Little Pink Starfish

This time, Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t bring too many people with her, but each one had been carefully hand-picked.

The landlady had said to her: this time, the fight needed to be a blitz. They had to seize the opportunity quickly—bringing too many people would only make them an obvious target.

In short, this was a mission to swoop in and clean up. But the landlady had complete confidence in Yuan Yuanyuan, certain she could walk away with the spoils.

Well… if the landlady believed in her that much, then she might as well believe it herself.

Fa Ning had also been feeling uneasy lately, though unlike Yuan Yuanyuan, he had no idea why.

It felt like something was about to happen, but he didn’t know what.

Fa Ning’s intuition was often scarily accurate—he had a love-hate relationship with that fact. He hated it most at times like now, when he couldn’t shake the unease but didn’t know the cause.

Whenever this feeling hit, he couldn’t focus on anything else. It always felt like there was something left unfinished.

Two children ran up to him, pestering him to tell a story. Normally, Fa Ning would say a few words to them, but this time he uncharacteristically pushed them aside and stood up to leave.

He looked up at the sky, heavy with dark clouds, lost in thought. Changsheng came up behind him and asked, “What’s wrong? You feel like something’s off?”

“A bit,” Fa Ning replied. “But I can’t say exactly what.”

Fa Ning frowned.

Even Changsheng had noticed something. That meant whatever was coming really wasn’t trivial.

Fa Ning hadn’t been able to figure out what might happen, so his thoughts naturally drifted toward Yuan Yingli in faraway City C.

You’d better be careful yourself. Even if I wanted to send a warning now, it might already be too late.

As he was lost in thought, a child behind him called him over for a meal. Though Fa Ning hadn’t figured anything out, he didn’t want to bring everyone down, so he pulled Changsheng with him and went to eat.

As they sat down, a few kids ran around them. Fa Ning figured there was no point in thinking any further, so he scooped up a child and asked playfully, “How old are you this year?”

The child lowered their head and didn’t speak. Fa Ning found it strange—usually, kids loved being close to him. But this one just kept fiddling with the tassels on their clothes, not even looking up.

“This one looks pretty young. How old do you think they are?” Fa Ning turned and asked Changsheng.

“Looks like they just took on human form,” Changsheng said. “We don’t usually have kids this young here. Might’ve transformed on their own.”

Just transformed? Fa Ning suddenly realized he might’ve been too rough. He had never held a child this young before. And yet, this kid still kept their head down, refusing to look at him.

But… why had he never seen this kid before?

He bent down to play with the child some more. When he looked into the child’s eyes, a chill shot down his spine.

The look the child gave him was utterly cold—so cold that even Fa Ning, who had fought on many battlefields, felt a trace of fear.

Thinking he might’ve imagined it, he looked again. But the child had lowered their head once more, continuing to play with the tassels.

Changsheng noticed Fa Ning’s strange reaction and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Before Fa Ning could answer, an elderly woman suddenly appeared and scooped up the child. She patted the child’s back twice, and the child immediately calmed down in her arms, even flashing a toothless grin at her.

Fa Ning sat there stunned as the woman turned and walked away. Changsheng patted his shoulder, asking, “What’s up with you? You’ve been zoning out.”

“N-no, it’s nothing…” Fa Ning said hesitantly.

He looked down at the food on the table—beautifully prepared dishes. Even in the harsh conditions of the northwest, the demons here had used their best ingredients to welcome him.

Others had already started eating. Fa Ning picked up his chopsticks, but something still felt off.

Something wasn’t right. Something was definitely wrong here. He’d felt unsettled all day—there had to be a reason.

He thought of the look in the child’s eyes.

Children usually couldn’t hide their emotions. He’d never seen that kid before—maybe they’d snuck out today, and he had just happened to catch a glimpse.

The way that child looked at him…

He turned to see Changsheng about to eat. Finally, Fa Ning reached out and stopped him. “Wait. Changsheng, wait. I think something’s wrong.”

“What is it?”

“We… we need to leave this place. Right now,” Fa Ning said. “I’ve felt uneasy ever since we got here. Maybe once we leave, things will make more sense.”

He made up his mind: they had to leave this place immediately and head toward Yuan Yingli.

Something was off. If Yuan Yingli was in danger, he could still go and support him. But if something was about to go down here, then they needed to get out fast.

…

When Gao Ling saw this scene in the manga, she practically froze.

So… neither of those two coins had represented Yuan? They were both representing Fa Ning?

She realized—finally—that both coins had indeed belonged to Fa Ning. One marked his current location in the northwest, and the other was showing where he was about to go.

That’s why the second coin had moved.

Even though someone had taught her how to divine, when it came to interpreting signs… she was only guessing. She’d always gone with whatever felt right.

But she’d actually gotten it right this time. Scarily right. Her divination had indeed pinpointed the locations of Yuan and Fa Ning—she just hadn’t believed it.

Now, reading the manga again, she felt totally lost in the tangled plot. It was way too complicated. Before, she’d been able to spot the deeper meanings in Ji Qiu’s art, but now she couldn’t make sense of anything.

Maybe it was because she used to know too many behind-the-scenes details. Now, she didn’t know anything. Couldn’t even guess.

Ugh… she was falling behind. The thought made her a little sad. She glanced over at her own drawing—the one-panel comic she’d drawn ages ago that got thousands of hate comments.

The one showing the world celebrating peacefully while Yuan died in silence.

She’d meant to divine Yuan’s fate… not Fa Ning’s. So what was the point now? Gao Ling let out a tired sigh and flopped onto her bed, rolling over.

…

Yuan Yuanyuan’s squad moved fast—so fast she was sure no team on earth could match them. Every single one of these demons was skilled in illusion, and they were all once Seventeen’s direct subordinates. When she’d moved with other groups before, she’d always had to slow down to let them catch up. But with this bunch, she only had to ease up a little, and they kept pace.

Seriously, what are you people sprinting for? Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t want to take another step, but it felt like there was an invisible whip at her back, driving her forward.

“We’re almost there,” one of the demons came up beside her and whispered. “Someone’s waiting to receive us.”

Yuan Yuanyuan looked ahead.

The city loomed in front of them, shrouded in thick demon clouds—swirls of red and purple that looked heavy enough to crush the entire city.

She’d thought the clouds over City C were dramatic, but now she realized that wasn’t even close.

No wonder this had been the Hundred Demon King’s stronghold for so many years.

“This way,” another demon called, waving her over. She followed them through a narrow alley, and in moments, their entire group vanished into the shadows.

The sights inside the city were anything but peaceful.

“Looks like Yuan Yingli’s really stirred things up around here,” Yuan Yuanyuan said.

“Not necessarily him,” a nearby demon said, stepping forward. “He’s been here, yes, but his influence might not be that great. This could easily be the result of multiple factions clashing.”

Just then, a group of guards rushed over—clearly some sort of security team. Yuan Yuanyuan quickly pulled off her hat.

“You there!” one of the guards pointed a gun at them. “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“We’re just locals,” one of the demons said politely, walking forward and handing over a document. The guard looked at it, then glanced back at Yuan Yuanyuan’s group with suspicion before finally waving them off. “Hurry home. Don’t wander the streets.”

Yuan Yuanyuan bowed and nodded repeatedly, finally managing to slip past them. She and the others followed the guards’ instructions and snuck into the city.

“You guys actually got that document?” Yuan Yuanyuan looked surprised. “With that in hand, things will be a lot easier.”

“We’re nowhere near as capable as you, ma’am,” one of the demons said. That made Yuan Yuanyuan suddenly realize that this entire group had learned their skills from Seventeen.

“Let’s go meet our contact. They have information that couldn’t be sent out,” Yuan Yuanyuan said, changing the subject.

The group moved deeper into the city—like a poison-tipped arrow, piercing straight into the Hundred Demon King’s heartland.