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It turned out that these young people from prominent families were all concentrated in Sapporo, the administrative center of Hokkaido.
Every family crest on the men's chests is a behemoth comparable to the Gattuso family. Some are royal branches of the ancient Windsor dynasty, and some are noble dukes who once occupied the fertile land along the Seine.
These nobles, who already enjoyed fame and wealth in Europe, went to the then wild New World along with the North American immigration wave started by the Mayflower, and established themselves there. Like insatiable hatred, they greedily absorbed all nutrients until they grew into towering trees that blocked out the sky.
"Now that you're here, aren't you going to invite me to dance?" Ling raised her head and looked at Lu Mingfei. This girl only showed that kind of cute and naive expression that only girls have when facing this man, but it was only fleeting.
"But the dance hasn't started yet..." Lu Mingfei hesitated.
This guy has been hanging around in the Student Union and the Dragon Blood Society, and has been in the upper class of the student community for many years. He is no longer the idiot who used to step on his female partner's feet while dancing tango.
He also knew that as soon as he and Zero stepped onto the dance floor, the jazz band that had been paying attention to them would immediately change the song they were playing to dance music.
But wouldn’t that be a bit too…sexy?
The only person in Kassel Academy who could do such a showy thing is probably Caesar Gattuso.
Lu Mingfei had thought that one day he would do something as glittering and showy as to burst into the sky, but that was many years ago when he was studying at Shilan Middle School in another world...
"So is this an invitation?" Ling stared into Lu Mingfei's eyes. Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment and a smile appeared on his face.
"Okay," he said.
"Then let's dance waltz, can you do it?" Ling stretched out her right foot a little, and the silky evening dress skirt slid down the girl's slender ankle, revealing her tight and graceful calves.
"This dress isn't very suitable for dances that involve big movements," said Ling.
The waltz steps used in performances and competitions are incredibly tense and focus on visual experience, but few people can perform the waltz so vividly at such dances.
"I know a little bit. Someone taught me before." Lu Mingfei said honestly.
The person who taught him this dance was actually Isabel, Caesar's nominal ex-girlfriend, so it was called nominal because they probably didn't actually have much skin contact.
At that time, Chairman Lu had just taken office. He could not even dance at the inauguration ceremony. He could only sit in the main seat, eating melon seeds while rejecting invitations from beautiful junior high school girls one after another. Later, it was Isabel who eased his embarrassment and used a duet waltz to make Lu Mingfei barely keep up with the tastes of the previous chairmen.
“Do you know Shostakovich?”
“I haven’t heard of him, but he looks like a Ukrainian Red Army martyr…” Lu Mingfei was a little embarrassed.
"He's not a Red Army martyr, but he is indeed a Soviet citizen. In 1938, he composed the 'Second Waltz' which is hailed as a classic waltz. You may not be so skilled at dancing at the beginning, so I will guide you." Zero blinked and a smile like a thawing iceberg appeared on his face.
Before Lu Mingfei could say anything, Ling had already grabbed his hand, and the two of them walked into the dance floor in the center of the hall.
The cocktail party had just begun and no one had started dancing yet. They looked a little awkward standing there. Everyone realized that something was about to happen, and the jazz band conductor turned his eyes in that direction.
Zero stretched out his right hand, opened his palm and slightly raised it upwards. The conductor turned around as if he had suddenly realized something, and the music was immediately changed to dance music.
"They are all looking at us." Lu Mingfei lowered his voice.
"Are you nervous?"
"No, I was worried about making a fool of myself."
"I'm here." Ling raised her head and stared at Lu Mingfei's cheek. She slowly tightened her abdomen and straightened her chest. Her petite body under the evening dress was actually hazy and graceful.
They were standing face to face, one body length apart. Lu Mingfei stepped out with his left foot and Ling stepped out with his right foot, the tips of their reflective leather shoes and their shiny stiletto heels pointing at each other.
The crystal chandelier cast Lu Mingfei's shadow on Ling, and half of her plain white face was in the shadow.
But no one can deny that this girl is stunning, as perfect as a porcelain doll.
"No need to greet, let's get started." Ling said.
"Oh." Lu Mingfei was a little confused.
At this time, the girl had already held his left hand with her right hand and was standing on tiptoe with her right foot forward. Lu Mingfei was a beat slower in a trance, but he still caught up with the rhythm of Her Royal Highness the Princess. They kissed each other, then separated, kissed each other, and separated again, like lovers running towards each other.
At certain moments, the two people could smell each other's breathing. Lu Mingfei could see that every eyelash of the girl in front of him was trembling slightly like the feathers of a baby bird, and he could also smell the faint fragrance of osmanthus in the honeysuckle.
The pair of platinum eyes were originally covered with thick ice, but during the elegant waltz, the ice seemed to melt and sparkled with joy.
"Did you plan this in advance?"
"Well, it was me who asked Han Gao to change the dance music to this." Ling answered casually. Lu Mingfei clasped his palms and raised his arms high, while Ling took his fingertips and rotated under the man's arms. After a week, she stepped out like a curtain blown by the wind. She turned around as the melody of the music changed, and the ends of her hair danced with cloud-like haze. She put her right hand into Lu Mingfei's left hand again, and Lu Mingfei took the opportunity to pull the girl into his arms.
"Why?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"You know."
"I still want to know why."
"Because I want to." Ling said, which was a bit unreasonable, but also showed the rare arrogance and stubbornness of a girl.
Lu Mingfei held the princess' slender waist, while Ling put his hands on the man's shoulders.
The two people stared into each other's eyes in the flickering light, and suddenly laughed at the same time.
Lu Mingfei learned very quickly, and their dance steps began to seem like they were taught by the same teacher, fitting in perfectly.
The sound of music and the men and girls spinning on the dance floor attracted more and more people to come closer.
"Are Lu Mingze and I the same person?" Lu Mingfei suddenly asked.
"Why do you ask about this?"
"I want to know if you like me or him."
"It's you." Ling said, but did not answer Lu Mingfei's question.
Lu Mingfei was shocked by the princess's calmness, and then his heart trembled slightly, like a bird pierced by a feather arrow.
"Someone told me that if you like someone, you should tell him or her, because you might both die tomorrow, and then you can't express your love to him or her. I thought about it for a long time and decided to tell you." Ling buried her head in Lu Mingfei's chest so that she could hear the man's heartbeat.
More and more people entered the dance floor, and the spinning figures slowly surrounded them...
—The man wearing the medieval doctor’s crow mask walked in the shadow of the pillars and turned his head to look at the dance floor.
People in the entire hall gradually gathered towards the dance floor. Even the elderly who had not left their homes for decades were talking about the dancing girl and the young dragon-slaying hero.
The girl, whose white and transparent skin was wearing a long dance skirt, looked like a plain flower blooming in the center of the dance floor.
Two rows of columns form the walkway. The columns, which are plated with gold and decorated with reliefs on the base, are very much in the Byzantine style of its heyday. At the end of the 50-meter-long walkway is an exquisite marble fountain.
The hunchbacked old man sat on a bench right in front of the fountain, supporting his collar with one hand and pressing the revolver with the other.
It's very quiet here, unlike other places.
Han Gao looked at the end of the alley, where was the dance floor. He was waiting for Lu Mingfei to arrive.
But the old man didn't seem to see the man in front of him. His eyes fell on the crow-like mask and then went straight through it.
From the angle of the mask, the old man looked like an ancient emperor sitting on the throne, and the man was an envoy who traveled across miles to meet him.
"It's a pity that even the schemes of mortals can deceive... the eyes of God." The man's voice was low and magnetic. He was right here, but Han Gao could neither see nor hear him. Everything around him seemed to be still, and even the sound was stretched out.
He came in front of Han Gao, stared into the old man's dull and turbid eyes, and his surging spirit surged out.
"I see. You want to send the key out by boat?"
"My dear sister, you are traveling with her?"
"This is really an unexpected gain..."
"Let's hope there are enough McAllens on that ship..."
"Let's bid farewell to the old times with strong liquor..."
Chapter 384 Escape in the Snow
Looking out from the outlet of Hakodate Port in winter, you can see the huge cruise ship at the end of the sea like a mountain stretching across the sea, with bright and dazzling lights scattered out from every window.
That was the luxury cruise ship Atlantic Helios of Royal Caribbean International. It was launched in 1988, years ago. It was the world's first cruise ship to exceed tons and ushered in a new era in the cruise tourism market.
Few people know that Royal Caribbean International is actually the property of Henkel and his children. For decades, these North American hybrids have used tourism, high seas gambling and maritime contraband trade as a cover to explore the vast ocean, just like the Caribbean pirates three centuries ago, searching for treasures left behind in isolated islands or in the deep sea by legends of ancient times.
Metal containers were piled up at the dock, cargo ships and fishing boats were cutting through the waves outside the port, the sky was so gloomy that it seemed like it was going to snow, and fine hail had begun to fall sporadically on Lu Mingfei's head, like a tree in the early morning with countless sparkling dewdrops hanging on the treetops.
Low trees sway in the wind. Not far away, Hachimanzaka connects to Mount Hakodate and goes straight to the sea. On both sides, you can see Byzantine-style spires and gray-black titanium steel buildings, with occasional Japanese courtyards painted with mahogany.
This city is one of the earliest international trade ports opened in Japan. Its culture, religion and lifestyle are so intricately intertwined that they seem to be twisted together with red-hot iron chains and can never be separated. There are seaside, green trees, trams and scattered buildings... When passing Hachimanzaka in the morning, Eri whispered in Lu Mingfei's ear, "I like it here very much."
Lu Mingfei asked her why, and Eri said that it was because it was very quiet, and she seemed to be able to see the silhouettes of cities outside of Japan that Sakura had told her about.
New York, Paris, Copenhagen, Rotterdam, Moscow...
At the highest point of the street stands the majestic St. John's Cathedral, and facing it in the distance is the Hakodate Branch of the Higashi Honganji Temple, which is the oldest reinforced concrete temple in Japan. The main building in the temple is an important cultural heritage of Japan, and the mottled religious instruments are engraved with the vicissitudes of time.
Lu Mingfei was holding a hot dog with toppings that he bought on the roadside, with his coat casually draped over his shoulders. His hair, which had not been taken care of for a long time and was already a little messy, was blown by the oncoming sea breeze, and he actually looked like a melancholy prodigal.
"Brother, listen to me. If you can't hold on any longer, just call my name. My name is Jörmungandr." Xia Mi tiptoed to kiss Lu Mingfei's cheek. The reason she didn't kiss his lips was because Brother Langzi's lips were covered with soybean paste. Although the little sister didn't consider herself a person with mysophobia, she really couldn't bring herself to kiss him.
Nuonuo folded his hands and leaned against the iron chain that was placed along the shore to prevent people from falling into the water. He turned his head to look at the sea where seagulls were flying and landing in the distance.
"Whoever calls my name, the kingdom of God will be opened to him, and the angels under the throne of God will clear all obstacles for the devout..." Xia Mi's voice suddenly became ethereal and distant, as if she was whispering an ancient aria.
"What do you mean..." Lu Mingfei blinked.
"I have reinforced the beacon left on you. Even if you are enveloped by another Nibelung, you can always summon Fenrir to fight for you." The girl stretched out her slender hand and gently patted Lu Mingfei's face. "Don't be stubborn. Control your temper."
Nuonuo was stunned for a moment, and suddenly laughed silently.
Since when did Lu Mingfei start to be advised to control his temper...
Junior brother was a snotty, crybaby kid before, but he could register a secondary account in a wicked way and play around with his cousin Lu Mingze who bullied him, and secretly laughed at the fat boy for three years.
Now this guy jumps out with a thirty-meter-long sword to fight with a giant dragon. Everyone thinks that President Lu is an invincible hero, but his essentially cunning nature remains unchanged. If he cannot win, he will never fight back. If he really fights to the death, it only means that there are some reasons behind this guy that prevent him from retreating.
But today, Lu Mingfei had already sent them and Constantine away from Japan in a sinister way. It seemed that guy was not prepared to fight the resurrected God at all.
If Nuonuo really couldn't win, he would probably be the first to turn around and run away.
But I'm still very worried.
Your man went out to risk his life, and even though you knew he was born in the Year of the Cat and had nine lives and a first-rate ability to escape, you were still terrified and prayed to God in your small cabin for him to return safely...
"I know." Lu Mingfei nodded, "Did you take the core away?"
Xia Mi placed her core in Lu Mingfei's spirit, which was the key to the Dragon King's ability to hatch again and again and return from death again and again.
But this action was too dangerous. Even if there was only a one percent chance, Lu Mingfei was unwilling to let Xia Mi take the risk, so he forced this charming little female dragon to take the thing out of his body.
The little junior sister said she was unwilling to do anything at first, but at Gudan Hot Spring, Lu Mingfei summoned the complete form of the Seven Deadly Sins of Bronze Purgatory. Lust, and used a Gentleman Sword Technique to beat the little girl who was like an evil spirit and gasped for air and could not speak. In a trance, Lu Mingfei said to the junior sister, "Please take the core back." Xia Mi murmured and said no, no, Lu Mingfei gritted his teeth and drew his sword to stab her. Xia Mi said, "Ahhh, senior brother, I was wrong, senior brother, I was wrong, I will take it back, I will take it back..."
Lu Mingfei knew that his junior sister had taken the core that was placed on him away, but he still decided to confirm it before leaving.
Xia Mi stuck out her tongue, held her cheek and looked at Lu Mingfei with her nose wrinkled, "Take it away, take it away, why, am I really the Lich King? Is the core placed on you really the Lich King's life box? Are you so disgusted?" She stretched out her slender and tight calves in thermal stockings under her tweed coat to hook Lu Mingfei's calves, but failed to do so, and twisted this guy's soft waist fiercely.