Little Pink Starfish

Li… Li… the Head of the Li Family!

Yuan Yuanyuan’s entire body jolted. She flipped back through the earlier panels and suddenly realized why this extra issue existed in the first place. The bonus chapter and the main story were tightly connected—it was like a handoff between the old era and the new. The old era featured the previous King of a Hundred Demons and Li Laotou, while the new era now starred the young King and… Fan Ning.

When she recited this thought to herself, Yuan Yuanyuan couldn’t help but cover her eyes in despair.

What kind of taste… what kind of decision is this?! No wonder the new King’s control was slipping. A lot of the younger demons didn’t listen to him. Even the older ones, when mentioning him, had this faint air of… regret?

Just judging from their choice in people—you could tell. Back then, the Li Family Head had been so loyal he’d even dared to kill his own brother-in-law for the sake of the King. But Fan Ning… forget it. Thinking about it just made her heart ache.

Yuan Yuanyuan kept flipping through the comic, trying to glean some useful info. Qiu’s artwork always had great details, and even just looking at the Li Head’s expression—you could feel the story.

So tender, so focused… so bright.

Yuan Yuanyuan shivered.

What is wrong with you demons?! Why are you all so— like that?!

Suddenly, she remembered that ghost from a few days ago—the one still hiding in the talisman, not coming out for what felt like 800 years. And now this scene? It must be cursed feng shui… Or maybe… all these demons are just poisoned.

No. I refuse! I’m not becoming like that (…am I?!) Yuan Yuanyuan desperately tried to pull herself out of that bizarre atmosphere. She was Yuan right now—if she suddenly awakened some fujoshi brain and got carried away, she might just trip over herself in a gutter.

So this guy was really that loyal to the previous King of a Hundred Demons…? Yuan Yuanyuan had heard him say “for loyalty” before, but seeing it visualized like this hit differently.

This kind of person… probably fits the definition of a “loyal minister.” But aside from loyalty, it was like he’d discarded every other aspect of himself. Even turned on his own wife and brother-in-law. From a woman’s perspective, Yuan Yuanyuan really felt like Seventeen’s sister marrying this man had been a huge stroke of bad luck.

Her gaze moved back to the King of a Hundred Demons. Although you couldn’t see his face at all, his presence was overwhelming. If someone told Yuan that he had started that war single-handedly, she’d believe it. If someone said he was the one responsible for the downfall of the once-stunning Seventeen, she’d believe that too.

But no matter what kind of man he used to be… all of it now seemed like a puff of smoke.

Even if Yuan Yuanyuan wanted to take revenge on this old King on Seventeen’s behalf, it felt impossible now. At best, she could go question the Li Head—ask him what he was thinking when he abandoned Seventeen’s sister and pushed Seventeen into that well.

As for the old King… well, maybe karma had already hit him. Just look at him now… this mess.

Yuan Yuanyuan glanced at the young King of a Hundred Demons and, for some reason, felt a strange sense of superiority.

“I hope you can become my right hand,” said the King of a Hundred Demons.

She couldn’t hear his voice through the manga, but it was as if she could. It would be low, dignified, tinged with a commanding presence—maybe even spoken slowly, deliberately?

“It would be my honor to be your right hand,” the Li Family Head bowed deeply.

“Then I need you to do something for me. Can you?”

“Please be specific.”

“I once had high hopes for someone, like I do for you now,” the King said softly from behind the curtain. “But… he’s no longer who he used to be.”

The Li Family Head didn’t react, as if he hadn’t heard anything. The King glanced at him and seemed unsurprised.

“Do you have the confidence to do it?” he asked.

“Yes,” the Li Head nodded slowly, but firmly.

In her ears, Yuan Yuanyuan could almost hear the tragic BGM swell up… and honestly, yeah, from the Li Head’s perspective, this was tragic.

To personally sever every tie—that was brutal. It required more than ordinary resolve.

The pain of such a task probably scales with a person’s conscience. Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t think this guy had much of one, but from a storytelling angle, he had that touch of villain charisma that might just attract some readers.

And there was no avoiding that kind of thing… So even though she felt uncomfortable, she braced herself. Sure enough, as she flipped to the comment section, she spotted a few people saying the Li Head had done the right thing—and there were a lot of them.

Then came something even more interesting. Yuan Yuanyuan had no way to know the Li Head’s inner thoughts, but Qiu could, and he had painted them vividly.

Back in the day, the Li Family Head had a close friend—someone he’d grown up with, enlisted with, trusted completely. That friend was none other than Seventeen.

They had been in the early stages of a romance, sweet and sticky like honey. It was during this flashback that Yuan Yuanyuan finally saw a woman who looked just like Seventeen—beautiful, flower-like.

Qiu Ying had looked so happy back then. A gentle woman, not strong in combat, and Seventeen had placed complete trust in the Li Head.

But then… it was the wedding day. Demon weddings were different from human ones—wild, especially in that era.

[Seventeen sat nearby, watching the bride in red standing tall. His face showed no expression, but the Li Head—who knew him well—could tell his heart was far from calm.]

[Beside him stood his own younger brother. Both men were staring at the bride. To outsiders, they were the brightest stars of the military. By comparison, the Li Head had already slipped a notch below.]

[He stared at the woman, surrounded by demons. Their demonic auras lit up the sky with purple bursts among the firecrackers.]

[His younger brother… had grown close with Seventeen lately. During the wedding, the Li Head couldn’t even remember what he was thinking—or maybe he was forcing himself not to think at all.]

[If he thought of nothing, then he didn’t have to feel.]

[The war was brutal. Even at the wedding, demon soldiers guarded the gates. After the ceremony, Seventeen immediately prepared to leave for the front lines. The Li Head tried to follow but was stopped.]

[“You shouldn’t be going there tonight—you should be with my sister,” Seventeen said, then turned and left. The Li Head watched him go, slowly dazed.]

[“What’s wrong?” Qiu Ying asked softly.]

[“…Nothing,” the Li Head replied, suddenly smiling with incredible tenderness.]

[He almost never smiled like that, but it was so dazzling, so charming, that Qiu Ying forgot what she had wanted to say.]

That smile! Yuan Yuanyuan’s scalp tingled. That was the same smile the Li Head had worn the first time she’d seen him.

He’d kept that smile going since the wedding day? It seemed like he only started using it then—almost like he “equipped” it on that day.

Suddenly, Yuan Yuanyuan remembered how the Li Head had once said he hated her smile… said it looked like a fox’s smile, just like his own.

She didn’t know why, but the air suddenly felt thin.

It wasn’t sympathy for the Li Head—but a sudden, sharp clarity. She understood something she hadn’t before, and it left her uneasy. Maybe because this… was what a real tragedy looked like. In novels, “tragedy” was just a genre tag. In real life, tragedy hurt.

Feeling stifled, Yuan Yuanyuan scrolled to the comments to see how others were reacting—hoping for some relief. Maybe she was overthinking? Maybe others had clearer perspectives?

…

Time ticked by.

Half an hour later, Yuan Yuanyuan silently put down her phone.

How to describe it…? The comment section was remarkably unified. No over-the-top takes. No chaos.

[You love triangle freaks, go die.jpg]