Chapter 721: Long He and the Finale

In the pitch-black mine tunnel.

Long He clutched the Cursed Doll and ran for his life, his breathing especially ragged.

Suddenly.

He stepped on a loose rock, his body lurched, and he slammed into the rock wall with a muffled grunt.

"Chu-pei!"

The Cursed Doll watched him anxiously.

"I'm fine, just a little drained. Let me catch my breath." Long He forced a smile at the Cursed Doll and rubbed at his blurring vision.

Visibility was already low; if he couldn't see clearly, it would be easy to lose the tunnel leading out.

But.

There was still hope!

He summoned his strength and ran forward again, then suddenly sensed a chill. But before he could think for two more seconds, the faint baying from behind made him quicken his pace.

The Houndoom's sense of smell was far too keen; the dust filling the mine hadn't hindered them at all — after all those twists and turns, they could still catch up.

If only he had an odor eliminator.

Long He realized he was starting to think random nonsense, even recalling many things from the past, and his mind grew chaotic as his steps gradually slowed.

There wasn't much dynamite left.

If he couldn't deal with the pursuers, how could he keep them from noticing the escape route?

Long He felt a flicker of anxiety.

He suddenly lowered his head and asked the Cursed Doll in his arms: "What about Salamence and the others?"

"Chu-pei!"

The Cursed Doll carefully unzipped its mouth, revealing a round Poké Ball inside. It seemed to want to take credit, yet it watched Long He's steadily paling face with worry.

Tired? It could get down and run alongside him.

"It's nothing, we're almost there."

Long He seemed to read the Cursed Doll's thoughts, and quietly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Apart from the Cursed Doll, what he worried about most was his three dragons.

If they were safe, he could set his mind at ease.

After running a while longer through the maze-like mine, Long He spotted a headless mine cart ahead — perhaps it could be of use?

The pursuers were closing in; he had to make use of everything he could.

Long He's mind raced as he approached the cart, considering the possibility of stuffing the explosives inside to turn it into a suicide cart.

The path he'd come by was nearly uphill; a hard push would send the cart rolling a great distance. The only question was whether the remaining dynamite could bring the tunnel down.

He realized he was becoming indecisive — he clearly wasn't like this before.

Suddenly.

Some sounds came from ahead.

Long He's eyes went wide — more pursuers up ahead too!?

"Chu-pei!"

The Cursed Doll, however, gave a delighted little cry, flew out of his arms, and gestured excitedly at something.

Long He understood its meaning at once, and instead of being pleased, was alarmed: "Master Lidi and the others are up ahead? Right, they split into several teams to look for the scattered people."

This was bad.

With so many footsteps, the pursuers were bound to notice — he had to think of something.

He steadied himself against the cart as a wave of weakness surged through him. A dull, aching pain radiated from his back, and he couldn't help reaching back to feel—

His hand came away sticky; a hard object was embedded in his lower back.

Long He felt as if struck by lightning. He turned to look back the way he'd come, trying to find something on the ground, but everything before his eyes was a blur — he couldn't make anything out.

No wonder… no wonder they could keep catching up.

When had he been hit?

A sharp stone attack?

Ah…

Long He fell silent. The Cursed Doll before him excitedly hopped twice and ran ahead on its own, trying to save him some effort.

He forced out a faint smile with great difficulty.

"Cursed Doll, c-come here."

He beckoned to the Cursed Doll, which had run a short distance ahead, and said gently: "I can't just go over like this. There are pursuers behind me — I'd drag them into it.

"So just like last time, you go on ahead first. Tell them to run, and run with them. I'll try to blow this place up to block the people behind and buy as much time as I can."

"Chu-pei!"

Hearing this, the Cursed Doll anxiously grabbed his sleeve.

Long He stroked its face and smiled: "Don't worry, I'll catch up. Didn't I catch up just now? You saved me and I haven't even thanked you yet. But this time, don't you dare look back. I'm afraid I won't be able to look after you. Salamence and the others are in your hands now — you have to take good care of them for me."

"Chu-pei…"

The Cursed Doll still wanted to argue, but Long He gave it a firm push.

"Go! If you don't go now, it'll be too late! Whether everyone gets out safely is in your hands and mine!"

"Chu-pei!"

The Cursed Doll stumbled off into the distance. No matter how timid or weak it was, it now understood the importance of delivering the message — as fast as possible, as fast as possible!

Long He watched it vanish into the darkness, smiled soundlessly, and felt another wave of weakness wash over him.

It looked like he couldn't make it.

He couldn't walk anymore.

The smell of blood was so thick that no matter how far he ran, he would be caught — and besides, how much further could this body of his even walk? He probably wouldn't even make it out from underground.

Was his life about to end?

Long He was a little dazed; he couldn't believe he was going to die in a place like this. All those beautiful futures he had imagined, all those smiling faces he had seen — they were all about to leave him behind.

If he died, what would become of Salamence and the others? What would become of his family?

He still had so many things he wanted to do!

Tears unconsciously slipped from the corners of his eyes. After a full twenty years apart, he had almost forgotten what it felt like to cry.

"Haa…"

Long He took a deep breath, then slumped down onto the ground. Something in his heart inexplicably felt a great deal clearer; the fear likewise vanished completely, leaving only a faint, throbbing ache that kept coming from his lower back.

He thought of face after familiar face.

"Master Lidi, you all absolutely have to escape successfully."

As long as they could get out safely, everything he had done would not have been in vain.

This life.

There were many regrets, but there had never been a single thing he was sorry for.

Long He knew that even if time were rewound and he had to do it all again, he would still turn back to look for the cursed doll, to find that poor little fellow.

After all.

He could never abandon his own companions.

The sound of barking drifted faintly over. Long He struggled to the back of the mine cart, and like some old, rusted machine, slowly began to push it forward.

Squeak— clank—

The mine cart crept forward.

With every step, Long He could feel liquid flowing out from the hole in his back, as though it were trying to drain him dry. And the pain was like a drill bit, constantly boring into his will.

One drop. One drop.

One drop. One drop.

But when he thought of the cursed doll, who had urgently evacuated with the miners, another surge of strength welled up in him, and he gritted his teeth and pressed on.

It wasn't time yet.

Just a little more — he still couldn't fall. At the very least, let them get out.

Move!

Move!

"Aaah!!" Long He roared. The mine cart, pushed to the highest point of the slope, finally showed signs of beginning to slide down, and the footsteps ahead drew gradually nearer.

He lunged forward in a single motion, tumbling into the cart's bed. The faint force nudged the cart forward, and it began to slide down.

The slope was steeper than expected.

This sent the mine cart — which should have been pulled by machinery — sliding forward at a fair speed. And Long He, inside the cart's bed, barely managed to roll over, half-crouching as he fished out the remaining explosives from his coat.

Only two packs left.

It probably wasn't enough to blow all those guys sky-high, but it could at least block their path.

Long He's gaze went from unfocused to resolute. When he caught sight of the piercing light thrown from the distance ahead, he even couldn't help but start to laugh, pressing down the pain: "Heh, heh-heh-heh—"

His laughter was loud, carrying an immense distance through the tunnel.

The arena thugs and Pokémon chasing him stared at the oncoming mine cart — and at Long He inside it — and instinctively stopped in their tracks, all feeling that this blood-soaked, wild-laughing figure in the darkness was far too uncanny.

What was wrong with this guy?

Something was off!

The number of dead they had seen today was more than they had seen in the past dozen-odd years combined, and each one had died in an utterly gruesome manner. To say it had left no shadow on their hearts would be impossible.

For Pokémon with keen senses, the shock of life slipping away was plainly doubled.

"Putting on some cheap trick! All of you, get in there! Grab that bastard for me!" the leader of the thugs bellowed. After he even kicked a few of them in the rear, only then did they rush forward.

Closer.

Closer still.

Long He noticed the cart's speed was slowing, and looked toward the leader standing at the very back, his eyes full of regret.

If he could, he wanted to take more of the pursuers down with him.

To buy the cursed doll and the others a little more time.

He rose unsteadily to his feet, fearlessly meeting the Houndour's lunging bite and the pursuers' grappling ropes, while at the same time gazing up at the rock ceiling above, as if he could see straight through it to that boundless blue sky.

"—Lord Dragon God! May we share the same heavens beneath, in the next life as well!"

In a ringing cry—

Long He resolutely hurled the bomb toward the ceiling ahead.

The expressions on the Houndour and the thugs twisted the instant they saw the explosives; the leader at the very back likewise goggled, wearing a look of utter disbelief.

The next instant—

A blaze of fire that seemed capable of devouring everything exploded from the ceiling above, swiftly swallowing both the front and rear passages of this stretch of the mine, drowning everything in its wake!

BOOOOM—!!

The terrifying roar actually far surpassed the bundle of explosives Long He had used to blow up the first wave of pursuers.

The reason was that the two had been combined with a small amount of high explosive secretly collected by the miners, and then mixed together with the waste expelled by Weezing and the droppings of Skuntank.

Multiple ingredients working together had produced this seemingly unremarkable mixed explosive that, the moment it detonated, could bring the mountains crashing down.

And this let Long He have his wish fulfilled.

Boulders tumbled down in a rush; the rock ceiling of the entire mine collapsed, burying everything visible to the eye — be it human or Pokémon.

The firelight gradually faded.

The mine shaft plunged into complete darkness, silent and still.

Several minutes later.

A small figure rushed in hurriedly, frantic with urgency and fear, shouting repeatedly at the buried tunnel: "Chiu Peh! Chiu Peh!!"

Suddenly.

It spotted a familiar scrap of clothing beneath a stone and frantically began digging through the rubble—too small and weak to move much, it ended up pulling out only one hand.

The Cursed Doll stared blankly at that hand.

Only when it twitched slightly did it snap back to its senses and dig with all its might.

"Cursed Doll… is that you…?"

A faint, weak voice came from between the stones; the Cursed Doll immediately responded, digging faster—but exhausted its strength, managing only to reveal half of Long He's face before it could move no more.

"Chiu Peh!"

It sobbed as it pushed relentlessly against the massive rocks.

Long He squinted, blood and grime covering half his face: "You… why are you so disobedient today… I told you not to come back…"

"Chiu Peh!"

"Leave this place… Cursed Doll… I'm beyond saving…"

"Chiu Peh—"

"Listen to me…"

"Chiu Peh!"

The Cursed Doll collapsed suddenly, overwhelmed—wanting to scream for help but fearing it would draw new enemies, it crept close to Long He's face, trying to pull him free.

It was all in vain.

Long He's lips slowly curled into a smile, still warm even in the darkness.

"You've tried so hard… you've done so well… it's alright… Cursed Doll…"

"To see you one last time… is truly wonderful…"

"What a pity… just a little more… and you could've seen the stars of Meteor Village… seen the meteor shower…"

"Go now… embrace your freedom… Cursed Doll… I entrust Bao Fei Long and the others to you… someday, a Dragon Tamer will find you…"

"I really wished… to travel with you…"

A long sigh; his battered hand trembled as it rose and rested upon the Cursed Doll's head.

His pupils gradually lost their focus.

The last words slipped from his lips, broken and faint.

"And… thank you…"

Then.

Darkness returned to silence.

The Cursed Doll knelt on the ground, facing Long He's lifeless eyes, its doll-like face filled with confusion and terror.

Its claws trembled as it slowly reached out to touch his face—then snatched back as if shocked.

"Chiu Peh, chiu Peh!"

Do Ghost-type Pokémon have hearts?

Yes.

At this moment, the Cursed Doll fully understood what it meant to have its heart torn apart—Long He's hand still rested on its head, warm with lingering heat.

But it knew—it had come too late.

Everything was too late.

A spirit body has no power to heal.

"!!!"

The Cursed Doll's claws dug deep into the earth, its face and body convulsing as if twisting in agony.

Tears poured endlessly.

But its grief was so profound it could not make a sound; countless images flashed through its mind—every moment spent with Long He.

It refused to believe Long He was dead.

They had promised to leave together, promised to always find each other, promised one day to travel side by side.

Why.

Why why!

Why break a promise made so clearly?

I curse you! I curse you to return! Curse you back to everyone!

"Chiu—Peh—!!"

Blood tears streamed from the Cursed Doll's eyes; black flames erupted across its body, deep shadows converging from all directions, flowing from the corpses of countless gruesome dead into its form.

And deep within the fully buried arena below.

A phantom gate slowly opened.

——

"Ugh!"

Baimu jolted awake from sleep, replaying the scenes he had just witnessed.

Shan Ren, dozing with closed eyes on the single sofa, and Fu Rong, curled against the Night Demon Spirit on the long sofa, both awoke at once, turning to look at Baimu, who seemed dazed and distant.

"How's it going?"

"How was the Spirit Dream?"

They each asked their questions.

Baimu stared blankly at Furong and said, "A spirit-link dream… isn't it a dream seen from the perspective of the spirit-linked subject?"

"You had a third-person perspective dream? Ah, that's normal too—memory fragments are called fragments precisely because they might mix in other things; as long as the overall picture is accurate, it's fine."

Furong wasn't concerned with this detail; she yawned and said, "So did you figure out the answer?"

Baimu nodded with a complex expression, "If nothing goes wrong…"

Beside him.

Shanren shook his phone, "The kinship test results are in—let me check—huh!? No blood relation!?"

He gaped in shock.

"A genuine relic, fake remains… this madman," Baimu sighed.