Eating All the Way

Su Lin had once loved Dragon Raja. Not just him—several of his friends had too.

Back in high school, every day after evening self-study, they would often discuss what developments Dragon Raja might have next on their way home from school, and how much longer the author, who loved delaying updates, would drag things out this time.

The most interesting part was that when Erii appeared in Dragon Raja III, one of his friends thought the protagonist had finally found a girlfriend.

During break, he had described it with such excitement that it looked as if he were the one about to stop being single.

Then, during class, he had secretly peeked at the ending and gotten caught by the teacher, tears still hanging from his face.

"The desire to become extraordinary is something people fantasize about during adolescence, and even as adults."

Stepping across white jade stairs, the two of them took another path toward the summit.

They occasionally came across spiritual fruit trees, and Su Lin would pick a few fruits to share with Lu Mingfei.

Sweet, refreshing juice poured from the bite marks in the fruit. Lu Mingfei swore he had never eaten fruit this delicious before.

"Nom nom." Lu Mingfei did not spit out the seeds, swallowing the fruit whole. "But I passed that stage long ago. If I could, I'd just want to live a peaceful, stable life."

"Is that so? I've always been in that stage."

Su Lin spat out a date-pit-sized seed, then plucked a spiritual herb from the ground, its stalk densely covered in crystal-clear fruits. He stripped it with his teeth, leaving behind only a thin, soft stem.

"Because if I could become extraordinary, life wouldn't have to be so hard. I wouldn't have to be exploited by those capitalists for money, either."

Lu Mingfei, who was copying Su Lin's earlier movements and searching by the roadside for the same spiritual plant, froze at that.

"That reason is pretty realistic, huh."

Su Lin smiled helplessly.

"What else did you think it was for? To save the world, or to be admired by everyone?"

"Or to satisfy some other desires."

Seeing that Lu Mingfei had spent ages searching through a clump of weeds without finding any Dingdong Grass, Su Lin pointed beneath a tree not far away.

"Then you must have achieved your wish by now, right?"

"Yeah." Su Lin stretched lazily. "You have no idea how awesome my life is now."

"When there's nothing to do, I cultivate. When I don't feel like cultivating, I watch anime, play games, and read novels. Once I get tired of that, I go back to cultivating. Every now and then, I go out and interact with society so I don't fall behind."

"When I'm thirsty, I drink spiritual spring water. When I'm hungry, I munch on spiritual fruits. Of course, I can also order takeout, drink cola, and eat fried chicken."

"When I don't have to worry about my lifespan, illness, housing, or all those everyday necessities, every day is a pleasure."

Lu Mingfei imagined it. That kind of life really did sound awesome, but wasn't there a rather huge difference between the kinds of extraordinary lives they had?

When he thought about how his own extraordinary life meant having a rotten little brother constantly eyeing his soul, a group of berserker classmates whose eyes turned red at the sight of Dragon Raja, and the explosive maniacs of the Equipment Department who wanted to add alchemy to missiles all day long—

Oh my God. I, Lu Mingfei, swear on the two pieces of fried chicken Fingel hid under his bed that I absolutely do not want to hold a knife and dance ballroom dances with Dragon Raja ladies. This kind of extraordinary life is terrible, I swear.

"So, my story is about a loser kid becoming extraordinary." Lu Mingfei pulled up several stalks of Dingdang Grass and stuffed them into his mouth, sucking the sweetness from the tiny fruits.

"It's just that this road to becoming extraordinary is a little too painful."

"Nothing goes smoothly all the time. When we're young, we think gaining things is the norm, but as we grow older, loss often accompanies life." Su Lin continued walking forward.

"The girl you secretly loved, the dreams you held when you were young, friendship, love, family, even your worldview and values—any of these may suddenly be lost. Most people can hold on to one or two of them; very few can keep them all."

"Resources are limited. If you want to possess something, you need enough resources."

"Where do resources come from? Either you're outstanding enough, or your parents are outstanding enough."

"But most of us are ordinary people, just like you, Lu Mingfei. In fact, many people are worse off than you."

"They want to have something, to prove themselves, to have a chance to change things—but where are there so many chances in this world?"

Lu Mingfei suddenly felt that Su Lin had become a little like his younger brother when he slipped into one of his philosophical moods—little Demon Lu Mingze.

But he was also somewhat different.

"Not everyone, but a lot of readers do like you. Your popularity poll ranking is even higher than that handsome senior of yours."

"Really?!" Lu Mingfei's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yeah, because there's a loser kid living inside many people. Sometimes that loser kid works hard, sometimes he gains something from it, but more often than not, he works hard and gets nothing."

"But life still has to go on, doesn't it? Whether you feel lonely or isolated, you still have to keep going."

"Master, I understand now. You mean that no matter what difficulties we face, we have to work hard to confront them. They'll pass eventually." Lu Mingfei looked as though he had suddenly attained enlightenment.

"No. What I mean is, the reason your story became popular is that aside from being able to cheat with Lu Mingze, you're no different from ordinary people like us."

"..."

"..."

People like Chu Zihang, Ye Fan, and Xiao Yan could live very comfortably in ordinary human society even without special powers, because they were already quite outstanding.

But Su Lin was much the same as Lu Mingfei. They belonged to the green leaves and roots that set off the flowers.

Su Lin grabbed Lu Mingfei by the collar and leaped onto a massive tree. Fist-sized Vermilion Mulberry Fruits were giving off a rich fragrance.

Holding his hand like a blade, Su Lin slashed through the air and actually cut open the bark. Rich tree honey flowed from the trunk.

The vermilion mulberries, coated in tree honey, were enough to make one forget all the worries of the world.

"Among readers now, some want to see you mature, some want to see you get cheat powers, and some want to see you build a harem." Su Lin wiped the corner of his mouth.

"Mmph, burp—" Lu Mingfei let out a full belch. "Our Lu family believes in monogamy."

"Like Nono, Erii, and Zero—they want you to take them all."

At those words, Lu Mingfei's eyes flew wide open. His expression stiffened as he swallowed with difficulty.

"That really isn't... I mean... um, you think far too highly of me, Lu Mingfei."

He did not even dare dream of that kind of romantic fortune.

Lu Mingfei fell silent for a while before asking, "Su Lin, what do you want to see me become?"

"Huh?" Su Lin tilted his head, thought carefully for a moment, and said, "I don't think I have any expectations for you."

"You just need to be yourself. What you become is your own choice."

"Is that so...?"

"That's exactly it, so don't overthink it. Eat more fruit." Su Lin stuffed a few more into Lu Mingfei's hands.

(End of Chapter)