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

"It's time to eradicate the 'evil' side of... the Sheqi Eight Clan."

Masamune's tone, increasingly majestic, brought the atmosphere to a crescendo, only to abruptly fall at the end. It was like a towering wave crashing down, shattering everything before returning to a calm. It was the resoluteness that followed the impulse, indicating his current calmness, the result of careful consideration. To achieve his goal of wiping out the enemy, he would risk everything.

"Are you so ruthless? Mr. Masamune, are you planning to launch an all-out war against the demons?" The long-silent Inuyama clan head suddenly spoke. "Every family has children classified as 'demons' from birth. They're not all corrupted. Birth isn't determined by one person. To exterminate our compatriots based solely on bloodline...isn't that inhumane?"

"Humanity? Yes, what the Inuyama family head said is right. There are two paths in this world, the path of humans and the path of dragons. Are we really the ones who go against humanity?" Tachibana Masamune shouted, his voice like a bell echoing in the main hall, "It is the fierce demons who go against humanity! They have chosen the path of dragons and go against humanity. In our eyes, the dragons they yearn for are evil spirits, evil obstacles, the root of all contradictions, and the greatest original sin in the world! If we don't drive out the demons, we will never have peace. If we don't kill the evil dragons, our descendants will always face war and bloodshed!"

After a long silence, the Inuyama family head finally spoke, "Our family is not certain of victory. Once the war begins, blood will flow like a river. We may be destroyed, or the demons themselves will be destroyed... Regardless of which side wins, this victory will be built on countless dead bones and human lives. It is not a glorious honor."

"I never said this was an honor, Inuyama-kun. This is a grave sin," Mr. Masamune said softly. "Of course war means bloodshed and death. That's why we have wars. Someone has to do it. If I don't, the mess will be passed on to our descendants, and it will be an even greater problem. Some blood must be shed, but if it must be shed, let us, the dying old ones, shed it. With our dry bones, we will pave the way for the young ones, and with our blood, we will cleanse it for them. The sins will be borne by me, and I only wish that future generations will prosper."

Everyone was stunned. No one had expected the patriarch's resolve to be so strong. The Snake Eight Clan had fought countless battles, both openly and covertly, against the Oni Clan before, but no one had ever considered the day they would eliminate the Oni Clan. Just like Mr. Masamune's flashlight, the Oni Clan was the "evil" side of the Snake Eight Clan, like two personalities within one body. But this wasn't a problem that could be solved simply by seeing a psychiatrist. The "evil" side was now on par with the righteous side, and the only way to completely eradicate it was to kill himself!

"Can it be solved? The conflict between the eight Snake families and the fierce ghosts..." murmured the head of the Sakurai family.

"Even if we don't start a war, the fierce ghosts will take the initiative to start it one day, because they are trying to open... the burial place of the gods!" Mr. Masamune said shockingly.

"God's Burial Ground?" The Fengmo Patriarch's eyes widened. "You mean... the Yellow Springs Road?"

"I know about the God's Burial Place, but the Road to the Underworld... what is that?" asked the head of the Longma family. He was considered to be the younger among the other family heads.

"That was originally recorded in the family archives, but someone burned it," the Fengmo family head said solemnly. "It's a path to redemption. Legend has it that those who walk the Yellow Springs Road will be granted the power to roar across the world, but the price is the deprivation of their right to be human."

"This is exactly what the Oni want, to give up being human and evolve into a pure-blooded dragon," said Mr. Masamune.

"How could it possibly evolve into a true dragon?" The head of the Longma family lost his voice. "Even if he were to take endless injections of the Fierce Ghost Potion, at best he would become a Deadpool. But a Deadpool is a world apart from a true dragon."

"But this is the faith of the fierce ghosts. They have abandoned the path of humanity. If they hesitate on the path of dragons, they will be destroyed," said Mr. Masamune. "To humans, the path of dragons is a dead end, but they have forcibly opened this path to a deep and secluded place, where the gods are buried, the road to the underworld."

"They believe the Road to the Underworld ends at the God's Burial Ground, where the remains of the 'God' lie buried. They hold the key to ultimate evolution. A Dragon Servant might only differ 0.01% from the purity of a true dragon's bloodline, but that 0.01% is an insurmountable barrier," Tachibana Masamune said. "They want the White God... to return to the world."

Chapter 190 Lost Lu Mingfei

"This is impossible!" The head of the Sakurai family was horrified. "The 'God' is dead. Dead things cannot return to the world!"

"Yes, the gods cannot come to this world, so they have to go there. They want to inherit the gods' power, and even replace the old gods and become the new 'gods'!"

"We have found out that in recent years, a large amount of funds have suddenly poured into several Japanese research institutes. The purpose of these funds is to develop submersibles that can reach the Japan Trench. We have also found out that the source of these funds is the Menggui Clan. Their intentions are very clear. The Divine Burial Ground is their target!" said Mr. Masamune.

"Are they trying to dig the 'God' out of the grave?" The Fuma family head asked in astonishment, "How is that possible? That's where Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi are sealed! It's like building an indestructible door. The 'God' can't get out, and we can't get in either!"

“There is no door in this world that can never be opened. Doors can lock people in, but they cannot lock out desires. People’s ambitions will seep through the cracks in the door.”

"Greed and ambition are like poisonous aqua regia. No matter how thick and solid the door is, it will eventually be corroded. What we will face then is desire that has expanded to the extreme. The resentment and ambition accumulated by 'God' for thousands of years are enough to engulf the world!" Mr. Masamune's voice was like a low Buddhist chant.

"It sounds like a world-destroying curse!" The head of the Sakurai family sighed deeply.

"It's a curse, a curse of calamity that will last for a thousand years!" said Mr. Masamune. "What we have to do is to prevent this catastrophe before it strikes. To destroy a person, you have to eradicate his faith. So I've decided to take advantage of this opportunity when the headquarters dispatches a special agent to cut off the path to the underworld of the demons, blow up the burial place of the gods, and wipe the bones of the 'gods' from the world forever!"

"After eradicating their obsession with 'God,' what remains is to completely eliminate their power. The people, forces, and organizations affiliated with the Fierce Ghost Clan will all be purged. We must eradicate this power from the root until every last 'ghost' disappears from this world!"

Mr. Masamune was known for his composure, even when faced with a subordinate who had made a grave mistake. He could be gentle and unfazed, correcting him without blinking. No one had ever seen him so hard-edged before, his tone so hard it seemed to pierce steel. Everyone was deeply shocked by the frantic words he spewed out.

"Many people will die." said the head of the Inuyama family.

"If we continue to let this go, the war will never stop. War always kills, and this millennia of history is there," Mr. Masamune said gravely. "Inuyama-kun, you and I are very old. It's no exaggeration to say we're practically dying. If a war really breaks out and people are going to die, I hope that old people like you and me die before the young. If my death means the war ends, then I'd rather die a thousand times than let the blood of the young cease."

The head of the Inuyama family remained silent and did not comment.

The main hall was filled with silence, all eyes lingering on the head of the family and the head of the Inuyama clan, the two elders facing each other in silence. Outside the window, the wind howled like the wailing of ghosts, and the heavy rain, accompanied by the cherry blossoms, splashed down recklessly, as if the world had been turned upside down.

After a long silence, the silver-haired old man in the main seat spoke softly and seriously, "Of course, although I hold the position of patriarch, I cannot force anyone in the family to gamble their lives and obey my will. The Eight Sheqi Families are not a single-person organization, and whether to go to war or not is definitely not a single decision. Fate should be in our own hands. I am not sure how many are willing to follow me, or how many will oppose me... This is the purpose of my gathering of you today."

The old man clapped his hands gently, and the side door opened. A fierce wind rushed in through the opening, rustling everyone's clothes. A priest in a dazzling white robe walked in, looking like the White Ghost of Death. They carried two huge white screens and placed them on either side of the old man in the main seat. Two sets of brushes and ink were gently placed in front of the two screens.

The old man stood up, gently rolled the tip of the pen in the thick black ink, then held his sleeve with his left hand, and wrote two large characters on two huge screens with his right hand.

On the left is the murderous "战" (war), and on the right is the smooth, round "忍" (forbearance). Every time the old man writes a stroke, he is under the watchful eyes of hundreds. When writing "战" (war), his brush strokes are like slashing at an enemy, the sharp tip of his pen outlining a thousand-foot blade; when writing "忍" (forbearance), he holds his breath and concentrates, the end of the character is concealed, revealing no sharp edge.

"What does Mr. Masamune mean?" asked the head of the Fuma family.

"Those willing to risk their lives in a decisive battle with the demons, please write the word 'right' on the left screen. Those who believe the family should maintain the status quo, please write it on the right screen." Mr. Masamune said, "Everyone has their own aspirations. The fate of the family should be decided by the members of the family. I swear in the name of the head of the Tachibana family that I will never coerce anyone here. Whether the outcome tonight is war or forbearance, I am grateful and have no complaints!"

"I voluntarily give up my own brush and entrust my life to you." Mr. Masamune tore open the cuffs of his haori, covered his eyes with black cotton and linen, knelt in the center of the screen, and placed his hands on his knees, like an ancient samurai waiting for others to decide his life and death.

"A bloody catastrophe or an unknown peace," said Tachibana Masamune. "The life and death, survival and demise, prosperity and decline of our family all depend on your thoughts. Please proceed with caution!"

It was quiet, so quiet! Even the sounds of wind and rain seemed to fade from their ears. The young people looked at each other. None of them had ever experienced such a scene. In the past, orders came from the top of the family, and they were only responsible for executing them or handing them off to their subordinates. In other words, they had always been just executors. But now they were the decision-makers, deciding matters of such magnitude as the family's rise and fall, honor and disgrace, life and death... Who would dare to act rashly?

Dazzling, too dazzling! The two screens were no longer plain white in their eyes, but a glaring red. One side was soaked with their own blood, the other with the blood of their enemies. The slender tip of the pen seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and the moment it was raised and lowered, it could determine the life or death of hundreds or thousands of people.

The silence lasted a long time, and even the heads of the families hesitated, as if making this decision would take a lifetime. But the blindfolded old man stood still between the screens, like a meditative Buddha, as if he could really spend his whole life here as long as no one made up their minds.

Until the head of the Inuyama family stood up and left first, he picked up the pen on his right without hesitation, drew a stroke on the screen with the word "忍" written on it, and then walked out of the hall into the wind and rain with the sword in his hand.

He was the first to choose peace. Even if the word "peace" sounded ironic, it represented the choice of most people. He was an old man who had experienced war and knew its cruelty. He also knew that in war, no one cared about age or child. In the struggle for life and death, there was only the killer and the victim. The loser would eat the dust, and everyone's life was equally worthless.

The people sitting behind the head of the Inuyama family in the main hall stood up one after another. Most of them followed the head of the family's will, wrote on the right, then walked to the old man in the main seat, bowed deeply, and left without saying a word.

Until there were quite a few strokes of the character "正" under the character "忍", but there were only a few strokes under the character "战".

Yuan Zhisheng looked at the old man between the screens. Actually, with his personality, he would never put pen to paper on the left side of the screen. He would rather scratch a mark on the right side. What was more likely was that he would do nothing and leave the shrine and go to France to sell his sunscreen. He never wanted to be a decision maker or a person in power. That kind of life was too tiring for him.

But he couldn't leave, because the old man sitting between the screens was like a teacher and a father to him. His face was covered with wrinkles, crisscrossing each other. They were the scars left by the sword of time...

It turned out that he was so old, a real old man, and would probably die soon... The old man stood there with his back straight, like a peerless and lonely famous sword.

Yuan Zhisheng didn't want to let the famous sword be covered in dust, nor could he let the old man die alone...

"Zhisheng... I'm sorry." The old man suddenly said softly.

"Dad, you don't need to apologize. I know you've tried your best." Yuan Zhisheng responded softly, "Humans and ghosts have different paths. This is fate."

Selling sunscreen and living a peaceful and leisurely life, that might be Genji's fate... but it shouldn't be Amaterasu's fate.

Behind Yuan Zhisheng, the phone in Crow's pocket suddenly vibrated. He lowered his head and glanced at the screen quietly. His eyes widened instantly, and then he quickly moved to Yuan Zhisheng's ear and whispered a few words.

"What did you say?" Yuan Zhisheng was stunned. "That's Ying. How could there be someone she couldn't take care of? Who did she lose?"

"It's Lu Mingfei." Crow said in a low voice, winking at his young master to keep his voice down as well.

"Is it him?" Yuan Zhisheng was stunned.

He originally thought that the one who would be so rebellious would be the confident Caesar or the eccentric Chu Zihang, but he never expected that it would be Lu Mingfei, the most inconspicuous of the three.

"He actually managed to slip away from under Sakura's nose. I really underestimated him." Yuan Zhisheng frowned. "What does this guy want to do?"

"Who knows? Ying doesn't dare to run around right now. She's keeping a close eye on Caesar and Chu Zihang. Luckily, they're relatively well behaved." Crow said, "How about Yasha and I capture them and lock them up in the dungeon? Maybe we can get something out of them."

"Don't be ridiculous. Chu Zihang is no ordinary person," Yuan Zhisheng said. "I was the one who received him, and he slipped away from me. It's more appropriate for me to personally inquire about this matter."

With that, Minamoto Chisei suddenly stood up, picked up his ink-dipped brush, and scribbled something on the left screen, about to leave. The head of the Uesugi family also followed Minamoto Chisei, tugging on his wide sleeve and making a simple stroke on the left screen, tugging on Minamoto Chisei's sleeve and gently shaking it, like a clingy girl pestering her brother to play with her.

"I'm sorry, Eri, I have some important things to deal with. I will double my time to compensate you when I come back." Gen Chisei touched the girl's head.

"I asked them to contact Norma and find out what kind of organization the Japanese branch is...it seems they completely ignored me."

When facing Eri the previous second, Gen Chisei was still a kind brother, but when he turned around to face Crow and Yasha, he instantly turned back into the stern director of the Executive Bureau.

"Lu Mingfei, huh? 'S' rank from headquarters. If you still think this place is just like a kindergarten like headquarters, you're naive. The waters here are far deeper and darker than you imagine." Yuan Zhisheng's eyes shone with a cold, sword-like light. "I wait and see what kind of waves you can stir up in this unfathomable sea of ​​Japan."

Although he had not forcibly restricted the actions of the department's commissioners, the hotel had made such thoughtful arrangements that those people would not be completely unaware that they were under house arrest. Escaping from house arrest could be seen as a provocation to their authority against the branch.

But those who are not qualified will have to pay the price for provoking the tiger. In this land, only the strong can have the freedom and voice at their disposal.

The head of the Yuan family left. Before leaving, the heads of two of the three major families expressed their support for the Ju family. At the crossroads of fate, the eight Sheqi families were almost pushed onto the road of bloody battle.

The head of the Uesugi family stared blankly at the rain in the distance, where Gen Chisheng disappeared. Before leaving, he repeatedly mentioned a name, which seemed to be Lu Mingfei... The girl secretly remembered it in her heart.

……

Deep in the mountains outside Osaka.

The taxi sped along the winding mountain road, the white headlights on the front of the car piercing the thick night. The shadows of the trees swayed in the strong wind and heavy rain, creating ghostly shapes. There was hardly a second car on the long mountain road, and this place was sparsely populated.

"Your driving skills are really good." The passenger in the back seat praised.

"Sir, I'm not bragging to you, I've even driven through Akina Mountain, so this winding mountain road is no problem for me!" The driver was obviously not one to stand compliments, and he couldn't help but take advantage of the compliments when he heard them.

This customer hailed a taxi in the bustling city of Osaka, opened the door and sat in the back seat. However, instead of telling the address, the taxi would proactively remind him which direction to turn at each intersection and which direction to turn at the next intersection before passing each one, like a human navigation system, until they drove deep into the mountains.

He had initially wondered, "In the dead of night, in such a storm, could someone be a pervert? Was he trying to dump a body or engage in some shady business?"

Until he saw the guest's appearance through the rearview mirror many times, a handsome boy, who seemed to have not graduated yet, and his behavior was normal. He probably had a quarrel with his family and came out for a drive, so he just went wherever he went, right?

The driver finally felt relieved. It was understandable for young people. He had also gone through a similar phase in middle school. Whenever he encountered something unpleasant, he would think that he had been abandoned by the world and that no one in this world could save him. So he should just avoid it and avoid this troubled world.

"Have you ever heard of what's hidden in these deep mountains?" the guest in the back row suddenly asked.

Chapter 191 Lu Mingfei Arrives at Paradise Pavilion

"Guest, are you joking?"

Frightened by this sudden remark, the driver almost drove the car off the cliff around the corner. "What kind of things could there be in the deep mountains? You mean trees, right? Yes, there are a lot of trees here..."

"So you haven't heard of it. Since you said you've been driving a taxi in Osaka for a long time, I thought you would have heard something about it." The young customer shook his head slightly.

"Are we telling ghost stories now? That's right, this kind of environment is suitable for telling ghost stories. People in a bad mood can divert their attention by listening to horror stories, right? For example, there is a ghost house hidden in the mountains? Whoever finds it can sign a contract with gods and ghosts?" The driver chatted with the young guest while secretly glancing at the rearview mirror, sizing up the guest's expression.

"That's about right. There is such a place. Some people say it is paradise. As long as you pay enough, they can fulfill any wish of yours." The young guest nodded.

"What a great story... hehe, hehe..." The driver smiled dryly, but when he saw the serious look on the back passenger's face through the rearview mirror, his dry smile gradually froze on his face.

Hell, this wasn't some chuunibyou kid having a falling out with his family. He came to the mountains in the middle of the night during a rainstorm looking for some "paradise." This guy was definitely a psychopath... or maybe a twisted psychopath! The driver even wanted to slam on the brakes and turn around and go home!

However, at this moment, the guest's sinister voice came: "It should be the path ahead. Turn in and go straight and you will arrive."

The driver in the front seat's Adam's apple throbbed, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva along with his fear. They'd already driven this far, and it wouldn't be long before they could check out. Success was just one step away.

After such a long mountain journey, plus the allowances for night travel and bad weather, he could earn at least 12,000 yen after this trip, which would give him three full days of rest. However, if he turned around at this point, not only would he not receive a cent, he could even face a customer complaint to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, facing suspension of business and fines.

The car's body suddenly jolted, and the tires splashed up the mud on the mountain road. The driver stepped on the brakes.

"Will you drop me off here?" the guest asked. "That's fine. We're not far from our destination anyway."

"No... I'll use the GPS to record the location. It's dark outside and the route we just took was a bit complicated. I'm afraid I won't be able to find my way back later." The driver's voice was a little hesitant.

"It's okay. If you're scared, you can drop me off here and I'll pay for your fare." The young guest said calmly.

"Scared?" the driver said in a hoarse voice, almost cracking. "Don't look down on me! I've been driving for thirteen years. Where haven't I been? Even if I passed by the scene of a gang fight and those bloodied and ferocious thugs waved at me, I would never refuse a ride, let alone drop off passengers mid-trip. Don't tarnish my career, you bastard!"

He felt that he was being looked down upon, so he stepped on the accelerator and the car plunged into the path ahead like a beast out of a cage.

At this moment, the GPS happened to start up, and the black screen flashed white light, and their location appeared on the palm-sized screen. The driver glanced at it and his heart almost stopped.

They were already deep in the mountains, over 40 kilometers from central Osaka. The path they were walking was straight and long, as if it led to the underworld. At the far end of the path, a faint interweaving of crimson and golden lights could be seen, like a mirage deep in the underworld. Amidst the bustle of life, it seemed as if a paradise lay there.

After turning on the GPS and seeing the location, the driver remembered that there was indeed a strange story in this deep mountain. Some people said that a mysterious gang built a paradise in the mountains, which was extremely prosperous and luxurious. It was like a charming red spider lily blooming in the depths of Mount Osaka. Anyone who approached would be attracted by its fragrance, and once they stepped in, they would never find the way back to the human world.

"Customer...customer!" the driver said, trying his best to hold his teeth still. "An older salesman I used to work for told me that the area up ahead seems to be gang territory. He told me it's very spooky. They keep beautiful monsters there that can suck people's blood! Many people who go in there never come back."

"So you've heard of it? That's right, I finally found it!" The young guest looked extremely excited.

"what?"

"It's not as exaggerated as the rumors say, but the area ahead is indeed the gang's territory." The young guest pulled out two large US dollar bills from his pocket and slapped them into the driver's hand, then opened the door and got out.

"Wait a minute, customer... we haven't got the change yet." The driver tried his best to suppress the fear in his heart.

"No need to look for it. Thank you for your hard work." The guest waved his hand. "There should be people patrolling around here. Don't linger here. Getting involved with the underworld is very troublesome. But if you don't have anything to do tonight, wait for me at the foot of the mountain we came up. I'll be out in about two or three hours. This will be a highlight of your career... Then I'll pay you a hundred times the reward, if you dare."

The young guest walked towards the magnificent mountain house in the distance without looking back. He walked across the exquisite little bridge over the mountain stream in front of the house. A plump girl in a bright short skirt came out of the thick fog and welcomed him in. Like the voluptuous ghost on the Naihe Bridge, his figure disappeared in the misty rain, as if swallowed up by the paradise of the underworld.

……

The knock on the door was so loud that it woke Caesar from his dream.

He opened his heavy eyelids and glanced at the large pendulum clock hanging on the opposite wall. The time was around four in the morning, a time when no one should disturb the young master of the Gattuso family's sleep for any reason. But thinking that the person knocking on the door might be a pretty girl, Caesar patiently replied, "Please go back. No room service required."

But the knocking continued, and even became stronger and stronger, as if he was not afraid of the pain and pounding the expensive European door with his fists, as if if Caesar didn't open the door, he would use brute force to break the door open and rush in. It looked like he was here to seek revenge, and the next moment after pushing the door open he would fire his submachine gun around, or pull out a sharp dagger and stab the silk quilt covering Caesar.

Even if it was a vendetta, they shouldn't have disturbed him at this hour! It completely messed up his biological clock... Caesar thought as he got out of bed, his face slightly cold. If the guy who opened the door later really was holding a submachine gun, Caesar would definitely grab it, then rip the bullets out of the magazine and feed them to the guy, making him swallow them raw!

"Is it you?" The door opened and Caesar frowned as he looked at the burly figure inside.

"The master is waiting for you in the living room." Yaksha said.

Caesar followed Yasha into the living room. Sure enough, Yuan Zhisheng was sitting on the sofa, a soft, ignited seven-star candle between his index and middle fingers. Not only him, but Crow and Ying were standing behind him, while Chu Zihang, wearing blue pajamas, sat in the armchair across from them.

"What's going on so late?" Caesar poured himself a glass of champagne. He glanced at the sofa occupied by Yuan Zhisheng, then noticed the only remaining seat nearby was next to Chu Zihang. So he sat down on the coffee table and asked Yuan Zhisheng, "Don't tell me you woke us up at this hour to watch the sunrise on Tokyo Mountain. You should know such a stupid project wouldn't appear on my sightseeing list."

Yuan Zhisheng didn't bother to argue with these psychopaths about who was the stupid one. He exhaled a puff of light smoke and asked expressionlessly, "I remember there was another person among you. Where is he?"

Caesar subconsciously turned his head to look at Chu Zihang, who shook his head slightly. This shake of the head had two meanings: the first was that Lu Mingfei was indeed not there, and the second was that he was also unaware of it.