Chapter 16 Jade Butterfly Slave: It shattered butterfly wings, but for some, it shattered...
Dusk had not yet arrived, but the wind was already fierce. The broken petals were swept down by the sword energy, swirling slowly, and before long, they sank into hell along with the people.
The courtyard was filled with the stench of blood. Seven or eight gruesome corpses lay on the ground, their bodies covered in blood and bits of flesh. Every pair of wide-open eyes was filled with resentment and fear.
In this blood-soaked graveyard, three people stood.
The three men showed no signs of panic or fear. Instead, they strolled leisurely through the stinking graveyard. If one ignored the blood-stained swords and spears in their hands, one might mistake them for enjoying a spring outing.
Amidst the somber atmosphere of the courtyard, a butterfly gently fluttered its thin wings and drifted in.
Its wings are completely transparent, as thin as cicada wings, like crystal-clear ice after the first snowfall. The hindwings are scattered with a faint green tinge, like a cool, hazy breeze under the shade of trees in summer. The forewings are adorned with golden wing patterns, which sparkle like a galaxy when the wings are flapped.
The way a butterfly gently flutters its wings is enough to make even the most exquisite jewels bow down in its presence.
However, the butterfly flew lightly, like a moth drawn to a flame, towards the three blood-covered men.
The sound of the butterfly's wings fluttering was so soft it was almost inaudible, but the refined and handsome man next to him turned his head in an instant.
The frail scholar had a clean-cut face, but thick blood dripped from the sword in his hand, for it was a sword meant to sever people's intestines.
The autumn wind and rain bring sorrow to the heart; this man is none other than the "Heartbroken Swordsman" Xiao Qiuyu.
He looked at the butterfly that had flown in at some unknown time, a butterfly so beautiful that it could make anyone stop and stare, and smiled, saying, "This is the first time I've ever seen such a beautiful butterfly."
The short, small man next to him looked up, his lips moving slightly, "It seems the blood flowers in the yard are blooming too well."
This man has a dark, thin face and a full beard. He doesn't look particularly impressive, but if you underestimate him, you will surely lose your life to his spear!
This person was renowned in the martial arts world; he was none other than Dugu Fang, the "Lone Wanderer of a Thousand Miles".
The two people leisurely watched the beautiful scene of butterflies fluttering by in the Blood River for a while.
They would never have witnessed such a scene when they were killing people, because their swords and guns carried a strong murderous aura that would make even ghosts back down.
The only people around them are people, and dead people.
However, this butterfly, beautiful as a dream of glass, seemed oblivious to the danger. It flew against the wind over the blood-soaked mountain and gently landed on a person's shoulder.
If someone could read the frequency of its wingbeats, perhaps they could understand the joy that Jade Butterfly Slave was feeling at that moment.
Unfortunately, the man it stopped at didn't spare it a single glance, only coldly staring at the corpse on the ground. This man was lifeless, and his appearance was even more terrifying than the gruesome corpse on the ground.
More than a human, he resembled a demon crawling out of hell. Half of his left cheek had been sliced off, the wound dried and shrunken, pulling his half-shaved nose and one eye toward him, while his right eye had become a dark, gaping hole, deep and unfathomable, as if falling into it would lead to hell.
A large cross was slashed across his forehead with a blade, and down his shoulders, his hands had been severed at the wrists! In their place were a gleaming iron hook and an iron ball larger than a human head, both now covered in bits of flesh.
Such an ugly and terrifying person could probably scare people to death if they saw him in the middle of the night; he was a demon who could stop children from crying at night! But he was Liu Yuhen, known in the martial arts world as the "Jade-Faced Gentleman".
The handsome young man has become a sinister young man, yet this sinister man now has a delicate, beautiful butterfly, as if it stepped out of a painting, perched on his shoulder. This stark contrast makes him seem even more eerie, making him appear like a rotting, walking corpse.
Yu Die Nu looked at the demonic face of the man so close to her, but she didn't feel scared at all. Instead, her initial joy turned into a deep sense of worry.
She was overjoyed that she had finally found him, but her worry was not because she was afraid he would hurt her, but because she was worried about his bloodied wounds.
Liu Yuhen's injury was not due to a lack of martial arts skills; anyone who has heard of him should know that it was simply because he fought recklessly!
Yu Die Nu was unaware that the person in front of her was someone who was determined to die. Seeing that his old wounds had not healed and new wounds had been added, she gently fluttered her butterfly wings, about to sprinkle some scale powder to heal his wounds.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind arrived from the side, and a slender, long hand reached out to grab it with a sharp gust of wind.
Jiaojiao was startled. She gently flapped her butterfly wings, and the surrounding wind carried her away suddenly, allowing her to dodge the attack.
That movement was light, quick, and seamless, like the wind slipping through the gaps between your hands.
What may seem like a tiny difference can actually be worlds apart.
The wings of Jade Butterfly Slave are extremely rare materials for refining weapons. This is because the number of Jade Butterfly Slaves is extremely small, and they are only born in remote mountain tombs. Their wings tremble very fast, but they are timid by nature and have weak demonic power. Their scales and butterfly hearts are treasures that everyone covets, so much so that as soon as their traces are discovered, they will be hunted.
But now, in this unfamiliar world, Jiaojiao is able to survive precisely because of her wings that allow her to ride the wind. However, the spirits and monsters, who are not yet aware of human nature, do not understand this, and some might even try to take her life if she manages to escape from their grasp.
Xiao Qiuyu was still smiling, but his moves became increasingly fierce. At first, he was just interested in catching and playing with the butterfly, but the butterfly dodged it so easily.
He was confident in his superior lightness skills and was naturally unwilling to fail to catch a butterfly.
Unfortunately, no matter how fast his attacks were, he couldn't touch the butterfly at all.
Dugu Fang laughed, "Even a swordsman who could sever the heart of a butterfly couldn't?"
The moment the words left her lips, she had already floated away from her spot, flying off like an arrow released from a bow, faster and more agile than Xiao Qiuyu!
This person's lightness skill far surpassed Xiao Qiuyu's; he flew without making a sound.
However, the butterfly vanished from his sight in an instant, like a fleeting star, fluttering its wings and hiding behind Liu Yuhen like a timid girl.
Liu Yuhen, of course, wouldn't pay any attention to a butterfly. He just stared blankly at the gradually setting dusk, as if he hadn't noticed anything at all.
Dugu looked at the fluttering butterfly with a gloomy expression.
Xiao Qiuyu smiled politely and said calmly, "It seems to be a rare butterfly from the Western Regions."
After all, his and Dugu Fang's martial arts skills were already top-notch, yet they couldn't catch a butterfly. Doesn't that mean it was a peculiar butterfly?
Strange things always attract suspicion, covetousness, and killing. Especially in the martial arts world, anything you don't understand can take your life at any moment.
No cold-blooded江湖客 (jianghu ke) would allow such a thing to remain by their side; it would undoubtedly be a scourge.
It's either take complete control of it or destroy it completely.
Liu Yuhen finally turned to the side and looked coldly at the fragile, beautiful butterfly.
No one could remain calm and tremble when faced with such terrifying, ugly, and cold eyes.
However, instead of retreating, the butterfly moved closer to him, slowly swirling until it hovered in front of him, gently fluttering its wings until it was level with his gaze. It was like a young girl trying to stand on tiptoe to meet the eyes of her beloved. Unfortunately, this demon only had one eye left, and there was no emotion in its eye. It was as black as a swamp, about to drag it down with it.
The strange butterfly hovered in front of Liu Yuhen without flinching or dodging. Its glass-like, trembling wings obscured Liu Yuhen's black hole-like right eye, as if a beautiful butterfly, facing death, had flown out of that bottomless black hole.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Qiuyu was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "It seems that Brother Liu is quite fond of this butterfly."
Liu Yuhen's face, which had been expressionless, suddenly broke into a mocking smile. When he smiled, his entire face seemed to twitch, and withered flesh lines crawled across his face.
He didn't speak, but the silver hook on his right wrist appeared with lightning speed where the butterfly had been hovering. The cold silver hook flashed with a bloodthirsty iron light. Instead of spinning away as before, the butterfly flapped its wings forward and gently landed between his eyebrows, like a snowflake falling in early winter.
Liu Yuhen felt a slight tremor between his brows. He was stunned for only a second, and then suddenly sneered. The iron ball on his left wrist brought a gust of wind and slammed mercilessly toward his face. If this hit, not only would this delicate butterfly be crushed, but his own head would also be smashed!
Yu Die Nu trembled as if startled, and flew far away like a fallen leaf blown mercilessly by the autumn wind, her body swaying unsteadily in mid-air, frightened by his fierce and reckless demeanor.
Once the butterfly had flown far away from him, Liu Yuhen resumed his expressionless demeanor, but his eyes still held contempt for the butterfly and for his own life as he coldly watched it.
Just as Liu Yuhen raised the iron hook on his right wrist, ready to finish off the enemy, he froze as if he had seen something.
His one eye suddenly dimmed, and he abruptly turned and jumped out of the courtyard.
Xiao Qiuyu and Dugu Fangyi exchanged glances and then noticed that the fragile yet beautiful butterfly, like a glass illusion, was missing a piece of its hind wing. The tattered wing was translucent white like a piece of ice, and although it wasn't very noticeable, it was still incomplete and broken, and could not be restored.
Both of them stopped and gave up hunting the butterfly.
Xiao Qiuyu said with a bitter smile, "It shatters the butterfly's wings, but for some, it shatters their hearts."
Dugu Fang couldn't help but sigh.
Neither of them paid any more attention to the strange butterfly and flew away one after the other.
Only the abandoned jade butterfly slave remained, its wings trembling, standing there bewildered.
After a long while, it finally stumbled and followed, embarking on a long migration, all because of the gratitude of a spirit with weak demonic power who had not yet fully transformed.
A note from the author:
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1: Referencing some of the original novel's descriptions of Liu's appearance
With a deafening roar, a new fan makes a dazzling debut!
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