Little Pink Starfish

When Yuan Yuanyuan realized what was happening, her heart skipped a beat.

She looked up at the sky but didn’t show any sign of alarm. Pretending nothing had happened, she sat calmly back down in her seat.

Just then, Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly understood something: aside from her, very few others would have noticed what she had. That was because the order in which those demons were drawing followed a certain pattern—patterns she recognized from the old books Seventeen had left behind.

Moments earlier, she had been thinking about those formations. Only when she glanced up at the sky again did the realization hit her. It had been a purely accidental discovery.

If she hadn’t looked up, or hadn’t been thinking about the patterns, she might never have noticed anything at all.

Even now, Yuan Yuanyuan suspected she might be overthinking it or had simply seen wrong.

She paid her bill and left the café, strolling slowly down the street with her head still tilted up, eyes fixed on the constellation-like patterns scattered across the protective barrier. The people below, though reassured, were still curious. Many had their eyes on the sky, so Yuan Yuanyuan blended into the crowd effortlessly.

One more stroke.

Suddenly, a burst of light exploded on the barrier. The surrounding demons gasped in awe, and Yuan Yuanyuan’s pupils shrank sharply.

That stroke landed exactly where she predicted—it matched the formation perfectly.

She looked around, then abruptly turned and broke into a run.

No—she had to find out what was going on. More and more people were paying attention to this. If she didn’t act fast, someone else might uncover the secret.

With a twist of her body, Yuan Yuanyuan vanished into thin air. While the security team struggled to capture those elusive illusion demons, this was child’s play for her.

She slowly ascended, rising until she reached the outer edge of the blue dome. The city below grew smaller in her vision, and the glowing blue light grew more intense, painting her world in sapphire hues.

Once at the boundary, she discovered that the barrier was thinner than she had expected—like a film that could shatter at the slightest touch. How Seventeen had managed to construct it remained a mystery, but it must have required tremendous skill.

Yuan Yuanyuan’s eyes scanned the barrier’s outer edge, searching for any figures.

A sudden gust of wind blew past. Her eyes narrowed, and she darted after it without hesitation.

“Holy—!” Behind her, the security team members who had been chasing the intruders suddenly spotted a figure inside the barrier moving just as skillfully as the ones outside. They froze in shock. In the blink of an eye, both figures disappeared. They had hoped to catch a glimpse of that mysterious person’s face but were left staring at each other in bewilderment.

Oops? Yuan Yuanyuan thought. Looks like I underestimated them. The other person was fast. If she didn’t pull out her real skills, she might not catch up.

Could these people have a connection to Seventeen? That kind of speed couldn’t be achieved with textbook illusion techniques alone.

She formed a seal with her hands and cast an illusion spell. The mysterious figure faltered for a split second, and Yuan Yuanyuan seized the moment—rushing forward, grabbing his collar.

She was on the inside. The other person was outside. But just as she reached out to grab him—

Her hand passed right through the barrier.

“…Nani?”

The man outside stared at her in confusion, frozen as she clutched his collar. Both of them ended up awkwardly wedged against the barrier.

This blue dome allowed exit but not entry. The security team had a separate squad stationed outside to relay information through the shield. No demon could pass through—without exception.

But now, looking at her hand sticking through the barrier, Yuan Yuanyuan panicked.

Wait—what kind of plot twist is this?! Is Ji Qiu just casually dropping lore like this now? Am I suddenly in the spotlight?!

Even with these chaotic thoughts, she didn’t let go.

There they were, stuck together awkwardly on the shield. Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t dare go through fully—she feared she might not be able to get back in. The other guy couldn’t move either because she was holding him.

“W-who are you?” the guy asked, shivering.

“Heh. Shouldn’t I be asking that?” Yuan Yuanyuan replied darkly.

“I-I’m not telling!”

Oh? Not telling? Yuan Yuanyuan reached her other hand through the barrier, ready to give him a “massage” he’d never forget.

Just then, the man squirmed and slapped her hand away. “Chill! Look over there!”

Yuan Yuanyuan glanced over—oh crap, the security team was catching up. The man, now eerily calm, said, “Run. Don’t get caught.”

“…Alright.” Even if they were allies, she couldn’t let him get captured. Grabbing his collar, the two of them took off in a weird sideways dash—like two crabs scuttling along the dome’s surface.

And so, the barrier over City C featured two crab-like figures skittering across its surface, chased by a full squad of security officers. Halfway through, Yuan Yuanyuan shouted, “Dude! Can you not run faster? Weren’t you super fast earlier?!”

“This pose is awkward! Maybe try letting go of my collar?” the man outside suggested.

Yuan Yuanyuan muttered a curse and grabbed the scruff of his neck instead. He blinked.

“Charge!” she yelled, yanking him along like a sack of potatoes. The man shrieked, “Aaaah you psycho! Let me gooo!” Then, with a trail of dust behind them, they disappeared from view.

They finally stopped near the city’s edge. Yuan Yuanyuan was panting hard. The man lay on the ground like a dead dog, motionless.

“Get up,” Yuan Yuanyuan said, switching back to gripping his collar properly. Seeing him lie so still, she nudged him with her foot. “Hey, you alive?”

“Is there anyone else around?” the demon asked from the ground.

“Within a hundred meters? Not even a dog,” Yuan Yuanyuan replied.

“Good.” The demon suddenly lifted his head.

Yuan Yuanyuan noticed a sharp clarity in his eyes—completely unlike the goofy mess he’d just been. She blinked as he stared at her neck.

“You haven’t come out in so long… was it because of your health? I did think something was odd, but if it was a health issue, that makes sense. Let me introduce myself—my name is Nan Xing, son of Nan Ping.”

He emphasized Nan Ping like he expected Yuan Yuanyuan to recognize the name.

But…

Who the hell is Nan Xing? No—who the hell is Nan Ping?! Yuan Yuanyuan’s mind was in chaos.

She was starting to panic a little, worried he’d see through her. Just then, she realized the glowing dots in the sky had vanished.

The mysterious figures seemed to have received some kind of signal and scattered instantly, leaving the security team in confused disarray.

In her mind, she imagined the sound of a fish slapping a fishing rod. She was stressed—could she retract her hand now? Technically yes… they couldn’t enter.

Even so, her body moved against her will—probably because she’d been pretending to be Seventeen for so long. She found herself slipping into character. “So it was you… What are you doing here?”

“We came to find you!” Nan Xing stood up and brushed off his clothes. “We’ve been searching for you for ages. Since you never showed up, we figured you must’ve gone into hiding. We’ve been cut off from the world too long, so this was the only way we could think of.”

“So… you drew constellations on the barrier?” Yuan Yuanyuan’s face twitched. “That was… really risky.”

“It wasn’t!” Nan Xing suddenly grew animated again. “We came secretly! Word in the village was that someone might come investigate us, so a few of us younger demons left—just the elders and kids stayed behind. We illusion demons are the best at this—no one can match us! You don’t know, A’Shi and Granny miss you so much. They think about you every day. A lot of people didn’t make it… they’ve already passed on…”

Listening to him ramble, Yuan Yuanyuan had a sudden, wild thought: Could these demons be from the northwest?

It was very likely!

She got excited. She’d always had a soft spot for the demons from the northwest. Just days ago she had been thinking of finding a way to bring them all here—and now, it seemed fate had done the job for her.

The “Nan Ping” he mentioned… must have been one of Seventeen’s former subordinates, a demon who stayed in the northwest.

Her guess was basically confirmed after chatting a while. Everything lined up.

Her demeanor softened. The young man before her looked so aggrieved he was nearly crying as he spoke of the village. “Since you’re still alive, why haven’t you come back?”

“Because…” Yuan Yuanyuan was awkward—she obviously couldn’t say she was a fake.

“Do you know how hard these years have been for us?” Nan Xing sobbed. “The settlement relocated. Human exorcists bullied us freely. Our children couldn’t survive…”

Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t know what to say. All she could do was keep apologizing and try to soothe him through the barrier. It took a while, but finally, the little guy calmed down.

How fortunate… I didn’t even go looking, and they found me. Yuan Yuanyuan felt unworthy of their feelings. She might be carefree, but she understood how serious this was.

She sighed and gave Nan Xing a warm smile, trying to lift his spirits. “Don’t be sad. Wait for me. I’ll bring everyone over.”

“Okay!” Nan Xing nodded vigorously.

A warm feeling bubbled up inside her.

She patted his head like it was the happiest thing in the world. Not even that earlier chaos could ruin her joy.

Nan Xing beamed at her and said excitedly—

“Lord Seventeen! We’ve waited so long for your return! Now that you’re back, those exorcists won’t be able to bully us anymore! We can kill them all, take back our settlement, and show ourselves to the world again—just like in the beginning, right?”

Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly felt like she had plunged into a cold abyss. Her limbs froze.