Chapter 123: A Letter from Mother

Du Zhengyi slept until nearly noon before getting up, took a shower, found some clothes in the closet to change into, and it was already nearly twelve o'clock when he walked downstairs.

The main room downstairs was empty. He looked toward the courtyard and only saw Majiang and Guan Xinyue sunbathing. Majiang was continuing to analyze the data left behind by Guan Yushan, and Guan Xinyue was reading a book—it looked like another dry history book for Mages. Mages recorded history as dryly and boringly as if they were recording the ingredients of shampoo.

"Where is Luo Qi?" he asked with a puzzled frown; he hadn't sensed Luo Qi upstairs just now and had assumed Luo Qi was downstairs chatting with them.

"Only in this town, deep in the clouds, whereabouts unknown," Majiang said, staring at the data while sipping tea.

Guan Xinyue looked up from her book and smiled at him, "Another thousand-mile steed has come down."

Du Zhengyi did not understand what she meant, and Majiang and Guan Xinyue exchanged a knowing smile.

The courtyard looked a bit different from the past few days. Du Zhengyi looked around blankly, "Who dug that pit in the courtyard?"

Guan Xinyue let out a scoff, a sound Du Zhengyi was now familiar with; it was Guan Xinyue's signature sound for mocking Mages.

"Luo Qi did it?" Du Zhengyi was completely baffled, "What wild idea did he have this time? Digging a pit and not filling it in, causing you trouble again?"

Guan Xinyue pursed her lips and said slowly, "He isn't the only unreliable Mage."

Du Zhengyi was truly startled this time and looked silently at Majiang.

Majiang let out a "damn" and said with a 'to hell with it' attitude, "I did it, so what?"

"Have you lost your mind? Doctor?" Du Zhengyi asked him, his expression still as serious as ever, as if he were earnestly seeking advice. Guan Xinyue, watching from the side, burst out laughing and picked up her book to cover her face.

"I got up at the crack of dawn to loosen the soil in the yard, originally wanting to plant flowers. I just activated an Automatic Magic and stood here watching," Majiang said.

"And then you got addicted to digging?" Du Zhengyi asked coldly.

"Then your Luo Qi came over to talk to me. What he said shocked me so much that I forgot what I was doing. The magic just kept running until after the meal... Hey, are you going to eat?" Majiang said.

Du Zhengyi was not distracted by him and gauged the depth of the pit, "Did Luo Qi propose to you, to shock you like this?"

"Luo Qi said he dreamed you died," Majiang countered, satisfied to see Du Zhengyi's expression shift slightly, "Maybe your death aura is so thick it even choked him."

Du Zhengyi silently met his gaze, grasping the complex meaning in his eyes, but there was nothing to say. Avoiding Majiang's gaze, he turned and walked toward the side gate of the courtyard, wanting to take a shortcut out. He said with a hint of reproach, "I'll go find him. You're too irresponsible. You know he's still a volatile explosive with a faulty fuse, and knowing he's restless, you just leave him alone all morning?"

"He said he dreamed Li Xu told him that he was the one who killed you," Majiang said behind him. "Killed you, killed, past tense."

Du Zhengyi hesitated upon hearing this and turned back to look at Majiang, "It's not that Li Xu doesn't have the ability to do it, but it shouldn't be him. Some details don't match up."

"Mm," Majiang said, "We chatted for a while, and I think so too. Luo Qi mentioned some evidence that can indeed indirectly confirm that Li Xu likely didn't attack you three years ago. I also believe this deduction of Luo Qi's."

"Then why would Luo Qi have a dream like that?" Du Zhengyi said doubtfully, "Is it really a dream?"

"As far as I know, it might be some variant of Yajian," Majiang said, "It's a pity that Mage dream interpretation isn't much better than the fortune-telling aunties at the temple gates."

Du Zhengyi couldn't help but say, "You could at least put more thought into Luo Qi, care about him a bit more."

"Why don't you do the decoding work? Come on, here's the Ear Bone Stud," Majiang suddenly flared up.

Du Zhengyi couldn't say anything more and turned to walk outside.

"You still haven't told me what actually happened on the trip to Xizhou!" Majiang said behind him.

"We'll talk later," Du Zhengyi said as he walked out of the courtyard gate.

Behind him, he heard Guan Xinyue say in a soft voice, "Uncle, why did you suddenly start arguing while talking? That's not like you."

"Too much to worry about, annoying."

"What was Du Ge saying just now? Why did his tone sound like he had died before?" Guan Xinyue said.

"Died? You have quite the imagination. Can dead people talk? Can they be as annoying as him?" Majiang said irritably.

"Tch, can't you speak nicely? I'm going to feed the cats. Remember to fill in that pit! Such a deep pit could trip someone and kill them at night!"

Du Zhengyi walked along the alleyway until he could no longer hear their arguing. The houses in the Ancient Town were tall and surrounded by water on all sides. Walking inside, one couldn't see the outside when looking up, so it didn't feel small. In reality, the current Ancient Town was just the part left over after the demolition of the original town, not even half its original size.

Since Luo Qi wouldn't leave the town, there really weren't many places he could go. Empty houses and courtyards felt eerie once they lost their human vitality, and the place Luo Qi liked to stay most was the open space by the river at the entrance of the town. That place used to be where the cats liked to stay most, too, because the open space was large and perfect for sunbathing.

Du Zhengyi followed the alley on the east side of the houses and walked south. As soon as he exited the alley, he saw Luo Qi's back, hunched over and sitting by the river, curled up like an old monkey. A few cats were scattered nearby, and that black cat was indeed more fawning than the others, napping tightly against Luo Qi's leg.

Du Zhengyi walked over, sat down beside Luo Qi, looked at the river, and basked in the early spring sun.

Luo Qi turned his face away and didn't look at Du Zhengyi.

Du Zhengyi was secretly startled at first, but upon reflection, he had just woken up and didn't seem to have done anything to anger him this much. Or perhaps his death aura was truly too heavy, and Luo Qi couldn't bear to look at him?

He waited quietly for a while before realizing that Luo Qi's eyes might be red, so he didn't want to be seen; Luo Qi even sounded a bit congested when he spoke.

"I received a letter my mother wrote to me," Luo Qi said.

"Oh," Du Zhengyi realized, "Do you want to see your mother? I can..."

"I don't want to see her!" Luo Qi suddenly interrupted Du Zhengyi with a fierce tone.

Du Zhengyi was slightly taken aback but said nothing. After waiting for a long time, Luo Qi turned his head and stared blankly at his own shoes.

"Did your mother... stand on your father's side?" Du Zhengyi asked hesitantly, "But sooner or later they will realize they need to respect their child's choices."

"I know, I'm not blaming them for their stance, nor am I blaming them for what they did to me," Luo Qi whispered, rambling, "My mother said she was very disappointed in me. She said I couldn't understand my father. She said parents do everything for my own good, that they made the best arrangements for me, and that I always make them worry so much and am always so unreasonable."

"These..."

"Do you know what I saw in that pervert's memory, in his thoughts?" Luo Qi interrupted Du Zhengyi again with a strong tone, "I saw him being abused at home when he was a child, yet his mother always believed that the brutal beatings he received from his father were because he couldn't meet his father's demands. Do you know what he longed for in that kind of desperate situation? You definitely wouldn't guess. He didn't even long for his mother to protect him; he just longed for his mother to feel sorry for him, even if it was just once."