Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 74: The Requisitioned Bride (10)

Dragon Raja 4

That night, it was actually Anjou who opened the door to the isolation room, carrying a suitcase with a full tea set inside.

He unlocked Lu Mingfei’s restraints, removed the electrodes from his body, and boiled water to brew some Darjeeling tea for them to share.

“I’ve heard about it all, but I’m afraid my answer will disappoint you as well. I don’t remember anyone named Chu Zihang in the college,” Anjou said.

“How can that be?” Lu Mingfei held his teacup, trying to warm his heart with the small amount of heat, “I remember that night we went to your office together for tea, trying to pull out the Seven Deadly Sins one by one. He even cut his hand, and the carpet was stained with blood.”

“I also remember that night. Fallen leaves covered the skylight, and the wind was strong. But the ones I invited were you and Caesar.”

“What about the impeachment against you? One of the charges was that you admitted someone as dangerous as Chu Zihang and shielded him.”

“The impeachment did happen, but the reasons they gave were chaotic management and budget overspending.”

“And the Six Flags amusement park incident? Was that fake too?” Lu Mingfei grew more agitated.

“The one who went with us to Six Flags was Abdullah Abbas, a brave young man.”

Lu Mingfei stared blankly at Anjou, still trying to hold himself together, but feeling like a deflated rubber duck, losing all his energy.

“All I can offer you is this pot of tea, but there might be someone who can unlock what’s in your heart,” Anjou handed him a card. “Chen Motong is now in the Republic of Malta. This is the address of the island. Her ability is ‘profiling.’ She might be able to reverse-engineer the truth from the slightest traces.”

“Wouldn’t it trouble her? I heard she’s getting married soon,” Lu Mingfei said, though he reached out for the card without hesitation.

Anjou pulled the card back slightly, “I don’t mind doing you this favor, but if you stir up trouble, the School Board might come after me. So tell me, at this moment, what is Chen Motong to you?”

“What else could she be? She’s my senior, she’s always been my senior,” Lu Mingfei said awkwardly, scratching his head.

“I was charming women before you were even born,” Anjou said with a smirk.

Lu Mingfei fell silent for a moment, then leaned back into the not-so-comfortable chair. “Principal, when people grow up, should they learn what to hold onto and what to let go of?”

“Yes, some say that children make choices, but adults say they want it all. In reality, it’s the opposite. Only adults understand the importance of letting go.”

“Have I looked for her over the years?”

“You’ve never asked me about her, at least.”

“When I first met her, she was a radiant girl. I had never seen someone so amazing, so brilliant, like a child seeing a toy they want,” Lu Mingfei said, looking up at the ceiling and speaking softly. “But she wasn’t a toy; she was a living person. At that time, I didn’t know what she wanted, but it certainly wasn’t the person I was back then… If today’s me had met her, maybe there would’ve been a chance. But life doesn’t offer that many chances. Meeting the right person at the wrong time is still wrong.”

He had thought about these things for many years but had never spoken about them, not even to close friends like Finger, even after many drinks. He hadn’t expected to confess these feelings in such a strange setting, sipping slightly bitter tea with an old man more than a hundred years older than him.

Anjou nodded. “So, it’s over now, right?”

Lu Mingfei shook his head. “There was never anything between me and her, so there’s nothing to end.”

“I hope you remember what you said tonight,” Anjou said, slipping the card into Lu Mingfei’s hand.

Despite all the confident words he had just spoken, Lu Mingfei couldn’t help but tremble slightly as he took the card, as if it were the key to Pandora’s box.

“As I said, if you do cause any trouble, just remember—I was never here tonight,” Anjou knocked Lu Mingfei lightly on the head three times, picked up his box of tea sets, and left the confinement room.

As he left, he didn’t restore the security locks or electrodes on Lu Mingfei, nor did he close the door.

“Okay, let’s sort out the clues,” Finger said. “The college’s side says the Principal was assassinated in Chicago, and it was done by Lu Mingfei. The dragon skeleton from the ice cellar was stolen, also by Lu Mingfei; and Lu Mingfei’s version is that the Principal sent him to Malta. He’s never been to Chicago and doesn’t know anything about the dragon bones. Who do we believe?”

“The Principal’s Yanling is ‘Time Zero.’ The person who holds that Yanling is the king of assassins,” Nono said. “How could Lu Mingfei possibly kill him?”

“Well, what if he’s a Dragon King in the process of awakening? If he’s awakening intermittently, he could crush Professor Toyama with just a glance. Assassinating the Principal wouldn’t be impossible, right?”

Lu Mingfei didn’t dare argue against this. He wasn’t sure whether he was a dragon king or something even more terrifying.

“But there’s one thing I still don’t understand. Even if he’s a dragon king, and his mind is unstable during the awakening, why would he need to fantasize about a man? He’s not short of outstanding male friends,” Finger patted his chest, “Am I not good enough? What he truly lacks is money and women!”

Lu Mingfei kicked him, “Shut up! I have pretty assistants in the Student Union and the dance troupe!”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. While you’re joking around, the Execution Bureau’s strike team is already on their way here,” Nono said. “You used to be the hunter, with EVA’s eye tracking your prey. Now, you’re the prey, and that same eye is tracking you. Even if EVA hasn’t focused on you yet, those people Finger threw into the sea will eventually drift to some island, right? And once they hit shore, do you think their first move won’t be to rent another boat and come after you, the traitor?”

Lu Mingfei and Finger both paled. Traitors know their organizations best, and they both understood how terrifying the Execution Bureau could be.

Suddenly, Lu Mingfei remembered something: “Senior sister, did you see something terrifying during the profile?”

Nono remained silent for a long time, then shook her head. “Your memory is very chaotic, and something horrifying has mixed into it. I can’t say what exactly I found, but I didn’t find Chu Zihang.”

“I heard some hypnotists can implant nonexistent memories into people’s minds. Could those terrifying things have been added in that way?” Finger finally said something meaningful.

Nono nodded. “If I put myself in Lu Mingfei’s shoes, I have two guesses. The first is what Finger just said, that someone forcefully implanted Chu Zihang, a nonexistent person, into Lu Mingfei’s memory. The second is that some powerful Yanling hypnotized us all, covering up Chu Zihang’s existence, but Lu Mingfei is immune to it.”

“Is there such a Yanling?” Lu Mingfei felt a chill run down his spine. If someone had this kind of Yanling, they could rewrite history.

“The Yanling periodic table doesn’t have such a power, but the table is incomplete. Humans have never seen the end of Yanling. But even if such a Yanling exists, it’s a divine-level ability. I can’t think of anyone who could wield such a power, unless there’s a Dragon King behind all of this.”

“But why are you immune to this Yanling? You don’t seem any smarter than the rest of us,” Finger teased as he leaned closer to Lu Mingfei. “Could it be true love?”

“Stop pushing that narrative, or you’ll lose fans, Mr. Writer,” Nono shoved Finger’s head away, still staring into Lu Mingfei’s eyes. “Anyone who has ever existed leaves traces behind, like brushstrokes that overlap to form a person’s image. Even if someone could erase most of those brushstrokes, some would always slip through the cracks. You’re one of those surviving strokes. Follow your own path, find the other strokes, and eventually you’ll be able to reconstruct Chu Zihang. That’s what you need to do.”

“No wonder the Principle sent Lu Mingfei to you!” Finger smacked his palm with his fist as if suddenly enlightened. “The world is in crisis again, and the Principle wants us to form a team! This time, it’s the Fiery Dragon Slayer, teamed up with the Sakura Blessed by the Gods and the Red-Haired Witch. We’ve got a warrior, a mage, and the face of the team. This story should be epic!”

“I’m not here to be the face of any team!” Nono scowled.

“You’re the Red-Haired Witch, a mage. I’m the face of the team!” Finger patted his chest. “Alright! The team is assembled. No time to lose, let’s pack up and get moving! Chen, you have half an hour to pack your bags. Lu, grab some good wine and food from the kitchen. I’ll think about strategy. We’ll meet back here in half an hour. Ah, saving the world again! It’s exhausting! The world just can’t function without me!”

“I never said I was going with you,” Nono crossed her arms, glaring coldly at the two of them.

“That’s not very loyal of you. Saving the world! It’s such a great thing! Most people want in, and we wouldn’t even let them! Now, pack your bags and bring some short skirts and tank tops!” Finger joked.