“Why are you running so fast?” Sinsid glanced back in confusion. “Is someone chasing us?”
“Do you even have to ask?” Beiyuan took several leaps, swiftly vaulting across the rooftops of building after building, as if caught up in an exhilarating parkour run.
He motioned for Sinsid to keep up. “We just kidnapped someone else’s Miss Duke. It would be strange if they didn’t chase us.”
“That makes sense.” Suddenly recalling something, Sinsid shivered and decisively broke into a run. “I definitely don’t want to be mistaken for a pervert.”
By the time Fazel finally reached the rooftop, all he could see were two figures rapidly disappearing into the distance— so fast it was impossible to catch up.
Seeing this, Fazel abandoned his usual royal restraint and cold, taciturn demeanor for the first time, loudly calling out behind them, “Wait! You—”
“——Run faster, damn it! They’re on our tail!” Beiyuan shouted back hurriedly.
The tiles beneath their feet clattered loudly as they ran, disturbing the residents who rushed out of their homes, shouting, “Who’s there…?” Then, catching sight of two blurred figures streaking across the sky, they were startled but quickly exclaimed, “Wow! Wait… so cool! Are they playing Shadow Assassin?”
The Shadow Assassin is a popular race-class combination in the Wanzu, known for their acrobatic rooftop running, with sharp and flashy footwork and skills.
Sinsid, ever perceptive, overheard this and deliberately dragged out his tone, loosening the buttons of his outer robe with a carefree smirk. “Not Shadow Assassins. They’re Cowboys!”
As he spoke, Sinsid casually tossed his discarded robe backward.
Fazel’s view was instantly blocked. By the time the robe fluttered down a few seconds later, the two figures that had been visible ahead were now nothing more than tiny black dots fading into the distance.
Completely clueless about what had just happened, the resident was obviously a seasoned Wanzu Player.
He watched the two figures recede with lingering fascination and was about to head back to share this on the net when suddenly a shadow landed right in front of him.
Resident: !
Fazel looked at the newcomer. “What is a Shadow Assassin? …And what’s a Cowboy?”
The resident, initially taken aback by Fazel’s imposing presence, immediately shifted to an incredulous, disdainful expression upon hearing the question. “No way, are there really still people who don’t know about the Wanzu these days?”
Fazel, mentally drained from constant psychic stress and lacking energy for gaming, could only remain silent.
For some reason, the resident looked at this quiet man and suddenly felt a bit sorry for him—
This guy had obviously been chasing those two all the way here, even risking the dangerous rooftop jump.
If he didn’t have some obsession with them, he was clearly a fanatic fan. And now that those two had deep ties with the Wanzu, this man realized he knew nothing about the things they liked…
A perfect mental picture! The resident’s expression immediately softened with sympathy and enthusiastically began explaining everything to the man.
Meanwhile, although Beiyuan and Sinsid had finally shaken off their pursuers, Beiyuan’s pace didn’t slow.
Using the momentum from his last leap, he ignored Sinsid’s grumbling from behind and lightly curled the corner of his lips.
Beiyuan said, “Let me remind you, you promised Amai you’d watch her rehearsal, but you just threw away the disguise robe. How are you going to go now?”
Sinsid: “…Eh!”
Beiyuan sighed. “Idiot.”
In the end, neither of them made it.
Considering the royal city was likely in chaos right now, probably issuing a citywide manhunt for “two assassins who dared to kidnap the Duke’s Miss Duke,” they had no choice but to retreat to their little wooden house in the distant suburbs.
“Is this the child of the Wind King and Ice Phoenix?” In front of the little wooden house, Sinsid watched curiously as Beiyuan cradled an egg in his hands.
The egg glowed with a faint icy-blue light, resembling a crystal masterpiece. Yet, it was warm to the touch.
Beiyuan nodded softly, pressing his hands gently to the egg, able to faintly feel a heartbeat from within. “After the Ghost Spider Lady was eliminated, this dropped off her body automatically.”
“Let me see.” Sinsid poked the egg inquisitively, but when he tried to mess with it further, Beiyuan slapped his hand away with a scowl.
Beiyuan said, “Give it back to the Wind King when we return.”
“Alright.” Sinsid sheepishly rubbed his nose and lit an unlit cigarette, naturally agreeing.
Then Beiyuan thought for a moment and suddenly pulled the Flame King closer to the round, fuzzy bundle. “A soldier is trained for a long time but only used once. It’s time to contribute your fluff.”
Flame King: …?
Beiyuan promptly placed the egg beside the Flame King’s warm body. Feeling the heat, the icy-blue egg wobbled and nudged itself beneath him.
Flame King: …?!!
Sinsid couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. “Goodness, already playing mom. By the way, I never knew, is your cat female… or neutered?”
Flame King: “…”
Flame King: “Roar—meow!!”
Sinsid: “Hey, hey, I didn’t make you hatch the egg, don’t bite me, alright? Hey Beiyuan, how can your cat breathe fire? Careful with the egg!”
Beiyuan looked helpless as he stopped the scuffle between man and cat just as Amai returned.
Having waited until rehearsal ended without seeing the two promised visitors, the young girl returned home, eyes brimming with tears. “Where did you two go…?”
The two absentees exchanged glances. Sinsid joked, “We went to save the world.”
That wasn’t entirely a joke. If the Ghost Spider Lady hadn’t been destroyed and was still lurking in the world, once healed, she would undoubtedly keep parasitizing and wildly breeding spider monsters.
The eventual outcome would probably be no better than the Six-Winged Clan’s Holy City— a cosmic-scale disaster shocking the entire universe.
Beiyuan promised, “We’ll be there for the official performance.”
Unexpectedly, Amai’s fake crying ceased and her expression suddenly turned serious. “No, you’d better not go. I can just find time to perform for you alone. Something big happened in the royal city. I’ve heard rumors— it’s full of patrolling guards everywhere.”
She glanced at the two silently listening, clearly knowing they were too arrogant now to bother hiding anything.
Amai inhaled deeply. “Everyone’s looking for you now. If you go back to the royal city, it’ll be dangerous!”
Beiyuan and Sinsid exchanged a look, both smiling. Beiyuan reached out and patted Amai’s head. “Don’t worry about that. Just focus on your performance— we’ll be watching.”
Seeing Beiyuan so unfazed by all the looming threats, Amai bit her lip in frustration. But with his firm expression, she could only swallow her worries and stomp her foot.
The emperor’s not worried, but the eunuch is!
A few days passed.
The day of the performance— and the Saen Clan Heir Apparent’s Ceremony of Adulthood—finally arrived.
At dawn, Amai rose early and followed the performance troupe busily checking props, applying makeup, changing costumes, and confirming the sequence of acts. Then they entered the Royal City.
The morning frost had yet to melt, and the air was bitterly cold, but everyone in the troupe had fiery eyes and flushed cheeks.
Their hearts pounded wildly, pumping burning blood into every limb, filling them with boundless energy as if they had endless vitality.
“Amai, during the middle of the performance, you have a one-and-a-half-minute solo dance. After Dada and the others finish, come out from backstage on the west side, through Exit 3.”
“Change into your costume, remember your steps, and prepare your emotions just like during rehearsal. Imagine you’re dancing for a Mythic Dragon’s Breath…”
The Head of Troupe was relentlessly trying to psych Amai up, only to notice her attention drifting away. “…Amai!”
“Huh? Sorry, I remember everything you said!”
“Listen carefully.” The Head of Troupe took a deep breath. “This performance is extremely important. It concerns the fate of all of us. If it succeeds, your homeland might even see a turning point.”
“Really?!”
“Of course. As long as you please the King and the Heir Apparent, someone will come to develop and support your planet.” Whether to flatter the powerful or for other reasons, clever people are never in short supply in this world.
Hearing this, Amai nodded earnestly and withdrew her wandering gaze— she had been looking for Beiyuan and Sinsid, but the two had not slipped into the city with the troupe as before.
When she left, the two were still at the wooden house, and she didn’t know how they were doing now.
Suppressing her worries and disappointment, Amai focused fully on the performance ahead.
Unbeknownst to her, the two she kept thinking about had already found the perfect spot to watch the show and were waiting for her appearance.
“Eh, is it about to start?” Sinsid, now fully restored to his former attire, spoke as he dramatically flicked his cloak, looking down from above.
Sinsid and Beiyuan were standing atop the tallest and most famous clock tower in Saen Star’s Royal City.
At the hundred-meter-high summit, fierce winds howled, billowing their robes.
The Cowboy had to hold his hat down with one hand, while Beiyuan bent one leg, casually leaning against a sharp stone pinnacle.
Looking down from such a height, the ground ahead was the stage where Ice Phoenix’s dance would take place.
The entire field was covered in a smooth ice crystal layer, like a mirror made of crystal.
The people on the ground looked like tiny dots— whether the prestigious audience in the stands or the performers themselves, all reduced to insignificance.
But here, one was the Wanzu World’s top sharpshooter, and the other the universe’s last dragon. Their eyesight was anything but ordinary.
On the other hand, no one down below would have guessed anyone was up here at all.
Suddenly, music sounded from below. The Flame King, curled up beside the egg, snorted to remind them that the dancers were already taking the stage one by one.
“Have you heard the story behind the Ice Phoenix dance?” Beiyuan said, gazing over the land.
Sinsid paused. “You mean the one about dancing for the dragon and being saved? Amai told me once during a chat. Why?”
Beiyuan: “I suddenly feel the dance the dancer performed might originally have been taught by another dragon. Or even the very dragon they encountered.”
Sinsid stroked his chin with interest. “Hmm, an intriguing interpretation.”
A faint smile appeared on Beiyuan’s lips. “Maybe they only met another form of the dragon and didn’t realize that the ‘person’ teaching them was actually a dragon in disguise. Then, when they saw the dragon’s true form, they didn’t recognize it.”
Sinsid’s eyes lit up. “True, only dragons would know what kind of dance dragons like best. But if that’s the truth,” he mused, “to the dragon, it might have been a trivial moment in a long life. But for those humans, it was a lifelong missed opportunity.”
“Makes sense.” Beiyuan nodded and slowly stood up, raising his right hand.
Then, a faint, almost imperceptible snap echoed, dissolving into the wind—barely heard by anyone.
But immediately after the snap came a deafening, earth-shaking tolling of the clock.
Sinsid stared wide-eyed, feeling the tower beneath his feet tremble.
Invisible sound waves spread outward layer by layer, like a long lament that had traveled from a thousand years ago to this place— vast and resounding, echoing through heaven and earth.
At that moment, both he and the audience below, who simultaneously looked up, clearly understood—
The dragon that had been silent for a thousand years had struck the bell, and it rang.
And at this very moment, Amai bowed her head, giving her first respectful salute before beginning her dance.