Little Pink Starfish

It had been three days since Fa Ning had that conversation with the little demon.

Back then, Fa Ning had responded with full confidence. But if you asked him now… his answer might be very different.

The Li Family Head was dead. The King of All Demons was also dead. The demons had gone completely mad.

They had poured all of their faith into Yuan. These past few days, Fa Ning heard his name everywhere he went.

“Every demon is talking about him,” Fa Ning said. “I’m going crazy… What’s wrong with all of them?”

“You should keep a closer eye on him,” Yuan Yingli, seated across from him, replied. “I’m getting a bad feeling about this too.”

“Oh shut it, don’t talk nonsense,” Fa Ning reflexively retorted.

But deep inside… he felt a creeping unease.

For the past three nights, he’d had the same dream—Li Wangzhu’s smile before death haunting him like a ghost. He couldn’t help but wonder: what was that man laughing at?

Yuan had been acting extremely active in recent days. Every time Fa Ning went to find him, he couldn’t be seen. Meanwhile, the demons seemed swept up in a feverish celebration. It was all very unsettling.

…

“This is not a good sign,” Gao Ling muttered as she sipped her coffee in a café and stared at her phone.

A few days ago, when the King of All Demons died, she had been delighted, even gone out to celebrate with friends.

At the time, she knew far more than the average person, since she’d made friends with several Taoists and gotten a lot of unpublished comic spoilers from them.

For example, the King of All Demons was truly and thoroughly dead.

And that Yuan—his status had undergone a dramatic transformation, from a shady little spy to a full-fledged hero.

Apparently, when they opened the doors that day, the courtyard had been strewn with demon corpses. Survivors said the King and Li Wangzhu had killed them, and that if numbers had run too low, they’d planned to massacre the city.

Nearly every demon believed they’d narrowly escaped death.

As for Gao Ling, she’d personally watched as things around Yuan gradually began to spiral. Just a few days ago, he was the subject of universal praise—but it was all getting weirder and weirder.

—Just like today.

“Where did you hear Yuan was declaring himself king?” Gao Ling asked, frowning. “That’s baseless gossip, okay? The comic’s ending soon. Yuan becoming king is impossible.”

“Ending soon? In your dreams,” her friend scoffed. “Demon Chronicles makes so much money. You think it’ll end without a long promotional lead-up?”

Gao Ling was suddenly at a loss for words. Her friend was just a regular person—she didn’t understand how excited Gao Ling had been after reading the latest chapter. She didn’t know how Gao Ling had been sleeping with her curtains closed for months… until the recent events made her dare to open them again.

Now, even Gao Ling felt something was off with the comic’s trajectory, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She just had a bad feeling.

“This is called the ‘hero-becomes-dragon’ trope,” her friend said. “Super trendy way to build tension. Take notes.”

“No way! That’s impossible!” Gao Ling snapped. Her tone was so sharp, she looked ready to explode. She grabbed her bag, paid the bill, and stormed off alone, leaving her stunned friend shouting after her.

“Hey! Gao Ling! Are you serious right now? It’s just a comic! I was joking!”

Agitated, Gao Ling ran a hand through her hair and exited the café. On a sudden impulse, she turned into a side alley, scanned her surroundings, and sure enough—spotted a little demon.

She didn’t approach. She just stood quietly, watching from a distance. As she listened, the little demon’s voice rang out:

“…It was Lord Yuan that day!” the demon said excitedly. “Lord Yuan will definitely lead us back to the glory days! We demons have suffered under human oppression long enough. But Lord Yuan isn’t the same—he faced and defeated countless human generals on the battlefield!”

“I heard! Lord Yuan might declare himself king!”

“If Lord Yuan becomes king, that would be amazing!”

Gao Ling nearly bit her tongue in shock. She fled the alley and ran straight home in a panic.

All it took was eavesdropping on one little demon…

“Demons really are a complicated species. Unlike humans, survival of the fittest is baked into their bones,” Yuan Yingli said as he sipped his tea, massaging his temples. “Back when the King ruled, they were all cursing Yuan. But now that Yuan has killed the king, they want to crown him the next one?”

“Hey…” Fa Ning said hesitantly, “I always thought this was just a joke. What about that fat cat friend of yours?”

“Lost him,” Yuan Yingli rolled his eyes. “Let’s be clear: he and I are not the same. At least I have some sense of shame—he has none.”

“…So if Yuan really did crown himself, you’d still be on my side?”

“I probably would,” Yuan Yingli said after another sip. “But that cat would definitely switch to Yuan’s side in a heartbeat. Honestly, I’m not even sure anymore. Am I making the right choice sticking with you?”

“Don’t scare me like that. You’re our second-in-command. If you switched sides…”

“I’m just talking. Can’t I even talk anymore?” Yuan Yingli snapped. “You do realize I’m a Yuan fangirl too, right? If not for righteousness, I would’ve packed my bags and left already. Why else am I still here wasting time arguing with you?”

“…Fair.” Fa Ning nodded. After Yuan Yingli’s little outburst, he calmed back down, slumping in his seat.

“Cheer up a bit,” Fa Ning tried to lighten the mood.

“Fa Ning,” Yuan Yingli suddenly said, “Did you ever hear about the time before the war?”

“Uh… how long before?” Fa Ning asked.

“Before everything.”

Fa Ning was quiet for a moment, then shook his head.

“Back then, we didn’t have to hide. We weren’t herded into tiny zones. Back then, humans feared us. We demons were nature’s chosen.” Yuan Yingli’s gaze turned hazy. “But honestly, most of what I know comes from books.”

“Sounds… kind of beautiful,” Fa Ning replied half-heartedly.

“Yuan really was a terrifying ace in those days. Not the chill guy you think he is,” Yuan Yingli said. “I know you lived with him for a while. No matter what image you have of him, you should realize—he could end up being your enemy.”

“What do you mean?” Fa Ning asked slowly.

“You know exactly what I mean,” Yuan Yingli said, patting Fa Ning on the shoulder. “Go out. Listen to what the demons are saying. If I keep helping you at this point, I’ll probably bring disaster on my own clan. I’ve never liked the Yuan family, but we’re blood. If they turn on us…”

“That’s a bit much…” Fa Ning said.

“Just wait and see,” Yuan Yingli said. “These demons, once fired up, are capable of anything.”

Fa Ning gave a vague response, but kept his ears open. Over the next few days, he witnessed many incidents—some even in his own camp.

His base housed both humans and demons. Some were Taoists, some anti-war demons, others were from Demon City C.

As expected, fights broke out between demons and Taoists. Many bystanders just stood and watched. When Fa Ning arrived, he saw people with arms crossed, treating it like a spectacle.

“What’s going on!” Fa Ning shouted, finally getting the two fighters to separate. The pair stood, bruised and scowling.

“I think the Taoist insulted Yuan…” someone nearby offered.

“Not just one insult—he said a lot,” the demon who had been fighting snapped. “You think you can badmouth Lord Yuan? Want to die?”

“You were the ones cursing him before,” the Taoist sneered. “Now you’ve flipped? I was just agreeing with your earlier crap.”

“Enough,” Fa Ning cut in. “Both of you, shut up.”

“I’ve seen enough,” the demon said. “There’s no point staying here. Might as well leave.”

“Leave? And go where?” Fa Ning’s brow furrowed.

“Not your concern,” the demon sneered. “We were never yours to begin with. We’re just going back where we came from.”

He turned to leave. Fa Ning’s eyes grew colder as he watched the demon’s retreating figure.

Just as the demon reached the gate, an invisible force yanked him backward and slammed him face-first into the ground.

“I don’t care what’s going on out there,” Fa Ning said coldly, standing over him. “If you’re still here, you follow myorders.”

These demons… something was off. Fa Ning had figured it out. Though they looked human, they still carried the instincts of beasts—rash, reactive, and thoughtless.

Maybe that had always been their nature?

After disciplining the demon, Fa Ning turned and left, mind churning with thoughts of how to unify his scattered troops. At the very least, he needed to prevent internal collapse before facing the greater crisis ahead.

Meanwhile, Yuan Yuanyuan sat expressionless on a massive chair—ridiculously oversized, dramatically extravagant.

She was absolutely sick of all this.