Chapter 148: A Question of Trust

"Go look at how much diesel they bought! It's enough to blow this town to pieces twice over!" Majiang continued indignantly, "I just don't understand what on earth Luo Qi is thinking."

"Why is it always me?" Luo Qi spread his hands and said, "I already said, I'm just a little sprite helping a little girl make her wishes come true."

Du Zhengyi nearly spat out his tea, and Guan Xinyue was secretly laughing under the grape trellis.

Majiang was so angry he felt helpless; it was as if no one here could be even slightly normal. Or rather, he was the only one who could still count as a steady, rational adult. Thinking back, Du Zhengyi had always been a jerk, and it was only because of Luo Qi's presence that he seemed slightly more human.

Du Zhengyi seemed to guess his thoughts and said with a smile, "Majiang, I think you're underestimating human imagination."

Majiang frowned at him.

"This definitely wasn't Luo Qi's idea; he didn't egg Xinyue on," Du Zhengyi laughed. "Given Luo Qi's personality, if he wanted a big explosion, he'd buy two truckloads of fireworks, not diesel. So don't be so rigid; this is just a harmless act."

Luo Qi looked at Du Zhengyi with a smile and chimed in, "Exactly, don't be so rigid. If hoarding some supplies can ease Guan Xinyue's anxiety, what does it matter?"

Majiang had nothing to say, and not wanting to admit defeat, he turned to talk to Guan Xinyue. But there was one thing Luo Qi hadn't been wrong about when he argued with her: Guan Xinyue was indeed a very self-centered girl, and criticizing her was useless. She didn't care about most criticism and didn't take it to heart at all; her stubbornness was even more severe than Luo Qi's.

With a courtyard full of diesel piled up at his own doorstep and three bastards he couldn't lecture, Majiang waved his hand in frustration to let them do as they pleased, then returned to the study in the front yard, away from Luo Qi's harassment, to continue watching the Calculation crystals.

Luo Qi sat by Du Zhengyi's window holding a black cat, using his telekinesis to float Go pieces from the room to hit Guan Xinyue under the grape trellis. Guan Xinyue didn't even look up, continuing to study her doomsday strategy. "Du Ge, do you know what kind of person would hold a black cat?"

Du Zhengyi certainly didn't know; he wasn't very familiar with cats. Luo Qi grew alert, staring at Guan Xinyue with his deer-like eyes. Guan Xinyue let out a laugh, "Sailor Moon!"

Du Zhengyi chuckled, but wary of Luo Qi being right next to him, he quickly stepped back a few paces. "You two go ahead and fight, just don't get blood on me."

"Where are you going?" Luo Qi asked vigilantly.

"It's too boring, I'm going for a walk," Du Zhengyi said as he bypassed the doorway and walked out.

"I'm going too," Luo Qi said quickly, stuffing the cat into his clothes. "Guan Xinyue, are you coming?"

Guan Xinyue looked at the sky, shook her head, and said as if daydreaming, "I need to design a fortress, I'm rushing to meet a deadline right now."

Luo Qi had nothing to say; even with his own lack of direction, he had no way to deal with an art student, so he had no choice but to chase after Du Zhengyi out the door. The alley outside was narrow, the stone path having been trodden for hundreds of years, worn so smooth in some places it was almost shiny. The sky, which had been clear all day, began to drift with a fine, gossamer-like drizzle at this hour.

"Majiang is a reliable person," Du Zhengyi said suddenly.

Luo Qi looked at Du Zhengyi's expression; he still looked quite cheerful, as if he had just said it in passing. He didn't speak; under the light rain, he felt lazy and didn't want to talk.

"Majiang can be trusted," Du Zhengyi said again.

"Got it, Mom, how many times have you said that?" Luo Qi scoffed, then added heartlessly, "Don't worry, I won't alienate him."

Luo Qi stretched lazily; he had been reading too much these past few days and felt like he was about to become nearsighted. "Has your body been recovering well lately?"

Du Zhengyi turned his head to look at him with some wariness. "Why do you ask?"

Luo Qi rotated his neck, relaxing his cervical spine. "Hmm... I just feel like you've been sleeping longer."

"My mental recovery is a bit slow," Du Zhengyi lowered his head and said slowly.

"I've read quite a few of Majiang's books; can I help you with some mental rehabilitation?" Luo Qi said with some anticipation.

"I..." Du Zhengyi hesitated. "I still have some lingering symptoms, and the barriers in my Mental Domain are heavy; it's not suitable to lower them to let you in."

"Oh," Luo Qi said, adding awkwardly, "I just have a... a strange feeling, I can't quite describe it."

"Although you are an Advanced Telepath, you are not suited to be a Doctor," Du Zhengyi said. "You can't help others in these matters."

"Oh," Luo Qi felt a bit embarrassed. "Then should I learn some field first aid or something?"

"Have you talked to Majiang about these thoughts?" Du Zhengyi asked as they walked.

"I have," Luo Qi said.

Du Zhengyi was a bit surprised; he hadn't expected Luo Qi to have actually gone to ask Majiang, as he thought Luo Qi was never willing to take the initiative to make requests of Majiang. "What did he say?"

"He told me not to block the light and to close the door on my way out," Luo Qi said readily, and couldn't help but laugh after saying it.

Du Zhengyi was amused by Luo Qi's heartlessness. "He doesn't usually treat people like that."

"I know," Luo Qi picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the beam of an old house, scaring away a flock of small birds. "He just doesn't trust me. It's fine, I won't waste time proving I'm a good person. I wasted twenty years proving I was a good kid, and the result was just a joke; isn't that lesson enough? Let's not talk about this. Ge, in two more months, Pei Shu will be out. Does he really have the power to steer everything back on track? What kind of Mage is he exactly?"

"His power doesn't just lie in one single domain, especially not in Combat like mine," Du Zhengyi said. "He is always right. I think being able to always make the correct choice is not an easy thing. Take the current situation, for example; I might not be able to see where the solution lies, but he would definitely be able to find the best path to solve all the problems. I've followed him for so long, and I've seen him find a way out of a predicament more than once."

"Then he is a great mentor, a wise leader?" Luo Qi, who was picking up stones, looked up in surprise. "That's not a good thing."

"What did you say?" Du Zhengyi asked, puzzled.

"Nothing." Luo Qi tucked the stone into his pocket, intending to go to the river to skip it. "Come to think of it, I've been wondering, why are we here? Why did Majiang know there was such a Mind Mage Society that could provide us with a place to stay where no one would come to disturb us?"

"Majiang is a partner assigned to me by Pei Shu, roughly equivalent to logistics personnel. I think this place is probably a property Pei Shu gave him," Du Zhengyi said.

"What?" Luo Qi's hand stiffened on the stone. "To be honest, I don't really like this feeling of putting all our eggs in one basket."

"Luo Qi," Du Zhengyi sighed. "I'm not saying Pei Shu is absolutely worthy of trust, but you should trust someone."

"I trust you, I trust you more than I trust myself," Luo Qi said sheepishly, not wanting to get into an argument with Du Zhengyi. "I trust your judgment of Pei Shu. Maybe it's because I was so disappointed in my dad that I have some resistance to all authority. Pei Shu is very good to you; he must be a very good person, not just a Venerable of the Qionglin."

Du Zhengyi opened his mouth, but couldn't get the words out.