Flowing Butterfly

"Master?" Mi Xingzhe, unable to see, strained his ears to pick up any slight change around him.

The room was unusually quiet, allowing Mi Xingzhe to hear his own heartbeat, accompanied suddenly by Li Luoning's deep sigh.

"Xingzhe, stretch out your hand," Li Luoning said calmly.

"Huh? Master, what for?" Mi Xingzhe hesitated, confused by the request.

"I just want to verify something with you."

"Oh, alright." Reassured by Li Luoning's tone, Mi Xingzhe obediently extended his hand forward, feeling around in the air.

Li Luoning placed a pill into his hand, waiting for his reaction.

Mi Xingzhe felt a sachet in his hand, and upon shaking it, a few pills fell out. Intending to take one as a regular medicine, he almost popped it into his mouth before Li Luoning abruptly stopped him.

"Master? Isn't this medicine for me to take?" Mi Xingzhe asked, puzzled.

"Xingzhe, do you know what this is?"

Mi Xingzhe brought the pill closer to his nose, sniffed, and then shook his head in confusion, "It's medicine, isn't it? They all smell the same to me."

"Where did the embroidered pouch in your clothes come from?" Li Luoning asked again.

"It was given to me by Senior Sister Yue Ruling. She said it contained Dragon Arum Pills, which are good for blood circulation and bruising," Mi Xingzhe replied nonchalantly.

"Have you ever used these pills?"

"No, I thought I'd save them for when I really needed them," Mi Xingzhe shook his head.

"I see. I will keep these pills for now. If you need them, just let me know," Li Luoning decided, sitting alone later in his study, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the table. He was piecing together recent events, considering all that had transpired, which seemed too coincidental.

"The Yanding Dragon King falls ill precisely when I leave the Liao Yin Immortal Realm, and just then, Xingzhe gets poisoned. If it really was him, it seems too obvious. Moreover, he came that day to offer gifts. If he truly intended harm, why would he give a gift? And if Xingzhe's fall in the Ice Bamboo Forest was an accident, the signs did show that rocks had been moved. But Xingzhe was supposed to have fallen on the east side of the forest, while the Flatland is in the northwest direction. Who then took the trouble to move him there to be found?" Li Luoning pondered, lost in thought.

"Hey, good brother Qingyi, tell me about the Flatland," Mi Xingzhe whined, pulling at Yun Qingyi's elbow as they walked towards Li Luoning's study.

"That's not a safe place. You're better off knowing less about it," Yun Qingyi cautioned, nearly spilling the tea he was carrying when Mi Xingzhe tugged at him again.

"What's there to hide? I've been here in the Liao Yin Immortal Realm for almost a year now. You and Senior Sister Yue have taken me everywhere. What exactly is this Flatland, that everyone refuses to speak of it? Just tell me," Mi Xingzhe persisted.

They reached Li Luoning's study while speaking. Seeing Yun Qingyi was there to serve tea, Mi Xingzhe stopped to wait.

Yun Qingyi, having served the tea, was grinding ink for Li Luoning, "You ask the Master if he'll allow you to go to the Flatland."

Li Luoning looked up at him, then back at his book and said, "It seems you've recovered well these past few days, spirited as ever. Maybe Qingyi should test your skills more often. Should a similar situation arise, at least you could defend yourself a bit."

"If it's about spells, I'm definitely no match for Brother Qingyi. But when it comes to physical combat, Senior Sister Yue taught me well, and I'm sure Brother can't beat me," Mi Xingzhe boasted.

"Indeed, I'd naturally lose to you in that," Yun Qingyi agreed, exchanging a smile with Li Luoning.

"About that day in the Flatland, do you remember anything else?" Li Luoning asked.

"I couldn't see then, but they said they found me injured on the road and took me back... Oh, right, the woman had a faint bell sound with her," Mi Xingzhe tried to recall.

"A bell sound?" Li Luoning wondered. None of the suspects he had in mind would be a woman with bells.

"Master, what exactly is the Flatland? I've been asking Brother Qingyi for days, and he won't tell me," Mi Xingzhe asked persistently.

"The Flatland is a place where humans, demons, and immortals coexist. It's a chaotic realm with a mix of immortality and evil, where no laws or rules apply. It's considered a place abandoned by the three realms, as they've agreed not to intervene in any matters there," Li Luoning explained.

"Um... it sounds complicated, like a place of exile?" Mi Xingzhe somewhat understood, but not entirely.

"It can be said that way," Li Luoning replied.

"That being said, it really sounds like an interesting place," Mi Xingzhe muttered quietly, not knowing why, he felt a rush of excitement to learn more about it.

"Interesting?" Li Luoning raised an eyebrow, a habitual gesture. "Did this young man not understand my explanation?"

"Isn't it interesting? All my life, I've never seen what demons look like! I've heard many of them are quite beautiful, like fox demons, rabbit demons, and so on," Mi Xingzhe suddenly asked, his interest piqued.

"I advise you not to be too curious. After all, not all demons in this world are friendly. With your tender skin and flesh, you probably wouldn't even make it to The Flatland; you'd be skinned alive by evil spirits in the demon forest," Yun Qingyi warned.

"But I am a disciple of the Immortal Sect, shouldn't those evil demons be afraid of us?" Mi Xingzhe asked.

"Even for the Immortal Sect, they target those with lesser cultivation. After all, the blood of Immortal Sect disciples is a great elixir for them to enhance their cultivation," Yun Qingyi said mockingly, pointing at Mi Xingzhe.

"Me! Brother Qingyi! Master, look at him, always trying to scare me," Mi Xingzhe pouted, showing his displeasure.

Li Luoning said nothing, only shaking his head helplessly.

"But didn't you go to The Flatland before and came back safely? Just going to see what's wrong with that," Mi Xingzhe persisted.

"You do know that even the master has to be cautious and disguise himself when visiting The Flatland. With your level of cultivation, going there would be like a lamb walking into a tiger's den," Yun Qingyi said, somewhat angrily.

"Disguise?" Mi Xingzhe missed the point of Yun Qingyi's words.

"If you really feel bored, I'll have Qingyi take you to the human world for a walk soon. The human world is about to celebrate the New Year, which should be quite lively," Li Luoning understood, knowing that Mi Xingzhe must be feeling stifled in The Liao Yin Immortal Realm.

Now that his health had recovered nicely, and his spirits were better, he felt reassured letting him travel to other places.

"What's so good about the New Year," Mi Xingzhe muttered quietly, a hint of dejection playing with a leaf in his hand.

"Don't you like celebrating the New Year?" Yun Qingyi asked, puzzled.

"The New Year is for the wealthy. For someone like me, who can barely afford to eat, the most I can hope for is to find some discarded items after the New Year. There's no festive atmosphere for me," Mi Xingzhe said, his eyes revealing a trace of inferiority and sadness.

"If you don't like it, you don't have to go. Staying with me and the master at Mirror Cloud Residence is quite good too."

"The human world isn't as fun as The Flatland sounds..." Mi Xingzhe muttered softly.

"Don't think about it anymore. As a disciple of the Immortal Sect, without The Empty Flower Token's special permit, no one can enter The Flatland," Yun Qingyi explained.

"The Empty Flower Token?" Mi Xingzhe murmured to himself.

"Alright, stop thinking about it. The Flatland is fraught with danger. Even if your cultivation has improved rapidly, you should understand the principle that few cannot stand against many. In a few days, I will go out to gather herbs, and you can come with me to avoid being bored at home alone," Yun Qingyi comforted.

"Alright~I~know~(If you won't take me, I'll go by myself)," Mi Xingzhe verbally agreed, rolled his eyes, and muttered quietly.

Yun Qingyi and Li Luoning could clearly understand what Mi Xingzhe was actually thinking.

"Master, what would happen if Xingzhe sneaked off to The Flatland?" Yun Qingyi asked with a mischievous smile, glancing at Mi Xingzhe and deliberately posing the question towards Li Luoning.

"Then we'll break his legs," Li Luoning glanced at Mi Xingzhe and said nonchalantly.

Hearing his master's words, Mi Xingzhe reflexively tensed up. Seeing the mischievous smile on Yun Qingyi's face, he realized that his senior brother and master were just trying to scare him.

"You guys! Forget it, I'm going to read," Mi Xingzhe said unhappily and turned to leave.

Watching Mi Xingzhe walk away, the slight smile on Li Luoning's face suddenly turned solemn as he turned to Yun Qingyi and asked,

 "Qingyi, how is progress?"

"Master, are you referring to the black-clad figure that flashed past the gate that day, or the origin of the seamless bead?" Yun Qingyi asked.

"The shadow I ordered you to track down that day, have you found any clues?" Li Luoning recalled and responded.

"The Luminous Butterflies I released that day confirmed that the figure disappeared near the Jade Pure Palace," Yun Qingyi reported.

"Jade Pure Palace? Are you sure?" Hearing this, Li Luoning was puzzled and sought confirmation again.

"Absolutely sure. The next day, I specifically followed the starlight pollen dropped by the Luminous Butterflies to the location and confirmed it disappeared in the back garden of the Jade Pure Palace," Yun Qingyi affirmed.

Hearing Yun Qingyi's certain response, Li Luoning fell into deep thought. [Jade Pure Palace is a frequent haunt of the Immortal Sovereign, but it is also often visited by others. It seems the scope of our investigation is indeed too broad.]

"Master, could the figure who poisoned Xingzhe that day be from the same group?" Yun Qingyi asked.

"It's likely," Li Luoning nodded in agreement, unconsciously gripping the ancient tome in his hands tighter. "Given the current situation, it seems someone in The Liao Yin Immortal Realm has designs on our people at Mirror Cloud Residence. And Xingzhe was just a long-awaited opportunity for them."

"It's strange, isn't it? They have been monitoring us not just for a day or two. Why did they only start to act after you took in Xingzhe? For such a long time before, they merely watched us and did nothing."

The shadow that had been surveilling the exterior of Mirror Cloud Residence appeared soon after Li Luoning arrived at The Liao Yin Immortal Realm. Over the years, despite its constant presence, because it never acted, Li Luoning had chosen to ignore it. Even after he took Yun Qingyi as his disciple, he told him not to worry about it. However, with Mi Xingzhe frequently running into trouble, Li Luoning felt compelled to seriously investigate the origins of this watcher.

"Qingyi, you must be especially vigilant of any changes at Mirror Cloud Residence. If you notice anything unusual, inform me immediately," Li Luoning instructed.

"Understood, Master," Yun Qingyi responded, bowing respectfully.

In The Liao Yin Immortal Realm, Yue Ruling, as usual, led a team of celestial soldiers on patrol, but today she seemed distracted, lost in thought.

"It's been several days since I returned from the ordeal in the mortal realm. Why has Master suddenly gone into seclusion?" Yue Ruling murmured to herself.

"It's also strange, why don't I remember anything from my trip to the mortal realm? I wanted to ask Master, but he unexpectedly went into seclusion without even a word," Yue Ruling spoke aloud to herself as she walked.

"Logically, having been to the mortal realm, one should retain some memories of it. But why can't I remember anything from these days? Could it be... because my inner core was formed artificially?" Yue Ruling continued to mutter.

As Yue Ruling led her team absentmindedly, anyone who saw her could tell she was preoccupied with something.

O Shinan happened to be passing by and noticed Yue Ruling, who seemed lost in thought.

[Rumors say that Yue Ruling and the War God of Qingyuan had faced tribulations in the mortal realm. After their return, the War God was punished with heavenly thunder. But it seems Yue Ruling knows nothing about this incident, though she appears to be troubled by something.]

"Something must have happened," O Shinan thought, curious to gather some information. He then changed his course and approached Yue Ruling.

"Commander Yue, why do you seem so distracted today? Is there something troubling you?" O Shinan greeted her with a gentle bow, his plain robe billowing slightly, and his forehead adorned with a light purple mark, his beauty remarkable under the early morning breeze and warm sunlight.

"O Shinan?"