Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

During dinner, Mom kept putting food on Chu Zihang's plate, chatting about neighborhood gossip. Dad occasionally chimed in, mostly with his research on certain historical events. Chu Zihang ate quietly, nodding occasionally.

This was his home, unusually ordinary. There was no mention of Kassel, no mention of dragons, no mention of lineage or abilities. Only his mother's nagging, his father's antiques, and a table of steaming home-cooked food.

After dinner, Chu Zihang helped his mother wash the dishes. His mother suddenly asked softly, "Haven't you been having nightmares lately?"

Chu Zihang paused. In the past few years, he often had nightmares, and his mother would stay by his bedside until he fell asleep again.

Overpass, rainy night, Maybach, Odin, father.

“No,” he said.

The mother nodded and asked no more questions. That was her way: not overly inquisitive, but always there.

Before going to sleep, Chu Zihang stood by the window looking at the city's night view. His phone vibrated; it was a message from Xia Mi: "Did you get home safely? My brother has actually learned to cook, although he's made a complete mess of the kitchen."

I heard that Frilian cured Xia Mi's younger brother, and now the child is almost like a normal person. She can even cook now! But compared to Xia Mi's cooking skills, she's still far behind.

Chu Zihang replied, "I've arrived. I'll come see you tomorrow?"

"Great! Bring the pickles Auntie made, my brother's been craving them!"

Chu Zihang put down his phone, feeling that the first day of his holiday was not bad.

Xia Mi opened the door and was stunned by the sight before her.

Fenrir—once a dragon as vast as a mountain—now appeared in human form, wearing a pink apron, frantically stirring something in the kitchen. The kitchen looked like it had just experienced a small explosion; flour was scattered everywhere, dishes were piled up in the sink, and suspicious black smoke billowed from the pot on the stove.

"Sister! You're back!" The humanoid Fenrir turned around, revealing the face of a handsome young man, smiling brightly. "I'm making your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs!"

Xia Mi leaned against the doorframe, speechless for a moment. After receiving the academy's holiday notice, she rushed home, worried that Fenrir might turn something into gold out of boredom while alone at home—his current favorite new skill.

Frilian didn't know where this skill came from either; perhaps it was because dragons naturally love gold?

But she never expected to see such a scene.

"How did you become like this?" Xia Mi finally asked.

Fenrir looked down at himself. "Isn't it good? I see you often look at pictures of human boys, and I think you might like this look."

Xia Mi approached and examined him closely. The boy Fenrir in human form appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, with black hair and eyes, delicate features, and a prominent canine tooth when he smiled—definitely her type. But the problem was—

"How did you learn to cook?" Xia Mi asked, pointing to the pot of black smoke billowing from it.

"I learned it from TV!" Fenrir said proudly. "I've watched so many food programs, and I watched 'A Bite of China' three times!"

Xia Mi sighed. She couldn't imagine how a dragon could learn human cooking from watching TV, let alone why Fenrir would choose such a difficult dish as sweet and sour pork ribs as his first attempt.

"Turn off the heat, turn off the heat first," Xia Mi instructed, walking forward to check the pot of "sweet and sour pork ribs." Blackened chunks of food were stuck to the bottom of the pot, emitting a pungent, burnt smell.

Fenrir looked at her expectantly. "Would you like to try some?"

Xia Mi steeled herself and picked up a piece that could barely be identified as a rib, taking a careful bite. It was so salty it tasted bitter, yet had a strange sweetness, and the texture was like chewing charcoal.

"It's delicious." Xia Mi swallowed hard and forced a smile. "It's amazing that you made something like this for the first time."

Fenrir's eyes lit up immediately. "Really? Then I'll make boiled fish tomorrow! I just learned how to make it today!"

Xia Mi's vision went black, and she began to mourn for her own kitchen and her stomach.

Over the next two hours, Xia Mi taught Fenrir basic human life skills: how to use a gas stove, how to control the heat, and how to distinguish between sugar and salt. Although the process was bumpy, Fenrir learned diligently.

"Why go through all this trouble?" Fenrir asked as he wiped the stove. "We didn't need to eat these things before."

Xia Mi was washing the pot when she heard this and paused. "Because we are going to live like humans now."

“Live like a human being,” Fenrir repeated thoughtfully. “Humans are so complex, doing so many things. But what they make is truly delicious.”

He pointed to the failed sweet and sour pork ribs on the table, "Although I didn't do a good job, it looked really delicious on TV."

Xia Mi suddenly felt a pang of sadness. As dragons, they didn't need to eat to survive, much less learn to cook. Fenrir did all this simply to be more like a human, to be closer to her current world.

"I'll teach you how to make something simple tomorrow," Xia Mi said. "Stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, it's delicious."

Fenrir nodded happily, then remembered something, "Sister, a human came to see you today."

Xia Mi became alert. "Who?"

“They said they were from the neighborhood committee and needed to register information,” Fenrir said. “I said what you told me: you’re away on a business trip, I’m your cousin, and I’m staying here temporarily.”

"and then?"

“She asked me for my temporary residence permit, and I said I was working on it. She said she would do it as soon as possible,” Fenrir recalled. “Then she saw that I was reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms and we chatted for a few minutes.”

Xia Mi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little gratified. Fenrir was learning how to get along with humans, though the road ahead was long.

In the evening, the siblings squeezed together on the sofa to watch TV. Fenrir was already able to understand most of the plot and would occasionally ask questions.

"Why do humans fight?" he asked when he saw the Battle of Red Cliffs from the old Three Kingdoms period.

“For power, land, ideals, many reasons,” Xia Mi replied.

"But war kills many people. Their lives are so short, why should they fight each other?"

Xia Mi was silent for a while, "It is precisely because life is short that we yearn to gain more in the limited time we have."

Chapter 210 Humans are like mayflies

Fenrir nodded, seemingly understanding, and continued watching television. After a while, he said softly, "But I like humans. Their lives are short, but they live them to the fullest."

Xia Mi ruffled his hair but didn't answer.

Human life is as short as a mayfly's. By the time Chu Zihang gets old, Xia Mi will still be alive and well.

Before going to sleep, Fenrir stood at her bedroom door, hesitatingly asking, "Sister, is this okay? Does it look human?"

Xia Mi looked at him; his black hair was soft, his eyes were clear, and he was wearing slightly oversized pajamas. He looked like an ordinary human boy.

“Very similar,” she said with a smile. “Goodnight, Fenrir.”

"Goodnight, sister," Fenrir smiled, revealing her fangs, her expression innocent and naive.

Xia Mi closed the door, leaned against it, and let out a long sigh of relief. Taking care of a dragon king brother who wanted to become human was more tiring than dealing with ten enemies.

Lu Mingfei and Frilian arrived at the film and television base in the afternoon. The inns near the film and television base were quaint and antique, with ancient architectural style, blending into the surrounding scenery.

After putting down their luggage, the two decided to first explore the Three Kingdoms City area. Holding brochures, they strolled along the stone-paved road, flanked by antique-style buildings and fluttering banners. Occasionally, actors in theatrical costumes would walk by, making them feel as if they had traveled back to that era of heroes.

"What are they doing?" Frilian asked, pointing to a crowd gathered around a square.

Lu Mingfei tiptoed to take a look. "Looks like they're filming a movie? Let's go check it out!"

They squeezed through the crowd and, sure enough, saw a filming location. The director was directing the set setup, and crew members were busy adjusting the lights and camera positions. A sign read "Battle of Red Cliffs - Naval Drill."

"I'm so lucky, I made it to the filming," Lu Mingfei said excitedly.

Frillie observed everything with curiosity. She saw the actors in armor, wielding weapons, repeating actions under the director's direction. She saw how the cameras recorded footage from different angles; she saw how the crew set up the scene, creating the effect of warships sailing on the water.

"So this is how TV series are made," Frillian said softly. "Many people work together, repeating the process many times, just to present a perfect moment."

Lu Mingfei nodded, "Yes, they look glamorous, but they work very hard behind the scenes."

The picture you see on TV has to be reshot countless times.

They watched the filming for a while, then continued their stroll. There were food vendors along the roadside; Lu Mingfei bought two skewers of candied hawthorn and handed one to Frillie.

"This candied hawthorn isn't sour or astringent, is it?" Frilian carefully took it, looking at the bright red hawthorn wrapped in a crystal-clear sugar coating.

"Mmm, it's sweet, and it's delicious," Lu Mingfei said, taking a bite first.

I bought some sour and astringent ones a few times before, and got a subway phone for Frillie.jpg.

Frilianzi bit into a hawthorn. "It's not sour this time. Don't buy it from that shop in Chinatown near the college next time."

As Lu Mingfei watched Frilian squinting as she ate the candied hawthorn, he suddenly felt that this elf was becoming more and more down-to-earth.

Walking into a relatively quiet, antique-style street, Frillie stopped and looked at an old man selling handicrafts by the roadside. The old man was weaving small animals out of reeds, his fingers flying nimbly, and in no time a lifelike grasshopper was finished.

"Do you want it?" Lu Mingfei asked.

Frillie shook her head, watching the old man's movements. "I didn't think that way. I was just thinking that humans are very good at creating. Creating stories with images, creating objects with their own hands."

Lu Mingfei thought for a moment, "Maybe it's because our lives are short, so we always want to leave something behind."

Frillie nodded, drawn to a bookstore in the distance. "There are many books about the Three Kingdoms there."

Even with his eyesight squinted, Lu Mingfei couldn't see what was written on the book's cover.

Sure enough, the bookstore was filled with various versions of Romance of the Three Kingdoms and related research works. Frilian carefully looked at the books, from hardcover to paperback, from the original to the adapted version.

"Why are there so many versions of the same story?" she asked.

Lu Mingfei explained, "Because different people need different ways to understand a story. Some people like the original version, some like a simplified version, and some like to look at pictures."

Frillie picked up an illustrated edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, turned to the page about Guan Yu's victories over the enemy's passes, and looked at the majestic general in the picture. She said softly, "In my world, stories are sung by bards, and everyone hears a slightly different version. But I don't know if stories like this, which are fixed, are better or have lost their flexibility."

Lu Mingfei had never thought about this question. He scratched his head, "I think both methods are good. A fixed version allows the story to be passed down accurately, while oral tradition allows the story to live on in the imaginations of different people."

Frillie smiled. "You know quite a lot, little Lu Zi."

Lu Mingfei blushed, flustered by the praise. "No, no, I was just saying."

As we left the bookstore, the setting sun began to cast a golden glow on the antique-style buildings. Filming wrapped up, and the actors changed back into their everyday clothes, leaving in twos and threes.

Lu Mingfei and Frilian sat down to rest in a pavilion. Frilian took out a brochure and examined it carefully again.

"We can go and take a look at Tang City and Water Margin City tomorrow," Lu Mingfei suggested.

Frillie nodded, then pointed to a line of small print on the flyer: "It says here that tourists can rent costumes for photos. Can we try it?"

Lu Mingfei imagined himself in ancient costume and felt a little awkward, but seeing Frilian's expectant eyes, he could only nod and say, "You can try it."

“I want to try on the Zhuge Liang costume,” Frillie said earnestly.

Lu Mingfei couldn't help but laugh, "Zhuge Liang was a man!"

Frillie tilted her head. "Then how about trying out Sun Shangxiang or Xiao Qiao's outfits?"

Lu Mingfei imagined what Frillian would look like in ancient costume and was somewhat looking forward to tomorrow.

As night fell, the lanterns in the film studio lit up one by one, creating a completely different scene. The two strolled through the city, admiring the night view and discussing what they had seen and heard during the day.

"Although the TV series is good, seeing the filming location in person makes it seem less appealing," Lu Mingfei said.

Frillie shook her head. "I find it even more amazing. The charm lies in creating stories that transcend reality."

Lu Mingfei pondered her words. Perhaps this was simply a difference in perspective. As a human, he was accustomed to the production processes behind various forms of entertainment. Frilian, as an elf, however, could see the unique creativity and collaborative spirit of humans in these processes.