Chapter 115 Summer Mass (Part )

He remembered the cheerleader in the purple miniskirt and white high-heeled boots, with her high ponytail and eye makeup with sparkling sequins, her eyes so bright that they drowned out the reflection of the sequins, the defender who poked Chu Zihang in the waist with his elbow and said, “That girl is looking at you, that girl is looking at you”; and the big sycamore tree that blocked out the sky, the cicadas outside were chirping loudly, a cool breeze was flowing in the hut under the tree, his pencil was rustling on the paper, and behind him was a silent dance, with black swans spinning; and the silly little turtle in the aquarium, and the silly uncle who was carrying a turtle shell and teaching it to swim, the dance troupe leader was across from him. Glass pointed at the turtle’s tail and laughed. There was also the somewhat dull Irish musical film “Once”. There were only him and the cheerleader in the huge screening room. The light and shadow changed on their faces. The cheerleader was so quiet that I wondered if she was asleep… He even recalled the plot of the movie, which was about a wandering singer and his girlfriend who immigrated from Poland. The girl was married and had a family. The only way she could be nice to the singer was to play the piano to accompany him and do her best to find sponsors to help him release records. Later, the singer finally became famous and went to London. The only thing he could do for the girl was to buy her a piano that she had longed for. The singer went to the airport with his guitar on his back. The girl happily played the piano and lived an ordinary life. Her husband kissed her forehead. The only thing left from that vague or dispensable relationship was the piano…

He remembered those blurry faces, each one so clear, and when they were superimposed together, they became the girl kneeling beside him.

It turned out that he had been observed all his life, and the dragons that observed him hid very close to him, but never approached or left. He did not remember her, and he had to recall many things every night, but none of them were related to her.

“I erased your memory. Remembering me is not a good thing for you.” Xia Mi said softly.

“Why are you watching me?”

“Because you bear the mark of Odin.”

“brand?”

“You have been to Nibelungen, but not this one. There are many Nibelungen in the world, such as the Bronze City and this subway. People who have been there will have a mark on them, just like you blindfold a horse and lead it to a pasture, and then it can follow its memory to go back. You have been to Odin’s Nibelungen, and you have his mark, so you can go back again.”

“What exactly is Odin?”

“Don’t ask that. There are only a few people in this world who have seen Odin in person, and you are one of them. I don’t know why you became the person he chose. I observed you because I wanted to know about Odin.” Xia Mi smiled, “I can spare no expense for this, and even used some charm or seduction on you, but you are as indifferent as a stone. It’s really frustrating.”

“So that was seduction…” Chu Zihang said softly.

“What is this? A mockery?” Xia Mi tilted her head, her long black hair flowing like water. “At that time, I hadn’t fully learned human things, so I was clumsy at seducing you.”

“Have you been learning about humans?”

“Yes!” Xia Mi nodded, “You don’t understand dragons at all. Dragons are just like humans. In the beginning, they were just children born into this world.”

“Isn’t he a god?”

“You’re so stubborn,” Xia Mi gently felt Chu Zihang’s warm palm caressing her head, “Gods also have a time when they just open their eyes to see the world. At that time, they didn’t understand anything. Weren’t they children?”

“So you have to learn, too. Learn how to play a person.”

“Yes, I have to observe a person’s smile and figure out why he smiles; I also have to observe a person’s sadness so that I can pretend that sadness; sometimes I deliberately get close to some boys to observe their desire for me, or you call it ‘love’. When I collect these things bit by bit, I can create a Xia Mi, a person who has never existed in this world. Everything is fake, but this identity allows me to live in the human world. I should have hidden longer, so that I wouldn’t have to sacrifice my brother. But I don’t have time.” There was a sad look in Xia Mi’s eyes, not like a dragon at all. Maybe she was just used to pretending.

“It was you at the South Train Station and Six Flags, right?”

“Because there are some traces of me in that file, I can’t allow it to fall into your hands. So I hired the hunter named Tang Wei and hid myself behind the scenes. I didn’t want to take away the file, I just wanted to modify the chapter about me. As for Six Flags, that was my test of you. I wanted to know what level the strongest hybrid can reach. It would be better if I could kill you, but if we survive together, it would be easier for me to gain your trust.”

“Then why did you come to save me? Or…seduce me?”

“Because I suddenly changed my mind. You showed the ability to purify bloodline, and I suddenly thought I could draw attention to you, so that I could hide deeper. In the end, it was true. I even got permission to enter and exit your ward, and I also got high-level permissions from Norma. I relied on this to get in and out of the ice cellar.”

Suddenly, she chuckled, “Hey! You don’t think I saved you out of love, do you?”

“It sounds a bit taboo and unlikely.” Chu Zihang said.

“Yeah,” Xia Mi nodded, “Not likely.”

“It’s ‘sympathy’!” She suddenly grinned and laughed again.

“pity?”

“Have you ever tried to observe someone silently in a crowd? Watch him shoot alone on the basketball court, watch him stand in front of the window for hours watching the rain, watch him go home alone after school, clean up alone, and practice piano alone in the piano room. You can’t find any gossip or highlights in his life. It’s so boring. You will think, damn! If I were him, I would be depressed to death? Would I be less lonely? Why is this guy pretending to be cool? Will he die if he smiles happily?” Xia Mi paused, “But you find that you don’t hate him, because you are the same as him…across the coming and going of people, the observer and the observed are the same.”

“Lonely?”

“Yeah.” Xia Mi said softly, her voice getting weaker and weaker, her breathing like a candle in the wind. “Blood sorrow? Do pure-blooded dragons also have blood sorrow?”

“Yeah.” Xia Mi nodded, “Have you finished asking all the questions?”

“The last one…are you really Xia Mi now?” Chu Zihang knelt on one knee on the ground. He leaned close to Xia Mi’s weak face and stared deeply into her dim eyes.

Xia Mi suddenly felt that she saw the Chu Zihang again, the Chu Zihang of Shilan Middle School, who was taciturn, polite and distant, and learned everything through reading. At that time, he did not have the golden eyes that symbolized power and authority. His pupils were as black as lacquer, so clear that they could reflect the shadows of clouds and the light of the sky, making you want to stare at his eyes, which were a lonely mirror reflecting the whole world.

“It’s me,” she tilted her head slightly, with an extremely sweet smile on her face, as if she could instantly dispel all the haze in the world, “I am Xia Mi, don’t be afraid, and don’t think too much. What you just experienced was just a dream, and those thrilling scenes in the dream were all fake. You see, I have been here to guard you, just like that time when you slept for a full ten days, and I was just like this and never left you…”

Her smile was like the brightest sunshine in spring, warm and brilliant, with a little baby fat on her cheeks, and two small canine teeth at the corners of her mouth, which made her look more playful and cute. The flames jumped, dyeing her figure with a charming rose red, and her hair rose and fell gently in the wind, like a butterfly dancing among flowers, beautiful and intoxicating.

Chu Zihang stared at her deeply, his eyes seemed to contain thousands of words, and finally, he slowly opened his arms and hugged her tightly. Xia Mi did not resist at all, perhaps because she was too deeply immersed in this carefully woven drama, so that the hug at this moment, for her, was more like a consolation to the only audience. She knelt on the ground, and her height was even a little taller than Chu Zihang who was sitting. This scene was like a mother gently hugging an extremely tired child, giving him endless comfort and strength.

“What are you talking about…Shouldn’t it be you who is about to leave this world?” Chu Zihang’s voice was low and hoarse. He felt that Xia Mi’s body was gradually losing temperature and becoming cold and stiff. He lowered his head, his eyes full of reluctance and sadness, and he tried hard not to let the tears fall.

“Goodbye, Chu Zihang.” Xia Mi whispered softly, as if every word carried endless affection and reluctance. She used up the last bit of her strength, spit out a delicate key from between her tightly closed lips and teeth, and put it into Chu Zihang’s palm with trembling hands.

It turned out that she had been holding the key in her mouth, hiding the secret.

“I’m sorry, I lied to you. I’m actually… Jörmungandr, the Dragon King Jörmungandr… But please go find me there. I left everything about Xia Mi there, waiting for you to discover it.”

Chu Zihang let go of the girl’s body that he was hugging tightly. He looked at the key that Xia Mi gave him, and then looked up at Xia Mi. He really hated this kind of silence, which was so maddening. He wanted to say something, but there were too many things. He didn’t have time to ask, too late to say, and it was too late for everything.

“Goodbye,” he whispered at last.

The last glimmer of light in her pupils went out, and she fell backwards, as light as a leaf. She lay naked on the still-uncooled cinders, which burned her back and long hair, and were soon soaked in blood. The dark blood gradually turned bright red, against her fair skin, and the two conflicting colors blended delicately into one, reminiscent of the brocade-like rose fields in the Bulgarian valley.

“Brother, do you feel deep down in your heart that all these joys and sorrows have come to an end, with no room for maneuver?”

Lu Mingfei, who had been silent the whole time, walked forward slowly as a bystander. There was an indescribable heaviness in his steps. His voice was soft, as if he was afraid to disturb the tranquility around him.

As he approached Xia Mi’s quiet and sad body, he silently took off his coat, gently and caringly, and gently covered Xia Mi’s naked body with it, as if giving her the last warmth and dignity.

Chu Zihang was immersed in deep sorrow. He could not give any response to Lu Mingfei’s question. His eyes were fixed on Xia Mi’s lifeless body. He was so heartbroken that even breathing became a luxury. Tears flowed uncontrollably from his cheeks, silently telling of his inner sorrow and helplessness.

“The heart of a dragon carries an ancient and powerful bloodline; the heart of a man is filled with complex and delicate emotions; the sorrow of blood is the shackles of fate that we, the hybrids, and the dragon race bear together… All of this constitutes a tragedy that we cannot escape. Although we possess power beyond that of mortals, what kind of price and sacrifice are hidden behind this power?” Lu Mingfei’s voice echoed in the empty space, with a hint of helplessness and reflection on fate.

He gently made the sign of the cross in front of Xia Mi’s body, which was the deepest mourning for the deceased and also a mass from the hand of the Holy Spirit.

“Let’s get back to the topic, brother. No matter what the future holds, I swear to completely destroy Jörmungandr, the king of the earth and mountains. But before that, I will never let Xia Mi, our junior sister, leave us like this!” Lu Mingfei’s words were firm and powerful, and every word sounded like a vow from the bottom of his heart.

Chu Zihang was touched by Lu Mingfei’s determination. He reluctantly wiped away the tears from his eyes and looked at Lu Mingfei with doubt and expectation. Lu Mingfei knelt in front of Xia Mi in an almost pious manner. His eyes suddenly burst into two golden rays of light, but this light did not come from the majesty of the golden pupils, but from a higher level of universal light from the Holy Spirit, warm and sacred.

“Junior sister, don’t die.” Lu Mingfei’s call was full of sincerity and desire.

At this moment, a miracle happened quietly. Xia Mi’s heart, which was pierced by a fatal blow, slowly bloomed a dazzling golden light. The light was dazzling, just like the first ray of light that bloomed when God said “Let there be light” at the beginning of creation, instantly illuminating the dark underground world of Nibelung.

The light lasted for a long time before it gradually faded and the surroundings returned to calm. Chu Zihang opened his eyes with difficulty, and the scene before him was unbelievable – Xia Mi had sat in front of him safely without him noticing, with a bright smile and clear eyes, without any trace of Jörmungandr.

Chu Zihang was shocked, and his heart was filled with disbelief at the miracle before his eyes. However, he didn’t have time to delve into it, because Xia Mi’s figure had occupied all his sight, and then, a warm and soft touch gently touched his lips – it was Xia Mi’s kiss, with endless tenderness and the joy of reunion.

As all this happened, the trajectory of the world line quietly changed. The final chapter of Summer Mass was rewritten by an indescribable force. The intervention of the Little Sage Equal to Heaven rewrote destiny again, adding a touch of unpredictability to this legendary story.

(End of this chapter)