Chapter 117: A Beautiful Butterfly

"Sid, I've actually known for a long time that you wanted to sleep with me. Hehe, but you also know that I’m not interested in men—except for him!" Jenny pointed at Long Fei, a flicker of lust flashing in her eyes. It was enough to make even Long Fei feel a shiver of trepidation. Damn, this woman was insatiable; he had satisfied her five times in a row, and she had just been full, so why was she looking at him like that again? Did she really take him for a stud horse?

Long Fei glanced at Jack, who had been keeping his head down in silence, and smiled. "Jack, I heard you made quite a lot of money back when you were fighting in the ring?"

Jack finally looked up, his face lighting up with excitement as he recalled the past. "Yes, that life is something I'll never forget. You know, I once had a streak of one hundred and seven consecutive wins, and in forty-eight of those, I knocked my opponent out with a single punch. That feeling was incredible—better than sex, haha!"

Long Fei knew Jack wasn't bragging; he always did thorough background checks on those who volunteered to serve him.

"Then why did you decide to follow Jenny? Could it be because of her beauty?" Long Fei chuckled.

"Half that, and half because I love this kind of crazy life. Otherwise, I wouldn't have retired from boxing to join the Hunter School. Oh, God, that was a truly unbearable memory. I swear, I will never forget it as long as I live. My instructor was named Missy. I’m convinced that guy wasn't just a pervert; he was a fanatical sadist!" Mentioning the Hunter School made Jack’s face darken with pain. As he said, those memories were too cruel, leaving him with lingering fear, though they had also benefited him for life.

Long Fei had also undergone training at the Hunter School, but it had only taken him three years to meet their graduation standards, far exceeding his instructors' expectations. He had not only finished early but had also left seven out of his eight instructors crippled. The only one spared was a woman—a beautiful one—so he had merely sent her to bed for three months. After all, he still knew how to treat a beautiful lady with a bit of tenderness.

In doing so, Long Fei had become the greatest legend in the history of the Hunter School, as well as its greatest disgrace. It was true that the student had surpassed the master, but Long Fei hadn't just surpassed them; he had turned dark, his very heart blackened by the experience. They had trained him with such rigor, and he had repaid them by crippling them.

However, Long Fei never regretted it. Like Jack, he felt those eight instructors were all complete perverts. Training was one thing, but what they practiced was torture and abuse. The real reason Long Fei had acted that way was that all eight instructors were racists. For those who looked down on the people of Huaxia, Long Fei showed no mercy. He remembered a line from a book: "Those who offend the majesty of Huaxia shall be punished, no matter how far away they are." Since the eight instructors were right in front of him, letting them live was already a sufficient repayment for their "education."

"Yes, those instructors were indeed sadists. And what I hated most was their racism!" A sharp, cold light flashed in Long Fei's eyes.

Jack froze. The reason he had suffered so much at the Hunter School wasn't because he lacked talent; on the contrary, as a former black-market boxing champion, he was more capable than many recruits selected from national special forces. But he was black, and black people had never been well-regarded, especially at the Hunter School.

"You went through their training too?" Jack asked with a mix of suspicion and delight, as if he had found a kindred spirit in a foreign land.

Long Fei smirked. "Of course. And while I’m sure their methods were cruel, they were effective. I just made sure to give those eight instructors a thorough beating before I left. Haha, I imagine they’re still in wheelchairs. Anyway, enjoy your meal—I have to go."

They were all heading to the same destination tonight, but Long Fei didn't want to be seen arriving with Jenny and her crew. Although Black Dragon Society spies were present here, this was just a meal, and it was unlikely to draw much attention.

***

After Long Fei left, Jenny noticed Jack looking frantic, as if he were about to chase after him. She immediately warned, "Jack, stay calm. If you run out there now, I suspect he’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair, too. You know he doesn't like disobedient subordinates, and neither do I."

Jack sat back down, still visibly agitated. "Oh, guys, did you hear that? What he just said? He said he beat up eight instructors, right? I didn't mishear that, did I, friend?"

Sid shrugged. "That's right. Your hearing is perfectly fine for now."

Jack looked at Jenny, who also shrugged. "Uh-huh, you heard him correctly."

Slapping his forehead with one hand, Jack sighed. "Oh, God, I swear, I will follow him and be loyal to him forever. Do you understand? He is my idol—no, he is the idol of everyone who has ever attended the Hunter School. He is a legend, a myth! Do you get it?"

Jenny shook her head blankly, and Sid followed suit.

Jack slapped his forehead again. "Fine, then let me tell you. This is a secret—the greatest secret of the World Hunter School!"

***

Long Fei stepped out of the hotel and was about to hail a taxi when he suddenly frowned. He was certain his eyes weren't playing tricks on him: a swarm of beautiful, colorful butterflies was hovering nearby, yet everyone walking past seemed unable to see them.

Seeing such butterflies in this season was strange enough, but what was even stranger was that they seemed to be dancing specifically for him. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and his heart began to pound. Encountering such a person at a time like this made things complicated. Yet, as if guided by an unseen force, he walked toward the butterflies. As he moved, the swarm circled him a few times before forming a straight line, like a flock of migrating geese, and flew toward a distant forest of coral trees.

Once inside the coral forest, the butterflies accelerated, forcing Long Fei to use his light-foot skills to keep up. After about ten minutes of chasing them, he finally reached his destination.

He knew he had arrived for two reasons: first, the butterflies vanished into thin air as if they had never existed; second, he sensed a dangerous presence about five meters in front of him. Although he saw nothing, he knew it was merely an illusion cast by the Onmyoji, Abe Hiroaki.

Long Fei knew a little about Abe Hiroaki—Japan's most mysterious Onmyoji and a descendant of the legendary demon-slayer Abe no Seimei. He was highly revered in Japan, rumored to be treated with such respect by the Emperor that he was consulted on matters of state.

Long Fei had read about Onmyoji; they were similar to the Taoist priests of Huaxia’s Maoshan sect, but beyond reading the stars, face-reading, predicting disasters, and casting spells, they were masters of illusion and could communicate with spirits. It was said that the most powerful among them could command the Twelve Shikigami, such as the Azure Dragon or White Tiger.

Of course, legends were just legends, and Long Fei didn't believe everything. The idea of commanding the Twelve Shikigami seemed absurd, but their ability to cast illusions and predict the future was undeniable. The latter was historically documented, as Abe no Seimei was famous for accurately predicting the abdication of Emperor Kazan.

Long Fei was no different from any other man. He wouldn't feel fear facing a flesh-and-blood opponent, even a legendary assassin from Europe or a mythical monk from Huaxia. But encountering someone like Abe Hiroaki, who dabbled in the supernatural, made him feel inexplicably uneasy and powerless.

"Come out!" Long Fei shouted, trying to bolster his courage. It worked; his shout, infused with deep inner energy, not only steadied his nerves but seemed to tear through the air ahead of him, causing a figure to slowly materialize.

A man in a grey-black kimono appeared from the air. He looked to be in his fifties, yet his eyes were sharp and lively, and he was smiling at Long Fei.

"Abe Hiroaki?" Although Long Fei had never seen him, he had a strong intuition that this was indeed Japan's premier Onmyoji. The man’s smiling eyes made Long Fei feel uncomfortable, as if he could see right through him.

The man nodded, still smiling. To Long Fei’s surprise, Abe Hiroaki understood Mandarin, which made things easier. Long Fei began to carefully observe the man who was practically worshipped as a god.

In truth, Long Fei didn't know that Onmyoji existed between the realm of men and gods, acting as a bridge between the underworld and the living.

Abe Hiroaki was half a head taller than Long Fei, standing at least 1.9 meters tall, yet his build was incredibly thin, like a clothes pole. His long, black hair was pulled back and tied with a cloth band. His hands were tucked into his sleeves. Though he couldn't see them, Long Fei imagined them to be as thin and claw-like as a chicken’s, perhaps with long, sharp fingernails.

"You looking for me?" Long Fei frowned.

"Of course. Young man, have you ever heard a certain saying?" Abe Hiroaki didn't seem to have any malicious intent.

Long Fei was stunned. "You came to find me just to ask that? Go ahead, what is it?"

Abe Hiroaki smiled. "It is a prophecy."