Chapter 122: The Mount

"Li Xu also wants to figure out what happened three years ago, and he also wants to figure out the matter of the Daheitian Temple." Majiang pondered the connection between these things. "In that case, it really wasn't Li Xu who attacked Du Zhengyi, and it also shows that there are actually two factions at play. Then, if Li Xu represents the Lotus Burner, who is the other faction?"

"Didn't you just say that the point in time when the Lotus Burner was exposed to Pei Shu almost coincided with the time of the Gushan Incident—ah, let me rephrase that—almost coincided with the time of the Gushan Incident?" Luo Qi said. "Could Da Hei also be a Lotus Burner?"

"Are you saying there are two factions within the Lotus Burner?" Majiang asked.

"Li Xu is essentially a pervert; a person like that doesn't seem like the top brass of the Lotus Burner." Luo Qi said with disgust. "Comparing it to human terrorist organizations, the middle tier is often made up of fanatical perverts, but the person standing at the very top must have a clear mind and is often a normal person with ulterior motives. Li Xu looks more like a bloodline-theory sadist, which fits the characteristics of the middle tier better."

Majiang sized Luo Qi up. "Where did you research that?"

"I read it while scrolling through news on my phone," Luo Qi said. "You should buy a phone, too."

"Oh, right, speaking of phones." Majiang pulled a bead from a bracelet out of his pocket.

Luo Qi recognized it as a public rental storage Crystal and immediately wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I don't want it!"

"It's not like I'm giving you a gift," Majiang said. "I accompanied Guan Xinyue to exchange money yesterday and happened to see a message broadcast across the entire network at the Public Post Station."

"Sent to me?" Luo Qi looked down at the cheap bead in his hand; it was the least valuable kind of mineral and could only store a small amount of information.

"Your mother sent it over the public network. The encryption algorithm is complex enough; the Secret Language to decode it is in your hands. Only you can read the information inside. It should be a letter your mother wrote to you," Majiang said. "There probably wasn't any other way to contact you."

Luo Qi tucked the Crystal into his pocket. He didn't mention his own affairs and instead picked up the previous topic, continuing, "I want to know why I keep dreaming that Du Zhengyi is dead."

Majiang withdrew his gaze, which had been curiously observing Luo Qi, and let his eyes fall on the half-yellowed banana leaves in the courtyard. After a long while, he said leisurely, "Yesterday, Guan Xinyue said that all mortals must die."

"That wasn't something she said." Luo Qi was dissatisfied with this answer, but he stopped himself there, knowing that Majiang wasn't that tolerant of his temper or his causing trouble. He softened his tone and said, "But it's not wrong to say that. All mortals must die, especially since I'm increasingly realizing that what Du Zhengyi does isn't like what a mortal would do; he doesn't even have the baseline of a mortal."

Majiang looked at him. "I'm really not used to you, this little rascal, suddenly becoming so profound. What happened yesterday?"

"Yesterday..." Luo Qi sighed and said, "Yesterday we went to a Wushan Goddess Shop."

"What?" Majiang exclaimed. Although he also wanted to talk about serious matters, he couldn't suppress his curiosity after holding it in. "You saw the Goddess?"

"Hm?" Luo Qi said, confused. "I saw her."

"While the little girl isn't back yet, tell me what the Goddess is like," Majiang said hurriedly. "What was it like to see the Goddess?"

"Honestly," Luo Qi said, "it's hard to explain. It's just that my mood felt exceptionally soft."

"Did you melt into a puddle of spring water just from one meeting?" Majiang asked.

"You old pervert, can you say something nice?" Luo Qi said.

"Melt into spring mud, then," Majiang said. "That's more elegant."

"Anyway, she really was very good. Oh, and she wanted to give us membership cards." Luo Qi said.

"What?" Majiang said. "Wushan membership is very difficult to get. High consumption is secondary; the key is that it's hard to book. Even if you book, sometimes there's just no reply at all. You... you haven't graduated into society yet, so you might not know, but Wushan has always been about the Goddess choosing members, not consumers choosing the Goddess. Did you get the cards?"

"No," Luo Qi said. "Time was too tight, we didn't have the time."

"Damn it... Du Zhengyi is such a fool..." He choked on the rest of his words. Luo Qi glanced at him, guessing it was because the sound of Guan Xinyue returning was already traveling from the town entrance all the way here.

"What were you thinking, buying a motorcycle for a little girl?" Luo Qi asked.

"If you can control her, you go try it," Majiang said dismissively. "But if it weren't for the lure of riding a motorcycle, do you think you could have ordered her to go buy breakfast?"

Luo Qi thought about it and realized he was right, so he gave Majiang a thumbs-up.

Just as they were speaking, Guan Xinyue came running back excitedly. "There's a shop near our house that modifies vehicles, just across the river."

"What do you mean?" Majiang said as if he had a toothache. "You want to modify a motorcycle? Don't think that just because you don't have a guardian, you're the boss now. In terms of age in this house, I'm the boss, okay?"

"No, no," Guan Xinyue said hurriedly. "I just want the paint job to look better."

"Paint a pink mouse on the whole bike?" Majiang asked, puzzled.

"I've said it a hundred times, Peppa Pig is a pig, not a mouse," Guan Xinyue said, her face flushed with anger. "And I don't want to paint it that tacky pink, don't look down on people, okay?"

"In our day," Majiang continued at his own pace, "that Peppa Pig character was called One-Ear, from the show 'Black Cat Detective'. This is the first time I've seen someone like One-Ear."

"I don't understand what you're saying, Uncle."

"Guan Xinyue, I suggest you paint it blue or yellow," Luo Qi said with a grin after listening for a while.

"Ah, why?" Guan Xinyue became happy again. "Do you have any recommended patterns?"

"See if you like working for Ele. me or Meituan. If you want to work for Ele. me, paint it blue; if you want to work for Meituan, paint it yellow," Luo Qi said.

Guan Xinyue kicked at Luo Qi, who quickly dodged and walked smiling toward the door in the corner of the courtyard.

"Where are you going?" Guan Xinyue said, confused, looking at the large bag of KFC breakfast she had placed on the table. "It's time for breakfast."

Luo Qi waved his hand. "I'm not eating, you guys eat."

"Damn it!" Guan Xinyue said loudly. "I went out of my way to buy this for everyone, what right do you have to just say you're not eating!"

Luo Qi didn't answer her and disappeared behind the small door in the corner of the courtyard.

"Damn it," Guan Xinyue cursed again in a low voice, her cheeks turning even redder. Majiang watched from the side and saw that she was about to cry, but she kicked the broken, upturned floor tiles on the ground a few times and forced her tears back.

"Boys are just like that," he said with a smile. "Only when a boy understands not to easily hurt someone else's heart does he finally grow into a man. But that's not easy; even Mages sometimes take a hundred years."

Guan Xinyue said in a low voice, "He's just an idiot."

"He's having a hard time right now," Majiang said, then smiled again. "But you're having a hard time, too."

Guan Xinyue glanced at him; her eyes were already red. "What's it like to suddenly gain superpowers like him?"

"I don't know," Majiang said with a gentle smile, then thought for a moment and added, "It's probably like suddenly having a pile of glittering gold in your arms."

"But superpowers can't be stolen," Guan Xinyue said, puzzled. "That's not a very appropriate analogy."

"Then, it's like suddenly growing into a thousand-mile steed in the age of cold weapons, or a beauty suddenly walking out of a secluded valley in troubled times," Majiang said, pondering.

Guan Xinyue laughed. "You mean everyone is fighting to ride him."

"Damn," Majiang exclaimed. "You little girl, hand over your phone. Stop going online so casually. If you learn bad habits, how am I supposed to face your family?"