Chapter 22: Before the Dawn

In truth, Luo Qi did not know what kind of confrontation had actually occurred between them; the old man had said a few things that sounded like entry-level philosophy, or perhaps some jargon, but judging by the reactions of Du Zhengyi and Ma Jiang, the level of their exchange was deeper than what Luo Qi could comprehend.

Du Zhengyi suddenly pulled him up and left, and Luo Qi struggled, wanting to call for Ma Jiang. Looking back, he saw that Ma Jiang had already stood up; he was swaying unsteadily from the alcohol, but contrary to his previous grinning demeanor, his face looked somewhat dark. He stood for a moment by the table where they had just been sitting, looking at that strange man with a hint of gloom. Luo Qi recalled now that Ma Jiang had shown displeasure several times tonight; perhaps, given Ma Jiang's personality, for someone to make him feel uncomfortable or unhappy, that person had to be quite formidable.

"Let's have a drink together when there's a chance," Li Xu said gently, his gaze finally landing on Luo Qi; now, he was interested in Luo Qi as well. "This little friend too."

Luo Qi was still curiously pondering him, but Ma Jiang seemed to have received some signal that Luo Qi had once again failed to grasp; he suddenly turned his head, reached out to grab Luo Qi by the collar, twisted him around, and pushed him forward. "Hurry up and go, don't just stand there dazed."

Luo Qi stumbled forward and saw that Du Zhengyi was already standing twenty meters away, looking back at them impatiently. Luo Qi felt it was necessary to give Du Zhengyi a lesson, perhaps on "Patience Is More Important Than Talent: Accompanying Children Toward a Beautiful Future," or "Children's Behavior and Emotional Intelligence Cultivation Series: I Have Patience." His neck was shoved heavily by Ma Jiang again, urging him to hurry to Du Zhengyi's side. He felt as if he were being hauled and escorted by Ma Jiang to Du Zhengyi; Du Zhengyi pushed open the gate, and they walked out together. They descended the stairs in silence amidst the pitch-black darkness, pushed open the ground-floor door, and Luo Qi returned once again to the human streets, looking at the traffic as if it were a lifetime ago. He had a mind to ask about tonight's riddle, but the moment he turned his head, he was slapped on the forehead by Du Zhengyi. He couldn't understand why Du Zhengyi was even angrier now than before; it seemed he had just been saving face for him because there were others around, and now he was unleashing a torrent of scolding, even claiming that the frog on his chest was a mistake, proving his submissive and cowardly personality.

Luo Qi was scolded until he was dizzy and disoriented, and before he could even retort, Du Zhengyi's artillery fire turned toward Ma Jiang.

"Are you sick? Doctor?" Du Zhengyi said mercilessly.

Luo Qi watched with schadenfreude as Ma Jiang blinked his eyes, actually not daring to snap back.

"Why did you bring him out? Did you lose your memory and forget what's wrong with him?" Du Zhengyi continued, with a hint of impatience. "What exactly are you thinking?"

"I saw he couldn't sleep, so I brought him out to adjust his spirit after the accidental trauma," Ma Jiang said with a grin. "This is all to lower the probability of PTSD occurring."

Luo Qi immediately blew the whistle, "Nonsense! He brought me here because the rule of this place is that two people must enter together."

Unexpectedly, Du Zhengyi was so angered he took a deep breath, his voice rising, "Then just how stupid are you? He teases you to come and you actually come?"

"Yes, Mother! I won't do it next time!" Luo Qi said righteously, then suddenly rolled his eyes and asked suspiciously, "Then how did you get in? You don't seem to have brought a friend?"

"I don't need one," Du Zhengyi said in a flat, straight tone.

"Why?" Luo Qi asked curiously, "You can modify their Access Crystal."

"Do you think a bar could use any complicated settings?" Du Zhengyi sighed impatiently. "Those two stone lions are just thermometers; as long as both lions test a temperature of around thirty-seven degrees Celsius, the door will open."

Ma Jiang, beside his ear, let out a slow-witted, stupid exclamation, "Oh, so that's how it is, hahaha, so the rule that more than two people must enter together was actually set up like that."

Luo Qi hadn't expected the gimmick to be achieved so simply; he looked at Du Zhengyi with some admiration, only to find that he still had that deadpan face.

Ma Jiang chuckled and also looked at Du Zhengyi, "Did you think I tricked him into going to the Committee Investigation Division?"

Luo Qi looked at Du Zhengyi in surprise, then looked at Ma Jiang.

"Is there something else you haven't told me?" Ma Jiang said, putting on an earnest look. "You have to be honest with the doctor."

"It's nothing major," Du Zhengyi said. "But it's best if nothing goes wrong; I really have limited energy."

"That's really heartless to say," Ma Jiang put on a hurt expression.

Luo Qi didn't know what to say and felt a bit disapproving in his heart, but just then, Du Zhengyi turned his head to look at him. Luo Qi felt his thoughts had been seen through; even without Du Zhengyi using Telepathy, it seemed effortless for him to see how the gears in his brain were turning.

Then, Du Zhengyi raised his hand.

Luo Qi let out an "Ow," clutching his forehead, which had been flicked painfully. Du Zhengyi grabbed his arm with annoyance and walked him into the narrow gap between two buildings on the commercial street, looking exactly like he was inviting him to go take a leak. He struggled symbolically twice, looked back, and saw Ma Jiang watching him with a grin, waving his arm at him, "Keep in touch when you have time, come find me to play when you're bored! Take good care of Du Zhengyi for me, if his head..."

He didn't hear the rest before he was dragged into the shadows, followed by another wave of nausea as if his stomach had been grabbed, his brain feeling like a paste being stirred. Damn it, he really hated this feeling.

Then, the clamor of the modern street and Ma Jiang disappeared, and he was standing once again in the silent, snow-covered courtyard in the north.

A bone-chilling spring breeze crept in through his collar and cuffs, making him shiver; the silence and cold of the countryside made him feel a bit like vomiting. Just a moment ago, they were still in a tavern in their own world, on the still-noisy streets of the secular world in the early hours of the morning, and in the blink of an eye, they had returned to the doorway of the old house permeated with the scent of death.

Luo Qi took a step back, "If you dare hit me again, I'm going to tell your teacher!"

Du Zhengyi's expression was no longer so tense; he glanced at Luo Qi, turned, walked a few steps forward, reached out to pull open the door of the old house, and went in first. Luo Qi yawned and moved inside slowly; the lights in the house had already been turned on, illuminating the living quarters of the old era. Luo Qi followed behind Du Zhengyi and turned into the room they had been staying in for the past few days; it was the surgeon's neat, modern room. There was only a simple wooden bed in the room, two plain bedside tables, a wardrobe for miscellaneous items, and a desk; on the table were some old books that looked like they were no longer in use, yet they were stacked neatly.

This could hardly be called a comfortable place, but after Du Zhengyi turned on the electric heater, it was different; Luo Qi immediately curled up in the chair next to the heater.

Du Zhengyi lay down on the bed, the desk lamp turned on mysteriously, and the main light in the room went out. Luo Qi looked at Du Zhengyi with envy; Du Zhengyi's manipulation of his abilities was as natural as breathing.

"We can talk a little now," Du Zhengyi looked at him from the darkness at the head of the bed.

Luo Qi did not make a sound.

"It's a pity I can't answer a single one of your questions," Du Zhengyi said again, his voice a bit hoarse, revealing exhaustion. But this exhaustion came too suddenly. Luo Qi stood up.

Du Zhengyi was like a machine; when the battery level approached thirty percent, it was as if he were forced to start the low-power backup system.

"Are you okay?" Luo Qi didn't care about those so-called questions; compared to ethereal speculations and doubts, Du Zhengyi's trouble was real. "There was really no need to Teleport back just now; we could have taken the nearest Pendragon Orbital System."

"That would waste too much time, it's too much trouble, and it would be recorded," Du Zhengyi said. "Would you mind pouring me some water to drink?"

Luo Qi immediately executed his request, feeling worried; Du Zhengyi had reached the point of having to order a wounded person like him around. He walked through the corridor to the kitchen at the end, turned on the kitchen light at the doorway, and went to a drawer in the cabinet to find a cup, familiar with the routine. A glimmer of scattered water light reflected from deep within the drawer; his hand holding the cup paused; the Crystal he had shattered had been stored here by Guan Xinyue.

The scene from that day under Guan Jia Jing flashed through his mind, and the feeling of grief that didn't belong to him remained in his memory, strangely like he had accidentally copied someone else's private video. He carefully took out the cup, mindful not to touch the shards of the Crystal, and retreated immediately after pouring the water.

Du Zhengyi leaned calmly against the head of the bed, took the water, and drank it. He cleared his throat and laughed when he saw Luo Qi sitting back in the chair cautiously. "Are you worried that if I really kick the bucket, you won't be able to explain yourself even with eighty mouths after you go back?"

Luo Qi scoffed.

"Alright, let's get things straight," Du Zhengyi said. "First, you must understand that I have never felt you were truly annoying to the point of deserving death, so although that's how you explained it to Ma Jiang, the reason the Psychic Beast attacked you definitely wasn't because of that."

"You aren't going to report even this kind of nonsense directly to me, are you?" Luo Qi said in surprise. "At this point, at least this much tacit understanding should exist between the two of us."

Du Zhengyi laughed, "After dawn, I will retrieve that lion; Teacher Pei should be able to test it, and then we'll know exactly what happened."

Luo Qi said, "When that Ma Jiang said I had a problem, he had reasons and evidence; even I almost believed him."

"Then are you willing to talk about that incident from three years ago?" Du Zhengyi said.

Luo Qi hesitated for a moment. "Do I have to say it like I'm accepting a Committee investigation?"

"No," Du Zhengyi shook his head; he lay at the head of the bed, where the light from the desk lamp couldn't reach, his eyes deep and unfathomable. "I actually... don't want to know that much."

"Then there's no need for me to say it." A wave of disappointment welled up in Luo Qi's heart; he stuffed that trace of disappointment and panic back into his stomach. Actually, without Ma Jiang saying it, he also suspected that he might have already fallen into trouble.

Du Zhengyi seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he just nodded politely, then closed his eyes, as if intending to sleep.