Chapter 37 |
Yuan Yuanyuan spent four days going through everything in her notebook.
After organizing the entire demon spellbook, she roughly divided its contents into three categories.
The first type was general-purpose spells used among demons. Although most of it was covered in detail, knowing the method didn’t necessarily mean you could pull it off.
For example, there was a spell called “shrinking the earth into inches” — which essentially meant compressing long distances into short ones.
When she first saw the note next to it that read “very difficult to learn”, she scoffed — how hard could it be? But once she tried it herself… she was instantly defeated.
She had no clue where to even start.
So, she asked Siqun for help. Siqun demonstrated by casually walking a few small steps on the floor — and just like that, he vanished from the kitchen.
A moment later, he reappeared.
“Do you get it now?” he asked.
In the end, she kind of muddled through most of the first section in the book, except for a few spells she had an uncanny talent for:
Transformation. Allure.
When it came to illusion and charm spells, she had a natural flair. She never failed. Only then did she understand why Li Zi Jie had said there was no need to memorize everything — a glance or two was enough.
Every demon had their own area of expertise. Yuan Yuanyuan realized just how important talent was when it came to demon spells.
The second category was purely offensive magic — over a hundred spells in total.
She recopied them into a smaller notebook and memorized them obsessively, even scribbling key points all over her hands in ballpoint pen, just like she used to cram vocabulary in senior high school. She reviewed even in the bathroom.
The third category was like reading a travel journal — casual notes about life and lore. That’s when she realized the entire spellbook had probably been compiled by a single demon. Apparently, demons liked to keep journals; her red jade had travel stories in it too.
Yuan Yuanyuan treated the third section like supernatural fiction.
In any case, she diligently studied her notes for several days, and once she found her rhythm, it became quite enjoyable. Meanwhile, her life in the real world slowly returned to normal.
Older folks didn’t care about comics. Younger ones who recognized her only joked that it was crazy how someone in the real world could look so much like a character from Demon Notes.
Truthfully, only Xiao Ying — and maybe Li Xin — ever paid serious attention to her. Li Xin had stopped coming over to do homework, but after a few days of laying low, Xiao Ying came back, schoolbag on her shoulders.
Yuan Yuanyuan couldn’t do much about it. She had to keep friendly with her neighbors, and Xiao Ying’s mom didn’t know she was a demon.
Their interactions settled into a familiar pattern: Xiao Ying did her homework at the table, Yuan Yuanyuan cooked dinner, then left for work.
Xiao Ying carefully avoided mentioning anything about Yuan Yuanyuan’s identity. Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t bring it up either. The two maintained an unspoken understanding.
Just like that, Saturday rolled around again. Yuan Yuanyuan showed up at work with her fully charged phone. After finishing her dishwashing shift, she sat on a little stool in the back, reciting notes while keeping an eye on the time.
Outside, the tavern was bustling. Yuan Yuanyuan had been entering through the back door lately, especially since Li Zi Jie had explicitly told her to avoid the front.
It was only a few days ago that she learned why: a bunch of demons had started showing up and specifically asking for “that red-robed demon girl” to pour their drinks.
“We’ve got more customers these days and hired some new girls. You just stay out of it,” Li Zi Jie had said. “Stay back here with my brother.”
So Yuan Yuanyuan spent her shifts in the back with Siqun.
She thought, *No wonder my pay didn’t get cut. I thought the bar was going under after that Hundred Demons Night incident… but turns out, showing up in *Demon Notes* gave the place a boost in business.*
Not that demons really understood advertising, but whatever. She obediently stayed in the kitchen.
As she browsed through online comments, she glanced over at Siqun.
Her mind wandered to a fanart she’d seen in a penguin group chat yesterday — a ridiculously muscular version of Siqun. Way over-the-top. She could guarantee the guy didn’t have even half the muscle mass she did.
And yet somehow… after just one scene in the comic, Siqun exploded in popularity on the Dream Manga website, reaching unmatched levels of fame at lightning speed.
No one expected it — a total dark horse.
A dark horse so dark, it was like someone hit the collective fandom’s weird little sweet spot. Within five days, comment sections were filled with:
“Is that white-robed guy coming back?”
“He’s so hot! Seriously, too hot!”
“I’ve never been so mesmerized by a one-scene character… that face is like a blend of every husbando I’ve ever loved!”
“Yes! Cold, aloof ice prince types are my jam! That white-robed demon is just chef’s kiss perfection. Cool, youthful, pure charisma… Ji Qiu finally nailed my type.”
At this point, Yuan Yuanyuan finally understood what was going on.
It was the face, of course.
Just like the Black-Robed Man had stirred up a frenzy, Siqun had become the next viral sensation.
This was an age ruled by looks — of course his face was the reason. Face equals justice.
Siqun had one of those exquisitely delicate faces: sharp jawline, high nose bridge, thin lips. If you ignored the eyes, he looked like one of those aloof male leads in a romance novel. In a manga setting, the visual impact was huge.
His features were so delicate that Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t even dare to look directly at him at first. Once she got to know his personality, though, her gaze became permanently deadpan.
Still, that face on a guy came with serious cognitive dissonance — especially in real life. Combined with his petite frame and fragile personality…
Maybe it was because she was used to rougher men, or maybe because of Siqun’s personality — either way, Yuan Yuanyuan just couldn’t see him as anything but feminine.
Honestly, if he wasn’t so… delicate, and acted even a little more assertively, she’d probably be afraid of him.
The only truly un-feminine thing about him was his mess of a hairstyle. It had taken her a whole month to find the right description: Einstein’s bootleg twin. That hair was definitely not girly. He looked like a mad scientist.
She had no idea whether Ji Qiu had contacted him yet, but she couldn’t just bring it up. What if Ji Qiu hadn’t reached out and she accidentally gave him away? That’d be tragic.
She flipped open the latest issue of Demon Notes, expecting it to be a filler chapter. After all, she knew from experience that the main character’s last injury was severe — he’d probably be bedridden for at least ten days.
She wasn’t expecting much progress in the story.
But the moment she started reading, her face grew serious — and it stayed that way until she reached the final page.
The main character was in deep trouble.
“Each step felt like walking on fire,” Faning thought.
He looked at Tong Xin with disbelief.
“So it was her all along!”
Suddenly, a lot of things that hadn’t made sense before… clicked into place.
“Peach Blossom Alley,” Tong Xin said coolly. “If you want the antidote, come find me there.”
“How long has it been…?” Faning asked.
“A long time…” Tong Xin replied, face emotionless like a porcelain doll.
…What the hell, sis?! Are you a demon-hunting angel or something?
Yuan Yuanyuan rubbed her face. Tong Xin had always been portrayed as a naive sweetheart — a childhood-friend-type from a prestigious clan. Who would’ve guessed that internal faction wars would drive her to this?
They’d spent ten chapters acting like siblings. Yuan Yuanyuan thought they’d stay that way until the end. But here she was, pulling a twist.
Tong Xin had always seemed like she had her own burdens, but Ji Qiu hadn’t explained them yet.
Was this setup for a heartbreak arc?
Yuan Yuanyuan wasn’t a huge fan of cultivators, but she did like Faning. He was like a neighborhood watch guy — thanks to him, their chaotic city had been peaceful lately.
She didn’t even need to go outside. Just by reading the news, she’d see stories of him cleaning up evil demons. Honestly, he was more useful than some police. But now… he was about to be poisoned.
“Did they draw Siqun in today’s issue?” she heard Li Zi Jie’s voice behind her, nearly scaring her out of her seat.
“N-no,” Yuan Yuanyuan stammered.
“Good. At least staying hidden is working.” Li Zi Jie patted her brother’s shoulder. “What about that guy with the black string around his neck?”
“…The what?”
“The one who trashed our place last time,” Li Zi Jie said.
“Oh, the Black-Robed Man? No, he’s not in it either.” Yuan Yuanyuan shook her head.
After work, she returned home, unlocked the door… and found Xiao Ying sitting on her couch.
“Didn’t you have class?” Yuan Yuanyuan asked.
“I’m about to go,” Xiao Ying replied. “Yuanyuan-jie, do you know where Peach Blossom Alley is?”
“…No idea,” Yuan Yuanyuan said calmly.
Xiao Ying slumped into the couch and went quiet.
It was the first time she’d brought up Demon Notes all week. She used to mention it every day.
“Get to class,” Yuan Yuanyuan said, patting her.
Xiao Ying looked up at her. “Yuanyuan-jie… how come you don’t eat people?”
“…Too heavy,” Yuan Yuanyuan said. “Kinda hard to digest.”
“Then why do you tell me all this?”
“You’re just a little brat. Even if I do, so what? Go on, call the cops. Tell them to come arrest me,” she said, collapsing into the couch with a sigh.
“…If only I were strong,” Xiao Ying muttered into the cushions.
Yeah… if only I were strong.
For some reason, Yuan Yuanyuan heard that thought echo in her own mind too.
If I were stronger… maybe all these people wouldn’t have to die.