Zoran had to admit it.
Aside from Shendu, this boy, Lu Mingfei, was truly the first person capable of slightly amusing him.
The Fire Demon Chi borrowed from Shendu had already fused with Lu Mingfei. This power was far beyond what the so-called dragon lineage of this world could compare to. Of course, there was only one price.
By using this power, a unique anchor point for Shendu was left within this world. As for the consequences of that, it was not Zoran's concern.
He was merely a traveler.
Perhaps in the future, if Shendu or any of the other siblings wished to escape the cycle of their original world, this anchor point would serve its purpose. Just as he had said before, the myriad worlds were so vast and magnificent that one shouldn't remain confined to a single place.
In the dormitory, Lu Mingfei had put on quite a performance. Though it appeared flamboyant, he was, in truth, a person of delicate sensibilities.
All lonely children are like that.
The existence known as the "Sorrow of the Blood" brought by dragon lineage inevitably plunged all hybrids into a destiny of solitude. However, all emotions have their ebbs and flows; even loneliness has its scales of magnitude.
Loneliness itself depends on the point of comparison. Compared to the millions of years spent wasting away in the Netherworld, the Sorrow of the Blood trapping these hybrids was practically nothing.
"Professor Tso Lan?" Lu Mingfei called out to him. "If 'foster son' won't work, how about we add each other as friends?"
He shamelessly asked Zoran for his contact information. It was like playing StarCraft and having a legendary pro suddenly pop up in the server; naturally, you'd try to add them. Whether for a friendly match or to ride their coattails, you needed a foot in the door.
Lu Mingfei was the type where everyone thought he was a ditz, but he was actually as sharp as a tack. At least, that was how he saw himself sometimes.
Zoran nodded slightly and recited a string of numbers.
Lu Mingfei quickly opened app and typed in the digits to add the contact. Looking at the account on his phone screen, which featured a profile picture of a dark purple crescent moon, he couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
Style! Pure style!
In this "non-mainstream" era where most people were still using the default avatars, this man's picture was a dark moon. That was what you called class!
Of course, he didn't say it out loud to avoid overdoing it. He decisively sent the friend request, his gaze falling on the nickname.
Zoran's nickname was simple, consisting of a single character:
「Moon」.
Lu Mingfei froze for a moment, looking at the elder before him. This man seemed to have a singular perspective regarding the moon.
Lu Mingfei recalled his high school days. He was a lonely guy, though he didn't quite think of himself that way. In that home filled with his aunt's bossing around and constant complaints, he had his own little world.
A rooftop where the air conditioning units hummed incessantly, that was where he could overlook the night view of the entire city, and it was where he spent most of his time alone. Many nights, he sat on that roof looking down at the small southern city, inevitably casting his gaze toward the moon hanging in the sky.
Sometimes it was a crescent, sometimes a waning moon, sometimes full. The phases waxed and waned, but it was always a solitary moon reflecting the night sky.
Lu Mingfei always felt that the moon was lonely. All the lights in the city gathered together couldn't match its brilliance, yet they huddled in their own groups, their light unable to reach the firmament.
That was why the words he had spoken at Six Flags came from the heart. Be it humans or birds, no matter how high you fly, the moon is always above your head. Consequently, those who love the moon must be lonely people.
And for Zoran, this elder, the moon perhaps held a unique significance.
"I've sent it. Remember to accept," Lu Mingfei said, waving his phone.
Zoran nodded slightly.
"Lu Mingfei," he began. "This power has its purpose, but not in this moment."
Lu Mingfei dazed for a second, then pouted. "I know. I don't have the guts to go hijack the Boss's wedding car anyway. He's actually been pretty good to me..."
He assumed Zoran thought he would use this power to do something reckless.
Zoran shook his head. "The King of Earth and Mountain is about to awaken."
Lu Mingfei jolted. Another Dragon King?
He quickly turned on the charm. "Well, with you here, Professor, we wouldn't have anything to worry about even if the Black King woke up, right?"
He wasn't joking; he truly felt that way now.
Hearing this, Zoran smiled. "When the time comes, I will have other matters to attend to. Besides, clinging to my leg isn't easy; you must prove your value."
"Understood!" Lu Mingfei immediately snapped to attention. "The mud has been scorched into a hard brick, and the destiny of a brick is to be smashed against someone's skull."
Lu Mingfei roughly understood what Zoran wanted him to do with this power. It made sense; masters like the "Sweeping Monk" didn't show their faces easily. They just gave their disciples a few pointers, and that was enough to dominate the martial world.
"So, when the time comes, I, Lu Mingfei, will transform into a 'Dragon-Boy Brand' brick and whack the Dragon King on the back of the head!" he declared righteously. "Of course, to others, I might look like a monster, so I'll be a 'Monster Brand' brick!"
However, Zoran still shook his head. His gaze seemed to reach further, further than the current Lu Mingfei could perceive. He spoke calmly:
"You have great self-awareness. But a 'Monster Brand' brick should, of course, be smashed against the back of Ultraman's head."
Lu Mingfei scratched his head, unable to grasp Zoran's meaning. Was this some kind of villainous theater where monsters save each other and have to defeat the righteous Ultraman?
His voice softened as he said slowly, "Actually, sometimes I fantasize about what I'd do if I turned into a monster one day and Ultraman pointed at me and said he had to destroy me or something."
"Is that so?" Zoran glanced sideways. "So, what would you do?"
"I'd fight back, obviously!" Lu Mingfei puffed out his chest. "There's only one Ultraman, but there's a whole pack of monsters! If I fall, what happens to the other little monsters? It would be so sad."
"Once you've become a monster, you stop thinking about how you used to be human or being Lu Mingfei." He spread his hands. "It's like you, Professor. If you turned into a monster, would you still spend time thinking about when you were a human?"
"No," Zoran said.
"Right! A monster obviously has the mind of a monster, protecting other monster brothers and sisters and fighting the 'righteous' Ultraman to the end," Lu Mingfei muttered.
"Is there really any point in obsessing over whether you're a human or a monster, or a monster turned from a human, or a human turned from a monster?"
"Whatever thoughts you have in your head, that's what you do."
Lu Mingfei was rambling, and though he often couldn't even figure out his own life, what he said at this moment was unexpectedly logical.
Silence.
After a moment, Zoran finally spoke softly. "You truly are an interesting fellow."
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze piercing through all obstacles to stare at the invisible moon infinitely far away.
"You are right," he said.
————
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