Chapter 118: Wen Lin (2)

"I did it to save Luo Qi," Du Zhengyi repeated.

"Impossible," Wen Lin said.

"Why?" Du Zhengyi asked calmly.

A flash of impatience crossed Wen Lin's face; Luo Qi thought she might be suppressing the urge to roll her eyes.

"Are you joking? I don't believe it, Luo Qi... I checked Luo Qi's records. Who is Luo Qi? Luo Qi is just a nobody!" Wen Lin leaned back into the sofa in frustration, crossing her long, slender legs. She gazed at the simulated candlelight on the chandelier overhead and murmured, "I almost couldn't find him in any of the records. I've never seen someone so insignificant; he almost didn't exist in this world."

Wen Lin lowered her eyelids, looking at her fingernails in disappointment, as if frustrated by Du Zhengyi's refusal to tell the truth. "He is just a nobody. But you are Du Zhengyi, you are a Gushan Guard, you are someone destined to become a Venerable! You are also someone who always rationally calculates gains and losses; you couldn't possibly take such a huge risk to save a nobody."

Luo Qi's eyes widened. The real Luo Qi was right there listening to her talk about him, and upon reflection, he found it irrefutable; there was nothing even worth retorting. From an economic perspective, Du Zhengyi risking his life to save him was indeed a losing deal.

Du Zhengyi, however, remained calm; Wen Lin's misunderstanding failed to provoke any reaction from him. Luo Qi even noticed him squinting slightly, a faint sense of self-satisfaction passing over his face.

Luo Qi suddenly thought that Du Zhengyi hadn't actually lied. Often, no matter how incredible his words sounded, they were actually the truth. But only the truth was the most mundane, so no one believed it. Yet, if one day the chain of truth aligned in the right direction, Du Zhengyi would reap considerable rewards for having always told the truth.

Even if that day of revelation never came, Du Zhengyi might not care; Luo Qi understood Du Zhengyi's wicked sense of humor. He might just be enjoying the process of no one believing the truth, which only went to show that everyone else was an idiot.

Wen Lin gave up, likely concluding that since Du Zhengyi was always unfathomable, she would never get an answer.

"However, if you really did save Luo Qi, perhaps you could even make Luo Ruian owe you a favor," Wen Lin said in a low voice, tucking a strand of curly hair behind her ear.

"Who did you say?"

Luo Qi heard Du Zhengyi enunciate each word clearly, almost biting them off.

"Great Mage Luo Ruian, Luo Qi's father," Wen Lin said. "You don't know him? He is a high-level Mind Mage, and Venerable Fan Shi thinks very highly of him."

"Venerable Fan thinks highly of Luo Mage?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"As far as I know, Luo Ruian blames you for Luo Qi's disappearance," Wen Lin said, looking somewhat uneasy. "I don't like to speak ill of others behind their backs, but recently Luo Ruian has been mentioning you constantly, and he was the first to propose investigating you to Venerable Fan. But when it involves his son, he has that right, just like in the case of Han Yi. Although anyone with eyes can see they are venting their anger, given his deep concern, it is only human nature. However, Luo Ruian is not just a disciple valued by Fan Shi, he is even a friend of Fan Shi; his words carry great weight before the Venerable."

"I am telling you this in hopes of solving the problem, but I hope the Venerable never knows I said this, and I hope I am not making a mistake by trusting you."

Luo Qi really wished he wasn't sitting here, hearing these words with his own ears in front of Du Zhengyi. From the moment his father's name popped out of Wen Lin's mouth, his ears had been buzzing; he felt as if he were sitting in ice water while simultaneously being burned by fire.

He couldn't believe it; Wen Lin must be lying. Otherwise, how was he supposed to understand his father? Even from his father's perspective, Du Zhengyi had interfered in their family's affairs, but that didn't change the fact that Du Zhengyi had saved his son's life, did it? Could there really be such a thing as returning kindness with enmity in this world? Or was it true that whether he, the son, lived or died didn't matter at all?

"Why do you trust me?" he heard Du Zhengyi ask, feeling dazed.

"I suppose it's because Telepaths always follow their intuition," Wen Lin said.

"Do you wish to serve the Qionglin?" Du Zhengyi asked again.

"I wish to serve the well-being of all Mages," Wen Lin said. "If this is a time of crisis, I hope I can step forward and transcend those factional disputes."

"Not many Mages are willing to look that far ahead these days," Du Zhengyi said.

"Yes," Wen Lin agreed deeply. "That is also why I admire you."

"Especially that gorilla in your squad," Du Zhengyi said, ignoring her praise.

Wen Lin looked at Du Zhengyi with interest. "You've noticed him too? He's been longing to have a duel with you."

Du Zhengyi looked at her, a clear smile appearing in his eyes.

Wen Lin laughed as well. "I understand. But he will never understand the gap between you two."

"Is he your captain? Does Fan Shi think highly of him too?"

"Chi Yu is the captain; his brain isn't very good, but when it comes to combat, he certainly has talent," Wen Lin said, her tone sounding as if she were forced to admit it, and the mere admission made her feel a bit disgusted.

"How long have you been promoted into the Battle Mage sequence?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"One year," Wen Lin smiled lightly.

Du Zhengyi looked at her expressionlessly, as if he couldn't see her ambition. Most people wouldn't notice that Wen Lin had only been a Battle Mage for a year; her sharpness and capability made her look like a veteran.

Du Zhengyi pondered for a moment and said, "Promotions in the Battle Mage sequence are decided by the Qionglin. If you have significant and outstanding contributions, no matter how good Chi Yu is at brawling, you will be promoted above him."

"That would certainly be good. I don't care about a higher position, but in the position of captain, there are more right things to be done," Wen Lin said, looking at Du Zhengyi with soft eyes. "Am I receiving encouragement from my idol?"

Du Zhengyi said, "We are all just people who want to get things done."

"Yes," Wen Lin took a deep breath and said with some concern, "If the situation deteriorates further, no one will be able to escape."

"I came to Xizhou today guided by a lead regarding the Lotus Burners," Du Zhengyi said.

"Oh?" Wen Lin became interested. "But you didn't manage to stop them?"

"I'm afraid they only acted after seeing me arrive; it became killing two birds with one stone," Du Zhengyi said.

Wen Lin immediately grasped his meaning. "A tall tree catches the wind; you are too conspicuous. There is no way to continue the investigation like this."

"But I have good sources of information," Du Zhengyi said. "It's just that without the Qionglin as my backing, perhaps my crisis could be resolved when my teacher comes out of seclusion in three months, but that is distant water that cannot quench the immediate thirst. As far as the present is concerned, my resources are truly limited."

"I can mobilize quite a few Execution Mages," Wen Lin said. "I can make up for your shortcomings."

"Once you step into the Lotus Burners' trap, it will not only be arduous but also full of danger," Du Zhengyi said, looking at her.

"I have never been afraid of hardship, and I care even less about danger," Wen Lin smiled and looked at Luo Qi. "Otherwise, how would I dare to come see him? He is a Mage who could turn me into a plant at any moment."

"I will give you the leads," Du Zhengyi said.