Little Pink Starfish

The previous issue of Demon Notes had actually depicted what had happened inside the tavern. However, it hadn’t explicitly stated the location, and parts of the setting had been intentionally blurred.

After all, Ji Qiu still didn’t want that location exposed.

Still, a few elements remained the same—like the lantern, and the woman inside it.

And by sheer coincidence, Gao Ling had brought those exact two clues out with her…

Back in the tavern, everything was as usual. In fact, if Yuan Yuanyuan hadn’t gone that day, the demons probably wouldn’t have realized that someone could stand inside the lantern hanging overhead.

It still looked like a purely decorative object.

Later, when Yuan Yuanyuan returned, she found the room locked again. At the entrance, they had once again posted a portrait of Yuan. Everything looked exactly the same as before.

So even if someone wanted to find that room again, it would be nearly impossible.

Yuan Yuanyuan had once wondered why, when she touched that portrait, it suddenly shattered, scaring her half to death.

Because of that, she’d always found the portrait suspicious and couldn’t resist glancing at it every time she passed by.

Of course, Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t dwell on it for long. She continued to laze about daily and occasionally pretended to work seriously for the Masked Organization.

That day, she’d spent a long time chatting with the boss of the Masked Organization. The two of them shared “backgrounds”—but everything Yuan Yuanyuan offered was completely fabricated.

—Like how she used to be staunchly anti-bloodline theory, and how, given the current state of the demon world and her own personal circumstances, she had no choice but to join the organization and adopt extreme methods to try to change things.

But Yuan Yuanyuan knew all these lies stemmed from Yuan’s persona. She couldn’t contradict the established backstory. So were these lies… or truths? She thought that was a bit of a philosophical question.

While she was pondering philosophy, there was another group of people also pondering philosophy.

Perhaps their musings were even deeper than Yuan Yuanyuan’s—or at least easier to fall into existential despair over.

…

[Do you think… when Yuan crossdresses… he shaves his legs?]

…

[WTF! Can we talk about something normal?!] Gao Ling, who had finally recovered after days of “melon-planting” madness, snapped. She was now back to normal, and even encouraging others to join the melon farm.

Once half the group had joined her in metaphorically “planting melons,” she became unusually calm and started discussing the matter in an eerily peaceful tone.

[So the leader of the anti-war organization… is actually Yuan himself? This situation is so absurd…] someone commented.

[Wait, so no one’s figured out that the anti-war organization’s boss is actually Yuan?] another asked. [Boss, what the hell did you go through that day to figure this out? How did this massive secret land in your lap?!]

[I have no idea,] Gao Ling sighed. [Feels like I stumbled into a world-shaking, movie-worthy incident…]

Everyone in the group chat was buzzing about the intel Gao Ling had brought back. At first, no one believed it—it was too outrageous. People said if the comic really went in that direction, it’d be a masterpiece.

But after a few days of discussion… they realized the comic actually had the potential to become a masterpiece.

And then the fandom exploded.

People in the group pointed at the elegant “lady in the lantern” and said it couldn’t be true—until Gao Ling calmly pulled out the photo on her phone.

Granted, it was a slightly chubby shot—after all, expecting a comic artist to have eight-pack abs was asking too much—but the timestamp was solid. It was taken five days before the latest issue of Demon Notes had been published.

So how could Gao Ling have predicted such a twist five days early? So clearly? So specifically?

She must’ve seen it with her own eyes, then jotted it down. No way could someone have guessed that Yuan, the woman in the lantern, and all the rest were connected—unless they had been there.

After a few more days of melon-planting, the group calmed down enough to realize one terrifying truth:

—Yuan isn’t some pitiful figure. He’s a manipulative mastermind. He holds high positions in both his own camp and the enemy’s.

Gao Ling wasn’t worried about anyone in that group chat finding out. This was her oldest, tightest group—only a few dozen members. Everyone knew each other well. She hadn’t told any of the newer groups, worried there might be demons lurking there.

But this old group? She felt safe. Even if someone did leak the info, no one outside would believe it.

It was like hiding treasure and not being able to resist showing it off.

Gao Ling suddenly felt that Yuan’s disguise was… damn impressive. He dressed as a woman and actually looked more feminine than most real women.

If Yuan knew what they were saying, he’d probably laugh himself silly…

There had never been any sense of dissonance with Yuan dressing as a woman. If there had been, it would’ve been a disaster.

In fact, it was harder for her to act like a man—always afraid of making a wrong move.

But to everyone else, this was just proof of Yuan’s genius. Even the few who’d been told in advance had trouble believing it.

After all, the gap between male and female identities was huge, and Yuan’s persona was one people instinctively boxed in. No one had expected him to just jump into a whole other box and become a leader over there.

People kept saying, That old guy’s got some real tricks up his sleeve… it’s actually kind of hot. Better than those fresh-faced kids.

But now a new question emerged—

If Yuan is the leader of the anti-war group… how are they going to “kill” Yuan now?

Gao Ling felt a subtle sense of unease at that sentence, but quickly laughed it off—I must be overthinking.

When she realized Yuan was the anti-war leader, it was like a huge weight had been lifted. Before, she was always worried Yuan might die a senseless death. But now, as a major figure, there was no way he’d do something so self-destructive—at least, that’s how Gao Ling saw it.

She wanted to light firecrackers in celebration. Now when she saw people cursing Yuan, she felt this wicked pleasure—Go ahead and curse him… you’ll eat your words later. And unlike before, her imagination wasn’t empty anymore—she could actually build entire scenarios in her head.

Especially when people complimented the beautiful “lady boss,” Gao Ling could barely hold in her internal injuries. Her new favorite hobby was collecting comments from people who said they wanted to lick the lantern lady’s boots and sharing them in the group chat.

[Check this out.] Gao Ling posted the latest comment. [This chick is insane, okay? She shows up and I instantly knew Fanning’s royal concubine finally appeared. The aura of someone who commands an entire harem…]

[TF you mean, ‘commands a harem’?] Everyone burst into laughter. [Yuan, harem boss edition. That’s terrifying. Just thinking about it is scary.]

[Every comment section is flooded with people wanting to have the lantern lady’s babies… if they find out it’s actually Yuan, will they break down?]

[A bunch of otakus are gonna lose their damn minds… lol, the old man’s still got it. Seducing fanboys left and right.]

[What did the otakus ever do to deserve this lol.]

Just a few days ago, everyone had felt like their worldviews had been shattered by Yuan’s crossdressing. But now? They were weirdly into it. So exciting. So thrilling. So transcendental.

In the current plot of the manga, things were clear. The Masked Organization was the villain faction. They wanted to start a war between humans and demons for their own purposes.

On the other side, humans were trying to stop it—represented by the character Fanning.

Among demons, there were also those who opposed the war. They had formed their own anti-war alliance. Their current leader was a mysterious, beautiful woman whose face was obscured—she had become one of the manga’s most beloved female characters.

That reminded Gao Ling of Ran-jie. Before Yuan and Ran-jie’s connection was revealed, Ran-jie had a ton of fan appeal. Even now she did—but her audience had shifted from straight dudes to fujoshis.

In the next issue, Gao Ling noticed that the human and demon anti-war organizations seemed to be planning a meetup. Actually, the humans had only just learned about the demon side after reading Demon Notes.

So now, they wanted to reach out—test the waters and, if possible, form a united front.

One day, while Yuan Yuanyuan was working at the tavern, she overheard the proprietress muttering to herself. Thanks to her sharp hearing, she picked up every word.

“What do I do… what do I do…”

What do you do? Chill out, Yuan Yuanyuan thought sarcastically.

She wanted to make a joke, but she also knew what was going on lately. The proprietress was under a lot of pressure—way more than her own carefree self.

Since that last incident, Yuan Yuanyuan hadn’t shown up at the tavern using her “Yuan” persona. Even if the proprietress wanted to catch her, she couldn’t.

Yuan Yuanyuan thought for a moment, then decided maybe she should take some responsibility. She couldn’t keep dumping everything on the proprietress—it was time to fix her own problems.

That night, a shadow silently slipped into the tavern.

Unseen by anyone, it gently knocked on a room’s door.