Chapter 17: Lulu, I’m Hungry
The heavy sword radiated a cold crimson glow, its presence oppressive.
Dong Li tried to go around it, only for a faint golden barrier to flare to life around him, enclosing him completely.
His escape cut off, he had no choice but to turn around uneasily.
Lufiel approached slowly, passing straight through the barrier of sword aura.
Only four or five steps separated them now.
Rongrong was nervous too. It jumped down from Dong Li’s arms and glared fiercely at Lufiel.
Lufiel stopped instead of coming any closer.
His eyes remained fixed on Dong Li as he called softly, “Rongrong.”
The little fox froze.
So did Dong Li.
He lowered his eyes, lashes trembling as his heartbeat gradually quickened.
They had already broken up…
Why was Lufiel still calling him by his nickname?
Dong Li kept a protective hand over the pockets of his coat, making sure the two little beasts inside didn’t come out.
He had no idea what to do and desperately tried to organize his thoughts.
Lufiel had to be here for the demonic beasts, right?
So that ridiculously strong player from earlier had actually been helping him…
Maybe Dong Li could bluff his way through this.
Say he hadn’t seen any demonic beasts at all…
And after being broken up for so long, how was he even supposed to talk to his ex-boyfriend?
While Dong Li was still panicking, Lufiel called him again.
“Rongrong.”
He stepped closer.
“Where are you going?”
Dong Li instinctively backed away until his back touched the solid wall of sword aura.
He opened his mouth and forced himself to stay calm.
“I… Why should I tell you?”
Lufiel’s breath caught.
As if that answer had finally confirmed something, his breathing grew heavier.
He kept walking until only a single step separated them.
His earlier suspicion had been right.
Dong Li had truly “woken up.”
Otherwise, he would never have answered like that.
But…why was he answering him this way?
Several other details suddenly connected.
Yesterday, on Dong Li’s trips to and from the herb field, he had looked back at Lufiel several times.
And when Lufiel first found him, their eyes had briefly met.
Dong Li had quickly looked away.
At the time, Liufeng had been talking over the communicator, so Lufiel hadn’t considered any other possibility.
Now Lufiel looked directly at Dong Li and asked softly, “Why did you pretend you didn’t know me?”
…
His ex-boyfriend was actually confronting him.
Dong Li’s gaze darted away as his fingers clenched.
What was with this?
Why was Lufiel acting like Dong Li was the one who had hurt him?
“I…” Dong Li tried playing dumb. “I didn’t. I just didn’t see you.”
Lufiel was silent for a moment.
“You didn’t see me this morning in Northern Dark Forest either?”
Dong Li kept up the act, looking perfectly innocent.
“No.”
Lufiel stared at him.
Then said quietly,
“You kissed me.”
Dong Li froze.
A second later, he understood.
…
The ice statue.
He meant when Dong Li had kissed the ice statue.
Lufiel knew?!
Dong Li nearly forgot how to breathe.
His violet eyes widened in disbelief.
…
What was he supposed to do now?
His ex-boyfriend had caught him secretly kissing him!
Dong Li grew even more flustered.
Unable to come up with a reasonable excuse, he somehow ended up getting defensive instead.
“I-I thought you were just an ice statue!” Dong Li lifted his violet eyes. “And so what if I kissed you? I can kiss whoever I want…”
He had left the Fuling Region now.
He could do whatever he wanted!
Just then, a player happened to pass nearby.
Dong Li immediately called out,
“Hey! You! Come here!”
The player stopped and pointed at himself.
“Me?”
He was on his way to Maidong City for a quest.
He knew something had happened in Northern Dark Forest that morning, so he had deliberately taken a quieter route around the outskirts.
He had no idea who Dong Li was.
The next second—the Crimson-Gold Sword tore through the air.
Its blade stopped directly against the player’s throat.
Without even turning his head, Lufiel said coldly,
“Get lost.”
The player recognized the Crimson-Gold Sword.
His heart nearly stopped.
He logged out on the spot.
Dong Li froze too.
He fell silent and cautiously studied Lufiel.
Lufiel didn’t look angry.
He simply wore his usual cold expression.
No…
He somehow seemed even colder than before.
As though years of never smiling had turned him rigid, and touching him might feel just as cold and hard as that ice statue.
Seeing Dong Li watching him so cautiously, Lufiel’s lips moved slightly.
He raised a hand, seemingly intending to pull Dong Li into his arms.
But after the open beta began, all the old game data had been reset.
That included their partnership.
Now Lufiel couldn’t even check Dong Li’s affection level toward him.
So he changed course and reached for Dong Li’s hand instead.
Dong Li immediately became even more nervous and pulled his coat tighter around himself.
Rongrong crouched nearby and unhappily scratched at the hem of Lufiel’s robe.
But spirit form and owner shared the same feelings.
Rongrong didn’t actually attack him.
Lufiel frowned slightly and softened his voice even further.
“Rongrong, don’t be afraid.”
He wasn’t sure whether the system had changed something about Dong Li.
Even though Dong Li had regained consciousness, there might now be subtle differences from the way he had been before.
“It isn’t safe here,” Lufiel continued. “I’ll take you somewhere else.”
Huh?
Dong Li hesitated.
Then he couldn’t help asking in a small voice,
“You… aren’t here looking for the demonic beasts?”
“Demonic beasts?” Lufiel repeated quietly. “No. I came looking for you.”
Dong Li stared at him.
His violet eyes grew even more confused.
Why did his ex-boyfriend sound like he was trying to protect him…?
After hesitating for a while, Dong Li asked,
“Take me somewhere else… where?”
Lufiel paused.
“The Fuling Region.”
Of all the regions, Fuling had the fewest players and was the safest.
Afterward, Lufiel could slowly figure out exactly what had happened to Dong Li…
But Dong Li’s eyes immediately widened.
“No!”
He spun around and tried to escape again, pushing hard against the unyielding sword-aura barrier.
He had gone through so much trouble to leave the Fuling Region.
There was no way he was going back!
Rongrong anxiously circled in place and scratched Lufiel’s robe again.
Lufiel immediately changed his answer.
“Okay. We won’t go to the Fuling Region.”
He still didn’t remove the barrier, but his voice remained gentle.
“If you don’t want to go, we won’t.”
Dong Li couldn’t escape anyway, so he finally gave up and turned back toward him.
“Rongrong,” Lufiel said even more softly, almost coaxing him, “where do you want to go?”
Liufeng had mentioned before that if the system had added Dong Li to some new storyline, it might also have given him new character settings.
Possibly even new memories.
Maybe there was a reason he didn’t want to return to the Fuling Region.
But no matter what else had changed—it was enough that Dong Li remembered him.
Dong Li didn’t answer immediately.
He silently thought it over.
Could he trust something his ex-boyfriend said?
But according to the forum, Lufiel was supposed to be incredibly strong.
If he wanted to steal the demonic beasts hidden inside Dong Li’s coat, it probably wouldn’t take much effort.
So what exactly was he doing?
Had his conscience suddenly started bothering him after all these years?
Did he finally feel guilty about how badly he had treated Dong Li when they broke up…?
Dong Li thought and thought before tentatively asking, “I don’t know… but can you give me some things?”
“Sure,” Lufiel answered immediately. “What do you need?”
Dong Li slowly raised a hand and pointed at Lufiel’s outer robe.
“Clothes. And that thing you wore before… the one that covers your face.”
“Okay.”
Dong Li hurriedly added,
“But! But I don’t have any money…”
He looked cautious and slightly anxious, as though afraid Lufiel might change his mind.
“You don’t need money,” Lufiel reassured him. “Wait here.”
He sent Liufeng a message, asking him to buy clothes in Dragonbone Town that would fit Dong Li, then send them over directly using an item.
Dong Li relaxed a little.
Then he pointed at the barrier of sword aura around them.
“Can you… get rid of this too?”
Lufiel fell silent.
This time, he didn’t agree immediately.
The items arrived soon afterward.
Lufiel took them out of his inventory.
They were the most common kind of black outer robe, a face mask, and a separate hat—all useful for disguising one’s appearance.
Dong Li tried on the mask and hat.
Both fit him perfectly.
Unfortunately, he didn’t really like the color of the hat…
But this wasn’t the time to worry about whether it looked nice.
Lufiel held the outer robe, intending to help Dong Li put it on.
But the game’s restrictions made him hesitate.
Dong Li didn’t think much of it.
He simply took the robe and put it on himself.
It was loose and fairly thin.
Dong Li didn’t remove his original coat, instead pulling the black robe directly over it.
He was slender enough that it still didn’t make him look bulky.
At first glance, he looked no different from an ordinary player.
Dong Li adjusted everything himself, then touched the mask covering his face, visibly pleased.
His eyes were still exposed, but at least his golden hair was hidden.
As long as he was careful around strangers, it should be fine.
He bent down, picked up Rongrong, wrapped the black robe around the little fox, then looked at Lufiel.
Once again, Dong Li pointed at the sword-aura barrier.
His clear violet eyes looked especially innocent.
If Lufiel wasn’t here for the demonic beasts, had promised not to take him back to the Fuling Region, and had even given him all these things…
then why was he still trapping Dong Li here?
Lufiel looked at him quietly, apparently considering it.
After a while, he raised his hand.
The sword-aura barrier disappeared.
Dong Li finally relaxed.
He quickly said,
“Then I’ll go now… Thanks for the clothes!”
He turned and hurried away.
Lufiel remained where he was for a moment.
Then followed.
—
Dong Li hadn’t gone far before he realized Lufiel was still behind him.
He looked back several times before finally protesting,
“Stop following me!”
The wind and sand outside the city never seemed to let up.
Dong Li had one hand holding his mask in place as he spoke, making his voice a little muffled and far from intimidating.
Lufiel remained unmoved.
He didn’t come too close either.
It was as though he simply wanted to know where Dong Li intended to go.
Dong Li was unhappy.
He decided he needed to find somewhere to lose him.
At least now that he had proper clothes and a mask, he shouldn’t have to sneak around anymore.
After passing through the cluster of giant rocks, Dong Li looked ahead and saw three enormous characters:
MAIDONG CITY
The gates stood open.
Several patrol guard NPCs were stationed outside while players constantly entered and left.
Dong Li slowly approached and studied the place.
It was much larger than Dragonbone Town.
Even the city gates looked impressive.
Although…
the inside didn’t seem particularly lively from here.
Dong Li secretly observed the entrance.
Sure enough, the patrol guards asked players for proof of entry before allowing them through.
Dong Li didn’t have any kind of entry pass.
Maybe he could use the same trick as before and find somewhere to climb over the wall…
He turned to leave.
Then someone called him.
“Rongrong.”
Lufiel had already reached the city gate.
He took out a plaque and handed it to the patrol guard.
Then he looked at Dong Li.
“Come with me.”
Dong Li immediately understood what he meant.
He hesitated for exactly one second before hurrying over.
Whatever.
If his ex-boyfriend had an entry pass, he might as well take advantage of it.
And just like that, Dong Li successfully entered Maidong City.
The moment they passed through the gate, he casually quickened his pace and left Lufiel behind again.
Then the street ahead caught his attention.
Like Dragonbone Town, Maidong City had plenty of shops and street stalls.
There weren’t that many players, but it was actually quite lively.
The sounds of metalworking and other unfamiliar clanging noises rang out everywhere.
All kinds of weapons hung outside many of the shops.
From somewhere on a second floor came a sudden burst of noisy commotion…
Dong Li wandered around curiously for a while.
He stopped at one stall and picked up a small bronze sword ornament.
This place really was different from Dragonbone Town.
It felt like every other shop sold weapons.
Dong Li left the stall and continued walking aimlessly.
His steps gradually slowed.
Why wasn’t there anywhere selling food…?
He had been awake since morning and still hadn’t eaten a single thing.
Now that he finally felt more or less safe and had relaxed a little, the hunger hit him all at once.
Dong Li stopped.
He stood there hesitating for a while.
Then slowly turned around and retraced his steps.
He stopped in front of Lufiel.
Ever since entering the city, Lufiel had continued following him with no intention of leaving.
At the moment, he stood not far away with his back against a stone pillar beside the street.
When Dong Li came back, Lufiel quietly lifted his eyes.
Dong Li fidgeted.
His violet eyes looked almost pitiful as he murmured,
“Lulu… I’m hungry.”
Author’s Note:
Dong Li: He already gave me clothes. My ex should probably feel sorry enough to feed me too, right? (T ^ T)
