Lu Mingfei, who had read Dragon Clan before slaying the dragon

"Hey, I'm risking the dragon clan's disapproval to remind you these, not to do you a favor and listen to your thank you!" Xia Mi clasped her hands in front of her chest, like a proud white deer leaping out of the forest.

"Alright, alright. I've already visited Auntie. I'm bored staying here and listening to you two being so affectionate. You two will feel awkward too." Lu Mingfei stood up. "I suddenly remembered something else, so I'll be leaving now. By the way, Junior Sister, Senior Brother's villa is big and has many rooms. Don't waste money going out to get a room. Just stay here and feel free to make it your own."

Chu Zihang opened his mouth to say something, but Xia Mi had already stood up and waved, smiling brightly, "Okay, goodbye, Senior Brother Lu, have a safe journey!"

……

Italy, Rome, Gattuso's suburban castle.

It was a pleasant evening, and Frost, as the acting head of the Gattuso family, was entertaining guests. At the long project table, there was a cousin of the sheikh who owned several large oil mines in the UAE, a business newcomer who had just entered Wall Street and captured half of the new energy market, and an investment tycoon who was a big shot in the traditional banking industry... Those who could sit here had the same characteristic without exception - they were rich, extremely rich.

They were discussing the development and replacement of traditional and new energy sources, a topic that could determine the direction of global finance for the next twenty years. The chief's cousin and a Wall Street rookie were locked in a heated debate over whether new energy vehicles would replace petroleum-powered vehicles in ten years. One's face was redder than red, the other's was darker than black.

The investment tycoon waited patiently, possessing the funds and connections to change the fate of an entire industry. In the 1980s, he set his sights on real estate. He manipulated the market behind the scenes, driving housing prices in Tokyo's Ginza to a near-vertical rise over the course of a few years. At its peak, land prices in the city alone could have bought the land of a superpower. In the 1990s, he withdrew, severely puncturing Tokyo's real estate bubble and severely damaging the city's vitality, setting the economy back two decades.

Just as the chief's cousin and the Wall Street rookie had used up all the arguments they could think of and were about to spit out dirty words.

"Gentlemen, please don't say anything obscene at the dinner table. Aren't these quiet nights and the bright stars beautiful? We're not just talking about money, we're also talking about power! The real people in power should remain calm and composed." Frost took the waiter's handkerchief and gently wiped the corners of his mouth, his tone graceful and calm.

The chief's cousin and the Wall Street rookie looked at the calm host of the banquet and realized that they had lost their composure. They sat down and raised their glasses, apologizing while sincerely praising Gattuso, the head of the family, for his extraordinary demeanor and tolerance.

The blond secretary in a suit appeared at the main seat of the banquet and bowed slightly, "Sir, this is an emergency."

"Percy, the most urgent situation at the table is probably the pineapple bun without butter, or the inexperienced waiter putting a sugar cube in your coffee." Frost smiled. "That would be terrible!"

He told what he thought was a funny joke, making those dignitaries from around the world burst into laughter. This was the attitude of a host. What emergency in the world would make Gattuso, on behalf of the master, put down his knife, fork, and wine glass to solve it? Even if the earth exploded, he would have to wait until Frost finished this dinner before exploding.

"It's about Caesar..." Percy leaned over and whispered a few words in Frost's ear.

"Anger, this lunatic son of a bitch, is his brain filled with shit?" Frost stood up angrily, overturning the stack of butter and dark mocha on the corner of the table.

"Mr. Gattuso, is there anything more important than making money? My new energy company is now on the rise..." The Wall Street rookie didn't know what was going on, and saw Frost preparing to leave and spoke hurriedly.

"Fuck you!" Frost glanced at the ignorant young man. "Patsy, buy out all the free shares of his crappy company on Wall Street and kick this idiot out of there!"

Just a reminder, do you still remember a certain boss in Lu Mingfei's city?

Chapter 174 Dust Off, Sunshine Takes Root

Frost stormed out.

The dignitaries gathered here fell silent. They all knew who the lunatic with a brain full of shit was that the acting head of the family, Gattuso, had mentioned... The only young man from Wall Street who didn't know the inside story fell to the ground. He didn't know who Ange was, but he was very clear about the financial strength and iron fist of the Gattuso family.

Because he was about to be expelled from the company he founded because of a few extra words, the young man from Wall Street felt dizzy and his whole life was in vain.

"I'm sorry, the heir has had some issues, so the acting head of the family lost his composure. Please continue chatting and dining." Percy bowed and whispered to the waiter, "Send that young man from Wall Street back. He won't appear at the Gattuso residence anymore."

Percy quickly caught up with Frost and arrived at his office. As the heavy soundproof door slammed shut, Frost slammed his palm hard on the expensive desk and roared without caring about his noble image, "Damn Ange! How dare he send Caesar on such a dangerous mission?"

"It's because the family tried to dismiss the principal some time ago, and the relationship between the board of directors and Ange is almost broken. Since we can use him as a scapegoat, Ange won't care about our opinions. Caesar is a student of Kassel College, and Ange is the principal. He has the right to assign Caesar to complete any task, which is in line with school rules." Percy said softly.

"But we worked so hard to train Caesar to be so outstanding, not to let that old guy send him to die! I am Caesar's parent, and I have the right to make decisions on my child's safety!" Frost growled.

"I'm sorry, although you might be offended, but I must remind you..." Percy took a deep breath, "According to school rules and family regulations, Patriarch Pompeii is Caesar's parent... You are merely caring for Caesar on behalf of the Patriarch, at most acting as a guardian... but acting guardians have no authority to halt academy missions."

"What the hell is this?!" Frost yelled. "Then notify the Japanese branch! Talk to them directly, bypassing Angers, and have them terminate this plan. In the name of the school board!"

"This method may not work. It's probably ineffective. The Japanese branch doesn't care about the school board. They might not even obey Ange's orders," Percy said. "The Japanese branch is almost independent of the secret party. It can't really be considered a resident organization because all of its members are involved in the underworld."

"Involved in the mafia?" Frost glared. "Why are there mafia organizations outside of Kassel Academy?"

"The Japanese branch was not established after Kassel Academy."

"At the beginning of the last century, Lord Mayek, the leader of the secret party, traveled to Japan by ferry. He discovered that the mixed-race people in Japan were fundamentally different from those in North America. We have an academy system to educate people, while they are simply a group of barbarians. They control almost all of Japan's black and gray industries and make huge profits from them."

"The Japanese half-bloods simply didn't believe in the academy. They only cared about money and force, and were quite reluctant to join forces with the secret party. So, the two sides reached an agreement: the Japanese half-blood families would support the academy run by the secret party, on the condition that the secret party would not interfere in the affairs of mainland Japan."

"This situation wasn't improved until Principal Ange showed up. During World War II, he set foot on Japanese soil as a US military staff officer and almost single-handedly suppressed the entire Japanese underworld. The mixed-bloods there respected him, and the Japanese branch finally became more than just a name."

"What is Ange doing? Getting involved in some gray industrial chains is already the limit. As the head of a school, he actually cooperates with the underworld?" Frost shouted angrily.

"It's not a collaboration. The secret party doesn't interfere in illegal transactions. Illegal industries are controlled by Japanese gangs. The oldest families in the Japanese underworld have a total of eight surnames, known as the 'Snake Eight'.

"The Snake Eight Clan never directly interferes with illegal transactions. They are the head of the Japanese underworld and the law enforcers, just like commanders and soldiers. Almost all Japanese gangs accept their management."

"It can be said that the status of the Snake Eight Clan in the Japanese mafia is equivalent to that of the school board in the secret party. Of course, there are no Japanese mafia outside of the Snake Eight Clan who are as rebellious and outstanding as Principal Ange."

"I've heard of the Sheqi Eight Families. They once tried to obstruct me when I was bidding for an industrial park in Tokyo, but why didn't anyone tell me that they had this kind of relationship with the secret party?" Frost's voice rose a little.

"The Pompeii family master knows about it, but he probably didn't tell you because he didn't think it was important."

"Not important?" Frost was stunned.

He had been Pompey's replacement on the board of directors for fifteen years. During these fifteen years, he had always believed that he held all of Pompey's power, and that nothing about the secret party could escape his eyes.

It was not until today that he realized that this academy was so unfamiliar. There was the unruly Ange inside and the eight Sheqi families outside who were beyond his reach. His say could probably only be used to order those professors without titles to teach and answer questions well in class?

What infuriated him even more was Pompey. Frost had asked Pompey to forward all relevant matters to him, but Pompey refused, citing reasons like, "Are you talking about the little piece of paper I was given at the board meeting?" "I folded it into a heart and gave it to the beautiful professor." And, "Anger is definitely hiding something important from you anyway, and what you see might not be true, so why bother yourself?"

"Also, the Japanese branch is the most stable of all. They submit annual reports to the academy on time every year, and the reports show that there has never been a case of dragons awakening in Japan. It's safe to say that we have no idea what's going on there. Japan is shrouded in an invisible dark curtain," Percy said. "We can't control them. Neither the board of directors nor the academy can."

"Call Pompey and tell him that his son's life is in imminent danger. Tell him to contact Ange immediately to withdraw the order!"

"I tried to contact him, but couldn't. The owner of the family is in XZ on a charity trip called 'Spiritual Journey'. He's spending a week of asceticism in a Lama temple in the foothills of the Himalayas. There's no signal or internet there, and even if you were to ride there, it would take a week because wheels can't move in such deep snow."

"What's wrong with him going into cultivation?" Frost suspected he had misheard.

What kind of person is Pompeii? He'd travel the world with his own mattress, and he couldn't sleep without a supermodel on it. I can't imagine what this guy's penance must be like.

"Some time ago, some lamas came to promote the idea. The head of the family heard words like dual cultivation and sexual desire, so he followed them..."

……

Lu Mingfei stood in front of a Japanese restaurant, which was on a development line some distance away from the bustling CBD area.

A plaque with red characters on a wooden background that reads "Tokyo Izakaya" hangs on the high door panel. The all-wood structure gives the feeling that sunlight can penetrate the wooden boards and fill the room at any time. The Ukiyo-e paintings on the exterior wall are exquisite and gorgeous.

But the door was locked tightly, the metal lock handle was covered with a thick layer of dust, and the windows were also closed. Through the pulp paper pasted between the wooden frames of the window, one could vaguely see that it was pitch black inside. It looked like this izakaya had not been open for a long time.

Lu Mingfei's attention shifted from the door lock to the gorgeous Ukiyo-e paintings on the outer wall. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the techniques of Ukiyo-e painting, engraving, and ink dyeing here had almost reached perfection. The lines were so smooth that it seemed as if the distant mountains and beautiful scenery were embedded in reality, which was magnificent and majestic.

These brocade paintings, far removed from the vulgarities of sensuality and sensuality, are not something you could just find on the street to create. This style of grand, sweeping illustrated books is often used in large-scale mafia meeting halls, halls, and ancestral halls. The artist requires extensive experience and considerable skill, and of course, the price is incredibly high.

"You can take photos and group pictures, but these wooden boards are not for sale." A voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Lu Mingfei looked back and saw a middle-aged woman who looked like a sanitation worker wearing an orange vest. A broom taller than her was leaning against her arm and shoulder. The woman was using the thin bamboo tied to the front of the broom to brush away fallen leaves and dust while looking at Lu Mingfei warily.

"You misunderstood. I'm not here to buy these Ukiyo-e paintings. I'm just here to find the owner of this izakaya." Lu Mingfei explained.

"Do you know the boss here?" The middle-aged woman still had the vigilance in her eyes.

"I know him. Last year, I had the honor of meeting Mr. Kenshiro when I came here for dinner. He looks old-fashioned on the outside, but he is a very gentle elder on the inside." Lu Mingfei recalled.

"It's an acquaintance." The middle-aged woman finally smiled.

Lu Mingfei nodded. "I once received a gift from Mr. Kenshiro, but never got around to thanking him. It just so happens that I'll be going to Japan soon, and remembering that Mr. Kenshiro's hometown is in Japan, I wanted to ask if there's anything I can do to help."

"I'm a sanitation worker in charge of the sanitation of this street. I've been working here for three years and have known Mr. Kenshiro for three years. Sometimes when I'm on night shift and this store is closing, Mr. Kenshiro always gives me some rice balls or egg drop wine. He always takes good care of me. Although he speaks with an accent, he's a really nice person." The woman sighed sincerely.

"Is he not here? It seems like the izakaya hasn't been open for a long time." Lu Mingfei asked.

"It's been about a month. It seemed like he left in a hurry. He didn't even have time to say goodbye or put up a notice. He suddenly closed down a month ago and the door has never been open since. I don't know when he will be back." The middle-aged woman sighed.

"People have been coming here frequently lately, asking if the house is for sale, or if the wall panels are for sale. They're probably attracted by the pretty patterns. Even worse, someone, seeing the owner was always away, came in the middle of the night with a saw and a hammer to steal the boards. It happened to be while I was on the night shift, so I chased them off with a broom. If I ever encounter such a shameless thief again, I'll definitely dust him with the dust from my dustpan and see if he dares to come back again!"

Seeing the indignation on the middle-aged woman's face as she spoke, Lu Mingfei finally understood why the woman looked so alert when she saw him looking at the Ukiyo-e, as if she wanted to call the police immediately to have him arrested.

"Thank you, Auntie. Since Mr. Kenshiro is not here, I will take my leave first. I will visit you again when I return from Japan." Lu Mingfei was about to turn around and leave.

"Hey, young man, wait a moment." The middle-aged woman called Lu Mingfei. She put the broom and dustpan in the corner of the izakaya and walked towards Lu Mingfei with a hesitant look on her face.

"Is there anything wrong, Auntie?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"I heard it, I just heard it." The middle-aged woman lowered her voice. "Didn't someone come a while ago and ask if these beautiful wooden boards were for sale? At that time, I didn't know how expensive they were. I thought, it's just a few wooden boards with a few paintings on them, how much can they sell for? I saw that young man dressed mysteriously, but quite expensively, so I asked him how much these things could sell for. He said that it depends on whether the buyer knows the value of the goods. Those who don't know the value of the goods will at most buy them as beautiful paintings, and at most 1,800 yuan per square meter. But if you meet someone who knows the value of the goods, it will be a sky-high price!"

"and then?"

"Then I asked, 'Is it inlaid with gold or jade?' He said that if it were bought by a wealthy family, gold and jade would be nothing compared to these paintings!" the middle-aged woman said. "I thought, 'That's outrageous! Isn't that like a mountain of gold on the roadside?' So from then on, sometimes when I'm not at work, I'll stop by to take a look, just in case there's a thief!"

"The Eight Great Clans?" Lu Mingfei pondered. "He's talking about... the Sheqi Eight Clans?"

"Oh, yes, yes, that's the name? You know it too?" The middle-aged woman was surprised.

“I’ve only heard of it.”

"I didn't know what the Eight Great Families were, so I kept asking. I couldn't quite understand a lot of what the young man said, about things like the main family, ghosts, and gods. It was so mysterious," the middle-aged woman whispered. "Then I went back and thought about it. The young man seemed to say that Mr. Kenshiro used to be a bad guy, a gangster, who seemed to have killed people and stolen things, and then ran away here to hide for more than ten years. It was so scary!"

The wrinkles on the middle-aged woman's face were all wrinkled together, and her brows were twisted into a deep "川" shape, filled with deep worry.

Lu Mingfei was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Oh, Auntie, that was all a lie! He said that Mr. Kenshiro was a murderer or something like that so he could get his hands on the paintings on the wood panels. He then made up some nonsense about them so he could sell them for money!"

"Hey, I was saying that Mr. Kenjiro doesn't look like a bad guy at all. How could a bad guy give me porridge at night?" The woman smiled happily. "That young man too. He looked respectable, but I didn't expect him to be such a shameless liar. I'll chase him away with a broom every time I see him next time!"

"You're so awesome, auntie! This store is very reliable with you guarding it!" Lu Mingfei gave a thumbs up.

"Of course I need to say that. Your aunt hasn't had much education, but she's been doing manual labor all her life, so she's got plenty of strength!" The middle-aged woman turned around and picked up her broom and dustpan. "Young man, if you see Mr. Kenjiro, give me my regards and tell him to mind his business. I'm looking after his house for him!"

"No problem!" Lu Mingfei nodded heavily.

This middle-aged woman, who is so ordinary that she cannot keep up with the times, may never know what kind of people she has met or what kind of stories she has heard. She will probably never understand what the words "Snake Hachika", "Honke" and "Oni" symbolize and what kind of huge waves they can cause in Japan.

The only thing she knew was that she had met a very nice izakaya owner in a corner of the city, who brought her a little warmth during every long and difficult night. That was enough.

So she was grateful, and every time she swept the long broom across the road around the izakaya, she would be particularly careful. The fallen leaves and dust were brushed away, and the sunshine seemed to take root in her heart.

Chapter 175: Japan's Law Enforcement Officers and Ghosts

"We've been chasing her for a week. When can we take a vacation? I heard that Kagoshima's shochu and hot springs were praised by the Prime Minister. Are they going to just take a quick look and leave? Just like the time we were in Hokkaido." The thin man stood at the end of the train, the scenery receding in his sight, and the puff of smoke he exhaled was instantly thrown away.

"Shut up, the target this time is very important. Young Master and Ying are already finishing up. Hold your gun tight. If you let them escape, you'll never get a vacation in your life!" The burly man leaned on the railing and said viciously, his expression like a ferocious Yaksha.

The train rumbled along the mountain tracks, and white smoke drifted from north to south.

This old green train is powered by a steam engine. It starts from bustling Tokyo, passes through Kanagawa, Nara, Osaka, Ehime, and Kumamoto along the longitudinal line, and finally reaches Kagoshima, the southernmost tip of Japan.

Passengers going to the final destination, Kagoshima, have to sit on hard leather seats for almost a whole day and a night. In modern times when EMUs and high-speed trains are popular, this kind of slow train should have been eliminated long ago, but in fact, there are many passengers on this train all year round.

Built during World War II, it evolved from a supply route that ran through Japan at the time. Traversing mountains and forests, the tracks are lined with giant trees and stream rocks. Elderly residents cherish the nostalgia of the past, while young lovers can temporarily escape the hustle and bustle of the big city and carve the traces of love amidst the washed blue sky and verdant mountains.

Miyamoto Noyuki was one of the few passengers sitting alone. The carriage she was in was half filled, with half of the empty seats concentrated in the aisle and the front and rear of the carriage. Young boys and girls were obviously more keen on sitting by the window, snuggling up to each other, as if they were performing the most romantic scene in an old movie.

She listened intently, sensing the emotions of the passengers. This was a natural ability, possessing a far more powerful sense of hearing than the average person. Now, this ability was amplified tenfold, its effectiveness in listening to others comparable to that of the Word Spirit Kamaitachi.

She could clearly hear the strong beating of everyone's heart in their chest.

For example, the boy in the yellow cardigan three rows across from her had a noticeably increased heartbeat. The girl next to him had fallen asleep, her head unconsciously sliding onto his shoulder. He watched her eyelashes flutter in her sleep, his heart racing. From this, Noyuki Miyamoto could infer that they were indeed a student couple, probably newly engaged... and not law enforcement officers coming to take her life.

Miyamoto Noyuki is 38 years old this year, but her face is still as beautiful as a girl in her twenties.

She was born in a very remote and poor place in Kagoshima. Before the tourism industry became popular, the village there had no outsiders visiting all year round. The only passers-by were the wind blowing from nowhere and the clouds drifting to unknown destinations.

Her impression of the place was probably limited to the whitewashed village when snow fell, a pure and tranquil beauty, and the simple villagers, who lived a poor but contented life. She couldn't remember much else. When she was five, her brother had made a name for himself in Tokyo, and she was taken there to live.

Unlike other young girls, she never attended school. However, she was deeply interested in medicine, so her brother arranged for her to work at a research institute owned by an acquaintance. She was diligent and ambitious, and at a young age, she assisted researchers there in achieving several experimental breakthroughs in pharmaceutical chemistry. The elders at the institute praised her as the Marie Curie of the pharmaceutical industry, and everyone loved her.

Fifteen years ago, something unexpected happened. Her brother defected from the family, leaving her behind. Her family record was marked red, and the elders who had loved her no longer smiled at her, their dislike growing deep within them. Her bloodline descended from the ancient Miyamoto family, and she possessed a portion of dragon blood. Only the most dangerous hybrids in the family were given the red mark, and those with flaws that could go berserk at any moment were called "oni."

She clearly shouldn't be such a dangerous person, yet she was imprisoned in a monastery, among those who lingered on the edge of human and "ghost". The monastery was built deep in the mountains somewhere in Kanto. Wire fences surrounded the monastery in all directions, and high-voltage electricity flowed through them. The sky was just a small circle, like a frog trapped at the bottom of a well for its entire life.

Every evening, men in black come to visit the monastery. They wear elegant black trench coats, the linings of which are painted with colorful gods or hideous demons. They are the law enforcers of this country, and all half-bloods can only live under their supervision.

These black-clad law enforcement officers prepare some very perverted questions every day to ask the people imprisoned here, just like doctors asking terminally ill mental patients, and then tick the boxes on the scoring sheet. Those who are in good condition will be marked green, those who are barely passing will be marked yellow, and those who fail will be marked red, and will be wiped out on the spot or imprisoned here for life.

But the men in black would always pass by Miyamoto Noyuki every night, and she had never been questioned because her color code was always an extremely eye-catching red.

She would live here alone all her life, or die alone.

Once, when Ye Xue was lying on the lawn watching the clouds drifting in from nowhere, he saw a dog owned by a nun in the monastery jump onto the steel electric fence and instantly turn into a charred piece, with black smoke spewing out of the burned breathing tube.

The nun rushed over and saw her beloved dog was in a disfigured state. She was overwhelmed with grief. She pointed at the noses of everyone, including Miyamoto Noyuki, and angrily scolded them for being dangerous people who should not have been born into this world. Their existence would only bring trouble to society. These trash would never be able to get freedom if they were locked up here for the rest of their lives. It would be better for them to go to see Satan as soon as possible and let everyone be liberated.

In the end, the nun was taken away by strong guards, and Ye Xue never saw her again.

But she often heard the nun's last words as she looked at them with a look of extreme pity as she was dragged away: "You 'ghosts' have no relatives or friends in this world, and even Satan won't like you in hell after you die. So what's the point of your coming to this world? Pitiful... so pitiful..."

"Life without freedom is meaningless." A week ago, she heard this sigh from behind while she was taking a shower.

She turned around and saw a man wearing a plain white haori with fallen cherry blossoms embroidered on the cuffs. His chest was bare, revealing his skin as translucent as glass. The moment Ye Xue looked at the man's face, all the lights went out, the moon was shrouded in clouds, and her vision was completely dark.

But she could hear that rapid, powerful heartbeat, as if it were both within reach and yet so far away. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch it. In the darkness, she seemed to touch a warm face. Her hand gradually moved, and she felt slender eyes, a high nose, and a delicate mouth. It was the simple features of a boy next door, with a touch of feminine beauty.

"If a person is not born free, then she may be willing to be enslaved for life. If a person has experienced the taste of freedom, then a cage will be as painful and torturous as having her hands and feet cut off... People can restrain a domesticated dog that has been raised since childhood, but they cannot restrain a lion from the wilderness. Lions that can be imprisoned have long since lost their lion hearts..."

"We all know that you are the one who controls 'ghosts', so why don't you release the ghost in your own heart? You just need to give a little tenderness in your heart, and freedom and everything you want will return to your hands." The man's gentle voice sounded like a dream, and it seemed like an order to the whole world. It was so majestic that Ye Xue could hardly resist.