Chapter 108 – The Grand Finale

……

Miguel expected to be met with bone-chilling coldness. However, when the water with a hint of warmth invaded his respiratory tract, aside from the gradually increasing difficulty in breathing, he found that the seawater was warmer than he had imagined. With his eyes closed, Miguel faintly felt as if he was once again basking in sunlight. He moved slightly, and his hand brushed against a familiar cold touch…

It was Ghost Slayer.

For some reason, the black-haired young man felt a little more at ease.

He tried to move his body, but he quickly realized he seemed to be confined in a narrow space, with his limbs tightly bound…

“—Dad! Dad! Dad, dad, dad, dad! My brother is trying to drown himself in the bathtub to avoid school!! Ahhh, what’s this? A dagger—Dad, come quick! My brother’s about to slit his wrists, probably still trying to avoid school!”

A piercing, ear-splitting child’s voice rang out beside Miguel.

Then came a loud crash, followed by a strong hand grabbing his wrist and pulling him free from the water’s grasp—

Caesar?

No, no, not him.

Miguel opened his eyes.

Before him was a face that was both incredibly familiar and one he hadn’t seen in a long time, filling him with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.

Dad.

“Dad?!”

“Are you out of your mind?! You almost drowned yourself in the bathtub while taking a shower! Have you gone crazy from studying?” Luo Laodie glared at him, his beard bristling. “Get up! It’s just after the New Year, and I don’t want to have to deal with your corpse. Your mom went out to buy groceries—thank goodness she’s not home, or you’d be eating dog food tonight as your farewell feast before school starts—”

The rapid-fire scolding left Miguel—no, Luo Chenzhou—in a daze. He opened his mouth, suppressing the heart that felt like it was about to leap out of his chest, and reached out to pinch the face that was hovering in front of him, chattering nonstop.

“What are you doing?!” Luo Laodie swatted his son’s hand away. “Are you sick? Why are you looking at me like that? I’m your dad, thank you very much—Luo Pofu, you little rascal, turn off the bathroom heater! Your brother’s done showering. Electricity isn’t free, you know—Where did that dagger come from? You’re too young to be playing with weapons! Confiscated!”

“Dad.”

“What?”

“Dad, dad, dad, dad!!!”

Luo Chenzhou was so excited his voice trembled.

“…” Luo Laodie looked utterly baffled and slightly disdainful. “What, what, what—are you trying to earn an extra hundred bucks in your monthly allowance by acting like a baby while naked?”

Then, under Luo Laodie’s extremely disdainful gaze, Luo Chenzhou, still naked, threw himself at his father, embracing him warmly!… Luo Laodie, who hadn’t experienced his eldest son acting like this in over a decade, pretended to resist but secretly enjoyed this somewhat inexplicable hug.

Wrapped in a towel and wearing slippers, Luo Chenzhou dashed back to his room—

Out of breath, he sat down in front of his computer. As he opened a webpage and typed a familiar name into the search bar, his hands trembled uncontrollably, causing him to mistype the simple letters several times… A black text on white background webpage appeared. He slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again, moving the mouse to clumsily click on the first search result—

Caesar Lukdel Elijah Hoff (1456-1527), German.

Caesar was the most renowned figure in the Mediterranean at the time, known as the “Black Sea Wolf” and the “Gentleman of the Sea” for his handsome appearance and gentlemanly demeanor. His life was full of legendary tales. Born in the spring of 1456 in Munich, Germany, by the Isar River, into a family of navigators, he took charge of the family at thirteen and owned his first three-masted galley at fourteen, naming it the “Wind Fury.” The “Wind Fury” became Caesar’s symbol, serving its master at sea for his entire life, with countless stories about him being widely told.

In 1488, Caesar was framed by the Arab pirates, the Barbarossa Brothers, causing him to disappear for a time. However, his loyal first mate never gave up searching for him. The Pirate King of the Mediterranean was saved by a kind fisherman on Djerba Island in Tunisia, where he recovered and eventually took his revenge.

That same year, Caesar raided the Spanish royal territories, seized a treasure map, and ventured toward an unknown treasure island in the Mediterranean.

Among the many stories about Caesar, some say he once reached the mermaids’ lair, others claim he found the true Fountain of Youth, and still others believe he spent his entire life at sea to break a curse on his family…

In 1500, Caesar Lukdel Elijah Hoff ended his life as a pirate. That winter, the famous pirate declared his lifelong loyalty to his country under the national flag and officially joined the German Navy, taking on the role of Naval Governor. His exceptional navigation skills greatly advanced Germany’s maritime endeavors at the time.

In the spring of 1527, Caesar Lukdel Elijah Hoff passed away in Berlin.

He never married in his lifetime but fathered three children.

Luo Chenzhou let out a long sigh. He slowly scrolled the mouse, his fingers, pale from soaking in water, not cooperating as well as they should.

What could be more romantic than having your name added to his family registry?

It must be sitting here, centuries later, reading the records of his life, and in every word, finding traces of the time I spent by his side—

Posterity says his life was long and extraordinary, and within it, there are glimpses of me.

…

“Brother, your eyes are red.”

A childish voice brought the black-haired young man, who had been sitting in front of the computer staring at the flickering screen, back to reality.

Luo Pofu handed him a tissue, his young voice crisp and clear: “Are you crying because you’re sad about school starting?… Well, I hate school starting too, but I’m not crying. You’re such a girl.”

“Bullshit.” Luo Chenzhou snatched the tissue from his brother’s hand and blew his nose loudly. “I’m not as pathetic as you—have you finished your winter break homework? If not, I’m gonna beat you!”

Luo Pofu’s face filled with panic as he shoved a box of tissues at his brother and bolted out the door, yelling, “Mom! My brother says he’s going to beat me!”

Outside the window, snow was falling. It was the last day of winter break. His name was Luo Chenzhou, a sophomore at Meteorology University.

…

Twelve hours later, Luo Chenzhou boarded a plane back to school.

Gazing at the clouds just outside the window, he was momentarily lost in thought. There was a time when he sat by the window of the Wind Fury, looking out at the vast blue sea.… Back when the Wind Fury existed, people didn’t believe that one day humans would fly into the sky in giant metal objects, soaring as high and as far as seagulls.

But it was all over now.

He had completely returned to his own world—a world that the man named Caesar had once lived in, but now, five hundred years of history separated them.

Luo Chenzhou admitted that he couldn’t forget that man so quickly, but he believed he would—eat, sleep, and go about his life. Time was the best healer. He would return to his original life path, eat, drink, and maybe find a girl or a guy to marry—

A loud honk sounded behind him.

The black-haired young man snapped out of his reflective mood and began to wonder why he was making such strange vows in front of the school gate.

Feeling a bit embarrassed by his odd behavior, Luo Chenzhou frowned and turned around, only to see a brand new—

“Passat…”

The black-haired young man muttered, watching the flashy car drive past him. Luo Chenzhou opened his mouth, about to mock the car, when a Red Scarf ran over from nearby, shouting, “Chenzhou, what the hell are you standing there for? Get over here, don’t block the road!”

Luo Chenzhou: “…”

It was his gangster buddy.

Luo Chenzhou forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: “Buddy, I almost got shown up by a damn Passat—”

The black car that had just silently driven past him suddenly braked and slowly reversed.

The door opened, and out stepped a foreigner who was about 6’5″, dressed in a suit, wearing leather shoes, and sporting sunglasses. He got out of the car with an air of elegance, took off his sunglasses, and looked down at the stunned face of the black-haired young man.

The handsome man raised an eyebrow and smiled with a mix of tolerance and mischief: “This is a Phaeton, kid.”

He spoke in Chinese, with a strange foreign accent, but Luo Chenzhou couldn’t bring himself to laugh.

The man’s gaze fell on the student ID card hanging around the kid’s neck. He pointed at it with a long finger, a hint of pity in his expression: “Luo Chenzhou… Class of ’06 Meteorology? Hmm, you’re my student, so I’ll let you off this time.”

Luo Chenzhou: “…”

“I’m your new professor, Caesar, teaching Marine Meteorology, which is one of your core subjects, right?” The man put his sunglasses back on. “Don’t skip my classes; I’ll take attendance every session—Oh, kid, you look familiar. Have we met before?”

Luo Chenzhou: “…”

“Never mind, I just got back to the country. How could we have met…” The man muttered as he got back into his car. He rolled down the window and waved at the black-haired young man, who hadn’t said a word the entire time. “See you in class.”

Luo Chenzhou: “…”

“Oh, so you’re mute?”

“Screw you! You’re the mute!”

“No manners,” the man chuckled deep in his throat, smirking like an old rogue. “You should call me Professor.”

The car drove off, leaving Luo Chenzhou covered in dust.

What the man in the car didn’t know was that over five hundred years ago, he had stood in front of this same kid, smirking like an old rogue, and said, “Call me Captain.”

Well, of course, for this guy who didn’t remember anything, it was just… another story that happened a long, long time ago.

Luo Chenzhou looked up. The sun was shining brightly, and the spring breeze was gentle.

“—He’s gone, why are you still staring?” His gangster buddy’s raspy voice echoed in his ears. “Tsk tsk tsk, did you see that dog-head necklace around his neck? Antique sea treasure, carries a heavy aura. Must’ve cost a fortune—Hey, why are you crying? Whatever, you intellectuals are all nuts… Come on, if you’re going to cry, let’s do it in the dorm, not here at the school gate!!!”

Luo Chenzhou stood at the university gate, crying like a baby for the first time in his life in this world that belonged to him—for everything he had lost and regained.

This time, they would never be apart again.

…

A Polish scholar once said:

Love is like a headache. It makes you dizzy, you think you’re going to die, but you’ll recover.