Chapter 316: Garden No. 1

"Who do you think that figure I saw could be?" Luo Qi asked.

He and Du Zhengyi were walking along the corridor toward the main hall; Luo Qi was tugging at Du Zhengyi, intending to escort him to the outside of the building to take a look.

"You interfered with the test; I don't know anything until the test is finished," Du Zhengyi said.

Luo Qi glanced at him. "Kawa said the four gardens outside correspond to four completely different climates; I think it's worth a look. Can you imagine how much energy they must expend to maintain four different climates and air pressures? I really don't know how they can be so lavish."

"Changing the subject, huh?" Du Zhengyi said.

Luo Qi didn't shy away. "Changing the subject to avoid getting beaten up."

Du Zhengyi laughed, and Luo Qi hummed twice; he knew Du Zhengyi wasn't actually in that bad of a mood.

"Fine, I really can't guess what's going on with the figure you saw. I'm inclined not to think it was an outsider who broke in. Highland Mages have remained in a state of isolation since the Genesis; they are particularly adept at how to seal themselves off. Don't look at how they seem happy to accept refugees, as if their doors are always wide open; in reality, we were only able to get here because they gave us authorization. Otherwise, we would have no way to enter at all, not even using Teleportation."

"How do they manage to keep people from teleporting in?" Luo Qi asked studiously. "Is there some kind of magical copper wall or iron bastion here that I can't see?"

"Can you be more professional, Luo Qi? You sound like a human little boy's bedtime story; it's too amateurish. There isn't anything like a wall that provides physical obstruction; it's just that our Magic Protocol doesn't work here. They have prohibited many protocols," Du Zhengyi said.

"How do they do it?" Luo Qi muttered, not paying much attention. "Can I do it? Can I prohibit the operation of various Magic Protocols in my own home?"

"You could learn from the Highland Mages here; perhaps one day they will trust you and teach you this secret technique, and then you can set up your own mountain and be the monkey king."

Luo Qi laughed and asked again, "When you came to the Highland summer camp before, was it here?"

"No," Du Zhengyi shook his head. "Highland Mages live very scattered; this is the largest gathering area I have ever seen."

"You mean to say... thirty-three Highland Mages is already a very large group?" Luo Qi asked hesitantly.

"I mean this is the largest building; I don't think only thirty-three people live here during peak times," Du Zhengyi said.

As they spoke, they walked back to the main hall; Luo Qi raised his hand to greet a Highland Mage, and Du Zhengyi led him into the transport area.

Luo Qi seized the opportunity to ask again, "How did you know their Pendragon Indoor Orbit was here?"

"Because I can feel the energy remaining from the last transport," Du Zhengyi said, reaching out to grab Luo Qi's arm for safety.

As soon as the blue sky appeared above their heads, Du Zhengyi sighed with satisfaction and took a deep breath of the humid, warm air. "When we were unluckily sent to the shopping mall last time, I remember seeing a human mother with a child, connected by handcuffs, with a chain in the middle that allowed both of them to move freely."

"That shouldn't be called handcuffs, right?" Luo Qi said.

"What it's called doesn't matter; I should purchase one," Du Zhengyi said with great ambition. "To handcuff you to me when necessary."

"I'm not your son!"

"You've already run out in the middle of the night twice." Du Zhengyi put his hands in his pockets and looked around leisurely, lifting his head. "Don't you think it's a bit stuffy here? You're wearing too much."

Luo Qi suddenly realized; no wonder Du Zhengyi came out to wander around with him. When he snuck out and said he wanted to talk, it was actually to avoid Mahjong and Guan Xinyue and find a quiet place to interrogate him.

He didn't say a word and pretended to be oblivious, kicking at the ground. A vine hung down from a tree, spiraling across the grass like a snake before winding around another tree. He looked up along the vine; the tree it was wrapped around was extremely tall with sturdy branches and leaves, and red flowers were blooming on the highest canopy. "It's beautiful here; I really am wearing too much."

Luo Qi pulled off his jacket; the T-shirt underneath was already a bit damp. "This place... could it be a tropical rainforest? I can't really handle this humidity."

"It's not quite a rainforest," Du Zhengyi said. "But it is indeed a tropical climate."

They strolled deep into the woods; the forest within the Wanzi Meander was like a lush, blooming island. Life erupted in a crowded frenzy on this small island, with trees shielding the sky above. Luo Qi looked up and dazedly saw the shadows of birds flitting between the crowns.

"They must be cultivating those flowers here; now that I think about it, the appearance of those flowers should be something that grows in the tropics. So this is the Garden No. 1 that Kawa mentioned. They made where they live so beautiful, yet it has nothing to do with being poetic."

Du Zhengyi stared at a dazzling, blooming tree, lost in thought. "It's hard to imagine that just outside a place like this are snow-capped mountains."

"Yeah, it's like a giant greenhouse," Luo Qi said. He looked around and whispered, "Do you think the figure I saw could be Kawa? Could he be lying?"

Du Zhengyi turned his head to look at him and countered, "What reason would he have to lie?"

"None." Luo Qi admitted he had asked a pointless question. "That room didn't even have a lock; Kawa was in his own home, he could go wherever he wanted, there was no need to lie at all."

"It is said that Highland Mages never lie," Du Zhengyi said, reaching into his pocket to feel for a cigarette. A gust of floral fragrance blew over; he looked at the flowering trees around him and finally withdrew his hand without touching the cigarette. "Luo Qi, if you just don't want to tell me where you went after leaving town last night, you don't have to."

Luo Qi was almost ready to jump up; he couldn't stand this atmosphere, especially the badgering from Du Zhengyi. Just as he was about to bristle, a thought suddenly struck him, and he calmed down. "You can form an Entanglement with me; I can open my mind to you, and you can see everything I've done, all my secrets."

Du Zhengyi looked at him calmly; he didn't even see a ripple in Du Zhengyi's black eyes. "Luo Qi, I believe what you say without needing magic as proof. You don't need to prove anything extra to me; I'm not one of those idiots from the Tower."

Luo Qi lowered his head. Du Zhengyi didn't know what he was thinking; for this one time, he didn't know what Luo Qi was actually thinking.