"This is the highest place in the entire Moon City."
Jin Feiyu stood shoulder to shoulder with Ku Yue in the rustling wind. Beneath their feet was a "tower" formed from metal fertilizers and various other construction debris.
Looking down, the entire city lay before their eyes. Among the sporadic twinkling lights, Ku Yue saw vast vortexes of deep darkness. Upon closer inspection, there were many abnormal surges within the darkness — some of various shapes. Things enveloped in multicolored lights, like birds in the sky or fish in the water, cruising freely.
This was...a city full of supernatural beings. However, they were all low-level small demons with insignificant spiritual power and no lethality to speak of.
"Moon City had few living people even a hundred years ago," Jin Feiyu's clothing fluttered in the wind like a pair of black wings. "Some so-called scientific research organization used this remote and backward Moon City as a secret experimental base. Their final result was a severe man-made plague, and most of the city's residents died in the disaster. The authorities covered up the truth, sealed off Moon City completely, and decided that if the plague could not be contained within three months, they would bury the entire city regardless of whether there were any survivors left."
Ku Yue's brow furrowed slightly. Jin Feiyu opened the peach wood box in his hand, and a refreshing fragrance assaulted his nostrils, sweet and somehow comforting.
Ku Yue watched as he scooped out a handful of something as fine as sand from the box. It twinkled like dense fluorescence or crushed stardust, so beautiful that one couldn't help but want to cup it carefully in their hands and marvel at it closely.
"Wouldn't it be such a pity if this place were to be buried?" He turned and smiled at Ku Yue, "If there's another way to save this city, I think we're all willing to try, aren't we?"
He raised his arm, and the stardust-like twinkling powder scattered from his fingers, creating a colorful mist in the night sky that evenly fell over every corner of the city. The beings wandering in the darkness rejoiced and excitedly embraced this fragrant mist, making the halos on each of their bodies shine much brighter than before.
The city beneath their feet suddenly transformed into a flowing, multicolored sea. Within it, the small demons could be heard laughing joyfully in sounds only they could understand, creating a special sense of happiness in the darkness.
Jin Feiyu's action brought a different kind of vitality to this otherwise lifeless city.
"This..." Ku Yue's eyes momentarily lost focus as he stared fixedly at Jin Feiyu's peach wood box. "This powder…is the Soul Gathering Star Crystal that only the Snow Butterfly Clan, the rulers of the Butterfly Demons, can refine, specifically designed to replenish the essence of demons?"
Jin Feiyu closed the box and nodded, "Actually, most of the demons in Moon City are pitiful creatures abandoned by their own kind. Take Seven, for example; he's just a wolf demon with a broken leg, unable to move freely, and certainly incapable of hunting in groups with his fellow kin. Consequently, he's destined to be despised and discarded. These minor demons have such low cultivation that they wouldn't even dare to expose themselves to the sunlight, let alone attain human form. I took them in and brought them to Moon City, letting them live in the bodies of the deceased residents. This way, they not only have a safe place to make their homes but also possess human bodies, allowing them to live openly in the sun since then." He smiled, "And those humans who had the intention of wiping out the entire city were frightened out of their minds and fled when they saw the residents of Moon City resurrect overnight."
"Such a 'miracle' is something those people will never let go of. Didn't they return to Moon City to investigate the mystery of the resurrection?" Ku Yue asked in bafflement. In his impression over all these years, Moon City had been just a remote, rarely mentioned small town, with nothing noteworthy about it.
"Of course they want to come back," Jin Feiyu gazed into the distance, "It's just that they can no longer find Moon City. I've placed a defensive barrier around this city, so anyone not allowed to enter Moon City can't find it. Over a century has passed, and those who knew of this history have all passed away. Moon City has gradually normalized, like a true city. These little demons have also become accustomed to living in human bodies, even completely regarding themselves as humans. During the day, they work, go to school, fight, fall in love, and at night, they separate from their physical bodies and swallow the Soul Gathering Star Crystals to keep their primordial spirits intact and their physical strength strong. This cycle continues year after year."
"You feed an entire city," Ku Yue raised the corners of his mouth, seemingly teasing, "What a great Snow Butterfly Demon. Refining Soul Gathering Star Crystals consumes a lot of vitality, and yet you've persisted for so many years."
"Hahaha, you're getting talkative," Jin Feiyu laughed heartily, his eyes behind the lenses shining with a different radiance in the night. "If it were you, maybe you'd make the same choice as me."
"I only kill demons, never save them," Ku Yue returned to his normal state and said lightly, "A killer only has money in their heart and nothing else."
Jin Feiyu locked onto his violet eyes almost as if he could see through Ku Yue and said with profound meaning, "Butterfly Demons are divided into two groups: the Snow Butterflies and the Night Butterflies. Snow Butterflies excel in defending and healing, and have noble lineage, with all Butterfly Kings hailing from the Snow Butterfly clan. On the other hand, Night Butterflies excel in attack and destruction, and have extraordinary skills, so protecting the Butterfly King and defending the territory is the bounden duty of the Night Butterflies. The Snow Butterflies and Night Butterflies complement each other — one literary, and the other martial.[1]"
Ku Yue fell silent for a moment and then said, "So what?"
"Did you forget that I placed a barrier around Moon City? Outsiders can't enter without my permission. Yet, you effortlessly walked into Moon City. Unless your body is naturally compatible with my barrier, or simply put, you should be one of my kind. And you should have known this from the first time you saw me," Jin Feiyu smiled at him. "But there's one thing that I find quite strange."
"I know we belong to the same clan, but I didn't know you're a Snow Butterfly," Ku Yue was calm and collected as he looked at Jin Feiyu. "However, it doesn't matter to me at all whether we are of the same clan or not."
"You seem... not quite whole," Jin Feiyu shook his head, "Not the same as the Night Butterflies I've seen before. But I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong."
"If you can't put it into words, then let's not dwell on it." Ku Yue leaped down from the tower to the ground.
Jin Feiyu silently landed behind him and laughed, "What an interesting guy."
"Not as interesting as you." Ku Yue turned slightly and said with a hint of mockery, "You can make a whole city of demons respect and love you, yet your own daughter repeatedly hires assassins to hunt you down."
Seeing Jin Feiyu's bitter smile, Ku Yue coldly snorted and turned to leave.
No matter when, sleeping was a serious business.
[1] 一 文 一 武: Literary refers to academic success, and martial arts refers to military success. Because a monarch is mentioned, the Snow Butterflies must be lords or civil servants with administrative power in the king's court, whereas the Night Butterflies are the combat force or military.
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