Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 373: Grand Escape Into the Sunlight (10)

Dragon Raja 3

She escaped the once-passionate Tokyo love story in a sunset, smiling as she chatted with children, but when an old photo slipped out of her bag, she froze. It was as if she could hear the thundering sound of hooves chasing the train, the memories she had desperately tried to leave behind galloping back like wild horses. The past, which she had tried to escape, finally caught up with her, trampling through her mind with iron hooves, causing immense pain. She leaned against the gleaming, mirror-like seats and cried, oblivious to the world around her.

Erii hadn’t seen the drama, so she didn’t understand Lu Mingfei’s silence. Instead, she curiously pressed her face against the window, still thinking about the little shrimp and crabs laying their eggs on the pebble beach as the tide came in.

“Dear passengers, this train’s final stop is Matsuyama City. We are now departing Meitsuji Town Station. The doors are closing,” the sweet voice of the train’s announcer echoed through the carriage.

Suddenly, Lu Mingfei stood up, placed the porcelain doll next to Erii, gently patted her head, and turned to leave the train.

The doors closed with a loud thud behind him.

“Damn it! He’s letting the girl go!” Chu Zihang realized with a start.

No wonder Lu Mingfei had chosen to take the train to Matsuyama instead of driving away. If they had been driving, Caesar and Chu Zihang could have found a way to intercept them on the highway, but a train couldn’t be stopped by human means. Once Erii was on board, she was bound to reach Matsuyama.

Chu Zihang couldn’t believe it. That cowardly, useless Lu Mingfei, who had been following them all along, had pulled off such a trick. This entire trip to Shikoku had been a carefully planned escape, with every factor considered—distance, transportation, and even the timing of every move. Lu Mingfei had deceived both him and Caesar!

He sprinted toward the station like an arrow, only to stop abruptly. Lu Mingfei had only revealed his traitorous intentions at the last moment. Once the doors closed, the train would depart, and no matter how fast Chu Zihang was, he wouldn’t be able to stop it before it left.

He turned back and ran toward the nearby shipyard. Caesar had parked the faulty Toyota there—it was riddled with problems, but it was their only hope of reaching Matsuyama Station before Erii.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Caesar called, taking a large bite of his grilled mackerel as he chased after Chu Zihang.

Mai took a long, slow breath. She hadn’t anticipated this sudden change—Erii was slipping out of their control. This crucial key to resolving the Tokyo incident was about to be lost.

In this situation, she had to eliminate Erii. If the key wasn’t in their hands, it couldn’t fall into the hands of the enemy either.

But before pulling the trigger, she needed the boss’s confirmation. While she moved the gun’s sights to lock onto Erii’s forehead, she anxiously waited for her phone to connect.

Lu Mingfei and Erii exchanged looks through the window. The train, which traveled between the small seaside stations, was still an old-fashioned D51 steam locomotive, but with modern carriages attached. As the train started to move, thick white steam billowed out, flowing across the platform like clouds.

Lu Mingfei tapped on the window. “Someone will meet you when you arrive in Matsuyama.”

“Sakura isn’t taking me back to Tokyo?” Erii wrote on her notepad and showed him.

“Your family won’t like me,” Lu Mingfei replied.

Erii hugged her fluffy toy bear and lowered her head. Her long hair draped over both her and the bear like a black cloak, enveloping them completely.

“Sayonara,” Lu Mingfei said.

Erii nodded. She finally realized that this was their farewell. The train ride to Tokyo would take a few more hours, but Lu Mingfei would not be accompanying her.

Lu Mingfei kept a straight face, saying nothing more. There was nothing left to say. This was their parting—one he had carefully orchestrated.

He knew very well that Erii wouldn’t make it to China with just anesthetics and glucose. Her body was already at its breaking point. Without the vault-like prison she had been confined in, she wouldn’t survive for long. She seemed the same as a few days ago, but when she hugged Lu Mingfei, he could clearly feel that her once delicate figure had become unnaturally rigid, her blood vessels pulsing violently beneath skin marred by scales. The dragon blood was rapidly eroding her body. The stronger she became, the weaker she grew. The blood would either turn her into a Death Servitor or kill her.

The only way to save her was to return her to the Yamata no Orochi, but Caesar and Chu Zihang would never agree to such a solution. According to the Secret Party’s principles, Erii could die, but she could not fall into the hands of those with malicious intent.

But this girl trusted him, believed him to be an honorable man. She shared a room with him without fear of his intentions, listened intently to every word he said, as if every sentence he uttered was profound. She followed him silently, like a shadow… No one had ever needed him so much. How could he just watch her die?

On the way back to the love hotel from Takamagahara, Lu Mingfei had felt utterly lost, as if a furious beast was roaring in his mind, unwilling to be silenced. How could you watch her die? No one has ever been so obedient to you. She is something that belongs to you.

At some point, he had started thinking like a devil. It was no wonder—half his life now belonged to the demon named Lu Mingze.

He waved goodbye to Erii, who kept her head down. As the train started moving, Erii suddenly held up her notebook, revealing that she had been furiously scribbling, not out of sadness, but to write a message.

“Who is Sakura really? Where can I find you after this?” she pressed the notebook against the glass, her face full of anxious desperation. Lu Mingfei had never seen her so flustered.

It dawned on him that Erii had no idea who he really was or what he did. Even during their deep-sea encounter, the Yamata no Orochi hadn’t bothered to tell her that she might run into a few comical corpses—ones sent by the College.

For days, she had wandered around Tokyo with a man whose identity she didn’t know, sharing meals, a room, and even changing clothes without being overly cautious around him. What a brainless girl.

But wasn’t that for the best? He hoped she wouldn’t come looking for him again—they weren’t on the same side. She should just think of him as a random travel companion.

Lu Mingfei didn’t want to drag out the sad goodbye. His usual flippant nature reemerged, and, adopting the demeanor of a selfless hero, he waved grandly and said, “Names don’t matter! I’m just a righteous gigolo passing through!”

Series Navigation

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