Butterfly Shatters, Exposing the First Encounter Between Qing Wan and Hantian

I clutched the fragment and turned into a deep alley. The wind whipped ashes onto my face, carrying a burnt, bitter scent. The edge of the half-butterfly wing was scorched black, like a feather burned by fire, and I could still feel the residual heat from my fingertips.

My footsteps didn't falter as I quickly stuffed the jade bottle into my treasure pouch, pressing my left hand against my right wrist to suppress the surging Blood Essence. The metallic sweetness in my throat hadn't dissipated, but I couldn't cough it up. A cough would break my concentration, making it difficult to hide my tracks.

No one pursued me, yet I knew he wouldn't let me go.

When Ji Hantian stood at the entrance of the Dry Bone Workshop, his tone was dismissive, but his words pierced me to the bone. He had been waiting for me, perhaps from the moment I stepped into the Spirit Hall, I had already fallen under his watch. He hadn't killed me because I was still useful to him—either to pry secrets from Ji Wuchen or to use me as bait to lure him out.

I didn't dare look back, nor did I dare walk in a straight line. Before turning into East Alley, I casually grabbed a handful of old medicinal dregs from the base of the wall, mixed them with the blood foam on my fingers, and rolled them into a mud ball, flinging it into a crack in the stone at the corner. This was "Trace-Delaying Powder." It would slowly release its scent when wet, delaying the tracker's judgment. If they sent puppets to search, it would buy me at least fifteen minutes.

Just as I scaled the low wall, a soft sound suddenly came from behind me.

It wasn't footsteps, nor the wind, but the rustling sound of powder falling.

My heart tightened, and I immediately crouched down. The next moment, a stream of dark green mist swept past the top of the wall, landing where I had just stood. The mist ignited upon hitting the ground, corroding several small pits, and white smoke rose from the bricks.

Demonic Powder.

Ji Hantian had made his move.

Without waiting for his second wave of attacks, I flipped and leaped down, using my medicine pestle to push off the ground, my body slanting forward twenty feet. I still had three qian of Thunderfire Fuse hidden in my sleeve, which I wouldn't use unless I was in dire straits. Once this thing detonated, the commotion would be too great, not only attracting the City Guard but also potentially alerting other forces lurking in the shadows.

The alley was narrow, flanked by high walls, with a sliver of night sky overhead. I moved swiftly along the base of the wall, and when I heard an anomaly in the wind, I immediately dodged to the side. A fan rib grazed past me and embedded itself in the opposite wall, its tail still vibrating.

"Miss Ye, why bother running?" His voice came from the alley entrance, unhurried. "What did you find? Why don't you tell me face-to-face?"

I didn't answer, instead quickening my pace toward the end of the alley. There was a half-collapsed woodshed there, a retreat I had noted during my earlier reconnaissance. Once I passed through the woodpile, I could enter the old goods market, where the crowds and chaos would make it easier to escape.

But after only a few steps, the ground suddenly softened.

I stopped abruptly and looked down. The bluestone slabs I had just stepped on had a sticky sheen, as if soaked with some liquid. Looking up again, Ji Hantian stood ten feet away, gently fanning himself, a Blood Crystal on his left arm glowing faintly.

"I've laid seven layers of formation traps in this alley," he chuckled. "Every step you take activates the restrictions for me."

I held my breath and slowly took half a step back. I felt a slight tugging sensation under my feet, as if fine threads were entangling my soles. Looking down, I saw a few nearly transparent spider silks extending from the cracks in the wall, silently clinging to me.

Puppet Technique.

This wasn't Ji Hantian's doing; it was the Blood Demon Sect's style. Someone must have left a contingency, perhaps Mo Xuan's arrangement.

I reached for the medicine pouch at my waist, my fingertips touching a bottle of Calming Dew. This liquid was meant to calm the Divine Soul, but it would react violently when it came into contact with certain demonic substances. My only chance to break free now was to create chaos.

He approached step by step, lifting his fan slightly and pointing it at my forehead. "Tell me, how much did that Crystal Butterfly of yours see?"

I didn't answer, instead splashing the liquid onto the ground.

The moment the liquid splashed, it came into contact with the spider silks, emitting a sizzling sound. A pale green flame rose and burned back along the threads. A muffled groan came from the wall cracks, and a dark figure retreated.

Now!

I bent my knees and pushed off the ground, my medicine pestle striking the earth. I shot forward like an arrow toward the woodshed. An angry roar came from behind me as Ji Hantian waved his sleeve, scattering more Demonic Powder, the green mist filling the air and obscuring my vision.

I charged with bated breath, and just as I was about to crash into the woodpile, my left sleeve suddenly tightened—a spider silk had wrapped around my arm and yanked me forcefully to the side.

My shoulder slammed heavily against the wall, pain making my vision go black. Gritting my teeth, I raised my hand and used my fingernails to slash my wrist, letting blood drip onto the Demonic Powder clinging to my sleeve.

Blood met Demonic Powder and instantly turned black.

This was the trigger for "Reverse Detonation Powder." I had mixed the powder into the inner layer of my bracer long ago, waiting for the right moment to activate it.

BOOM!

An explosion erupted, fire soaring into the sky. The entire alley wall cracked, debris flying everywhere. I used the force of the blast to propel myself upward, leaping onto the rooftop. Shards of tile cut my palm, but I ignored the pain, rolled over the ridge, and sprinted madly toward the depths of East Alley.

An enraged roar came from behind: "Search! You must find them!"

I didn't look back, only feeling a burning pain in my left arm. Looking down, I saw that my sleeve had been corroded by the Demonic Powder, revealing a section of my forearm. The skin was red, and blisters were forming at the edges. If I had been a moment slower, my entire arm would have been ruined.

I endured the pain and continued to flee. The rooftops rose and fell, and I leaped from tile to tile, trying to avoid the brightly lit main street. After passing three courtyards, I finally saw the upturned eaves of my residence.

Fifty paces left.

Just as I was about to leap down, a tremor suddenly ran through my body.

It felt as if something was awakening within my meridians. A warm, golden light rose from my Dantian and spread along my extraordinary meridians. A faint golden halo flickered behind me, only appearing for a moment, but it steadied my steps.

The aura of a Pseudo-Primordial Body.

This power wasn't my own. I remembered the first time I saw Ji Wuchen, standing outside the medicinal hut, the sunlight hitting the scar on his left cheek. I had smelled a similar fluctuation. Later, when I got close to him a few times, this aura had quietly seeped into my Bloodline, burying itself like a seed.

Now, in this moment of crisis, it had surfaced on its own, stabilizing my scattered spirit.

I seized the opportunity to leap down, landing on a locust tree outside the courtyard wall, and took a moment to catch my breath. My residence was just ahead, a dim yellow candlelight leaking from the crack in the door; Hongxiu was probably still awake.

But just then, I heard a cold laugh from the rooftop.

"So that's how it is."

I looked up sharply.

Ji Hantian stood on the opposite rooftop, his fan closed, his eyes as cold as ice. He hadn't pursued me, but he had been watching me the entire time.

"You... have his aura on you," he said in a low voice. "It's more than just having met him. You're already... too deeply entangled."

I didn't move, nor did I reply. My hand quietly reached for the last Thunderfire Fuse at my waist.

He no longer attacked, merely stating coldly, "Do you think you're safe returning here? Tomorrow morning, the entire Northern Wasteland will know that a Branch Family's concubine-born daughter has been secretly practicing the Blood Phoenix Body and colluding with a good-for-nothing."

He paused, a smile forming on his lips. "I will make the entire Ji Family watch as you are expelled from the clan registry."

As the words fell, he turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing into the night.

I sat on a branch, still catching my breath. The wound on my left arm burned like fire, the medicine pouch was more than half empty, and the Blood Essence within me had yet to calm. The layer of golden light had long since dissipated, but the residual warmth still flowed through my meridians.

I slowly slid down the trunk, staggering two steps before I could stand steady. I pinched the skin between my thumb and forefinger, forcing myself to sober up.

I had to treat the wound before dawn, or the poison would seep into my bones. I leaned against the wall, heading for the courtyard gate. As my hand reached for the door ring, I suddenly sensed something was wrong.

The candlelight from under the door had changed color.

It had been a dim yellow, but now it had a faint hint of green.

That was the color of a flame from "Spirit-Calming Oil." This lamp oil was exclusively supplied to the City Lord's Manor; ordinary families could never obtain it.

Someone had been here.

I froze in place, my hand slowly moving away from the door ring.