Chapter 117: The Doctor's Nightmare Approaches

At night, the Knave slept soundly. In her dream, she was greeted by a young boy in a sharp suit who asked if she had seen his older brother.

The moment she saw his golden eyes, the Knave nearly suffered a mental breakdown, ready to self-destruct on the spot.

But upon closer inspection, she realized this boy didn't seem to be the same kind of existence as Lu Mingfei. His smile was polite and refined; he looked like a little gentleman. The Knave had always had a fondness for children like this.

"I haven't seen your brother."

That was her reply. Beneath her ostensibly cold gaze lay a hidden warmth; though she played the part of a strict and cruel father, she possessed a gentle heart.

"You're lying! You're lying! You smell exactly like my brother, you're lying to me!"

The boy's reaction was beyond her expectations. He didn't maintain the elegance his attire suggested; instead, he threw a tantrum, rolling on the ground and wailing like a child who had lost his composure. He made such a scene in the dream, his voice piercingly loud.

The Knave frowned slightly. That unique tenderness she held for children seemed to have been triggered. Her expression softened, and she subconsciously looked around, wondering how to soothe the child. Although the Knave in her dreams was as cold and lonely as she was in reality, the dream state made it easier for her true inner thoughts to surface.

She gently patted the boy's back, speaking in a tone of tenderness she rarely revealed: "Don't be afraid. If you can't find your brother or your family, then come to our House of the Hearth. I will give you a new home and be your father."

The boy stopped crying. He stared blankly at the smiling Knave, his face full of astonishment, which then gave way to a look of relief. Without hesitation, he threw himself into her arms, shouting like a child who had finally found home: "Father!"

He had originally intended to play the "bench" game, but he hadn't expected her to play along like this.

Interesting, truly interesting.

"Hmm."

The Knave stroked the boy’s back. The world of the dream seemed to grow warmer. She felt as though she were resting more comfortably than usual, as if something lingering in her spirit had been purged.

It was the remnants of Lu Mingfei's *Dream Tapir*!

Lu Mingze had absorbed the remnants of Lu Mingfei's *Dream Tapir* with the intention of converting the residual spirit into nourishment for his own. While the gain was minimal, Lu Mingfei’s use of the *Dream Tapir* always subconsciously carried a trace of the "Immortal" quality. It was precisely because of this "Immortal" nature that the Knave had been affected for so long and so severely; without it, the remnants would have faded away long ago.

"Father, once I join the House of the Hearth... what should I do?" the boy asked curiously.

"You will grow through learning, become a talent useful to Fontaine, and become Father’s capable assistant. I believe you can do it," the Knave replied.

"Mm-hmm!"

The boy nodded repeatedly, his face beaming with smiles, seemingly full of hope for the future.

"What is your name?" the Knave asked, stroking his head.

"My name is Lu Mingze," the boy answered honestly.

"Lu Ming... ze?"

The smile on the Knave's face froze instantly. Dead memories suddenly resurfaced, rushing toward her like a tide. If she remembered correctly, the Dragon Sovereign behind Furina was called Lu Mingfei, and not many people knew that.

He happened to have an older brother.
He happened to be named Lu Mingze.
He happened to say I smelled like his brother...

Could it be...

*Gulp.*

The Knave silently swallowed her saliva. The way she looked at the smiling boy in her arms began to change; she felt as if she were looking at a little boy—the boy from an atomic bomb.

Before she went to sleep, she and the Doctor had sensed a gaze originating from the Dragon Sovereign. Moreover, this guy had also found her within a dream, and there happened to be a bench nearby where he found her... If she wasn't mistaken, this guy was the other Dragon Sovereign.

"Father, what's wrong?" Lu Mingze looked up, his face full of concern.

"N-nothing," the Knave stammered, her eyes subconsciously shifting to the side, her heart racing uncontrollably.

"Really?"

Lu Mingze suddenly moved his head into the Knave's line of sight, his golden dragon-slit pupils staring into hers, though on the surface, he still looked like an ordinary child.

"Really," the Knave replied.

"Then let's sit here for a while. It's not good to stand and chat, don't you think?" Lu Mingze hopped over to the bench. As he sat down, he patted the seat and looked at the Knave with a smile.

"..."

The Knave felt suffocated.

She looked at that familiar bench, at the little boy with his innocent smile, and at those brilliant golden eyes. The pressure in her heart grew with every passing second.

Should she go? Right now?
If she refused now, she might die.

After a brief moment of thought, the Knave chose to follow her inner instinct. With heavy steps, she walked toward the bench and sat down slowly amidst the boy's smile. An indescribable feeling brewed in her heart.

She turned her head and suddenly saw a phantom of a pitch-black dragon, hundreds of meters high. The dragon, which blotted out the sky, sat quietly opposite her, its golden slit pupils watching her silently. Coincidentally, the posture of the dragon was exactly the same as the little boy's.

The Knave blinked, and suddenly realized there was no dragon before her—only a little boy who looked innocent and kind but lacked affection. At this moment, he tilted his head slightly and asked curiously: "What's wrong, Father? Is something on your mind?"

"Nothing."

"Oh."

Lu Mingze replied softly. He crossed his arms over his chest, smiled, and continued: "Then, Father, could you tell me about Teyvat? I want to hear stories, lots and lots of stories."

"...Alright."

The Knave hesitated for a moment, searching her mind for a story she could tell him. Finally, she said: "Once, in Sumeru, there was a scholar named Zandik. He established a hospital in the Sumeru desert called the House of Daena..."

The story unfolded—a tale of Zandik killing the girl who loved him and using other patients for ( ) experiments. It was a horrific story, and as it progressed, Lu Mingze’s smile gradually faded.

He had once been "Number Zero," also bound, also a poor soul unable to break free. Although he disdained it in his heart and firmly believed he would shatter his cage, the feeling of being bound had nonetheless existed. How could Lu Mingze remain indifferent upon hearing about ( ) experiments?

"...He used a machine to kill the girl who loved him and was preparing to confess to him, and then, after being wanted by the people of Sumeru, he vanished without a trace." The Knave finished her story, her eyes silently fixed on Lu Mingze.

"Zandik must have had other names, right? Someone wanted by the law wouldn't use their old name," Lu Mingze suddenly asked.

"He is called Dottore now," the Knave replied.

Dottore—the Doctor. The Knave knew a little bit about his history, though not in great detail. It didn't matter much; she had read the journals of the previous Knave, which contained some related entries. More importantly, she was bad-mouthing the Doctor right now, and she was doing it with reason and evidence. Even if some of what she said was false, having eight or nine parts be true was enough to move Lu Mingze.

"Dottore... it sounds dangerous. I feel like if I heard his name at night, I wouldn't even dare to cry," Lu Mingze said, narrowing his eyes slightly, as if speaking to himself in fear.

He fixed his gaze on the Knave and asked with a smile: "Is what you said true?"

"It is just a story, and I have embellished it somewhat, but over eighty percent of it is true. You must be very careful of Zandik," the Knave answered honestly.

She knew very well that Lu Mingze's status was incredibly high. If there were any fabrications in her words, this guy might see through them at a glance. But if she were honest from the start, the chances of the Doctor suffering a bit would be much higher.

The Knave was actually panicking, because she did indeed have Lu Mingfei's scent on her. Possessing this scent made her special to Lu Mingze, but this "special" status wasn't necessarily a good thing. She was entirely capable of being killed by Lu Mingze in an instant; heaven knows what this Dragon Sovereign was thinking.

He had already turned into a little boy and called her "Father"—what wouldn't he do?

In the Knave's eyes, Lu Mingze was perhaps a Dragon Sovereign with a distinct personality, just like Lu Mingfei. And Lu Mingfei was a brutal tyrant, a love-struck tyrant who wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

Lu Mingfei's character trait was cruelty, while Lu Mingze's should be a sadistic sense of humor.

He might be enjoying this feeling—the feeling that he knew she knew he was a Dragon Sovereign, that she could guess it, yet she dared not say it or express it. He even called her "Father," and it seemed he might burst into laughter at any moment.

And Lu Mingze, who possessed such a wicked sense of humor, what would he think upon hearing the story about the Doctor? She really wanted to know.

Now, this was the world of a dream, not reality, so there was no harm in saying a few bad things about the Doctor to Lu Mingze. At worst, she could just claim she was dreaming and talking nonsense.

No one would ever know anyway.

If she could just let Lu Mingze kill the Doctor, that would be a pretty good outcome. Being killed by a Dragon Sovereign from another world would be the Doctor's honor.

"Hmm, I do indeed need to be careful," Lu Mingze nodded thoughtfully, his face growing somber and appearing quite serious. He continued: "My brother once said that a cute child like me would definitely be targeted by people with ill intentions, so boys must learn to protect themselves when out and about."

"Uh... your brother is certainly good with words." The Knave's mouth twitched, and she replied with an awkward smile.

"I also think my brother is amazing. It's a pity I can't reach him now. If I could find his trail, perhaps I could see him? Sigh, we are blood relatives, we are the fated twins after all," Lu Mingze sighed helplessly.

Brother? Blood relatives? Twins? Fated?

The face of a blonde girl gradually appeared in the Knave's mind. She was the Traveler, also looking for her brother, and they were also blood relatives—twins. But she was much cuter than Lu Mingze (in the Knave's opinion).

*I must be overthinking it.*

"I hope you can see your brother soon," the Knave replied.

"Thank you."

Lu Mingze smiled and leaned in close to the Knave, whispering as if sharing a secret: "Let me tell you a secret: actually, my brother and I are people from outside this world, and we both have the power to master all elements."

"Oh?"

"A friend of mine told me that people like my brother and me... should be called 'Descenders.' The title of 'Descender' sounds quite interesting, doesn't it?" Lu Mingze rested his chin on his hands, smiling as he looked at the starry sky of Teyvat.

*Does he even know the concept of a Descender?*

The Knave narrowed her eyes, but she wasn't surprised. Perhaps Focalors had told him the concept of a Descender. It was possible that this guy was the one who had just pretended to be Focalors. If he could call her "Father," pretending to be Focalors didn't seem impossible for him.

Compared to that, the more important question was...

When exactly did this guy descend? Judging by his previous performance, he could directly project his spirit into this world and even influence the elements directly—not indirectly through dreams like Lu Mingfei.

Could it be that he followed Lu Mingfei's trail all the way here? Perhaps.

"Oh, right, why did you tell me the story about Zandik earlier? Is there some enmity between you two?" Lu Mingze asked curiously.

"He once used children from the House of the Hearth for experiments." The Knave's eyes grew cold and sharp. She continued: "After I killed the previous Knave and became the new one, he also proposed a partnership to me. If possible, I would like to send him to meet the previous Knave."

"So, Mr. Dottore, what do you think about this matter?"

Lu Mingze’s gaze shifted to the opposite side of the bench, where a man he had deliberately hidden gradually became visible.

It was the Doctor, Dottore.

The little devil was incredibly witty. From the very beginning, he had pulled both the Knave and the Doctor into the dream simultaneously, using a series of maneuvers to lower the Knave's guard so she wouldn't even realize the possibility of the Doctor being hidden nearby.

In fact, Lu Mingze's original plan was to use his words to bait the Knave into talking about the Doctor while he was hidden in the shadows. But she was so cooperative that she didn't even need his guidance; she just spilled the beans on the Doctor. When she was exposing him, the Doctor's face turned incredibly ugly, and Lu Mingze felt like he was going to die laughing.

The Knave, knowing nothing, assumed nothing major would happen in a dream, so she just spoke. The Doctor in the shadows of the dream watched with an ashen face, just watching her talk. He couldn't speak or move because Lu Mingze had completely controlled him.

"..."

The Doctor glared at the Knave, his killing intent overflowing.

Lu Mingze: (ω) *Too hilarious.*