Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan stared at the comic, momentarily stunned.

In her heart she thought: Damn, big bro, you’re unexpectedly blunt… Was that really what you said right before you died? Shouldn’t a proper dramatic death involve lines like “Even in death, I won’t let you go!” or something like that?

But instead… Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t even know what to say. That line caught her off guard—she was honestly left a little dazed.

[After the final image flashed before Faning’s eyes, everything suddenly returned to calm. His vision shifted back to a hazy yellow.]

[When he regained consciousness, he realized he was lying on the ground. Standing over him was Yuan Yingli, slapping him repeatedly: “Wake up! Wake up!”]

[As Faning sat up, he was still dizzy. The guandao lay off to the side. Yuan Yingli looked pale but otherwise fine, no obvious signs of something wrong.]

[Faning jumped to his feet, not realizing his face was just as pale as Yuan Yingli’s. But at that moment, it hit him—he must’ve passed out just like Yuan Yingli.]

[What had he just seen?]

[“What did you just see?” Yuan Yingli asked before Faning could even speak.]

[“You… saw something too?” Faning asked, hesitantly.]

[“Yeah. I saw Yuan, with a few others. Looked like it happened recently,” Yuan Yingli said after a pause. “Was it that meeting out west a while ago?”]

[“Huh?” Faning made a strange noise. He frowned—something didn’t add up. What he’d seen was Yuan—back when he was still Seventeen—going into Red Sand Well. Completely different from what Yuan Yingli described.]

[Did they see entirely different things?]

[Faning’s expression gave it away. Yuan Yingli quickly realized: “You didn’t see the same thing?”]

[“No…” Faning hesitated, then answered. “I saw something from when Yuan was still Seventeen.”]

Yuan Yingli was instantly drawn in by Faning’s words. Faning found his expression a little ridiculous—this guy was obviously a total Yuan fanboy. The moment he heard something related to Yuan, he seemed to forget everything else.

[“Help me up, man…” Faning muttered. “We can’t stay here too long—we’ve got to go.”]

[The two packed up their things and quickly retreated from Red Sand Well.]

And with that, the current issue ended.

Yuan Yuanyuan stared at the comic, a bit dazed. Her mind was already jumping ahead, imagining what the next issue would show—

Faning had seen something from Seventeen’s past; Yuan Yingli had seen something from when Yuan Yuanyuan had gone into Red Sand Well. The next issue would surely show them exchanging information…

She never expected that the scene of her visit to Red Sand Well would one day actually appear in the comic. At the time, she hadn’t thought much about her own behavior. Now, trying to recall it, she could barely remember what she’d done.

She vaguely remembered… being scared?

Later, she vaguely recalled that she’d witnessed several monsters who had stirred up trouble in the northwest being thrown into the well. She’d been standing there trembling in fear.

Ah… how embarrassing. Did she really tremble? She struggled with this memory for a second. And for the entire following week… she was stuck in a state of emotional confusion.

The latest issue had gone viral online. Monster Chronicle was finally getting some attention, and the newest chapter had sparked lots of discussion, even on some of the bigger platforms.

It was no small feat for a comic like this to gain visibility on high-traffic websites. Some people, upon seeing it discussed, checked it out out of curiosity—and found themselves drawn in.

This time, everyone focused on the final image Faning had seen—especially the line of dialogue:

“But in my next life… I probably won’t remember you.”

[“I think Yuan was really bitter. Just look at what he said.”]
[“Of course he was! If I’m not wrong, the person speaking first was the Li family head, right? Damn, were they really that close?”]
[“Did I see that right? The Li family head was the one who threw Yuan into the well, wasn’t he? Holy crap—I knew they had beef, but I didn’t think it was that bad.”]
[“That whole pairing… why does it feel so scummy? Yuan gives off such a tragic bottom energy.”]
[“This is totally a revenge-bottom trope. That line he said had such a ‘next life, I’ll be back with a vengeance’ vibe.”]
[“Right?! It totally fits!”]

Online discussions were buzzing. Many people interpreted Yuan’s words as a veiled message. The Li family head’s dialogue was clearly intended as a cold parting shot before death—but if you read between the lines, you could sense deep, unresolved emotions between them.

If the two had a normal relationship, that line wouldn’t have hit as hard. Clearly their bond was more complicated than it looked—but the comic had always been vague about it, so people could only speculate.

But this time, the subtext hit loud and clear—blatantly intense.

Everything added up.

Pair that with Yuan’s later mysterious “resurrection,” and the internet was abuzz again. People praised Yuan as a man who never lets a grudge go. Someone tells him “get revenge in your next life,” and he deadpans, “I probably won’t remember you.” That line might’ve made the Li family head feel a twinge of guilt—only for Yuan to turn around and not die at all.

Maybe Yuan had been holding on, telling himself don’t die yet while in Red Sand Well—clinging to life out of sheer willpower until he clawed his way back out.

That line hit completely differently now that it was clear he hadn’t died. Online, people started jokingly calling him “Yuan the Forgiving”—a full-on meme.

But then everyone remembered: Yuan’s current status is unknown.

Suddenly, that line felt tragic again.

[“Don’t worry, the Li family head’s not getting away. With Yuan’s petty streak, he’s not letting him off that easy.”]
[“I used to think Yuan never even went into Red Sand Well… turns out he did. So maybe his body really was failing back then—it wasn’t an act like we thought.”]
[“Geez, could you not jinx it? Yuan will be fine, okay? Don’t start with that.”]
[…“Honestly, I care even more than you do about Yuan. But Red Sand Well… forget it. You wouldn’t understand.”]

It wasn’t just humans—many monsters were watching this unfold closely. Unlike the humans who were only now starting to worry, some monsters had long believed someone like Yuan would never die.

Now, even they were beginning to realize… maybe he had died.

Because this was Red Sand Well.

When it comes to legendary figures, their feats never feel unbelievable. But when their stories are laid out bit by bit, it makes it easier for others to relate—to imagine themselves in those situations. The mystery fades, replaced with empathy.

Seeing the past of someone like Yuan, readers instinctively wondered—how did Seventeen survive that well and become Yuan?

Originally, people didn’t know. But now, it seemed likely that he survived through sheer hatred—clinging to life out of pure spite. Then, through some twist of fate, he made it out.

So, all those old theories—that Yuan never entered Red Sand Well, or didn’t stay long and got rescued—were all invalid. It was clear now: he did go in, and he was seriously hurt.

When he fell from the sky back then, maybe it really was because something went wrong—not just an act, like people had thought.

Monsters knew more about Red Sand Well than humans did, so their outlook wasn’t optimistic.

So next time Yuan Yuanyuan returned to the tavern to work, she found everyone… unusually downbeat. A gloom that was hard to explain. Curious, she asked around and discovered: everyone was saying Yuan was dead.

Yuan Yuanyuan: “…”

“He’s dead,” one customer claimed with absolute certainty. Yuan Yuanyuan crouched silently, gnawing on her corn cob. Whatever makes you happy…

As she chewed, a sudden thought struck her. She bolted upright and scampered to the kitchen, where she found Si Qun crouched at the sink, back to her.

For a second, she panicked—was he crying? She slapped a hand on his shoulder and spun him around.

Si Qun turned, face blank and confused, streaked with black and white… holding a moth in his hand.

…So now, after cockroaches and ants, the tavern’s moths were under threat too? Oh no.

Yuan Yuanyuan thought the moths were kinda nice, actually. Watching them flutter around the light fixtures gave off an aesthetic “moth to a flame” kind of vibe. Quite fitting for this kind of place.

Ahem, she was getting off track.

Yuan Yuanyuan looked at Si Qun again. Seeing that he didn’t seem sad or upset, she finally relaxed and handed him half of her corn.

Still, a dumb kid is better—easier to fool, blissfully unaware.

So the two of them sat quietly by the sink, peacefully munching corn together.