“Your brain must be pretty low on blood right now. To still have such clear thoughts, I almost want to applaud you,” Jörmungandr said. “But I was stopped by a fellow kin. There are many secrets hidden beneath your college. In Cassell College, it’s not just hybrids. There are dragons—pureblood dragons—some no weaker than me, even stronger.”
Lu Mingfei was startled. A dragon stronger than the Dragon Queen Jörmungandr? A being above the first-generation? Could it be anyone other than the Black Emperor or the White Empress?
“So you couldn’t get your food, and had to use your brother to fill your stomach?”
“Because I need power, I must become Hela!” Jörmungandr said slowly. “To face our own kin, only overwhelming strength will do. I can’t wait any longer. Foolish humans, your understanding of us is like a drop in the ocean. You worry about our awakening, but have no idea that a greater storm is brewing. Compared to something else waking up, we are insignificant. And the day of that awakening is not far off.”
“What is it?”
“You don’t need to know. Even if you did, it wouldn’t help you.”
“True.” Chu Zihang said softly. His chest had stopped bleeding, or rather, he simply didn’t have much blood left. Black, dangerous blood covered the ground around him, thick like tar.
“Your strength is far below that of the Bronze and Fire King,” he said, struggling to raise his head. “Why?”
“Is that the curiosity of an academic nerd?” Jörmungandr laughed. “Yes, you’re right. It doesn’t matter if I tell you. Every set of twins on the throne is different. We complement each other. Among the Bronze and Fire King, Constantine’s power far surpassed Norton’s, but he was born with a disability, forever unable to evolve into a great body, and he was weak, no different from a human boy. Between Fenrir and me, Fenrir’s bloodline had an innate advantage—his Yanling far surpassed mine, but his intelligence was limited to a very low level.”
“You were his brain. He only needed to trust you,” Chu Zihang said.
“Yes, he listened to everything I said.”
“It was your father, the Black Emperor, who arranged it, wasn’t it? The one who truly wielded power instead had a great weakness. In truth, they were prepared as food for you. When you had no other option, you could consume them,” Chu Zihang said quietly.
“Yes,” Jörmungandr said softly. “They were born to be… food.”
She began to sob softly, slowly kneeling on the ground. Lu Mingfei couldn’t clearly see the figure; sometimes it seemed like a deranged monster, other times it was Xia Mi. He suspected that this dragon, after disguising herself as a human for so long, had developed a split personality. Perhaps even she no longer knew whether she was Xia Mi or Jörmungandr.
“So pitiful, looks like she’s got a split personality,” someone sighed beside Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei was so frightened that his heart almost stopped. He turned his head, and then was pleasantly surprised—not the kind of happy surprise that makes you smile, but the kind that makes you want to rush over, punch someone in the chest, and bawl, saying, “Where the heck were you?! Why did you only come now?!”
Lu Mingze, the little devil who could fix everything, the ultimate ally lurking behind the curtain. As long as he was there, no one in the world could threaten Lu Mingfei—not even a Dragon King.
Lu Mingze appeared in a neat black suit today, with a white shirt and a black tie, his hair slicked back and neatly combed. He held a bouquet of pure white roses in the crook of his arm, his expression solemn.
“Are you getting married today? Are you even of legal age?” Lu Mingfei looked him up and down.
“White roses are for funerals,” Lu Mingze smiled up at him. “Brother, you should know that every man should always have a pure black suit in his wardrobe. There are two occasions when you’ll need it: weddings and funerals.”
“Whose funeral?” Lu Mingfei felt a chill.
“Don’t worry, it’s not yours. But it is for everyone else.” Lu Mingze’s voice was like a song. “All those children who love to sing are buried beneath the flowers, and come next spring, new blossoms will bloom with their smiling faces.”
“What kind of twisted poetry is that?”
“A dirge,” Lu Mingze said softly.
“Please stop singing such depressing songs, and help me save Chu Zihang!”
“I already taught you the method—something for nothing, trade something to get the void,” Lu Mingze smiled faintly. “Brother, you can’t keep eating free lunches. Sometimes we all have to pay a price to keep to the rules. As for Chu Zihang, I suggest you leave him be. For the cost of a quarter of your life, I can help you leave here and also kill the Dragon King on the side. It’s a really good deal, better than any discount on Taobao.”
“Where did you learn Taobao lingo?” Lu Mingfei stalled, calculating nervously in his mind.
To trade or not to trade, that was the question. He had doubted the effectiveness of this deal before—was there really such a thing as a free cake in this world? This little devil had done so many incredible things for him, could it really be out of the goodness of his heart? The little devil looked like a shrewd old merchant; for every ounce he gave, he surely demanded tenfold, a hundredfold in return. But what could Lu Mingfei possibly offer in return?
He looked up and saw Lu Mingze smiling at him, suddenly startling him into stepping back. Lu Mingze’s smile twisted in his eyes, eerie and deep, like a black hole.
Lu Mingze… was deceiving him!
He realized he had fallen into an obvious trap. It was Lu Mingze who had led him to this dragon’s lair, watching him get trapped, forcing him to trade his life. From beginning to end, this was a carefully laid plan, a deliberate scheme.
Even if there were gods and devils, would the devil really go to so much trouble just to get the soul of a loser? There were plenty of others in the world with greater desires, more worth trading for.
Lu Mingfei suddenly held his head in his hands. What Lu Mingze wanted wasn’t just a worthless life… there was something far more important, something he had to protect, and it was slowly being taken from him in this deal with Lu Mingze.
“That thing must not be lost!”
“As you wish, call me when you’re ready, though there isn’t much time left.” Lu Mingze walked along the coal-cinder railway, his steps uneven, moving forward. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, although I’m not getting married today, someone else is. A prince named Caesar and a princess named Chen Motong, they’re happily picking out jewelry and preparing for a wedding. They’ll walk into a chapel holding red roses and live happily ever after.”