Chapter 92: Butterfly Flying
Feng Xuexiang no longer worried about the gradually cooling weather, but butterflies kept flying out from within him.
While Yu Shi was watering the potted plants that had been gradually added to the house, two or three purple butterflies landed on his arm.
As he moved, the butterflies fluttered up and down, refusing to leave him.
When he turned around, Feng Xuexiang was surely nearby, gazing steadily at him. Upon receiving Yu Shi’s attention, Feng Xuexiang would smile, looking as if he had just tasted something sweet… very sweet.
Even when Yu Shi was cooking in the kitchen, five or six butterflies would suddenly appear, fluttering around in front of him.
Yu Shi worried that the butterflies might get burned by the heat and flames from the stove.
Even while he was taking a shower in the bathroom, a dozen or so butterflies would suddenly appear, flying around him.
The water droplets hitting their wings didn’t affect them at all.
Because these were illusory butterflies, Yu Shi had observed them closely. They weren’t afraid of water or fire, couldn’t be harmed, and could even pass through walls.
But when Yu Shi reached out to catch them, he could hold the butterflies’ brilliant, multi-layered purple wings between his fingers.
At that moment, the butterflies seemed to become real.
After a night’s sleep a few days ago, these butterflies started flying around him more diligently, as if he were a flower.
While Yu Shi brushed his teeth in front of the mirror, a butterfly landed on top of his head, using its delicate legs to play with two strands of his hair.
When Yu Shi picked up a comb to brush his hair, the butterfly suddenly flew up, landing on his bent knuckles, its wings fluttering unsteadily with his movements.
He pinched it gently between two fingers and set it aside, but after a while, the butterfly’s wings began to flap slower and slower until it finally dissolved into a speck of light.
Yu Shi: “…”
He no longer removed those delicate little butterflies from himself manually, fearing that these fragile creatures, nourished by “love,” might accidentally shatter and die.
Fortunately, ordinary people couldn’t see these butterflies; otherwise, just stepping outside to throw out the trash with a swarm of butterflies fluttering around him would certainly attract everyone’s attention.
Being entangled by these illusory butterflies was just a minor issue.
Yu Shi walked into the bedroom in his pajamas and suddenly stopped in his tracks.
The wooden floor of the bedroom had turned into a lake, covered with water lilies, with only a single bed remaining in the middle. Feng Xuexiang sat on it, smiling at him.
An illusion?
Yu Shi stepped into the lake. The surface was cold and wet, but he didn’t fall into the water.
The texture of the leaves and the petals felt incredibly real.
The water was crystal clear, and beneath the green leaves, Yu Shi could see small red fish swimming.
He sat down on the edge of the bed, silent.
Feng Xuexiang leaned in, resting his chin on Yu Shi’s shoulder, gazing curiously at his contemplative profile. “Ashi, what are you thinking about?”
Yu Shi looked at the water lilies in the room and calmly replied, “I’m thinking about whether the mushroom soup your seventh brother sent over last night wasn’t cooked thoroughly… I’m seeing things.”
Feng Xuexiang couldn’t stop laughing, his whole body trembling as he hugged Yu Shi’s shoulder.
“No, it’s my illusion.”
At first, his illusions had no effect on Yu Shi at all. Later, they occasionally fooled him, and now they could completely deceive him.
“I didn’t do it on purpose. I’ve been so happy these past few days that I lost control of my power, and it spilled out, creating the illusion around us,” Feng Xuexiang explained as he kissed Yu Shi’s chin. “And the butterflies too.”
They often crashed around inside him, searching for an exit, and sometimes, without paying attention, a butterfly would escape.
Yu Shi, deep in thought, looked up at the ceiling and asked, “So those bugs half the size of a person and the spiders as big as a human head on the ceiling—are they also part of your illusion?”
Feng Xuexiang: “?”
His smile turned blank. “What bugs?”
…
Late at night, Yu Shi packed up the leftover mushrooms and went to the hospital with Feng Xuexiang.
The final diagnosis confirmed it was mushroom poisoning. It wasn’t that they were undercooked, but rather that a toxic mushroom had accidentally been mixed in with the rest.
Luckily, they had eaten only a small amount, so nothing serious happened.
Yu Shi sat there calmly receiving an IV drip, while Feng Xuexiang, with a dark expression, took Yu Shi’s phone and contacted Feng Kuo.
Feng Xuexiang wasn’t fond of using electronic devices like phones, as his perception of the world was often distorted. When he looked at his phone, part of the screen would be obscured by illusions or the images would overlap.
That’s why his phone was always brand new and often forgotten at home.
Yu Shi’s phone was also simple, with most of his contacts being Steward Sui from the Feng family, Jiang Mang, and Feng Kuo.
When Feng Kuo’s number was dialed, he quickly picked up.
“Isn’t this my brother-in-law? What’s up, brother?”
Feng Xuexiang replied, “What’s up? The mushrooms you sent to Ashi were poisonous. He’s in the hospital now!”
“That’s impossible! Maybe they weren’t cooked properly. I picked those myself! We’ve had several meals with them over here, and no one got poisoned. I’m eating them right now, and I’m perfectly fine!” Feng Kuo bellowed, sounding as if he were drunk.
A drunken voice nearby chimed in loudly, “What? Mushroom poisoning? I also want to see that illusion! Little guy!”
Feng Xuexiang, his face cold, responded, “Next time, don’t send anything. Otherwise, I’ll personally make sure you experience a poisoned illusion.”
After hanging up the phone, his face was still filled with anger.
Yu Shi suddenly said, “It’s said that you used to like Seventh Brother a lot, but now that you don’t remember him, your attitude toward him isn’t as good.”
Though his tone was calm, Feng Xuexiang felt a chill, sensing a deeper meaning in those words, and his anger instantly vanished.
He studied Yu Shi’s expression and softly said, “I’m just… too angry.”
“I thought about it and realized I shouldn’t have spoken to Seventh Brother like that.”
Watching Yu Shi’s reaction, he dialed Feng Kuo again, his voice now as soft as if he had swallowed ten pounds of cotton.
“Seventh Brother, I lost my temper just now and spoke harshly. You’re not upset, are you?”
“I know you sent those mushrooms out of concern for me. I appreciate your kindness, so let’s not send any more next time, alright?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then Feng Kuo, suddenly sobered up from his shock, stammered in alarm, “Oh no, the mushrooms really are poisonous! And very toxic! My ninth brother’s already mutated from eating them! Is my sister-in-law even worse off?”
Feng Xuexiang immediately hung up the phone. He turned to look at Yu Shi, who, although his eyes were closed, had a slight smile at the corners of his lips, which reassured Feng Xuexiang.
“Ashi, are you feeling really unwell? Lean on me,” Feng Xuexiang offered, letting him rest against his shoulder, still worried that Yu Shi looked much paler than usual. “You’ve kept your eyes closed for a while—is it dizziness?”
“If I open my eyes, I’ll see lots of giant bugs crawling around,” Yu Shi replied, “It’s a bit unsettling.”
With his eyes closed, he still felt as if there were bugs crawling inside them, but it was better than having his eyes open.
He didn’t notice Feng Xuexiang’s brief, unusual silence, only hearing him laugh with his usual tone, “Giant bugs are indeed terrifying.”
“I can make it so you won’t see any bugs. But you have to trust me completely, accept everything irrational that appears in front of you, not question it, not try to escape, and leave it all to me…”
“Now, open your eyes.”
Yu Shi slowly opened his eyes, finding that the hospital floor had transformed into a grassy meadow dotted with small flowers, and the harsh white light overhead had become warm sunlight.
He could hear the gentle babbling of a stream and the clear chirping of birds.
Clusters of daffodils, irises, and cattails bloomed at his feet, while pure white lilies grew behind them.
Surrounding him were vibrant azaleas and peonies, and hydrangeas in shades of blue, purple, pink, and white obstructed his view from low to high. Above, clusters of pale purple wisteria draped down.
They were almost enveloped by flowers, with the delightful colors and fragrances filling his eyes and nose, creating a serene and refreshing atmosphere.
Yu Shi noticed that many of the flowers in this little garden surrounding them were ones he usually liked to buy.
He had always pursued “reality,” and for the first time, he felt that the illusion was so beautifully captivating and immersive.
…
After returning from the hospital, Feng Xuexiang occasionally created flower illusions, but Yu Shi never saw the purple butterflies flying out from his body again.
In November, they returned to the Feng family residence.
Feng Xuexiang’s eldest brother and second brother, along with their respective groups, barged into his residence, confronting him loudly.
“Old Ninth, you have to help us sort this out!” Second Brother Feng, filled with grief and anger, dragged Feng Zaixing and pointed furiously at Feng Zaiyin and the eldest brother of the Feng family.
“My good eldest brother here, now that he’s the head of the family, still thinks his siblings are in the way and is trying every means to harm us!”
“My nephew, Feng Zaiyin, is even more malicious. He can’t stand seeing his cousin do well and actually claimed he was possessed by a vengeful spirit, bringing a group to harm my family’s Zaixing!”
“Now that the Feng family is under their hands, father and son. The only one who can give us justice is you, Old Ninth!”
Feng Zaiyin, hearing the accusations, looked grim and said, “Second Uncle, I’ve already explained clearly. Cousin Zaixing has an old ghost in him; otherwise, how could his personality change so drastically? Suddenly he knows so much and even his cultivation advances rapidly. Don’t you find that strange at all?”
“Nonsense!” Second Brother Feng shouted angrily, pointing at him, “You little beast, you just can’t stand seeing your cousin do better than you!”
“Zaixing told me that he received a special inheritance from the Chiheng Tomb, which is why he suddenly gained so much insight and understanding. Your desire to beat or kill him is just because you’re afraid he’ll surpass you and threaten your position in the future, isn’t it?”
Feng Zaiyin cursed his second uncle silently for being difficult, and took out a magical artifact. “Second Uncle, you saw with your own eyes how this artifact reacted, measuring such a strong presence of yin energy from him. Can you still pretend you don’t see it?”
Second Brother Feng sneered, “So what if the yin energy is strong? It just means he had a special encounter and his physique has changed. Besides, I’ll ask you: has Zaixing ever harmed anyone?”
Feng Zaiyin replied, “I haven’t found evidence that he has harmed anyone, but once he does, it’ll be too late. He’s lurking in the Feng family, clearly hiding something. Second Uncle, if you force out the vengeful spirit in him, the truth will come to light.”
“Impossible! Who knows what you’ll do to Zaixing!” Second Brother Feng flatly refused, turning to Feng Xuexiang, who had been silent, and urged anxiously, “Old Ninth, you can’t just watch as Feng Zaiyin harms your siblings!”
Feng Zaiyin immediately said, “If you seek Ninth Uncle, he won’t intervene either. Ninth Uncle has long been aware that Feng Zaixing is abnormal. I’m investigating this matter to give Ninth Uncle an explanation.”
At that moment, Second Brother Feng’s expression changed, and the facade of his anger nearly faltered.
Feng Xuexiang watched for a while, listening to the heated arguments between the two sides. He truly had no desire to get involved.
What happened with the Feng family was none of his concern.
In Feng Zaixing’s body, Xin Liu harbored deep resentment and glanced at the high-level exorcists Feng Zaiyin had brought in.
This person, without making a sound, had secretly gathered so many powerful exorcists, as well as formidable arrays and artifacts. If he hadn’t been cautious, he might have been trapped.
Even though he managed to escape with heavy injuries, if he were captured by Feng Zaiyin now, the situation would be dire.
Seeing that Feng Zaixing’s father couldn’t protect him, the only chance for rescue lay with this spirit demon of the Feng family.
“Ninth Uncle, I have something to tell you,” Xin Liu said weakly, covering his chest. “It’s related to the object attached to you.”
Feng Xuexiang knew that something was wrong with him, but since Xin Liu had been discreetly avoiding him, he was genuinely curious about what he had to say now that he was willing to speak.
Feng Zaiyin, noticing Feng Xuexiang’s expression, felt a pang of anxiety, realizing that if Feng Xuexiang got involved, Feng Zaixing might indeed turn the situation around.
He had put in so much effort recently and didn’t want to see it all fall apart.
“What new tricks are you planning to use to deceive Ninth Uncle?”
“Well, come over and speak,” Feng Xuexiang said almost simultaneously with Feng Zaiyin’s reprimand.
Feng Zaixing cast a scornful glance at Feng Zaiyin and moved toward Feng Xuexiang.
“This is a serious matter. I need to speak with Ninth Uncle alone…”
Suddenly, the ground beneath everyone’s feet transformed into a lake. Feng Xuexiang, who had been sitting two meters away from them, was instantly separated from them by ten meters, creating a significant distance.
“Speak,” Feng Xuexiang said, resting his fingers on his knee, and looked at Xin Liu with interest.
Standing before him, Xin Liu’s eyes flickered as he slowly said, “I have a way to ensure that Ninth Uncle will no longer be controlled by the object, that you won’t have to sleep through the winter solstice, and that you won’t have your memories devoured by it.”
