Erii suddenly felt herself being lifted. Opening her eyes, she saw a resolute face covered in dragon scales.
Like a monster.
During those many nights in the love hotels, this person had lain on the other side of the room, whispering nonsensical things to her. She thought she was about to die, but the monster had descended.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here," Lu Mingfei spoke softly, his voice piercing through the roar of the torrential rain.
He knew a pair of eyes was watching him.
He had always needed a push, and so be it, whether it was slaying dragons or anything else, he finally had to make his own choice. A choice meant picking one of two difficult paths, or at least committing to one. Right or wrong, it was better than being a piece of trash who did nothing.
Lu Mingfei carried her, walking through the rainy night.
The roads converged in his vision, and he stopped in front of a shop glowing with a soft radiance. Unexpectedly, the road ended here. This shop seemed to be the final destination.
In a city about to be swallowed by a tsunami and a volcano, a small shop remained open, emitting a faint, warm light. A spotlight shone through the glass display case, illuminating a mannequin facing Lu Mingfei.
Lu Mingfei suddenly smiled. He gently set down the bewildered girl.
"Wait for me," he whispered.
Then, he muttered under his breath, "Thank you, Teacher Tso Lan."
Parked at the shop entrance was a motorcycle, painted in red and white. A voice recorder sat on the seat. It was one of the few motorcycles Lu Mingfei actually recognized.
A Suzuki RG500. An old bike, featured in an old Hong Kong movie, a romance starring Andy Lau. In the story, the small-time crook played by Lau falls for a wealthy heiress. In the end, with nothing left and bleeding from his head, he rides this bike, smashes the window of a bridal shop, and takes the woman he loves to flee the world.
Before him, a snow-white wedding dress shimmered under the spotlight. The mannequin tilted its head slightly, like the Virgin Mary pitying all living beings.
How does a boy grow into a man? The answer was simple.
Lu Mingfei took two steps back and lunged forward, his foot shattering the glass wall. Shards flew through the air like crystalline butterflies as he retrieved the wedding dress.
"This is great," he suddenly remarked, filled with relief. "I'm glad I wore a suit today."
The motorcycle roared in the rainy night.
The voice recorder was tucked into his suit jacket's breast pocket. A minute ago, Lu Mingfei had pressed play. Surprisingly, it was a song.
The 1991 single "Love Story wa Totsuzen ni" by 80s Japanese singer Kazumasa Oda, created for a world-famous TV drama. Lu Mingfei remembered the name of that show very clearly.
Tokyo Love Story.
The older man's gentle vocals flowed around the Suzuki RG500, mixing with the howling wind, ethereal as if they were on a train far away from Tokyo.
"...Boku wa wasurenai kono hi o kimi o dare ni mo watasanai....On this unforgettable day, I will never give you to anyone else."
"Kimi no tame ni tsubasa ni naru kimi o mamori tsuzukeru.I want to grow wings for you, to hold you tight and protect you."
"Yawaraka ni kimi o tsutsumu ano kaze ni naru.Or become that gentle breeze, soothing you at every moment."
The song harmonized with the wind. Erii delicately stroked the white wedding dress, her innocent eyes reflecting a small glimmer of joy. She had seen this kind of clothing before at Meiji Shrine; men in suits would walk with women on their arms. They wore clothes like this then.
Pure white, like white doves flying in the sky.
She felt like she was truly flying. Sitting side-saddle on the back of the motorcycle, she hugged the boy in front of her with one hand and raised her arm high with the other, her hand, clad in a white lace sleeve, reaching into the curtain of rain. It felt a bit chilly, but her heart was strangely warm.
She loved this feeling. Just like when the boy had stumbled into her room not long ago.
Lu Mingfei sped back along the path he had come. He pushed the Suzuki RG500 to its absolute limit, racing toward the Tama River at over 150 kilometers per hour.
He leaned low. The roads converged again as the motorcycle burst into a tunnel lit with warm yellow lights. Everything in the world seemed to be clearing a path for him; the crowded throngs of people and cars parted to the sides like a red carpet. Behind him, the girl was writing words on the back of his suit.
The first word was in English, the name she had for him. Then came a gentle tap. Lu Mingfei grinned. What a literal-minded dummy, she even wrote out the comma, he thought.
Then came three characters (最好了), stroke by stroke. Lu Mingfei could feel them.
"Sakura, is the best," the girl said wordlessly in her own way.
Lu Mingfei gripped the handlebars tightly as the motorcycle's engine thundered like a storm. Inside the tunnel, he rode against the massive tide of people fleeing west, heading in the opposite direction with his girl. Within the flood of humanity and steel, he was like a star moving backward.
This was a highway wedding.
The boy would undergo his metamorphosis into a man during this ceremony, becoming a qualified proxy. A real man does not hesitate when faced with a choice. Between slaying the dragon or protecting the girl, there was a third option that only a man would take.
He would bring his bride to the battlefield known as the Red Well.
Lu Mingfei finally burst out of the tunnel into the torrential rainy night. The speeding motorcycle was like a blade of youth, sharply slicing through the wall of wind. The roadside scenery blurred past, as if he were traveling through time.
The oncoming rain shattered against the motorcycle's windshield into tiny, crystalline droplets, dragging out long, winding trails like tears. Erii wiped her eyes, her own tears flying into the rain, diffusing into long, shimmering threads. She raised her arms joyfully, tossing the lace sleeves of the wedding dress high into the sky.
Thunder tore through the night, booming like cathedral bells.
At the Red Well in Tama River, the eight-headed "God" had finally been brought under control after awakening. The mastermind, Herzog, let out a maniacal laugh that filled the bottom of the well.
It was all about to end. The members of the squad would bring his designated sacrifice here; the sound was already echoing through the nearby rain.
The King of the Japanese branch's Yamata no Orochi, Gen Chisei, knelt on the ground clutching his twin blades, while his brother, Kazama Ruri, watched the scene in despair.
The next moment.
The Suzuki RG500 violently charged into the heart of the site. The smile on Herzog's face froze. The sacrifice had arrived, but she was wearing a wedding dress.
"Everyone, get back!"
Lu Mingfei cut the engine. His dragon-form body stood firmly before the Red Well.
In the curtain of rain. Before the "God." He stood like a central pillar of support.
He wore a suit, drenched in blood, shielding the white dove behind him. The burial ground had become the cathedral for the wedding, and the guests were already seated.
At this moment. The man had finally brought his bride to the battlefield.
Nothing in this world can stop a man who possesses power. Not even a so-called "God" crawled out of a grave, nor a master conspirator.
Not by a long shot!
Meanwhile, far up in the firmament, two demons stood silently outside the world, glancing at each other.
A qualified proxy had been born.
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