Chapter 211: The Seal Hill

"You managed to get a spitting cat," Guan Xinyue said, hiding behind Majiang, "how unhygienic."

"Oh, don't speak ill of it; Ruiqi can sense malice," Luo Qi said.

"I have no malice, my heart is full of admiration for it," Guan Xinyue said. "To be able to spit sulfuric acid and still be hopping around, that is absolutely badass."

Majiang looked at the plate that had shattered after being corroded, "Even the ceramic was corroded; this definitely isn't sulfuric acid, that's incredibly badass."

"That is why I suspect that is the kind of creature the Lotus Burner is looking for," Luo Qi said, stroking the kitten. "I am going to ask Wan Pei about this matter and prepare to inspect the Black Market pet shops."

Luo Qi felt a pang of guilt and shame as he said this; the first time he went, he had only been thinking about personal matters and hadn't actually thought to check the pet shops at all. The second time he returned, it was also entirely for personal reasons, and the only reason he chose to stay at the pet shop was that Luo Qi himself liked pet shops.

As it turned out, the moment he met the pet shop owner, he discovered in the owner's surface Yajian that the owner had recently met with the two brokers, Dai Wei and Yao Yu, and had obtained a batch of abnormal creatures from them. The owner had excitedly asked them if there were any more Hell Cats.

Only then did Luo Qi angrily raid the pet shop. "The area under Xingtai Mountain is empty, but I suspect some Seal Land has still been exposed. I worry they are just taking out the least dangerous Seal Beasts to sell for operating funds; there must be bigger ones, like Qiongqi, waiting in their hands."

"What? What Seal Beast? What Xingtai Mountain?" Majiang asked, confused.

Du Zhengyi pursed his lower lip and frowned.

"Shall we go back to the room to discuss this in detail?" Luo Qi said.

Du Zhengyi nodded.

"As things stand, I think there are hardly any secrets left in the Qionglin," this was Luo Qi's first sentence upon returning to the hotel room.

Du Zhengyi remained silent, Majiang looked a bit dazed, and Guan Xinyue seemed at a loss, "So, do I not need to avoid this?"

Luo Qi shook his head, "No need to avoid it; I think those who should know already know."

Majiang sat down on the sofa in the suite's living room, Guan Xinyue sat carefully to one side, and Du Zhengyi paced to the window and stood still.

Luo Qi glanced at them and began, "First, I am certain that the legend of Kongsang Mountain is definitely true."

"Kongsang Mountain? Seal Beast?" Majiang seemed to think for a moment; every Mage had heard these legends since they were children, and many Mages had even seen Qiongqi in the Qionglin. "That is indeed true; everyone has seen Qiongqi."

Luo Qi thought for a moment and changed his phrasing, "It should be put this way: there is more than one Kongsang Mountain, perhaps not even just one or two. The Lotus Burner intended to open the Kongsang Mountain near the Guan Family, but that mountain was already empty underneath; the Seal Beasts inside were destroyed by Pei Shu before the Seal was even broken."

Du Zhengyi turned his head to look at him, "Source of information?"

"When I had my initial contact with Zhao Jiaozhu, I saw that he had already walked into the underground Tomb; it was empty, with traces of having been burned. I think someone must have set a fire as large as the one you set that day underground," Luo Qi looked at Du Zhengyi, "So you used that high-level Magic from the start because you were preparing to deal with a Seal Beast, right?"

Du Zhengyi nodded, and Luo Qi felt a sense of relief that Du Zhengyi was finally willing to admit the truth. "I originally wanted to ask Wan Pei about the situation at Kongsang Mountain, but Wan Pei gave me more information: about a century ago, it was he who went with Pei Shu to open the underground Seal."

"Wait, I can't keep up; who is Zhao Jiaozhu?" Majiang interrupted Luo Qi.

Luo Qi smiled, "He is the leader of the Lotus Burner, and also Du Zhengyi's cousin."

"Ah?" Majiang stared at Du Zhengyi in astonishment.

Du Zhengyi's expression was somewhat like he was rolling his eyes, "His mother has the Du family gene, but he has nothing to do with me."

"Right, he is out there flaunting it with the clownfish," Luo Qi said.

"Holy crap, you really met the leader of the Lotus Burner? What is he like? What is this about a clownfish?" Majiang said.

Luo Qi and Du Zhengyi exchanged a look and began to recount what had happened that night. Under Majiang's stunned gaze, Luo Qi added one last thing, "And they discovered that I am Luo Qi."

Under Majiang's even more horrified gaze, Luo Qi added another thing, "It's fine, they would have found out sooner or later anyway."

Majiang looked at him in astonishment.

Luo Qi added another thing, "My parents must have a contingency plan; they should be able to handle it."

"No, that's not what I meant," Majiang said, "How did you train your psychological resilience to be this good?"

"I discovered that once I realized any trouble could destroy me, nothing else mattered," Luo Qi said modestly.

Guan Xinyue suddenly said, "Luo Qi, do you mean that my grandfather is guarding an empty place?"

Luo Qi nodded, "We think Xingtai Mountain was likely used as an early warning site."

Guan Xinyue bit her lip tightly, her face turning pale again, "An early warning site? You mean to say my whole family is at an outpost?"

Luo Qi licked his lips and nodded uncomfortably.

Guan Xinyue smiled strangely, "If it were really to guard something important, it would seem worth it." She raised her eyes to look at Luo Qi, "Does my grandfather know himself?"

Luo Qi hesitated and bit his lip, not knowing how to say it. Guan Xinyue smiled, "Perhaps he doesn't know it's empty underneath either, which is why he was so earnestly preparing for my sister to take over his post? The way you Mages' leaders do things, although I don't know if it's right or wrong, it just feels disheartening."

Luo Qi saw her watching Du Zhengyi, whose gaze was lowered, not meeting hers. Luo Qi looked down and made a helpless face, "Well, since we are talking about how these places might still have guards, and Seal Beasts like Ruiqi are leaking into the Black Market, I am wondering if other Guardians like Guan Fashi have run into trouble? Has the Qionglin received any warnings at all?"

He waited for Du Zhengyi to say something, and Majiang tactfully remained silent. After a long while, Du Zhengyi raised his head and said, "Most of the Seal Lands have already been burned and closed like Xingtai Mountain. The order we Gushan Guards received is also that if we ever discover a Seal Land has been breached, our task is to immediately burn the area and destroy the Seal Beasts before they are released. This is Pei Shu's order. Seal Lands have existed since ancient times, but this order, in the history of Mages, has only existed in this century."