Trapped in a nightmare, she had the same dream over and over again for so many years—in the scorching fire, she and her mother were trapped, while just a few steps away, her father stood outside the fmes, coldly watching them. He ignored their outstretched hands, watching as they turned to ashes...

  "Dad! Save me!" She screamed, suddenly sitting up in bed, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

  She got out of bed, barefoot, and ran to the liquor cabinet. Grabbing a bottle of red wine, she poured it straight into her mouth. The rich liquid slid down her throat, and gradually, she began to calm down.

  A thousand years was truly a long time. She was just a snow butterfly, like her father, with no offensive power. The only thing she could do was spend these long years searching for her father's whereabouts and, using whatever power she could borrow, make this man pay for his actions from back then.

  But she always failed. She was too good at hiding her tracks, and every once in a while, she would lose his trail. It would then take her a long time to find him again, wandering with his "daughter" and the useless yaokais he protected with his ridiculous compassion. Furthermore, the assassins she hired failed each time. Either they missed their target or gave up halfway.

  She no longer had the patience to continue wasting time. She needed a way to end everything. Though she eventually found Ku Yue, he could only help her fulfill half of her wish.

  What she wanted to destroy was not just the man who had abandoned her, but the entire Moon City. She knew that it was his blood, sweat, and tears; it was the home he had painstakingly built for those yaokais. Home... Every time she thought of that word, she would sneer. You built a home for those little yaokais, but in the process, you destroyed your real home.

  However, when these so-called scientists appeared, ciming to contribute to the progress of human science, Mo smiled. She knew that the true opportunity she had been waiting for had finally arrived. Humanity’s greed was the most powerful and destructive weapon in history.

  Three days. Only three more days, and everything would be complete. Mo tilted her head back, draining the entire bottle of wine. In the end, she licked her lips but unexpectedly tasted a hint of salt.

  Jin Feiyu sat in the garden behind Butterfly Kisses, focused on his task as he hammered away at a pile of wood. Splinters of wood flew through the air, revealing a half-finished wooden butterfly-shaped rocking chair. Every step of the process was so meticulous it was almost unbelievable. Sunlight filtered through the green leaves above, casting shifting patterns of light around him, creating a peaceful, serene atmosphere. The noise from the bar outside was completely shut out, isoted far away.

  "Once I paint it, this rocking chair will be finished," Jin Feiyu said, putting down his tools and brushing off the wood shavings from the armrest. He gently rocked the chair back and forth, a satisfied smile pying on his lips. "Do you know how long it took me to make this?"

  He looked up and asked Ku Yue, sitting across from him. Ku Yue put down the book in her hand, half-closed her eyes, and shook her head.

  “A thousand years.” Jin Feiyu turned and picked up a bucket of paint, carefully brushing it onto the rocking chair. “I promised Mo that I’d personally make her a butterfly-shaped rocking chair as a gift. But somehow, it took me a thousand years to prepare it. Quite funny, isn′t it?”

  “If you had the chance to choose again, would you still give up your daughter?” Ku Yue asked slowly. “After all, you′re just a healer under the Snow Butterfly King. Is there really a need to be so `great’?”

  “The King and Queen have treated me well,” Jin Feiyu smiled. “Besides, at that time, the King was no longer the lofty Snow Butterfly King, just a father who had lost his chance to protect his daughter.”

  "You saved someone else's daughter, yet your own daughter has spent nearly a thousand years trying to take your life. And here you are, still in the mood to do carpentry."

  Ku Yue tilted her head, speaking with a touch of mockery, "Your mental strength is truly remarkable."

  "I'm very gd she came to kill me." The brush in Jin Feiyu's hand moved delicately. "Knowing she's still alive brings me more comfort than anything. Those despicable invaders probably never expected, even in their final moments, that the King and Queen would unleash the Shatian Absolute Fme Curse sealed beneath the pace, turning the entire Rainbow Realm into a bzing inferno. The wings of the night butterflies were reborn in the fmes, turning all the enemies—and our entire homend—into nothingness within the void." He paused, letting out a sigh.

  Ku Yue chuckled self-mockingly, "I really didn't expect that the figure I saw by the pool at Cold Valley back then was you. Even less did I expect that a thousand years ter, I'd be hired to take you down—the Snow Butterfly healer of status and position within the Butterfly Cn, whom we rarely even saw."

  "Fate is funny that way." Jin Feiyu dipped his brush into a different color of paint and continued his work. "I've refined enough spirit-gathering crystals for everyone, and all aspects of Moon City are steadily stabilizing. Luo Ye has also grown up. For so many years, I avoided direct confrontation with Mo, just to focus on these real ‘tasks.’ Now, everything is finally ready."

  Ku Yue looked at him, carefree as ever, and frowned. "What are you pnning…?"

  "Once my work is done, you can start yours." Jin Feiyu gave him a smile. "You can take my body back to report to your employer." He paused. "But you won't need to dirty your own hands."

  "What do you mean?" He truly couldn't see through this man.

  "I know what Mo has been up to this time. My subordinates know as well—she issued a 'death notice' to Moon City months ago. The day after tomorrow, she pns to bring the city to ruin, leaving no survivors. Heh, in that sense, she's rather upfront about her intentions." Jin Feiyu's expression grew serious. "Barring any unexpected changes, a rge number of humans, armed with their most advanced weapons, will gather outside Moon City the day after tomorrow. Mo will break the barrier I've set, opening a path for them to enter. I need to ensure Moon City's safety."

  "You're pnning..." Ku Yue thought briefly, then blurted out, "To use the Snow Butterfly's Great Illusion Curse?"

  "Quite well-informed, aren't you?" Jin Feiyu ughed nonchantly and said casually, "As long as those people, Mo included, forever see Moon City as nothing but an empty field, a ke, or a ridge, then all problems are solved."

  "Creating such an eternal illusion will cost you your life," Ku Yue reminded him coldly.

  "This exchange is well worth it for me." Jin Feiyu lowered his head, carefully applying color to the rocking chair. "But keep it a secret for me. Outwardly, I′m saying that as long as everyone unites and focuses their thoughts on the barrier, no invader will be able to breach Moon City."

  Ku Yue stood up, and as he left, he said without looking back, "Fine. That way, I can take it easy. The day after tomorrow, I'll be here to collect your body."

  "Thanks." From behind him, a soft song drifted, that familiar tune of Butterfly Kisses...

  "Ku Yue! Ku Yue!" Luo Ye suddenly popped out from the side of the inn, excitedly linking her arm through Ku Yue's. The usual gray haze over her eyes seemed lighter than usual. "I finished KING's birthday gift! Lucky you, I'll let you see it first."