In a secluded research facility outside Washington, a group of individuals in white isotion suits, with various skin tones, moved quickly among the complex array of instruments. The air was thick with urgency as they monitored their progress, working with precision.

  Beyond a gss wall, a man in a suit, with blue eyes and a high nose, his face framed by a thick beard, couldn't hide his excitement. He addressed the young woman standing before him. "If this operation is successful, we will have gathered the most powerful yaokai spirit ever. With this, our research will be closer to a breakthrough. I really have to thank you for this. Without you, we could never have located Moon City."

  The woman, her face mostly hidden by the wide brim of her hat and her lips painted with a bright shade of lipstick, gnced coldly toward the activity behind the gss. "There's no need for thanks. We simply trade what we need."

  The woman walked along the small path outside the research facility, the harsh sunlight casting sharp shadows on her slender figure. Her pace was unhurried, and her cream-colored dress seemed to be made of eternal ice, resisting the warmth of the sun as if it could never be melted.

  At the end of the path, she stopped and turned, casting a gnce back at the seemingly normal building. Inside, the scientists who spent their days fantasizing about creating the most powerful biochemical energy weapons were toiling away, working day and night, losing sleep and nourishment.

  By the end of next month, the yaokais of Moon City would become a key part of their research project, contributing their energy to the creation of these weapons. Moon City would become a true dead city, just like it was after the pgue a century ago. That was the fate it was meant to meet.

  Jin Feiyu, it's not just you. It's not just the precious gathering star crystals, or her, or those lower-tier yaokais you're so desperate to protect. Everything you've tried to preserve—all of it will be destroyed in the end.

  Silently sneering in his heart. This is the price you should pay, Father.

  In July, the sky was bzing with the sun, and the daytime temperature in Moon City was outrageously high, but at night, it cooled to a refreshing chill. Starting this week, Luo Ye would pass through four streets every day, running to a small hill near an abandoned construction site. There, she would carefully stroke the pnts that grew densely between the cracks in the stones. The pale purple branches, with white flowers like stars, emitted a faint fragrance, scattering gentleness in the heat of summer.

  "Is this the starry hibiscus you've been waiting for?" Ku Yue, holding a piece of wild grass in his mouth, crouched beside her, watching the unremarkable little wildflowers.

  "Yes!" She nodded happily, sniffing the air. "It'll bloom in three days at most."

  "You're judging its blooming time based on its fragrance?" Ku Yue teased, flicking the tiny, snow-white buds. "What's so special about this flower?"

  Luo Ye tilted her face up to feel the lingering warmth of the setting sun and said, "Don't rush. Wait until the sun sets, then you'll see."

  "Alright." Ku Yue y ft on the grass, waiting for the night to fall.

  "You really act like a carefree person." Luo Ye sat down next to him. "Your little friend A Long still hasn't turned up, has it? Why do I feel like you're getting less and less anxious about finding them?"

  "Finding someone requires fate. Maybe it's heaven's will that A-Long can't return to his mother's side." Ku Yue twirled the wild grass in his mouth, speaking grandly without batting an eye.

  Luo Ye hugged her knees a little dejectedly, resting her chin on them, and murmured, "Mother... I can barely remember what Mother Empress looked like anymore..."

  Mother Empress? This girl calls her mother "Mother Empress"? Ku Yue removed the wild grass from his mouth and turned to look at her, his eyes filled with clear confusion.

  Perhaps realizing she had misspoken, Luo Ye hurriedly sat up straight, saying repeatedly, "Oh, I meant my mother, not Mother Empress... I..."

  "Alright, no need to make excuses," Ku Yu smiled. "King has already told me all the secrets of Moon City. You don't need to be so flustered. I know you're not human. Although we're both youkai, you're different from the other 'residents' of Moon City."

  "He told you everything?" Luo Ye widened her eyes.

  "Yes," Ku Yue said bluntly, "Maybe KING thinks I'm not a bad person, haha."

  After a brief silence, Luo Ye sighed in relief. "Well, that's fine. I can tell that King not only takes care of you but also trusts you. Although this is rare, I know there must be a reason for it. I am indeed a yaokai." She smiled faintly, "A particurly useless yaokai."

  He could sense the evil energy on various yaokais, and the scent on Luo Ye clearly told him that she was a butterfly, a butterfly yaokai like him and Jin Feiyu.

  The scent of a butterfly was something he knew better than anyone. However, compared to other butterflies he was familiar with, Luo Ye's scent carried a strange, unique difference.

  "You..." He sat up straight, carefully examining the seemingly ordinary girl beside him. "Are you a descendant of the Snow Butterfly King?"

  "That was many, many years ago," Luo Ye shrugged as if it were nothing, sticking her tongue out at him. "I don't really remember. I only remember how Mother Empress held me in her arms and fed me the sweetest honey. The fragrance of Mother Empress was incomparable to any flower."

  "Your mother, Empress, was the most beautiful one in the Snow Butterfly cn." Ku Yue looked at her, paused for a moment, then teased, "But look at you; it seems like you didn't inherit any of your mother's virtues."

  "You're a butterfly yaokai too?" Luo Ye was taken aback for a moment, then punched Ku Yu hard, pouting and grumbling, "I just can't be bothered to dress up!"

  Ku Yue quickly said, "Alright, alright, I'll believe that one day you'll be as beautiful as your mother, Empress..." He paused, then suddenly changed the subject. "But from what I know, your parents were eaten by a Ghostface Spider King; he saved you and raised you."

  "I'm not really sure. I was very young at the time," Luo Ye said with some confusion.

  "KING told me that he had left me with a human couple for a while. I don't know how it happened, but they ended up attracting our butterfly yaokai's mortal enemy, the Ghostface Spider. Although King arrived in time, he still couldn't save them." As the memory lingered, a trace of sadness appeared on Luo Ye's face. "I vaguely remember that couple desperately protecting me when the giant yaokai came. They could've left me behind and escaped, but they didn't."

  Ku Yue's expression stiffened for a moment. Fortunately, Luo Ye didn't notice his sudden change, and soon, he regained his usual composure. He asked, "Do you remember what happened to your father and Mother Empress?"

  Luo Ye shook her head. "My clearest memory starts from when I followed KING on his travels, up until we settled down in Moon City. I really don't remember much from before that."

  "I see." Ku Yue smiled self-deprecatingly and murmured to himself, "You were too young back then. Besides, such a scene... it's probably better you don't remember."