Chapter 302: The Highland Mage

This was a strange moment; the three men, from the capable Doctor to the genius warrior, all looked like children under the old man's reproachful gaze. Even Majiang, who was usually the most mature, actually scratched the back of his head. Luo Qi made two ambiguous "hmm" sounds, while Du Zhengyi kept his eyes lowered, staring at the floor, seemingly determined not to be grouped with the two fools around him.

Pei Shu said nothing, but Luo Qi knew this was the most successful way to educate children—at this moment, silence spoke louder than words.

Luo Qi rubbed his nose and suddenly heard a sound outside the room; he subconsciously turned his head to glance at the doorway. They were supposed to be staying in a suite in a house. The door was not closed, and a red felt curtain hung over the door frame, but the curtain did not move.

Luo Qi turned his head back and suddenly discovered that Pei Shu was looking at him.

"What is it?" Luo Qi blurted out, feeling a twinge of guilt.

Du Zhengyi gave him a sharp look.

"Did you sense someone coming?" Pei Shu asked gently.

Du Zhengyi was practically glaring at Luo Qi now.

Oh, Luo Qi realized.

What he had heard wasn't a sound; it was Yajian. Although he couldn't hear the content of the thoughts clearly, he had still heard the sound of thinking. He wasn't familiar enough with Mind Magic yet, and he hadn't fully overcome the bad habit of not being able to distinguish the source of sounds when his mind wandered. There was no helping it; he wasn't the type of person who knew he was a Mind Mage from birth. His ability was very strong, but his experience was lacking. This was too embarrassing; he had thought he could hide it for a while in front of people who knew better, but he hadn't expected to reveal himself within five minutes.

Luo Qi struggled for a long time, facing Pei Shu, and only managed to let out a single syllable, "Uh..."

Fortunately, he didn't need to answer that question. The dozen or so small candle stands placed at various heights around the room were suddenly lit all at once, the candlelight flickering in the room, and the fire that had already been burning flared up more vigorously. The curtain was lifted at that moment, and a man with a calm demeanor walked in.

Luo Qi's attention was captured by him. His hair was very short, almost clinging to his scalp, and he wore clothing similar to that of traditional Tibetans... wait, Luo Qi realized he couldn't actually distinguish what traditional Tibetan clothing should look like, so he could only say it was similar to traditional Tibetan clothing; one of his shoulders and arms were bare outside the garment.

The man had a pair of bright eyes that looked like they could only be refined after consuming countless barrels of cod liver oil. His gaze wasn't sharp, nor could it be considered the gentle eyes of a little puppy; he was just... Luo Qi didn't know how to describe this person. This person was very strange; he was clean, efficient, and gently inclusive. He was extremely confident yet just happened not to make people feel any aggression. Luo Qi looked at him once and couldn't help but look a second time, a third time... until a thought suddenly popped into his head: if crystals were soft, if crystals were organic living things, they would likely be like this.

The man's gaze swept over everyone and landed on Pei Shu, then he bowed slightly, his right hand pressed against his left chest. "Guests, I have been waiting for you. Welcome here. I hope the air here does not make you uncomfortable."

Oh~ Luo Qi sighed inwardly. He finally understood why he felt the air wasn't quite clear enough when he stepped out of the portal; he had forgotten for a moment where the Highland Mage lived.

Pei Shu returned the greeting very formally, using an ancient Chinese etiquette. He was also a very capable Mage, pretending to be polite while dressed in an old man's pajamas. However, Luo Qi, of course, also thought that in the eyes of others, the Venerable Mage they saw might be dressed very grandly and formally.

"I am very sorry to disturb you at this hour," Pei Shu said as a pleasantry, though being overly polite was definitely not his style. His next sentence directly introduced the people around him, "These are my disciples: Majiang, Du Zhengyi, Luo Qi, and Guan Xinyue."

The man smiled at them, his gaze landing on Guan Xinyue. "I sense a human."

"I am human," Guan Xinyue said expressionlessly.

The man laughed. "We are all human."

Pei Shu did not explain why there was a human among his disciples, and the Highland Mage did not ask. He looked toward Majiang and bowed slightly. "You are a Doctor?"

"Uh..." Majiang was a bit at a loss. "Yes, I am a Doctor."

The man's right hand pressed against his left chest once again. Luo Qi was certain this gesture was meant to show respect; respecting doctors was a good habit.

The man turned to Du Zhengyi and said calmly, "You are a deer hunter."

Wow, this was a bit hard to understand. Luo Qi looked at them, perplexed. The Highland Mage really spoke a bit like the human relatives who lived here, always full of metaphors and allegories.

Du Zhengyi's brows furrowed slightly. "Our worldviews are different."

Worldview? Luo Qi raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly; it even dragged in a worldview?

The man bowed slightly, as if agreeing with Du Zhengyi's words, and expressed his apologies for his "slip of the tongue."

It might have been a "slip of the tongue," Luo Qi pondered. Anyway, in civilized society, calling someone a hunter was never a very pleasant thing to say. If it were a demon hunter, it would be much cooler, but deer hunting... it always seemed to imply killing a holy life. Perhaps the only thing worse than a deer hunter would be a unicorn hunter, a My Little Pony hunter...

He was happily letting his mind wander when he suddenly felt he was being watched, the gaze as subtly tangible as a physical object. Luo Qi turned his head to meet the man who was currently reading their fortunes.

The man nodded slightly at him in greeting, which to Luo Qi probably amounted to saying hello. He felt he should also return something so as not to be rude.

"Hey... hello," he said awkwardly, feeling he should offer a compliment, and added at the end, "The belt is really nice."

"The belt?" Du Zhengyi frowned and glared at him.

"Uh..." Luo Qi stammered. The man's clothing was dark red and brown; in the middle of such large blocks of color, that leather belt inlaid with gemstones was indeed very striking. "What's wrong?"

The man was amused, as if wanting to explain for Luo Qi, "There are six High-energy Crystals on my belt."

"Ah," Luo Qi said, and added offhandedly, "That's worth a lot."

Majiang laughed "pfft" from the side, teasing, "Luo Qi, have some taste, don't embarrass Du Zhengyi."

Luo Qi shut his mouth; he was a bit nervous, and when he was nervous, he tended to speak without thinking.

"I see your path has not yet begun," the man said with a smile.

"Oh," Luo Qi said nervously, "I think you mean I haven't graduated yet?"

"You could say that," the man said. "You are a Mind Archmage."

"...'s apprentice... an apprentice to a Mind Archmage," Luo Qi quickly added in a panic, then said, "We still don't know who you are?"

"I am the Highland Mage," the man said calmly.

Oh, a waste of words.