From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 406 Xia Mi's Fate

When Lu Mingfei opened his eyes again, the pristine white ceiling came into view.

After his brain went through a reboot, he was initially confused for a few seconds, but soon he realized that he was lying in a hospital room.

"Are you awake?"

Just then, a voice came from the next bed.

Lu Mingfei was about to sit up when he felt sore all over, as if he had been beaten up by a hundred people in turn, and he couldn't help but gasp.

"You're badly injured. 80% of your muscles are torn and 60% of your bones are broken. Even the doctors say it's a miracle you're still alive." The person next door added, "Just lie there. You won't be able to move on your own for at least three to five days."

"Huh? What if I need to use the restroom?!"

Lu Mingfei's thought process was indeed unusual; the first thing that popped into his head was actually a lewd story from a certain island nation.

"There is a ureter."

The person in the next bed obviously couldn't have guessed that his mind was full of lewd thoughts.

"Oh"

Lu Mingfei felt inexplicably disappointed. He turned to look at the next room, hesitating to speak, "Senior Brother Chu, what's wrong with you?"

The person lying on the next bed was completely wrapped in bandages, looking almost like a newly unearthed mummy, and his limbs were also immobilized, making him look much worse off than him.

What happened after I lost consciousness?

Bound tightly, Chu Zihang could only barely move his eyes, glancing at Lu Mingfei as he asked.

"I'm sorry, I failed."

Memories flooded back, and Lu Mingfei's expression turned somber: "I defeated 'Odin,' but he was rescued by someone who suddenly appeared, and I... was powerless to stop it."

“You did not fail, you did very well.” Chu Zihang said seriously, “You successfully stopped Pompeii’s conspiracy, prevented the summoning ritual from taking place, and saved me, Chen Motong, and Xia Mi.”

"But... Lu Mingze is dead."

Lu Mingfei spoke softly, in a voice only he could hear.

"what?"

Chu Zihang didn't hear clearly, but he thought he muttered something, so he asked.

"No, it's nothing."

Lu Mingfei composed himself and shook his head, saying, "I think Pompeii will definitely not give up so easily; he will definitely hold another summoning ceremony."

"The principal has already reported this matter to the board of directors." Chu Zihang paused, then added, "With Caesar's testimony and evidence from various sources, the entire Half-Blood Secret Society will soon unite to track down Pompeii's whereabouts. He has nowhere to hide."

"Where are Nuonuo and Xia Mi?"

Lu Mingfei asked.

Chu Zihang remained unusually silent.

"what happened?"

Seeing his silence, Lu Mingfei immediately had a bad feeling and asked anxiously, "Senior brother, how are Nuonuo and Xia Mi? Are they alright?"

"Don't worry, they're fine."

Chu Zihang hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Did you already know about Xia Mi a long time ago?"

"Uh"

Lu Mingfei's expression froze, unsure of what to say.

"It seems you know." Chu Zihang sighed, his voice filled with indescribable loneliness, as if talking to himself: "Actually, I wasn't completely unconscious at that time. I vaguely heard Odin's words that Xia Mi was actually the Dragon King."

"Senior brother, actually..." Lu Mingfei really wanted to comfort him, but when the words reached his lips, he didn't know how to persuade him.

"I understand what you mean."

Chu Zihang lowered his eyes, his expression unreadable, and said, "The principal will discuss this matter with the board of directors."

At this moment, beneath the Kassel College, inside several tightly sealed cages.

After Xia Mi's identity was exposed, she was eventually transferred to a safe place under Schneider's strict demands.

That is, a prison specially designed for them, large enough to accommodate normal people's lives, with all daily necessities, but also full of monitoring equipment, sealed by alloy doors weighing tens of tons, and even equipped with high-voltage current, alchemical mercury spray, etc., specifically designed to restrain dragons.

Xia Mi herself was bound by alchemical shackles, which restricted her range of movement, and each shackle was equipped with a monitoring device.

Once an attempt to escape is detected, the explosive device will be activated immediately, with enough power to shatter the Dragon King's limbs.

If it weren't for the principal's opinion, Schneider would have even planned to use an alchemical torture device to pierce Xia Mi's collarbone, sever the tendons in her limbs, and then soak her in mercury before he would feel at ease.

Xia Mi was dressed neatly and cleanly, with a simple ponytail, and sat cross-legged in the prison cell.

One by one, the heavy gates were opened, and footsteps approached from afar.

She opened her eyes and looked at the person who had come in.

"I never expected that our second meeting would be like this."

The old man gazed at Xia Mi inside the prison and said calmly.

Seemingly, her identity had finally been exposed. She no longer pretended. Despite being in prison, she still resembled a seated monarch, her eyes filled with majesty. Looking at the elderly man in a suit and tie outside the electrified bars, she said calmly, "Have you decided how to deal with me?"

The elderly man, with his silver-white hair neatly combed back and dressed in a sharp suit, was none other than the principal of Kassel, the greatest dragon slayer in history, Hilbert Jean Angers.

"Pretty much, the board of directors is fairly in agreement."

Angers lit a cigar, took a drag, and said calmly, "Xia Mi, King of the Earth and Mountains, Jormungandr, you will be executed."

This outcome was clearly within Xia Mi's expectations.

He showed neither surprise nor fear of death, remaining completely calm throughout, as if he didn't care about anything.

He is the Dragon King, one of the Four Great Sovereigns, and the mortal enemy of mankind. The seeds of conflict between the two sides were sown thousands of years ago and can never be changed.

The war will only end when one side is completely wiped out.

"Oh, when?"

Xia Mi thought for a moment and still wanted to ask when it would end.

"Probably in a few days."

Angers, with a cigar between his fingers, flicked off the ash and replied casually.

Xia Mi lowered her eyes and fell into a long silence.

"Isn't there anything you want to say?"

Angers exhaled a smoke ring and said calmly, "I can pass on your message, for example, to Chu Zihang?"

The name Chu Zihang was like a boulder thrown into a lake, creating ripples in Xia Mi's heart.

Her gaze struggled for a moment, as if that most beautiful time had appeared in her mind, but in the end she sighed softly, shook her head silently, and said, "No, it's not necessary. I don't need to tell him anything. This is fine as it is."

Do you think dragons and humans can coexist peacefully?

Suddenly, Angers looked at her meaningfully and asked an unbelievable question.

"I do not know."

Xia Mi looked bewildered, lowered her head, and stared at her hands, as if talking to herself, "Actually, I never intended to hurt anyone. Even if I joined the academy, I only wanted to steal Norton's Dragonbone Cross. I just wanted to live. Does that count as being an enemy of humanity?"

“No, that doesn’t count.” Angers exhaled a smoke ring with a flourish and grinned. “By the way, let me correct you. Norton’s Dragonbone Cross was a gift from me to you, so it can’t be called stealing.”

"May I ask why?" Xia Mi looked at the old man earnestly.

She never understood what Angers' purpose was in handing over the most precious remains of a dragon king to another dragon king who was an enemy of mankind.
Could it be that the greatest dragon slayer in history was actually the 'Dragon King'?

This is just too much of a hellish joke.

"Why not devour His dragon bone cross?"

Angers didn't answer, but stared at the girl with interest and asked in return, "As far as I know, consuming the bones of your own kind should make you stronger, right?"

“To devour the dragon bones, one needs to form a cocoon and transform from a human body into the form of a dragon king. There isn’t enough time,” Xia Mi said.

"lie."

Angers mercilessly exposed her lie, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

Xia Mi remained expressionless and said calmly, "Otherwise, what other reason could there be?"

"It's simple, you can't bear to give up your current life."

Angers' eyes seemed to see right through people as he stared intently at the girl: "You're addicted to the peaceful and tranquil days of school, you don't want to regain your identity as the Dragon King so quickly, you don't want to leave Chu Zihang, am I right? Jormungandr, King of the Earth and Mountains!"

Xia Mi's eyes were icy cold. She raised her head and looked at the old man with a sneer: "You make it sound like I've fallen in love with Chu Zihang."

"Is not it?"

Angers seemed to have reverted to his flirtatious self, adopting an ambiguous expression as he winked and said, "Chu Zihang, he was in the top three of the popularity charts in the entire school, and he was handsome too. Oh right, he might not be as handsome now, but according to your dragon race's aesthetic standards, he's probably still considered a handsome guy, right?"

"Can you be serious for once?" Xia Mi was speechless at the old man's antics. If her hands weren't bound by chains, she would have loved to punch him.

"It's okay, young people these days are more reserved, I understand."

Angers laughed out loud, saying with a hint of amusement.

Xia Mi was furious and immediately retorted:
"I am the Dragon King!"

"Yeah, right, right."

"How could I, the mighty Dragon King, possibly fall in love with a human?!"

"Ah, yes, yes."

"No, I, Jormungandr, the Dragon King, am going to destroy humanity!"

"Pfft, sorry, I couldn't help it, please continue."

A few simple words of conversation made Xia Mi so angry that a cross-shaped vein popped out on her smooth forehead.

"Can't you be serious for once?!"

The young girl bared her fangs in anger, glaring fiercely at the old man: "Did you come here today just to annoy me?"

“Jormungandr, if you really wanted to devour Norton, why didn’t you notice that the skeleton was fake?” Angers put away his smile and turned serious. “Jormungandr, you don’t actually want to devour Norton. You don’t want to disrupt your current peaceful life, and you don’t want to return to your identity as the Dragon King.”

"Fake?!"

Xia Mi's eyes widened, a look of astonishment on her face: "You mean... you gave me a fake set of remains!"

"Of course, who would actually give it to you?"

Angers gave her a strange look and laughed, "Do you think I would do something as stupid as handing over the remains of a dragon king to another dragon king and aiding the enemy?"

"No, that's not right. I checked it. The remains were clearly..." Xia Mi stopped abruptly, glaring fiercely at him. "You're really something! No wonder you're called the greatest dragon slayer. I was so moved for so long, and it turns out it was all fake!"

If it weren't for the fence, she would have rushed out and punched that disgusting face a hundred or eighty times!

"Never mind, it was my carelessness that prevented me from distinguishing between what was real and what was fake."

But soon, Xia Mi regained her composure. After all, they were both about to die, so why bother with so much?
Looking at Xia Mi's indifferent expression, Angers suddenly said, "Oh, right, there's one more thing. I've thought about it carefully and decided to tell you."

Upon hearing this, Xia Mi raised her head, waiting for him to continue.

Unexpectedly, Angers' opening statement was earth-shattering: "According to the Board of Directors' decision, due to Chu Zihang's excessively high concentration of dragon blood, which is suspected of being at risk of getting out of control, he will soon be transferred to the Board of Directors for close monitoring and custody. Of course, his life has been saved."

Xia Mi, who had just been indifferent and detached from life and death, suddenly became agitated: "How could this be?!"

“I tried my best, but the board of directors insisted on this.”

Angers sighed, feigning helplessness, and said, "The Board of Directors will not sit idly by regarding Chu Zihang's problem, especially after what happened to the Gattuso family. Making this decision is in line with their risk management philosophy."

You can't do this to him!

Xia Mi stood up abruptly, staring intently at Angers: "If it weren't for Chu Zihang, Pompeii's plan would have succeeded. What difference is there between imprisoning him and him being dead?"

"At least, he's still alive."

Angers said coldly, his face expressionless.

"Is this how you humans treat heroes?"

Xia Mi gritted her teeth, a fierce golden light flashing in her pupils, her tone clearly tinged with anger.

The shackles binding her, sensing the power of the dragon's blood, immediately released high-voltage electricity. Blinding arcs of light flashed, and the girl let out a painful groan, uncontrollably kneeling on one knee. She struggled to raise her head: "Angers... you should know very well that Chu Zihang shouldn't have ended up like this!"

"Of course I know, but so what?"

Angers sneered and said sarcastically, "Isn't this always been our attitude towards dragons? So what if they saved humanity? Since they chose that path, they have to bear the corresponding risks, don't they?"

"He is your student!" Xia Mi's pupils were blood red, seemingly outraged by Chu Zihang's fate.

"But he brought this on himself."

Angers grinned and said, "Besides, don't you not care about him?"

"I"

Xia Mi opened her mouth as if to speak, but then stopped herself.

But when she saw Angers' ambiguous smile, a sudden thought flashed through her mind: "Are you lying to me?"

"It's not that I'm lying to you; that was originally the decision made by the school board."

Angers said calmly, "However, I stopped them. My students are not people that anyone can mess with."

"Xia Mi, if I were willing to give you another chance, what would you do?" Angers looked at the girl in the prison cell with a serious expression and said in a deep voice, "Are you willing to give up your identity as a dragon, give up revenge, give up power, and become a human completely from now on?"

These words, like a sharp arrow, pierced Xia Mi's heart. She looked bewildered: "What...does that mean?"

"You'll understand soon enough."

Angers gave a mysterious smile, then turned and left, leaving behind the words: "Xia Mi, you shouldn't have died here. Fate has decreed this, and none of us can defy it."

Destiny? Destiny!
Xia Mi's pupils suddenly contracted; she had heard that word again.

"Wait, come back!"

She shouted at the departing figure, "What do you mean? Who are you? What is destiny?!"

However, Angers did not answer her question and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Click~
The chains binding her were unlocked, and the cell door popped open automatically.

"I've been released?"

Xia Mi stared blankly at her surroundings and the release from her restraints, her mind a jumbled mess.

(End of this chapter)