Chapter 130: The Next Clue

Luo Qi returned to the bedroom, threw himself into the bedding in utter frustration, pulled the quilt to wrap himself up, and being both tired and annoyed, he quickly fell asleep. He slept without dreams, and not knowing what the people downstairs did later, he slept for three full hours before waking up.

When he woke up, he realized he had been woken by hunger; he crawled out of bed sullenly, deciding to go downstairs to steal something to eat.

The downstairs was very quiet, but it was not the kind of quiet where there was absolutely no one. Luo Qi crept down the stairs; a lamp had been left on in the main room, enough to illuminate the way down. He walked slowly into the main room, and there was the sound of people talking softly in the courtyard. He walked to the doorway and looked out, seeing the backs of Du Zhengyi and Majiang sitting by the barbecue grill.

The night was already very deep, there was still fire in the grill, and Du Zhengyi and Majiang were drinking beer and chatting sporadically.

Luo Qi walked out slowly, and Du Zhengyi turned his head to look at him, "Only toasted bread is left, want some?"

"Toasted bread is fine," Luo Qi said, shamelessly sitting down next to Du Zhengyi.

Du Zhengyi took a slice of bread skewered on a bamboo stick and placed it over the fire to toast, casually grabbing a bottle of beer for Luo Qi.

"What are you two talking about?" Luo Qi asked thick-skinned.

"Just chatting," Majiang said, "and casually badmouthing you."

Luo Qi took a sip of beer, playing deaf and dumb to Majiang's words, "Where is Guan Xinyue?"

"What time is it now? She's just a kid and doesn't drink, so she went to sleep," Majiang said, looking very amiable.

"It doesn't have to be toasted," Luo Qi said, staring at the slice of bread Du Zhengyi was toasting, "I can eat it directly."

"Wait a moment," Du Zhengyi said, flipping the bread over in his hand.

Luo Qi stopped talking, held his beer, and sat honestly by the furnace fire waiting. Majiang was also staring blankly at the fire; the three men sat quietly by the furnace in the courtyard, and time flowed slowly and pleasantly.

"You know why I went to save you," after a while Du Zhengyi said, giving Luo Qi a slice of bread toasted until crispy, with the edges slightly charred.

Luo Qi took a big, hot bite, not responding to Du Zhengyi's words.

Du Zhengyi continued to toast the second slice of bread and continued, "Guan Xinyue is a person with a firm will. At the time, she insisted on saving you, and as is her usual way, she exhausted every method. I think she was actually a bit afraid of me, but she still asked to meet me."

"At that time, you would have saved me sooner or later," Luo Qi narrowed his eyes and said steadily, "at most a few days later. Even if you say it like that, I understand; I can see through it."

Majiang laughed out loud on the other side of the fire. Luo Qi did not know if he was laughing at him or at Du Zhengyi, and he did not intend to verify it with him.

"Maybe so," Du Zhengyi sighed, "but it would have been much later than that time, and the situation would have been even harder to control, and you would have suffered for a long time. The key is that Guan Xinyue took out her grandfather's Crystal for you; you know that is her only bargaining chip."

Luo Qi's mouth was stuffed with bread, taking the opportunity not to speak.

"Sometimes this kind of friendship can make for lifelong friends," Du Zhengyi said.

"I can go through fire and water for her!" Luo Qi swallowed the bread, "But I just like to say whatever comes to mind!"

"Damn, how old are you?" Majiang said from the other side.

Luo Qi narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a while, then suddenly asked, "How did you decide to become such reliable friends?"

"Some people are born to get along and are destined to be friends," Majiang laughed, raising his beer bottle to invite the two of them to clink glasses, "Don't tell me you don't even have a childhood friend, Luo Qi?" Beer rushed down his throat, and Luo Qi breathed a sigh of relief, "I have a friend, a classmate named Liu Xing, we are always playing games together. And a few human friends I met at the internet cafe, they are all good people."

"Basically all gaming friends?" Majiang said in surprise.

"I'm pretty good at games," Luo Qi said with a smile.

"Then you take Guan Xinyue to play games tomorrow," Majiang said, "Whether it's the dance machine or Taiko Master, just take her out."

Luo Qi frowned, "Isn't it very unsafe to leave here?"

"Anyway, you are responsible for coaxing her. She already wanted to leave here and go home today, and that would be too unsafe," Majiang said, "And did you listen carefully to what your boss said just now? Guan Xinyue is a person with a very firm will—ah, let me use simpler colloquial language, which means she is just as stubborn as you. I can't use force on a young girl to compel her to stay here. Think about it yourself: if she leaves here and returns home because she quarreled with you, and is killed by Li Xu's accomplices—you will have to carry that debt for the rest of your life."

Luo Qi became nervous, his chest feeling tight because of the possibility Majiang mentioned.

Majiang sized him up and said with contempt, "So what is called childish? It's getting genuinely angry over a trivial matter. Do you think our current situation can withstand any more waves?"

"Emotional agitation is indeed detrimental to judging the situation," Du Zhengyi interjected nonchalantly.

"And," Majiang said, "it is also very detrimental to maintaining health."

Luo Qi had nothing to say; he did not know that Majiang's Mage medical care could actually be categorized under traditional Chinese medicine.

"Stop talking nonsense," Du Zhengyi said to Majiang, "I will go out with them; it will be safer. There is too much they cannot see. Besides, I have to go to the Public Post Station to contact Wen Lin anyway."

"Wen Lin? That female Mage?" Luo Qi suddenly realized the important part, "Doctor, did you decrypt some more files?"

"Yes," Majiang pulled out a cigarette and lit it by the furnace fire, but it burned off a large chunk, and he dejectedly put the rest of the cigarette in his mouth, "I hope the Qionglin can be useful this time."

"Relying entirely on the Qionglin is not too certain, and Du Zhengyi is too conspicuous, there is no way around it. Can I try it myself?" Luo Qi hurriedly offered his suggestion, "We can use mobile phones to contact each other throughout the process, and Du Zhengyi can tell me what to do remotely. Anyway, I am not conspicuous, and my energy is not obvious; it doesn't matter if I don't use energy at all, and I am very familiar with the human world, so I can act exactly like a human. The key is that at important moments, I can collect evidence more quickly, and Du Zhengyi can tell me remotely whose Yajian to read."

Majiang was clearly hesitant after hearing his words; Luo Qi knew that what he said made a lot of sense. He himself was also impatient to find a path that suited him; he could gain experience from practice, just like Du Zhengyi.

"No," Du Zhengyi said coldly, "The evidence collection process must be made credible to the Qionglin. We cannot prove the authenticity of Luo Qi's evidence collection to anyone. Only after the Qionglin collects the evidence itself can it launch rapid actions against the Lotus Burner."

"That is also true, indeed so," Majiang said, reaching out his bottle to clink with them.

Luo Qi disappointedly reached out his own bottle to clink with theirs, and gulped down a mouthful of beer that tasted increasingly bitter.