Chapter 141: The Land of the Nether

Luo Qi knelt in the clearing in the forest, desperately cradling Du Zhengyi's unresponsive body; his hand felt a patch of wetness on Du Zhengyi's back.

The mountain forest was silent, as if nothing had happened. The intense battle felt like it had occurred a long time ago; the scene of him running through the trees felt as distant as a past life, and the joy he had felt while flying in the Consciousness World had withered rapidly. Even when he had been scared nearly to the point of wetting himself while trapped in the grotesque world of a schizophrenic, he hadn't taken it seriously. At that time, he felt he wouldn't die, nor would he truly be hurt; his new life was like opening a new map in a game. Everything was just a game, merely a game.

But now Du Zhengyi was going to die, suddenly reaching this point. It wasn't that he hadn't thought about the possibility of something happening to Du Zhengyi one day. After all, he knew Du Zhengyi was a Battle Mage, a Gushan Guard; these names sounded ominous, and Du Zhengyi worked a high-risk profession. He even knew their current situation was bad, and that anyone could meet with an accident. But he had assumed that if something were to happen to Du Zhengyi, it should be many years later, two hundred years later, an aging hero dying in some heroic Mage rebellion war, just like in the movies. Not like this, not like this, where he just went out to make a phone call and was inexplicably killed by a lunatic.

Yet, in truth, he did not understand death. Death is the strangest thing in this world; it never arrives when people are prepared, and when it comes, it is so peaceful. Du Zhengyi hadn't even left a final word. He lay quietly in Luo Qi's arms, looking as if he had just fallen asleep. But gradually, the thought that he might never be able to wake him up was driving Luo Qi insane.

Luo Qi could not save him; he had no ability to take Du Zhengyi to seek help, he had no Teleportation ability, and he did not have the Doctor's healing ability. Ultimately, he had no abilities at all; he... he suddenly had a thought.

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Three kilometers away in a straight line, the Doctor was closing the car door. After catching up to Guan Xinyue, he had carried her on his back for the rest of the way and shoved her into the car.

He was not as proficient with cars as Du Zhengyi, but fortunately, given a Mage's reaction speed and dynamic vision, as long as he remembered to drive on the right side, driving was not a difficult task.

He fumbled, imitating the operation method he remembered from Du Zhengyi, and finally succeeded in starting the car. They would be able to leave this eerie forest immediately. Unexpectedly, the terrified Guan Xinyue sitting beside him suddenly screamed. The Doctor was startled and casually comforted her, "Don't be afraid, we are leaving right away."

"No, Doctor, we are going back," Guan Xinyue said, trembling.

"Xinyue, we aren't abandoning them. The further we run, the better it is for Du Zhengyi. Luo Qi said something earlier; he said that lunatic was interested in you. I don't know how he knew, but I don't think he was wrong. He might have a tendency to attack women," the Doctor said.

"No!" Guan Xinyue screamed again, shrieking right against the Mage's sensitive ear, stinging the Doctor into a shudder. Guan Xinyue's arm spasmed somehow, and she grabbed his arm with a clumsy, rigid grip like a zombie. She used immense strength, and her manicured nails sank into his skin, making the Doctor hiss in pain.

"Calm down, Xinyue, you are in shock," the Doctor said worriedly. He turned his head to look at Guan Xinyue and was astonished to find her face strangely stiff. Her eyes were wide open, staring straight ahead, as if she were suddenly unable to control her facial nerves. She looked extremely awkward, and the posture of her limbs was wrong, as if she had suddenly lost her coordination.

The Doctor froze, intuitively feeling that this did not seem consistent with a reaction to extreme shock.

"Doctor, go back," Guan Xinyue said, shouting.

The Doctor suddenly understood what was happening. A bone-chilling cold surged through the car, making him shudder.

He said in a low voice, "Guan Xinyue usually does not call me Doctor."

"Du Zhengyi needs you; he is about to die," Guan Xinyue said. She turned her head slowly and stared straight at him. Her pupils were dilated; the Doctor did not know if she could focus her vision under these circumstances, or if she could process the images received by her retinas. But more importantly, he knew that it was someone else looking at him through Guan Xinyue's eyes.

"This is a taboo, Luo Qi," the Doctor said, looking at Guan Xinyue's face, his voice suppressed. "Taking full control of a person's active consciousness, stealing a body, occupying a soul... Luo Qi, this is the greatest taboo in the Mage World."

"Du Zhengyi is bleeding; he is about to die," Guan Xinyue repeated with trembling lips, speaking stubbornly.

"Get out of her consciousness; you will kill her," the Doctor said indignantly. In Guan Xinyue's eyes, a deep despair flashed by, as if a puppet had gained a soul. The Doctor felt a shudder in his heart. In just a few days, with almost no complete or systematic training, Luo Qi had actually reached this point. He already possessed the ability to completely erase a soul and create a puppet creature.

Tears rolled down Guan Xinyue's face, and she whispered Luo Qi's request, "Please, Doctor."

The Doctor looked at her, countless emotions churning in his chest. Then he saw the light of consciousness in Guan Xinyue's pupils vanish. He agilely reached out to support Guan Xinyue's head; she was wearing a seatbelt, so she remained in a sitting position.

The Doctor first entered Guan Xinyue's consciousness shallowly, checking whether her brain had suffered any damage and checking if any of Luo Qi's consciousness remained within it. For a Mind Mage, leaving one's own consciousness behind after invading a human brain was a highly addictive behavior; after all, the desire for control is a basic trait that all Mages and humans possess.

After a simple check, he found no issues. The Doctor unbuckled Guan Xinyue's seatbelt and carried the unconscious girl out of the car. It was not safe to leave her here. He carried Guan Xinyue and ran wildly back through the forest along the path they had come. The words "Du Zhengyi is about to die" were stuck in his throat.

Fortunately, a Mage's physical strength allowed him to carry the weight for such a round trip. He did not know exactly how long it took him to return to the original spot. When he finally walked back to the location, he couldn't help but gasp at the sight before him. In a small clearing in the mountain forest, where the tall shadows of trees were cast, amidst the blood covering the ground, Luo Qi knelt, holding Du Zhengyi's upper body. He looked over upon hearing the sound, but did not move at all, save for the hollowness in his eyes.

The Doctor saw deep despair in his eyes; that despair almost had a scent, almost had a physical form, tightly entangling him. He suddenly thought of Du Zhengyi's words and realized abruptly, "Get away, Luo Qi, get far away! You are covered in despair; I cannot save anyone under the interference of such despair."

Luo Qi trembled at the sound, then began to act. He gently laid Du Zhengyi down, turned, and ran toward the depths of the forest.