Chapter 189: Little Brother

"How about it? Little brother," Mr. Zhao laughed, "The bureaucratic Qionglin or the pragmatic Lotus Burner, pick one, which do you choose?"

"Who is your little brother? If you don't have that thing in your pants, it must have been left behind in the womb," Luo Qi said with a dark face.

Mr. Zhao was not angry; his eyes sparkled as he stared at Luo Qi. "I bet you are sick to death of Qionglin, and deep down you still yearn for reform. Your heart is already filled with hatred for Qionglin, isn't it? Because you hate authority to death, don't you? Hate that it can make decisions for you, take away your dignity, and castrate your will at will?"

Luo Qi bit his teeth tightly, his soft facial contours pulled taut.

He smiled, not waiting for Luo Qi to answer, and turned to Du Zhengyi, taking a deep breath with a dramatic flair. "As for Mr. Du, are you truly loyal to Qionglin? I suspect your primary loyalty is to the Mage bloodline, the foundation of your family's survival that hasn't changed in a thousand years. To be honest, if not for the support of several generations of the Du Family, the Lotus Burner would have ceased to exist long ago. I have nothing but reverence for the Du Clan."

Luo Qi felt as if he had been struck by a club, staring in astonishment at the man who had ignited a sky-high fire in everyone's hearts. Du Zhengyi stood silently by his side; he couldn't figure out if this was harder to accept than the two bombs Leader Zhao had thrown out, and he didn't even dare to turn his head to look at Du Zhengyi.

Mr. Zhao winked his right eye at him playfully. "You might not know the Jiangzuo Du Clan; they are the last of our Mages' noble families, the final remnants of a lamentable golden age, the family closest to the bloodline of the nine Progenitor Mages. Qionglin completely erased the Du Clan in modern history because, as Qionglin's God of War family, this war blade had become increasingly uncontrollable. But the Lotus Burner is different; we will always remember the Du Clan's contributions. Without them, the Lotus Burner would have long been exposed under Qionglin's nose."

"They..." Luo Qi choked as soon as he opened his mouth. Before the raging fire in the valley, a cold chill flowed down his spine. "They killed all the people of this clan?"

"Of course not." Mr. Zhao seemed amused by him, though there was a trace of cold, black humor in his smile. "They killed all the adults suspected of rebellion, while the others were forced to change their surnames and live away from the clan. Qionglin even restricted their places of residence. As for their children, they were all taken into Qionglin to be raised."

Luo Qi ripped off the outdoor scarf covering his face because he could no longer catch his breath. He gasped violently, turning his head to look at Du Zhengyi. Under the glow of the fire, there was still no emotion on Du Zhengyi's face; his well-defined features looked as if they had been carved out of marble.

Mr. Zhao smiled and suddenly disappeared from in front of Luo Qi. Luo Qi was stunned for a moment before he suddenly appeared beside Luo Qi, pressing tightly against his left arm. Luo Qi almost screamed, and Mr. Zhao laughed in his ear. "Forgot to mention, although my surname isn't Du, my maternal grandmother was a daughter of the Du Family."

Du Zhengyi suddenly moved past Luo Qi and stabbed at him with a blade. Luo Qi let out an "Ah" and was pulled behind Du Zhengyi at the same time. Mr. Zhao laughed and Shixian-ed beside the silent Clownfish.

"Tsk, I don't want to experience your blade. It's a pity I don't have the Du family's ancestral alloy chemical structure," Mr. Zhao said with a smile.

Luo Qi couldn't help but glance at the blade in Du Zhengyi's hand. Mages could create weapons from the void and could also create equipment, but a Mage had to know the secret name to chant and also had to know the chemical structure of the creation. Du Zhengyi's short blade was dull in color, elegant in shape, and had no ornamentation, yet it possessed deadly sturdiness and sharpness.

"I heard Mr. Du is particularly bad at taking jokes, and it's true," Mr. Zhao said again, the expression on his face becoming much more serious.

The serious man in black beside him also glanced at Luo Qi, his penetrating gaze studying Luo Qi and Du Zhengyi. But Luo Qi was in no mood to deal with him; he simply opened his Consciousness Space, guarding against any Telepath who might suddenly attack.

"But I hope you don't misunderstand," Mr. Zhao said, looking at Luo Qi with a slight apology on his face. "The Lotus Burner has taken many detours, and there are some people, for example, Li Xu, who completely fail to understand our purpose and have taken many inappropriate actions on their own initiative. If you need an apology, I can apologize to you for Li Xu's behavior."

"If... I... need to?" Luo Qi said. He looked at Mr. Zhao; the soul tucked beneath his soaring crown was not truly humble or endearing.

As it turned out, Mr. Zhao laughed. "It's still better than Qionglin; they would never apologize to you in their entire lives."

"Apologies are worth nothing; I don't need them," Luo Qi said in a low voice. The man called Clownfish looked at him again, and he glared back with resentment.

"Luo Qi, I hope you understand that if the Lotus Burner were truly full of people like Li Xu and Zhao Zhiyan, the Du Clan would not associate with them," Mr. Zhao restrained his smile and said in a low voice. "You know Du Zhengyi; he is a true member of the Du Family."

Luo Qi did not speak; he would probably need until the day after tomorrow to digest this information and the shock it brought.

"I think as the current Leader of the Lotus Burner, I need to come and explain things clearly to you myself, as well as show my sincerity. I think only by appearing in person and begging for your understanding myself can I demonstrate the greatest sincerity of the Lotus Burner," Mr. Zhao said earnestly. He looked calmly at Luo Qi and Du Zhengyi. "I have no selfish motives. I, as well as Clownfish and other true members of the Lotus Burner, have no selfish motives; we only act for the supreme interests and the great cause of all Mages."

"Is this... a job posting?" Luo Qi said in astonishment. "Recruiting us?"

"You are both the people closest to the bloodline of the Progenitor Mages," Mr. Zhao said.

"Us?" Luo Qi said. "Do you mean that Du Zhengyi and I are brothers from different mothers and fathers?"

Mr. Zhao couldn't continue; no one could talk to Luo Qi with a straight face without breaking down sooner or later. Clownfish took over his words. His voice was deep and hoarse, like a whisper close to the depths of the soul, successfully making Luo Qi shiver. "The Du Clan is the closest to the bloodline of the nine Progenitors; you can understand it as them inheriting the relatively most complete and excellent genes. And the ability of Telepathy is also the most superior Magic among the Progenitor Mages."

"What exactly are your supreme interests and great cause?" Du Zhengyi suddenly said.

"Killing all of humanity?" Luo Qi added bluntly.

"No," Mr. Zhao said. "Merely limiting the development of humanity."