​​Chapter 149: Butterfly Village

​After bidding farewell to the stern village chief, the three of them headed back to the inn.

It was only then that Li Zhi told the other two about the butterfly monster being Li Jianxi. Xu Yan was utterly shocked: "He turned into a monster this time? Can he change back?"

Li Zhi lowered her eyes. "I don’t know."

If it was just a punishment, it should end once they cleared the dungeon, right?

On their way back, they ran into Nie Miao, who was wandering around aimlessly. When she saw Li Zhi, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Her expression immediately shifted, her eyes welling up with tears as she rushed over excitedly: "Sister Zhi-Zhi! You're alive! I knew you’d be okay! I was so worried!"

She reached out to grab Li Zhi’s arm, but Han Wenlin blocked her with an exasperated look. "Where was this worry last night? Putting on an act now? Weren’t you just calling Jiao Shen 'Brother Jiao Shen' this morning? Go find your Brother Jiao Shen!"

Nie Miao flushed with anger and embarrassment, defending herself: "I’ve always been worried about Sister Zhi-Zhi! I just believed in her abilities! I knew she’d overcome any danger!"

Han Wenlin: "...Sure."

Perhaps feeling genuinely guilty, Nie Miao quieted down after that.

Back at the inn, Yin Fu stood behind the counter, tapping away on an abacus. When she saw Li Zhi return, she too looked surprised, stepping out from behind the counter: "Are you alright? Last night scared me to death."

Li Zhi smiled at her. "I’m fine. Do you know what that monster was?"

Yin Fu patted her chest, feigning distress: "I only just found out our village had such creatures. But this village has existed for centuries. Who knows what strange beasts might lurk in the undeveloped mountains?"

Li Zhi found her even more敷衍 than the village chief.

The villagers all seemed to treat the players with a smug, almost dismissive attitude—as if the players were already theirs, with no fear of rebellion.

Li Zhi suddenly asked, "Was the butterfly tattoo on your shoulder blade done at the tattoo parlor too?"

Yin Fu paused, then calmly replied, "No, that one I got outside."

Li Zhi smiled noncommittally.

After last night’s dip in the lake, her clothes and hair reeked of stagnant water. Li Zhi took a shower in her room while Xu Yan fetched her a set of loose, simple clothes from Yin Fu. Returning, Xu Yan heard the water stop and knocked on the bathroom door: "Zhi-Zhi, I’ve left the clothes on the stool outside."

No response.

After last night’s ordeal, Xu Yan was on edge. Worried, she pressed closer: "Zhi-Zhi? Are you okay?"

"I’m here."

Li Zhi’s voice came from inside. The frosted glass door wasn’t completely opaque; Xu Yan could vaguely make out a silhouette. She saw Li Zhi standing with her back to the mirror, head tilted as if studying something intently.

Steam from the shower fogged the glass.

Reflected in the mirror was a pale, lean back. Between her shoulder blades, a faint butterfly mark had appeared—golden wings spread across her scapulae, as if ready to take flight.

Identical to the one on Yin Fu’s back.

After a long moment, Li Zhi chuckled, addressing her reflection: "If you want my body, you’ll have to fight for it."

Her usually calm face twisted into a strange smile.

When she stepped out, Xu Yan stared at her in horror: "Who were you talking to in there?"

Li Zhi crooked a finger. "Come here. Take off your shirt."

Xu Yan: "?"

She hugged herself, trembling.

The dungeon automatically censored private moments like bathing. Dragged into the bathroom, Xu Yan removed her top and saw the distinct butterfly tattoo on her own back—darker than Li Zhi’s, the wings already tinged with gold.

Xu Yan paled.

She remembered last night—how she’d effortlessly recited details about local desserts. At the time, it hadn’t seemed odd. Now, she could feel something foreign stirring inside her.

Li Zhi sighed. "I was wrong earlier. It’s not eggs. It’s parasitism."

"Parasitism?"

Li Zhi nodded. "From the moment we entered Butterfly Valley, we were infected. The process takes seven days. After that, we’ll become completely different people."

Xu Yan shuddered. "Like Yin Fu?"

A tourist who visited Butterfly Village, broke up with her fiancé, and settled down—seemingly just pursuing a different life.

But what if she’d been replaced?

A local who’d lived in Butterfly Village for generations, forced into the mountains every forty-nine days for rituals. She had to stay—could only stay.

"Everyone here has butterfly tattoos—probably to hide the real marks." Li Zhi touched her shoulder blades. "The infected all develop this symbol. Remember the legend the guide told on the bus?"

Xu Yan’s eyes widened. "After drinking the butterfly-dusted spring water, the villagers grew butterfly tattoos!"

Li Zhi combed through her damp hair. "The legend’s half-true. One day, butterflies descended on the village, parasitizing the locals. The infected grew these marks, and the village became theirs."

She recalled the cocoon forest she’d seen in the mountains—the varying sizes hanging from trees.

"They took root here. When a host ages, they seal the body into a cocoon. At first, it’s large—holding an entire corpse. Over time, it shrinks, matures, and hatches. I’d guess the process takes forty-nine days, like Yin Fu’s mountain trips."

Xu Yan’s skin crawled at the imagery. "Then the butterflies emerge, seeking new hosts. They’ve been perpetuating themselves this way for generations."

Li Zhi nodded. "Now, Butterfly Village is a tourist attraction—making it easier to find hosts. They can even handpick desirable candidates, then send 'prize notifications' for all-expenses-paid trips. Many would jump at the chance."

The guide had said the village selected a hundred "winners" annually. Likely, only a fraction were actually targeted—like the ten players this time. The rest served as camouflage.

A hundred visitors, ten staying behind—nothing conspicuous.

That explained the villagers’ smug indifference. In three days, these players would become one of them.

No wonder everyone here was attractive. When choosing hosts, aesthetics mattered.

The clinic witch doctor’s greedy look when Li Zhi mentioned her fever—stronger the reaction, better the host.

Xu Yan rubbed her arms. "So everyone here is a centuries-old monster? No wonder the map was covered in ghostly footprints that night." She frowned. "Then what about Li Jianxi’s half-human, half-butterfly form?"

Li Zhi recalled the chief’s mention of "stragglers." "Failed transformations, perhaps. With so many cocoons, some must go wrong. Those that hatch prematurely become hybrids—needing blood to survive. But frequent deaths would draw outside attention."

Xu Yan nodded. "So the villagers cull failures to protect their secret. What do we do now?"

Li Zhi stood. "Lunch first. After, we’ll regroup and plan. We’re still going into the mountains tonight."

By mealtime, players trickled back to the inn. Seeing Li Zhi in the lobby, each reacted with shock—except Jiao Shen, who smirked: "Knew you wouldn’t die that easily."

After eating, Li Zhi gathered everyone in her room.

Ten people crammed into the double room, realizing with a start—this was Day Four, and no one had died.

Unheard of in past dungeons.

"Of course it’s unheard of." Li Zhi drew the curtains, facing the group. "In a way, we all died on the first day."