Chapter 60: The Last Supper II
Elephant Tuomo’s gaze fell upon Die Lüxin, and he said faintly:
“Do you still remember how the Prophet taught us to govern the country back then?”
“The Angel King rose so rapidly; among the Four Angel Kings, do you think I should investigate them?”
They fell silent.
According to the Prophet’s teachings, they certainly should have investigated.
Whether the other party was benevolent or malicious directly affected the safety and survival of the entire Butterfly Clan.
To not investigate would be the act of a foolish ruler devoid of basic vigilance.
In other words.
The Butterfly Emperor had discovered Chong Qiqi’s true identity from the very beginning?
Elephant Tuomo murmured softly, his pupils losing focus as if recalling distant years:
“In the 60th year of the Butterfly Era, on the Phoenix Emperor’s 60th birthday, all the kings offered tributes, and Die Hongjun presented the rebel worm dragon.”
“In that year, the Prophet bestowed two arts that changed the Butterfly Clan: silken garments and the weaving of life.”
“In that year, the Phoenix Emperor wore the beautiful new Phoenix robes. When she returned home, the Butterfly Queen, Die Lüxin, also wished to weave a new Phoenix robe. She said the Phoenix Emperor would not mind,
yet I insisted that propriety could not be disregarded. You may weave other garments, but not a Phoenix. Some rifts in life are slowly created in just this manner.
Die Lüxin listened to advice, and thus the Vermilion Bird garments came to be.
At that time, looking at my somewhat haughty wife, a sudden terror gripped me. I had a premonition that our one emperor and four kings might sooner or later fall apart.
I investigated in secret. My third brother, Chi Hongjun, and my fourth sister, Die Chiyin, had some friction because the fourth sister spent all day stealing and eating Chi Hongjun’s experimental subjects.”
The assembled butterflies all fell silent.
“At that time, a new idea formed in my mind. I tracked down Chong Qiqi, but I did not expose her; instead, I fueled the flames.”
“She wanted vengeance, so I created the opportunity for her.”
Elephant Tuomo sighed softly: “And so that scene came to pass: she swept the entire Angel Clan along with her and charged up the tree.”
“On that day, those four creation angels broke apart before our eyes, living out their remaining years in agonizing, unceasing remorse...”
His gaze grew turbid, gradually shifting toward the four butterflies before him:
“Ever since then, all of you began to carefully cherish this bond. The four of you were terrified of becoming like those four, terrified that your own twilight years would plunge into endless regret.”
“Fear made you cherish each other’s relationship all the more.”
“And value made you meticulously maintain the knots in the rope of friendship.”
The butterflies were all silent, the scene wrapped in absolute quiet.
Die Hongjun let out a sigh.
Back then, he had thoroughly detested Die Chiyin for stealing his experimental subjects for barbecues. Yet after witnessing the Four Angel Kings, he stopped dwelling on such petty matters.
He indulged Die Chiyin’s small gluttony with an attitude of pampering indulgence.
The other butterfly lords were the same. In the past, they had harbored various gaps and minor frictions, bickering from time to time.
At the time, they hadn’t cared, but what if those bickerings lasted for ten years, or a hundred years?
The fractures would become irreparable.
And the heartbreaking spectacle of the four founding angels breaking apart and meeting a miserable end in their old age... deeply shocked their souls. High up in the tree, they lived in terror of becoming the next.
The Angel of Truth was exceptionally astute:
“That year, I killed the little angel and framed Die Hongjun, yet Die Hongjun happened to have an absolute, ironclad alibi at that exact moment. That was no coincidence...”
“I did it.”
“How could there be so many coincidences in this world?”
Elephant Tuomo said: “I wanted you to frame the Butterfly Clan, yet without truly implicating the Butterfly Clan. We had to remain blameless.”
“In those exact few days, I dropped subtle hints to my fourth sister, Die Chiyin, telling her that the third brother’s laboratory had researched delicious worm dragon meat. Thus, the Phoenix Emperor and Die Chiyin enthusiastically went to pester Die Hongjun during those days, flawlessly securing his alibi.”
Die Chiyin opened her eyes wide, her expression turning complex: “Eldest Brother, Eldest Brother, you...”
The Angel of Truth continued: “That history of the Creator God, the prehistoric mass extinction, and the aging Angel King’s guilt toward the butterflies on the tree...”
“The evidence was provided by me in secret.”
Elephant Tuomo said softly: “I was the one who uncovered history first and let you test the waters. I knew the Angel King’s temperament; he would undoubtedly use his entire clan’s lives out of guilt to...”
“You actually exploited his guilt!”
“And the root cause of that guilt was orchestrated by you in the first place.” The Angel of Truth wore a complex expression. “Then, what about the divine artifact of emotion that the butterflies on the tree lent to the Angel King back then...?”
“That, too, was the result of my arrangement.”
Elephant Tuomo said: “Do you all remember that my whole life was spent studying the fusion of divine artifacts and how to become a god?”
“At that time, I said I had already achieved results, and was only lacking a test subject.”
A terrifying thought bloomed in the hearts of the butterflies present. Indeed, this very person had spent his entire life researching how to become a new god...
“I discovered that that divine artifact required a lifetime of bitter and profound affection. Therefore, I not only laid plans for you, but seamlessly calculated the latter half of the Angel King’s life, filling his twilight years with melancholy and sleepless nights.”
“Then I lent the divine artifact to him, passed my cultivation method on to him, and let him challenge the Creator God, breaking through amidst life and death.”
“Deep affection cannot endure long... This kind and upright angel monarch, this brave and fearless great emperor... fell right into the trap.”
The crowd fell silent once more, a chill creeping down their spines.
Why did the Angel King happen to fit [deep affection cannot endure long] so perfectly? Why did Die Lüxiang happen to provide the fusion method so conveniently?
It, too, was deliberately engineered.
“You manipulated my entire life and half of his.” The Angel of Truth closed his eyes in agony. “Do you know how desperate he was in the second half of his life? He was so brave and upright. After attacking Cangwu, he degenerated into a tyrant. Sleepless night after night, he lived in desperate agony, consumed entirely by guilt.”
“And this guilt was actually bestowed by you, the Butterfly Emperor?” The Angel of Truth burst into manic laughter. “Splendid, truly a magnificent scheme!”
By this point, the truth had essentially come to light.
Elephant Tuomo was the true mastermind behind the scenes. After that birthday banquet of the Butterfly Clan, he had sensed the impending division of his people.
As the eldest brother, he grew terrified of a split among his brothers and sisters.
Therefore, upon discovering Chong Qiqi’s true identity, he propelled the entire development of events.
He achieved three goals with a single arrow:
1. He drew the drifting butterfly companions back together, using the fragmented angels as a cautionary tale to make them cherish their friendship.
2. He manipulated the Angel King’s mindset, plunging him into a lifetime of melancholy so that he would conform to the divine artifact, complete the "god-ascension" technique, and become the very first test subject.
3. He probed the potential existence of the Creator God, exploring the mysteries of this world.
He had succeeded.
The one emperor and four marquises of the Butterfly Clan began to cherish their bond, remaining as close as ever to this day without a single fracture.
The Angel of Truth sighed: “The true mastermind always leaves no trace. I am far inferior to you.”
Coughing, Elephant Tuomo spoke in a voice grown utterly hoarse: “Over the years, I have kept these matters buried deep in my heart. I know the magnitude of the sins I have committed; they are beyond redemption.”
He looked toward the Prophet, gently closing his eyes, his breathing growing ethereal and faint:
“Oh Prophet, there was a traitor among us, and it was me... I was your earliest disciple, yet I betrayed all your teachings.”
“I have failed you.” Unwittingly, tears streamed down his face.
The Prophet looked at him quietly, only letting out a slight sigh.
Elephant Tuomo chuckled softly:
“After I am gone, I hope you will cherish this bond that I secured for you through sordid means, and carry it forward long after I die.”
“You must always trust one another, and even place your lives in each other's hands. Can you do that?”
The four butterflies nodded heavily.
“You will never become the new Four Angel Kings, because you have already witnessed their end.”
Elephant Tuomo looked at Die Lüxin, who had flown onto his shoulder, and murmured:
“You... your nature is obstinate, emotionally driven, and somewhat haughty. You are the one I worry about most. In the future, listen more to Third Brother.”
“Okay.” Die Lüxin’s eyes welled with tears.
Elephant Tuomo rasped: “Third Brother Die Hongjun, stop wasting your days in the laboratory studying bizarre things. Pay more attention from now on; the entire Butterfly Clan is entrusted to you.”
“Fourth Sister loves to eat; researching more delicious species is a fine thing, too. Improving races is also a blessing to all living beings.”
“Fifth Brother is a martial arts maniac; both you and Fourth Sister are pure.”
“The two of you cultivate rapidly. When a matching divine artifact descends, your pure hearts are precisely the most likely to become the next god.”
Having finished instructing his brothers and sisters one by one, he began to speak of other matters.
“What I cannot let go of most in this life is actually the upcoming divine trial. I am so terrified, fearing another unimaginable extinction catastrophe that might destroy our Butterfly Clan...”
“Pity that, having resolved the disaster of wisdom, I, your eldest brother, can no longer help you through the next trial. Third Brother, I leave the future to you.”
Elephant Tuomo looked toward Die Hongjun.
Die Hongjun nodded and said: “I will.”
Elephant Tuomo said: “The trials of the gods conform to the laws and order of heaven and earth. They do not necessarily require brute force to crack. Just as I unlocked the mystery of the left and right brains to make the living beings of the earth whole, the disaster of wisdom naturally dissolved.”
They all remained silent, weeping without sound.
“Let us talk about what comes next.”
Elephant Tuomo took things lightly, treating this as an ordinary court meeting of the Butterfly Clan.
“Another disaster of fire and water has been resolved. Judging by this trend, the divine artifacts that descend in the future had best be sealed away and forged into various divine artifacts to be utilized.”
Die Chiyin said: “That makes sense. After all, very few can merge with divine artifacts to become gods. The future will likely be an era filled with divine artifacts everywhere.”
Elephant Tuomo’s eyes closed slightly, his voice growing fainter and his breathing heavier: “Perhaps we must promote the system of blacksmiths? Divine artifacts are bound to be the future. I think... I think...”
When those at the banquet looked over, he had already begun to snore.
Rumble! His great belly rose and fell, and his large elephant ears slowly drooped limply.
“I think...”
“I think!!”
Die Chiyin cried out loudly, “Every time a divine artifact descends, it seems to choose the existence closest to it and most compatible with it.”
Hoo hoo!
Elephant Tuomo snored softly as those at the banquet continued their discussion, maintaining the conversation they had just been having.
Die Hongjun said with a choked voice, “Indeed, the recent batches of descending divine artifacts have all shared this characteristic: wisdom, water and fire... they automatically choose what approaches them.
As for the earlier wind, water, and evolution, when we approached them, they were already three desolate dead zones.
Judging by current standards, back then they probably also chose the bugs that could resolve their own natures, only the green caterpillars of that era were too weak, and the divine artifacts crushed them to death upon descent.”
They continuously analyzed and summarized the patterns.
At the Last Supper, they ate and talked.
“I think...”
“I feel...”
Unwittingly, their faces were covered in tears. Silently, they turned their heads to gaze quietly at the elephant god whose snores thundered like rolling thunder.
Without Eldest Brother, will we truly be able to walk together all the way into the future?