Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 359: We’re All Monsters (3)

Dragon Raja 3

Lu Mingfei started feeling nervous again. He had thought that since Erii was watching tokusatsu, she must be in a relatively stable state, but the situation wasn’t quite what he had imagined. Erii sank further into the water, and it overflowed from the tub, tinted with a faint red.

Floating on the surface of the water was the blue-violet dress with black lace that had been soaked in blood.

She had clearly been terrified, and upon returning to the hotel, she immediately submerged herself in the bathtub to wash her body. She was a killer, but the terror she felt was just as intense as the fear those people had experienced before they died. She had been in an extremely unstable state at the time, but she still managed to bring Lu Mingfei back to the love hotel.

“It’s all over now, it’s okay,” Lu Mingfei said softly, carefully reaching out to her. But the bathtub was too large, and he couldn’t reach Erii.

He didn’t dare reach out too far, partly because he was afraid of touching Erii’s body, and partly because Erii’s expression was like that of a frightened kitten. Cats were adorable when they were calm, but when startled, even the owner could be bitten.

Erii watched him warily, hugging a soaking wet pillow.

Lu Mingfei knew he had to say something to reassure her, but after having such a strange dream, he saw Erii as both a scared little girl and a burning, ugly puppet. His hand trembled slightly.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s just the two of us here… I won’t hurt you… If anyone tries to hurt you… I’ll protect you. Don’t be scared,” he said awkwardly.

He picked up a rubber duck from the edge of the bathtub and gently pushed it toward Erii in the water. Both of their gazes followed the little duck.

“Was the Tokyo Skytree lighting your arrangement?” Mai asked.

“Isn’t it just one of Kenji Takezawa’s old tricks? Divine inspiration—when both sides are moved, give them some divine guidance to make them think their meeting was destined,” Su Enxi said with a pout. “That’s about the only useful idea that group of experts came up with, even though it cost a lot of money.”

“You should be stationed in Takamagahara, so what are you doing here?”

“Red bean mochi. Eat it while it’s hot.” Su Enxi handed the bento box to Mai.

“You’re being so nice to me?”

“I care about you!” Su Enxi shrugged. “Let’s hide under the eaves and eat. You don’t have to keep an eye on that sniper rifle. They’re hugging, full of affection. They won’t suddenly turn into monsters and destroy Tokyo.”

The two of them huddled under the short eaves, eating red bean mochi, while raindrops fell in front of their fine boots.

“You didn’t answer my question earlier. Why are you so obsessed with recording audio logs?” Su Enxi asked.

“Have you ever doubted whether you’ve truly lived?” Mai gazed at the endless rain outside.

“I must point out that this kind of idealistic doubt has been thoroughly refuted in the works of Nietzsche and Spencer. If you need reference books, I can lend you some,” Su Enxi responded.

“Have I ever told you about the life of a ninja?” Mai suddenly shifted to an entirely unrelated topic.

“No, but I imagine not all ninjas are like you, right? Driving a Lamborghini, wearing Christian Louboutin high heels, a No. 2 Prada dress, and jet-setting around the world to flirt with handsome men,” Su Enxi quipped.

“The real ninjas were a bunch of lunatics,” Mai said slowly, chewing on her mochi. “Ninjutsu was invented during the most chaotic period in Japan’s history. In small places like Iga and Koga, a few hundred people made up a small country. These small countries fought each other because if they didn’t, there wouldn’t be enough food. The winners had to eat the losers’ food to survive. With such few people, individual strength became especially important, so they developed ninjutsu to push the limits of the human body. One of the beginner exercises was hanging yourself from a beam by your hands. When I did it, my teacher placed a board with nails beneath me and left. I hung there for a whole day, exhausted to the point of losing consciousness, but I didn’t dare let go.”

“Whoa, that’s training? That’s torture! You Japanese really don’t know shame, do you?”

“But that’s the essence of ninjutsu—living with fear. Fear unleashes your potential. Ancient ninjas believed they lived in a mystical world, summoning shikigami and fighting demons, but those were just hallucinations brought on by fear.”

“Why did you suddenly bring this up?”

“The truth is, the legendary great ninjas never really lived. The survivors were just some pitiful people from an era of war. The so-called great tradition of ninjutsu was just a scam,” Mai said. “Any ninja who believed in that was a lunatic.”

“So, are you a lunatic too?”

“Yes, I’m a ninja. I live with fear. Sometimes I feel like I might be living in a scam without even knowing it. I worry that my memories are flawed, so I record everything I do. If I go crazy or die one day, the only thing left to prove I ever lived will be these recordings.”

“Long legs, you’ve suddenly become so melancholy, it’s quite touching. Are you planning to become a writer?” Su Enxi laughed.

“Don’t laugh. Everyone might be living in a scam, and you’re no exception. We’re here watching Lu Mingfei, knowing he’s living in a fake love story, but who’s to say there isn’t someone secretly watching us outside of our lives?” Mai said, her tone melancholic.

“As long as it’s not some perverted old man, I don’t mind!” Su Enxi said carelessly.

Mai smiled. “I once had a playwright chase after me. We went on three or four dates. One time, I asked him, ‘When you start writing a story, do you know if it will end in tragedy or comedy?’ He said, ‘Yes, I know. Whether it’s a tragedy or a comedy is usually decided at the beginning, even if the ending hasn’t been written yet. I already know what kind of emotion I want to convey.’ Then I asked him, ‘If you’re writing a tear-jerking tragedy, how do you feel when writing the happy scenes before the tragedy strikes?’ He said, ‘Happiness in comedy is to make people laugh, but in tragedy, happiness is to make the sadness at the end even stronger. The more joy there is, the more you’ll pay for it in double the sorrow. That’s why a good playwright has to know how to write happiness, even if they don’t believe happiness exists in the world.’”

“So you’re saying we created a love story for Lu Mingfei, but because the playwright is the boss, who is a classic jerk, he’ll inevitably turn the story into a tragedy?”

Mai nodded. “The boss doesn’t seem like someone who can write a happy ending. It’s not even about whether he wants to or not. That playwright said that when he starts writing a truly good play, even he can’t change the ending… You can struggle, but it’s pointless.”

Series Navigation

<< Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 358: We’re All Monsters (2)Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 360: We’re All Monsters (4) >>