since the manga was drawn from real life, everything—including her long pauses and offhand remarks—would be captured and scrutinized. Yuan was constantly on edge reading it, afraid someone would figure it out. But to her surprise, nobody had guessed the truth. A few high-level officials had come asking about Fa Ning, so she made up some fake background info and added a key point: “There’s a master-level cultivator protecting him. I couldn’t strike—only scare him a little.”

That should reduce the heat on him, she thought, Maybe now people like Fat Cat won’t go harass him…

Speaking of which, Fat Cat and Black-Red hadn’t been active in their group chat for a while. Last time they shared memes was half a month ago. Yuan didn’t even have time to ask what happened—they just vanished. That night, she finally sent a message:
【Hey, you guys haven’t shown up in forever… don’t tell me you died?】

After a while, someone replied:
【Not dead. Just busy. Haven’t had time to chat. Might stay busy for a while.】

【Well at least check in now and then! I was starting to think you got yourselves killed playing around…】 Yuan responded.

【We’re working on something big. You’re just a low-level demon, so you don’t need to know yet. Knowing too much is dangerous.】
Fat Cat sent that and disappeared again.

Yuan Yuanyuan ground her teeth in frustration. If you’re not gonna explain, then don’t drop cryptic hints! Who does that?!

She scrolled through Fat Cat’s Moments and saw a bunch of photos of him with a middle-aged man—probably Black-Red. They were standing on a mountain like tourists, smiling with a scenic backdrop.

Fat Cat really liked roleplaying as a “normal human.” His feed was full of mundane, human-looking stuff. Not a whiff of demonic aura anywhere.

So with no new info, Yuan went back to grinding it out in C City. She considered leaving, but there really wasn’t anywhere better to go. This was the only place she knew well enough to maintain her cover.

Jiuqiu’s instructions were clear: she had to keep Yuan’s identity active. You couldn’t just make someone disappear without a trace. C City was still her best bet for laying low and maintaining a plausible presence.

In the meantime, she began compiling all the clues she had so far. It became clear that Demon Chronicle looked cheerful and warm on the surface, but dig deeper and you found a story full of dark secrets and grim undertones.

Like that noble, revered Taoist who’d supposedly died in battle. Everyone mourned him as a fallen genius—but only Yuan knew he had been sent to assassinate her and died when he failed.

Will the manga ever reveal that? Or will it stay buried forever? It lingered like a shadow over the glossy pages.

Thinking about it too much felt like it drained her sanity—especially after reading so much of the manga.

Then, the secret organization contacted her again. Yuan realized just how much time had passed.

“How are you feeling, Seventeen?” the female doctor asked while checking her pulse.

“Fine,” Yuan replied. The doctor handed her another pile of medicine.
“Your constitution’s still too weak. I didn’t prescribe anything too strong—just keep taking these and don’t overuse your powers for now.”

“Okay,” Yuan said aloud, but thought to herself, Isn’t this the kind of line you say to old people? Like, ‘At your age, let’s go for conservative treatment’? I’m in my twenties, for crying out loud!

But she wasn’t too concerned. She figured if they were trying to poison her, they’d have done it already. She’d taken enough of this medicine to be dead ten times over by now if that were the case.

“What’s my next task?” she asked, glancing at the paper the doctor handed her.

“Yeah,” the doctor replied, looking a little apologetic. “I told them your condition, but they discussed it and…”

“It’s fine,” Yuan interrupted, taking the sheet. This was her second mission as a member of the secret organization.

[Contact the Yuan family in S City. Locate a man named Yuan Yingli. Persuade him to secretly pledge loyalty to you. If he refuses—kill him.]

…

It was mid-April. Earlier, when the cherry blossoms were blooming, she’d wanted to go out and enjoy the view—but drama got in the way, and by the time she returned, they were all gone. At least the plum blossoms were blooming now.

The plum blossoms looked fake—so vibrant and perfect they resembled plastic. But that only emphasized how incredible real flowers were: they could look more fake than fake ones.

Yuan still hadn’t seen them wither yet. She planned to go again once they started fading, just to see if they still looked so artificial when dying.

Sitting on a park bench, she sent a message to Fat Cat:
【Hey, do you know the Yuan family in S City?】

He hadn’t replied in days, and she was about ready to burn incense and do an exorcism for him. But then her phone buzzed.

【Yeah, I know them. The Yuans are pretty famous. Their girls are beautiful—marrying one would be a dream. But the men look like girls too.】

Yuan perked up.
【What?! A whole family like that? Demons are amazing!】

【Nah, the guys aren’t popular with women. You’ll see why if you meet them.】
Fat Cat replied again.
【Why are you asking about them? The Yuan family’s pretty reclusive. Haven’t appeared in public for ages.】

【No reason.】 she said vaguely. He sent her a few blurry pictures of them—no idea where he got them.

[The Yuan family: a reclusive clan, known for world-famous medicine based on rose species.]
[Notable members include Yuan Yesheng (current head), Yuan Yeling (former queen of the Hundred Demons), Yuan Yexing (married into the Li family years ago).]

Wait… Li family? Yuan squinted. Don’t tell me…

Yeah. It was exactly what she thought.

She remembered: when the Li family patriarch visited, he mentioned his wife was in poor health. Could that wife be the same Yuan Yexing?

As she kept reading, Fat Cat had apparently dug up a lot of private info: family allies, marriage history, everything. One line stood out in red:

[The Yuans specialize in medicine and poison. Most members are skilled in healing and guishu (cursed arts).]

Another guishu family, Yuan realized.

She scratched her head. This info isn’t enough. Who even is Yuan Yingli? I don’t know him. And they want me to seduce—er, convince him to join us? Do they think I’ll just say yes to that??

Seventeen probably had a grudge against the Yuan family. No wonder the organization wanted him to handle this mission. They probably thought he’d jump at the chance—like with Fa Ning.

They must have figured Seventeen hated Fa Ning too, so they sent Yuan to kill him. Only… she completely missed the memo and went in all confused.

These people really know how to play Seventeen, Yuan thought. If he were here, he wouldn’t reject the mission. So all the tasks they give him must be ones he’d willingly accept.

Maybe they don’t force members to do things they hate… or maybe, they’re afraid to push Seventeen too far?

She had originally assumed they’d have chained Seventeen up, put curses on him, or at least used some binding demon art—but apparently, they hadn’t done anything.

That doesn’t make sense. Why are they so relaxed?

She didn’t figure it out then. Much, much later, she finally understood their logic.

Seventeen might’ve been strong, but… he didn’t have time.

As they once said: “A stubborn old man.” An old man who was gravely ill and close to death.

Someone whose final purpose in life was likely revenge. If he didn’t get it, he probably wouldn’t be able to die in peace.

Because he was old, they didn’t have to guard him too closely. Because time was short, he wouldn’t care much about the process—only the end.

This “old man” was very different from the kind you saw in fanfics and smutty stories.

But Yuan didn’t know any of that yet. She was still focused on figuring out how to lure out this Yuan Yingli, and what exactly the organization wanted with him.

She glanced at the photo they’d provided.

The moment she saw it, she froze.

This guy—Yuan Yingli—had appeared in the manga before.

Just once. As a background character.

A very unpleasant one.

Back when Fa Ning had messed up his cultivation and was desperately looking for help, he’d once begged Yuan Yingli for treatment.

Yuan Yingli had glanced at him once and said:

“I don’t like the look of you.”

A very… distinctive kind of doctor.

Yuan suddenly felt nervous.

What if she got close, and he gave her the same look?

And said:

“I don’t like the look of you, either.”