Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from Sekiro

"Hey, Lu Mingfei, do you have someone you like?" Nuonuo asked softly.

"It used to be."

"Chen Wenwen?"

How did you know?!

“Your classmates all know that you like Chen Wenwen. I heard it from them.”

"What! I definitely didn't tell them that!"

"You wear your heart on your sleeve."

"Was my performance that obvious?" Lu Mingfei scratched his chin.

"Wouldn't you be sad if you saw the girl you liked being taken away by someone else?"

"Everyone says she was a girl I liked in the past, in the past." He smiled and stretched out his hand, as if he could touch the stars.

"They're a good match, and besides, I don't have time for romance. Someone's waiting for me." His eyes gleamed as he said this.

Chapter Nineteen: Travel in Japan

2009年8月10号日本时间晚10点28分，灯火通明的巨型城市出现在机翼下方，四通八达的高速公路和新干线织成一张闪亮的蛛网。

This is Tokyo! Asia's largest city, and a popular tourist destination for Lu Mingfei!

He sat in the window seat, his face pressed against the airplane window, looking down at the industrial city with its towering buildings.

He flew here in just six hours. He told his aunt that he was going to Kassel College to register early. His aunt and uncle even chipped in $500 for his travel expenses. But in fact, his plan was to travel in Tokyo for 15 days and then transfer to a plane to the United States on the 25th.

He had already made plans with Lao Tang, who would pick him up at the New York airport on the 25th, and the two brothers would hang out until the start of the school year.

The $110,000 given by the little witch was more than enough to support the trip. After turning 18 on July 17, he couldn't wait to apply for a tourist visa.

His uncle and aunt knew nothing about this. This time, he was all alone, free to go wherever he wanted.

"So beautiful!" Lu Mingfei exclaimed repeatedly.

As night fell, the city that never sleeps was brightly lit, with huge screens playing advertisements featuring beautiful women.

A red and white iron tower stands among the skyscrapers; that is Tokyo Tower, the tallest building in Tokyo.

The Tokyo Tower observation deck is divided into the main observation deck and the special observation deck, offering a 360-degree panoramic view of Tokyo's cityscape, including skyscrapers, parks, temples and shrines, Tokyo Bay, and distant mountains. On a clear day, you can even see Mount Fuji and Mount Tsukuba in the distance.

The brightest spot is Ginza. It is said that at the peak of Japanese real estate, the land value of Ginza alone could buy the entire United States.

He had already read the travel guide and written it all down on his phone.

He wasn't worried about communication; he could understand Japanese, but he wasn't very good at speaking it.

After getting off the plane and completing the formalities, Lu Mingfei took out his newly replaced iPhone: "Norma, navigate to the hotel I booked earlier."

"Norma is at your service at any time." A calm female voice came from the phone.

Artificial intelligence is really useful. It can handle all the chores like booking flights and hotels, so Lu Mingfei can just enjoy the Tokyo evening breeze.

"You have arrived at your destination. Have a pleasant journey."

A luxurious hotel came into view. Lu Mingfei carried his suitcase through the gate and received his room key from the pretty waitress.

His room was on the 27th floor, with an excellent view. He could sit on the bed and enjoy the spectacular night view of Tokyo.

"Whoosh!" He picked up the PS3 controller from the big bed and started playing Yakuza 3 on the 120-inch LCD TV.

This was a brand new game that was only released in February of this year, and before long, he became engrossed in playing it.

At 2 a.m., he finally defeated the first boss, turned off the TV, and soaked in the large bathtub, taking a bubble bath. He connected his phone to the Bluetooth speaker in the room and played Jay Chou's "Nocturne".

"Is this how rich people enjoy themselves?" After drying himself off, he changed into a clean bathrobe and lay down on the soft white bed.

I turned off the headlights with the remote and turned on the blue ambient light by the bed. Outside the window, there were neon lights and a large screen. Cars came and went on the steel-like roads, like fireflies dazzling in the city.

Lu Mingfei drew the curtains and closed his eyes.

"Hopefully, we can find something useful."

......

The next day, Lu Mingfei dressed casually in black beach shorts, a blue short-sleeved shirt, a pair of large black sunglasses, and a yellow sun hat.

In the sweltering heat of August, the scorching sun beats down as soon as you step outside.

The first stop was Senso-ji Temple, and with Norma's guidance, he quickly arrived at his destination.

A huge red lantern hangs at the entrance of the temple, with the words "Kaminarimon" written on it.

Wooden, vermilion-lacquered pillars stand together, supporting the facade along with bricks and tiles. This is called a torii, representing the entrance to the divine realm and used to distinguish the divine realm from the secular world inhabited by humans.

Stepping through the torii gate signifies entering the sacred realm; thereafter, one should exercise extreme caution in all actions and behaviors.

This is the entrance to Kaminarimon - the Omotesando gate. It is an eight-legged gate with a Kiritsuma structure. On the left is a statue of the wind god, and on the right is a statue of the thunder god. Its official name is "Kaminarimon" (Wind and Thunder God Gate).

Lu Mingfei crawled under the lantern and was greeted by a pedestrian street packed with people. There were vendors selling souvenir dolls as well as snacks such as oden and taiyaki.

He had already had breakfast at the hotel and wasn't really interested in buying souvenirs, so he went straight inside.

At the end of the pedestrian street, there was another door, called the Treasure Gate. Walking forward, he arrived at the main hall where the lot-drawing took place.

The hollow, six-sided cylinder made of silver metal contains many bamboo sticks. There is only one small hole. If you shake it vigorously, the bamboo stick that happens to emerge from the hole represents your fortune.

There will be a number on it. Open the wooden box with the corresponding number, and you will get a fortune card with "good luck" or "bad luck" written on it, as well as a Chinese poem that will reveal your future trajectory.

It costs 100 yen to draw a lot, and almost every tourist who comes here will draw a lot.

It is said that during New Year's Day, the number of visitors to Senso-ji Temple can reach one million. The fortune-telling business alone makes a lot of money, not to mention the sales of souvenirs and other items in the pedestrian street outside.

The monks in the temple are not poor at all.

Lu Mingfei took out a 100-yen Japanese coin from his pocket and handed it to the staff member. After praying devoutly, he shook the tin box.

"number 66."

In Western countries, 6 is considered an evil number. Three 6s together refer to the devil, Satan, and numerology, and are considered unlucky.

In the Bible, three consecutive "6"s represent the symbol of the devil, signifying the evil forces led by Satan. Another interpretation is that "6" represents imperfection, as God created the world in seven days; therefore, 666 is considered an unlucky number in the West.

However, in China, the number 6 does not have any unique meaning.

Lu Mingfei opened the corresponding wooden box according to the numbers and took out a slip of paper.

"Oh no, looks like my luck isn't so good."

The Chinese poem above reads:

I see you off as you return to your homeland, while I lie ill in the secluded mountains of Chu.

I can only follow you; how can I stay behind alone?

The gist of it is that he recently had to see off an old friend, but he could only watch helplessly. The last sentence was probably a complaint, and in fact, he probably didn't leave with the old friend.

He shook his head, folded the paper into a strip, and tied it to a nearby tree branch.

Tourists who draw a lucky or very lucky slip of paper usually take it with them, while those who draw an unlucky or very unlucky slip of paper leave their bad luck at the temple and ask the gods for protection.

However, this fortune slip was really not very accurate. Lu Mingfei couldn't think of any old friends he had a deep affection for. It would be too pretentious to lie in bed and sigh in the secluded valley of Chu Mountain if he couldn't see them.

In the past, he might have stayed in bed for ten days or half a month after seeing Chen Wenwen and Zhao Menghua off, but now he doesn't have that kind of mind.

They're a perfect couple who both got into Peking University; they're a handsome man and a beautiful woman, what's wrong with them?

Chapter Twenty: Focus on S-Class

Lu Mingfei sat down and prayed in front of the Guanyin statue.

In many places in Ashina, there are Sculptor's Idols burning with blue flames. Praying at these Sculptor's Idols can heal one's injuries.

Therefore, he felt a sense of gratitude towards the Buddha statue, even though it was Guanyin, not Buddha, and he prayed with the same reverence.

He expected a response, but Guanyin either had official business to attend to or simply didn't want to go to work that day; in any case, nothing happened.

After leaving the main hall, he went to ask for a limited edition amulet.

Omamori are like amulets blessed in temples, but their validity period is only one year.

Each year, a new amulet is needed, and different amulets have different functions.

For example, if you want to improve your studies, you should buy an academic blessing; if you are a mother who is about to give birth, you should bring a safe delivery blessing. You can't just buy them randomly.

Lu Mingfei asked for a study talisman, which contained scriptures copied by a monk.

The monk told him that if he felt his wish had been fulfilled after wearing it for a year, he could take it back to the temple to have its divine power renewed. If he felt his wish had not come true, then he should burn it.

He hoped that American university courses wouldn't be too difficult, having heard that Americans follow a "sweet first, bitter later" education model.

Before university, the courses were very easy, with a 9-to-3 schedule and plenty of free time to do whatever you wanted. But once you got to university, the courses became much more demanding.

In the United States, parents no longer provide tuition and living expenses for their children during college. They have to work hard to earn scholarships and credits in order to avoid being expelled.

Of course, children can borrow money from their parents, but they have to pay it back after they start working, including interest.

Textbooks in the United States are very expensive; a brand-new textbook can cost $200, which is unimaginable for Chinese students.

Students aren't idiots, so naturally they're unwilling to pay such a high price for a textbook that they'll only use for one semester. Most of them rent a secondhand copy from the market and return it after they've finished using it.

Lu Mingfei wasn't worried about this issue. His tuition and book fees were all covered by Professor Guderian. After deducting these expenses from the $36000, the remaining money was enough for him to live a life of luxury.

He wandered around Senso-ji Temple for a while longer, and using the words he had practiced beforehand, he asked the monks about the legend of "Ashina" and "Sakura Dragon".

The morning passed by without him gaining anything, and even the high monks of Senso-ji Temple couldn't help him.

Reluctantly, he had to find a solution for lunch first.

......

Genji Heavy Industries, office building.

In front of Yuan Zhisheng was a paper document with the title "S-Class Lu Mingfei" in bold black letters.

He received the file back in May.

As an executive officer of the Kassel College Japan branch, he had the right to view this top-secret file.

"Crow, what do you think?" He looked up at the man standing to the side.