Chapter 339: The Missing Luo Qi (1)

"Have you contacted them?" Mage Hashi asked.

"None of us have an Entanglement with them," Du Zhengyi said. His brows were furrowed tightly, looking as if he were struggling to swallow a bitter pill. After a long moment, he continued, "Besides, Luo Qi does not master this type of Magic. Zhou Quan should have some exposure to general contact Magic, but he has not responded to our broadcast inquiry. I think he may be unable to respond for some reason; perhaps he has lost consciousness."

"It is also possible that the special terrain here has affected our Magic sensing ability, Du Mage. We often encounter such situations, so there is no need to make overly negative inferences," Mage Hashi said. He did not look worried, but Du Zhengyi did not want to speculate on the reasons for that.

"Can you provide some search assistance?" Du Zhengyi asked.

The sky outside had turned completely dark, and the temperature on the Highland at this time was just above freezing. Spending the night in the wild at this hour was truly dangerous, not to mention that Luo Qi and Zhou Quan would not fail to return without reason; perhaps they were already injured. Furthermore, this was the Highland; even for a Mage, this place was a bit sinister. Once the sky was pitch black, no one knew what inexplicable things might happen in a place devoid of human presence.

"In any case, we will provide assistance," Mage Hashi said.

In any case? Du Zhengyi's thoughts circled around how many situations were covered by that "in any case."

"But before we provide assistance, I hope to have a direction so that we can save our search time. Saving time might just be saving their lives," Mage Hashi said.

He did not look anxious, although Du Zhengyi vaguely felt that no matter what happened, there was no way to make a veteran Highland Mage anxious.

"I also don't know where they would find fun; perhaps the long, gentle slopes, the snow-covered slopes," Du Zhengyi guessed.

"Du Mage," Mage Hashi looked into his eyes and said, "Do you really not know? At a life-or-death moment, I hope you will not hide anything from me."

"Mage Hashi, what do you mean? You might as well speak plainly," Du Zhengyi said.

"Mages from the outside always think we have many secrets. They believe we live on the harsh Highland just to guard these secrets. In fact, we live in an isolated place, and the only thing we want to protect is our way of life. We live in isolation to avoid these prying eyes. But they always come to our door to probe for our secrets, and the final result is mostly the same," Mage Hashi said.

Du Zhengyi's faint anger rose. He said in a low, slow voice, "I assure you, they have no such intention. I dare guarantee that Luo Qi has no interest in your secrets—regardless of whether you have secrets or not. Moreover, he is currently learning from you; he treats you as a teacher. I can vouch for Luo Qi's character; it is impossible for him to do such a thing."

"Can you guarantee that the other one also has no such intention?" Mage Hashi said calmly.

Du Zhengyi pondered for a moment and said, "The first day Luo Qi met you, he asked you what the rules were here and what things he was not allowed to do. As the saying goes, 'ask about taboos upon entering'; Luo Qi already asked you. If there were any dangers or taboos here, you did not tell him at the time."

Mage Hashi was silent for a while, then said, "That was indeed my oversight; I apologize to you. I did not think anyone would want to go out into the harsh environment outside."

The atmosphere eased somewhat, and Du Zhengyi also wanted to take a step back. Even if he were angry, he had to rely on the power of the Highland Mages to find the two missing people. "He is just a boy, not yet fully grown; the more dangerous a place is, the more it attracts him."

"The children of Highland Mages are usually quite steady, so I truly did not expect such a thing to happen," Mage Hashi said.

Du Zhengyi nodded, not taking the differences between the two types of Mages too much to heart; not being steady enough did not make him feel embarrassed. But at this moment, a bad thought flashed through his mind, "Mage Hashi, when the two of them left, they said they were going skiing. There isn't one of your Holy Mountains here, is there?"

"There are only four Holy Mountains, and there is no Holy Mountain here," Mage Hashi replied.

"That is good," Du Zhengyi said. "I was worried they might inadvertently offend your faith." In fact, he was more worried that they had inadvertently suffered a Curse.

"I will immediately organize people to go out and search for them," Mage Hashi said, nodding slightly to signal to Du Zhengyi before wanting to leave to make preparations.

Du Zhengyi hurriedly said, "Your manpower should not be enough; the area to be searched is very large. I think our people can also provide help. I can find some volunteers among them to help you complete the search work together."

"It is best not to do that," Mage Hashi said gently but firmly. "You are likewise strangers; this land has never been friendly to you. You might not be able to help Luo Qi and Zhou Quan at all. If the search and rescue team members also get lost in this wilderness, the burden on our search and rescue would be too heavy. It is not that I do not want to take responsibility, but doing so is very unrealistic and could potentially kill more people."

Even though he was very reluctant, Du Zhengyi had to admit he was right. "I can go help; I think working in this kind of place should be no problem for me."

"The effect one extra person can have is limited, not to mention that you are also not a local, and your body is not considered healthy," Mage Hashi said very directly, leaving Du Zhengyi with no room to refute. "Please wait patiently for a while; perhaps our search and rescue team has just set off, and they will have already returned."

Du Zhengyi had no choice but to nod. He said in a low voice, "Actually, if everything is normal, that is how it should be. Luo Qi should not be unable to return."

After Mage Hashi signaled to him slightly with the etiquette of a Highland Mage, he went to get busy organizing the search and rescue team.

The news spread quickly. By this time, Maji had already rushed over, and Guan Xinyue had also heard the news, coming over with Liu Ziyu to find Du Zhengyi.

"Luo Qi snuck out to play without taking us, and then got into trouble playing by himself," Guan Xinyue said angrily.

Du Zhengyi already understood her well and knew that her way of expressing concern had always been this awkward.

"This unlucky kid," Maji said. "Any unlucky thing can find him; every time it's him."

Du Zhengyi turned his head to meet Maji's gaze, and both of them thought of many things.