Chapter 202: Grandfather Du

"Du Zhengyi brought you into the underground Tomb of Xingtai Mountain?" Wan Pei asked in astonishment.

It was not easy to make an old warrior this surprised; although Luo Qi was emotionally chaotic to the point of a critical explosion, he still caught a trace of something unusual. He followed Wan Pei's lead and said, "Why couldn't Du Zhengyi take me to an empty tomb?"

"Because Du Zhengyi didn't know that place was already empty!" Wan Pei's emotions were somewhat agitated, and even Luo Qi, who had his mind tightly shut, could feel it.

Luo Qi made a face at him, looked down at his wine glass, and poured a large gulp of alcohol down his throat; he discovered that the alcohol could neutralize the aftereffects of his excessive caffeine intake and also soothe his nervous emotions.

"Du Zhengyi's loyalty is beyond question," Wan Pei said.

Luo Qi snorted and finished another glass of wine. He suddenly understood why, when everyone questioned Du Zhengyi's loyalty, and even the Venerables of Qionglin questioned Du Zhengyi's loyalty, Du Zhengyi himself did not care. How could a man who knew his own destiny care about the opinions of the world? He also understood why Du Zhengyi firmly believed in Pei Shu's absolute trust in him; he was currently starving himself to death while guarding the bread for his master.

A surge of anger welled up in Luo Qi's heart again.

He controlled his anger, built strict defenses around his mind, and in a hazy hallucination, saw his own image as short as a dwarf, while the images of Du Zhengyi and Pei Shu were radiant and dazzling due to their sacrifices. He was a petty person who only thought about the life and death of himself and his friends, while his friend was a saint seeking welfare for all Mages.

He was drunk, he suddenly realized.

He raised his head to look at Wan Pei; the old man's expression was strange. He sneered, "Oh, I've figured it out. You think I've controlled Du Zhengyi and turned him into a puppet, don't you?"

"Control Du Zhengyi? I don't think you have the depth of scheming to reach that point," Wan Pei mocked casually, yet Luo Qi still saw him quietly heave a sigh of relief.

Everyone held an extra layer of wariness toward a Telepath; although it hadn't been long since Luo Qi became a Telepath, he had already begun to get used to it. Besides, he should be used to it; ever since he was three, his parents had already begun to avoid him. He was like the source of a super-virus infection, and Du Zhengyi was one of the few people in this world with the ability to be immune to him.

"So..." Luo Qi lowered his head and smiled, "Because Du Zhengyi is loyal, and Du Zhengyi thought the place under Xingtai Mountain wasn't empty, he wouldn't have brought me into the tomb in the valley—so, the point is..."

Wan Pei was cautious of this drunk and somewhat manic "Du Zhengyi"; now he looked less and less like Du Zhengyi, and his entire being was filled with a sense of dissonance.

He cautiously waited for this "Du Zhengyi's" point. The young man grabbed his wine glass, looked up, and gave him a sly smile—a malicious slyness that would never appear on Du Zhengyi's face. The young man smiled more and more wantonly, and his deep, bottomless eyes, which usually had no ripples like an ancient well, made the old warrior feel they were unfathomable for the first time. "The point is, you are telling me that Du Zhengyi is someone who can open the underground tomb."

Wan Pei looked at Luo Qi in bewilderment. For a moment, he almost wanted to deny it, but in the end, the warrior's pride helped him steady his mind. "That's right. If it wasn't Du Zhengyi who opened the tomb, how did you know the tomb was empty?"

"Because it was someone else who opened the tomb, and it was also someone else who saw the empty underground tomb," Luo Qi said.

"It was someone else who saw the tomb was empty?" Wan Pei said, immediately guessing what Luo Qi meant. Luo Qi raised two fingers and tapped his temple, confirming Wan Pei's guess.

"So why did you know Du Zhengyi could open the tomb? That person could, and Du Zhengyi could too," Luo Qi muttered, lowering his head to stare at his wine glass; inside his glass, a small red lantern was swaying.

A shiver of fear raced down Wan Pei's spine. He hoped this person would not continue guessing, because he knew the answer was about to be laid bare before his eyes; it was almost inevitable that this person would guess the right answer.

It was like a battle, with the pressure weighing down heavily, yet Wan Pei had never, not once, found himself silently praying for the other party not to draw their sword like this.

But that "Du Zhengyi" was muttering many things he couldn't hear clearly, as if repeating the rapid operation of his brain. Finally, the sword fell. The voice of "Du Zhengyi" was like a curse, yet it gradually became clear: "Because they both have the bloodline of the Du Family. Genetics, the genetics of a certain Progenitor Mage. The Mage who built the underground tomb, the treasure-hunting Mage who opened the underground tomb of Kongsang Mountain—they are all of the same bloodline. Although Du Zhengyi is not a Mind Mage, he can still command a Psychic Beast; he has basic telepathic ability. Heh, with Du Zhengyi in hand, I truly have the world; Mage Pei is making a profit with no risk."

"Pei Shu does not need Du Zhengyi to do this for him, and Du Zhengyi has never opened an underground tomb," Wan Pei said.

Luo Qi raised his head and met the old man's sharp, single eye. "Then, you don't have the surname Wan either, do you?"

Wan Pei looked at him in silence.

Luo Qi smiled. "A secret that the entire Qionglin doesn't know—I suspect even the Venerables don't know many of them—why would you, Grandfather, know it? I can see the habits of the highest Venerables of Qionglin: unless necessary, keep it absolutely confidential."

The old warrior still did not answer.

Luo Qi thought for a moment, then suddenly sat up straight, becoming somewhat nervous. "C-could it be that you are Du Zhengyi's biological grandfather?"

Wan Pei could no longer hold back. "No, how could there be so many relatives in the world?"

"But your surname is Du?"

"I have a question I want to ask you," the old warrior said.

Luo Qi reached out and made a "please" gesture.

"Why didn't you just rummage through my mind for the things you wanted to know?" the old warrior said sternly.

Luo Qi revealed an exaggerated look of surprise. "Wait for Du Zhengyi to recover and strike me dead? I never stab my friends in the back; that is my basic bottom line."

The old man smiled slightly and said with some mockery, "As long as one lives long enough, one can be fortunate enough to see everyone retreating step by step, with their bottom lines constantly being lost."

"Du Zhengyi" tilted his head to think, rolling his eyes drunkenly. "If I'm not sure of myself, Du Zhengyi is my conscience."

"So your conscience has been suffering quite a bit today, hasn't it?" the old man teased, but his gaze was much gentler. "Why did you come to find me today, after all?"

Luo Qi lowered his head, his shoulders slumping as if the alcohol had finally burned his brain and despair had finally taken away his spirit. After a long while, he raised his head and looked at the old man with drunken, hazy eyes. "Because we have run into trouble. Du Zhengyi firmly believes in Qionglin; I understand, that is where his value lies, the foundation of his life. But I feel that something will definitely happen at Kongsang Mountain. If something happens at Kongsang Mountain, I cannot stand idly by, but most importantly, Du Zhengyi will definitely stand in front of everyone else... by that time... it will be too late. All I can do is suppress this matter before it happens."

"Kongsang Mountain?" The old man frowned. "Isn't it Xingtai Mountain?"

"No," Luo Qi said, "It is Kongsang Mountain."