Chapter 165: Reunion

In the eternal night of Zhouqiao, strings of red lanterns sway beneath eaves that stretch toward the market streets; the Lantern Festival never ends, and every broken roof tile or shattered floor brick will be restored by the second night.

Du Zhengyi walked hurriedly through the Zhouqiao market; he was very familiar with this place. Further in, by the roadside, stood a large willow tree with a well beneath it, where the managers of the irregular Zhouqiao Grass Market would occasionally rope off an area for a trade fair. However, it was very quiet tonight. Du Zhengyi circled the well plaza, but only a few new faces passed by, showing no interest in him; no one gave him a second glance.

Walking further ahead, one would pass a shop selling contraband drugs; some medicines could briefly stimulate a Mage's brain, instantly increasing their energy. Interestingly, hundreds of years ago, this place only sold herbs and mineral powders, but after humanity began to develop science, everything changed drastically.

Human chemistry and medicine continued to develop, and the ability to research new drugs progressed unprecedentedly. Although the development of new drugs always had human-centric goals, a large amount of by-products was inevitably produced during the research process. Mages picked and chose among them, ultimately enriching their own store of forbidden drugs.

Of the thirty-three shops in the Zhouqiao Grass Market, some had become obsolete empty rooms, and some were not doing as well as before. There were also shops—for instance, the pet shop not far past the pharmacy—that were best never discovered by Luo Qi. Du Zhengyi glanced into the shop; there were strange and peculiar creatures, some not large in size, but looking even weirder than Qiongqi, and just as headache-inducing as Luo Qi.

Du Zhengyi tried his best to pass through the market quickly. He had not yet discovered any trace of that woman, so he quickened his pace, heading straight for the casino at the end of the market. If he could still find her, that was the most likely place; most people who came to Zhouqiao treated the casino as their final stop.

The further in he went, the fewer people were on the street, but as he neared the casino, the crowd grew again. Du Zhengyi tried his best not to draw attention to himself. The casino seemed to drain the geomancy of the commercial street; the closer the shops were to the casino, the more desolate their business. The people in this vicinity were either heading to the casino or had just stumbled out, drunk.

Du Zhengyi sidestepped a few drunks, observing the area around the casino. The casino's magnificent ancient building stood at the bridgehead by the river, hoisting a giant red lantern with the word "Gambling" written in ink in the center. In fact, most Mages were not that fond of gambling, but the Mages who frequented this place were, after all, the restless minority among Mages.

Du Zhengyi had been there before; inside was a stricter Sandbox that firmly restricted the use of Magic, otherwise, the casino would not be a casino, but would thoroughly and completely turn into a Mage cheating war.

But today, Du Zhengyi slowed his pace just as he approached the casino; his attention was drawn to a shop right next to it. The shop was pitch black at the moment, with no lights under the eaves; it looked as if it had gone out of business, yet the door was open. Under the eaves at the corner of the wall, a thin man in robes was leaning against the wall smoking; the silver hidden patterns on his outer cloak shimmered faintly in the dim light.

Du Zhengyi stopped completely, observing him quietly. His face was turned in another direction, sizing up the casino entrance. The lights from the neighboring casino fell upon his face, and Du Zhengyi recognized him as Dai Wei, who had picked a fight in the tavern. At this moment, he looked decadent and bored, the only spark of spirit in those eyes watching the casino. Yet, being able to lean in such a corner showed he was waiting for someone. Or, he was keeping watch.

Du Zhengyi recalled what the shop Dai Wei was leaning against used to sell; it seemed that the last time he came here, it was still open for business. He remembered it being an Antique Weapon Shop; the greatest value of antique weapons was providing weapon prototypes for Mages, and besides that, they had a bit of collection value. Du Zhengyi glanced at Dai Wei, who was still staring blankly toward the casino; now was a good opportunity, and he could go inside to see if that woman was in there.

Du Zhengyi did not hesitate further; Dai Wei might turn around and see him at any moment, and if he shouted, at least the people inside would be prepared. Du Zhengyi walked into the shop silently. It was quiet inside, and Du Zhengyi casually touched the small table by the entrance; there was no dust on his hand. This place must have been operating all along; trading antique weapons had always been a stable trade, especially in the Black Market.

Du Zhengyi's night vision was quite good; borrowing the bit of light from outside, he could roughly make out the outlines of the items in the room. On the wall to the front left, there was a door leading to the back of the shop, and the door was left ajar.

He walked through the room quietly and pushed open the door. There was no human presence behind the door, and a staircase led upstairs.

He looked up the stairs; there was a glimmer of candlelight flickering on the second floor. He immediately understood that the windows on the second floor must have been sealed, which was why he hadn't seen any light from the outside earlier.

Du Zhengyi pressed lightly on the stairs; it was another one of those old-fashioned wooden staircases, similar to the houses in the Ancient Town, which would creak loudly every time Luo Qi ran up and down. Now, if he wanted to go up, he would have to use silencing Magic, though he wasn't sure if that kind of sneaky Magic was also prohibited in the Zhouqiao Sandbox.

Just then, a woman's voice suddenly came from upstairs. Du Zhengyi quickly stopped his movement and focused his attention to listen.

The woman's voice was very soft, like a whisper, and even with Du Zhengyi's excellent hearing, he couldn't make out what she was saying. But strangely, she seemed to be talking to someone, pausing every few sentences, yet Du Zhengyi could not hear the other person's voice. Du Zhengyi pondered for a moment, suddenly thinking it would be embarrassing if she were on a phone call, and immediately cursed himself for being infected with stupidity by Luo Qi.

Du Zhengyi did not hesitate further; he stepped onto the stairs, luckily silencing his own sound, and slowly approached the second-floor entrance step by step.

The second floor was a spacious open room. As soon as he went upstairs, he saw the short-haired woman in black; she was sitting in a sofa with a red candle lit on the small table beside her.

Aside from her, there was no other living presence in the room.

There was no wind in the room, yet the curtains hanging on the sealed windows were swaying. Du Zhengyi froze, and then his headache struck violently; one of his hands gripped the stair railing tightly, the intense pain causing his body to sway.

He stared at the curtains dancing without wind in the room; he knew what else was in the room. His heart pounded wildly; he knew what he had encountered, and his deep-seated Yajian remembered this familiar fear. This fear came from three years ago, and his life had never been the same since.