Little Pink Starfish

Yuan Yuanyuan had recently been feeling annoyed to death—mainly because the people around her were just too damn annoying. These people seemed afraid that the world wasn’t chaotic enough already, constantly chirping at her from all directions.

Listening to them made her want to fall asleep on the spot. Luckily, she held it together through sheer willpower, managing not to let her fatigue show. Otherwise, she feared the whole situation might blow up even worse.

Honestly, if she hadn’t already planned everything out ahead of time, the current scene might’ve annoyed her to the point her sanity started slipping.

It wasn’t just that they were irritating—they repeated the same things endlessly. Like today, someone here was advising her to consider her own future, and tomorrow someone over there would be asking whether she had any personal plans. Their intentions couldn’t be more obvious.

But Yuan Yuanyuan wasn’t going to be intimidated by these people!

She decided to just keep dragging things out for as long as possible. The longer she could stall, the more time Fa Ning’s side had to prepare. She’d even been quietly releasing misleading information lately.

Basically, her current state could be summed up as shouting across space at Fa Ning—if she could, she’d be yelling into a megaphone right by his ear: “Damn it, I’m about to turn around and smack you! Get it together!”

…Whether that side had actually received the message, she didn’t know. But Yuan Yuanyuan figured Fa Ning looked dumbly naive enough that he probably hadn’t picked up on it.

—And, as it turned out, she was right. Fa Ning had indeed received bits of information, but had never taken it seriously. He figured Yuan Yuanyuan wasn’t the type to do anything that insane. So far, all actions had been taken by people under his command.

What Yuan Yuanyuan really wanted was to tell Fa Ning directly, “Disciple, listen to your master. Let’s put on a little performance together, and then I can finally retire.”
But unfortunately, Qiuqiu was still watching everything. If she said that, it’d probably end up in the comic by tomorrow. Yuan Yuanyuan wasn’t ready to court death quite yet, so she temporarily abandoned the idea.

The two of them had once been roommates for a time, and knew each other’s habits well. Just like Yuan Yuanyuan guessed Fa Ning wouldn’t act against her, Fa Ning had also assumed Yuan Yuanyuan wouldn’t actually go through with such a thing.

Because they knew each other too well, the situation had become awkward. If they were total strangers, they might have already started throwing punches without thinking twice.

…

Fa Ning had started to suspect something was going on behind his back, so he began observing his people in secret.

Then he uncovered a few clues: these people had been secretly gathering forces and had already assembled a military unit.

When Fa Ning discovered this, he was furious and rushed off to investigate—only to run into Yuan Yingli halfway there.

“I told them to do it,” Yuan Yingli said calmly.

“You—didn’t you say you were staying out of this? Why are you jumping back in now?” Fa Ning was slightly winded from the confrontation. After all, Yuan Yingli wasn’t one to act rashly. Most of the things he did ended up being extremely useful.

“I thought it over and decided I’d better keep you alive first,” Yuan Yingli replied. “You need to understand—this situation is already serious. It’s not as simple as you think.”

“If it’s that serious, shouldn’t you be hiding somewhere?” Fa Ning retorted.

“Don’t be sarcastic. This much is obvious.” Yuan Yingli said, “I went home a few days ago, and I heard something.”

“What is it?”

“My family has already sent people to contact Yuan,” Yuan Yingli said. “Don’t be too surprised. Our clan has always been fickle. I’m the black sheep.”

“If I remember correctly, your family is related to the Li family?” Fa Ning frowned.

“Yes. The current female head of the Li family actually shares half our Yuan family’s blood,” Yuan Yingli said. “But she seems to have been abandoned already. Right now, we don’t even have enough people to send to Yuan, let alone worry about her.”

“…Can your family actually meet Yuan?” Fa Ning asked.

“Of course not. They haven’t even seen a shadow of him. But they still went, without hesitation. So do you know what that means?”

Fa Ning understood. If even the Yuan clan had rushed over, then it was proof that, under the current circumstances, Yuan really was likely to become the next King of All Demons.

“He might not want the position, but at this point, he might not have a choice,” Yuan Yingli said. “But does he really not want it? I’m not so sure… When it comes to the greater good, he can be extremely ruthless.”

That much, Fa Ning could believe. Based on his past experiences, Yuan was definitely capable of ruthless decisions. But “greater good”… what greater good?

“…Crap, I really hope this conversation doesn’t get drawn into the comic. If it does, I might never be able to show my face again,” Yuan Yingli complained, waving a hand as he left. Watching his retreating figure, Fa Ning felt a sudden pang of sadness.

The Demon Chronicles had updated again. This chapter picked up where the last one left off.

The previous issue ended with Yuan’s sudden appearance—that cliffhanger left countless readers reeling.

【Oh my god, Yuan is so cool!】

【The line he said was so iconic. Li Wangzhu had to die by his hand, there was no other way.】

【Crap, I nearly cried. My Yuan has had such a hard time! Constantly oppressed, and now he’s finally turning the tables.】

【Get up! It’s your time to shine!】

After that explosive chapter, reader expectations for this one were sky-high. Seeing the fall of the Li family gave everyone a collective sense of relief.

Finally dead. That guy’s life was too damn stubborn. Readers had always feared he’d somehow survive and stir up trouble again.

If we were to rank tenacity within Demon Chronicles, Yuan and the Li Family Head were definitely at the top—one resurrected from death, the other reversed aging. Neither was easy to deal with.

Now the second had fallen to the first. Most readers were thrilled, like celebrating a holiday—except for a few villain-lovers.

However, even in this celebratory mood, something subtle felt… off.

The first issue was that mysterious smile Li Wangzhu gave before dying. Qiuqiu had included that panel too, sparking lots of speculation.

【Is there more to come?】

【Feels like it’s not over. Did Li Wangzhu have a backup plan? Can’t even rest easy after he’s dead.】

Another was the panel showing Yuan surrounded by a crowd of demons.

It should have been a triumphant moment, but Qiuqiu’s art style twisted it into something unsettling. He used strange colors—despite the sunny setting, the shadows were heavy, casting the whole scene in darkness.

And then there was the final panel. It was meant to be a joyous moment… but it felt downright eerie. Some sharp-eyed readers stared at it for a while before realizing what was wrong.

The demons’ facial expressions were off. They were smiling, but the curvature of those smiles… too wide.

Staring at them, you’d start to feel like their mouths might split open.

Yuan Yuanyuan read the comic and thought to herself: Great, now Fa Ning has to understand what kind of hellscape is coming, right?

Actually, Qiuqiu had exaggerated a bit. Those demons didn’t really look that creepy. The first wave of demons who’d rushed in were brave and intelligent—not all good people, of course, and surely some had ulterior motives. But most were just enthusiastic onlookers.

Still, they now served another function—to set the tone for the comic’s next arc, and to warn Fa Ning that the situation had completely changed.

The online forum was in chaos. People couldn’t agree on anything.

【Why do those demons at the end look like horror movie characters? Didn’t that freak you out too?】

【Yeah, really unsettling. Why draw it like that?】

【I think Yuan’s in danger.】

【…I think so too. But what’s going to happen?】

【Don’t you remember Qiuqiu mentioned demon traditions before?】 one user replied, 【In demon society, it’s survival of the fittest. Worship of the strong is deeply ingrained. Think about how big demons treat little demons, or the offerings system. Doesn’t that feel familiar?】

【Uh… what do you mean?】

【Think of it this way: the King of All Demons was the “big demon” for all others. Now that he’s dead, the rest are going feral… unless another “big demon” steps up—someone strong enough to be admired.】

Actually, there was one more condition: this new “big demon” had to satisfy a new desire among demons—a desire for war.

They wanted to break the current status quo. To stop hiding from humans.

And who had once led demons to resist humans?

—Seventeen.

On the battlefield, he had been humanity’s nightmare. Even humans had painted him into their historical murals.

A long time ago, Yuan Yuanyuan had seen a black-and-red painting, not realizing then that it depicted Seventeen in battle.

Now, the entire demon world was itching to move. But was war really so glorious?

Yuan Yuanyuan asked herself: If the real Seventeen were here… what would he do?

Maybe he really would pick up a blade and charge forward. That wasn’t impossible.
But maybe he’d try to suppress this conflict instead.

As for Yuan Yuanyuan, her answer was much simpler—she’d suppress it even if it killed her.

She looked at the three demons standing before her. Their expressions were all deadly serious.

Damn. She couldn’t stall any longer. One more delay and they’d start forcing her hand.