Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan walked in, glancing around with a lingering sense of fear.

She quickly shut the door and blew out the candles in the room—but even the lamp turned out to be some sort of antique: an ornately carved lantern, with the candle sealed inside.

Afraid she might break it too, Yuan Yuanyuan decided to leave it alone. She had no idea how it lit up… maybe it had some kind of motion sensor?

When it came to demon stuff, Yuan Yuanyuan could never figure it out. She circled around the screen to take a look at what was behind it. This corridor was usually deserted, so she figured she had a bit of time, but if she stayed too long, she’d definitely be discovered.

Passing behind the screen, Yuan Yuanyuan saw a bed, a cabinet, and a small tea table. The cabinet was covered with all sorts of demon books.

She gave them a cursory glance—most of them looked like advanced tomes on demon magic, each radiating that kind of intimidating aura.

The magic books Yuan Yuanyuan usually dealt with were basic—stuff like little stones and leaves, or at most, a piece of jade.

But here, the jade was stacked piece by piece, each about the size of a palm, just lying there—blinding her with their brilliance.

Yuan Yuanyuan walked over to the bed. Who knew how long this room had gone undiscovered, yet there wasn’t even a speck of dust inside. The wonders of demons, truly.

The bed was curtained off, so she couldn’t see what was inside. She leaned in for a closer look and pulled the curtain aside. What appeared before her was a soft divan—no bedding, but there was a lovely porcelain pillow with mandarin ducks painted on it.

…Damn, kind of romantic.

Yuan Yuanyuan couldn’t help but start imagining: maybe back when Seventeen stayed here, he and the proprietress did something sneaky in this room… ahem.

The divan was genuinely beautiful. Its side was carved from some unknown wood, and atop it sat a delicate ashtray with a long smoking pipe resting in it.

Huh, this pipe…

She cautiously leaned over, and when she touched it without triggering anything, she boldly picked it up. The pipe was stunning, and more importantly, it was long—one and a half times the length of her own pipe.

My god, she already thought hers was long—how was anyone supposed to use a pipe this long?

Yuan Yuanyuan laughed and shook her head, then turned to put it back. That’s when she noticed a small gap behind the divan’s side. She could crawl through it.

Half of her body braced on the divan, she peered into the gap to see what was in there—but the angle was too narrow. So she simply climbed up and leaned in further. She saw it was a tiny passage, just wide enough for someone to squeeze through sideways.

At the end of the passage, there was a vase.

Yuan Yuanyuan turned around—and suddenly felt something was wrong.

There was a flower in the vase.

She whipped her head back to look. It was a plum blossom, just about to bloom, with twisting branches.

Given her eyesight, she could even see the dew clinging to the petals.

Instantly, chills swept across her back, goosebumps rising all over.

Then, the light before her eyes suddenly dimmed.

A wave of dread crept over her.

But then Yuan Yuanyuan realized something very important—

Right now… she was Yuan.

Her mind started spinning furiously, trying to figure things out. But before she could make any headway, the space before her suddenly lit up—not blindingly, but softly, in a warm yellow glow.

Yet below… was complete darkness.

Yes, “below.”

She could see through a thin, paper-like wall—watching all the people below her.

She hadn’t noticed it before, but this wall… was paper. And it was translucent.

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t try to poke it. She was afraid she’d tear it open.

Now she was half-reclining on the bed, the long smoking pipe in her hand. The lamp outside had definitely been on, so people outside likely couldn’t see her. But now, in this situation, she couldn’t move. If she did, everyone would notice her.

Where the hell even was this place… Yuan Yuanyuan was completely lost. She looked at the walls around her and began to calculate—where in the tavern was she?

Suspended… and able to see into the main hall.

No way up or down—it was like a cradle hanging in the air. She traced back her path, trying to map where that corridor had led. From this vantage point… suddenly, a realization hit her.

This was… that paper lantern hanging in the main hall?

Holy crap!

She had always assumed it was just a decoration, even during events like Hyakki Yagyō or other major festivals, the lantern had never lit up—so she figured it was just for show.

But this lantern was huge, hanging from the beam—too high for anyone to reach.

Damn! She’d always been curious about it, and now look where she ended up!

…

She hadn’t even reached the bathroom when everything went black.

The surroundings vanished, and she froze, heart pounding, eyes scanning around—everything blurry and noisy, giving her a headache.

As she started recalling that time at the anime convention, light suddenly returned—gentle and comfortable.

She couldn’t help but look toward the source. It came from overhead—a warm yellow, tinged with ambiguity and laziness.

A giant lantern lit up above her. She had never seen one this big in her life. Calling it a “lantern” barely did it justice—it was practically a small house, with semi-transparent walls casting the shadows inside outward.

Gao Ling saw a silhouette appear on the wall. A person.

Who was that…? Gao Ling was puzzled. They looked strangely familiar, but she couldn’t quite place them.

The person was wearing a clearly feminine outfit—like all the waitresses here. A languid elegance mixed with decadence.

But if you asked whether anything about them seemed unlike a normal woman, Gao Ling would say yes.

They were too tall, too slender. Their height was striking compared to the average woman. Their long hair flowed freely, but even that had an odd quality to it.

The figure was half-reclined on a bed, holding a long smoking pipe. A shadowy silhouette—but one that occasionally shifted, proving it was a real person.

The rest of the tavern was pitch black, with only that one place lit up—naturally, all eyes were drawn to it.

Gao Ling was frozen.

Everyone else around her was staring too.

After a moment, Gao Ling snapped back to reality and thought, Damn, these demons really know how to throw a party. What a wild and decadent setup.

She felt like a nosebleed was coming on—not literally, just that this was way beyond what humans would consider proper.

If this happened in the human world, it would definitely be labeled immoral.

But the figure above didn’t feel vulgar—in fact, their elevated position created a powerful sense of oppression below.

Gao Ling glanced at the boy beside her, only to realize he was also looking up.

His face had lost the boyishness she’d sensed earlier. Now it was sharp, serious—his tall nose and deep, dark eyes reflecting the lantern’s glow.

Everyone was staring upward, their faces painted with that faint, glowing light.

Gao Ling wasn’t sure if she looked the same. But suddenly, everyone’s expressions seemed somber, with a strange undercurrent of excitement.

She was still trying to figure out what was going on when the boy beside her quietly turned and led her toward the bathroom—standing out starkly amidst the stunned crowd.

“Hey, wait! Where are you going?” Gao Ling was bewildered. She didn’t want to leave. She had to find out what was happening.

Before she could speak, she saw several black-clad bodyguards suddenly emerge—stealthily dragging people away one by one. The crowd was thinning out.

Gao Ling gasped, stifling her voice, and huddled behind the boy gripping her wrist.

He led her straight into the bathroom, unobstructed, and stood guard at the door.

The last thing Gao Ling saw was a beautiful demon woman, silently dragged away by a group of bodyguards. She didn’t even struggle.

“Did she… die?” Gao Ling asked nervously.

“No, just passed out. Someone will come make her forget. She’ll be fine,” the boy said.

Gao Ling understood. She figured she’d be getting the same treatment soon.

“Why make them forget?” she asked.

“Because we’re doing something secret. No one else can know,” he said, his face serious.

Gao Ling muttered, “…Okay. So this kid is a bit of an idiot.”

…

Yuan Yuanyuan had no idea what was happening. Suddenly, a demon below shouted in excitement, and all the others followed suit.

In an instant, the whole tavern was in an uproar.

Yuan Yuanyuan was completely dumbfounded.

She hadn’t even lit her pipe yet—she had no idea what was going on.

Yet the people below were as excited as a pack of dogs.

That’s when she heard a soft voice by her ear—it was the proprietress.

“You dressed like this again? Oh, right. I forgot… you’re still hiding from the anti-war group… Poor thing, can’t even show your real face to your own people. So now you’re pretending to be a woman again, like before?”

…Your own people?

Yuan Yuanyuan processed the meaning of the proprietress’s words. Then her heart jumped—Girl, that logic is totally off. Who are “my people”? Who even are you?

Unless…

She looked down.

…Unless this is the anti-war group’s headquarters.

Holy. Shit.