Chapter 78: The Return of the Nether Butterfly

Nuoluo unexpectedly caught sight of a figure who by all rights should have been impossible to find. Had he not already returned to the Underworld? Why was he here? The shadow outside the window flickered and vanished. When Nuoluo looked again in that direction, there was no one at all. Had her eyes deceived her?

Staring into her cup of water, Nuoluo listened to the conversations wafting around the inn.

"Have you heard? There's been a dark figure appearing behind the mountain lately. Word is, the God of Death has descended."

"I've heard that too. So many have died recently. Restless spirits often roam at night, and now the God of Death has shown up—could this be a sign of yet another disaster?"

"Yes, just when we've finally managed to survive, now this... sigh..."

"The flames in the temple of the Earth Goddess flicker on and off as well. If they go out again, what will we do?"

"They say the Earth Goddess brought back the Sacred Fire, and that's what saved us last time. Surely the goddess will find a way to deal with the God of Death, don't you think?"

"That's not so certain. Have you heard? Not a single living soul remains in Fengdu City. It's said the undead have taken over the whole place and want to turn everyone into spirits. Who knows—maybe Bailei City is next. The world is so vast, why would the goddess care about us? We can only hope for the best."

"Why would the God of Death fixate on our little place?"

"Shh, keep your voice down, or the God of Death might come for your soul tonight."

The guests in the inn chattered nervously, glancing around as if at any moment the God of Death might materialize before them. As night fell, Bailei Inn grew quiet, and all the guests retired to their rooms. For the first time, Nuoluo tried lying on a bed as humans did, closing her eyes, but the talk she had just heard echoed incessantly in her mind.

Shaoguang sat at the bedside, seemingly lost in thought. Niaoniao too was silent, her thoughts a mystery.

The inn was peaceful, the candlelight dim. Suddenly, Nuoluo sat up; something was not right. Was it truly the God of Death? Would the God of Death, whom she had never had the chance to meet, really come to Bailei City? What was his purpose?

At that thought, a tremor ran through her palm—the sensation reminded her of the Underworld Butterfly. But the butterfly had returned to the Underworld; how could she feel its fluttering now?

She recalled the fleeting figure she had glimpsed before sunset. She had to go to the back of the mountain and see for herself.

"Shaoguang, take Niaoniao to the temple now. Guard the temple's light. Until dawn, unless I summon you, do not leave the temple for any reason."

"Where are you going? Let me come with you!"

"Niaoniao wants to go too!"

"Shaoguang, I fear someone means harm to the temple. Think about it—how did the news from Fengdu spread to Bailei City so quickly? And these rumors about the God of Death... If people believe them and attack the temple, any bloodshed there could make Bailei into a second Fengdu—a deserted city, and one like Fengdu is more than enough."

"If the temple's light remains safe and the temple unharmed, return to the inn at dawn and let us pretend nothing happened, so we can leave this place as soon as possible. If anything goes amiss, protect the temple's light at all costs. I will find a way to reach you."

Nuoluo extinguished the candle, plunging the room into darkness. Their forms vanished simultaneously, leaving no trace, and Bailei Inn was once more swallowed by night.

The night deepened. People drifted into dreams. The entire city of Bailei was wrapped in the darkness, an eerie atmosphere threading through the silence.

Though Bailei was called a "city," it was truly a small town, nestled tightly against the mountains. Its area was limited, yet the Bailei range behind it stretched all the way to the distant east, making the town a vital passage to the East. Fengdu City, conversely, lay in the west, serving as the gateway in that direction—one at each end of the earth.

What Nuoluo could not understand was how news from Fengdu traveled so swiftly. Who had spread it? She could not fathom who it might be.

Under the night sky, Bailei was utterly still, not a soul in sight. Suddenly, a streak of light flashed by. Anyone who saw it would have doubted their own eyes.

Nuoluo now stood at the entrance to the Bailei Mountains. A single step forward, and she would be within their depths. She sensed something unique about this mountain—a mysterious, surging power lurking within.

She walked quietly, her pace slow. If the rumors were true, then even without an appearance from the God of Death, she was certain to encounter something unusual.

Beneath the hazy moon, the winding, rugged path seemed endless, snaking into the distance. Occasionally, the mournful cries of unknown birds echoed through the valleys.

Nuoluo walked for a long time and was nearing the mountainside, yet she still found nothing unusual.

She looked up toward the summit shrouded in night. Was everything hidden at the very top?

Reaching the peak, Nuoluo suddenly found herself engulfed in mist. The path ahead abruptly vanished, and she was surrounded on all sides by emptiness, unable to discern her direction. It was as though she had returned to the Underworld Palace’s subterranean realm—caught in an illusion, where a single misstep could transport her to another world.

Yet Nuoluo did not panic. Calmly, she sought her bearings—there was something strange here. This was the human world, after all—her world.

The silence was suddenly broken by a faint sound of breathing, as if something had awakened. The faintness of it was oddly familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

After awakening, the unknown creature let out a weak sound, inching closer to Nuoluo.

She tried to determine the direction it came from, gathering spiritual power at her fingertips.

It drew ever nearer, and the more it approached, the more Nuoluo sensed its presence was familiar. Had they met before?

Suddenly, it sped up, darting toward her palm. Instinctively, Nuoluo swept her fingers, sending a surge of power through its body. It let out a sharp cry, clinging desperately to her hand.

"Ah, it really is the Underworld Butterfly." The butterfly had returned to her palm.

The butterfly fluttered incessantly in her grasp, as if accusing Nuoluo of wrongdoing. She reached out to gently stroke its wings, but it dodged her touch, still angry at her earlier attack for not recognizing it.

Nuoluo felt a touch of helplessness herself. She had never expected the butterfly to appear here. Why had it come? Was it alone, or with someone else?

The fog thickened, darkness closing in. Gradually, the butterfly's anger abated, and its wings brushed softly against her palm, expressing its delight at seeing her again.

Now restored to its usual self, it danced before Nuoluo, as if pointing the way. She followed it deeper into the shadowed mountain path.

What could lie ahead to concern the Underworld Butterfly so?

The mist grew denser, forcing the butterfly to settle once more in her palm, or else she would have lost sight of its path.

Everything here was strange. Nuoluo could not recall another place in the human world where such dense fog reigned. Had she overlooked some change in the Bailei Mountains, or had something new occurred since the snows had melted?

She followed the butterfly for a long way. Suddenly, from up ahead, the roar of a wild beast echoed out, thick with the stench of blood.

The creature seemed to rage against its impending death, its howls of fury nearly piercing Nuoluo's eardrums.

She could not imagine what it was. Since the earth's revival, she had encountered many new beings—some beasts she herself had unsealed, others who had survived death's shadow to become even stronger.

These new things constantly encroached on mankind's shrinking spaces. The creature now was likely the most formidable of them all.

But who possessed such strength as to subdue it?

The butterfly excitedly pointed the way. Nuoluo drew closer to the sound, marveling as the mist seemed to part before some invisible force, the road ahead becoming clearer. At last, she could make out her direction.

There, in the path ahead, a massive beast collapsed, still alive but groaning in its death throes.

Beside it stood a man in black. The sight of his back was familiar—was this not the fleeting figure she had glimpsed at the inn?

His form, tall and imposing amid the flickering mist, radiated a kingly aura. Nuoluo felt an oppressive force pressing upon her.

The closer she drew, the faster her heart raced, as if no longer under her own control. She knew who he was. Had he not already returned to the Underworld? Why had he come back in secret? Then the rumors of the God of Death must refer to him—so what was his purpose in Bailei City?

The Underworld Butterfly flew to him, alighting joyfully on his shoulder, then turned as if beckoning Nuoluo forward.

The man in black turned—it was indeed His Majesty, the Lord of the Underworld.

He regarded Nuoluo calmly. Yet in the brief moment their eyes met, there flashed in his gaze a complex emotion words could scarcely capture, as though he had been waiting for her all along, as though he had come here for the sole purpose of seeing her.

But that look was gone in an instant. Nuoluo caught it, but could not truly grasp his feelings.

They stood thus, facing each other, bearing witness to yet another unexpected encounter, unspoken yet fated.