"Little thing, don't run!"
Huang Xun'er giggled sweetly and stretched out her delicate hand. Her fingertips were almost touching the butterfly's wings when the pink butterfly, as though it possessed a spirit, suddenly fluttered upward, skimmed past her hair, and flew toward the grass by the stream.
Unwilling to be outdone, Huang Xun'er lifted her skirt and hurried after it. Her gauzy dress swept through the grass, scattering a string of glistening dewdrops.
By the time she reached the stream, the pink butterfly had vanished without a trace. Just as she pouted in vexation, she heard a rustling sound from the grass nearby.
Looking down, she saw a snow-white rabbit crouched in the grass, nibbling tender clover with its long ears pricked alertly.
A mischievous glint immediately flashed through Huang Xun'er's eyes. She crouched down lightly, held her breath, and slowly crept toward the rabbit. When she was less than three feet away, she suddenly pounced, crying sweetly, "Got you!"
Startled, the rabbit shot away. Huang Xun'er missed and landed on the soft grass, her skirt spreading around her like a blooming flower.
Rather than getting angry, she laughed until her eyes curved into crescents. A faint blush colored her cheeks, like ripe peaches.
She pushed herself up, patted the grass blades from her skirt, and continued chasing the rabbit. Her laughter was crisp and free of the slightest sorrow, as pure as the breeze drifting through this valley.
Just as she chased the rabbit across a slope blooming with irises, the sky above suddenly darkened.
The originally clear blue sky was obscured by a sudden mass of clouds and mist. Pale gray and threadlike as gauze, it nevertheless carried a strange heaviness as it slowly drifted over the valley.
A figure stood atop the mist.
He was a man