Chapter 173: Legend

"Although it is inappropriate to ask you to come here, and your coming here is indeed too flashy, I was wondering if it might be possible to ask the Great Civet King to come alone. I have a premonition that we may soon need a Mind Mage; the Great Civet King can see many things that we cannot, and could bring us tremendous help," Wen Lin said.

"Impossible," Du Zhengyi said, almost refusing flatly. "Civets cannot go anywhere by themselves. You know the rules. If you want to contact him alone, then our cooperation ends here."

This answer was almost equivalent to a falling out on the spot; Wen Lin looked as if she had been slapped, and it took a long time for her expression to recover. Fortunately, she had long known of Du Zhengyi's reputation, had heard many legends about him, and knew that his way of dealing with people was never anything less than tough.

She looked at the camera and explained with the most sincere expression, "I didn't mean anything else. If the Great Civet King comes, I will guarantee her safety, and I can guarantee that no one has any intention of probing the Great Civet King's identity. If you feel it is inconvenient, then I will not bring this matter up again. The last thing I want is for distrust to arise between us because I brought this up."

"It is better to make the bottom line clear first; my bottom line is right here," Du Zhengyi said.

Wen Lin bit her lip and said, "I just wanted to resolve this matter faster."

"There are many ways to solve problems. If you want to rely on a Mind Mage for everything, there will never be enough Mind Mages to go around," Du Zhengyi said sharply. "There is no room for further discussion on this matter."

Wen Lin carefully observed Du Zhengyi's expression; even though the situation was unfavorable, she persisted a little longer. "Then can I invite you to come over?"

"I will go when it is necessary. If you truly need my help, I will not ignore it. If you have stepped into a fire pit, after all, it was I who pointed the fire pit out to you," Du Zhengyi said.

Wen Lin seemed to heave a sigh of relief. "Thank you." Although things had not gone as she had hoped, this was a result she could accept.

Du Zhengyi pondered for a moment, then added, "If you hope to continue moving up, you must get used to making your own decisions. The pressure will, of course, be very great."

Wen Lin smiled; she was not embarrassed by Du Zhengyi's words, but rather looked as happy as if she had been praised by a superior. "I understand. I know I am a bit impatient. Ganzhou is truly a very oppressive place, and the news today about the large concentration of High-Energy Crystals has also hit me hard."

Du Zhengyi nodded calmly to show he understood. Wen Lin's mood improved a little, and she began to continue telling some of the rumors prevalent in the local villages. But to be honest, rural rumors always sound about the same; some rumors sound like variations from a thousand years ago, and if you flip through the notes of people from the Song Dynasty now, you can mostly still find traces of them.

Only one of the stories Wen Lin told entered Luo Qi's mind. The protagonist of the story was a sensitive and thoughtful middle school teacher who originally taught at a middle school in the countryside and went to visit a relative's home during summer vacation last year. That relative of his lived in a more remote village.

That village, of course, was in Kongsang Mountain.

Unlike those who claimed to have seen female ghosts in the middle of the night, or those who insisted that their family lost chickens every fifteenth day of the lunar month, this middle school teacher actually saw nothing. He just had nightmares every night. In these nightmares, he kept walking into the depths of Kongsang Mountain, numerous ghosts whispered in his ears, the underground caves were dark and deep, and he saw countless Ancient Evil Beasts sealed within giant amber boulders.

From Wen Lin's narrative, it was clear that the middle school teacher's level of education was quite reliable; what he said should have been very logical. He even mentioned that those things being sealed did not conform to the characteristics of mammals on Earth at all. That is to say, he not only had basic biological knowledge, but he also saw very clearly in his dreams, and he was able to distinguish the biological characteristics of those evil beasts.

If it weren't for the fact that the biological characteristics he described were simply too numerous, this might have just been a dream of someone with a rich imagination. But at this level, any Mage could feel the abnormality. What that middle school teacher saw were fierce beasts that should not exist in this world.

He might have seen even more things, but he was unable to describe them, nor did he want to. He simply summarized that scene in four words—Hundred Ghosts Night Parade.

That middle school teacher soon left the village in Kongsang Mountain, and his mental state had not been very good since then. It was said that he even kept a yard full of German Shepherds.

After Wen Lin finished saying these things, Du Zhengyi only asked her a few simple questions, and after she indicated that she would continue to share more intelligence with them tomorrow, they cut off the video call.

Luo Qi flipped the book covering his face away, kicked the blanket to the side, and sat up abruptly from the sofa. "Qiongqi? The Kongsang Mountain Qiongqi case?"

Du Zhengyi just glanced at this overly lively kitten and fiddled with his mobile phone in a leisurely manner.

"I've also heard of the Kongsang Mountain Qiongqi case! But I've only heard the name; I don't know anything about the specifics," Luo Qi said anxiously. "I've seen a Qiongqi; that behavior is definitely not any natural creature."

"Have you heard the legend of the Qiongqi?" Du Zhengyi raised his head to look at him.

"Tell me about it. I know some, but only a little bit." Luo Qi was almost begging, terrified that Du Zhengyi would take revenge on him at this moment.

Fortunately, Du Zhengyi continued, "Humans have also seen Qiongqi and have a very interesting description of them. It is said that this creature has always punished the good and encouraged the evil. If they see people fighting, they go and eat the righteous and reasonable side; it is said that if they hear someone is loyal and honest, they go and bite that person's nose off."

Luo Qi couldn't help but tighten his grip on his own nose.

Du Zhengyi's eyes were always discerning. "Is it your turn to have your nose bitten off? You really have a wild imagination."

Luo Qi pouted and didn't make a sound. Du Zhengyi seemed to be in a better mood and continued, "I haven't finished. If a Qiongqi knows that someone is wicked, it will hunt wild beasts and present them to him as a reward."

Luo Qi finally couldn't help but laugh. "Qiongqi actually has quite a sense of humor."

"It should be said that the person who wrote these words had a dark sense of humor," Du Zhengyi said. "However, these records at least convey one meaning: that the Qiongqi is definitely not an auspicious beast."

"Mm," Luo Qi said, subconsciously stroking his little black cat. "Then what about in reality?"

"In reality, you have also seen a Qiongqi; it is just a irritable and cruel wild beast. It has good dynamic vision and likes to kill even when not hunting. I have seen them hunt; they like to bite through the neck, or else rip them open and pull out the internal organs," Du Zhengyi said.

Luo Qi struggled to shake off those unpleasant memories, raised his head, and asked Du Zhengyi in a daze, "Then where did the Qiongqi come from in the first place? And why is it kept by the Qionglin?"