Chapter 157: Butterfly Village
The young woman in the distance watched this scene with disbelief. She even glanced suspiciously at the bone flute in her hand before changing the tune—sharper and more piercing than before.
Li Jianxi's expression twisted in pain. His originally blue eyes clouded with a bloody haze, and crimson blood seeped from the corners of his lips. He suddenly shoved Li Zhi away, flapping his wings as if trying to flee the area.
But he only made it halfway into the air before the ear-splitting flute music sent him crashing back down.
The bone flutes, specially crafted by the villagers, were designed to control their mutated kin. Over generations of parasitism, the flutes' influence had weakened—which was how Li Jianxi had managed to evade capture time and again.
The village priestess had since developed a new melody. As the current high priestess of Butterfly Village, her new composition proved devastatingly effective—first subduing the escaped Yin Fu, and now Li Jianxi.
Li Jianxi hit the ground hard, sending dried leaves flying. When he lifted his head again, Li Zhi saw nothing but mindless frenzy in those blood-red eyes.
She stared at him, her gaze dark, slowly drawing the short blade at her waist and shifting into a defensive stance.
Li Jianxi's wings flared as he lunged at her with bestial ferocity.
Li Zhi sidestepped, avoiding his vulnerable abdomen to strike at his shimmering blue-gold wings. In the blink of an eye, they'd exchanged several blows.
Jiao Shen, glancing back, barked, "Li Zhi! Don't hold back! Aim for the abdomen! Hurry!"
The villagers were swarming in relentless waves. Any delay would only exhaust them further.
Li Zhi tightened her grip on the knife. That split-second hesitation cost her—Li Jianxi tackled her to the ground. Baring his fangs, he went for her pale throat.
She barely managed to block with her forearm, her knife still unwilling to pierce his belly.
Locked in the stalemate, her body heat intensified her scent. Li Jianxi's savage expression faltered. With a pained gasp, he shoved away from her.
"Zhi-Zhi..."
The hoarse, agonized whisper tore from his throat. His face contorted as he suddenly raised a barbed forelimb—and plunged it into his own abdomen. With one brutal motion, he gutted himself.
Blood sprayed. Li Zhi's pupils constricted as she caught his collapsing form.
Li Jianxi buried his face against her warm neck, murmuring her name like a prayer.
Li Zhi's face drained of color.
The blood soaked through her clothes, sticky against her skin. A fury unlike anything she'd ever known ignited in her eyes. Gently laying him down, she snatched up her blade and charged into the fray.
This time, no number of attackers could stop her.
The high priestess stumbled backward, still blowing her flute—until Li Zhi was upon her. Abandoning the instrument, she turned to flee. Li Zhi yanked her back by the collar and drove the knife into her carotid without hesitation.
Blood arced through the air, splattering Li Zhi's impassive face. The young woman's eyes bulged with lingering terror as she clutched her throat and collapsed. A final bloody gurgle, then stillness.
Li Zhi turned to the cowering village chief, shielded by his men. Wiping her blade on her sleeve, she advanced.
"Let's talk this out!" the chief begged. "Killing me won't—" His plea cut off as Li Zhi kicked aside his human shields and closed in.
With a snarl, the chief shoved a villager at her as a distraction while grabbing an axe from behind his back.
Their clash never came.
A villager came sprinting from the distance, screaming, "The cocoon grove is on fire!"
At those words, the battling villagers immediately abandoned the players, scrambling backward. The chief's voice cracked with panic: "I posted guards! How did this happen?!"
The messenger trembled. "I—I don't know—"
If the cocoon grove burned entirely, they'd all become monsters!
The retreat was instantaneous—every villager racing to salvage what they could.
Under Jiao Shen and Xu Yan's combined assault, Yin Fu's monstrous form had sustained heavy injuries and fled. But both players were badly wounded themselves. As the villagers dispersed, they finally collapsed to their knees.
Li Zhi didn't pursue. She rushed back to Li Jianxi's side, pulling a hemostatic spray from her inventory to treat his self-inflicted wound.
The bleeding stopped, but the gash was deep—Li Jianxi hadn't held back, the wound so severe his organs were visible. He lay weakly on the ground, the vibrant hues of his face and wings faded like wilting flowers.
Li Zhi carefully wiped the blood from him with her sleeve. "Do you have healing items in your inventory?"
Li Jianxi stared blankly for a long moment. Trapped in this monstrous body, his mind often slipped into feral instincts. Beyond recognizing Li Zhi, he barely retained human cognition. Finally, he rasped, "Can't...access them."
Li Zhi searched his face. "You'll be okay, right?"
He smiled faintly, earnest. "Right."
Kneeling beside him, she sighed softly—then abruptly pulled him into an embrace.
Li Jianxi went rigid, only the very tips of his wings fluttering faintly.
Li Zhi's whisper brushed his ear: "Li Jianxi, I'll ask one more time." Her lips nearly grazed his earlobe. "Was that life-saving breath...or a kiss?"
He froze.
After an eternity, he murmured, "...Life-saving."
Li Zhi released him.
Li Jianxi lowered his eyes, hiding the turmoil within.
Then she leaned down and kissed him.
His eyes flew wide, lashes brushing her lids as they stared at each other—until he saw the laughter in her gaze.
"That," she said, smiling, "was a kiss."
She didn't give him time to process, standing immediately to address the others. But as she turned, his hand shot out, yanking her wrist. The next instant, she was airborne in his arms.
Li Zhi sighed in amused exasperation. "Wait—I need to discuss our next steps with them—"
Li Jianxi ignored her, likely not even processing her words. He carried her to last night's stargazing cliff, pressing her onto the flat boulder.
His wings folded around them, blotting out the stars as he caged her beneath him—and claimed her lips in a searing kiss.
Mountain winds howled, swirling autumn leaves around them.
Li Zhi opened her eyes to see the wings enveloping them had regained their brilliant blue-gold sheen, shimmering under the starlight.
Li Jianxi, sensing her gaze, finally broke the kiss—staring down at her with reverent awe.
Li Zhi sighed.
He tensed, voice rougher than before: "You—"
Are you regretting it?
She suddenly looped her arms around his neck, expression rueful. "Li Jianxi, my brother is going to murder you."
He laughed, nuzzling her nose. "Not scared." A beat. "I can take him."
Somewhere beyond the screen, in a military base, uniformed Li Feng crushed a water glass in his fist. The live chat exploded in celebratory fireworks—Li Feng's suffering was the internet's delight.
By the time Li Jianxi carried Li Zhi back, the others had built a fire in the mountain crevice, tending their wounds.
No fatalities, though everyone looked thoroughly battered. Glances flicked to Li Zhi's slightly swollen lips, but with Li Jianxi hovering, no one dared comment.
Jiao Shen spoke first: "They'll return. We should move."
"The cocoon grove's destruction will make them desperate," Li Zhi agreed. "The mountains aren't safe anymore. We'll go back—hide in Yin Fu's inn."
Shocked silence.
"Isn't that too dangerous?"
Xu Yan backed Li Zhi: "The safest place is where they least expect us. They'll have minimal forces left in the village—if discovered, we break through and return to guerrilla tactics in the mountains."
With no better options, Jiao Shen reluctantly agreed. Under cover of lingering darkness, while the villagers scrambled to salvage their cocoons, the group packed and began their descent.
Li Zhi deliberately avoided the cocoon grove path, choosing an alternate route. As predicted, they encountered no villagers—likely all mobilized for firefighting and cocoon triage.
The mountain entrance stood deserted.
Hovering midair, Li Jianxi murmured, "Zhi-Zhi, I should return to the mountains."
Li Zhi knew his intent—to act as diversion. She gripped his hand. "No. You're coming with me."
"But—"
"You're injured," she said firmly. Moreover, as a half-human monster aiding players, he'd already violated system rules. She feared further penalties in future dungeons.
Meeting her resolute gaze, he finally nodded. "Okay."
The group reached Yin Fu's inn without incident. During their stay, Li Zhi had noted a perpetually unlatched ventilation window beside the side entrance. They slipped in unseen, returning to her former room.
If Nie Miao's trio had escaped, the room should be empty.
After Yin Fu fled with Le Yan's corpse, Li Zhi had pocketed the spare keycard Le Yan dropped—now proving unexpectedly useful.
The door clicked open. The instant they stepped inside, a blur of motion lunged at them.
Li Zhi dodged, catching the swinging baton mid-air. In the faint glow of Li Jianxi's wings, both parties froze in recognition.
"Zhi-jie?!" came the hushed, elated whisper. "You came back too?!"