Chapter 119: Nightmare

At dawn, Luo Qi and Du Zhengyi finally returned to the small town. The sky had just brightened, and the Ancient Town was once again shrouded in misty rain.

Luo Qi was uncharacteristically quiet as he walked through the alleys of the Ancient Town; his whole person seemed to have been muted, unable to spout any more nonsense. Du Zhengyi was also silent. When the two walked through the courtyard gate, it was quiet inside as well; Majiang and Guan Xinyue had not yet woken up.

The two walked one after another into the inner courtyard in silence. Majiang had left the door unlocked for them. The old house had poor lighting, and the room was dim. Luo Qi's eyesight was not as good as Du Zhengyi's, so he followed closely behind Du Zhengyi upstairs in the faint light. The two stepped cautiously on the stairs; the wooden stairs would let out a "creak, creak" sound if they applied even a little force.

Their rooms were both on the second floor. They reached Du Zhengyi's room first, and Luo Qi felt he should say something. Say something like an apology. But that was too long a conversation; whether he was apologizing on behalf of his father or for the trouble he had caused Du Zhengyi, it had long since become muddled. Besides, some things could not be covered by a single apology. But to say nothing at all felt too inhumane.

As he hesitated and continued to shuffle inward, he suddenly realized that Du Zhengyi had not entered his room either.

Du Zhengyi lingered in the corridor for a moment, seemingly hesitating for an instant over how to phrase his words. Finally, he made up his mind, turned his head, and said to Luo Qi, "Go in and get some sleep. Rest well, and don't think about anything."

In the dim corridor, Luo Qi could not see Du Zhengyi's face clearly, but he could see his eyes. Those eyes were shining even in the dim light of the corridor, looking at him gently and candidly. It felt as if a tennis ball were stuck in Luo Qi's throat; he could not say a word, but he understood Du Zhengyi's trust in him, and he was also clear about just how much he trusted Du Zhengyi.

He nodded, lowered his head, passed by Du Zhengyi, walked to the door of his own room next door, and hurriedly pushed the door open to enter.

The door closed behind him. He let out a heavy breath and dragged off his coat at the doorway, throwing it onto the floor. He walked forward a few steps and reached out to turn on the lamp on the small table by the window, suddenly remembering that the books he had thrown on the floor were gone.

He turned back to look around and realized that someone had organized the books into the corner, and the floor had been re-carpeted; in fact, even the desk lamp had been changed. The wardrobe was open, as if intentionally reminding him to look; it was filled with clothes. He remembered Guan Xinyue saying she wanted to get money to go shopping, so presumably, Majiang had finally taken her to exchange money.

Luo Qi turned around and discovered that even his bedsheets and quilt cover had been changed. When he saw the pattern on the sheets in the lamplight, he knew this must have been Guan Xinyue's doing; it reflected Guan Xinyue's bad taste everywhere. His bed was dressed up like the bed of a ten-year-old boy, with a giant STAR WARS printed on the pillow and Darth Vader in the center of the quilt cover. Despondently, he pulled back the quilt and muttered, "Great, there's a Yoda in the bed too."

After saying this, Luo Qi collapsed onto the bed. His little black cat rubbed against his ear, but he ignored it, simply burying his face deep into the pillow. He could choose not to think about the impact of his life's sudden upheaval during the day, but the night was always a time for devils to walk; all negative thoughts would emerge at this time. Especially today, especially today!

He kicked the bed angrily. What exactly was wrong with his parents? Wasn't it said that parents loved their children most? Was his life not worth his parents' concern? Did they have seven or eight spare children? Was he not their only son?

But soon, he was swallowed by the guilt brought on by resenting his parents. Of course, he was the one with the problem. Couldn't he have some normal ability? To normally conjure a Fireball or sprout a blade of grass—how damn cute would that be?

Now, apart from Du Zhengyi the Beast Tamer who wasn't afraid of him, everyone else was wary of him, as if he were a fire-breathing dragon that could never shut its mouth. He only had his cat; only the cat liked him. Years later, he would become a reclusive old man living on a remote island, raising a whole island of cats. If anyone dared to come to his island to pet his cats, he would send the cats to scratch them to death...

Luo Qi let his mind wander in resentment, but he was truly too tired. He hadn't closed his eyes for nearly a day and a night, so after thinking for a while, he drifted off to sleep.

The dream felt familiar. Luo Qi stood in a dark world, and it was raining everywhere in his world. Luo Qi kept walking in the dream; he knew he was searching, but he couldn't remember what he was looking for. He knew there was a place where he could take shelter from the rain, but this thought filled him with terror. He knew what kind of place that shelter was; he remembered that small building. One could hide from the wind and rain there, but once one walked inside, it meant endless imprisonment. He was trapped inside his own heart, trapped in his own young body, living a third birthday that would never end.

Terrified by this thought, he ran incessantly amidst the deafening sound of the rain. He gradually remembered Du Zhengyi. With that thought, his world became much more stable, and the warm, gentle light in his heart expanded continuously. In the blink of an eye, the rain stopped and the wind died down, as if the dark clouds had dispersed. Luo Qi was surprised to find that he was actually sitting in his usual seat in the classroom.

He hurriedly turned his head; Liu Xing was still playing a game on his phone. Luo Qi couldn't help but laugh, feeling dazed, as if this was what it looked like when everything had passed. He had returned to school to continue his classes, and Du Zhengyi...

Du Zhengyi should have graduated by now, returned to his own life, his career as a Battle Mage, his life as a Gushan Guard.

But Luo Qi just felt an unbearable itch in his heart, unable to stop himself from bringing him up. "Liu Xing, Du Zhengyi..."

"Who?" Liu Xing asked in surprise while playing with his phone.

"Du Zhengyi." Luo Qi repeated in astonishment.

"There's no such person." Liu Xing said indifferently, but he looked up at him again. "You must be muddled from sleep. There's an exam this afternoon, don't forget it."

"How could you not know Du Zhengyi? You know him, and besides, almost everyone in school has heard of him." Luo Qi said anxiously.

Liu Xing thought seriously for a while and asked in confusion, "Which 'Zhengyi'? How is it written? What 'Zhengyi'? What a strange name."

"It's just..." Luo Qi hesitated. He didn't know how he knew the original meaning of these two characters, but hearing someone ask him what 'Zhengyi' meant, he answered in a daze, "Zheng to dispel evil, Yi to unify all. That which is Zheng is not evil; that which is Yi is not mixed. With a heart of Zhengyi, all laws return to one; hence it is called Zhengyi."

"That awesome?" Liu Xing said. "Too bad there's no such person. Otherwise, how could I not remember such an awesome name? You're talking nonsense I don't understand again. If you don't want to review, want to play a round?"

Luo Qi became impatient. He didn't want to talk nonsense with Liu Xing anymore. He suddenly felt afraid; he had to see Teacher Liu Li, he had to ask Teacher Liu Li. He stood up from his chair and ran outside. In a daze, he felt as if he had experienced Spatial Teleportation once more, as if Du Zhengyi were still carrying him. This familiar feeling made him feel exceptionally uncomfortable, but there was no time to think too much; he was standing in the hexagonal corridor of the Nuwa statue once again.

He didn't even knock on the door before pushing open Liu Li's door.

"Teacher Liu, Du Zhengyi..."

He froze. The Mage behind the desk looked up, and what he saw was the face of Li Xu feigning kindness.