Chapter 51 The Butterfly Fairy Ruonv, beautiful throughout her life…
In the abandoned blacksmith shop in the south of the city, sunlight stirred up dust, and a young man silently gazed at the white bones scattered on the ground.
The black butterfly demon in the corner struggled to sit up. The man's jade-like face was covered in dust, and he coughed up blood repeatedly as his black clothes slid to the ground. His smooth black hair was also messy and he looked very unattractive. However, his features were so exquisite and beautiful that even in this situation, he had a strange and pitiful beauty.
Qingyu suddenly frowned and looked at Liu Ruonv, "You didn't kill these people."
Liu Ruonv tilted her head and scoffed, "Is it any of your business?"
"Just a mortal, once dead, so be it. Why bother who killed him?"
"Little girl, have you been living among humans for too long and forgotten your identity?"
He chuckled softly, tears welling in his eyes, looking utterly disdainful of Qingyu.
Qingyu didn't speak. The girl walked closer to him, then half-squatted down and calmly looked him in the eye.
“I am injured. You must have initially wanted to kill me and use my demon spirit to improve your cultivation. Even if I have a backup plan, you are not someone who is afraid of death. Even in the end, you can still escape with broken wings.”
“But you didn’t. You may have fallen into my trap, but you deliberately gave up the struggle.”
Why?
Qingyu and Liu Ruonv stared at each other. Sunlight streamed into the cramped room, where bones were scattered everywhere.
They were both powerful demons, the most elite fighting force of the demon race. Qingyu couldn't possibly think that she and Qin Tianshu had easily knocked Liu Ruonv unconscious, and Liu Ruonv, who had lived for a hundred years, couldn't possibly give up the struggle for no reason.
"Because of the formation."
The girl's light yet resolute voice came through, and Liu Ruonv's pupils widened for a moment. Then the man closed his eyes, curled his lips, and remained silent.
Qingyu stood up, and the girl looked at the phantom of the black and white butterfly array on the iron stove. Jasmine petals were embedded between her chest and abdomen—that was where the butterfly's heart was.
At the beginning in the locust grove, Liu Ruonv was not just making things up; she wanted to coax Qingyu into relaxing so that she could take the initiative and kill her with one blow. However, Qingyu was annoyed by his so-called "politeness" and attacked directly. Originally, there was nothing wrong with that, since a fight was going to happen anyway. But the problem was that Qingyu used the fallen leaves to create an array, and she, a demon, was using an array.
Because of the formation, Liu Ruonv changed her mind halfway through, saying she had something to discuss with her.
In the cramped and somewhat stuffy room, Liu Ruonv looked up and saw him gazing at Qingyu, his deep eyes as calm as a still pool.
"What is your name, and where do you come from?"
Qingyu: "Qishan, Yizhou, Qingyu."
"Qishan?"
Liu Ruonv smiled. At this moment, his expression was strangely peaceful, and the calmness in his words was not like the contemptuous laughter he had in the locust grove, but rather a kind of eerie profundity.
"Qishan..."
He read it aloud again, muttering the place name softly.
It seems he hasn't been back to Yizhou for sixty or seventy years, which is a pity.
Qingyu frowned slightly, not quite understanding what the black butterfly demon wanted to do. Wen Chuan and Qin Tianshu observed the skeletons around them.
These bones did indeed have a strange floral fragrance. If Lin Fanxiang were here, that would be great. As a medical cultivator, she would be more perceptive in judging human bones and spiritual energy.
Before they could do anything else, Liu Ruonv's soft, smiling voice came from behind them.
"Little girl, I'll give you the demon spirit in exchange for killing someone for me, how about it?"
The spirit of a hundred-year-old demon is an absolute tonic for the demon race.
Qingyu looked down at him, her voice soft, yet utterly ruthless, "I can still obtain your demon spirit by killing you now, so why should I help you kill someone?"
Liu Ruonv curled her lips into a smile, revealing a calm yet slightly manic grin. "You will help me—your friends are in that person's hands right now."
Well, Zhang Xuan, son of Zhang Xiang of Shengjing, Princess Jinning, and Lin Fanxiang, daughter of the Imperial Preceptor, are all at the Governor's Mansion of Jizhou at this moment.
Upon hearing this, Qin Tianshu murmured, "Two kinds of flower fragrance in Jizhou City... two butterfly demons... the governor, as the head of a prefecture, usually has dealings with the Demon Suppression Pavilion..."
Qingyu stepped forward instantly, staring at Liu Ruonv, "Who exactly is the person you're talking about?"
Liu Ruonv lowered her brows and smiled, saying to them word by word, "The Governor of Ji Province, Chen Huai."
...
Contrary to Liu Ruonv's expectations of the three boys being terrified, Qing Yu sighed and then crossed her arms, looking at Qin Tianshu, "I told you, the governor is definitely up to something."
Qin Tianshu frowned, his tone quite disdainful, "The head of a prefecture has problems, even colluding with the demon race. What kind of work is this Jizhou Demon Suppression Pavilion branch doing!"
He trusted the Demon Suppression Pavilion so much, reporting any demonic disturbances he encountered during his years of travels to the Demon Suppression Pavilion!
Wen Chuan smiled and shook his head, "Who knows? We don't know how Zhang Xuan is doing yet."
"You... knew about the governor's mansion all along..."
Liu Ruonv looked at them with some surprise and doubt, clearly still somewhat unaware of the situation.
Wen Chuan looked at him, and the boy said, "Gao Da came to find you before he died in the second year of high school. Afterwards, he went to the inn to try to damage our carriage, intending for us to come to you with the carriage the next day."
"Human spiritual energy is stored in the meridians. The time when a person's spiritual energy is strongest is when they are close to adulthood, that is, when they are young."
“We are newcomers to Jizhou, and we are all under twenty years old, so our age and status are quite suitable.”
Qin Tianshu also sighed, "This place is littered with white bones. They must be the mortals you have killed or absorbed spiritual energy from over the past year. Even if there are young cultivators, with you here, there is no need to be afraid."
"Gao Da and Gao Er were just doing their jobs. They were all servants of the Governor's Mansion of Ji Province. If you didn't kill them, then their real masters in the Governor's Mansion wanted to kill them."
Qingyu was still holding chestnuts in her hand, and the girl naturally ate another one. "After guessing for so long, it really is related to the governor."
Zhang Xuan and Lin Fanxiang discussed the matter with Wen Chuan before going, and in the end, Zhang Xuan and Lin Fanxiang still decided to go.
Lin Fanxiang still had the bouquet of peonies that Qingyu had given her before. She was also sensitive to spiritual energy. Zhang Xuan's injuries had long since healed. His fever was just a mental illness. In fact, after several battles and daily cultivation, he was already a sword cultivator above the Heavenly level. If they were still afraid of this and that, what kind of cultivators would they be?
Qingyu looked at Liu Ruonv, the girl gently tracing the clues, her voice filled with doubt.
"With your great demon cultivation, you could be living a carefree life anywhere else, but you come to the human realm to kill people. You've remained youthful for a hundred years, and a human array master has personally inscribed a butterfly array for you. For the past year, you've been cooperating with the governor's mansion to kill people and absorb the meager spiritual energy of mortals. Now you want me to help you kill the governor—so many illogical things have come together. Senior Butterfly, your story is quite complicated."
Liu Ruonv: "..."
Having lived for over a hundred years, who doesn't have a story to tell?
Qingyu tossed the chestnuts in her arms to Wenchuan, clapped her hands, and casually dusted off her dress.
"Tell me, is that Prefect Chen in the Prefect's Mansion a human or a demon?"
Whether it's a human or a demon, she'd kill it and take its spirit.
Liu Ruonv closed her eyes, somewhat helpless.
"Yes, they are."
Qingyu was taken aback. She looked at Liu Ruonv and asked, "What do you mean...?"
Qin Tianshu pondered for a moment, then said, "Half-human, half-demon?"
Liu Ruonv chuckled softly upon hearing this. He looked up at Qingyu, the afternoon sunlight shining on his profile, highlighting his sculpted features and translucent skin, giving him a beautiful yet eerie appearance.
"The person in the governor's mansion is not Chen Huai; he has his own name."
"His name is Liu Nian."
"I have enough spirits already, little girl, don't think about him."
Qingyu: "Children born from the union of humans and demons usually inherit the bloodline of either parent randomly. They are either human or demon, so where would a half-human, half-demon come from?"
Qin Tianshu frowned and retorted to Qingyu, "Perhaps there are special circumstances. Unofficial histories record that the founding emperor of the Jin Dynasty was half-human and half-demon, the chosen one of destiny."
The Jin Dynasty was a golden age that truly unified the nine provinces, and Emperor Jin was a legendary figure. Indeed, many historical records state that he had a special status, and the title of "Son of Heaven" originated from him.
Wen Chuan casually replied, "You said it yourself, he's special. How many people like the Emperor of Jin can there be in a thousand years of history?"
A thousand years ago, the land was divided and engulfed in war. Yet, the Emperor of Jin, a mere mortal, unified the world, subjugating both humans and demons. What was particularly remarkable was that this Emperor of Jin had only one Empress, with whom he shared a deep and abiding love, growing old together—a story that has earned the admiration of countless people.
The ruler of the Nine Provinces, a legendary emperor, whose destiny was aligned with all, and none dared to defy him.
Qingyu: "Are there really half-human, half-demon beings? What do they look like? I've never heard of them when I was a child."
She really didn't know that the demon race didn't teach human history, and Sister Lotus hadn't mentioned it either.
Qin Tianshu: "I told you to read more books and stop thinking about fighting all the time."
Wen Chuan: "Whether or not to read books is a matter of personal preference, and the demon race doesn't care about such things."
...
As Liu Ruonv watched them start their inexplicable discussion, the butterfly demon suddenly sensed a burst of vitality and energy emanating from them.
They are still young, and they will encounter many more people and things in the future.
He's not doing well.
He seemed a little sleepy.
"Hey hey—"
Liu Ruonv interrupted them, and the Black Butterfly Demon looked at Qing Yu, who smiled.
"You come from Qishan. If possible, when you go home in the future, please visit the swallowtail butterfly group in the flower sea of Fandi in Qishan and let them know."
"Just say that the great demon Ruonv died outside, and tell the juniors to erect a flower monument for me, with jasmine flowers from that formation in the middle."
"I haven't been back for too long; there might not be any demons there who still remember me."
"Keep an eye on things for me..."
Black Butterfly's voice grew weaker and weaker, and finally he slowly closed his eyes.
"The only things my wife left me were that jasmine flower and Liu Nian..."
"When you kill Liu Nian, go easy on him..."
Qingyu watched silently as the Black Butterfly Demon closed her eyes. The girl formed hand seals, and a black array appeared in front of her hands, with ancient and complex patterns scattered within it.
Liu Ruonv closed her eyes peacefully, as if the handsome young man had only taken a short nap.
A century has passed, filled with noise and commotion, but only when you were here was there joy.
Strangely, as the Black Butterfly Demon's spirit gradually transformed into visible wind and entered Qingyu's black array, the black and white butterfly array beside it began to gradually dissipate.
The tiny jasmine flower at the butterfly's heart seemed to lose its support; it floated down lightly.
Wen Chuan caught the withered petal, and to the boys' surprise—
Liu Ruonv aged quickly.
His hair was white and withered, his skin aged and wrinkled like ravines—yet his expression remained serene.
Qingyu was somewhat incredulous, and she rarely sighed softly, "This butterfly formation is connected to the butterfly demon's spirit..."
"Its true purpose is not to create an illusion of this room..."
"It's a butterfly fairy, with an eternally youthful face..."
...
Many years ago, there was a narcissistic and beautiful butterfly fairy named Ruonv, and a volatile but kind-hearted array cultivator named Liu Yu.
Liu Yu called him Ruo Piao Liang, while Ruo Nu called her Liu Shan Ren.
They fought a lot, they fell in love, and they were very happy.
Liu Yu was injured in an accident.
Knowing she was leaving, she gave her lover a formation she had personally crafted before departing.
That formation seemed to do everything—illusion, defense, even attack—but it was actually pretty useless.
When you meet a skilled person, the problem is solved instantly.
Because those are not the most important things in a formation.
He loves his appearance so much, he must be sad to see himself getting old.
She wanted him to be beautiful forever.
-----------------------
The author's note: Ruonv is his given name, and Liu is his wife's surname.
Liu Ruonv is probably a very beautiful and somewhat narcissistic monster who is actually a bit unlikable.
The reason he started chatting with Qingyu was because he was used to belittling others in his tone and attitude.
They're quite similar; both are array cultivators, and both get beaten up at the slightest disagreement. He was actually a little helpless and happy.
Unfortunately, Pretty had been beaten by his wife before, and they fell in love. However, the kind man died young and never had a chance to tell him about his problem. As a result, Pretty was beaten by his younger relatives even when he was old.
How about it?
He's dead.
So the good thing is that beauty has come to accompany the kind person.
...
(Just a quick note, Ruonv is just a minor character in this story [milk tea])
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