Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

“This,” Frilian handed the bracelet to Lu Mingfei, “is calming and can soothe the mind.”

Lu Mingfei recalled Susie's hidden sensitivity beneath her competence and occasional worries, and felt that this gift couldn't be more suitable.

The gift for Nono was full of drama. Lu Mingfei had originally set his sights on a brightly colored lacquer jewelry box with an abstract phoenix pattern, thinking it was vibrant enough to match the red-haired witch's eccentric personality. But Frilian pulled out a palm-sized, slightly chipped, diamond-shaped bronze mirror from a corner of an old goods basket.

The mirror was already somewhat blurry, making it difficult to see people clearly. The back was engraved with a pattern resembling clouds and thunder, exuding an inexplicable sense of mystery.

“Nono will like this,” Frilian thought, confident in her own taste.

Looking at the old bronze mirror, Lu Mingfei suddenly realized that, compared to the ornate jewelry box, it truly suited Nuonuo's insightful nature and love of uncovering secrets. He decisively abandoned the jewelry box and bought the unassuming old bronze mirror.

Finally, there was Fingel. Completely abandoning any thought for this unscrupulous senior, Lu Mingfei headed straight for the food stall. He bought a whole box of vacuum-packed "Wei Bo Eight Bowls," which were actually several locally produced braised meats and bean products. The flavors were intense and incredibly appetizing, and the packaging even boasted exaggerated claims of "Imperial Cuisine Heritage."

"It's affordable and filling; he'll definitely like it. It's so much better than the German pork knuckle in the cafeteria," Lu Mingfei said confidently, carrying the heavy suitcase.

As Lu Mingfei squeezed onto the bus to the train station, carrying large bags and small packages, he looked out the window at the gradually receding old town of Weibo and felt a little sad.

The two days I spent at the ruins of Weibo Old Town felt like sinking into a hazy, dreamlike past.

Lu Mingfei felt that his very bones were permeated with a stale, decaying air, which made his thoughts somewhat sluggish. It wasn't until he boarded the green train on his return journey and heard the regular, slightly dull "clanging" sound of the wheels rolling over the joints of the rails that he was gradually pulled out of the corner forgotten by time and reconnected to the strings of reality.

The carriage was filled with the smells of instant noodles, sweat, and cheap, unknown perfume—not pleasant, but with a vibrant energy. He leaned against the window of the hard-seat carriage, watching the desolate fields and bare tree trunks of a northern winter rushing past outside. The inexplicable oppression in his heart dissipated slightly as his view broadened.

Frilian, standing nearby, remained quiet. The elven girl held a book whose cover appeared suspiciously old in this world, her long eyelashes drooping, her fingertips occasionally turning a page lightly.

The journey was long and tedious. When it was time to eat, the train attendant pushed the dining cart, calling out "Boxed meals, instant noodles, sausages," and slowly moved it from the connecting area between the carriages.

"Two servings, please," Lu Mingfei said, taking out his wallet. He was a little hungry.

The train attendant, dressed in a bulky blue uniform, bowed his head and stiffly handed over two disposable plastic lunch boxes and two pairs of disposable chopsticks.

Lu Mingfei took the chopsticks, his fingers accidentally touching the hand that had offered them; they were icy cold, stiff as if they weren't alive. He glanced at the conductor again; the brim of his hat was pulled low, almost obscuring most of his face, revealing only his taut chin. He quickly pushed the cart toward the next row of seats.

An unusual sensation, like an undercurrent beneath the surface, gently brushed against Lu Mingfei's nerve endings. It was too cold, the temperature was icy. And his movements were stiff, not like something simply caused by fatigue.

Without saying anything, Lu Mingfei placed a boxed lunch on the small table in front of Frillie and opened one for himself. It was a braised beef rice bowl, plain-looking but steaming hot. He broke apart the disposable chopsticks, rubbed off the splinters, and prepared to eat, his nose twitching slightly.

The smell is off.

It wasn't the smell of spoiled food, but rather a fishy odor deliberately masked by heavy seasonings. It was very faint, mixed with the aroma of soy sauce and grease; unless he possessed an extraordinary sensitivity to such scents, he would have been almost unable to detect it. The fishy smell wasn't like fish; it was closer to the smell of blood.

Lu Mingfei paused, his hand holding the chopsticks stilled, and looked up at Frillie. Frillie had also closed her book, her slender fingers resting on the edge of the lunchbox, the tips gleaming faintly; she too had sensed something was wrong.

Chapter 289 The Zhu Liao Who Followed Behind

Lu Mingfei's heart sank. The oppressive feeling that had come from Wei Bo returned, and even intensified.

It wasn't an accident; this was aimed at them.

He subtly pushed his lunchbox aside, leaned back slightly, and casually glanced across the carriage. In the afternoon, most passengers were dozing or looking at their phones with headphones on, with only a few chatting quietly; everything seemed perfectly normal.

The train attendant, pushing the dining cart, walked to the other end of the carriage, his back about to disappear into the shadows of the connecting area.

"Something's not right," Lu Mingfei said in a very low voice, almost the sound of air rubbing together.

Frillie nodded very slightly, her gaze sweeping over the two untouched lunch boxes before looking at the front and back of the carriage.

“Something has slipped in,” Frilian said, directly pointing out Lu Mingfei’s hidden worry.

Was it aimed at him? Or at Frillien? Or perhaps both?

Lu Mingfei's mind raced. He took a deep breath to dispel the chill. Whatever it was, trouble had come knocking, and in such a secluded, densely populated, and highly mobile place.

The other party is very cunning.

"Prepare for battle."

Without needing to say much, the tacit understanding formed through their many battles side by side had silently built up between Lu Mingfei and Frillian.

Lu Mingfei sank deeper into his seat, half-closing his eyes as if to take a nap, but in reality, all his senses were being pushed to their limits. His hearing picked up on the sounds of wheels, voices, and any discordant noise. His sense of smell discerned the source and direction of the fishy smell in the air. He could even feel the subtle changes in his skin in response to the airflow.

The train continued its journey across the open fields. The sky outside the window had darkened somewhat, with low-hanging, leaden clouds pressing down as if brewing something. The light inside the carriage also dimmed. The incandescent bulbs had been turned on early, casting a pale halo that elongated and distorted the flickering shadows of the passengers, projecting them onto the carriage walls like ghostly figures.

The train conductor never reappeared.

But Lu Mingfei knew that it, or perhaps it, was nearby. Like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, flicking its tongue, waiting for the perfect moment to deliver a fatal blow.

The fishy smell in the air had become a little stronger.

Dozens of kilometers ahead of the green train, on a rocky hillside.

Zhu Liao stood with his hands behind his back, dressed in a dark purple Tang suit that clashed with his surroundings. He was tall and thin, with sunken cheeks and frighteningly bright eyes. Standing there, he didn't look like a human, but more like a ferocious beast in human skin, exuding a stale and dangerous aura.

On the ground in front of them, intricate and bizarre patterns were drawn with a mixture of cinnabar and blood and mineral powder, with several tortoise shells placed in the center. The tortoise shells were crisscrossed with cracks, exuding an ominous aura.

Around the pattern, seven small, dark-colored black flags were planted in specific positions. The flags moved slightly without wind, trembling and making a rustling sound like insects gnawing.

“On the day of Wu, the void is encountered, the post horse is broken, Kui, Lou, Wei, Mao, and the evil spirits clash with the ghost metal.” Zhu Liao’s withered lips moved, uttering low and indistinct syllables. Each word carried a pulling force, causing the black flags in front of him to tremble even more violently.

"This is it, the chance to return, the precarious position of a trapped beast. Lu Mingfei, your secret to immortality is rightfully mine!"

Zhu Liao looked up in the direction the train should have come from, his crimson eyes blazing with a fiery, almost manic light. He had been planning this day for far too long. The land of Weibo, steeped in yin energy, was an excellent place to observe the secrets within that young man, but he dared not act rashly there; the waters there were too deep, and the consequences too great.

The best time to strike is when they leave, embark on their journey home, are most relaxed, and are trapped in this rootless steel cage.

The feng shui trap had already been set up. In his eyes, the tracks of this train were a malevolent line leading to a deadly end.

He used secret methods to disrupt the railway dispatching system, creating a brief, inconspicuous temporary stop not far ahead. During the stop, several puppets he had hired would replace the crew members in key positions on the train.

The puppets are made from recently deceased corpses, prepared with secret medicine, and then infused with a wisp of his soul for control. Although their movements are slightly stiff, they are sufficient to handle simple tasks such as ticket checking and sales. More importantly, they are themselves moving evil eyes, constantly emitting a filthy and sinister aura, eroding the life force of this carriage, creating the most favorable environment for his final attack.

He himself would appear like a ghost, boarding the train when it unexpectedly made a stop at a forbidden location he had chosen. The area was low-lying and surrounded on all sides, a "dragon-trapping pool" in feng shui, powerful enough to suppress any possible unusual movements by the target.

Within the array he set up, the opponent was unable to use the power of words.

Everything is ready. All that's left is for the prey to fall into the trap.

Zhu Liao stretched out his withered, bird-claw-like fingers and gently stroked a trembling black flag, feeling the faint feedback from the unique and alluring aura of immortality emanating from Lu Mingfei.

"It's coming, it's coming soon."

The air inside the carriage was becoming increasingly viscous.

The feeling of being watched, of being enveloped by something invisible, was like a damp spiderweb, wrapping around Lu Mingfei's skin layer by layer. He could hear the subtle sound of his blood rushing through his veins, and his heart pounding steadily and powerfully in his chest, each beat bringing a burning force that dispelled the chill that had seeped into his bones.

The magical glow emanating from Frillie's fingers, which rested on her knees, was now clearly visible, like leaping blue arcs of electricity. She subtly adjusted her posture, ensuring she could spring into action at any moment to counter any attack from any direction.

Sudden.

"laugh--!"

A sharp, drawn-out whistle shattered the relatively calm atmosphere, followed by a violent screeching sound from the train. The immense inertia threw everyone forward, items from the tray tables clattering to the floor, and screams and curses instantly filled the carriage.

Emergency braking!

In the instant Lu Mingfei leaned forward, his left hand swiftly braced itself against the back of the seat in front of him, stabilizing his posture, while his right hand silently pressed against his lower back. Frillie, as if weightless, was momentarily suspended in mid-air by inertia, landing lightly on the ground.

Amidst heart-pounding jolting and noise, the train's speed decreased sharply, finally coming to a complete stop with a final, heavy thud.

Outside the window lay a desolate wilderness. The sky grew increasingly gloomy, with leaden clouds seemingly pressing down overhead. In the distance, rolling hills covered in withered, yellow grass stretched out, devoid of any villages or signs of human habitation. A biting wind seeped in through the gaps between the carriages, carrying a chilling edge.

"what happened?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Damn it, we're in the middle of nowhere."

The passengers were still shaken and discussing the situation, with panic spreading like wildfire. The flight attendants reassured everyone over the intercom that it was an emergency stop because there were small obstacles on the track ahead that were being cleared, and asked everyone to remain calm.

Chapter 290 Taking Action

Lu Mingfei and Frilian exchanged a glance, both seeing confirmation in each other's eyes. This was no accident. The location of the parking lot, the desolate and deathly environment, and the increasingly chilling and fishy smell in the air all confirmed their suspicions.

The other side is about to make a move.

The door connecting the carriages creaked open, letting in a blast of cold air mixed with the stench of earth and decay. A tall, slender figure in a dark purple Tang suit appeared silently in the doorway, like a ghost.

It was Zhu Liao.

"who?"

"Monster!"

His face wore an unsettling smile, a mixture of greed and cruelty, and his crimson eyes, like tangible searchlights, instantly locked onto Lu Mingfei and Frillie's location. He ignored the other panicked passengers in the carriage, as if they were merely insignificant background figures.

"I've found you," he said, his voice hoarse and dry, like sandpaper scraping.

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Liao moved.

He seemed to take only one step forward, yet his figure moved as if by teleportation, leaving a trail of blurry afterimages as he instantly traversed a distance of over ten meters. His withered fingers curled like claws, the tips glowing with an eerie, ghostly green light, aimed straight for Lu Mingfei's throat. The speed was beyond the limits of human visual perception, and the stench he brought was overwhelming and nauseating.

Almost at the same moment Zhu Liao's figure blurred, Lu Mingfei also moved.

Instead of retreating, he used his waist and abdomen to propel his body up like a spring compressed to its limit. When he pulled his right hand out from behind his waist, a cold, metallic glint flashed. It was not some divine weapon, but just a short-handled dagger that he had bought at a street stall in the old town of Weibo. It was said to be an antique replica, but in his hand, it emitted a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air.

He sent the Obscure Sword to Kassel College in advance, and the Obscure Sword was too conspicuous to hide if he wanted to take advantage of someone's unpreparedness.

"Ding!" A crisp, ear-piercing sound of metal clashing rang out.

The dagger's blade precisely blocked Zhu Liao's green-glowing fingernails. At the point of impact, a small burst of eerie green sparks erupted! The immense force transmitted from the dagger caused Lu Mingfei's arm muscles to tense, and with a "crack" under his foot, fine cracks appeared on the hard plastic floor.

But he managed to catch the sudden and fatal blow.

A flicker of surprise crossed Zhu Liao's crimson eyes, quickly replaced by an even stronger greed. "Good! Truly extraordinary! As expected! Hehehe!"

With his other hand, he pointed his fingers like a sword, a bright green light emanating from it, aiming straight for Lu Mingfei's heart. Wherever his fingertips passed, the air emitted a corrosive "sizzling" sound.

A deep blue magic circle, like the strongest shield, appeared silently on Lu Mingfei's chest.

"Oh!"

A dull thud. The magic circle fluctuated violently, its light flickering, but it did not shatter. Frilian stood to Lu Mingfei's side and slightly behind, her outstretched hand forming a magical barrier that blocked the insidious finger strike.

"Attack!" Lu Mingfei shouted, his wrist flicking as the dagger slashed upwards along Zhu Liao's arm. His movements were ruthless and swift, a desperate, all-or-nothing style of fighting! At that moment, the blood in his body boiled completely, and a violent surge of power rushed out, filling his entire body and instantly boosting his speed and strength to an astonishing level.

Zhu Liao let out a strange laugh, his figure flickering backward as he spewed out a thick, inky, foul-smelling black mist that spread and enveloped an area of ​​several meters in radius. Within the black mist, countless vengeful spirits shrieked, disturbing the mind and corroding the body.

"Light of Purification." Frilian clasped her hands together in front of her chest and pushed them outward.

A blinding, pure white light burst forth from her center, like a miniature sun. Wherever it passed, the foul black energy melted away with a hissing sound, like ice and snow meeting the sun.

As the light dimmed, Zhu Liao's figure reappeared, his relaxed expression vanished, replaced by solemnity. He hadn't expected these two to react so swiftly and coordinate so perfectly, especially the elfin woman, whose power was completely different from any system he knew—pure, powerful, and clearly restraining his evil arts.

We can't delay any longer!