Dragon Raja 2; Chapter 69: Beware of Senior (3)

Dragon Raja 2

The sound of running water came from the bathroom as Xia Mi showered.

“It rises from the earth to the heavens, and again descends to the earth, thus receiving the power of things above and below. By this means, you shall have the glory of the whole world, and thereby all obscurity shall flee from you,” Chu Zihang muttered to himself. This was Newton’s translation of The Emerald Tablet. The famous scientist was also an avid mystic, interested in alchemy and esoteric subjects. During the Middle Ages, when the lines between theology and science were less distinct, alchemy was considered a branch of science.

Lu Mingfei was thoroughly impressed. Here he was, barely managing to get a room with a school beauty, and instead of having a few beers to bond, Chu Zihang was studying. He could only imagine the beautiful junior taking a shower in the next room—ah, ah, “hot spring water smooths and cleanses skin”… But wait, wasn’t that line of poetry a bit risqué?

“Hey, Senior, if you want to read, could you at least sit somewhere?” Lu Mingfei asked, puzzled by how Chu Zihang kept standing against the wall.

“I’m also practicing my stance. I stand for half an hour every night—it’s good for the spine. I suggest you try it too,” Chu Zihang replied.

Lu Mingfei glanced at him. “No thanks. If Finger saw me, he’d laugh himself to death.” This kind of tedious, aristocratic self-discipline seemed silly to him, but he had to admit that it fit Chu Zihang’s temperament.

“Newton’s original text is: ‘It ascends from ye earth to ye heaven & again it descends to ye earth and receives ye force of things superior & inferior. By this means you shall have ye glory of ye whole world & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.” Xia Mi said, emerging from the bathroom in a bathrobe, drying her hair as she walked over to the wall opposite Chu Zihang, also standing against the wall. “The key to understanding this lies in the word ‘it.’ What exactly does ‘it’ refer to?”

“It can be understood as the materials used in alchemy, like metals or other substances subjected to fire,” Chu Zihang replied.

“It could also be understood as ‘spirit,’” Xia Mi said.

“The spirit interpretation hasn’t seen much progress since 1972,” Chu Zihang said.

“But there was a new paper published on the spirit theory just last year,” Xia Mi added.

The two people standing against the wall had a seamless question-and-answer exchange, leaving Lu Mingfei with wide eyes and a blank expression. It felt like a toad listening to a sermon at a temple—only hearing cryptic wisdom without understanding a single word, desperately wishing someone would translate the profound meaning into simple “ribbit, ribbit.”

“Wait, wait, what are you two talking about? And, Junior, why are you standing against the wall?” Lu Mingfei couldn’t hold back any longer.

“‘Alchemy and Chemistry’? It’s from a fragment of an old draconic text, but it’s too obscure, so it hasn’t been accurately interpreted yet,” Xia Mi said. “I’m waiting for my hair to dry, and practicing my stance in the meantime.”

“Wait, so that means that you…?” Lu Mingfei was shocked.

What was going on? Wasn’t this junior supposed to be a blank slate, ready to have the most beautiful picture painted on her? Soon she would learn that there was an entire mystical reptilian dynasty, shouldn’t she be so terrified she’d scream? Back when Senior Lu Mingfei did… Well, he screamed in terror!

“Dragons, Dragons, Dragons,” Xia Mi repeated three times.

“She’s a preparatory student. The 3E exam is given to preparatory students in advance, so the existence of the Dragon Raja isn’t a secret to her. Her bloodline level is ‘A’, which is quite exceptional,” Chu Zihang explained to Lu Mingfei.

“Preparatory? What kind of preparatory?”

“The college has a secret branch in China that screens high school students across the country who have dragon blood and enrolls them in preparatory classes. They take the 3E exam early. If their bloodline is strong enough, they can advance directly to the main campus after graduation. If they don’t pass, the gate to Cassell is closed, and they are treated as regular students who eventually take and fail the college entrance exam,” Chu Zihang explained. “Xia Mi, born on October 30, XXXX, in Beijing, China, female, studied at Peking University High School before attending the preparatory school. Beijing resident, with parents and an older brother.”

“Hey, hey!” Xia Mi glared. “Are you checking my household registry or something?”

“It’s information Norma sent from the main campus. We need to know who you are.” Chu Zihang picked up his iPad from a nearby table. “Lu Mingfei, could you hand it to Xia Mi?”

“Since when am I the errand boy?” Lu Mingfei grumbled.

“My exercise isn’t over.” Chu Zihang remained standing perfectly straight, balancing a hardcover book on his head.

Standing about four or five meters away, Xia Mi also balanced a hardcover book on her head, holding her hand out for the iPad that Lu Mingfei grudgingly fetched, acting like a loyal little sidekick.

The iPad displayed Xia Mi’s profile—detailed and thorough, documenting everything about her. Cassell College’s intelligence department was known for its CIA-level precision, turning any student’s record into something resembling a dark history. The profile’s cover image was a candid close-up photo of Xia Mi, seemingly taken casually with a small camera. Her hair was dyed a deep coffee color, she wore dark contact lenses, and she turned her head in a field of golden sunset light, with a yellow ribbon in her hair fluttering in the wind.

“You’re such a weeb!” Lu Mingfei casually commented.

“You’re a weeb, and your whole family is full of geeks.” Xia Mi glanced at the iPad. “That was me cosplaying Haruhi Suzumiya for an anime club.”

“They picked you to cosplay Haruhi Suzumiya?”

“I originally wanted to cosplay Mikuru Asahina,” Xia Mi replied.

“Mikuru Asahina?” Lu Mingfei grinned.

Mikuru Asahina was the big-busted, cute girl from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. She often had to dress up as a bunny girl, a maid, or even… a sexy frog. Imagining Xia Mi in those outfits, Lu Mingfei’s nose almost started to bleed from sheer excitement.

Xia Mi sighed, looked down at her own chest, and after a moment of silence said, “But they all disagreed. They said I wasn’t qualified…”

“I hate those big-chested girls the most!” Xia Mi suddenly raised her eyes and said loudly, “They’re such bullies!”

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