Chapter 156: The Butterfly Person
In a private villa.
Chu Feng put down his phone and sighed lightly.
Illya came down from upstairs and asked with some confusion, “What’s wrong? Who was calling?”
“That brat Cheng called. Said his sister had a fight with their father.”
Illya puffed up his cheeks. “Why?”
“Over alcohol.”
“Doesn’t sound like it’s just about alcohol. Seems like his sister has complaints about the family’s attitude toward him, so she stirred up trouble.”
Chu Feng shook his head. Honestly, he wasn’t too concerned about rejoining the Zhuang family. But his sister… seemed to be fighting hard on his behalf—it didn’t feel worth it.
Illya nodded. “The Hundred Fruit Brew crafted by the shaman is really something.”
Chu Feng tilted his head. “Too bad there’s not much of it.”
Illya puffed her cheeks again. “There’ll be more next year.”
This year was too rushed. Although Lan Hu was helping collect ingredients, it was already past the season. Even in Tianhai City, available resources were limited.
Chu Feng shook his head. “Let’s not talk about that. The bigger issue now is this.”
Chu Feng glanced toward the sofa. A snow-white rabbit sat in front of it, intensely focused on the animated show playing on TV—The Adventures of White Bunny.
Resting his chin on his hand, Chu Feng said, “So, what do we do with this rabbit? Braise it? Steam it? Stir-fry? Stew?”
Illya shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Seeing the two of them looking at him, Duoduo turned around and raised his paws in a pleading gesture—he promised to behave and begged them not to send him back. He just wanted to stay and watch TV.
Chu Feng rolled his eyes. He’d threatened to eat the rabbit, and yet the dumb thing only cared about watching TV. Fine—this rabbit probably didn’t even understand him, since he was speaking Chinese.
Illya glanced at Manning and said, “Manning, you stay and look after Duoduo. Don’t go back over there for now.”
Manning nodded, secretly pleased. “Okay.”
Chu Feng looked at the happy Manning and shook his head. He had brought Manning back and forth three times already. Even with Illya’s protection, each teleportation made him quite uncomfortable. Too many jumps might even shorten his lifespan. Manning’s ability would probably be needed often—so it was better to station him here permanently.
Chu Feng called Lin Zhihao and asked him to come over. He entrusted Manning to his care.
Lin Zhihao nodded. “Don’t worry, Brother Feng. I’ll take good care of her.”
After the wood carving shop closed, Lin Zhihao hadn’t rushed to find another job. He already had several properties and about three million in savings. Just living off interest and rent was enough. Chu Feng nodded. “With your help, I’m relieved.”
Lin Zhihao grinned mysteriously. “Brother Feng, where did these two people even smuggle in from?”
Chu Feng frowned. “You don’t need to know that. Just help them get used to life here.”
Lin Zhihao nodded. “Got it.”
Chu Feng looked at Manning and said, “You need to study hard—at the very least, learn how to speak.”
Chu Feng thought to himself: There will likely be more people coming from that side. If Manning can adapt to life here, he could act as their guide.
Manning nodded. “Boss, don’t worry.”
Chu Feng took out a card and handed it to Manning. “There’s ten thousand on here. Use it for now with Duoduo.”
Having just received over 800 million in funds, Chu Feng felt it was necessary to be a bit generous with his subordinates.
Manning nodded. “Okay, thank you.”
Lin Zhihao looked at Chu Feng. “Brother Feng, you’re really generous!”
Chu Feng smiled. “It’s nothing. These days, to recruit capable people, you’ve got to buy them houses and cars. With Manning’s powers—especially for locating people—he’s worth a ten-million annual salary.”
Once he handed the pair over to Lin Zhihao, Chu Feng instantly felt lighter.
Chu Feng and Illya returned to the other world.
“You’re back?” asked the Shaman. “Duoduo seems to be missing.”
Chu Feng looked at the shaman and helplessly shrugged. “She went to the other side.”
The shaman was a little alarmed. “She really went there? That rascal—she didn’t get into trouble, did she?”
“She’s still alive, but she’s sick, so I left him there,” Chu Feng replied.
The shaman nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. “As long as she’s alive. But going back and forth like this is a hassle.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Exactly what I thought. Has word about Duoduo spread?”
The shaman shook his head. “Not yet. Most people just think she’s slacking off and went out to play.”
Chu Feng nodded. “That’s good.”
He thought to himself: People here really are laid-back. A kid goes missing and no one panics. If it were over there, they’d already be in a frenzy.
“It has spread. Who knows if others will want to take the risk themselves,” Illya frowned and said, “Shaman, when I came over, why did I see some unfamiliar faces here?”
“Some people from nearby small tribes have come to rely on us,” the shaman replied.
Chu Feng was a bit surprised. “Is that so?”
The shaman nodded. “With all the commotion on our side, the neighboring minor tribes naturally noticed. This year’s harvest isn’t good, and many of them don’t have enough stored food — their clans might face extinction. Since they sought refuge here, I gathered a batch of them. It just so happens we are short on manpower here too.”
In previous years, Crescent Village could barely care for itself and wouldn’t bother with such matters — but this year was different.
Chu Feng nodded. “You handle it as you see fit. With our development here, population growth is inevitable.”
“More people will be harder to manage though.”
The shaman smiled. “Generally, unless absolutely necessary, tribes don’t merge with others. The ones that came are from weaker groups with low combat ability. Don’t worry, they won’t stir up trouble. Everyone has been registered — you can go check.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Alright.”
He wandered around the castle area and found that the construction progress was astonishingly fast!
Illya nodded. “Yes, the castle is nearly done.”
Chu Feng stood atop a tower, casually looking out in all directions. The progress far exceeded his expectations. There were even small cranes at the construction site — probably something the dwarves had replicated. Chu Feng marveled again at the intelligence of this world’s people.
Shi Qi stood in an open area, rapidly building up an earthen slope, surrounded by some Highlanders who were speaking with him.
Illya, noticing Shi Qi, said in surprise, “Shi Qi seems to be getting along well with the Highlanders.”
He tilted his head. “Everyone’s getting along just fine.”
Chu Feng thought about it. “That’s true.”
After spending some time in Crescent Village, Chu Feng and Illya brought a batch of supplies to Tianhai City. As soon as they arrived, Chu Feng saw a new branch of a merchant shop being opened.
Lan Hu, wearing dozens of large gold chains, was energetically presiding over the opening ceremony.
Chu Feng, watching from the side, was speechless. He thought to himself: Lan Hu is from an aristocratic family, yet he has the taste of a nouveau riche. That golden outfit must weigh dozens of pounds. This guy usually avoids hard work, but he’s really gone all out for attention this time. With so many chains on his neck, isn’t he worried about getting robbed and having his neck broken?
“Welcome!” Lan Hu walked over to Chu Feng.
Chu Feng nodded. “You’re very popular now. Even opening branches!”
Lan Hu smiled. “Just doing what I can. Our business is too good — without opening branches, we can’t handle the traffic.”
His family already knew about his partnership in opening a shop in Tianhai City but didn’t interfere much. Business had been going well, and Lan Hu had just opened another branch.
Chu Feng nodded. “Handle it your way. Have you collected what I asked for?”
Lan Hu nodded quickly. “Yes, yes, I’ve got everything! Recently, we made a big deal with the Merfolk — bought a lot of pearls, corals, and gemstones… all stored in the underground warehouse. Boss, would you like to take a look?”
Chu Feng nodded. “I’ll go in a bit. Got any wine?”
Lan Hu nodded again. “Yes. We recently got some from the Monkey Tribe.”
“Monkey Tribe? Like actual monkeys?” Chu Feng asked.
Lan Hu nodded. “Yes, their beast forms are very similar to monkeys.”
“… There’s a race like that?” Chu Feng was surprised. I guess I’m still ignorant.
Lan Hu said, “The Monkey Tribe is very good at brewing. Their wine is exquisite — very hard to come by.”
Chu Feng raised an eyebrow, thinking: If Lan Hu praises this wine so highly, it must be extraordinary. If it’s brewed by monkeys, maybe it’s similar to the monkey wine from our world.
Illya tilted her head. “Monkey wine is quite famous — though still not as good as the Shaman’s Hundred-Fruit Brew.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Then I definitely have to try it. What did you trade for it?”
“I gave them a batch of instant noodles,” Lan Hu said.
“Instant noodles? Monkeys eat instant noodles?” Chu Feng asked.
Lan Hu nodded. “They do! I opened a noodle shop next to our merchant store. Some from the Monkey Tribe passed by, smelled the noodles, and were instantly hooked.”
Chu Feng blinked. “You opened a luxury goods store for rich people — and then put a noodle shop right next to it? Is that appropriate? How’s business?”
Lan Hu nodded seriously. “Business is great. The rich in Tianhai City love this stuff.”
Chu Feng saw several butterflies flying across the sky and was startled. “Butterflies? Is there someone who can control swarms of butterflies nearby?”
Lan Hu shook his head. “No, recently some Butterfly People arrived.”
“Butterfly people?” Chu Feng grew curious. “Humanoid butterflies with wings? Are they beautiful?”
Lan Hu nodded. “They’re usually quite beautiful — but also very small.”
“Very small?” Chu Feng asked, puzzled.
Lan Hu nodded again.
When Chu Feng saw them for himself, he finally understood what Lan Hu meant — the adult butterfly people were only about the size of a fist and could be held in one hand.
Chu Feng saw a group of fluttering butterfly people near a honey wine shop.
“There are people inside?” Chu Feng asked.
Lan Hu nodded. “Of course. The butterfly people mostly gather the honey and brew the wine — but most of the actual brewing is done by caretakers.”
Chu Feng nodded, indicating he understood. The honey wine being sold was sweet and tasted quite good, though not very strong. Chu Feng figured it would be good to bring some back for Zhuang Cheng — after all, he was his brother and liked alcohol. But since he was underage, Chu Feng just bought a few bottles himself.
Then Chu Feng followed Lan Hu to the treasure vault. Lan Hu opened a box, and Chu Feng was immediately shocked.
“Are these night pearls?” he asked.
Chu Feng had seen night pearls before — but never this many.
A whole box of them, all roughly the same size.
Lan Hu nodded. “Yes. A few days ago, I met a sea merchant from the Ocean Tribe. He insisted on buying instant noodles and snacks, and wouldn’t take no for an answer — so he forced these on me. The dwarves have nearly finished developing electric lights, so I didn’t even want the pearls. But the sea folk merchant was so pitiful, I reluctantly took them.”
Chu Feng: “…This fat bastard is really getting arrogant.”
Well, he himself seemed to be getting a little inflated too. After seeing several boxes of treasures, he didn’t even feel much of anything. After sweeping through Tianhai City, Chu Feng returned to the Crescent Village fully satisfied.
“Big brother.” Gray had quietly gone to find Illya.
Illya looked at Gray and said, “What is it?”
Gray looked at Illya and cautiously asked, “Big brother, did Duoduo go to the other side of the sea?”
Illya asked suspiciously, “How do you know that? Were you in on it?”
Gray quickly shook his head and said, “No, it’s just that Duoduo said he would definitely make it to the other side of the sea. He had a way.”
Illya: “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
Gray said with frustration, “You didn’t ask me!”
Illya and Chu Feng both looked at Gray. Chu Feng rolled his eyes and thought to himself: these little brats really are bold. Even if Gray wasn’t a co-conspirator, he still knew and didn’t report it.
“Since Duoduo wanted to go, why didn’t you stop him?” Chu Feng asked.
Gray muttered, “He said that if he didn’t go, he would die of lovesickness… like a rabbit.”
Chu Feng: “Lovesickness? More like a mental illness. A rabbit with this many issues…”
“Big brother, I want to go too,” Gray added.
Chu Feng nodded. “Alright!”
Illya looked at Chu Feng and asked, “Is that okay? Is this really a good idea?”
Chu Feng calmly replied, “Whether it’s one sheep or two, you still have to herd them. Isn’t Zhihao trying to teach them how to adapt to modern life anyway? Might as well teach a few together. Better to guide them than suppress them. Since so many want to experience the modern world, rather than stop them all, we might as well send a few pioneers.”
Illya looked at Chu Feng and said, “If that’s the case, then it’s best to pick a few who are capable, smart, and look more like humans. They’ll adapt more easily.”
Gray said excitedly, “Me! Me! I’m capable, smart, and look just like a human!”
Chu Feng: “Gray obviously looks down on humans. He used to call them ‘stupid humans’ all the time. And now he’s actually calling himself one just to get a chance to go across the sea? No shame at all.”
“Well, fine then.”
