Stranger Danger

“A Beautifly?!” Ye Qing exclaimed in astonishment when he recognized the gorgeous woman for who she was.

Yes, the woman was not a human. She was an incredibly rare Stranger.

A Beautifly was a Soulstealer-class Stranger who was shaped like a human, but had butterfly wings on her back. The more colors they possessed on their wings, and the more vibrant the colors were, the more gorgeous a Beautifly would look.

Unfortunately, a Beautifly’s beauty was also the reason behind their downfall. Their beauty was coveted by everyone, and yet their strength was average at best. As a result, they were hunted by humans everywhere in the world until they became the rare species they were today.

The Beautifly before them had four wings and four colors, all of them extremely bright and vibrant, meaning that it was sapient. Such a Beautifly was even rarer than a normal Beautifly.

When the rain of stars and butterflies faded, a vine stretched out of the ground and grew many cute little ivy flowers. As a hundred flowers bloomed at the same time, a melodious voice came from inside the flowers:

“A good day to you all, ladies and gentlemen. We, the Three Perfections Troupe, are honored that you have come to the Eight Directions Inn and watch our performance. Speaking of which, the performance just now is called the ‘Sweeping the Stars of the Sky’. Did you like it?”

The voice was no ordinary voice. It sounded like the qin, the flute, the pan pipes, the mouth organ, the ocarina and more joining into one. It was as if each flower was a type of musical instrument, and each spoken word was a musical note. One might think that the clash of sounds between so many unique instruments would surely result in a discordant and chaotic noise, but in reality, they combined perfectly into a sound that could only be described as unique and wonderful.

The simple greeting was on par with a stunning performance by a musical master, and it was the kind of sound that would remain in one’s head for many days to come. For a time, everyone in the Eight Directions Inn could only stare yearningly at the vines, eager to hear more.

“The Melody Vine?” Yet again, Ye Qing exclaimed in surprise. It was said that there existed a vine that could grow a hundred flowers to play a melody that should only belong to the heavens. On the off chance that the mundane world was graced by its presence, it would be lucky to hear it more than once. This passage was describing the Melody Vine.

The Melody Vine was a Hatred-class Stranger. Generally harmless unless threatened, it could grow a hundred flowers—all of them a musical instrument of some sort—on its vine and play a rare melody unlike anything most people in the world had ever heard. For this reason, the Melody Vine was worshiped and hunted by humans just as fervently as the Beautifly, which was why they were a rare species as well. In fact, one could argue that the Melody Vine was even rarer than the Beautifly.

Even for someone like Ye Qing, he could not help but be astounded by the fact that he had just seen two exceedingly rare Strangers in rapid succession.

“We’re in the ‘People’ segment of the show right now,” Feng Qingyou sipped her tea and said.

“People?” Ye Qing raised his eyebrows.

“During the ‘People’ segment, the Three Perfections Troupe shows off unbelievable and unimaginable people from all over the world.”

Feng Qingyou explained, “To put it in simpler terms, everyone performing in the Three Perfections Troupe is a rare or extraordinary human or Stranger. Their very existence is enough to astound the masses and open countless eyes. That is why it is considered a ‘Perfection’.”

“You will learn that the Beautifly and Melody Vine are just the tip of the iceberg.”

As she spoke, the Melody Vine on the stage spoke up again, “Alright, it’s time for our next performance, the Dance of Ice and Fire…”

The Melody Vine slowly withdrew to the edge of the stage, and the Beautifly too gave a bow before slipping behind the curtains. At the same time, another woman stepped out of the curtains and walked all the way to the front of the stage.

The woman was wearing a white dress. She had snow white hair, snow white skin, and even snow white pupils. As she walked, snow descended all around her, and cold air washed out of her body. She looked like a mythical snow fairy.

“Huh? She’s a human,” Ye Qing exclaimed in astonishment. The woman’s appearance was so unusual that one would be forgiven to think that she was a Stranger. However, she was a bonafide human.

“She is a Snow Girl of Snowa.”

Feng Qingyou explained, “Snowa is a country located at the far north. Although it was officially recognized as a country, it’s really a tribe with just over ten thousand people in population. Both the men and the women of Snowa are all extraordinarily gorgeous, and they were born into their appearance and the power to control ice and cold. Strong and beautiful, some people even thought that they were divine.”

“However, the people of Snowa rarely left their homes, and they generally dislike interacting with outsiders. That is why few people are aware of their existence.”

“Snow Girl, huh? It is a fitting name for sure.” Ye Qing nodded.

Feng Qingyou was hardly the only person in the Eight Directions Inn who possessed an extraordinary wealth of knowledge and experience, so cries of astonishment and wonder were breaking out from various parts of the inn as well.

On the stage, the Snow Girl gave the audience a bow. Then, she began her dance.

Her dance was exceedingly beautiful. Like a snow lotus that only bloomed at the highest snow peaks, her dance was lofty, proud, and pure. As she danced, the amount of snow in the air gradually increased in volume, though it never flew past the stage. They were all floating around the Snow Girl and dancing with her, transforming into flora, fauna, mountains and rivers from time to time.

At some point, the Snow Girl’s dance started to pick up the pace and grew faster and faster. As if feeling some sort of urgency, the snowfall too grew more violent and rapid until it resembled a snow storm. At the same time, a snow dragon was circling above the Snow Girl like a vulture eyeing a delicious prey.

Suddenly, the snow dragon let out a roar and swooped down on the Snow Girl. It opened its mouth as if it would swallow her in one gulp.

“Ah!”

Maybe it was because the snow dragon looked too realistic, or maybe its draconic presence was that intimidating. Some of the audience lost their composure and cried out in panic.

However, the snow dragon exploded when it was about halfway to the Snow Girl. A fire cloud shot into the sky, and another woman slowly descended from above.

The woman was only as big as a human thumb, however. Her fire was both her dress and her shoes. She looked incredibly cute.

“A Fire Fairy!” Ye Qing’s eyebrows jumped again when he saw the thumb-sized woman, though he wasn’t really surprised anymore after the Beautifly and the Melody Vine’s appearance.

The thumb-sized woman was called the Fire Fairy. A Soulstealer-class Stranger, she was born in fire and lived for fire. She enjoyed dancing and playing in flames.

A Fire Fairy was pretty rare, but not as rare as the Beautifly or the Melody Vine. However, it was incredibly difficult for a Fire Fairy to grow strong enough to leave a flame, much less become sapient. This one was clearly sapient and could withstand even a snow storm, so she definitely deserved to star in the “People” segment.

Back on the stage, the Fire Fairy landed on the Snow Girl’s palm after destroying the snow dragon. The two women then threw themselves into a new dance—the Snow Girl on the stage, and the Fire Fairy on the Snow Girl’s palm.

If the Snow Girl’s dance was lofty, proud and pure, then the Fire Fairy’s dance was passionate and seductive.

The Snow Girl’s dance caused snow to fall, and cold air to spread everywhere. On the other hand, the Fire Fairy’s dance summoned rings of fire around her, and fire clouds to float here and there.

Big and small, cold and hot, snow and fire. The distinct contrast between them painted a visual performance that could only be described as an absolute feast for the eyes.

As the two women’s dance grew more and more elaborate and exciting, the snowstorm and the fire too grew stronger and stronger. They all said that fire and water did not mix, but that couldn’t be any less false for the duo. Somehow, the snow of the Snow Girl and the fire of the Fire Fairy were combining perfectly. The snow embraced the fire, and the fire enveloped the snow. Their union was as harmonious as yin and yang as they showed off to the audience all kinds of wonderful, unimaginable sights.

The women were beautiful, their performance was gorgeous, and the world was all the better because of it. For a time, everyone in the Eight Directions Inn was absolutely absorbed in the performance. They did not awake even after the dance had finally come to an end, and both women had retreated behind the curtains.

“What a feast of light and color. What a dance of ice and fire.”

Feng Qingyou praised after a long silence, and as if on cue, everyone in the inn started clapping and complimenting the dance as well.

A short while later, the Melody Vine appeared once more to announce the next performance: Untouchable.

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