Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan’s so-called allies… were just as stingy as she was.

“This way, please, my lady.” The monster who had finally managed to make contact with her spoke with a serious tone. Yuan Yuanyuan glanced at the black hat pulled low over his face, thinking, Seriously? Do you have to act like we’re meeting in a spy movie?

…Well, maybe it was justified.

Yuan Yuanyuan kept a solemn expression as she looked at the monster escort. She thought about teasing him, but apparently this monster had been selected after numerous rounds of vetting—he didn’t say a single unnecessary word the entire way.

Why so uptight? Yuan Yuanyuan thought. After a while, someone familiar appeared in front of her, smiling as soon as they saw her from afar.

“Greetings, Lord Yuan,” the figure said.

“You again?” Yuan Yuanyuan was mildly surprised. Come to think of it, they really were fated to meet often.

Previously, when she dealt with City C’s higher-ups, it was always through that woman in white. She didn’t know when the liaison had changed to this black-clothed skeleton-faced guy.

“It’s me,” Lin Boneface said. “Lord Lian is busy at the moment.”

As they spoke, they walked forward together. Lin Boneface said, “I’m relieved to see you’re doing okay, my lady. The last time I saw you, I thought your health was in a terrible state.”

“No, I’ve recovered quite a bit over this period,” Yuan Yuanyuan replied.

“Still, please take good care of yourself,” Lin Boneface said.

The two of them continued deeper and deeper into the forest. Lin Boneface led her further into the wilderness. If she didn’t already know that this guy couldn’t possibly beat her in a fight, Yuan Yuanyuan might have suspected he was luring her to some remote place to bury her in a ditch.

“We’re here,” Lin Boneface said, pointing to a location. “This used to be home to a monster tribe that later migrated, so the place is now empty. Basic living necessities are still available here, and you can stay temporarily. We’ll deliver supplies regularly.”

“This place…” Yuan Yuanyuan looked around. It really was a remote and hidden location, perfect for laying low. But she hadn’t told anyone about the space they were actually using.

So right now, Lin Boneface still thought they were wandering refugees on the run from pursuers.

In reality, the space they were currently living in was much better than this, but she couldn’t say that out loud—because they still needed City C’s help with resources.

“Now then, please contact your subordinates,” Lin Boneface said. “Also, please remember that this alliance is entirely unofficial. If it’s exposed, don’t reveal our connection. Please keep your people from wandering around.”

Yuan Yuanyuan nodded slightly. Before leaving, Lin Boneface handed her a piece of paper. “Please make sure to fill this out.” She didn’t look closely at it—just tucked it away and disappeared.

Back at the tavern, Yuan Yuanyuan took out the paper and unfolded it. The paper felt surprisingly nice to the touch—she had expected it to be some old scrap when Lin Boneface handed it to her. But now she realized… the texture was oddly familiar.

She opened it—and was nearly blinded by the four large characters at the top: 【Blood Jade Demon Army】.

…Holy crap! No wonder it felt familiar—it came from that family register?

—To be exact, it wasn’t torn from the original, but rather a reproduction. You could write on this copy and have it imprinted into the actual ledger.

A group of monsters gathered around. The boss lady, curious and intrigued, said, “I want to be added to the official family registry too. But they said my job’s considered bottom-tier, so I’m not allowed. Hmph, and brewing liquor or being a janitor is considered proper work?”

“Stay calm,” Yuan Yuanyuan consoled the indignant boss lady.

She looked at the paper, overwhelmed with emotion. Who would’ve thought that the seemingly meaningless document she had signed long ago would turn out to be so useful?

Back then, when she was still a low-tier monster, she used that same document to trade for a house in the Youth District—a school district home, at that. It had been incredibly expensive.

One by one, the monsters in the tavern lined up to sign their names on the sheet. As Yuan Yuanyuan watched the scene unfold, a thought struck her—she wanted to ask the boss lady how the first Blood Jade Demon Army had been founded.

Even though the Blood Jade Demon Army was considered part of the formal military now, its spy division had only been absorbed later. At that time, it was Seventeen who had been in charge of the spy unit.

Maybe it all started as a random idea… and somehow turned into something powerful and renowned.

Yuan Yuanyuan was still zoning out when the boss lady gently patted her shoulder, telling her not to dwell on the past and to focus on the future.

…Oh. Yuan Yuanyuan quietly nodded.

Being able to “think deeply” was really just zoning out with a meaningful expression—it wasn’t easy.

The tavern monsters had finished registering. A small number of them had refused to sign their names. Yuan Yuanyuan kept track of them.

No joke, people who casually avoided signing were definitely shady. If they broke any rules, they’d quickly be punished by magical backlash.

Yuan Yuanyuan suspected the Li family’s spy was among these few. Sure enough, one monster recently slipped up. She captured him immediately before anyone else noticed and handed him over to the boss lady for interrogation.

“We got a confession,” the boss lady reported. “That one’s a die-hard supporter of the previous Hundred Demon King, Li Zhen. He volunteered to work for the head of the Li family. A big part of the reason our tavern was exposed this time was because of him.”

Yuan Yuanyuan sighed—but she wasn’t surprised.

If this got out, it’d definitely cause a stir. Even the anti-war organization had monsters like that. One could only imagine how many others out there secretly held similar thoughts.

“So annoying… I wish I could just become a human who doesn’t know anything,” Yuan Yuanyuan muttered while lying on her bed.

A moment later, she shook her head vigorously. No, no—she couldn’t just hand her fate over to some stranger. Even if she lived in constant anxiety, knowing the truth was better than being kept in the dark.

Yuan Yuanyuan was the type who would rather spiral into stress than stay blissfully ignorant.

She flipped open the comic and started browsing aimlessly—some inter-star faction drama, some revenge stories, and then checked a few of her usual forums.

Hmm… “Rising Star Actor Hit by Scandal: From Manly Hero to Feminine Flower Bride.”

Yuan Yuanyuan read the entertainment headline, paused awkwardly, and thought, Didn’t I say not to cast actors so early? But no one listened… Now look what happened—awkward much?

That said, she was curious what the cross-dressing would look like… A male actor in drag was, in a way, a good test of acting chops.

“Best Actress’s Scenes Cut After Role Vanishes? After Intense Practice, She Weeps Over Losing Out to the Author’s Whims.”

Another clickbait title that made the whole article unnecessary. Yuan Yuanyuan rolled her eyes. Let me guess—it’s about how her red-robed character got erased from the story, huh?

About ten minutes later, the article was mysteriously taken down. Who knows which well-informed reporter tipped someone off. Probably the actress herself, embarrassed over the whole mess, requested it be deleted.

She kept scrolling and suddenly realized she hadn’t visited her usual forum in a while. It had just been updated. The latest pinned post, written by the admin, read:
【Due to repeated abuse of “asking for koi blessings,” we are increasing moderation. From today, any users who beg for koi blessings under creators’ posts or via DM will have their IPs and IDs banned.】

Koi blessings? Yuan Yuanyuan read a bit further and got the gist—apparently, one artist had made several eerily accurate predictions in their comics, to the point they were now revered in the forum as the Koi Goddess of Luck.

Oh, she’d read that artist’s work before. Seemed like Fat Cat liked their work too. Yuan Yuanyuan left a comment under one post:
【Please, Koi-sama, draw the next plotline a little more gently.】
Then wandered off to read something else.

Gao Ling received the comment and froze. That ID—she recognized it. One of the forum’s legendary demon elders. She never imagined they would be asking her for blessings now. She felt torn.

Why are you even asking for koi luck?! Now I don’t know whether to ban you or not! Gao Ling grumbled inwardly.

In the end, her hand slipped, and she didn’t ban Yuan Yuanyuan’s account. She just pretended she hadn’t seen it and quietly let it go.

Yes—Gao Ling was exactly the kind of person who ran both a god-tier artist account and an admin alt at the same time.

【Wait—actually, don’t make it too gentle… Just make it dignified. You know what I mean.】
A moment later, Circle’s ID commented again.

【Dignified? Dignified how?】
Curious, Gao Ling logged into her artist account and asked privately.

【If I die, make it a dignified death. Leave the body intact. No scars. Preferably poisoned, and please bury, not cremate. Thank you, Koi-sama.】

…

Gao Ling leapt to her feet and banned the account.

What the hell is wrong with you?!