Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

"They're playing basketball, it's a very popular sport. Have you seen Erii from 'Slam Dunk'? If not, that's a shame. It was really popular back in our day."

"Our generation was more than ten years ago. Erii was probably just learning to walk back then, so it's normal that she hasn't seen it."

Crow crossed his arms and watched the young people playing basketball on the court, his gaze seemingly looking back to a distant past: "I really miss it. When I was in high school, I was also known as Sakuragi Hanamichi of Shimokitazawa."

"Why don't I call you Rukawa Kaede of Shimokitazawa? Oh, I know, it must be because you're too ugly, hahaha."

"You bastard, if you want to fight, just say so!"

Just as Yasha and the crow were wrestling, Sakura Yabuki hung up the phone and clapped her hands together in greeting to the two of them.

"Alright, stop fooling around. Is this how you take care of Miss Erii?" Sakura Yabuki said coldly. "The young master called and said we can take Miss Erii back now."

"Hey, didn't we agree on an hour? It's only been about half an hour now," the crow complained.

“I can’t do anything about the young master’s orders.” Yabuki Sakura shrugged, then walked up to Erii and half-squatted down. “Miss Erii, we should go back now.”

Erii hesitated for a moment, then picked up the notebook and wrote on it quickly before turning it over to show Sakura Yabuki.

"Playing basketball is a lot of fun, I want to watch for a while longer."

Sakura Yabuki glanced at the basketball court, a troubled expression on her face:

"There's really no other way, so let's watch for a little while longer. But let's make it clear, you can only watch for a maximum of five more minutes."

Erika nodded.

……

"Mingfei, look, there's even a basketball court in this park!"

Liu Miaomiao, who was slowly walking through the middle of the park, pointed to the open-air basketball court next to her, her eyes flashing as if she had discovered a treasure.

"Mingfei, do you know how to play basketball?"

Lu Mingfei scratched his head, unsure whether he should answer yes or no.

He's definitely never played basketball properly, but with his current high-level mixed-race-like physical attributes, becoming a god of war like Dongfang Xiang on the court wouldn't be a problem.

Liu Miaomiao suddenly lowered her eyes.

"Speaking of which, I used to really enjoy watching Senior Brother Chu Zihang play basketball."

Lu Mingfei thought to himself, "I know, probably a third of the people at Shilan Middle School know about this."

But he didn't understand why the little girl suddenly brought this up.

"But I don't like it anymore."

Liu Miaomiao stood on tiptoe with her hands behind her back, raised her fair and slender neck, took a deep breath, and her bright eyes were filled with nervousness. The next sentence was already on the tip of her tongue, ready to be uttered.

"Now, I prefer..."

"Liu Miaomiao, wait here for me for a moment. I have something to do and I'll be right back!" Lu Mingfei's voice suddenly trembled slightly.

"Eh?"

His eyes were fixed on the person opposite him, his expression one of surprise and astonishment.

What did he see?

Before Liu Miaomiao could react, Lu Mingfei suddenly ran out. He ran so fast, Liu Miaomiao had never seen him run so fast before. Like an arrow shot out, he disappeared into the bustling crowd in an instant.

……

Chapter 65 Chase

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, the heat was oppressive, and the shadows shifted as the crowd rushed past.

With his mixed-race physique, Lu Mingfei's instantaneous speed when running at full speed is already close to that of a cheetah. A casual collision would send a person flying dozens of meters.

Therefore, he had to run desperately along the park's paths while also trying to avoid the crowds blocking his way.

Damn it, why is this basketball court fenced off with barbed wire?!

Otherwise, you could just walk through the basketball court!

Lu Mingfei wasn't familiar with the park's routes, so he could only run forward along the cobblestone path. However, he didn't see any intersections where he could turn.

Seeing the "Do Not Step" sign on the park's wooded area, Lu Mingfei steeled his resolve and walked straight across the green space, ignoring the pleas of the patrolling security personnel.

……

"Eri, five minutes are up, we should go now," Sakura Yabuki said.

Erika nodded.

……

My body is desperately squeezing the air out of my lungs.

Lu Mingfei felt a sharp burning pain under his ribs, and even his well-trained lung capacity began to groan under the intense pressure.

But at this moment, Lu Mingfei had no time to care about any of that.

He needs to get there quickly.

……

As the red light flashed, the traffic at both ends of the intersection stopped at the zebra crossing. Erii stood at the zebra crossing, holding Yabuki Sakura's hand, surrounded by a crowd of people who were secretly admiring her beauty.

Although the crow and the demon wanted to drive them away, they suppressed their urge to use violence, considering that the crow had not done anything substantial to harass Erii and that this was in China, not Japan.

The green light turned on with a "ding".

"Let's cross the street, Erii. Be careful and stay close to me," Sakura Yabuki said gently.

……

After wading through grass and dense forest, Lu Mingfei, who had just stopped his car on the sidewalk along the street, did not linger. After glancing left and right, he immediately determined the direction in which the basketball court should be.

Please, please, you must stay. He prayed silently in his heart.

But Lu Mingfei wasn't sure either. In the instant he stopped and looked around at the basketball court, through the crowd, he seemed to see a red-haired girl dressed as a shrine maiden.

A delicate face devoid of joy or sorrow. Who else could it be but Erii?

But in the blink of an eye, Erii's figure vanished, and the spot where she had been standing was now occupied by someone else. This made Lu Mingfei wonder if seeing Erii was just his imagination.

But whether it was a misperception or not, he had to come find her.

Now that I think about it, wasn't that Japanese man buying ice cream at the dessert shop the same guy who was next to Genjiro?

hateful.

He should have remembered this much earlier.

The basketball court, surrounded by barbed wire, came into view, and a crowd of people bustled about.

There are about 300 meters left.

Two hundred meters, one hundred meters...

"Depend on!"

Finally reaching the other side of the basketball court, Lu Mingfei let out a roar, breathing heavily, wiping the sweat from his face with the back of his hand. His eyes scanned the crowd.

Huff... why... why isn't it there...?

Could it be that I just misread it?

It shouldn't be...

Lu Mingfei looked around and suddenly felt the whole city begin to spin, the whole city begin to feel unfamiliar. The crowds, the flashing traffic lights, the endless stream of vehicles, the sky, the white clouds. Sound was cut off, everything was like a dream.

Lu Mingfei suddenly stopped spinning and stared blankly in a certain direction.

At the red light intersection, a woman in a red skirt flashed past from the street ahead.

……

When Genjiro returned to room 8704 with Erii, the white curtain had been removed, revealing various instruments hidden behind it.

Yuan Zhisheng recognized the following: surgical equipment, including a light and bed tower, anesthesia machine, monitor, infusion pump, high-frequency electrosurgical unit, and laminar flow system. It was fully equipped, resembling an emergency room.

There were also some devices that Genji had never seen before.

Could those boxes they moved earlier be these things? Yuan Zhisheng wondered to himself.

Erii looked at the scene before her, her face still expressionless, but she had already quietly stood behind Genjiro.

"Eri is back?" Tachibana Masamune smiled like a kind father. "Did you have fun?"

Erika nodded.

"See these doctors in front of us?" Tachibana Masamune pointed to Dr. Chen and the others in white coats beside him. "They're going to treat Erii next. Father just granted Erii's wish and let her go out to play. Erii, you have to listen to Father and cooperate with these doctors' treatment."

Erii wrote the Japanese character "好" (good) in the air with her finger.

Tachibana Masamune took Erii's hand from Genjiro's and led her to the operating table. Genjiro swallowed hard, clenching his fists, and watched as Erii obediently lay down on the bed.

Dr. Chen grasped Erii's wrist and pulled up her shrine maiden outfit, revealing a section of her fair and slender arm. The bluish veins beneath her arm twitched faintly, like countless small snakes wriggling.

"Don't we need to change into surgical gowns?" Genji suddenly asked.

"No need. There are no microorganisms in the world that can infect Miss Erii's dragon blood of such high purity," Dr. Chen replied in a hoarse voice.

"The surgery is about to begin, Chisei. If you can't bear to watch, you can leave for a while," said Tachibana Masamune.

He picked up a syringe and injected the liquid inside into Erii's body.

A moment later, Erii's eyelids drooped heavily.

Genji shook his head. "I have to personally supervise the operation to prevent them from doing anything bad to Erii."

Tachibana Masamune crossed his arms, nodded, and looked back at the operating table.

Several assistant doctors secured Erii's body with straps, while Dr. Chen brought over the box containing the dragon's heart from the side.

"Don't worry." Although Dr. Chen was wearing a mask, Genji could still sense that he was smiling. "Ms. Erii will recover soon."

With a click, the lock on the box opened again, revealing the heart, which was soaking in some unknown solution, once more. Two medical staff carefully lifted the glass jar out of the box. Under the operating lights, the heart appeared an unusual bright red.

Genji suddenly had a strange feeling; he felt his heart pounding. Not the slight twitching and shutting he had seen before, but a violent, intense beating.

No, it's not an illusion; it's really throbbing. And the throbbing is getting faster and faster, like a marathon runner jumping wildly in a glass jar of formalin solution.