Little Pink Starfish

Fat Cat was currently… on the run.

…

The problem was, no one outside had a clue what Fat Cat was up to. Everyone was still in a confused daze.

Though there were some vague suspicions about what might’ve happened inside the manor, everyone still felt—it couldn’t be, right? No way someone could be that unhinged.

That was the general consensus. Even those who had spent the most time with Fat Cat—Yuan Yuanyuan and Yuan Yingli—didn’t think he’d do something so outrageously insane.

That’s right. Even Yuan Yingli didn’t know where Fat Cat was now. His own face was far too recognizable, so he couldn’t sneak in alongside Fat Cat at all.

In the end, it was Fat Cat who managed to sneak into that massive manor. He had some natural advantages: one, he never showed his face; two, he wasn’t afraid of death; and three, the closer he came to dying, the more brazen he became.

So when the others thought they’d already taken him down and rushed off to save the Hundred Demon King, they turned back after handling things—only to find… huh? Where’d he go?

All that remained was a bloodstain, shaped vaguely like a person, but the body that had been lying there was gone.

Though it was already midsummer, the surrounding demons still felt a chill down their spines.

What the hell? A ghost?

This was proof enough—Fat Cat was truly a talent. He didn’t just surprise his enemies. He shocked his own people, too.

…At this very moment, Fat Cat was still fleeing for his life.

Inside the manor, everyone had been mobilized. From servants with no spiritual power to guards with some skill, all were gathered nervously in the central courtyard, watching the Li Family Patriarch at the front.

The patriarch’s face was expressionless. He had only just separated from the Young Hundred Demon King not long ago. He’d sensed some tension between them recently and had intentionally avoided him, hoping to give him space.

Who could’ve predicted this would happen?

Honestly, if the patriarch had been a little more talkative, he might’ve ranted: What kind of curse are you carrying? Everyone you like turns out to be a traitor. First Fa Ning, now someone from the very clan that’s loyally served the Hundred Demon King for generations?

“Aiya, overthinking is useless.” Yuan Yuanyuan scratched her head. “It probably wasn’t Yuan Yingli and the others… maybe someone just lost it and started stirring up trouble in the city. That’s what set everything off.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Another demon following Yuan nodded. “Let’s eat.”

“What’s for dinner?” Yuan asked. “Any meat?”

“Plenty. All meat.”

And with that, Yuan gleefully skipped off to eat. Meanwhile, Fa Ning—no, Liu Niang—rubbed his belly. He was hungry too. All that daily acting was draining. He’d originally planned to eat less to maintain his image as a frail woman, but the more he cut down, the hungrier he got.

Oh well. Might as well eat.

So Liu Niang went to eat too. Munch munch munch munch…

Meanwhile, Fat Cat was still on the run…

He was digging through a trash can, trying to disguise himself as an ordinary stray cat.

Outside, everything still seemed peaceful. No one knew what had happened in the city. The head of the Li family had locked down all news as soon as the incident occurred.

Since the Hundred Demon King was still breathing, he didn’t publicize it, instead summoning every renowned healer in the city to try to save him.

Yuan Yingli might’ve been the only one slightly concerned about the situation. But even then, he wasn’t overly worried. At that moment, he was still eating from his lunchbox.

“Why haven’t we heard from Fat Cat yet? Isn’t this the third day?” he mused.

He and Fat Cat had agreed to check in every three days. The method they used was an ancient one—like lovers in a palace sneaking messages: writing on leaves and letting them float downstream.

They’d been using this system for months. Fat Cat had always been punctual. But today, no message came.

Yuan Yingli found it strange, though he never once suspected Fat Cat had done something this big. He just worried Fat Cat’s cover might’ve been blown.

Even if it was, Fat Cat had the skills to get out.

So Yuan Yingli wasn’t truly anxious. He had absolute confidence in Fat Cat. It was a common misjudgment among those who’d worked with Fat Cat long enough—mistakenly thinking he was actually reliable.

With only three hours left until the next Demon Chronicles update, Yuan Yingli dispatched two demons to support Fat Cat. They were skilled—more than enough to help him escape if needed.

Of course, it was also possible that Fat Cat’s identity hadn’t been exposed at all, and someone else had caused the trouble. In that case, these two demons would still be useful.

Everyone else returned to their usual routines—eating, drinking, relaxing. Even though the streets were under heavy guard, life inside continued as normal.

After all, what else could they do?

This continued until midnight…

When Demon Chronicles updated.

Yuan Yuanyuan snacked on preserved plums to digest after a meat-heavy dinner.

She opened the comic. Hmm, not bad. It featured the Hundred Demon King. She lay back and began reading.

The early plot was as expected—it described recent events in C City. The writing was vague, not giving too much away. A typical tactic from Jiuqiu, which Yuan knew well.

Yeah… she’d experienced those events firsthand two days ago. The comic made it seem far milder than it really was.

There was even a metaphor referring to the incident, but only vaguely. The situation was too serious to show outright. Yuan thought it was a shame. Such a major event would probably be erased from history.

She kept flipping pages leisurely, even getting up to use the restroom mid-read. On the way back, she passed a window—and froze.

Outside was chaos.

A mob of strange figures rushed by, carrying torches. It was like a scene from a prehistoric film—only the tiger-skin skirts were missing.

What the hell were they doing? That area was heavily guarded!

Yuan blinked in confusion and returned to her comic.

This chapter seemed longer than usual—more pages than Jiuqiu typically drew. At first, she didn’t think much of it… until she flipped to the extra pages.

There, in vivid detail, was the Young Hundred Demon King lying like a corpse, clutching his bleeding abdomen.

Yuan Yuanyuan: “…”

She flipped back. Then forward. Then back again. She repeated this several times before finally stopping on that image.

What was this? It wasn’t April Fools. Why suddenly drop such a shocking scene?

The development was so abrupt that her brain hadn’t even processed it. The room fell silent for a full minute.

Then came a loud shout: “What the hell!”

At the exact same time, in three different places, three people shouted the same thing.

…

They kept reading. A few pages later, their reactions varied:

“Hero!”

“Group Leader!”

“Fat Cat!”

Five minutes later, three mobs with torches appeared on the streets, storming out with purpose. It looked like they were ready to torch a couple of lovers for good measure.

…But they were too late.

Why? Because Fat Cat had already returned.

He had floated back via river, looking like a drowned stray, and was found by two demons stationed by Yuan Yingli.

These two hadn’t read the comic. They had no idea what had happened. All they saw was a soggy cat skin, which they picked up by the tail.

“Hey, a cat.”

“Should we bring it to the boss?”

“Sure, we fished it from the river, after all.”

And so, Fat Cat was taken away.

Which shows just how good of a spy he was. Not even his own people recognized him.

Yuan Yuanyuan still felt like her brain wasn’t fully working. How did this happen? The Hundred Demon King was dead? She hadn’t done anything yet! It all felt too sudden—Fat Cat stabbed him?!

The Young Hundred Demon King had no wife, no children, a single heir. The thought made Yuan chuckle… or rather, solemnly mourn his loss. After all, he was a cultural artifact in the demon world.

Everything had fallen into chaos.

The limp cat skin suddenly lifted its head. The demon holding it jumped.

“It’s alive?”

“Yeah. Put me down,” Fat Cat croaked hoarsely. “If you don’t, I’ll bite you.”

“Whoa, little demon. Who are you, talking all big?” The demon grabbed the scruff of his neck and shook him. “You some official? Or a relative of the Hundred Demon King?”

Fat Cat turned his head, aiming to bite the guy. But he was too weak. As he turned, the demon pinned his twitching cat head.

He even… gave it a pat.

And so, full of humiliation, Fat Cat was carried back, dangling by the scruff. The two demons laughed and joked the whole way, never realizing they held a truly fearsome killer in their hands.