[Dragon Race][Kai Chu]Until the Day

The confusion comes from him too; the anxiety comes from Caesar, but so does the equanimity.

He held Caesar's nameplate and slowly stroked the engraved words on it.

The sentry beside him turned over anxiously.

"Mother……"

Chu Zihang moved the pillow to match Caesar's sleeping position; the sentinel probably fell into his childhood dream again.He did not actively think about what he had witnessed from Caesar's memory.They're all too personal, and any semblance of a careful gaze feels like an inappropriate snooping.But the stories that happened always flowed in his heart unconsciously... Caesar's loneliness, attachment, emotion, love and hatred, the trials and challenges he experienced, the decisions and abandonment he made... The information about the sentinels he had read before meeting Caesar, his memories, and all the stories since the encounter, all surged together and grew into a vivid Caesar Gattuso in his mind.

The Caesar Gattuso he loved; the Sentinel he loved.

The moment he realized the answer, Chu Zihang was not surprised.He sighed softly in the darkness; it had been there all along, quietly revealing its clues, and finally, it was revealed in its entirety on this icy wasteland.

***

Chu Zihang woke up twice again in the middle of the night, fed some warm water to Caesar whose body temperature fluctuated repeatedly, and replaced the ice pack to cool down.The patient finally started sweating in the morning, and his body temperature dropped a little.

When the sun rose, Chu Zihang stuffed breakfast, warm water and antipyretics into the hands of Caesar who was already awake.

"My mouth is bitter, and my throat is sore." Caesar already had the strength to complain.

"Aren't you unable to taste the taste?" Chu Zihang said lightly.

Caesar turned to Chu Zihang's direction suspiciously; he couldn't see, but only relied on his hearing to discern, "Did you secretly add something strange to my meal?"

"No." Chu Zihang categorically denied it. "Have you finished eating? I'll get you Young's ketone."

"I always feel that I have already lived ahead of time when my evening scene is bleak, I am sick and I can't take care of myself." Caesar commented.

"It's a bleak evening. There is no breakfast." Chu Zihang patted Caesar's hand and took away the tableware he was holding.

They arrived in Fairbanks two days later in the afternoon, and the journey was relatively smooth.Caesar's low-grade fever came back and forth, and he was sick and weak, but he was conscious and kept trying to challenge Chu Zihang's patience... The sentinel forcibly twisted himself into a giant baby who couldn't take care of himself on the pretext of not being able to see , I opened my mouth and stretched out my hand, wishing to hang my whole body on Chu Zihang's body.

"Is the toothpaste squeezed out?" Caesar asked, touching the edge of the sink.

Chu Zihang took out Caesar's toothbrush and squeezed toothpaste for him.

"Is it my favorite orange flavor?" Caesar asked again, "It's the one with the orange pattern on it. I bought it specially at the convenience store at the gas station on the US-Canada border."

Chu Zihang squeezed the handle of the toothbrush, and began to seriously think about whether this thing could stab people to death... If not, there was a razor beside him.

"No, it's triple refreshing mint flavor." Chu Zihang forced his attention back, put the toothbrush into Caesar's hand, and said coldly, "And does the smell mean anything to you?"

"Of course it makes sense. The coolness from your peppermint toothpaste is essentially a pain..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chu Zihang had already left without saying a word.

Fairbanks was once the second largest city in Alaska, but now it is remote and silent, with only a sporadic population left.The end of the journey was approaching, but Chu Zihang was no longer in a hurry.They rested here for a few more days, ready to head towards the finish line, and tried their best to play the role of two polar lovers who traveled thousands of miles to observe the aurora.

On the morning when he set off for Stevens Village, Chu Zihang got up early, checked the condition of the vehicle, gasoline and snow chains, and reconfirmed the route and the information collected in the past few days.He put the 4 postcards sent to him by his father in the atlas, with the end point of tonight circled in red handwriting beside it; maybe in a few hours, he will be able to get the answer to this trip.

Just after the night of fine snow stopped, the off-road vehicle drove by, leaving two clear ruts on the white snow.

It was already afternoon when we arrived at Stevens, it was getting dark early, and the sun could hardly be seen.The residence of the legendary biologist is not difficult to find, it is the only house with lights in the whole village.

Chu Zihang stopped the off-road vehicle not far away, stepped on the snow alone, and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" A gentle female voice came from inside.

"We are... backpackers passing by." Chu Zihang hesitated for a moment. To be honest, Chu Zihang himself didn't quite believe the reason for the coming winter season and this kind of deserted place.

"Please wait a moment." The owner of the house replied.

The door opened, and there was a gentle face, "Come in, are you coming to Alaska to see the aurora this season?"

"...Yes." Chu Zihang nodded.There was the heat of the room, and the smell of sweet apple pie and maple bread.He couldn't help sniffing. He had been on the road for too long, and he hadn't smelled such a peaceful and warm breath of life for a long time.

The hostess noticed the off-road vehicle not far away and Caesar inside, "Is it your companion? It's too cold outside, let's come in together."

Things suddenly went more smoothly than Chu Zihang expected.He got back in the SUV, backed it into the parking space behind the house, and took Caesar inside.

"Few backpackers have come to this town in this season in recent years." The hostess is called Jovenny, and she and her husband, who is also a biologist, come to Alaska every winter to spend the entire polar night.She very naturally understood Chu Zihang and Caesar as backpackers who came to explore.

"What happened to your companion?" Giovanni noticed the dark goggles on Caesar's face.

"Snow blindness." Caesar simply explained.

Qiao Weini couldn't help being concerned.She has a natural enthusiasm and magic power to make strangers unload their hearts. The fire in the house is blazing, and there are large and small animal specimens everywhere. "Most were gifted to us by local hunters before they left," Giovanni explained.

Chu Zihang noticed the picture frames placed above the fireplace, most of them were two people, probably Qiao Wenni and her husband, he didn't take a closer look.

***

Towards evening the man of the house returned, covered in snow foam, and a sleigh laden with salmon and cod.The two sled dogs happily stepped on the snow and flew into the arms of Qiao Wei Ni who opened the door to greet her.The carry-on luggage of Chu Zihang and Caesar had been placed in the guest room on the second floor, and the two of them were preparing dinner with the hostess downstairs.There are basically no vegetables and fruits, and the staple food is potatoes and home-baked bread.But for Chu Zihang, who has eaten canned food for several weeks, it is already the most sumptuous meal he has eaten in these days; of course, it is still the same for poor Caesar...

"The observation conditions in recent days have been very good," said Giovanni's husband, Lu Lincheng. I am proud of the hem of the skirt, thinking that this is a once in a lifetime luck and blessing."

"You seem to have something on your mind." Giovanni looked at him, "You guys came here in every possible way, not only because of the aurora, right?"

Chu Zihang's hand paused, hesitating how to answer this question.

"Are you a guide? And this one is your sentinel?" Lu Lincheng's question was very straightforward.

"I'm not his sentinel." Caesar smiled calmly.

Lu Lincheng and Qiao Weini just felt a little strange, but did not continue to ask.

"It's been many years since we last encountered a Sentinel," Giovanni said.

"He is a very good person..." Lu Lincheng was silent, "Many people have left us; acquaintances and friends in the town, tourists who used to visit every year... A long time ago, every winter, this polar region Villages are always full of aurora watchers."

Chu Zihang vaguely sensed something.He kept lingering in his mind the reminder that the young man gave him, but he didn't know how to speak.

"We still have a photo with him." Qiao Weini put down the knife and fork in his hand, left the dining table, walked to the fireplace, picked up a photo frame, and handed it to Chu Zihang.

"A group photo taken more than five years ago. Not long before Ragnarok."

In the photo was a very familiar figure, a little more mature than he remembered, but it was undoubtedly his father whom he had never met since he grew up.He stood together with Lu Lincheng and his wife in the polar sunlight, with light blue glaciers and dark sea in the distance.

Chu Zihang stared blankly at the photo.He had never expected such a sudden encounter.

Qiao Weini keenly caught the change in Chu Zihang's expression, "You know him...?"

"It's my father." Chu Zihang replied softly, "I came here for him."

***

According to Lu Lincheng and Qiao Weini, Chu Tianjiao roamed all over Alaska all year round.But as long as you pass by, you will definitely visit the Lu-style couple's cottage.As a resident biologist and polar enthusiast.Every winter here is always crowded with like-minded friends who come from afar.

Lu Lincheng and Qiao Weini vaguely sensed that Chu Tianjiao was not a simple outdoor enthusiast. He traveled all over Alaska all year round, but his deeds were different from ordinary backpackers.There may be more important reasons for this, but they did not ask Chu Tianjiao in depth.

"The situation was very tense. Even in such a remote place, it felt