Fallen Leaves Dance in the Wind

The silence between Lady Luo and Li Tian did nothing to disturb the Dark Butterfly, whose diminutive form traced dazzling curves through the air. The Dark Butterfly required no deep contemplation; it simply delighted in the carefree joy of the moment. Now was not the time for it to worry.

Lady Luo sometimes wished she could become a carefree Dark Butterfly, able to escape all responsibility and roam freely in her own world. Yet hope remained only hope; she had neither the opportunity nor the right.

The Dark Butterfly, carrying a fallen leaf, fluttered before Lady Luo. She was puzzled by its intentions, but Li Tian appeared somewhat surprised—he already understood what the Dark Butterfly desired.

The leaf hovered before Lady Luo, suspended in midair, while the Dark Butterfly danced merrily around it. With each rotation, Lady Luo noticed the leaf change visibly. Each circuit brought a new transformation, and at last, the leaf took on the form of a Dark Butterfly. Although it lacked the spark of life, its appearance was indistinguishable from the real creature.

Lady Luo marveled at this unexpected ability. She reached out and placed the leaf-turned-Butterfly in her palm, her fingertips gently brushing it, feeling a faint tremor—a trace of the Dark Butterfly’s vitality lingered on the leaf.

The real Dark Butterfly flew to Li Tian, as if conversing with him.

Lady Luo could not guess the Dark Butterfly’s true intentions this time; she could only watch Li Tian.

He seemed to disagree with the Butterfly’s suggestion, for Lady Luo saw him shake his head. The Dark Butterfly then returned to her.

“What is it saying?” she asked.

“It cannot imbue the leaf-turned-Butterfly with life by its own strength. It needs us to grant it power,” Li Tian replied.

His explanation piqued Lady Luo’s curiosity. She wondered what would happen if she infused her power into the leaf.

The Dark Butterfly, seeing Li Tian disregard it, fluttered again to Lady Luo. She nodded in agreement.

Excited, the Dark Butterfly spun around, and the leaf rose once more into the air.

Now, two Dark Butterflies hovered before her—one alive, the other on the verge of a profound transformation.

Lady Luo pondered; the powers of ice and fire were ill-suited. This lifeless Butterfly needed the force of “life.” She gathered the vitality unique to the lineage of the Earth Deity at her fingertip. As she injected this strength into the leaf, it stirred as if rousing from a deep slumber, slowly changing.

Though Li Tian was uninterested in the Butterfly’s proposal, he observed the unfolding events. As Lady Luo’s power entered the leaf-turned-Butterfly, he too saw its transformation.

For a moment, Li Tian sensed it possessed life—it moved slightly, its tiny wings unfurling, eager to take flight.

Lady Luo waited in anticipation; the Dark Butterfly was even more expectant. But disappointment greeted them. The leaf-turned-Butterfly remained frozen at that moment—though it briefly possessed life, the combined power of Lady Luo and the Dark Butterfly was not enough to let it soar.

The Dark Butterfly was disheartened, fluttering ceaselessly. Why, after Lady Luo’s help, could it still not fly as it did?

Lady Luo, too, felt a pang of disappointment. She kept infusing the Butterfly with power, her touch growing more forceful, but it had no effect.

Time seemed to pause. Lady Luo gave up, withdrawing her power, lest the fragile Butterfly collapse and vanish in the air. Though it was merely a lifeless leaf, now that it had taken the Butterfly’s form, she wished it to remain thus.

The Dark Butterfly settled once more into Lady Luo’s palm, crestfallen at its failed attempt. It had hoped to find a playmate; had the experiment succeeded, it would have gained many companions.

The leaf-turned-Butterfly began to drift downward, like an ordinary leaf unable to escape its destined end.

Suddenly, a streak of black light shot into the Butterfly—it was Li Tian. In the instant before it touched the ground, he infused his power into the leaf.

A miracle occurred: the Butterfly soared into the air. The Dark Butterfly watched its doppelgänger take flight; though its movements were awkward, the sight of another like itself dancing through the sky filled the Dark Butterfly with irrepressible excitement.

It circled the newborn Butterfly endlessly. Two identical Dark Butterflies now fluttered before Lady Luo.

She gazed in astonishment. Her power had given the leaf-turned-Butterfly hope of life, but only with the addition of the power of death did it truly become alive.

“Thank you!” Lady Luo was grateful—for every new life in the mortal world, she felt appreciation.

“Don’t waste your time on such trivialities. Besides, its life will not last long,” Li Tian replied, his voice cool and indifferent. He could hardly believe he had acted so foolishly. He intervened only to spare Lady Luo the disappointment in her eyes.

Lady Luo pondered his words. Why did he say such things? She watched the Butterfly, now animated, yet felt perplexed.

Suddenly, a tiny form plummeted swiftly—a bead severed from its thread—crashing to the ground and shattering. The Dark Butterfly let out a sharp cry.

Lady Luo stood and went to the Butterfly’s side, seeing only the fragments of a broken leaf. Beside them, the Dark Butterfly mourned.

Witnessing this scene, it seemed to glimpse its own fate. The Dark Butterfly could not accept such reality: the leaf had received the powers of itself, Lady Luo, and Li Tian; Lady Luo and Li Tian’s powers contained the essence of life and death.

In the Dark Butterfly’s mind, to possess both forces meant breaking the cycle of life and death. Why, then, was its life so brief?

It could not accept this.

Lady Luo gently sprinkled earth upon the leaf. Perhaps this was its proper resting place; a leaf was always meant to return to the earth. No matter how the Dark Butterfly tried to alter its destiny, it could not change its final fate. Only soil could restore it to nature.

Yet the moment was tinged with sadness. It had once possessed life, however fleeting; the breaking of the leaf felt like the passing of a soul.

Li Tian walked up behind Lady Luo. He had foreseen this outcome; when the Dark Butterfly first proposed its idea, he knew it would end thus.

The birth of a life is never simple, and to restore life to something already lost is an even greater challenge.

“If you cannot bear such sadness and disappointment now, then let the City of Reincarnation remain unbuilt. Let Fengdu become a city of souls.”

Lady Luo turned, her expression blank as she faced Li Tian. This was the first time he had voiced opposition since agreeing to construct the City of Reincarnation. Was he reneging on his promise?

“Have you changed your mind?” she asked.

Li Tian shook his head. “A promise made is a promise kept. To break my word would invite heaven’s wrath. Regarding the City of Reincarnation, if you persist, I will not waver.”

Hearing this, Lady Luo visibly relaxed. Since he had not changed his mind, why then had he spoken so?

“Why did you say that? Has something gone awry?”

Li Tian gestured to the leaf now merged with the earth. “Look at this leaf—as much as you try to alter its fate, it cannot escape its destined end. So it is with humankind; once dead, their lives have ended. Rebirth seems a mere cycle, but its dangers are far more than any mortal can bear.”

“But it had life, however brief!” Lady Luo lamented, but she did not regret her actions. The value of life cannot be measured. Even if only for a moment beneath the sun, its existence was meaningful.

“Then why are you saddened?” Li Tian’s words held a deeper meaning.

“I merely lament life’s fragility.”

“As I said before, if you cannot accept this, you will be unable to bear the City of Reincarnation,” Li Tian mused, voicing his thoughts.

“Once humans die, their souls enter the Netherworld, accepting its laws. No matter what they possessed in life, they must endure its punishments. A few, driven by obsession, become vengeful spirits, but even their fates are unchanged.” Li Tian’s words did not resolve Lady Luo’s doubts—instead, they deepened them.

“Souls belong in the Netherworld. Those who do not enter linger in the mortal realm, doomed to greater misery. The mortal realm holds vitality that souls can never possess. Encountering such energy brings them pain many times greater than that of the Netherworld. In such torment, they vanish in the saddest way. If souls are allowed to reincarnate, can they withstand the peril of the cycle? I have never encountered or considered this before. Yet, life after reincarnation may be no luckier than the leaf.” Li Tian pointed toward the fragments. “Like it—if it had simply fallen, it would have rested on the earth. But after experiencing life, it shattered upon impact.”

“Though we infused it with both life and death, granting it fleeting existence, it could not bear the transformation. If the spirit is not strong, external power becomes a death sentence.” Li Tian’s words struck Lady Luo’s heart.

She had never considered this. She only wished those innocently lost could have another chance to embrace the sun, that their lives need not end so soon. But now, she saw the City of Reincarnation was not so simple.