"What did you say?" Luo Ye leaned closer, asking.

  "Nothing." He quickly changed the topic, pointing to the starry hibiscus. "Hey, they're glowing!"

  At the sound of this, Luo Ye smiled proudly. "See? I told you that once the sun sets, you'd understand the uniqueness of the starry hibiscus. It's my favorite flower in Moon City. Even though I can't see it, my fingertips can feel..." She gently pced her finger on one of the unopened white buds. "Hmm, I can feel hope!"

  Ku Yue looked at the clusters of flowers glowing faintly in the night, each one like a piece of starlight fallen to the earth, waiting to be cradled in someone's palm and pced gently into their heart.

  "All these years, actually, KING hasn't been happy. I′ve known that." Luo Ye slowly withdrew her finger. At that moment, she was no longer the wild girl sitting on the rooftop but a woman who seemed truly mature, with a man living in her heart.

  This sudden shift in demeanor sted only a brief moment. She quickly fshed a mischievous smile and said, "That's why I need to finish his birthday gift as soon as possible. He'll be so happy!"

  "Yeah. A birthday gift always makes people happy. Good luck with it!" Ku Yue patted her head.

  Given his experience, he was probably old enough to be Luo e's elder. Ku Yue let out a bitter ugh, his purple eyes seeming to stir with deep, unsettled memories, lost in the most instinctive recollections of an old story.

  Plunder was a nature, a constant undercurrent in all creatures with ambition and greed, whether yaokais or even human bloodlines, just waiting for the day it would erupt.

  A thousand years ago, under the setting sun, the winding, millennia-old Rainbow River in the Rainbow Realm was covered by a sea of crimson, obscuring its original colors. The towering, evergreen mountains, which had stood for centuries, were now scarred, and the air was thick with the foul stench of smoke. The nd, ravaged by powerful attacks, y in ruins, with destruction spreading everywhere.

  "Run! Run!" The face of her father, drenched in blood, was consumed by the approaching fmes and the roar of the invaders. Her brother, one arm around her sister and the other pulling Ku Yue along, ran wildly through the dense forest. Behind them, the enemy soldiers relentlessly pursued.

  They ran all the way to the lowest point in Rainbow Realm, the Cold Valley. Her brother pointed to the bck, bottomless pool at the valley's floor, gripping Ku Yue's shoulder tightly. "After sunset, the moment you see the water turn white, take your sister and jump in. Hold your breath and sink to the deepest part. There's a secret path there that leads to the human world. Once you're there, you'll be safe! Remember, take good care of your sister!"

  "What about you, brother?" The young Ku Yue grabbed onto his brother, who was about to turn back.

  "I have to go back. The royal city is under siege. Those filthy spider yaokais and their human allies won't spare the king, the queen, or the little princess." Her brother wiped the blood dripping down his forehead and looked at Ku Yue with determination. "Little Yue, remember what I told you! Our Night Butterfly cn was born to fight. Protecting our home is our duty."

  In the depths of the cave, in the pitch-bck darkness where one couldn't see their hand in front of their face, Ku Yue held his sister tightly with one arm while grasping a protruding rock from the dark river with the other. Both were submerged in the icy water. The dark river was far from the cave entrance, and he couldn't see what was happening outside, but the sounds of the fierce battle echoed clearly through every turn of the cave.

  His sister trembled in his arms. She was still a child, and her butterfly wings were not fully grown. Ku Yue held her even tighter.

  The water of the dark river rushed by, and the sounds outside the cave gradually faded. Ku Yue's heart was in turmoil. He didn't know how long he had been waiting, only that the hand gripping the rock had gone numb from the cold. He left his sister by the riverbank and quietly crept to the cave entrance.

  In his mind, his father and brother were the bravest and most skilled warriors of the Night Butterfly cn. Over the years, they, along with the entire Night Butterfly tribe, had protected the Rainbow Realm, which was ruled by the Snow Butterfly King. However, this time, the invaders were stronger than any they had faced before. The spider yaokais, who had been lurking for years in the dark and damp swamps, had accumuted tremendous power. Not only had they mobilized their entire army, but they had also formed an alliance with the scheming sorcerers from the human world. The two factions combined forces, vowing to conquer the Rainbow Realm.

  Although Ku Yue had not yet earned the right to be a true Night Butterfly warrior, like his father and brother, and carry out the responsibilities of the Night Butterfly cn, he still believed, despite knowing that this war was unlike any before, that the Night Butterflies would not be defeated by these vile invaders. But this time, he was wrong.

  The suppressed desires, once given the chance to explode, would inevitably give birth to something far more terrifying than the most vicious of yaokais. The spider yaokais, who were unwilling to live in humble obscurity within their own narrow nds, and the sorcerers from the human world who had long sought to obtain the Snow Butterfly Yaokai Bde and conquer the yaokai realm, dreaming of eventually uniting the human world, had finally found an opportunity to realize their "dreams." And this opportunity was provided to them by none other than the Snow Butterfly King's own younger brother. He had always lived a life of refined elegance in the eyes of everyone, appearing indifferent to worldly affairs, but no one could see the deep-seated desire for the throne within him, the jealousy he felt toward his brother, and the hatred he harbored. Quietly, he had undone the defensive barrier the Snow Butterfly King had set around the Rainbow Realm and had opened a door for the enemies—one that would bring the Butterfly cn to the brink of extinction.

  Of course, all of this was beyond the understanding of the young Ku Yue.

  At that moment, he stood dazed outside the empty cave, staring at the bright bloodstain on the ground, speckled with dark blue glowing spots. It was the phosphorescence from the wings of a night butterfly.

  Everywhere on the ground were the marks of fierce battle: sword cuts, holes burned by venom, and torn fragments of talismans. The air was thick with the pungent scent of blood.

  The blood left behind by his brother stretched in another direction. His brother had definitely been captured. Ku Yue's mind went bnk.

  "Second Brother..." His sister's tear-streaked face peered nervously from the cave. Ku Yue looked up at the sky. The sunset had left only a thin golden line, and occasionally strange bubbles rose from the bck pool.

  "Go back into the cave!" Ku Yue shouted at her.

  "No! I want to find Big Brother, find Dad!" His sister shook her head frantically.

  "Go back!" He rushed over and pushed her toward the cave.

  "No!" The little girl stubbornly clung to the edge of the cave, her nails digging into it until blood started to seep out. "Mom told me before she went to sleep—our family can't be separated!"

  Ku Yue froze. Three years ago, before their mother passed, she had indeed held their hands, both his and his brother's, and said those very words. With a firm resolve, Ku Yue picked his sister up, turned, and dashed toward the direction where the bloodstains led.

  Along the way, the bodies of his fellow cn members were scattered everywhere. The vilge homes were all destroyed, and the horrific scenes were almost unbearable to look at. He chased the trail all the way to the altar near the royal city. The thick, pungent stench of the spider yaokais made it impossible for him to open his eyes. Amid the noise, he stopped, hiding in a dense forest not far from the altar, nervously watching.

  A few humans in strange robes were whispering with the Yaokai Spider King, who had led countless subordinates. Behind them, the towering altar stood, with a massive spiderweb shimmering with an eerie glow. Several people, who were desperately struggling, were caught in the web. From within the web, Ku Yue saw his father and brother. His sister, in his arms, was about to scream, but he quickly covered her mouth to stop her.

  "These Night Butterfly warriors are nothing more than pdogs for the Snow Butterfly King, utterly useless,” the Yaokai Spider King sneered, waving its grotesque limbs. It pointed at the captives caught in the web, then let out a deep, eerie ugh. “But, your talismans are indeed impressive. If it weren't for your help, defeating these mongrels wouldn't have been so easy. Here's what we'll do—I'll give their essence to you, esteemed Taoists, to help you increase your power.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, the Yaokai Spider King spat out a long white thread, which pierced through the spiderweb and coiled around one of the Night Butterfly warriors. With a sharp jerk of its head, it yanked the warrior out of the web and tossed him in front of the humans.

  One of the humans pulled a yellow paper from his sleeve and gently tossed it onto the Night Butterfly warrior. The burly young man let out a muffled grunt of pain, his body shrinking into a small bundle and transforming into the shape of a butterfly. It then quickly turned into a cloud of bck ash. The human flicked his sleeve, and the ash scattered with the wind, leaving behind a small, rounded light orb the size of a thumb. It slowly rose from the ground, and the human opened his mouth, inhaling the orb, which obediently entered his mouth.

  Ku Yue's spine shivered with cold dread. His sister in his arms was struggling desperately, muffled cries escaping her lips. This was Ku Yue's first time encountering true enemies—their strength and brutality far exceeded anything he had ever imagined.