Chapter 156: Black Market (4)

Luo Qi looked up; the spacious alley stretched far away from beneath his feet, and on both sides, small buildings with an ancient charm lined the street, various lanterns floating in front of the shop doors, the market as bright as day.

Time in the Zhouqiao Grass Market seemed forever frozen on the night of the Lantern Festival; Luo Qi felt inexplicably moved, yet also somewhat creeped out. If not for the wind blowing naturally, he would have truly thought they were inside a giant film set. Or worse, trapped inside a crystal ball, the kind that would drift with snow if turned upside down.

"Every night at twelve, they set off fireworks here," Du Zhengyi said softly beside him.

He looked up and saw Du Zhengyi gazing at the full moon over the market.

"Like Disneyland?" Luo Qi asked.

"Like the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The moon overhead is fake, but everything else is real; sometimes it rains here too. The area around here is endless void, so don't leave the market; there is a river outside the market, use the river as a boundary, don't cross it. The first building in this alley is a tavern, the last one is a casino. When we go back, we will still walk through the lobby where Mu Xiansheng is, just like a hotel; Mu Xiansheng is the lobby manager," Du Zhengyi said. It was too early today, and there weren't many people at the mouth of the alley. "By the way, the fireworks don't mean a celebration; they just signify that the Lantern Festival is over, the business day of the Zhouqiao Grass Market has ended, and those who need to get lost should get lost quickly."

"It's the equivalent of the saxophone playing 'Going Home' when the train arrives," Luo Qi nodded to show he understood.

"Let's go to the small tavern first and see who we can meet today," Du Zhengyi said, grabbing one of Luo Qi's arms, "Come on, don't be nervous."

Luo Qi, having his arm gripped, could only follow along, silently complaining about Du Zhengyi, who was clearly much more nervous than he was, as if he could actually run off on his own. The way they were acting now was like a parent dragging a brat to a primary school entrance interview.

There was no sign hanging on the small building, but a wine banner fluttered above the lanterns, so there was no need for any sign; it had more of the flavor of the Mage World than other places.

When they entered, Du Zhengyi let go of Luo Qi, and Luo Qi, feeling a bit uneasy, became much better behaved, following closely behind Du Zhengyi into the main door. The interior space of the tavern was much larger than it looked from the outside, and what made him slightly embarrassed was that it was no longer purely Chinese-style as it appeared on the exterior. The wooden counter where the manager mixed drinks was clearly being used as a bar, and among the two people ordering drinks, one even had fiery red hair.

The music in the bar was upbeat, singing the most modern human melodies in the oldest Mage language that could still be spoken; Luo Qi could understand more than half of it. He curiously sized up the rowdiest group in the tavern; they were all very beautiful Mages, the men handsome, the women slender, gathered together sipping drinks with unknown ingredients, and Luo Qi smelled that familiar scent of popcorn again. They looked like they were having such a good time they were about to lose their heads; this time, Luo Qi had other thoughts, hesitating whether he could get a little closer to them to analyze their psychedelic Magic.

Du Zhengyi seemed to have anticipated this, suddenly pinching his forearm tightly.

Luo Qi used his best effort to put on an innocent expression, looking back at Du Zhengyi. Du Zhengyi had long since stopped falling for this act and didn't even bother to acknowledge him, raising his right hand to greet the burly man behind the counter.

The man nodded at him, glanced at Luo Qi, and said to Du Zhengyi, "Doing well, young brother from the Qionglin."

Luo Qi smiled.

Du Zhengyi ignored his words, grabbed Luo Qi's forearm, and dragged him along toward a corner of the tavern. Along the way, Luo Qi observed the people here with great interest; this place was much more interesting than the tavern Mahjong had taken him to. Mages of all stripes and walks of life here barely bothered to hide their identities; a black man as dark as the night was trying hard to explain something in broken Southern dialect to a man with a round face, fine eyes, and Mongolian features, who answered him in stiff Mandarin with an extra "ma" at the end of every sentence, ten wine glasses floating around them.

A very charming woman looked Luo Qi up and down, but her gaze lingered on Du Zhengyi with interest. Luo Qi took an extra look at her, guessing whether her chest was real or fake. Could it be that there were Mages who didn't use Mental Induction but instead used human cosmetic surgery?

Times were progressing, and civilizations were blending.

Du Zhengyi pulled Luo Qi to a stop in front of the last window, where only an old man with long white hair sat behind a wooden table, wearing a white linen cross-collared robe. Although it was a Mage Robe, it was a simplified version, worn casually, and the fabric looked softer and more comfortable.

He only slowly raised his head after Du Zhengyi stood still in front of him, his gaze profound and his posture calm, as if he had just woken from deep thought, as if the noise here was not enough to disturb his contemplation at all. On his table sat an ancient oil lamp, yet the light was much brighter; Luo Qi saw that the old man's eyes were a gradient between green and brown. He seemed to take a moment to recognize Du Zhengyi, a bit of a smile added to his eyes.

"Please sit, child of the Du Family, it has been some time since I last saw you." He slowly reached out his hand to gesture for them to sit, his palms withered; he looked truly very old, his movements stiff and clumsy, making Luo Qi feel a bit of pity in his heart.

"Is Shui Xiansheng's health well?" Du Zhengyi asked, while bringing Luo Qi to sit opposite the old man with him.

"Good," the old man said, "but the aging of a Mage comes too quickly, like the hot wind on the desert drying out the moisture in the blades of grass. However, your teacher has already sent me an invitation; the Ship Ticket is already on my bedside, and after I prepare for a few more days, it will be time to set off."

Du Zhengyi revealed a smile, and Luo Qi was already very good at reading Du Zhengyi's expressions; he knew this smile was sincere. So the Ship Ticket the old man spoke of was likely a good thing. A good thing that could reverse aging? Or a good thing that could avoid death? Luo Qi couldn't figure it out.

"I was going to introduce my friend to you, but it seems you won't be able to look after him for long," Du Zhengyi said with a smile.

"Oh," the old man smiled and looked at Luo Qi, "is it the Great Raccoon King?"

Luo Qi stiffened; an old man calling him the Great Raccoon King in all seriousness finally made him feel embarrassed. Luo Qi felt a vague sense of anxiety; if this continued, what if this nickname really followed him for the rest of his life, and when he was a hundred years old, others still called him that—wouldn't he hate his "chuunibyou" self from today to death?

"You've already heard?" Du Zhengyi said.

"Sitting here, it's hard not to know," the old man said, "the identity of the Great Raccoon King is about to become a sky-high piece of news here."