I stood on the hill outside Moon City, gazing at the yaokai city that was perfectly protected by the barrier. Outside the city, dozens of illegal, anomalous flying vehicles were scattered haphazardly on the ground.

  Police, military personnel, and researchers were scattered around, everyone on high alert. They couldn't understand how these flying machines had avoided the sensitive radars and quietly infiltrated the area. Illegal invasion was a matter of extreme danger.

  However, before the radar, immune to the influence of yaokai energy, was invented, they would likely encounter many more simir incidents.

  I concealed my presence and moved forward.

  The plump and thin men who had stubbornly followed me still couldn't understand why, after seeing a news report this morning, I had unhesitatingly traveled thousands of miles on a cloud to this nearly forgotten city on the outskirts.

  In fact, I had been waiting for Ku Yue to return, keeping that jug of wine for him all this time. But when he came to retrieve his wings, I had a faint sense that the chance for us to drink and talk together would likely never come again.

  Five hundred years ago, after we became friends, he shed his wings and entrusted them to me for safekeeping. He said he wasn't worthy of being a night butterfly. So, he didn′t need wings. The natural power of the night butterfly was all contained in those wings. I only hoped for his safe return so we could drink together once again.

  This morning, as was my habit, I ate breakfast while reading the newspaper. One headline caught my attention—A small frontier city is stunned by unidentified flying objects, and an unusual number of butterflies appeared overnight in this desote pce, which is quite rare. Relevant personnel have already begun to arrive at the city. Biologists and meteorologists specute that climate changes may have triggered the butterfly migration.

  I put down the newspaper and immediately headed to Moon City. Watching the dark green butterflies dancing near the aircraft, my suspicions were confirmed.

  Those dark green creatures were not real butterflies. From their scent, I could clearly smell the human scent. They were humans who had been transformed into butterflies by some kind of force.

  I approached the cabin, peered inside, and found no one. The news report had also mentioned that when the aircraft was first discovered, it was empty. I sniffed the air inside the cabin—the human scent was exactly the same as that of the chaotic butterflies fluttering outside.

  I lingered outside Moon City for a while but eventually gave up the thought of going in. On my way back, the only thing I did was pray. From that day onward, I never received any news about Ku Yue.

  A month ter, one night, as I was returning from outside, I had just reached the entrance of “Endless” when a small shadow drifted down from the sky.

  A bck butterfly with beautiful dark blue-patterned wings gently fluttered and nded on my shoulder. A burst of radiance unfolded before me, and I couldn't help but close my eyes.

  When I opened them again, Ku Yue was standing before me, smiling, in a semi-transparent form. I let out a long sigh, pretending to be calm as I made a cross on my chest, "Thank God, my prayers have been heard."

  "Haha, you're such a strange creature, praying to God," he said, still smiling at me, revealing a row of white teeth, just like he always did.

  "In this state, I suppose you can't drink, can you?" I looked at him, seeing that he was clearly almost drained of energy, needing to revert to his original form to conserve strength. "Did you use the power of your wings to turn those poor souls into butterflies?"

  "You didn't know that my wings have this kind of power, did you?" He tilted his head arrogantly. "After all, I've cultivated for a thousand years. Are you a little regretful for not keeping it all to yourself back then?"

  I rolled my eyes.

  "Alright, I′m here to say goodbye." His smile faded, and he patted my shoulder. Though it was just a symbolic gesture, I couldn't feel any of his strength.

  In his eyes, there was a lightness I had never seen before. "I think I've found a pce where I want to stay forever."

  "Moon City?" I guessed.

  "I really like a bar there called Butterfly Kisses. The people there are interesting too. The man would spend a thousand years sitting in a rocking chair, and the woman would try everything to put the sun and the moon into a painting." As he spoke, a peaceful and content expression spread across his face. "And, there are things waiting for me to do, like mediating between a father and daughter who’ve been at odds for a long time. Although the daughter still refuses to call him ‘Dad,’ since I was the one who brought her to Moon City, I have to take responsibility."

  "I won't meddle in your affairs. As long as you think it's the right thing to do, then go ahead," I said, not fully understanding what he had encountered in Moon City, but happy to see the relief in his eyes. "However, when it comes to mediating family disputes, that's usually a job for the women's committee. If you want to succeed, you might have to put in some extra effort!"

  "I will," Ku Yue said confidently with a smile. "As long as the family is still there, nothing else matters. They'll make up—just a bit of overdue communication is all they need. I believe in that."

  "Good luck!" I gave him a thumbs-up. "That jar of wine, I'll keep it waiting for you. Come back after you've regained your human form!"

  "A hundred years, huh? Let's get drunk together again in a hundred years," he promised, then suddenly asked, "When I came to visit you, I left a box in the corner."

  "Ah, that one. I thought you’d forgotten it. I was going to keep it for myself, but in the end, I decided not to. It's still here; do you want to take it with you?"

  "That's a gift for you. The things inside, I don't need them anymore," he sighed deeply, smiling. "You really got lucky this time!"

  He gave me a meaningful look before adding, "Take care. I hope the next time I visit you, it's for a drink with three of us."

  His form gradually faded, condensing into a small light orb, transforming into a butterfly with fluttering wings, flying toward Moon City. Slowly, he disappeared into the night sky.

  I returned to "Endless" and dug out the box he had left in my room. When I opened it, inside were a bunch of keys and property deeds from all around the world. The strangest thing was that every deed had my name written on it.

  I quickly did the math in my head, converting the property values into cash and gold bars. The conclusion was clear: I had just made a fortune without lifting a finger.

  This May really was beautiful. But that jar of wine—I'll keep it for someone, no matter if it's one hundred years or one thousand years.

  This night butterfly deserves that one st drink together.