Little Pink Starfish

Sneaking into the boss lady’s boudoir at night didn’t mean Yuan Yuanyuan had some kind of special kink—it was simply to gather information on whether the exorcists had contacted the boss lady recently.

Although Seventeen was presumably the one behind everything, he wasn’t around right now, so the one handling things on this side was clearly the boss lady. Her intel was probably more up-to-date. If anything came up that required Yuan Yuanyuan’s help, she didn’t mind lending a hand.

Sure enough, when she arrived, the boss lady was visibly troubled by recent events. The exorcist faction indeed wanted to make contact, but they specifically asked for the leader to show up. Naturally, the leader on this end would be Yuan. The boss lady hadn’t been able to reach Yuan and had been fretting over it. It was at this moment that Yuan Yuanyuan voluntarily appeared.

The next morning, Yuan Yuanyuan left the tavern with a low-brimmed hat, followed silently by the boss lady. The two of them left without a sound and headed for the meeting spot.

Before leaving, Yuan Yuanyuan had carefully tidied herself up. Her main goal was to ensure the exorcists couldn’t tell that she wasn’t Yuan. However, she couldn’t overdo her transformation either, since the boss lady was with her. In the boss lady’s eyes, when she was in her role as the anti-war leader, she rarely used transformation techniques.

The meeting spot this time had been chosen by the boss lady—another tavern owned by monsters, though not as famous as Qiu Ying’s.

The boss lady explained that she picked this tavern because it had beautiful curtains. She could hide behind them and talk to people from the other side.

This had even been mentioned in the last issue of the Monster Chronicle, which said that when the leader of the anti-war group met others, it was either behind a blurry paper window or behind a curtain. Last time, that paper lantern could still barely pass for a paper window.

Yuan Yuanyuan arrived first, found the designated room, and went in to sit down. The boss lady helped arrange the curtain in the room and then gently let it down.

“…Can they see through it?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked.

“They can’t, they can’t,” the boss lady said, waving her hands. “It covers everything just fine.”

Sitting behind the curtain, Yuan Yuanyuan couldn’t help but mentally complain—it felt suspiciously similar to the gauze curtain in Manager Tong’s bedroom…

The two women sat inside the room, snacking on melon seeds and chatting. No one knew how much the room cost, but it was extremely comfortable. Yuan Yuanyuan nearly forgot she was here on business and just wanted to lie down and have a nap.

Just as Yuan Yuanyuan was about to doze off, there was a sudden knock at the door. She snapped awake and looked toward the entrance, still half-reclining.

The arrival was abrupt.

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t immediately get up. She continued reclining, since that had been her pose the last time she appeared in the comic. Maintaining the same posture wouldn’t seem out of place.

The ones entering were the exorcist representatives. They had all disguised themselves to look like monsters. Exorcists had their ways—although the disguise couldn’t last long, their short-term transformation techniques were already quite sophisticated.

Yuan Yuanyuan, half-reclined, observed each of the new arrivals. For every one of them, she mentally judged their looks, wondering who would be praised by readers if this scene were drawn in a comic—and who would get mocked.

Sigh… not good, she thought. I’ve read too many comics. Even my thoughts are starting to follow their logic.

Yuan Yuanyuan had been fairly indifferent—until she suddenly saw someone that nearly made her sit straight up, breaking out in a cold sweat.

That person was at the very end of the group. He was dressed plainly, with a mask on his face. It wasn’t until he stepped into the room and removed the mask that Yuan Yuanyuan was truly shocked.

That person…

The exorcist representative leading the group gestured for the man who removed the mask to sit down. Even the boss lady pinched Yuan Yuanyuan discreetly at that moment, almost making her yelp.

Damn, she thought. The exorcists are really bringing out the big guns this time.

Yuan Yuanyuan glanced at the man. He looked straight back at her, entirely unafraid.

Even with a curtain between them, Yuan Yuanyuan inexplicably felt that he was staring directly into her eyes.

She began to panic a little.

The exorcist side had played a big card, and for a moment, the atmosphere in the room completely froze.

“You…” the boss lady used an honorific tone, “trust us this much? Aren’t you afraid we’ll do something unexpected?”

“Hahaha,” the elder exorcist leader, a grey-haired Taoist, laughed heartily. “If you’re able to ask that, it means you won’t. Besides, we didn’t come here unprepared.”

Prepared how? Yuan Yuanyuan wondered. Is it the same type of preparation they used out west? That wouldn’t cut it. Don’t suddenly pull out a replica of Seventeen’s sword—that would be way too dramatic.

The man who had removed his mask was still sitting there calmly, with nothing particularly remarkable—except for his face.

—A face that looked exactly like the one drawn for Fa Ning in the comic.

Yuan Yuanyuan had met Fa Ning before—more than once. She stayed calm, in contrast to the boss lady, who kept up appearances but was clearly unsettled. Yuan Yuanyuan discreetly squeezed her hand to help her settle down.

The boss lady cast a worried glance at Yuan Yuanyuan. Yuan Yuanyuan indicated she was fine. In hindsight, she should’ve brought some props with her.

She couldn’t stay behind the curtain with Yuan Yuanyuan the whole time. As protocol dictated, the boss lady eventually stood up and pulled back the curtain.

When she did, Yuan Yuanyuan noticed Fa Ning’s eyes following the movement, likely trying to catch a glimpse of who was behind it. But the boss lady was skilled—her movements were elegant yet ensured Yuan Yuanyuan remained completely hidden.

Yuan Yuanyuan noticed that Fa Ning couldn’t locate her eyes once the curtain shifted. She relaxed a bit. It seemed he couldn’t actually see through the curtain—he was just guessing and trying to unnerve her.

“Seeing you in person, I realize you truly are as beautiful as the rumors say,” said the elder exorcist to the hidden Yuan Yuanyuan.

Yuan Yuanyuan found this line a bit awkward. When Monster Chronicle wraps up, the old man might want to take those words back…

Ahem, well, no matter. By then, she should already be “dead and gone.”

She looked at Fa Ning in front of her, mentally confirming again and again—based on her current identity, they should have no connection whatsoever. They’d never interacted. No need to panic. No risk of being exposed.

The boss lady also knew the person behind the curtain was Yuan. But she had already adjusted, showing no reaction—even when facing Fa Ning, her expression remained utterly neutral, as if this were just any other person.

Yuan Yuanyuan figured she couldn’t stay silent any longer and tentatively said, “I didn’t expect the legendary Fa Ning to have joined your side… A lot of people out there are still debating whether Fa Ning actually exists.”

The old Taoist laughed heartily. “He’s quite the exceptional junior. His joining us means he trusts us a great deal. Would you consider working with us?”

The old man was no fool. When he first saw Fa Ning, he realized that based on current circumstances, the anti-war faction had a strong chance of winning. The world had been speculating whether Fa Ning truly existed, but the consensus was this: if he did, whichever side he was on was likely to win.

After all, he’s the protagonist… Even the old guys who don’t read comics have heard of classic operas. The “protagonist must win” trope is universal. Even if it doesn’t always come true in reality, the odds are high.

Fa Ning had likely joined them with this in mind. Up to now, no one outside the exorcist and anti-war factions knew that Fa Ning was a real person—his existence was their trump card.

Through the curtain, Yuan Yuanyuan studied Fa Ning. She noticed he was noticeably thinner than when they last met—probably from being tormented by that spell technique.

She didn’t feel the slightest guilt. In fact, she wanted to ask how it was working out. From what she knew, those intense spells had incredible effects. In just a few months, she’d been able to pass herself off as Yuan convincingly enough to fool people. Who knew how Fa Ning was doing now?

Fa Ning had entered with composure, but now he seemed a bit uneasy. Yuan Yuanyuan figured he might have sensed something, but she didn’t think he could see through her disguise.

Since the meeting had begun, it was time to discuss mutual interests. Because the exorcists had played their ace right off the bat, Yuan Yuanyuan’s side was a bit on the back foot. Still, the boss lady was skilled and managed to win many benefits.

When the negotiations ended and the exorcists were about to leave, Yuan Yuanyuan considered whether she should walk them out—but at that moment, a strange gust of wind suddenly swept through the room.

The wind lifted the curtain in front of Yuan Yuanyuan. She was terrified. The wind was strange, and she couldn’t immediately figure out who had caused it.

But that didn’t matter. The critical issue was that she absolutely could not let her identity be exposed.

Thinking quickly in the crisis, she suddenly turned her head and let her long hair fall loosely over her shoulders, covering the side of her face.

By the time the wind died down, the curtain had already been lifted.

…

The exorcists saw a red-clothed “woman” sitting with her back to them on a soft couch, hair cascading down like wisps of smoke.

“She” said to the exorcist representative, “Let’s end things here for today. A minor incident occurred. Please don’t mind it.”

All their gazes swept over “her” figure, from slender shoulders down to her ankles.

“Her” face was completely hidden. There was no way to see her expression or eyes.

“In that case, we’ll take our leave,” Fa Ning said suddenly, addressing Yuan Yuanyuan.

He was the first to leave, while several of the other exorcists lingered near the door. This was a rare chance to glimpse the mysterious woman who never showed her face. Miss it now, and who knew when they’d get another chance?

The boss lady walked over and pulled the curtain shut with a sharp tug, saying in a cold voice, “Apologies. We’ll be investigating today’s incident thoroughly. Now, please leave immediately.”