Dragon Raja 5; Chapter 43: Old Friend (12)

Dragon Raja 5

“You actually want to ask yourself if you are the Dragon King, right?”

Lu Mingfei was silent for a moment and nodded slightly.

“Believe me, brother, you are not.” The little devil patted Lu Mingfei’s shoulder.

“Are you serious?” Lu Mingfei wanted to play it cool, but he couldn’t suppress his surprise.

“I lied to you, little puppy!” The little devil laughed, wrinkling his nose like a cute child.

“But you are not a human being either. You are a monster, a very strange monster.” The little devil said again.

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment, then smiled. This was completely nonsense. It was obvious that he was a monster.

The little devil suddenly looked towards the door. “I saw you were so lonely, so I wanted to chat with you for a long time. The girl you like lives next door, but she’s sleeping with a guy. It has nothing to do with you. It’s really pitiful!”

“Get lost!” Lu Mingfei felt a little embarrassed when someone hit the nail on the head.

“You have to leave now. Someone is coming,” said the little devil. “Before you leave, I’ll remind you one thing: don’t trust that crow.”

The candle flickered again, and there were still some potato chip crumbs on the table, but the little devil was gone.

There was a knock on the door. Lu Mingfei pinched the short curved sword hidden in the sleeve of his kimono and went to open the door. Crow was standing outside the door. He looked like he had just taken a shower and changed his clothes. The wound on his face was taped shut. He was cleaning his ear with a small bamboo stick, and his whole body exuded a sense of laziness.

“You didn’t leave?” Lu Mingfei asked.

The crow sent him into the house and left. Lu Mingfei always thought that he had left the shrine and returned to Tokyo.

“No, there’s a hot spring behind the mountain. I went there and soaked for a while. It’s rare for me to come here and relax.” The crow said, “I came to see if you fell asleep.”

“Not yet. Maybe I was too nervous before, so I can’t fall asleep.” Lu Mingfei said.

“If you can’t sleep, why not go out and have some fun?” Crow said. “You’re revisiting Tokyo, and there are some old friends there. Why don’t you go see them?”

    ***

    ***

Kabukicho is a vibrant city at night, its neon lights shimmering in the rain. It’s like revisiting an old haunt, and everything feels familiar, especially the bronze sculpture in the center.

Lu Mingfei and Crow were both wearing yukata and sunglasses – there were too many gangsters in Kabukicho, and a gangster celebrity like Crow was absolutely not allowed to show his face, and of course Lu Mingfei couldn’t show his face either – they were both biting octopus balls and looking up at the sculpture.

“When I went back to my old high school, they also put a sculpture of me in front of the school gate.” Lu Mingfei sighed, “But it’s not as… exposed as this.”

It was a sculpture of a peeing boy, modeled after the one in Brussels, except that the face looked like Lu Mingfei’s son.

“You really recognized yourself right away. Yes, this is the man who created a legend in Kabukicho, Takamagahara’s top prostitute, Sakura. The sculptor portrayed you as a child. Now this is a Kabukicho scene. It is said that touching a certain part of him will bring you luck in love.”

“No need to go into more details!” Lu Mingfei interrupted quickly.

“Don’t think so dirty,” said the crow, “I’m talking about the butt. Legend has it that Sakura has a perfect butt.”

“The store manager donated the money to build it, right?” Lu Mingfei sighed. “You can figure it out with your toes.”

“That’s right. Takamagahara is now the hottest nightclub in Kabukicho. Mr. Humpback Whale was re-elected as chairman of the Women’s Care Promotion Association this year. Rumor has it that he’s also planning to run for council.”

“That’s great! The store manager has always wanted to be a prominent figure.”

Behind the sculpture is the white building with Romanesque columns, a brass-wrapped door, a roof carved with golden angels blowing trumpets, and dozens of scarlet flags hanging from the roof to the ground.

“Mr. Humpback Whale has renovated Takama-ga-hara. It’s much more magnificent than when you guys were there,” said the crow.

Lu Mingfei nodded. This imposing design was worthy of a place owned by a man like Humpback Whale. He’d definitely spend his money lavishly, and he’d said he’d run this place for life, giving emotionally vulnerable women a safe place to get drunk.

“It’s almost hard to recognize him.” Lu Mingfei said.

“Mr. Humpback Whale also bought the surrounding land and built a square. When the weather is nice, he will have the band perform in the square.”

Just at this moment, a black Mercedes-Benz stopped in front of Takama-ga-hara Gate, and an elegant lady in a suit pushed the door and got out of the car.

She was accompanied by a well-dressed middle-aged man who looked like a well-educated, financially independent, successful man working in a large company. He was handsome and considerate, supporting the woman’s forearm to prevent her from walking in slippery shoes on the wet road.