Under the night sky, the Mercedes motorcade stopped in front of a building resembling black crystal. Hasegawa Yoshitaka, who was driving, respectfully opened the car door.
“Inuyama Family Head, please.”
“Lu Jun, please.”
He was a student who graduated from Kassel College with a major in precision machinery, enrolling in 1955. He was fortunate enough to have attended lectures personally given by Angers, the Headmaster. Out of his love for the Headmaster, he was greatly looking forward to the S-rank boy sent by him.
Lu Mingfei looked at the gigantic neon sign hanging in the night sky, “Yuzumae Club.”
His heart stirred. He had seen this name in the index of a certain mythological classic and couldn't help but show a look of interest.
“It’s the most luxurious club under the Inuyama Family, and the welcome reception has been arranged here,” Hasegawa Yoshitaka, adept at reading the atmosphere, began to explain to Lu Mingfei.
“The Headmaster was also a romantic man in his youth. This ‘Tamamo-no-Mae’ is a sacred place in every man’s heart! Men in Tokyo all know that the streets of Shibuya are a showcase for beautiful women, but people also say that seeing all the beautiful women in Shibuya is not as good as taking one stroll around Tamamo-no-Mae.”
“So why is it called Tamamo-no-Mae?” Lu Mingfei turned his head and asked.
“Because Tamamo-no-Mae is the name of the nine-tailed fox demon in mythology. She was a femme fatale who brought chaos to the world, and our Yuzumae Club specializes in beautiful girls.”
Lu Mingfei’s expression was a bit odd, which gave him some unpleasant associations. He had heard of bars and nightclubs, but hearing about them and actually going were two different matters, especially since he had only recently come of age.
He needed to find someone experienced to bolster his courage!
Lu Mingfei thought of Old Tang, so he stopped, “I want to wait for my friend.”
“Then wait a little longer,” Inuyama He agreed with a smile.
Old Tang arrived late at this moment.
After an exchange of glances, both felt more confident. Led by Hasegawa Yoshitaka, the club's large doors in front of them were pushed open.
It was ethereal and translucent, like the world of glazed light described in Buddhist scriptures.
The floor was seamlessly put together with crystal glass, with five-colored lights shifting underfoot, while above, there were ancient wooden pillars and red-toothed flying eaves. Vermilion wooden staircases spiraled along the four walls.
Lu Mingfei had a strong sense of unreality; he felt as if he was about to soar into the rosy glow.
Girls in maple-red kimonos lined up in the dance floor. Their skin was as delicate and beautiful as golden silk, appearing to be dusted with a thin layer of gold powder under the lights. At a glance, it was like being in a golden stele forest.
Lu Mingfei swallowed, awestruck by the world of adults. He had never seen such an extravagant scene.
As the dance music began, the golden dancers sang and danced with vigor, dozens of golden long legs forming graceful arcs.
Lu Mingfei strolled through the formations, as if a forest of jade legs rose and fell around him, with the fragrant scent of gold powder wafting.
Occasionally, when his gaze fell, he could even see faint patterns on the dancers' golden bodies, which, upon closer inspection, were small poems written in Japanese.
It was indeed a stele forest, with each girl using her body as a monument to inscribe the most enchanting scriptures in the world.
The band was located on the second floor. They were girls dressed in sailor uniforms, with wide-open collars revealing skin as fair as jade, and skirts so short they couldn't even cover their thighs, dazzling under the light to the point of making people unable to look away. The specially widened sleeves allowed the cross-breeze to move freely across their upper bodies.
At the end of the song, the dancers and musicians stood and bowed:
“Shoki-jo! (Welcome home!)”
The colorful ball on the ceiling burst open, and countless petals rained down, covering the floor, the stairs, and the shoulders of Lu Mingfei and Inuyama He.
“Goddamn welcome home,” Lu Mingfei, who had watched many anime, understood the phrase and silently complained in his heart. No matter how hospitable such a place was, it couldn't be treated as home.
“How is the Headmaster’s health these days? Does he still like girls wearing kimonos? I remember the Headmaster once said he really enjoyed being alone with girls in kimonos,” Inuyama He remarked with a slight sigh, looking at the scene before him.
“As the Headmaster’s most outstanding student, Lu Jun must have learned a lot from him too!”
Lu Mingfei understood Inuyama He’s unspoken meaning and secretly thought to himself that even the most studious student wouldn’t pick up their teacher’s sexual preferences as well, would they?
He could only subtly express that it was his first time knowing the Headmaster liked girls in kimonos.
At the end of the corridor, the door slowly opened, and girls filled the room with light.
Inuyama He put his arm around Lu Mingfei’s shoulder and strode upstairs, “Lu Jun, don’t look down! The more confident a boy is, the bolder his gaze. Only timid cowards choose to secretly peek at the youthful bodies girls deliberately expose. A confident boy is not afraid to meet a girl’s gaze and has the courage to invite them to admire the moonlight together!”
Lu Mingfei smiled, trying to appear less awkward. Discussing the youthful bodies of girls with a white-haired old man amidst a group of women gave him a subtle sense of incongruity.
They walked smilingly into a simple Japanese-style room, with all four sides made of wooden grids covered with white paper. In the center of the room was a long table.
On the long table was a bronze basin filled with clear water, with cherry blossom petals scattered on the surface.
The girls all bowed, their long hair hanging down, the ends gracefully curled like hooks.
This place was extremely minimalist, decorated only by the young women themselves.
Lu Mingfei and Old Tang sat together, with two strangers accompanying Inuyama He nearby.
The girls on both sides of the long table wore black school uniforms and white shirts, each with her own beauty, looking like a beautiful array of flowers at a glance.
Setsuko poured sake for them.
Inuyama He's black haori draped loosely beside the cushion, faintly revealing that he was a very handsome man with an oriental flair in his youth.
The long table was filled with various pastries. The sushi chef presented sashimi on a one-meter-long white wooden boat, and the aroma of sake began to drift through the Japanese-style room.
“Grilled Kichiji, the Headmaster’s favorite. If Lu Jun is not satisfied, we can change it at any time,” Hasegawa Yoshitaka said. He added that dozens of chefs of different nationalities were waiting in the Yuzumae Club’s kitchen, and if Lu Mingfei expressed a desire for hometown delicacies, perhaps some home-cooked dishes, someone would bring up a plate of fish-flavored shredded pork within ten minutes.
“Thank you, Inuyama Family Head, for preparing these,” Lu Mingfei raised his cup in respect to Inuyama He, and everyone stopped their actions to raise their cups in response.
“It’s just a small matter. The Headmaster’s student is visiting Japan for a holiday, and as the Headmaster’s former student, I naturally must entertain him wholeheartedly,” the Inuyama Family Head said, then raised his hand to gesture to the young girl beside him.
“Since you are here for a holiday in Japan, I presume you will need a tour guide. The Inuyama Family will be responsible for your itinerary in Tokyo during this period. If there is anything unsatisfactory or offensive, please feel free to bring it up to our people.”
Setsuko nodded and smiled, bowing deeply to Lu Mingfei, as elegant and composed as a swan.
Lu Mingfei’s expression stiffened. Another honey trap?