From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 287 The Dream of the Black Swan

A light rain falls on the mountains, and the pine breeze sounds like the ocean tide.

The small house was filled with the intense heat of fire, and the sound of a hammer striking steel was clear and resonant.

Yuan Zhisheng came to the door, listened to the sound of blacksmithing inside for a while, then sorted out his chaotic thoughts. After regaining his composure, he pushed open the door and went inside.

An old man dressed in white linen was forging a red-hot knife blank by the stove.

The old man with a full head of silver hair wasn't particularly burly, but he was as fit as a Greek sculpture, with evenly distributed muscles and perfect lines, exuding a powerful beauty. His arm, covered in blue veins, would smash down with the hammer, sending up dazzling sparks as impurities from the blade blank were removed.

Each hammer blow causes the iron billet to deform visibly.

Yuan Zhisheng stood silently by the stove, not daring to disturb the old man, drinking his wine while gazing absently at the fire.

Your heart is in turmoil.

The old man stopped forging the knife and turned to look at the lost-in-thought Genji: "Is it because you saw a spirit that should have died?"

After hesitating for half a second, Yuan Zhisheng exhaled a breath of turbid air, nodded with a somewhat dazed look in his eyes, and said bitterly, "Yes, Father, I saw Zhi Nu tonight, but he has changed. It's like he has become a completely different person, a stranger."

Only in front of this old man could he unload his burdens and feel a moment of ease.

“Yuan Zhinü is dead. You killed her with your own hands.” The old man lowered his eyelids and said calmly, “As for the person who appeared tonight, he was just a ghost in the body of Yuan Zhinü.”

“I understand, Father.” Yuan Zhisheng took a big gulp of wine, staring at the fire in the stove, and said somewhat blankly, “Don’t worry, I won’t hesitate again next time we meet.”

"How's the investigation into the Ghost Clan going?" the old man asked, putting down his hammer.

"Based on the samples from the Ganryu Research Institute, plus the evidence from tonight, it can be basically confirmed."

Getting back to the point, Genji demonstrated his competence and maturity: "The gene-purifying agent called Molotov Cocktail, although it has obvious side effects, can indeed activate dragon blood and purify the proportions in the body. If we let it continue like this, sooner or later a bloodline purification drug without side effects will appear."

His tone revealed a hint of worry, after all, if such a drug really appeared, how many hybrids would be able to resist its temptation?
"We cannot let them continue like this."

The old man's voice was deep, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light: "The forbidden door cannot be opened. Behind it lies not heaven but hell. Those who pursue the power of the dragon will surely be devoured by the dragon!"

"I will make the arrangements."

Genjiro agreed, paused, and then said, "It seems that the people at headquarters are also investigating this matter. Should we inform them?"

"can."

The old man said calmly, "It's a good opportunity to divert their attention from this matter."

"Sacred burial place?"

Genjiro guessed the old man's intention, but his brows furrowed and his expression turned serious: "Father, do you mean that headquarters has already discovered the secret of the Divine Burial Site?"

“No, headquarters hasn’t found it yet.” The old man shook his head and said, “Headquarters detected the ‘dragon’s’ heartbeat in that area, so we sent specialists to investigate. But the secret of the Divine Burial Site cannot be exposed at the moment, so we need to trouble you for now.”

"I'm afraid it won't go so smoothly." Yuan Zhisheng felt a headache coming on when he thought about today's meeting.

The agents sent from headquarters were all hard for him to understand, especially Caesar Gattuso, who was very perceptive and it was unlikely that he could hide anything from him.

"There's no need to hide it for too long."

The old man stared at the fire in the stove, his pupils shining brightly: "Take this opportunity to bury the burial ground of the gods forever. It is just a tomb for the gods. Since they are dead, let them exist as bones forever. We must never allow them to return to the human world. It is time to cut off the tragic fate of the Snake Clan."

The wind howled like cranes in the pine forest outside the house, as if a fierce ghost was wailing.

Inside, the fire crackled and burned, reflecting the faces of an old man and a young boy, their faces seemingly imbued with a nameless sorrow, a heavy pressure brewing in the air. "Father, are you really sure you want to do this?" Yuan Zhisheng broke the silence after a long silence, saying, "Once we take this step, there's no turning back."

An old man sitting by the roadside, with deep eyes, said something profound: "Child, in fact, many times, we don't have a choice."

"I will do my best to help you and persuade the other family heads."

Genjiro, holding his long sword, stared at the fire in the furnace and sighed, saying, "From what you're saying, Father, if this succeeds, I can go to France, right?"

"You bastard! Just to be lazy?" The old man paused for a moment, then laughed and scolded, "Fine, you're right. If we succeed, we'll both be free. You go to France to sell your sunscreen, and I'll find a quiet place to wait to die."

“Don’t do that. You can come with me to sell sunscreen.” Yuan Zhisheng’s eyes showed expectation: “I heard that Montalivate Beach in France is nice. In the summer, you can see hundreds of thousands of naked women. After selling the sunscreen, you can also receive unemployment benefits in Paris and drink until you’re drunk every day. That’s a great life.”

It's hard to imagine what outsiders would think if they heard that the young master of the Snake Clan, Genjiro, had a dream of selling sunscreen.

"Haha, that's right, I can even go with you to sell sunscreen."

The old man chuckled at his amusement and waved his hand, saying, "Go on, and remember to check on Erii. She's been running away from home these past few days."

"Run away from home again?"

Genjiro wasn't too surprised, after all, this kind of thing had happened many times before.

"This time is different."

The old man shook his head and said, "She ran away from home as if she had some kind of purpose, which has never happened before."

"Okay, I'll go see her."

Genji nodded and agreed.

"Go, Chisei."

The old man put on an overcoat, extinguished the fire in the stove, and then sat down on the ground, his voice somewhat low: "I'm a little tired and want to rest for a while."

Yuan Zhisheng said nothing more, and left the room with his long sword in his arms.

The old man sat on the ground, his eyelids slowly closing, his memory seemingly returning to a long, long time ago.

It was late autumn, I think it was 1990, or maybe even earlier.

At the far north edge of the world, stands a solitary fortress.

But even in the frozen land forgotten by the gods, there still exists a little-known underground fortress.

The room was warm and cozy, with an old-fashioned record player playing Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake." An old man in a woolen military uniform was swirling the vodka in his glass.

He stood tall and straight, his trousers were pressed perfectly straight, a purple silk scarf was tucked into his collar, and his pure silver hair was neatly combed back. His aged face was covered with the deep lines left by the passage of time, and his eyes were filled with the marks of time.

At that moment, a Russian man dressed in a pure white lab coat pushed open the door to the room.

"Andrei, knocking is a virtue, don't you know that?"

The old man, who was abruptly interrupted, frowned slightly and showed a hint of displeasure: "This is the last glass of Red Label Vodka before the supplies arrive this year. If you don't give me a good reason, I'll send you outside to calm down in the snow."

"I'm very sorry, Dr. Herzog."

The researcher, known as Andrei, looked extremely tense and serious, and said in a deep voice, "It's Subject '1' who has encountered some unexpected circumstances."

(End of this chapter)