Little Pink Starfish

All the lamps in the house were lit, casting a warm glow throughout the entire residence. Even though thunder and lightning roared outside, inside remained as cozy as ever.

The man holding the sword walked slowly along the corridor. It was strange—he passed through some fairly obvious spots, yet didn’t encounter a single person along the way.

Rainwater dripped steadily from the eaves, forming a curtain of beads that resembled strings of pearls cascading to the ground.

The man arrived at the innermost room, where the light was off. Faint breathing could be heard from within—slow and even, as if the person inside was already asleep.

He drew his sword and quietly slipped into the room.

A cold glint flashed—silver light lit up the room so brightly it was hard to keep one’s eyes open.

When the light finally dimmed, a hand reached out and lit the lamp by the window, bathing the room in a gentle glow.

“How did you sneak in?”

At the door stood a panting demon. He looked around the room and realized that lying on the bed was not the young Hundred Demon King, but a demon who only bore a resemblance.

Beside him stood another man with delicate features. The sword, which had just been in the intruder’s hand, was now pressed hard against the delicate man’s neck.

The man who had snuck in was gasping for breath. From the shadows, the young Hundred Demon King stepped forward.

“How… how did you get in?” His voice trembled.

“I don’t know, but please rest assured, I’ll get to the bottom of it,” said the delicate man beside him.

But the young king clearly couldn’t calm down. He lowered his head, his expression twisting, seemingly trying to say something—then swallowing it back and turning to enter the room.

That night, many people couldn’t sleep. Li Wangzhu only heard about the incident the following day.

After being informed, he didn’t say much—just turned to a trusted aide and said, “Looks like it won’t be long before the Hundred Demon King throws another tantrum.”

…

The next day at lunch, Yuan Yuanyuan heard the news that the young Hundred Demon King had thoroughly cursed Li Wangzhu out.

“Pfft… Who’s got the guts to sneak in there?” Yuan nearly spat out her food when she heard. She was still over here plotting how to pick up scraps, and someone on that end had already made a move?

“Not sure. Word is, they lost sight of the assassin this morning,” said a nearby little demon.

“Still pretty impressive. Managing to find a chance to kill oneself in that situation…” Yuan said. She wasn’t being sarcastic—it genuinely was a feat in a place like that.

“The real reason the young king was so angry was because yesterday morning, Li Wangzhu had promised him that absolutely no one could infiltrate his estate—and that very night, someone did.”

So Li Wangzhu was just unlucky, caught in the crossfire.

“Who saved the Hundred Demon King last night?” Yuan asked.

“A guard,” said the little demon. “Just arrived recently, but comes from one of the most trusted clans in the king’s circle—raised as a bodyguard from a young age.”

Oh…

Yuan felt a sudden pang of envy and resentment. Why did she feel so petty all of a sudden? The Hundred Demon King had loyal clans serving him, while she had to travel across the land and hide out in a tiny, rundown flat.

Since there were no moves yet from the other side, all she could do for now was keep being a salted fish. But lately, she’d been trying to contact Yuan Yingli and Fat Cat—and couldn’t get through.

“Where are those two? Why is there not a single peep from them?” Every time Yuan stared at her phone and found no reply, she got a bit more agitated. Had they, too, reached a point where they couldn’t send messages anymore?

If she couldn’t reach them, how was she supposed to relay what was happening on her end?

Seriously—if they didn’t get back to her while she still had some patience, she might just go kill the Hundred Demon King herself and take the throne. Whenever she had nothing to do, Yuan would joke about this in her head. Even though she knew she was just blowing smoke.

Meanwhile, the little beggar demons she’d hired actually did find out where the five donors were staying. Yuan then sent out some spies to check further, eventually narrowing it down to a likely suspect.

Today, she was going to check in person—to confirm whether that was truly Fa Ning.

She dressed neatly, disguised herself as a stranger, and headed alone to the address the little demons had given her. She’d been a bit dissatisfied with her own lodgings, but after seeing Fa Ning’s, she felt strangely at peace.

Their side was doing even worse than she was.

Yuan lived in an old house, but at least it had working water and electricity. Fa Ning’s place seemed to have neither. They had to draw water from a well. The house looked like a relic from the last century—a classic demon abode, secluded and inhabited by someone who had lived in isolation for decades.

In the Hundred Demon King’s city, masks were forbidden. Even though many demons liked to decorate their faces with veils or masks, city regulations meant they had to remove them. Yuan also had to walk around without any face coverings.

The house didn’t stand out—looked just like an average family home, with demons coming and going, buying groceries like anyone else.

The beggars had also given her a useful tip: the head of this household went out to buy vegetables every day at exactly five o’clock.

Yuan stood at the gate. There was a tall tree nearby. If not for the horns on some heads, these demons could’ve passed as humans.

There was something different about this city compared to others—its air carried a unique demonic aura. It made sense though. The Hundred Demon King might not have real power, but he was still a king. The city he lived in naturally exuded a stronger presence than others.

She had thought City C had plenty of demons, but this city put that to shame.

In this place, running into a whole group of demons on the street was a daily occurrence. Once, when Yuan went out wandering, she saw a group of people walking her way. She thought they were human—until they got close and she caught the scent of demon energy.

They passed by and disappeared into a side alley.

Really fascinating.

Yuan thought that if something major weren’t about to go down, she wouldn’t mind staying in this city a bit longer to observe the local life.

Just then, the gate to the house opened. The time was just about five o’clock. A figure stepped out, holding a vegetable basket.

“Yo, Liu Niang, out buying veggies again?” someone nearby greeted her.

“Yep. I heard there are some good deals today—aren’t you going?” the woman, apparently named Liu Niang, replied with a warm smile.

Liu Niang?

Yuan’s expression shifted slightly.

Liu Niang walked gracefully past her. She didn’t notice Yuan’s change in expression. Her gait was elegant and unhurried.

As she passed, Yuan leaned in and took a deep whiff—and her entire body tensed up in a jolt.

“What’s wrong?” Liu Niang—who had seemed gentle and harmless a second ago—suddenly turned and stared at Yuan with laser-sharp eyes.

“Nothing,” Yuan said calmly. “Just felt like I was about to sneeze.”

Liu Niang scrutinized her for a moment. The sharpness in her gaze slowly faded, and she returned to her soft, delicate demeanor. She walked on past.

Yuan looked back at her figure—so many words on the tip of her tongue, but none that she could say.

In a certain sense, Fa Ning had truly become Seventeen’s disciple. He had probably grasped Seventeen’s essence—even if Yuan herself hadn’t quite figured it out yet.

Watching Liu Niang sway her hips away, Yuan glanced down at her own waist and legs.

She felt a little defeated.

Welcome to Fa Ning Teaches You How to Be a Woman.

Looking again at the house, Yuan recalled what the little beggars had told her: the place had three residents—two adults and one child.

The adults were surely Fa Ning and Changsheng. The child was probably a spy disguised with illusion magic. So sneaking in hadn’t been easy either.

What gave them the confidence to believe they could take down the Hundred Demon King?

Most likely, the key lay with Yuan Yingli.

Yuan glanced toward a certain direction and caught sight of a towering rooftop—that was where the Hundred Demon King lived.

That place wasn’t quiet today. The young king had thrown another fit. He had been paranoid lately, ever since someone sneaked into his house last night.

But he didn’t dare confront Li Wangzhu openly—he was too afraid.

To put it bluntly, if Li Wangzhu decided to emulate Cao Cao and control the ruler to command the nobles, he probably could pull it off, given his current strength.

“What are you doing here?” asked the delicate-featured demon beside the young king.

Maybe because this demon had saved him last night, the Hundred Demon King now trusted him a little.

He asked quietly, “Did you see Li Wangzhu? Do you know where he is right now?”