Chapter 124: Alliance of Monsters

Du Zhengyi looked at Luo Qi and said calmly, "If he had received his mother's love, he would then have craved his mother's protection; having received his mother's protection, he would then have hoped that his home was not so poor. With no money at home and facing the cold shoulders of others, he would still have reason to be twisted, still have the opportunity to be chosen by a demon, and one day go on a killing spree. Therefore, Luo Qi, you are not him."

Luo Qi looked at Du Zhengyi in astonishment. Du Zhengyi's gaze was very deep; he rarely noticed that Du Zhengyi could also look into the depths of a person. Du Zhengyi seemed to be forever disdainful of everyone, and even now he carried a trace of rational coldness, but he had rarely opened his inner self for others to see. Luo Qi knew that it was a warm place of empathy.

He choked back a sob, suppressing it, as if looking at his lifeline in the vast, dark ocean.

Du Zhengyi continued, "Once a person's heart satisfies its first wave of desire, it will spread to the second; there will never be a day of satisfaction. People with weak wills can always find reasons for themselves; reasons in the subjective world are inherently endless. Even without parents, your willpower is not as soft as your appearance makes it seem. Even if you relied only on your own strength, you would still continue to walk forward. No matter how many people call you a monster, you must clearly know what you are. They also call me a monster; have you seen me care? The place where we differ from monsters is something only our own hearts know."

Another sob he couldn't hold back, and Luo Qi mumbled, "I would rather have no parents, just like you."

Du Zhengyi laughed for some reason, as if he found the conversation quite funny at this point, "Luo Qi, I didn't pop out of a rock either; I also have parents."

Luo Qi did not speak, wiping his tears in shame. He wanted to swear that this was the first time he had cried since he was fifteen, but he felt that the statement itself was as childish as a twelve-year-old. "Do you miss them?"

"I..." Du Zhengyi hesitated for a moment, "I have already started to forget. Before I was eight, I lived with my parents. I remember my father was a very gentle person, a bit pedantic, often teaching me to recite poetry. My mother... thinking about it now, she must have been a lively and beautiful woman."

"Later they sent you to Qionglin?" Luo Qi desperately wiped away the last traces of tears, wanting to continue talking about something else like this.

"My parents died of an epidemic, a contagion, or a plague? I don't know what it's called, or how to say it." Du Zhengyi lowered his head. The feeling of those past events, which had never been spoken of, coming out of his own mouth made him feel like a stranger. Sometimes he thought he had forgotten, but in fact, he also knew that these things had never been forgotten. "Pei Shu found me and took me away, and that was how I was spared."

Luo Qi was dazed for a while, looking at Du Zhengyi, and said unconsciously, "I really thank Pei Shu."

Du Zhengyi smiled slightly, his expression filled with unspeakable sadness, "I don't know. When they took me away, they told me that if I stayed with my parents, I would be infected and die too. But my only desire at the time was to be held in my mother's arms, even if it meant dying with her. This thought has remained in my heart until now, and it is still my regret."

Luo Qi looked at Du Zhengyi, just looked, but suddenly he burst into loud sobs. Du Zhengyi was startled, looking at Luo Qi in astonishment.

Luo Qi said inarticulately through his sobs, "Du Zhengyi, if I didn't know you didn't like physical contact, I would definitely hug you right now."

Du Zhengyi was stunned, caught between laughter and tears, but gradually, the sadness and sorrow in his heart grew stronger. He could not tell if this was his own emotion, or if the sadness of Luo Qi, an Advanced Telepath, was too strong, and the Radiation had catalyzed his emotions. But if Luo Qi's sadness was too strong, it was sadness felt for his sake, and he still could not bear it. Who would cry loudly for a War Machine?

Du Zhengyi pushed open the corner gate of the courtyard abruptly, "Majiang, I have something to say to you, come with me to the front courtyard."

The doors of the main room were all open, and the sunlight fell halfway inside; Guan Xinyue was setting out rice bowls in the main room.

"Oh my, that's great." Guan Xinyue threw the chopsticks back onto the table, "I was working in vain anyway."

Majiang stood up lazily from behind the dining table and patted Guan Xinyue's shoulder. "Girl, wait a moment."

"Where is Luo Qi?" Guan Xinyue frowned, looking at the empty doorway behind Du Zhengyi.

Du Zhengyi did not answer and turned to walk toward the front courtyard. Majiang followed him silently across the path in the courtyard that he had just renovated yesterday, entered the front hall, and then followed the small path under the eaves to the adjacent courtyard, which used to be the Society's library.

The courtyard here was much more spacious than the others, and several maple trees were planted in it. Du Zhengyi stopped under a tree and turned to look at Majiang.

Majiang had been full of displeasure, still maintaining the state from when he was arguing with Du Zhengyi just now, but upon seeing Du Zhengyi's expression, his tensed facial muscles slowly relaxed. He had never seen hesitation and sadness on Du Zhengyi's face before; that bastard Du Zhengyi had always been nothing but arrogant and disdainful, so just seeing this helplessness once was enough to offset the anger he had suffered following him.

He wanted to ask Du Zhengyi what was wrong, but wisely did not speak first. With his hands in his pockets, he stared at Du Zhengyi almost blankly, fearing that any movement would make Du Zhengyi put his mask back on.

"Majiang," Du Zhengyi said, then stopped there, as if a spring breeze blowing through the house and windows had cut off his intelligence; he looked as if he had suddenly lost his speech, not knowing what to say next.

"Hmm... hmm?" Majiang felt he should give him a push, give him a response, but heaven knows what to respond to him, so his "hmm" ended up being a tone. A tone, indicating a question.

"Majiang," Du Zhengyi took a deep breath, as if he had finally found his courage, "Can I live a little longer?"

"Does that even need asking?" Majiang sighed; he thought it was something else, "Doctor, haven't I told you ten thousand times? And I have to say it a thousand times almost every day; how long you can live depends on how many times you use your ability. Every time you condense your power, the wall in your brain becomes more fragile. You are actually not fit to be a Mage anymore. Only by being an ordinary person can you live a little longer."

"A little longer, how long is that?" Du Zhengyi said, shaking his head with a bitter smile, "In the end, it's not long. Doctor, is there any hope, even a glimmer of hope, to solve the problem in my brain?" Du Zhengyi asked.

Majiang sized him up for a while before saying, "Among the people still alive in this world, the master most skilled at treating Yajian damage is Luo Ruian."

Du Zhengyi's lips tightened.

"If anyone has hope of overcoming this difficulty, it must be Luo Ruian. The premise is that he is willing to go all out for your illness and focus on research; then it is possible to let you hold on a little longer. If you can hold on a little longer, and if Luo Ruian is willing to work with me during this time, we have hope of finding a way to repair it. However, you really offended him somewhat because of his son's affair."