Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan sat there with a blank face, all the while pretending she was totally in control. At the very least, she couldn’t let herself look clueless in front of the tavern owner—who had that “finally using your brain for once?” look on her face. Yuan Yuanyuan was so stifled she couldn’t say a word.

Then the manga’s plot began developing at breakneck speed—completely out of her expectations, like a runaway horse.

Week one: Fox-face defected.
Week two: Fox-face took down a stronghold.
Week three: Fox-face took down a second stronghold.
Week four: Fox-face crowned himself king at the third stronghold and started assigning his little foxes all over the place…

What the actual hell is this?!

Yuan Yuanyuan wanted nothing more than to flip a table.

That guy was stupidly strong. But she barely even knew him!

She finally remembered this man was named Yuan Yingli, someone she had indeed pulled into the organization—but she hadn’t had much of an impression of him at the time. They’d only interacted once or twice, and the next time she looked for him, he’d already started blending in with the Mask Organization.

Back then, she’d actually been worried he wouldn’t come with her. The Mask Organization was completely unhinged at the time, and anyone who didn’t obey them basically didn’t live long.

But looking at his current power level, even if he hadn’t joined, he probably could’ve founded his own kingdom. So why had he joined the Mask Organization in the first place?

In the manga, he says outright… he was Yuan’s subordinate.

Yuan Yuanyuan thought that was the biggest misrepresentation ever. They’d only met a couple of times! How had she suddenly become his boss?

Yuan Yingli might have that foxy smile, but once you actually interacted with him, you realized he was quite aloof. The smile on his face was more of a mask than anything.

Fa Ning often tried to talk to him or fish some information out, but every time, Yuan Yingli easily sidestepped it, giving Fa Ning absolutely nothing.

Yuan Yingli had a bunch of little demons under him—clearly ones he had recruited himself. Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t know the details, but she could tell most of them specialized in illusion or trickery-based magic.

Once, Yuan Yingli let something slip during a conversation—he had specifically sought out trickster demons because they had a particularly strong emotional connection to Yuan. So he tried invoking Yuan’s name when recruiting, and it worked extremely well. That’s how his faction had grown.

After that statement, people began to speculate: was that why Yuan had suddenly appeared at the forefront of the Mask Organization?

Yuan Yuanyuan fell silent, thinking: What total bullshit! Absolute nonsense! How can you people just make this stuff up?!

Yuan Yingli was a serious powerhouse. Though technically a “priest” class, he fought like a berserker on the battlefield. His bloody combat scenes were overflowing with testosterone. Previously, girls had been swooning over images of Si Qun or Fa Ning, but now their screensavers had all been replaced with pictures of Yuan Yingli.

One day, Yuan Yuanyuan was reading the manga and stumbled across the comment section, which was full of things like “Husband, marry me!” She stared blankly and thought: This is a straight-up cult.

The “Yuan Cult” was now rising with a vengeance. Every day, Yuan Yuanyuan saw flame wars and chaos on the forums—but her own focus was still on real-world matters.

The Yuan family had recently come forward and acknowledged Yuan Yingli, admitting that yes, he was a demon from their bloodline—but he’d been disowned. Apparently, he had vanished without warning six months ago, and from that moment on, the Yuan family no longer considered him one of their own.

The drama between the Yuan family and Yuan Yingli drew a lot of attention. Yuan Yuanyuan also learned a lot more about him during this time. She’d always thought of him as a fringe character, but hadn’t realized his background was so incredibly messy.

To sum it up: his mother’s side of the family had a troubled past—like a walking Yin Susu script. As a result, Yuan Yingli had never been treated well by his family.

Yuan Yuanyuan was stunned. So real life really does have people whose background is more tragic than a manga protagonist’s… Art really does imitate life—and go even further.

Not that her realization helped much… Yuan Yingli’s popularity just kept growing. Now even people who’d never heard of him before were talking about him.

Yuan Yuanyuan could only sigh in amazement. Though her own presence was pretty high lately—because whenever someone mentioned Yuan Yingli, they also had to mention Yuan—it didn’t make her happy.

She just couldn’t understand: Why would Yuan Yingli join the Mask Organization because of Yuan? Was that really the reason?

Even if she didn’t get it, the narrative seemed to insist on it. With Yuan Yingli’s arrival, Fa Ning’s situation had skyrocketed—what used to be difficult was now effortless.

Whenever Fa Ning ran into trouble, readers saw that sly fox smile of Yuan Yingli’s on the page and went absolutely wild—while Yuan Yuanyuan just broke into a cold sweat.

“This guy,” said the tavern owner while sipping tea, “He reminds me of Si Qun back in the day.”

“Huh?” Yuan Yuanyuan was caught off guard. She wasn’t expecting any mention of Si Qun.

Si Qun… that idiot? He was in the same crowd as Yuan Yingli? Yuan Yuanyuan racked her brain and couldn’t imagine Si Qun with a foxy grin… Maybe he also drove girls crazy?

Eventually, she admitted—Si Qun had won. That guy’s face was unbeatable. Probably a dopey grin, not a cunning one, but still.

The tavern owner seemed to be reminiscing. Yuan Yuanyuan had no idea what she was talking about, so she just drank quietly and played the role of a good listener.

Before she could hear just how badass Si Qun had been before he turned dumb, someone came in. The topic was dropped immediately. Two people were led inside—Fa Ning, and the now-insanely-popular Yuan Yingli.

As Yuan Yingli entered, Yuan Yuanyuan’s sharp ears picked up a chorus of squealing fangirls echoing from the hallway.

Cults, Yuan Yuanyuan thought, shaking her head.

The moment she opened the door, the outside noise vanished. She saw Fa Ning and Yuan Yingli step in—and those outside saw the silhouettes behind the curtain.

Through that curtain, everything was slightly blurry.

The two men came in and shut the door.

She hadn’t seen Yuan Yingli in over six months. Her feelings about him were very different now. Half a year ago, he’d been a weak, ostracized young father. Now he was a powerful, influential figure. She couldn’t talk to him the same way anymore.

Though… she herself had also undergone a transformation. She was a big shot now, too. So her demeanor stayed the same.

Fa Ning was familiar and casual. He plopped into a chair, and the tavern owner poured him some tea. Yuan Yingli, on the other hand, was meeting her for the first time.

“I’ve long heard your name, but it’s the first time we’ve met,” Yuan Yingli said with a smile. “You really are just like the legends.”

Yuan Yuanyuan had heard that line too many times to count. Every stranger said that as their opening line, so it didn’t faze her anymore.

But Yuan Yingli was clearly not like the others. He sat down and, without skipping a beat, added, “Your most active period was during the First War. I specifically looked up which powerful demons were around back then…”

She stared at him. He continued, “Although I haven’t confirmed your identity, something strange happened—you vanished during the Second War. No one could trace you after that. So, may I ask what happened during that time?”

The moment he asked that, Yuan Yuanyuan saw Fa Ning glance at her over his teacup with wide eyes that clearly said: Bro, are you seriously asking that out loud? The tavern owner also subtly glanced at her—with an expression that was clearly “this is going to be good.” Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly felt her liver ache.

“Pleasure to meet you, Lord Yuan. It’s true—you’re as brilliant as the rumors say,” Yuan Yuanyuan replied, dodging the question completely.

“There’s something we’d like your help with…” Fa Ning said.

“But we only just sent a large number of reinforcements your way not long ago,” the tavern owner said for Yuan Yuanyuan. “So it’s difficult to spare more right now.”

That was a lie. The tavern owner always operated on a “you go die first” policy. They had the troops—they just didn’t want to get involved.

“I did some reading through old archives,” Yuan Yingli said calmly, “and followed some small clues. I discovered something.”

Yuan Yuanyuan perked up a little. “What is it?”

“During the First War, your organization didn’t seem to have much direct connection to the spy unit Seventeen led. But after the war, many of those spies’ descendants ended up in City C.” Yuan Yingli said. “I still can’t confirm where they all went, but after process of elimination, I have a bold theory… Could they be under your command? And… do you know Lord Yuan?”

His tone suddenly became serious. The entire room went quiet. Fa Ning, knowing Yuan Yingli’s obsession with this topic, became serious too.

Yuan Yuanyuan said nothing—mostly because she was deeply uncomfortable. Especially since the tavern owner had just pinched her thigh under the table.

“What exactly are you asking?” she finally said.

“I want to know…” Yuan Yingli said, “Before Lord Yuan disappeared, did he say anything to you?”