Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

For Erii, anything in this world can be a weapon. Objects in her hands are merely messengers carrying orders to kill.

The knife is, the paper is, and the air is too.

After the loud bang, there was a deathly silence.

The airtight door vanished, leaving only jagged ruins. The passageway outside was littered with the corpses of Deadpools. Black blood pooled into new streams, mingling with the pools of blood already inside.

There are even more Deadpools.

They trod over the corpses of their companions, their slender, black blood staining the ground as they advanced side by side. Pale humanoid figures trailed long, serpentine tails, tracing undulating lines on the earth. Scales rubbed against the ground, producing a rustling, chilling sound.

It's like an upgraded version of Resident Evil, except without the slow-moving zombies.

Lu Mingfei knew perfectly well that these creatures could charge like cheetahs and wouldn't die even if they were hit head-on by a car.

But they didn't sprint.

They are afraid.

Erii scanned the dead, their bodies soaked in her own blood.

In an instant, a tiny crack appeared on the mask that was as cold as ice.

Sorrowful.

It turns out she wasn't entirely indifferent to death.

The feeling was just too faint, so faint that ordinary people couldn't even see it.

Then she took the toothbrush off her mouth and tossed it away casually.

An ordinary, white plastic toothbrush that sells for 198 yen in supermarkets.

It traced a low, flat parabola, landed in the middle of the passage, rolled twice in front of the Deadpools, and stopped.

The Deadpools stopped abruptly as if struck by lightning.

They stared at the toothbrush as if it were a spinning, burning sword that God had set at the gates of Eden.

Not one dared to cross that non-existent line.

Lu Mingfei had seen fear. He had seen the fear of prey towards its hunter, the fear of the weak towards the strong, and the fear of death row inmates towards their executioners.

But he had never seen such fear before.

This is not fear of a "powerful opponent who can kill you".

This is the sinner's fear of God, the lamb's fear of the shepherd. It is the fear of humanity, expelled from Eden, looking back at that closed gate, at the untouchable light behind it.

Erii grabbed Lu Mingfei's wrist.

Her hands were cold and soft, with delicate joints.

The force was irresistible.

She turned and walked down the long walkway behind the vault door.

Lu Mingfei staggered after them. Frillian followed silently behind them, her eyes lingering on the toothbrush for a moment.

Then she turned and stepped into the candlelight behind the door.

The door slowly closed behind them.

The trail is long and quiet.

The floor is covered with old cherry blossom wood flooring, each grain of which carries the weight of a century of history. The scent of sandalwood wafts in from somewhere, not the industrial fragrance found in the corridor, but genuine sandalwood that has slowly aged in the air.

There were wooden sliding doors on both sides, with candles lit behind them. The warm candlelight shone through the washi paper, casting fine shadows of the wooden lattice on the floor and also on Lu Mingfei and Erii.

Lu Mingfei suddenly realized that he was still wearing shoes stained with blood.

He stopped abruptly and bent down to take off his shoes. His movements were so sudden that he almost lost his balance.

Erii didn't turn around, but slowed her pace a little.

Lu Mingfei walked barefoot on the floor, feeling the cool touch beneath his feet. He carried a cardboard box full of dolls and followed closely behind the girl.

Peeking at a girl's back at this moment seems a bit too despicable.

But he couldn't help but glance at it twice.

Erii's silhouette was curvaceous and alluring, her long legs peeking out from beneath the bath towel. Her skin glowed a pale gold in the candlelight, as delicate as fine washi paper.

She walked slowly and steadily, her bare feet making almost no sound on the wooden floor.

Red hair swayed gently behind him, and the rubber duck on his head trembled slightly with each step.

Lu Mingfei recalled Lu Mingze's words.

He said that Lanruo Temple was also haunted, and that Ning Caichen met Nie Xiaoqian there.

This place really resembles Lanruo Temple.

In a blood-soaked land, a scholar, powerless and helpless, along with his female companion, encounters a lonely female ghost who has been alone for a thousand years.

Chapter 682 Princess Erii of Lanruo Temple (Part 2)

Erii stopped in front of a sliding door.

She reached out and pulled back the door, revealing a room with tatami mats. The room was small and simply furnished. She pointed to the kotatsu table in the center of the room, gesturing for Lu Mingfei to sit down and wait.

Then she turned and went into the inner room.

Lu Mingfei sat down at the table, placed the cardboard box beside him, and began to look around.

The plain white walls were not decorated much, except for three statues hanging on them.

Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo.

Amaterasu stands amidst a myriad of rays of sunlight, holding the Yasakani no Magatama, her robes flowing like clouds. Tsukuyomi stands beneath a dark, full moon, the Yata no Kagami in her hand reflecting a cold, clear light. Susanoo, with the appearance of a young boy, is heroic and arrogant, wielding the ultimate divine sword of Japanese mythology, Ame-no-Kurakumo, and standing atop the corpse of an eight-headed dragon.

Lu Mingfei didn't know much about Shintoism, but he recognized these three deities who had made cameo appearances in countless anime and games.

Apart from these three statues, there are no other decorations in the living room.

There were no flower arrangements, no hanging scrolls, no souvenirs the owner had brought back from all over the world. There weren't even bookshelves, no stereo system, nothing that could be called "pleasure."

The only electrical appliance was the huge LCD TV, connected to a PS3 that was covered in a thin layer of dust.

This room is undeniably luxurious. The century-old cherry blossom wood corridor alone is something to boast about to every guest. Yet, the people who live here lead an almost ascetic life.

This is not a room a twenty-year-old girl should be living in.

This is the room of an elderly woman who has converted to religion.

Lu Mingfei sat upright, his back stiff.

He tried to imagine what it would feel like to live here.

It probably looks like a tree.

Standing motionless in the wilderness, I felt the sunshine and rain, the sunrise and sunset, and my roots extending deep into the soil while my branches and leaves grew towards the sky.

Gradually, I forgot how to move.

Gradually, I forgot how to run.

Gradually, I forgot... that there was a world outside.

He looked at the open door to the inner room. Erii was changing clothes inside, and he could vaguely see her opening the closet and taking out a neatly folded white garment.

She looks to be about the same age as Nono.

How many years has she lived here?

Fifteen years? Twenty years?

No one can settle down without the heart of a wooden person.

Erii came out from the inner room.

Lu Mingfei quickly lowered his head, hunched his shoulders, and stared intently at the kotatsu tabletop, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

She was already wearing her underwear.

It's a relief that no nosebleed came out.

Erii, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, took a shrine maiden outfit from the cupboard, unfolded it, and put it on. A white robe and red hakama, with a white obi tied into a neat bow at the back. Her movements were practiced and natural, as if she had worn it for decades.

Lu Mingfei was almost certain: she had basically never left the room.

She had never encountered a pervert on a bus, never watched porn, and never had a self-proclaimed charming senior strike up a conversation with her.

That's why she's completely unguarded around men.

In her eyes, Lu Mingfei was probably the same kind of creature as her—a flat-chested creature. Frilian was the same, a flat-chested creature too.

"Let's go." Erii took out a small notebook from her kimono sleeve, opened it, wrote two words with a ballpoint pen, and held it up for Lu Mingfei to see.

The handwriting is very childish, like that of an elementary school student.

Lu Mingfei then realized that she was unable to speak. So she always carried a pen and notebook, like those deaf-mute travelers, communicating with the world through writing.

"Where to?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"Outside."

"It's full of Deadpools outside!"

"Outer areas."

Lu Mingfei was getting completely confused.

Even if Erii is a humanoid weapon with superhuman bloodline and is not afraid of those Deadpools, he is afraid! He is just an ordinary executive bureau commissioner, Sakura Lu, who carries a box full of dolls!

With everything so chaotic outside, wouldn't it be better to stay here and have a cup of tea?

It would be best to close the 20-centimeter-thick vault door as well, so that the Deadpools outside wouldn't dare to come near.

Right in front of you is a game console, a PS3, and a disc of "Dynasty Warriors" inserted inside.

I'm good at it!

You'll help me beat the game!

Erii is writing again.