Song of Adolescence

Chapter 78 Butterfly Transformation

An unnamed gorge. A peaceful night.

Tonight was the fifteenth and the moon was unusually round. Xiao Se and Lei Wujie rode their horses slowly on the road, watching the moon in the sky. Xiao Se felt a little cold and gathered his sleeves around him. He looked over at Lei Wujie who’d raised his head to look at the moon. “What is it? Thinking about home?”

Lei Wujie nodded. “I thought of my uncle.”

“Your uncle?”

“Yes, my uncle, Lei Mengchen. He loved to drink wine under the moon, one cup after another. Before I was six, before I met my shifu, I lived with him. When I was eight, my uncle passed away. He was only thirty then. Shifu said he drank himself to death. At that time, I felt regret. I was his only living relative, but I never really had a good talk with him,” Lei Wujie said quietly.

Suddenly, the sound of a flute came through the gorge, its tone full of melancholy and despair, causing a feeling of emptiness. Lei Wujie and Xiao Se exchanged a look. Xiao Se hesitated a moment. “Let’s take a look.” The two continued going forward and came upon a wide and clear pond, its entire surface reflecting the moonlight. A lady in white with long hair was sitting at the side of the pond playing the flute. A lot of paper butterflies flew around her, and under the moonlight, they glinted with a silvery white glow. It was extraordinarily beautiful.

“Lei Wujie, can you guess what I’m thinking?” Xiao Se gathered his sleeves.

Lei Wujie thought about it. “A wonderful female ghost.”

“You’re exactly right.” Xiao Se looked at the long-haired lady in white, with her head lowered to hide her expression. He wondered if she raised her head, it would be a skull instead of a face.

The lady put down her flute, but the sound of the flute continued to reverberate. She raised a hand slowly and those paper butterflies scattered in all directions.

“She can even control the wind, making these paper butterflies look like real things flying.” Xiao Se frowned slightly. “She’s an expert proficient in secret arts.”

The lady looked at the paper butterflies, and she finally spoke, her voice chilly. “These paper butterflies are called Soul Capturing Butterflies12. They’re used as offerings for the people I kill. We don’t know one another, yet we have no choice but to cross swords. This is an unavoidable part of a chaotic world. I cannot change such a fate. I can only release these paper butterflies and hopefully, they can point their souls onto the road home.”

“Are you a guide to the nether world?” Xiao Se slowly turned his horse’s head and spoke softly to Lei Wujie, “Prepare to run.”

“It’s really a ghost.” Lei Wujie was astounded.

“No.” Xiao Se shook his head. “More terrifying than a ghost.”

Suddenly, a tree to their right shook lightly, so light as if a single leaf had fallen on it. But, Lei Wujie still heard it. In fact, he could hear that it was a person with a very accomplished lightness skill who stepped lightly onto the tree.

It all happened in an instant.

“Four, five.” Lei Wujie counted silently in his heart. He just heard the sound of five people behind them darting across rapidly.

“Xiao Se. Did you hear it?” Lei Wujie asked in a low voice.

“Five of them. Too late to run.” Xiao Se sighed.

Lei Wujie gripped his sword and tensed. “If we can’t run, we fight.”

Xiao Se whispered softly, “Lei Wujie, our opponents this time are not the same as last time. You must remember, they’re really here to kill us.”

“I… think I felt it.” Lei Wujie exhaled heavily, his forehead already beaded with sweat. The paper butterflies which were floating in the wind flew near a treetop, and sliced a branch into two. Something that was meant as offerings for the dead had actually become a killing tool.

Lei Wujie leaped from his horse onto a tree branch, and realised there was nothing under his feet. Startled, he realised that the surface was wrapped with very, very fine, nearly transparent silver wires. “Blade wires!” Lei Wujie yelped in surprise as he fell to the ground. He’d just managed to get on his feet when he felt something warm against his ear. Someone blew a soft breath next to his ear.

“Rainfall!” Lei Wujie yelled furiously and the Rainfall sword responded by rising out of its sheath. Moonlight appeared suddenly and in the darkness, the light was even more frenzied. Lei Wujie turned around and stabbed with his sword, but the person was long gone. Xiao Se alighted off his horse, walked up to Lei Wujie and stood by his side. “They’re able to conceal their breaths. Be careful.”

Lei Wujie nodded and lightly closed his eyes. He knew that in such a dark night, in front of such killers, he could only fight with his instincts. Whatever he saw with his eyes could cause him to die instead. Listen to the wind for position, cover your eyes to kill. This was the first lesson that his oldest martial brother, Tang Lian taught him.

The soil beneath their feet trembled lightly for a second. Lei Wujie recoiled hastily, except in that instant, a silver-coloured long sword emerged from the ground, and brushed past Lei Wujie’s lapels. The Rainfall sword swung heavily, but the other sword was a soft sword. The two swords collided and the Rainfall sword was enveloped. Lei Wujie’s frown tightened, he yelled furiously, and leaped into the air with his sword, completely unearthing the person who was holding the sword out of the ground. He kicked at the person’s chest viciously with his right foot.

Lei Wujie retrieved his Rainfall sword, retreated three steps, pointed his sword at the ground and gasped in large breaths. However, he didn’t dare to take another step, because he realised that all around him, whether on the ground or in the air, he was completely surrounded by those near transparent silver wires. He could only imagine, if those silver wires were to tighten together, what his body would be cut into.

Lei Wujie switched his Rainfall sword to his left hand. He beckoned with his right hand and the Murderous Dread sword was in his grip. He released another sword move.

Sudden Thunderclap!

The silent night was suddenly broken by a loud explosion, and the road in front of Lei Wujie was completely flattened. Leaves scattered everywhere, the blade wires retreated, but there was something coming through the layers of leaves. Surrounded by that field of green, it seemed especially alluring.

Delicate and eerie, they were killing flowers that blossomed in the dark.

The stamen was bright red, each flower had six blades. The two flowers flew through the air, one towards Lei Wujie, the other towards Xiao Se.

With one swing of his sword, Lei Wujie struck the flower, but in the instant the stamen was sliced apart, the six blades scattered and attacked Lei Wujie again. Lei Wujie hurriedly swung his sword, knocking down five of the blades onto the ground. The last blade barely brushed past the side of his face.

As for Xiao Se, he dodged sideways and grasped that flower with his hand, but the flower’s momentum didn’t decrease. Xiao Se used his Cloud Step, his steps seemed to transform into moving clouds and flowing water. With the flower still in his grasp, he circumvented a large circle before he naturally came to a stop.

“Very well. We didn’t waste our effort rushing over a thousand miles here to kill the two of you.” A strong and tough voice rang out. In just a moment, he had diminished the hostility in the air. The man had a great sword on his back and he landed in front of Lei Wujie and Xiao Se. His face was full of warmth and a smile. Except, Lei Wujie could feel that behind that warmth and smile was hidden something even more dangerous than the four people they had just faced.