"This is the highest point in the entire Moon City."

  Amidst the rustling of the wind, Jin Feiyu and Ku Yue stood side by side. Beneath their feet was a "tower" made of metal scraps and other construction debris.

  Looking down, the entire city was spread out before them. From the scattered flickering lights, Ku Yue could see vast, swirling depths of darkness. Upon closer inspection, the darkness was teeming with irregur movements—shapes of various kinds. Glowing objects, wrapped in different colored lights, moved freely like birds in the sky or fish in the water, swimming joyfully.

  Those were... the city of yaokai. But they were low-level creatures with weak spiritual power, essentially harmless.

  "Moon City, over a hundred years ago, had hardly any living people left." Jin Feiyu's clothes fluttered in the wind like a pair of bck wings. "A certain so-called research organization chose the remote and backward Moon City as a secret experimental base. Their final result was a devastating man-made pgue. Most of the city's residents died untimely deaths. The authorities covered up the truth, sealed off the city completely, and decided that if the pgue couldn't be contained within three months, they would bury the entire city, regardless of whether there were survivors."

  Ku Yue furrowed his brow slightly as Jin Feiyu opened the peachwood box. A fragrant aroma, sweet and soothing, filled the air, a scent that seemed both familiar and comforting.

  Ku Yue watched as Jin Feiyu scooped up a handful of fine grains from the box. The particles shimmered and sparkled, like condensed stardust or tiny fragments of light, beautiful enough to make one want to gently hold them in their hands and admire them closely.

  "If this city were buried, wouldn't it be a pity?" Jin Feiyu turned to Ku Yue, smiling lightly. "If there was another way to save this city, I believe we'd both be willing to try, wouldn't we?"

  With a swift motion of his arm, the starry dust began to drift from his fingers, scattering through the air like a fine mist. It shimmered in the night, spreading evenly across the city. The yaokais that roamed in the darkness seemed to glow brighter, their auras more vivid, as they reveled in the sweet-smelling haze, the atmosphere now charged with an enchanting fragrance.

  It was as though the city itself was being transformed, wrapped in a strange, gentle magic.

  Beneath their feet, the ground suddenly transformed into a flowing sea of colors, shimmering with an ethereal beauty. The unmistakable sounds of small yaokai ughing joyfully filled the air, their voices in a nguage only they could understand, creating a special sense of happiness in the darkness.

  With a single gesture from Jin Feiyu, this dead city was filled with an entirely new kind of vitality.

  "This..." Ku Yue's eyes momentarily lost focus as he stared at the peachwood box in Jin Feiyu's hands. "This powder... it's from the Snow Butterfly cn, the rulers of the butterfly yaokais. Only they can refine the Spirit-Soul Crystals, used to replenish the life essence of yaokais."

  Jin Feiyu closed the box, nodding slowly. "Yes, most of the yaokais in Moon City are abandoned by their own species—pitiful creatures, like Seven. He's just a wolf yaokai who lost one of his legs, unable to move freely, unable to hunt with his kin. Thus, he was despised and left to fend for himself. These little yaokais are too weak to even take human form, and they fear the sunlight. I took them in, brought them to Moon City, and allowed them to inhabit the bodies of the deceased residents. In doing so, they found a safe pce to live, and with human bodies, they could openly walk under the sun."

  He smiled lightly. "And as for the humans who sought to destroy the city—when they saw the inhabitants of Moon City suddenly come back to life, they were so terrified they fled without a second thought."

  "Such a 'miracle'—those people should not have let it go easily. Didn't they return to Moon City to investigate the mystery of the resurrection?" Ku Yue asked, puzzled. For so many years, Moon City had been little more than a remote, seldom-mentioned pce in his mind, with nothing of particur interest to discuss.

  "They certainly wanted to come back," Jin Feiyu said, his gaze distant as he looked towards the horizon. "But they can never find Moon City again. I set up a defensive barrier around this city. Anyone not allowed entry will never be able to locate it. A century has passed, and those who knew the truth of the past have long since passed away. Over time, Moon City has gradually normalized, becoming a true city. These little yaokais have gotten used to living in human bodies, to the point where they even consider themselves humans. By day, they work, go to school, fight, and fall in love—by night, they leave their bodies, consume the Spirit-Soul Crystals, maintain their essence, and keep their energy levels high. This cycle repeats year after year."

  "You've fed an entire city." Ku Yue smirked, his tone seemingly mocking. "A truly great Snow Butterfly Yaokai. Crafting the Spirit-Soul Crystals takes up so much energy—yet you've managed to keep at it for so many years."

  "Haha, you're getting more talkative." Jin Feiyu ughed heartily, his eyes shining behind the gsses, gleaming with a mysterious light in the night. "If it were you, perhaps you would make the same choice as I did."

  "I only kill yaokais. I never save them," Ku Yue replied, returning to his usual cold demeanor. "As a killer, I only care about money. Nothing else."

  Jin Feiyu fixed him with a piercing gaze, as if trying to see straight through him. His voice took on a deeper, more profound tone: "The Butterfly cn is split into two factions—the Snow Butterflies and the Night Butterflies. The Snow Butterflies are skilled in healing and protection, with noble bloodlines. Every Butterfly King comes from the Snow Butterfly tribe. On the other hand, the Night Butterflies are masters of attack and destruction. Their skills are extraordinary. Protecting the Butterfly King and defending their territory is the duty of the Night Butterflies. Together, Snow and Night, one is defense, and the other is offense. They complement each other."

  Ku Yue was silent for a moment before replying, "So what?"

  "You've forgotten that the city of Moon is protected by my barrier, haven't you? No outsider can enter without my permission. Yet, you walked in effortlessly," Jin Feiyu said, his smile widening. "Unless your body naturally synchronizes with my barrier. To put it simply, you must be of my kind. You should have known this when you first saw me."

  Ku Yue met his gaze without a flicker of emotion, "I know we're of the same lineage, but I didn't know you were a Snow Butterfly." His tone remained indifferent. "But whether we're the same kind or not is irrelevant to me."

  Jin Feiyu's expression turned thoughtful as he studied Ku Yue. "You seem... incomplete," he mused, shaking his head. "You're different from the Night Butterflies I've encountered before. But I can't quite pce what's off."

  Jin Feiyu watched Ku Yue jump from the tower, his figure melting into the darkness. Without a sound, he followed suit, nding behind him gracefully. “You're an interesting guy,” he remarked, a hint of intrigue in his voice.

  Ku Yue gnced over his shoulder, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Not as interesting as you. You can make an entire city of yaokais revere you, yet your own daughter keeps hiring assassins to kill you."

  Jin Feiyu's smile faded into a bitter one. Ku Yue snorted, turning on his heel and walking away.

  No matter what, sleep was always important.