Eclosion

Luo Qiu usually browsed forums and message boards. This was probably a common phenomenon among young people in society. No matter how boring the topic, it could always draw responses from netizens.

For example, Luo Qiu had just posted this on one of the message boards he frequented: "I'm watching a huge bug swallow a giant mantis alive. How can I face this directly? Urgent, waiting online."

But perhaps the question was so boring that even the netizens couldn't be bothered to respond. After Luo Qiu glanced at a few other posts flooding the screen, the Insect Yokai had finally gotten its revenge, swallowing its enemy alive.

The grotesque scene before him was hardly any less bloody than the scenes from the zombie movies Luo Qiu had watched. He was glad it had been a long while since dinner. Only then did Luo Qi take a deep breath and break the silence. "Do you want some water? The river over there is clear..."

Don't expect someone who craved solitude, liked keeping his distance while observing people's hearts, and found conversing with others awkward to come up with any profound words of comfort at a time like this.

Luo Qiu felt that, in such an awkward situation, the fact that he could say something like "Have a drink of water to soothe your throat" was already remarkably valuable.

The Insect Yokai froze for a moment. Lowering its head to look at its handiwork, it was so frightened that it immediately leaped away and quickly crawled to the riverbank. It lowered its head and began vomiting noisily.

Only after a long while did the Insect Yokai drink a couple of mouthfuls of water. It slowly walked back in front of Luo Qiu and You Ye, apparently much calmer. "Thank, you. You, helped, me, get, revenge."

Luo Qiu nodded. "No need to thank me. This was a transaction, after all—an honest exchange. The enemy you were afraid of is now well and truly dead. What's next?"

It had said it wanted to buy one night of protection. Since the night had not yet passed, the goods had naturally not been delivered in full. Logically speaking, Luo Qiu had no grounds to simply take the Insect Yokai's jade tablet.

But if the buyer said it was enough, that was another matter.

So Luo Qiu decided to settle it now. "But you said you were only afraid of this Mantis Yokai. Now that it's been... Well, now that it's dead, you shouldn't have anything left to fear, right? This is a remote wilderness, and it doesn't look like a place anyone would want to come."

"Protect, me, until, sunrise."

"Mm..."

After receiving a definite answer from Luo Qiu, the Insect Yokai seemed much more at ease. "Thank you."

It had spoken the smoothest sentence it had managed so far.

Next, the Insect Yokai began removing its black coat, revealing an extremely ugly body. The tears in the flesh covering its body were far more severe than Luo Qiu had seen yesterday.

The Insect Yokai silently turned around and walked toward the riverbank, one step at a time. It moved slowly, yet every step was steady. Luo Qiu didn't know what the Insect Yokai intended to do next, but he had a feeling that he was about to witness something he would never forget.

The New Moon hung high in the sky. The Insect Yokai had already walked into the shallows, its body entering the icy river water. It raised its head to face the New Moon overhead. Its ugly body began to stretch as far as it could, then slowly contracted.

Luo Qiu still didn't know what the Insect Yokai intended to do.

Yet his feelings began to change.

The Insect Yokai's completely curled-up body showed signs of hardening... or perhaps drying out. Luo Qiu wasn't sure, but he instinctively moved closer.

In midsummer, the riverbank now glittered with countless deep-blue points of light, as if it had been dotted with fireflies. The dusky blue radiance reflected across the river shallows. The smooth stones washed up by the river now resembled deep-blue gems, beautiful enough to dazzle the eyes.

Meanwhile, a patch of pale-yellow radiance gathered around the Insect Yokai. It gradually began to solidify, like flowing golden water.

"It's absorbing the river's essence and the moonlight."

You Ye's voice suddenly sounded beside Luo Qiu's ear. "Master, it's preparing to break out of its cocoon and enter an entirely new stage of life."

"Mm." Luo Qiu merely nodded.

Looking at the Insect Yokai's current state, Luo Qiu had already formed a rough guess. You Ye's words confirmed it.

What the Insect Yokai truly wanted was to break out of its cocoon tonight. That was why it needed protection.

The river's essence, the moonlight, and the joy of approaching rebirth... The forest around them stood perfectly still, while the river breeze drifted gently, as if it too were happy for this.

No one knew how much time passed. Luo Qiu remained intoxicated by this magnificent radiance of life.

It was only when the New Moon sank and the radiance faded that he heard a muffled sound... The cocoon had broken.

"Why does it look like... it can't get out?" Luo Qiu suddenly frowned.

Yokai came from animals and insects that had gained sentience, so they could not escape their animal and insect natures. It was basically certain that the Insect Yokai belonged to the butterfly or moth family.

Under normal circumstances, breaking out of a cocoon was an arduous process for butterflies. Yet driven by instinct, they would ultimately overcome the difficulties and emerge.

But when Luo Qiu said it couldn't get out, he meant it literally—the wings hidden inside the cocoon had no way to extend through the opening in the split cocoon.

"It's too weak..." You Ye shook her head. "Even after absorbing the river's essence and the moonlight, it still isn't enough. What a pity that tonight isn't a full moon. Otherwise, it should have been able to grow stronger."

Weak...

Looking at the wings struggling desperately inside the cocoon, trying to burrow out but unable to squeeze through because the opening was too small, Luo Qiu sighed.

Its weakness had been caused by eating food contaminated with harmful substances.

Luo Qiu suddenly drew a deep breath and walked straight to the giant cocoon. He thrust both hands into the insect cocoon and forcefully pulled the split opening wider. "Listen. I can only help you this far and make it possible for your wings to come out. But you must struggle out of the cocoon yourself. If you can't overcome even the hardship of entering this world, then why come into it at all?"

A pair of wings began emerging from the split insect cocoon. The timid wings were not yet sturdy, as if they still needed time for their flesh and blood to fill out.

Only when they began to open into the wind did they fully reveal themselves.

Emerald green and powdery purple alternated across four roughly symmetrical wings, which fluttered weakly.

Luo Qiu let out a breath and slowly stepped back. The Insect Yokai had successfully spread its wings. All that remained was to wait for its body to complete its transformation within the cocoon.

Luo Qiu sat down on a round stone by the river, while You Ye silently kept him company.

"I found it." Luo Qiu suddenly raised his phone, looking rather pleased. "There really are clues!"

You Ye looked at the butterfly displayed on the phone screen, which was almost identical to the butterfly wings the Insect Yokai had spread. She softly read the butterfly's name. "Golden... something butterfly?"

"Golden Swallowtail Butterfly." Luo Qiu smiled. "Even an ordinary Golden Swallowtail Butterfly is already close to being classified as a protected species. A Golden Swallowtail Butterfly that has become a yokai is even rarer."

"It's beautiful." You Ye couldn't help admiring it.

Luo Qiu stood and walked forward, smiling. "This is probably a rare celebration of life. We should get closer for a better look."

As he reached the spot in front of the broken cocoon, Luo Qiu began to feel full of anticipation.

The Mantis Yokai had been enormous after revealing its true form—the Insect Yokai itself was also as tall as an adult. What would it be like after emerging from its cocoon?

A gigantic Golden Swallowtail Butterfly as large as a human had never been seen before. It could be a major discovery in human history.

At last, the crack in the insect cocoon suddenly split open completely, and radiance slowly spread from within.

Then a pair of fair, boneless-looking hands gently pushed the two sides of the insect cocoon apart.

Luo Qiu opened his mouth. He and the Insect Yokai that had completed its eclosion... Well, it was now a Butterfly Yokai—stared into each other's eyes. What emerged from the cocoon was not the gigantic butterfly he had imagined, but a woman with butterfly wings.

Why was the genre wrong again?

What happened to the major discovery in the history of human biology they had promised?