Chapter 183: Crossing the Mountain

The ambulance arrived quickly, and along with the ambulance came the police. Luo Qi briefly confused the cognitive abilities of the few police officers he had contact with, then hurried away.

He met up with Du Zhengyi at the entrance of the Guan Family residence in the north of the village, and together they passed through the village and walked north into the mountains. Du Zhengyi had handled the most dangerous households; no one had died, though most had long-standing grudges that resulted in incidents under these circumstances. One family in particular already had a history of mental illness and was the most severely affected this time, injuring several family members. Fortunately, at the time of the incident, the individual's cognitive level was insufficient to find a suitable murder weapon, so he had basically attacked his family with his bare hands. Two others had run out of their homes in a panic and tripped in a ditch, with one of them suffering a head injury.

"I wonder how the police tonight will record this kind of mass madness?" Luo Qi looked out at the village below from the hillside. The last time he had looked out from here, his ribs had been broken by Du Zhengyi's Psychic Beast.

"Mass brawl," Du Zhengyi said. "The police should have experience with this. Besides, in dealing with things that happen in the countryside, the police are likely already accustomed to encountering things that cannot be explained."

Luo Qi's lips trembled. He had wanted to say, "It's all my fault," but with things having reached this point, it was no longer a problem that could be solved by an apology. Even if Du Zhengyi didn't blame him, the hideous wound slashed into the child still pierced his heart.

"I should have discussed it with you," Luo Qi said in a low voice.

"Don't say anything more," Du Zhengyi said decisively, turning to walk into the mountains. "If you had told me, I would have hesitated, but in the end, I would have been persuaded by you. Using a Mind Mage to conduct a survey here is a very reasonable idea. I just didn't expect your abilities to develop so rapidly, reaching this stage."

Luo Qi followed behind him. "But I feel like you don't want anyone to investigate the secret that Guan Yushan was guarding."

"What are you thinking?" Du Zhengyi suddenly turned his head to look at him, his gaze earnest. This sentence was not a rhetorical question meant to reproach him.

"Because of that business in Ganzhou. Everything happened in the city-state of the Ancient Mages, so I feel that there must be some secret buried underground here too. Ancient Mages are always sneaky, so I..." Luo Qi paused; he couldn't continue. To keep talking would sound like he was making excuses for himself. At this point, everything that sounded like a defense of himself made him feel ashamed.

Du Zhengyi stopped, and they looked at each other in the dim woods.

Du Zhengyi spoke up, "As far as I know, the secret Guan Yushan was guarding is not this."

"Then what is it?" Luo Qi asked instinctively, then realized he had truly lost his head. He shook his head dejectedly. "I didn't mean that. I'm not really trying to pry, I just..."

He couldn't go on; frustration almost swallowed him whole.

"The secret I know that Guan Yushan was guarding will disappear with his death," Du Zhengyi said. This sentence caught Luo Qi's attention.

Du Zhengyi chose his words cautiously. He looked at Luo Qi, guessing how much of the part he hadn't said Luo Qi might be able to figure out. Luo Qi was smarter and more perceptive than most people he had met; if there was something he didn't want Luo Qi to know, he had to be extra careful when talking to him. He instinctively felt that Luo Qi had already grasped quite a bit of the situation, only sometimes he seemed determined to just be a silly kid with wide eyes.

Du Zhengyi said slowly and honestly, "If Guan Yushan was also responsible for guarding something in Shuozhou, that is something I don't know about."

Luo Qi looked at him for a moment. "I know you're just trying to share the responsibility with me."

Du Zhengyi looked at him in silence. He made a wry face and added, "I'm not complaining. I understand your good intentions, and I owe you many favors."

"No need to say that. As things stand, we can only go into the mountains to see," Du Zhengyi said. "There are puppets in the mountains, which is always a terrifying hidden danger for humans. Mages who come here in the future to continue investigating the Guan Yushan case, if they are only ordinary Execution Mages, will also encounter danger."

His eyes looked toward Luo Qi, waiting to see Luo Qi's intent. Luo Qi nodded. "This is my debt; if there is a debt, of course, it must be repaid."

"Then let's go," Du Zhengyi said concisely, turning to continue walking into the mountain forest.

Luo Qi followed. The snow in the mountains had not yet completely melted, and hard, brittle chunks of ice were mixed in with the wild grass. Luo Qi followed Du Zhengyi, his steps uneven. The road was difficult to walk, but he had no heart to complain.

Fortunately, Du Zhengyi's skills always exceeded Luo Qi's expectations. He didn't even know how he had followed Du Zhengyi through various turns and ended up on a narrow mountain path.

In such a northern place, there were no particularly treacherous high mountains. Once they stepped onto the right path, crossing the mountain was no longer a difficult task. Luo Qi had a feeling that the richness of Du Zhengyi's experiences must have severely exceeded his imagination.

Du Zhengyi released a small Cold Light Fireball. The fireball hovered steadily at the height of their legs, illuminating the road ahead. His stamina was excellent, and Luo Qi was terrified of holding him back, so he didn't dare think of anything else, putting all his energy into the trek.

However, the mountain directly behind the Guan Family's back door, while not appearing very high, was a very long distance to walk. With the agility of two Mages, it still took three hours to climb to the summit.

As soon as Luo Qi reached the summit, he couldn't help but shiver. Before him, the darkness was like an Abyss, and the mountains and valleys were submerged beneath this black void.

The darkness exceeded his imagination. Luo Qi missed the feeling of soaring over the mountains in the Mental World; at that time, this place had seemed much more vibrant.

He turned and looked back. Above the human city floated brilliant clouds of light. Although that was generally called light pollution, the light of civilization made one feel safer than the dark mountain forest.

"Let's go," Du Zhengyi said without looking back, stepping onto the path down the mountain first.

"I can't be sure of the specific direction," Luo Qi followed. The speed of the descent was too fast, and his knees couldn't quite hold up, trembling slightly.

"It's okay," Du Zhengyi said, "I can feel it."

Luo Qi's foot slipped, and he almost fell on the slope. Du Zhengyi nimbly grabbed him, only then feeling the coldness of his wrist.

"Are you very cold?" Du Zhengyi asked him. He turned up the height of the flame and saw that Luo Qi was only wearing the T-shirt he slept in.

"I'm fine," Luo Qi endured the shivering. "If we find it sooner, we can finish the work sooner. Can you feel the High-Energy Crystal? Is that thing still running?"