Little Pink Starfish

That shadow, thin as a cicada’s wing, floated up and down. Even the Li Family Head couldn’t see it clearly, but once it drifted into the room, a semi-transparent figure suddenly emerged from it and appeared right in front of Yuan Yuanyuan.

—To be honest, this startled Yuan Yuanyuan.

Before she could clearly see what was going on, a few sounds like metal clashing suddenly echoed by her ears. Her instincts told her it was the sound of weapons colliding.

Yuan Yuanyuan ducked her head in fright, grabbed the nearby tobacco pipe, and ran off to a safer distance. Turning her head, she saw the Li Family Head already engaging in several moves with that drifting figure, and the clash had temporarily come to a halt.

So far, both sides seemed evenly matched, neither gaining the upper hand.

There was a wound on the Li Family Head’s arm, oozing black-red blood, with a strange scent wafting out—not quite the smell of blood, but neither fragrant nor foul.

That soul’s figure flickered for a moment but quickly stabilized. Other than whatever injury the soul itself might have taken, it didn’t seem to be visibly harmed.

Whoa! Yuan Yuanyuan stared at the floating figure.

Bro! So it’s you!

For a moment, she almost wanted to burst into tears.

The talisman that held Bro Ghost’s soul had been sitting on the shelf outside for ages, so long she’d forgotten about it… Okay, maybe not that long.

That said, Bro Ghost’s strength was a bit beyond her expectations. When he attacked her before, it seemed like he hadn’t gone all out.

Yuan Yuanyuan, holding the tobacco pipe, wanted to go over, but then she suddenly heard Bro Ghost in front of her say, “Don’t come any closer!”

As he spoke, he clashed with the Li Family Head again—every move drawing blood. In his hand was a sword with a strange design, semi-transparent but able to inflict real harm. It clearly should have been a Taoist sword, but the material wasn’t peachwood—it was something commonly seen among monsters.

Yuan Yuanyuan was pushed to the side, feeling a bit dumbfounded. Although she did think she couldn’t beat the Li Family Head, that didn’t mean she liked being brushed aside like that.

Ah… What’s going on here?

She was half-laughing, half-crying. Then she suddenly realized—Bro Ghost had been stuck on the shelf all this time. While she had been faking illness, eating and playing around in the room, he wouldn’t have known any of this.

He probably only knew she hadn’t gone out recently and might have vaguely seen her lying on the bed through the curtain, but had no way of knowing she’d been playing trashy moe otaku games…

Ah, the tragedy of limited vision.

Yuan Yuanyuan couldn’t get a word in. Bro Ghost was just too strong! Graceful like a startled swan, agile like a swimming dragon—no, wait.

At this point, she felt the situation had a bit of clarity. But in that moment, she realized what she should be doing.

She stumbled out, tobacco pipe in hand, to where the little monsters were gathered, calling together the ones she knew and telling them to quickly organize an evacuation of the monsters in the tavern. She also asked them to escort the guests out to avoid any accidental injuries.

She didn’t forget to send some little monsters to the backyard to notify Si Qun and the others, telling them to leave too. With identities like Si Qun’s, it would be very troublesome if they were discovered.

On her way out, Yuan Yuanyuan noticed many monsters had disappeared… No one knew where they’d gone. In this kind of situation, it was likely bad news. She didn’t want to think too negatively.

Once she returned, she realized how the Li Family Head had sneaked in.

Probably, a group of people had caused a distraction outside to scatter the guards’ attention, and then the Li Family Head led a small elite squad to infiltrate.

That also explained why so few had snuck in. Too many people would be easily noticed, so only those skilled and brave would be chosen. Even Yuan Yuanyuan wouldn’t want to take a bunch of deadweight if she were sneaking into somewhere.

In just a moment, the tavern was completely emptied out. Mere minutes ago, it had been bustling with business, drinks still left on tables. Now, it was suddenly deserted.

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t bother explaining the evacuation—unlike before, this time felt different. She believed this time the tavern truly couldn’t be hidden any longer. Even if the boss lady returned, it might already be too late.

Everything happened quickly; it took less than ten minutes. On the way back, Yuan Yuanyuan passed an empty rack.

Previously, that rack had held a decorative piece of clothing, which she had used to half-cover her upper body… at least to avoid exposing anything.

Inside, the fight was still going strong, and Yuan Yuanyuan could only stand aside. She watched the movements of the two combatants.

The Li Family Head’s fighting style had evolved into something unusual—vicious yet elegant. Considering his species, such evolution wasn’t surprising. He really looked like a butterfly in motion. Compared to him, Si Qun’s brute-force style seemed out of place.

On the other side, Bro Ghost was amazing—clearly going all out now. His moves looked like a blend of Taoist techniques and monster-style attacks. Yuan Yuanyuan vaguely recognized a resemblance to the Blood Jade Demon Arts. Was that just coincidence?

“I didn’t know you were this strong,” she said. “When you were alive, how come I never saw you?”

“Probably because… I was never important enough to be noticed,” Bro Ghost replied.

Yuan Yuanyuan: “Bro Ghost! So cool!”

If circumstances allowed, she would have waved a banner cheering him on.

“Such a sharp tongue,” the Li Family Head said. “Even in death, you’re still this restless.”

Then he suddenly charged toward Yuan Yuanyuan, but Bro Ghost quickly caught his intent and dashed in to block the attack.

Yuan Yuanyuan let out a breath, feeling—for the first time—that she was truly a hindrance. Maybe she should get out of the way after all.

…

The next day, all of City C was in an uproar.

Although efforts were made to suppress the news, it still spread in whispers everywhere.

“What?” a frequent customer of Qiu Ying Tavern was dumbfounded. “Qiu Ying… was actually the headquarters of that anti-war group?”

Many monsters felt like their worldview had been overturned… even if they didn’t know exactly what a “worldview” was.

When people went to Qiu Ying again, the main door was tightly shut. Maybe it had been closed last night, but that morning, it had already been broken down by the crowd.

From the outside, the illusion spell was still in place. Ordinary humans passing by saw what looked like a tavern under renovation—paint buckets on the floor, a ladder in the middle, and piles of newspapers to the side.

“Hey, hasn’t this tavern been open a long time? Why’d it suddenly close down?” someone asked while heading toward the entrance. “I always wanted to see what it looked like inside, but there were always guards blocking the way. I’m going in for a peek…”

Just as he approached and was about to push open the glass door, a group of intimidating musclebound men appeared, even scarier than the previous guards. Without a word, they dragged him away, leaving a crowd of onlookers in stunned silence.

… About three hours later, the monsters finally got smarter. They contacted the human side and cordoned off the area as a crime scene. Finally, no one could just wander in.

Inside Qiu Ying, traces of the previous night’s revelry were still visible.

The floor of the main hall was covered in flower petals, still fresh even after the night.

Liquor bottles adorned with paintings of beauties and plum blossoms were arranged beside vases of real flowers.

A lingering fragrance remained in the room—the scent from the incense burners. A monster who had snuck in sniffed lightly and immediately showed a shocked expression: “This is demon pearl powder… They burned it throughout the entire tavern? What exactly happened last night?”

The lavish Qiu Ying Tavern had, perhaps for the first time, revealed just the tip of its iceberg. It was likely the liveliest night since the tavern’s founding.

Deeper inside, even monsters couldn’t go further. Only a select few were allowed in.

They entered the room where Yuan Yuanyuan had usually stayed. Nearby, items scattered from the fight between the Li Family Head and Bro Ghost littered the floor.

That empty clothing rack still stood there, slightly out of place. But no one knew what kind of clothing had once hung there—or why it had vanished.

“What exactly happened here last night?” asked a high-ranking monster, staring at the mess.

“We’re not quite sure,” another monster replied. “But rumor has it… the Li Family Head came here last night.”

“Li Wangzhu? What would he come here for?” The leading monster walked over, lifting a curtain and glancing at the room’s furnishings. “This must be where the woman in red usually stays? It’s well decorated—feels quite different in person than in the books.”

As he spoke, he seemed to notice something. He walked forward and lifted the entire curtain.

On the wooden floor, a string of bright red blood drops was scattered—like a line of red beans.