Chapter 309: Walking the Path

Pei Shu's departure was as sudden as his appearance; although his movements were somewhat slow, his spirit could still keep up with a man in his prime.

Only when Pei Shu had truly left did Luo Qi begin to realize that he was in a completely unfamiliar place, and that he might need to live here for a period of time. Like any normal person, he felt a bit unaccustomed to it. Du Zhengyi, like all abnormal people, showed no signs of feeling anything, able to display a "master of the house" spirit wherever he went.

After seeing Pei Shu off, Du Zhengyi walked straight into the corridor, relied on his memory to find the two rooms that had been pointed out to him earlier, and casually pushed open one of the doors to walk in. Luo Qi, acting like a lunatic, naturally followed him inside.

"A single bed." Du Zhengyi looked back at Luo Qi, pointed at the small bed, and signaled to Luo Qi.

Luo Qi's expression was so bewildered that it was as if he didn't understand what he meant, looking exactly like a fool.

"Do you want to stay in this room?" Du Zhengyi asked him.

Luo Qi came back to his senses half a beat late, "Oh, oh, I didn't mean that, I just... ah, I..."

"Are you wandering off in your head again? There's no emergency right now; can you pull your three souls and seven spirits together before you talk to me?" Du Zhengyi said with an unkind tone.

"Ah?" Luo Qi was startled for a moment, then immediately understood what Du Zhengyi meant and hurriedly denied it. "No, that's not it, I'm all here, not in my own head."

Du Zhengyi looked at him suspiciously.

Luo Qi awkwardly rubbed his nose, "It's not like that, uh, it's like this, I..."

Du Zhengyi impatiently leaned his back against the headboard, stood facing him, and crossed his arms over his chest, "Aren't you quite sharp-tongued? You've suddenly started stuttering; what bad idea are you cooking up in your mind again?"

Luo Qi scratched his hair, "Um... it's not that, I... I want to confirm that the two of us... that just now didn't count as... falling out, right?"

Du Zhengyi understood what he meant, "You came over to confirm with me whether we've broken off our friendship?"

"Breaking off... that's too serious, not a manly thing to do." Luo Qi's language system suddenly seemed to reconnect; he blinked, "It's just... we were just discussing the matter at hand, right? It was about the issue, not the person, right?"

"It was about the person; I find you very unpleasant to look at," Du Zhengyi said decisively.

Luo Qi grinned instead, as if he had received a guarantee, and sat down on the bed with a cheeky face, "Such a small bedroom even comes with an en-suite bathroom; the conditions here are actually quite good."

Du Zhengyi hissed as he looked at him, "When others scold you, you think they're praising you, right?"

Luo Qi waved his hand, looking as if it were a small matter not worth worrying about. He even kicked off his shoes, threw his body down, and fell backward onto the bed.

"I want to sleep in this room. I don't know why, but I feel like the room you picked must be better."

"Truly shameless."

"Truly nitpicky."

Luo Qi let out an "ouch" as his nose collided with a small stone that had been flicked at him; the force was moderate, ensuring he didn't have a nosebleed while also ensuring his nose was so sore he couldn't open his eyes.

"Do you still want to hear two bedtime stories?" Du Zhengyi asked indifferently.

Luo Qi vigilantly kept quiet, covering his nose with his eyes closed.

Unexpectedly, Du Zhengyi continued, "Then I will tell you an important bedtime story."

"Hmm?" Luo Qi suspiciously opened his eyes to look at him, "Are you going to tell me a little secret?"

"Yes, big brother is going to tell you a little secret," Du Zhengyi said, his tone growing increasingly dangerous.

Luo Qi watched him vigilantly. He had already leaned close to Luo Qi, looking down at him from above, "I want to tell you a little secret. This secret is: the Qionglin, this system, is actually very suspicious. They love to make people prove their own innocence and make presumptions of guilt; they want moral perfectionists. Someone like me who has risked life and limb for the Qionglin... of course, I don't care how they see it, but even for someone like me who has worked himself to the bone for the Qionglin, they are constantly wary that I might have rebellious intentions."

"Mm-hmm," Luo Qi stared with his deer-like eyes, "That is truly chilling."

Du Zhengyi was amused, "Don't be funny here; whether it's chilling or not is the smallest of matters. What I want to ask you is, have you ever thought about how to survive in an environment like this as someone who truly possesses high energy?"

Luo Qi seemed to think about it for a moment and said, "Take out Pei Shu and I become the boss?"

Du Zhengyi laughed again, but his expression grew increasingly serious, "Wrong, Luo Qi. The way to survive is to not say a single word of doubt about the Qionglin, do not question, do not speak for the Lotus Burners, and do not speak for humanity."

Luo Qi pursed his lips again.

"Luo Qi, it doesn't matter for now, because Pei Shu is still here, and I am still here. I will provide a guarantee for your character; under my guarantee, and under Pei Shu's guarantee and trust, everything is easy to handle. Besides, no one will truly target a kid like you to the death. However, you still have over a hundred years to live. On this road of over a hundred years, you will grow up. You are a kid holding power; you are destined to become a Mage holding power. Some will want to use you, some will fear you, and you will stand in very important positions. When that day comes, all the words you spoke at will on the road ahead, and all the true thoughts you revealed, will become a Curse upon you," Du Zhengyi said.

Luo Qi was silent for a long time, then said, "Won't you continue to guarantee and vouch for me?"

Du Zhengyi's eyelids drooped, and only after a long while did he say in a low voice, "Everyone ends up alone."

Luo Qi closed his eyes, and a surge of anger and sadness churned in his chest. He suddenly remembered how familiar this emotion was; he had felt similar feelings before. He still remembered that feeling, and he also remembered that place, right there in the well at Guan Yushan's house.

Du Zhengyi straightened his back, his tone returning to a relaxed state, "You're a child, aren't you? If someone else has a toy, it must be good; if someone else has a place to sleep, it must be comfortable? I'll leave this room to you tonight; I wish you a good sleep. But after you wake up tomorrow, you have to confess to me: when did you see the clownfish's thigh? I'm really curious what you two did together."

Luo Qi was amused; he lifted his head from the bed and saw Du Zhengyi smiling as he exited the room, even helping him pull the door shut. He listened to Du Zhengyi's footsteps as he turned to the room next door, followed by the sound of a door opening and closing.

He rolled over on the bed and buried his face in the pillow. There was a medicinal scent in the pillow; before he could even wash his face, he fell into a deep sleep and had all sorts of strange dreams all night long.