After the incident at Nijo Castle, Hoshiyoru Riho embarked on a life of traveling the world.

For others, traveling the world is just a journey.

But for Hoshiyoru Riho, traveling the world is a way of life.

After leaving Kyoto, Hoshiyoru Riho went straight to Hokkaido, where he enjoyed a pleasant week skiing, hot spring bathing, eating legendary Crema ice cream, and meeting a local ski instructor girl.

Then he continued northward to Khabarovsk in Russia. Situated on the eastern bank where the Heilong River and the Ussuri River meet, Khabarovsk is a medium-sized city that became the administrative center of the Russian Far East Federal District in 2002.

While there are many historical landmarks in the area, there aren't many entertainment options.

Hoshiyoru Riho came here not only because it was on his way but also to investigate the current situation of the Yan organization.

Due to their close ties with Russian gangs, the Yan organization had a base in Khabarovsk. Hoshiyoru Riho had been here several times before and was familiar with the place.

His purpose in learning about the Yan organization's current situation was not out of concern for Yan but to protect himself.

In other words, he wanted to find out if the person "Chong MingDe" was still considered dead within the Yan organization.

His meticulously planned freedom plan, was it truly flawless as he had envisioned?

Fortunately, from the information Hoshiyoru Riho gathered, the name Chong MingDe seemed to be fading away gradually, disappearing.

As for the old man Yan, he was still doing well, prospering in his business.

Tang Mingtuo and Yu reportedly left Kyoto after the incident at Nijo Castle, heading to Europe to start their own lives.

Hoshiyoru Riho saw Bai Yaxin's escape in the news, and he wasn't surprised when he did.

Chongzong, Manranyama Souren, they are still a bit green.

As the ancients wisely said, to defeat an enemy, one must first understand the enemy.

In the process of understanding the enemy, one is inevitably tainted.

When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

The dragon slayer will eventually become the dragon.

— "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you." Nietzsche, "Beyond Good and Evil," 1886.

Therefore, Chongzong being able to retain his self was a good outcome in itself.

Although both Chongzong and Manranyama Souren had grown some dragon scales, as long as they did not fully transform into dragons, Hoshiyoru Riho believed that with time, these dragon scales would soften and fall off, keeping them away from the danger of complete dragonification.

Kyoto still had many good people and capable individuals.

The second Bai Yaxin wouldn't appear so soon, Hoshiyoru Riho believed so.

So, instead of pursuing Bai Yaxin's whereabouts, Hoshiyoru Riho continued his global journey.

He traveled northward and arrived at Sakhalin Island (Kuye Island).

This place, like many others, was full of historical footprints, concealed beneath disputes and concealed beneath many unsightly profit battles.

Hoshiyoru Riho came here without any grand motives. He just wanted to meet an old friend from the Nivkh tribe here and have some hazel grouse and mallard, local delicacies.

When Hoshiyoru Riho (Chong MingDe) was seven or eight years old, Yan once brought him here.

Since then, Hoshiyoru Riho had been yearning for the indigenous cuisine here.

This time, he finally got the chance to fulfill his dream.

Subsequently, Hoshiyoru Riho wandered through the Lena River Basin in Russia, visited Lake Baikal, made a brief trip to Mongolia for sightseeing and horseback riding on the grasslands, then returned to Russia, crossed the Yenisei River, and drove to Moscow along the Ob River... enviable and carefree.

On one hand, Hoshiyoru Riho didn't need to study, work, or have family. He was a free falcon, able to go wherever he pleased.

On the other hand, he was wealthy.

Very wealthy.

Wealthy enough to make others envious, green-eyed and drooling with envy.

Back when he left the Yan organization and headed to Kyoto, he had already prepared a substantial sum for himself. (Refer to the prologue "Qingyang Wanxi • Wanru Qingyang • All Encounters").

He could spend it however he wanted.

Because writing about Hoshiyoru Riho's extravagant world travels too extensively could lead to discomfort for readers, let's keep the introduction simple for now.

The scene shifts to the Philippines.

Recently, a new figure unseen by anyone appeared on the streets of Manila.

It was a homeless middle-aged man, emaciated, seemingly starved for days, ragged clothes, bony, covered in wounds, jaundiced skin, walking with a limp, looking on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

His hair was as unkempt as roadside weeds, infested with fleas and lice.

Everyone could tell that this person wasn't a beggar.

But they could also sense that if he managed to survive, becoming a beggar wasn't too far off.

No one wanted to bother with him, trying to avoid him as much as possible.

This person was Bai Yaxin.

At that time, in a park outside Nijo Castle, Bai Yaxin pressed the detonation button on the remote.

But there was no explosion, no flash or flame.

Nothing happened.

He didn't know what went wrong, and there was no subordinate around him to blame.

No subordinate could be reached online.

Did the remote malfunction?

Or was there an issue with the bomb setup?

Bai Yaxin couldn't tell and didn't have a chance to find out.

The police search teams had already arrived.

Bai Yaxin had to flee in haste, using his remaining resources to catch a flight out of the country overnight. But his identity had been put on the wanted list, and creating a fake identity temporarily would take time, time Bai Yaxin didn't have.

Helpless, Bai Yaxin boarded a smuggling boat to Malaysia.

Unexpectedly, the news broke the next morning.

Even on the smuggling boat, someone recognized Bai Yaxin.

Pursued relentlessly, Bai Yaxin had to abandon all his possessions in the cabin and escape in a lifeboat by himself.

After several near-death experiences on the sea, he eventually drifted to the Philippines.

"Where there's life, there's hope."

Bai Yaxin believed in this, encouraging himself.

He had climbed up from a rat in a stinking drain in the past.

Now, he was merely starting over.

And that's exactly what he did.

Every day, he scavenged leftovers from the back alley trash bins of various restaurants.

Once full, he went to the docks and construction sites to find work.

Loading boxes, carrying bricks, transporting cement—there was nothing he couldn't do.

At night, he sought shelter in subway stations, underground passages, or public facility corridors, wherever he could find cover and rest.

Day by day, Bai Yaxin began to resemble a human being.

When asked his name, he would say, "No name, just call me Ah Gou."

Due to untreated wounds, he developed complications.

On cold, windy, rainy days, his body would ache intensely.

His foot injuries prevented him from walking normally; he always limped, earning him the nickname "Dog Slope."

Four or five months later, Bai Yaxin had saved up some money. He bought a decent suit, groomed his hair, cleaned up, and now looked presentable, ready to start anew.

Bai Yaxin was skillful in the art of persuasion, wheeling and dealing with empty hands, a tactic he excelled at in the past.

But after a few unsuccessful attempts in Manila, all he got were scorn and ridicule, nothing else.

The reason was his lack of understanding of the local culture and his inability to speak anything other than English, not knowing the local Tagalog language.

"Get lost, Dog Slope!"

"Don't even think about coming here to scam us!"

"Do you want me to break your dog legs? Idiot!"

Defeated.

The hard-earned money in his hands was gone in two days.

But he didn't lose heart, learning from his mistakes and starting over once again.

This time, he spent a year accumulating funds.

Living frugally, working odd jobs everywhere.

He worked in restaurants, taking away unsold or spoiled food, saving on all meal expenses.

He abstained from smoking, drinking, and avoiding any entertainment venues, spending nights in cost-free sleeping spots...

He barely spent a cent.

Day after day.

Month after month.

And so, a year later, Bai Yaxin finally saved enough money to take over a storefront, ready to start his own small business.

On the eve of opening the store, Bai Yaxin sat cross-legged at the entrance of his small shop, cracked open a can of beer he hadn't had in a long time, getting ready to celebrate.

Since fleeing from Kyoto, he was finally able to live like a normal person again.

"It's really not easy, haha."

Bai Yaxin could finally show a genuine smile.

Looking back, the effort it took for him to transform from a sewer rat to a human was much faster than before.

—(I guess I've made some progress too.)

Bai Yaxin raised his beer can, aiming it towards the air, towards the moon in the sky, made a toasting gesture, and was about to take a sip.

But just as his lips were about to touch the can, the beer can in his hand was suddenly kicked away.

The beer can flew through the air in an arc, landing on the street and rolling far away, spilling beer everywhere.

Bai Yaxin stared dumbfounded at the tall figure in front of him, and his body began to tremble involuntarily.

"Oh, feeling cold? Shaking so hard?"

The youth bent down, placing a hand on Bai Yaxin's shoulder.

"It shouldn't be cold, right? It's pretty hot here in Manila, isn't it? Haha~"

"Southeast Asia is generally hot."

"I just came back from playing in Malaysia, and this humid heat almost cooked me."

The youth lightly patted Bai Yaxin's shoulder as he spoke.

And Bai Yaxin couldn't even utter a word, shaking uncontrollably.

"Oh, by the way."

"There's something that's been puzzling you for a long time, right?"

"Those bombs at Nijo Castle, I was the one who dismantled them."

"Did you try to blow it up later, but failed?"

At this point, Bai Yaxin froze, even the trembling stopped.

His eyes, yellowed from illness, widened, the veins on his temples bulging and throbbing. Gradually, he clenched his fists tightly, shaking violently.

"I understand, I understand. You want to punch me, right?"

The youth stood up, took a step back, and looked at Bai Yaxin.

"Nietzsche was right, those who become dragons can never go back."

"Since I happened to pass by, let's make a contribution to the world."

The youth said so.