Chapter 175: The Origin Point

A hundred monkeys had taken up residence in Luo Qi's mind, jumping up and down and scheming against each other, leaving him not a moment of peace. Of course, he also wanted to go to Ganzhou to take a look, but the excuses he had offered to Du Zhengyi before the meal were still ringing in his ears. Yet now, for a Mind Mage, that place was as wonderful as discovering an oil and gas field in an impoverished county.

"No wonder Wen Lin wants me to go over there," Luo Qi said, having already moved to his single bed, holding the television remote in his hand. "What do you think about what that middle school teacher said?"

"I think he's crazy," Du Zhengyi said calmly, flipping through the book Luo Qi had tossed aside.

Luo Qi stopped talking, and there was nothing good on TV either; he rolled around on the bed in frustration. His cat, having been crushed once, had thrown a tantrum and went to rub against Du Zhengyi's leg.

Du Zhengyi just had the knack for staying calm, even in such a terrible environment, with the television blaring noisy variety shows, Luo Qi howling and rolling on the bed, and the cat clawing at his lower leg, wanting to be held.

Luo Qi sat up from the bed, his hair a mess, and finally gathered enough courage to say what he wanted to say, "How about I sneak into Ganzhou alone?"

"Sneak," Du Zhengyi repeated, his gaze never lifting from the page; he only offered him one word, "Ha."

Luo Qi ignored his sarcasm, "That middle school teacher must be a mentally sensitive person, the closest thing to a Telepath among humans. Such people occasionally receive thoughts from the Magic World. If I go there, I can read what those wandering thoughts really are; I can trace them to their source. If there really is some secret buried under Kongsang Mountain, maybe I can find it."

Du Zhengyi put down the book and looked up at him. He read a blankness in Du Zhengyi's gaze, as if he were daydreaming and hadn't heard a word of what he was saying. But the next second, Du Zhengyi moved to his side with a suddenness that made his gaze icy. He hadn't seen how Du Zhengyi moved at all—whether he had used Teleportation or if his movement speed was simply that fast. In short, he realized that Du Zhengyi's daydreaming just now had been entirely to distract him.

Du Zhengyi's hand reached out with the same speed; he hadn't seen how his own throat was grabbed either, just like grabbing a chick. He didn't know how he had fallen onto the bed either. Du Zhengyi's face was cold and stern, like a god of slaughter. One of his knees was pressed against the edge of the bed, and his fingers, as strong and cold as steel, were clamped around Luo Qi's slender, soft neck. Luo Qi stared blankly, coughing from the pressure.

"Mind Mage?" Du Zhengyi said coldly, "Getting taken out is just a matter of an instant. As long as you find the right opportunity, killing has never been difficult. Do you think you're so badass that you can recklessly challenge the God of Death? You Mind Mages can only control the field from the back, or use some schemes and tricks in the shadows. Do you understand your best use now?"

The speed at which Luo Qi was slammed onto the bed was too fast; although he landed on the mattress, his brain was still a bit rattled, and he was completely dazed, barely managing to make a sound, "Mm."

Du Zhengyi was fairly satisfied with the results of his education. He let go, and his tense body relaxed, like a leopard that had finished hunting. Du Zhengyi sat down on the edge of his bed and casually patted his silly face, "You have to know, you aren't the only Mind Mage in this world. Do you think the Qionglin of that time couldn't have thought of sending a Mind Mage to dig three feet deep into Kongsang Mountain?"

Luo Qi knew he was right, but said unhappily, "I think I have a nosebleed!"

Du Zhengyi looked at him, "You don't."

Luo Qi didn't know if he had been persuaded or beaten into submission. His IQ slowly came back online, resisting the temptation of a haunted place for a beginner Mind Mage. Perhaps because he had lost quite a bit of blood, he went to bed early, as early as Du Zhengyi, that old man.

After the lights were out, he lay on the hotel's single bed, finding a comfortable position. Du Zhengyi was asleep on the bed next to him, his breathing shallow. He extended a bit of Yajian to touch Du Zhengyi's Consciousness Barrier, feeling a sense of comfort and stability in preparation for sleep.

"Get lost," Du Zhengyi said in a low voice, but he had done this many times, and Du Zhengyi's scolding was half-hearted.

Luo Qi didn't care that his behavior was like his cat rubbing against someone's pant leg; he drew upon Du Zhengyi's stability and confidence, and as his sense of security expanded enough to envelop him, he fell comfortably asleep.

That night, he dreamed he was walking in a mountain cave and saw many monsters. But he knew this dream was just a dream, because the monsters in his dream were about the same as the movies he had seen—Aliens and Iron-blooded Warriors walking around. After a while, he even traveled to Jurassic Park, riding a dinosaur and showing off. The scene reached such a childish level that even he could be sure this was his dream, completely different from the dream world the middle school teacher had experienced.

Moreover, he slept until dawn, until he was woken up by the urge to pee.

Early the next morning, Luo Qi found a courier service and shipped his precious Calculation crystal to the Ancient Town. He added Pangzi on WeChat and chatted with him in a friendly manner. Then, he and Du Zhengyi continued north, heading straight for the northern seaport where Guan Xinyue's home was located.

Luo Qi was refreshed, having overcome the aftereffects of the Slime eating something bad yesterday. Today, he planned to dig through the brains of the monks in the temple. However, he didn't tell Du Zhengyi; better to avoid extra trouble. He had already realized that using Telepathy was different from using other Yajian to drive other Magic. Even someone as sharp as Du Zhengyi couldn't really sense it as long as the Telepathy wasn't directed at him.

They took a plane this time. Du Zhengyi detested the tediousness of the boarding process. Luo Qi acted like a good boy throughout the entire trip, and even the cat he had smuggled onto the plane dozed quietly, trying not to attract Du Zhengyi's attention and pour his wrath upon him.

A few hours later, they returned to the starting point of the incident and rented a car there. Luo Qi strapped himself firmly into his seatbelt. He already understood Du Zhengyi well enough by now; having kept him cooped up on the plane for so long, if he didn't drive the car until it felt like it was flying, it simply wouldn't be Du Zhengyi.

Luo Qi himself was filled with mixed emotions. Thinking back to the first time he came here, his biggest worry was messing up and being kicked back to school by Du Zhengyi, causing his credits to go down the drain. Now, that time felt as distant as a century ago, and he hadn't thought about school, credits, or whether he would be held back for a long time. The things Du Zhengyi and Mahjong had taught him were better than what the school had taught him.

But even so, when their car drove into that unremarkable little village once again, a shadow once again clouded Luo Qi's heart. The memories of being taken away from here by Li Xu began to torment him, and his nerves grew tense once more.