Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

The noise outside the door startled Chu Zihang, who had been resting with his eyes closed.

He opened his eyes and saw Xia Mi standing by the bed.

"Senior Brother Chu!" Xia Mi called out cheerfully, unlike the other visitors who were cautious. "I brought you something delicious!"

Chu Zihang subconsciously tried to sit up straight, but the weakness after the blood transfusion made him hesitate.

Xia Mi immediately put down what she was holding and rushed to his side in three strides. "Don't move! Don't move! I'll help you!"

She carried the scent of sunshine and faint floral fragrance, a stark contrast to the rich floral atmosphere in the dormitory.

A pair of soft yet strong hands supported Chu Zihang's shoulders, carefully adjusting the height of the headrest for him.

Xia Mi's movements were unexpectedly gentle, completely unlike her usual carefree manner.

"Okay, is this comfortable?" Xia Mi took a step back and tilted her head to examine her work.

Chu Zihang nodded. "Yes, thank you."

Xia Mi smiled with satisfaction and turned to get the food she had brought.

Chu Zihang's gaze unconsciously followed her figure. Xia Mi had tied her long hair into a high ponytail today, which swayed lively with her movements, like the tail of a restless little colt.

"Drink the white fungus soup first," Xia Mi said as she opened the thermos. "I simmered it for two hours, and added red dates and goji berries. It's especially good for recovery."

A sweet aroma filled the entire room.

Chu Zihang then realized he was hungry. Since the morning, waves of visitors had left him with almost no time to eat a proper meal.

Xia Mi skillfully ladled out a bowl of crystal-clear white fungus soup, carefully carried it to the edge of the bed, and said, "Here, drink it while it's hot."

Chu Zihang reached out to take the bowl, but Xia Mi dodged him.

“No,” she wrinkled her nose, “Don’t be stubborn, senior brother, I’ll feed you.”

Chu Zihang was stunned. From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever taken care of him like this except for his mother.

Even when he was most seriously injured, he insisted on handling everything himself.

"No need," he was about to refuse when Xia Mi scooped up a spoonful of white fungus soup, blew on it gently, and brought it to his lips.

"Ah," Xia Mi said, opening her mouth as if coaxing a child.

Chu Zihang's ears felt slightly hot. He hesitated for a moment, but still obediently opened his mouth.

The temperature of the white fungus soup was just right; it was sweet but not cloying, and it brought a comforting warmth as it slid down the throat.

"Is it good?" Xia Mi asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Mmm," Chu Zihang nodded, then added, "It's very delicious."

Xia Mi's smile widened, and she scooped up another spoonful and offered it to her.

This time, her fingers accidentally touched Chu Zihang's lips, and the two of them froze for a moment.

Xia Mi quickly withdrew her hand, a faint blush rising on her cheeks, but she quickly continued feeding the child as if nothing had happened.

Chu Zihang felt a flutter in his heart. This feeling was unfamiliar, like a butterfly fluttering its wings in his chest.

He looked at Xia Mi's lowered eyelashes, which trembled gently in the sunlight with her breath.

The bowl of white fungus soup was quickly emptied.

Xia Mi nodded in satisfaction, then took out pumpkin pancakes from the paper bag. "Next is the main course! I specially steamed the pumpkin until it was very soft, so the pancakes will be easy to digest."

The pumpkin pancakes are golden and glossy, emitting an enticing aroma.

Xia Mi broke off a small piece and held it to Chu Zihang's lips, "Here, senior brother, have a taste."

Chu Zihang opened his mouth, the pancake was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the sweet aroma of pumpkin spread in his mouth.

The taste inexplicably reminded him of the snacks his mother used to make when he was a child, and a long-lost warmth welled up in his heart.

"How about it?"

"It's delicious, it reminds me of my mom."

Xia Mi shook her head. "Senior brother, do you miss your mother? Actually..."

Her voice lowered, "My parents passed away when I was very young. I learned to cook because I didn't want to eat instant noodles all the time."

She broke the pancake in her hand, saying, "The happiest time back then was the weekend, when I could slowly cook a meal and eat it with my brother."

Chu Zihang's heart tightened.

"And then?" he couldn't help but ask.

Xia Mi raised her head, the gloom in her eyes disappearing. "I got used to it after a while! Besides, now I have Senior Brother Chu to share my cooking skills with!"

She broke off another piece of pancake and stuffed it into Chu Zihang's mouth, saying, "Eat more so your body can recover faster."

Chapter 98 Development of Alchemy Tools

Norton House, Frillie's private laboratory.

Lu Mingfei lay on the table, his arms crossed and his chin resting on them, watching Frilian fiddling with the glittering alchemical tools on the table.

"So, will this really work?" Lu Mingfei extended a finger and carefully poked the pocket watch on the table.

Frillie didn't even look up, her long silver hair slipping down her shoulders. "Don't touch it, it's not stable yet."

Lu Mingfei immediately withdrew his hand and began to observe how Frillie was working.

The elven girl frowned slightly, her emerald eyes fixed on the tool in her hand, her slender fingers deftly adjusting the parts inside the device.

"Frilian is so beautiful," Lu Mingfei thought.

The ticking of the wall clock mingled with the occasional elven incantations that Frilian occasionally uttered.

“The vice principal taught me an interesting alchemical technique yesterday, Transfiguration,” Frilian began. “It can increase the ductility of metals three times while maintaining their strength.”

Lu Mingfei blinked. "That old lecher actually knows proper alchemy?"

“Yes, Master Flamel is the pinnacle of alchemy in our time,” Frilian chose a euphemism, “although his lifestyle was dissolute.”

“Watch closely,” Frilian said, gently stroking the pocket watch, drawing her wand and chanting a spell, “This is the first attempt to combine elven magic with alchemy.”

With a 'ding,' the pocket watch slowly floated up, its outer casing unfolding like flower petals to reveal its intricate gear structure.

'Click click click,' the gears began to rearrange themselves.

"It looks kind of cool," Lu Mingfei said, leaning closer until his nose was almost touching the pocket watch.

Frillie tossed the pocket watch gently, and it floated toward the center of the laboratory.

Under their watchful eyes, the pocket watch completely transformed into a metal butterfly, its wings engraved with alchemical matrices and elven runes.

“Go,” Frilian whispered, “chase the sunlight.”

The metal butterfly fluttered its wings and took flight, beginning to chase the moving light in the laboratory.

Lu Mingfei was mesmerized. "It's just like a live butterfly, how did they do that?"

A hint of smugness flashed in Frilian's eyes. "Elven magic gives it the 'will' to move, and alchemy provides the 'vessel' for movement."

"Do you remember what the teacher said in the alchemy class at the academy?"

"Yes, that means elven magic provides the soul, and alchemy provides the body."

"Correct."

The metal butterfly circled around them once, then landed on Frilian's outstretched fingertip, its wings fluttering gently.

"What else did the vice principal teach?"

Frillie blinked. "Lots. Like this one."

She took out a small wooden box from under the lab bench, and inside were neatly arranged colorful crystal vials. "Space compression potion. Pour it on the object you want to shrink, and you can shrink large items for storage."

Lu Mingfei curiously picked up a small bottle and held it up to the light.

"Don't shake it," Frilian warned, but it was too late.

Lu Mingfei's hand trembled, and the liquid in the small bottle began to shake violently.

The bottle became scalding hot, and he instinctively let go, causing the small bottle to fall onto the lab table.

"boom!"

Centered on the bottle, space distorted, and all the papers in the laboratory flew up, as if blown by an invisible wind.

"Get down," Frilian pounced on Lu Mingfei and pinned him to the ground.

Lu Mingfei's vision went black, and the unique scent of melting snow emanating from Frilian lingered in his nostrils.

He could feel Frilian's weight pressing down on him, soft and fragrant.

The spatial distortion lasted for about three seconds, then everything returned to normal. The papers drifted down slowly, like a snowfall.

"I'm sorry!" Lu Mingfei stammered, his face burning as if it were on fire.

Frillie's face was inches away; he could see her emerald eyes and large eyelashes.

Frillie realized the awkwardness of their position and quickly got up.

"Are you alright?"

Lu Mingfei scrambled to his feet in a fluster. "No! That... butterfly."

The lab bench was a mess, but thankfully, apart from papers scattered everywhere, there was no other damage.

The metal butterfly continued to flutter in the air, completely unaffected.

Frillie breathed a sigh of relief. "Luckily, nothing serious happened."

A few drops of blood dripped from Lu Mingfei's hand.

Frillie frowned and grabbed Lu Mingfei's hand. "You're injured."

Lu Mingfei then noticed a faint scratch on his right hand. "Ah, it's nothing, just a minor injury."

"Don't move," Frilian said, gently lifting Lu Mingfei's hand, raising her wand, aiming it at the wound, and chanting a spell softly.

The tip of the staff glowed with a faint green light, and as Frilian moved, the scratches on Lu Mingfei's hands healed at a visible speed.

Tiny, translucent flowers appeared in the air around the wound, blooming and then disappearing.