Volume 1 Hello, Lu Mingfei Chapter 93: The End of Fire (I)
Yangtze River, Kuimen.
This is a great place. During the flood season, the waves are turbulent, and the roaring and rushing are heart-pounding. The ancients praised Kuimen with awe and said that it was the most majestic in the world. When it is calm, the mist is vast and the mountains are steep. Li Bai once wrote a famous poem here while boating. The monkeys on both sides of the river kept crying, and the boat had passed through thousands of mountains.
Many years ago, Norton lived here. In spring, he saw green everywhere. The wind blew his white robe. Baidi City was located between the two banks. It was majestic and majestic like a natural moat. People who came and went would say in awe that it was the territory of Baidi. In the land of Bashu, Baidi was the supreme ruler. Gongsun Shu was just an agent. The real dragon was entrenched behind him and watched coldly.
As the king of bronze and fire, the large amount of water elements will affect Norton's strength, but he just likes the spring water here.
Even he himself could not explain why, he just liked the feeling of getting out of the boat and rowing the boat himself. Every time he slid his wrist hard, he could feel the invisible water flowing through his fingertips. It was like this long time, day after day, year after year, you could never catch its shadow, but your heart would be broken by its increasing erosion. The more you experienced, the more so it was.
So some people say that the happiest moment in life is the moment of birth. At that time, you have just come into this world and have not experienced the hardships in the future. You don’t know anything. You just cry and someone will hold you, comfort you, and make you happy. They will pick you up and kiss you. You will witness the miracle of life and be moved to tears.
For Lao Tang, a character who no longer exists, life has been like this for the past few years, like a beautiful dream, without any hatred between humans and dragons, just an ordinary happy and carefree person, going on adventures when there are missions, spending money after collecting bounties, and becoming a pauper again in a few days, but he doesn't care, never saving money when he has it, living a poor life when he has no money, living on relief. The greatest pleasure is to drive his beloved AE86 and whistle at the beautiful girls wearing short skirts and showing their long legs on the roadside, that is when he is happiest.
Now those are the past that can never be returned to. If you want to gain something, you will always lose something, maybe it is time, it may be health, or even life. This is true for all life. Even if you have a power so strong that the world will tremble, in front of the fate controlled by the world, you are still a small and powerless child, unable to protect even your beloved brother.
It's strange to say, when Constantine died, Norton was so sad and heartbroken, and he wanted to take revenge on the whole world. But now, sitting in this place that he is most familiar with, he seems to see the figure who once walked with his brother in every corner of the mountains, but he is not as resentful and angry.
It turns out that sadness is such a thing, it will gradually fade away with the passage of time. You no longer roar or rage, and all your sharpness is restrained, but this does not mean that you have forgotten it. Just like a storm always comes after the terrifying thunder and lightning, the sadness that remains in the end is just as silent and gentle as water, but it is full of murderous intent.
Norton sat on a small boat and finished the grilled fish in his hand, which he bought from a nearby tourist attraction. People who are nostalgic always want to find memories of the past, but today's cooking techniques are certainly no longer as simple as they were a thousand years ago. Although it tastes much better, the taste of Baidi City can no longer be found.
He laughed at himself, thinking that he was really stupid, but he was such a stupid guy. He was the eldest brother born first among the eight dragon kings. He watched his brothers and sisters being born and fighting against each other. It was the bloodthirstiness and fighting spirit deeply rooted in each other's genes. He didn't know what others thought, at least for him, he was not willing to do so at that time, but he fought with his brothers just to protect his younger brother.
Fish bones were scattered on the surface of the river. Norton dived into the water. Although so many years had passed, there were still few changes underwater. The road was engraved in his mind.
He is the Bronze Fire King, but he is surprisingly good at water. Among the eight brothers, except for his younger brother, he has the best relationship with the King of Ocean and Water. This is an effort to overcome his own weaknesses. The secret party members all think that Norton's return to Bronze City to recuperate is a suicidal move. The river water above his head will limit his strength. Even if he can get as close to his prime as possible, Zhulong will lose power due to the lack of fire element.
But the secret party did not know the connection between the dragon kings. After the fall of the Black King, the first rulers were not humans but the four kings. It was not until humans sent them to the grave that a new era truly came. Therefore, the fact that the Fire King could even use some powerful water spirits was a secret that no one knew from the beginning to the end, which would become a fatal misjudgment of the secret party.
For thousands of years, humans have always believed that they are very close to the history and mysteries of the dragon race, but they have always been just wandering at the foot of the iceberg. Looking up, the top of the mountain is still shrouded in clouds and mist.
Norton arrived at the Bronze City. As the master of this city, he did not need to work as hard as the humans who had come here before. It was easy for him to find the entrance, and the living guards would naturally open the city gate.
The entire Bronze City is a Nibelungen world, which is a power that only kings and above have, just like the secluded masters in the immortal novels who can create their own space outside the heaven and earth. The Nibelungen of the Dragon Kings uses water as a medium to reflect the other side of the real world, and then transforms it in this world to get the appearance they want. In essence, it is actually a special word spirit.
This is why it has been difficult for humans to find the traces of the Dragon Kings for thousands of years. The place where they sleep in their cocoons is not only inaccessible, but also protected by the Nibelungen. Even the hybrids with dragon blood find it difficult to invade. Ye Sheng and Jiu De Ya Ji paid a painful price for this. This was destined from the moment they entered the Bronze City. Each Nibelungen has rules set by the Dragon King himself, which cannot be violated. The rule of the Bronze City is that if you want to leave, you must exchange one person's blood. Even if there is no Samson guarding, one of them is destined to die.
Norton walked in the dark lobby. The flames on the bronze pillars ignited with his steps, restoring the place to its former glory. Huge gears deep in the dome were meshing and running. There were more of them and the speed was faster than the last time they met. The sound of mechanisms falling into place could be heard in the walls.
This bronze city was originally born in the war years and was a natural military fortress. Now with the return of its owner, it has gradually returned to its wartime posture. The poisoned crossbows in the bronze pillars are already loaded, and there are thorn wheels in the pond that can cut through steel. Once started, the surrounding ground will collapse one after another, sending sheep into the tiger's mouth. There are single-shot bombs hidden in the dark walls. That thing cannot blow up the bronze city's solid defense but can blow people into meat paste.
Originally, they were all gadgets created by humans. It stands to reason that Norton could easily make a Junyan that would be more useful than them, but he couldn't always do it himself every time Liu Xiu sent troops to attack, otherwise he would have exposed his existence long ago. So he borrowed things from humans from Gongsun Shu, and used alchemy to manufacture and improve them. As a result, these mechanisms would not fail for thousands of years. If an army came to attack, Norton would just activate the mechanism to kill them. He only had to drink tea and play chess with Constantine.
A dim firelight flickered in the darkness ahead and gradually approached. It was a familiar sound of footsteps. The person's figure was light so the sound of his walking was much smaller than that of ordinary people. It could only be heard when he was nearby. This was the posture requirement for maids in ancient times.
"My lord, you're back." Samson knelt down and saluted, holding a small night patrol lamp. She couldn't see anything in the dark, so she had to carry this with her during the thousands of years she walked here.
The reunion of old friends was just like the Baidi City a thousand years ago. Norton nodded slightly as a greeting and walked straight into the depths. Samson followed him silently, and the faint light made her face look golden.
She shouldn't have been here. After she had bloodline, the rules of this city could no longer constrain her. The sacrifice had already been made, but she still chose to stay here, as if all the betrayals had never happened.
Norton gently pushed open the door of the cottage by the stream. With Samson taking care of it, it remained spotless and maintained its original appearance after two thousand years.
The furnishings in the house were simple. Two of the three rooms were bedrooms. The beds were made of rattan and were still sturdy. The landscape paintings on the wall were obviously of the scenery of Kuimen. Although the Yangtze River had slightly changed its course over the past thousand years, the momentum of the rolling torrent of water flowing eastward had never changed. On the low table was an exquisite pottery vase with a bronze flower in it. The dark roots looked like they were made of iron wire.
In the main room, a stack of yellowed coarse paper was placed on the low table. The record on it stopped at the day when the Han army attacked Baidi City. They even poured into Bronze City, but were shot and killed by machines and explosives. Wu used them as bait to test the situation in the city. Later, the hybrids came with spiritual words and alchemical weapons to kill the Dragon King of the old era.
In addition to the rough paper, there were also fine porcelain cups and bowls on the desk, with a surface as clear as water and delicate carvings. Two white robes were hung on the wall, and it could be seen that the owners here should be two young men, one tall and one short. This was the home of Constantine and Norton. They should have a magnificent palace like a king, but they lived here like two pure-hearted Tao Yuanmings.
Norton put on his white robe, and Samson straightened his clothes for him. His hair was no longer the same as that of the ancients, so he could only keep it short, not looking like the White Emperor in the past. She did this very naturally, because she had been taking care of Norton and Constantine's daily life for a long time. She was a close minister, responsible for passing messages between Gongsun Shu and Norton.
"I'm sorry that I don't have a sword for you to use." Samson said softly, looking at the corner where Constantine's bone bottle and the sword box of the seven deadly sins should have been on the wooden shelf.
"Were they all taken away by them?" Norton frowned slightly. The appearance of the bone bottle in Kassel College meant that the Bronze City had indeed suffered an invasion by hybrids. The loss of the Seven Deadly Sins was not surprising, but it still made him feel a sense of crisis. After all, it was a weapon specifically used to kill dragons.
"Yes, I killed the invaders, but failed to stop them from taking away valuables. It was my dereliction of duty." Samson lowered her head, and her long hair covered her shoulders and fell like a black waterfall.
"What belongs to us will eventually come back." Norton smiled faintly and reached out to touch Samson's hair. "If they want to kill me, they will definitely come with the seven deadly sins, but there are no weapons prepared for me among those swords. They can't do it."
"Without a corresponding sword, is it impossible to convict the king?"
"After all, it was my father who instructed me to make the swords. If he had asked me to make eight corresponding swords at the beginning, I would never have agreed to his request." Norton's eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of long-lasting mist. That era was too far away, and even a creature like him could not help but wear away some memories in the long time. "The seven swords correspond to the weaknesses of my other seven brothers and sisters. If you can use the corresponding weapons accurately, it is easy to cut off the dragon's head, because my father personally cast his own words on them after the casting was completed to rule the future generations. It can be seen that the rebellion of the White King has a great impact on him. He even has to be wary of his own children. From then on, he no longer trusts anyone but himself."
"What a sad past," Samson said softly.
"Even so, he still didn't do his best..." Norton sighed for a long time, "The seven swords used for conviction didn't even have time to be unsheathed until the end. The only sins that can be judged can probably be found on humans."
Norton sat cross-legged beside the long table. Samson picked up the pot and picked up the small cup with one hand and filled it with water. There were tea leaves in the pot. I wonder how Samson had preserved them during this long time.
"They will follow again. The Bronze City will be a tomb, burying hatred, anger, and thousand-year-old grudges together. Perhaps it will be their death, or it may be our slumber." Norton's voice was calm. He was also so calm many years ago in the Baidi City where flames fell. There seemed to be brilliant lava burning in the depths of his eyes.
"No matter what, I will always be by your side." Samson leaned forward, resting her head on Norton's knees, her dress spread out like a blooming flower. Her eyes were tightly closed, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly, not knowing whether it was because of the joy of reunion or the fear of the impending destruction.
If you can welcome the final chapter with the one you love, it seems to be a good ending.
