Chapter 219: The Reassuring Ancient Town

They drove to the rental point in the city to complete the out-of-town return, and by the time Luo Qi and the others returned to the town, the police had already withdrawn, which saved them quite a bit of trouble. Majiang immediately went to check the crystals and hurriedly disappeared into the deep, winding alleys of the Ancient Town. Luo Qi imagined him opening a secret door and carefully inspecting the wiring inside with a flashlight, only to realize later that what he had imagined was a residential complex worker inspecting a power distribution room.

After the exhausting travel of the past few days, Guan Xinyue was already worn out. She did not want to stay with these Mages and soon disappeared into the courtyard where they usually stayed, presumably to bathe and rest. Perhaps it was because they had experienced so much, but the shock and fear brought to Guan Xinyue by the death of a person outside the town dissipated after only a moment; she kept her rage mostly focused on the Mages. Luo Qi also received a WeChat message from Liu Ziyu, asking if he knew what was wrong with Guan Xinyue and why she hadn't replied to his messages for a long time.

Luo Qi did not know how to answer her, and he and Du Zhengyi split up to inspect the entire town. His heart felt heavy. The rain here had stopped completely now. He used to loathe the endless rain of Jiangnan, but without that filter of apricot-blossom rain, the tall, dilapidated houses loomed gloomily, dark roof tiles pressing down overhead, and the gray walls were covered in black mold spots. Once a few people scattered throughout the town, it immediately became empty and filled with ghostly shadows. Luo Qi felt dazed, as if he could hear the whispers of the old houses; behind every worn wooden window frame, a peeping Ghost seemed to be lurking in silence. Countless eyes and countless souls wandered the empty streets and alleys.

Luo Qi caught his breath as a thought crossed his mind. He remembered the simplified version of his own soul that Guan Yushan had copied, and he also thought of the old soul beneath Xingtai Mountain. He suddenly realized that this was the location of the oldest Mind Mage Society, and the crystals here might have once copied the souls of ancient Mages. At this thought, his heart began to pound; he had an impulse to intervene directly with the crystals here.

He had only observed the brains of living beings here before, but entering a crystal was another matter. This thought scorched his brain a little, as if the idea itself were burning, constantly inciting him in his mind. He hesitated. Majiang must be familiar with the Secret Language of the crystals here and was likely reading the data in the crystals at the most appropriate entrance. If he were to open all the hidden crystals at once, it would be a forced opening, a very crude way of making Consciousness Contact with the consciousness inside the crystals.

This certainly carried risks. Luo Qi bit his lip hesitantly, frowning in annoyance. Du Zhengyi suddenly jumped out from a courtyard wall and landed in front of Luo Qi, startling him into taking a step back.

Seeing the dazed look on his face, Du Zhengyi also paused, looking at him hesitantly. "Why have you been checking for so long? Do you want to spend hours looking at a single street? I've already finished checking the other areas and came to find you. What's with that expression? What kind of mischief are you planning?"

Suddenly called out, Luo Qi's face flushed, and he rubbed his nose in embarrassment. "Brother, have you noticed that my cats are all gone?"

Du Zhengyi was truly surprised this time. "I haven't seen a single cat, indeed."

He looked up and scanned the surroundings, gazing at the eaves and walls. In the past, when Luo Qi was in the mood, he could have cats follow him all day; no matter where he went, he could meet the gaze of several cats upon looking up. Now, suddenly not seeing a single one, his heart sank. "I heard that stray cats don't easily change their territory."

"That's right," Luo Qi said. "And I've almost turned these into house cats. Logically, Guan Xinyue should have left enough cat food before going out. It's unlikely they would run away from home because of hunger."

"Can't you feel their presence using Telepathy?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"I haven't tried yet," Luo Qi said in a low voice. "But it's too quiet here. I suspect they really aren't here."

Du Zhengyi lowered his head and suddenly looked at Luo Qi carefully.

"What's wrong?" Luo Qi asked with some vigilance. His only remaining non-cat companion, Ruiqi, crawled out from his clothes and scurried onto his shoulder, looking a bit nervous as well.

"Did you set up an Entanglement with your cats or something?" Du Zhengyi looked at the kitten, which was coughing again, with some wariness.

Luo Qi hurriedly pulled the cat down and stuffed it back into his clothes. "Can't help it, it's a troublesome creature that comes with its own Telepathy; it's just too sensitive. It's just sensing that I'm very nervous."

"A troublesome creature that comes with its own Telepathy is indeed too sensitive," Du Zhengyi said, leaning in slightly. Luo Qi rolled his eyes at him, knowing he was talking about him. "So what is wrong with you? Why exactly are you nervous? Your cats are lost, and you didn't even jump up and shout? Just like this, accepting it?"

"I'm already too scared to shout, over-shocked," Luo Qi said calmly, half-truthfully.

Du Zhengyi actually looked into his eyes carefully. Although he didn't quite understand what he meant, he still reached out to put an arm around his shoulder, pushing him toward the courtyard where they usually stayed. "Let's go, ask Majiang what's going on; logically, he should know." "Not necessarily," Luo Qi said, feeling a bit discouraged. "I don't think Majiang would necessarily know about the cats."

"If something happened here that even scared the cats away, Majiang would always be able to find some clues," Du Zhengyi said, as if comforting him. "Even if it's just a feeling, if you both feel bad, we won't stay here tonight."

Luo Qi did not speak. This was the real problem; even he could not feel anything wrong. Even though a woman had just drowned in the river at the entrance, he still did not feel fear. He had a premonition that, no matter what, they would choose to spend the night in the Ancient Town tonight.

"Still, it's a bit strange that the human girl didn't feel scared," Du Zhengyi said, ushering Luo Qi through the courtyard gate of the academy, taking a shortcut through a small door in the yard into an alley; the courtyard where they stayed was not far away.

"Don't say that," Luo Qi said in a low voice. "If that's heard, it's definitely a racist remark."

Du Zhengyi looked up and scanned the tall, Jiangnan-style buildings around them once more, unable to help but say, "When I lived in a Jiangnan town like this as a child, I never noticed that the black tiles and white walls looked so bleak."

Luo Qi frowned, some words already on the tip of his tongue, scorching his heart. They entered the courtyard through the small door. Just as he was about to say something, the courtyard gate in front was suddenly opened, and Majiang walked back from outside.