Little Pink Starfish

The old demon told Fan Ning stories he had never heard before. The various details fascinated him.

“When we first came here, it was even more desolate than it is now,” the demon said. “But back then, there were still a lot of demons who stayed behind. That was all because Lord Seventeen was here.”

“You all stayed just because he was here?” Fan Ning asked.

“Yes.” The demon’s eyes looked a little dazed. “At the time, the northwest was one of the most dangerous regions. The settlement hadn’t become a ghost town yet, and behind us were countless other demons. If we had left, those demons would likely have all perished.”

“Lord Seventeen was truly a good person. With him here, even the humans were terrified,” the demon said. “Back then, we really thought we would win. It looked like the war was almost over. We felt invincible—wherever we went, everyone feared us.”

Fan Ning could tell the old demon really thought he was one of them. If he had been human, the other wouldn’t have spoken like this, let alone in such a casual, buddy-like tone.

“But I think you’re a bit different from your master,” the old man looked at Fan Ning and suddenly patted his shoulder kindly. “Your master would never go out looking like this. If he went out, he’d have a full face of makeup, wear the most extravagant clothes, and be surrounded by beautiful companions.”

Fan Ning let out a few awkward laughs. To joke about something like this… Then he thought of the comic shop owner—always dressed in black, hunched over, reading manga—and silently told the demon across from him, Sorry, but the Seventeen of those days has since evolved into a reclusive otaku…

And honestly, with his limited imagination, he just couldn’t picture that person—who spent most of the day napping in the shop—being the type to be surrounded by beauties.

After all… during the time Fan Ning had worked there, he had to face a cruel truth: that person even spent Qixi Festival alone, and at most might get a box of cookies from Tang Shi.

And yet, that same person used to be that particular?

Maybe life underground hadn’t been kind. After staying there for so long, he’d become rougher around the edges.

As Fan Ning was thinking this, the demon stopped teasing and resumed reminiscing. “When was that? I can’t quite remember. It must have been not long before the defeat. Back then, there was no sign we would lose. We all thought the war would end in our favor—we never imagined it would end the way it did.”

“Looking back, maybe there were signs. For example, Lord Seventeen rarely spoke with the visiting envoys. I was just a low-ranking guard back then, standing at the entrance. A few times, I saw his smile vanish the moment he saw the envoys arrive… but I didn’t think too much of it.”

“When did you find out my master had died?” Fan Ning asked.

“How would I know?” the demon replied. “One day, everything suddenly became chaotic. Within a day, rumors started spreading that Seventeen was a traitor and had already been executed.”

“I was still saving up, waiting for Lord Seventeen to return. But then a bunch of people rushed into his tent and turned everything upside down.”

“Then came the turmoil… Lord Li Si Qun suddenly showed up to stabilize things. But he was badly injured at the time, so he only stayed a short while before being taken away.”

Fan Ning was quiet for a moment. Then, with a brilliant smile, he asked, “May I ask who was in charge of stabilizing things back then?”

“Lord Li Si Qun, of course,” the demon replied.

Fan Ning clenched his fists tightly and made a few strange gestures in the air before calming himself and saying, “Please, go on.”

Goddamn it… No wonder the demons here were all so dark and twisted—the very leader I’ve been cursing a thousand times these past days was Li Si Qun.

Li Si Qun was famously close with Yuan, yet for some reason, Fan Ning had always found him terrifying. It wasn’t the same as with Seventeen—it was more like a childhood trauma. That first encounter at the tavern had left a deep impression, and even now, he still didn’t dare act too freely in front of Si Qun, not even after hearing rumors about his mysterious illness.

“Not long after, this place was completely deserted. The demons who’d been living here either left or scattered.”

“Did you take part in the later war?” Fan Ning asked.

“Yes,” the demon said with a bitter smile. “Look at my arm.”

He pulled up his sleeve to show Fan Ning. There was a deep, long scar—almost down to the bone.

“It was the remnants of the old war. There were still demons living here at the time. If we had left too, the civilians would’ve been helpless,” the demon said. “We even used some forbidden arts, and now we’ve aged into this state because of it.”

“Then why—”

“After staying here this long, we’ve gotten used to it,” the demon said. “Besides, we want to keep him company.”

Fan Ning fell silent for a moment. Then he bowed slightly to the old demon and turned to leave. The young spy demoness who had been listening, nearly moved to tears, snapped out of it and quickly followed after him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“It’s just… hard to listen to,” Fan Ning said.

“It is hard,” she nodded.

As they walked, Fan Ning asked, “To the people who live here, what does Seventeen mean?”

“A very reliable commander,” the young demoness replied. “And maybe even… a kind of faith.”

“Faith?” Fan Ning asked.

“Well, to us in the spy camp, Lord Seventeen really was a kind of faith,” the young demoness said with a smile.

Fan Ning’s mind conjured up an image of Yuan again. He really didn’t seem like someone who’d be involved in such things. No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t fit.

That person was more like the type who stayed holed up all day, in a tiny space, with a comic book or a can of soda—and would be perfectly content living like that.

Of course, as a social creature, no one can really live like that forever… and demons were no different. Plus, if you really think about it, even just having the money for comics and soda, or having a room where you can quietly read and sip soda, already required a lot of effort.

For an ordinary person to achieve that, all it took might be time, money, and health. But for Yuan… he probably needed a lot more.

And if someone had even a bit of a conscience, wouldn’t they find it hard to ignore all the suffering outside and shut themselves in to enjoy a soda?

Fan Ning turned to leave and called someone over, instructing them to properly settle the demons in the city. There weren’t many—maybe just a few dozen. These were all that remained of the old war.

That day, Yuan Yuanyuan had been sneezing non-stop in her room. Her head felt like it was about to burst. She rubbed her nose and wondered—just who was talking about her behind her back?

Ripples spread once again across the sky barrier above—layer after layer, like the jiggling fat on a chubby belly… Okay, maybe that was a slightly horrifying analogy.

“They still haven’t been caught?” At first, Yuan Yuanyuan had just been watching for fun, but gradually she realized—these people had an almost terrifying persistence. And they definitely weren’t ordinary. Their illusion skills were close to top tier.

Even under siege from so many, they still managed to retreat unscathed. Not a single one had been captured by the security team.

“What’s the point of sending people like that anyway?” the landlady muttered, looking up. “Shouldn’t they have sent some big brute types for siege work? Why bring a bunch of illusionists?”

“Yeah, I was wondering the same thing,” Yuan Yuanyuan said, sniffling. “And why have they been trying to break in all this time?”

“Now that I think about it, maybe our whole approach from the start was wrong,” the landlady said. “These illusionists aren’t trying to get in… This is a formation you set up back in the day. If it were the one you set now, maybe they could break through for fun…”

“Hey.”

“A regular demon might do something dumb, but illusionists of this caliber wouldn’t waste energy on something pointless. So they definitely have another goal.”

Yuan Yuanyuan’s heart jumped. “Could it be they’ve figured out a way to break the barrier?”

“You’re overthinking it,” the landlady said, turning around. “I’ll send someone to find out what they’re doing. You stay inside for now.”

Yuan Yuanyuan looked up at the rippling sky. A particularly nimble demon was fiddling with something at the top of the barrier.

It was a good thing the landlady told her not to go out—because her hands were already itching. She stared at the demon above and suddenly had the urge to go up there herself and compete. It was only then that she realized… she really liked illusion magic.

The barrier would flash whenever it was touched, and from below, that demon looked like a glowing little star hanging in the sky.

“Please take a look,” the young spy demoness led Fan Ning to a building. “This was the council chamber for the demons back in the day.”

“This is too much…” Fan Ning stared, stunned.

There on the ground were countless patterns formed by blood-red jade beads—like a swirling galaxy.