Douluo Continent: My name is Lu Mingfei, and my martial soul is Lu Mingze.

Meanwhile, in his room in that small building, Lu Mingfei was fast asleep.

But he wasn't having any romantic dreams.

He dreamed of another world.

That world had no martial spirits, no soul power, and no Shrek Academy.

Some are places called Kassel College, some are things called "Dragon Clan," and some are trash called S-Class Hybrids.

He dreamed that he graduated from high school, received the acceptance letter, and boarded the train to Chicago.

I dreamt of a train station, and I dreamt of that huge bronze jar.

I dreamt of Nuonuo, the girl who pulled him out of despair, her red hair burning like flames in the rain.

I dreamt of Chu Zihang, that senior brother who always had a stern face, wielding a long sword called "Muramasame," cleaving everything in the rainy night.

I dreamt of Xia Mi, the girl with the beautiful smile, who eventually turned into a dragon.

I dreamt of Erii, a girl in a yellow dress, who said "Sakura is the best" under the Tokyo sky, and then was swallowed up by the world.

I dreamt of many, many people and many, many things.

I also dreamt of some good instructions, I'll use them when I wake up.

Each one was like a knife, cutting into his heart, one slice at a time.

He stood in the middle of these images, watching everything unfold like an observer.

Watching himself nailed to the cross, watching his blood drip onto the ground.

Watching that little devil named Lu Mingze appear again and again, with his perpetually smiling face and that all-knowing tone, he would say—

"Brother, do you need my help?"

But this time, Lu Mingfei discovered a problem.

What about Lu Mingze?

In these images, he clearly saw everything he was supposed to see, but he didn't see Lu Mingze at all.

That little devil who always appears when he's about to die, that guy who always calls him "brother," that person he thinks is his younger brother, or perhaps just another side of himself—

Disappeared.

does not exist.

It was as if he had never existed.

Lu Mingfei stood in the middle of those images, everything around him was rapidly changing, but he remained motionless.

He opened his mouth, as if to call out that name.

But I can't shout it out.

My throat felt like it was blocked by something.

A feeling I couldn't quite describe welled up inside me. It wasn't sadness or panic, but a deeper emptiness, like losing something very important.

Then Lu Mingfei suddenly opened his eyes; he was standing on a golden surface of water.

The sea of ​​consciousness.

Lu Mingfei stood there, looking around.

There was nothing there.

On the golden water, only his own reflection could be seen.

He squatted down and looked at his reflection in the water.

The face was young, with a touch of childishness, but there was an indescribable weariness in the eyes.

"Lu Mingze?" he called out.

The sound echoed in the space, but there was no response.

"Little devil?"

There has been no response yet.

"Brother?"

The reflection on the water swayed, but no one answered him.

Lu Mingfei remained silent for a while, the emptiness in his heart growing stronger.

He remembered that every time he came here before, Lu Mingze would appear in front of him with a grin and say in that annoying tone, "Brother, you're here again" or "Brother, did you miss me?"

Even if he didn't come sometimes, Lu Mingze would leave a message or something.

But this time, there was nothing.

Lu Mingfei stood up and took a deep breath.

"Okay," he muttered to himself, "maybe it really was just a dream."

He turned around, ready to leave.

"elder brother."

Lu Mingfei suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He turned around.

A small whirlpool appeared on the water's surface, and then a beam of light rose from the whirlpool, condensing into a small human figure.

The figure was a bit blurry, like a television screen with a poor signal, but Lu Mingfei recognized the face at a glance.

It is Lu Mingze.

But it's not quite the same as before.

In the past, Lu Mingze always wore a sharp suit and a bow tie, looking like a little gentleman.

But now, Lu Mingze's figure is semi-transparent, as if he might disappear at any moment.

He still had that smile on his face, but the light in his eyes was much dimmer than before.

"Lu Mingze?" Lu Mingfei was stunned.

"Brother, don't be so surprised," Lu Mingze said with a smile. "I told you, I'll be there whenever you need me."

"What's wrong with you? What's wrong?" Lu Mingfei stared at his semi-transparent body.

"Nothing much, just a little tired," Lu Mingze said casually.

"tired?"

"Yes, I'm tired," Lu Mingze said. "I just blocked that thing for you, and it took a lot of effort."

Lu Mingfei remembered that he had fought with the thing on Wang Dong's body in that gray world just now.

"Did you get rid of that thing for me?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"Yeah, we got rid of him," Lu Mingze said. "But that guy is still quite troublesome for us; it took some effort."

He paused, his figure blurred again, and then barely coalesced.

"Brother, I might have to disappear for a while."

Lu Mingfei's heart tightened.

"disappear?"

"Yes, it's temporarily gone," Lu Mingze said. "It's not completely gone, don't overthink it. It just needs some rest and a break."

He looked at Lu Mingfei, a hint of seriousness flashing in his dim eyes.

"You'll have to rely on yourself for now."

Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, as if to say something.

Lu Mingze raised his hand, interrupting him.

"Don't say things like 'What should we do then'. You're not really useless. You were pretty fierce during the fight just now, weren't you? You scared that god away."

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment.

"Did I call that?"

"Otherwise what?" Lu Mingze laughed. "Although I borrowed your strength, it was you who wielded the sword. Your moves were quite good."

Lu Mingfei didn't know what to say.

"Alright, stop dawdling." Lu Mingze's figure faded into the distance.

He glanced at Lu Mingfei one last time, and that smug smile returned to his face.

"Brother, don't miss me too much. I'll be back soon."

After he finished speaking, his figure vanished completely, disappearing without a trace like a gust of wind.

The golden water surface returned to calm.

Lu Mingfei stood there, staring at the spot where Lu Mingze had disappeared, and remained silent for a long time.

The moment his consciousness returned, Lu Mingfei felt his body come back.

But before he could open his eyes, he felt something moving around on his body.

It's not that kind of movement.

It's like... how should I put it, it's like someone is fiddling with you all over, touching here and there.

Lu Mingfei's first reaction was not fear, but bewilderment.

Who the hell is groping me?

He opened his eyes and saw a head buried in his chest, with two hands groping all over his body, doing something he didn't know.

He had messy hair on his head and was wearing a Shrek Academy uniform.

Lu Mingfei's mind was not fully awake, but his body had already reacted.

He kicked it out.

That kick was solid, hitting the man squarely in the chest.

The man let out a scream and was sent flying as if hit by a cannonball. He spun several times in the air before crashing to the ground with a thud.

Lu Mingfei sat up in bed and looked at the person on the ground.

It was a boy, about the same age as him, with a fairly decent-looking face, but at this moment his face was looking at Lu Mingfei with a distorted expression, his eyes full of anger.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" The boy covered his face and got up from the ground.

"I kindly took care of you, and you kicked me?!"

Lu Mingfei then noticed that the boy was holding a towel, and there was a basin of water on the table next to the bed, with steam rising from the water.

He looked down at himself; his clothes were half unbuttoned, and a wet towel was stuck to his chest.

Oh.

So you were helping me wipe my body?