Chapter 352: Forgetting

"Luo Qi? Are you awake?" Du Zhengyi turned and walked back to Luo Qi's side, observing him carefully.

Luo Qi opened his eyes, seeming unable to focus for a moment, and stared blankly at Du Zhengyi and the Old Mage.

Seeing this, Du Zhengyi could not help but lower his voice, "Does anything hurt?"

Luo Qi raised his eyes to look at him, opened his mouth, and swallowed with difficulty.

"Do you want some water?" Du Zhengyi asked.

This time Luo Qi nodded. Du Zhengyi raised his hand and summoned a glass of clear water. He sat down by Luo Qi's single bed, first helped Luo Qi sit up, and then brought the water to his lips. Luo Qi gulped down a mouthful of water impatiently, then began to drink wildly, not raising his head until he had finished the entire glass.

"Do you want more water?" Du Zhengyi asked him.

Luo Qi shook his head and was laid back down on the bed; he let out a sigh of relief as he leaned against the pillow.

Du Zhengyi's previously tense expression relaxed, and he was amused by his appearance, laughing, "Self-inflicted suffering. Look at you now, like a baby who's had its fill of milk? Satisfied?"

Luo Qi licked his cracked lips and smiled at Du Zhengyi.

Du Zhengyi raised his hand and covered Luo Qi's forehead; it was a somewhat strange, intimate gesture, as if he did not want Luo Qi to see his own current satisfaction.

"My whole body is stiff." Luo Qi grinned, his voice raspy enough to be worrying. "But I'm fine, I'll be better soon."

Du Zhengyi asked him, "How did you two end up going there? What exactly happened? Do you have the strength to talk now?"

Luo Qi nodded, "But I can't remember anything clearly. I don't know what happened. Ah, how is Zhou Quan? Is he alright?"

"He's fine," Du Zhengyi said immediately, applying a little pressure with his hand to keep Luo Qi lying on the bed. "Majiang is taking care of him; he just bumped a lump on his head."

"His head?" Luo Qi said in surprise, "That could be serious."

"I think he's fine," Du Zhengyi said, looking at Luo Qi with a faint smile, "Don't worry about him."

Luo Qi's gaze moved past Du Zhengyi's shoulder to look at the Old Mage who had been silent behind him, his expression showing some fear, "Mage Hashi, I..."

Du Zhengyi stood up and moved aside to let Luo Qi speak to the Highland Mage, like pushing a troublemaking child in front of a teacher. Although cruel, it really did provide a bit of vengeful pleasure.

"It's alright, I will not blame you," Mage Hashi said gently, "What do you still remember?"

"I..." Luo Qi struggled to recall for a moment, "I remember that I... I wanted to find a place suitable for skiing with Zhou Quan, but we never found one. Later, we saw wild donkeys..."

"Wild donkeys?" Du Zhengyi said in surprise, "Did you really break your brain? What does seeing wild donkeys have to do with this? Do I need to call Majiang to come take a look at you?"

"Animals never go near that valley," Mage Hashi said knowingly from the side.

Du Zhengyi understood, his expression turning somewhat dangerous. He glared at Luo Qi and asked, "So those stupid donkeys all knew the place was problematic, yet you two went there?"

Luo Qi lay weakly on the pillow, trying to make himself look even weaker. Du Zhengyi looked at him and was also at a loss for words.

"Luo Qi, I do not intend to blame you, nor will I hold you accountable after the fact, but I still want to clarify the situation at that time," Mage Hashi said seriously.

Luo Qi nodded carefully.

Mage Hashi continued, "That valley, although it is not difficult to reach, is actually not easy to walk to."

Du Zhengyi turned his head and looked at the Highland Mage thoughtfully.

Luo Qi looked like he was about to vomit, his cheeks were a bit flushed, and with his bloodshot eyes and look of terror, Du Zhengyi could not help but seriously assess the risk of intervening in this conversation.

"The path toward the valley is not smooth, and the environment is harsh. No matter how you look at it, it is not a place suitable for skiing. Near our station, only that valley is dangerous, and only that valley is the least worth visiting. This 'not worth visiting' also contains a more practical meaning; it is not just animals that avoid it. Mages and ordinary humans also feel uncomfortable there. In fact, the closer one gets to that vicinity, the stronger the desire to leave becomes. So-called forbidden grounds sometimes do not need explicit signs. I think as a Mind Mage, you can understand what I mean," Mage Hashi said.

Du Zhengyi felt that Mage Hashi had actually made his meaning very clear, though he had used a more tactful approach, but Luo Qi might not necessarily understand. He did not want to drag this out any longer and hoped this matter could be settled as soon as possible.

"Can you recall? Why exactly did you go there? Specifically, was it you who wanted to go there, or was it Zhou Quan?" Du Zhengyi asked.

Luo Qi took a deep breath, "It was Zhou Quan who decided to go skiing; I was just following him the whole time. But I still believe we just walked there by accident; whichever path we took was random."

"That is impossible, child," Mage Hashi said firmly.

"What else did Zhou Quan say?" Du Zhengyi said bluntly.

"Nothing, we talked about skiing the whole way," Luo Qi said, "Right up until we felt we might not find a suitable place to ski, that was when I saw the wild donkeys. You know the kind of wild donkeys that are always running around wildly but refuse to walk into the valley, which is why we were curious."

"What made you overcome your aversion to that place and walk straight in?" Mage Hashi said, "I am also a Mind Mage."

Luo Qi recalled carefully, gradually clutching his head in pain, "I can't remember. I don't know why I wanted to walk there. Every time I try to think about it, something is blocking me; the scene at the time is always separated from me by a fog."

"If you rest for a while longer, will you be able to remember?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"Child, you had better try to think about it now," Mage Hashi said.

"I can't remember," Luo Qi said, clutching his head, "I vaguely remember that Zhou Quan and I were arguing about something. It seems to be related to that... that figure I saw here. Then we lost consciousness. Oh right, we seemed to have seen the mark of the Progenitor Mage."

"Progenitor Mage?" Du Zhengyi looked disbelieving, "The Progenitor Mage, as in the Ancestor? Have you been watching human movies lately? So you think our ancestors should also be magical?"

"You don't believe the Progenitor Mage exists?" Luo Qi said in surprise, "We must have an origin and a source, we must have an Ancestor."

"I have no interest in the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg," Du Zhengyi said uninterestingly.

Mage Hashi did not seem to want to talk more about this groundless topic either. Seeing that the effort to make Luo Qi recall more details was of no use, he could only let it go for now. "If you really cannot remember, then just rest for now. Memory is like sand; sometimes you cannot grasp it no matter how hard you try."

"Okay, I will try to recall," Luo Qi said with a sense of relief.

Seeing him like this, Mage Hashi could not say anything more; no one could put too much pressure on someone in a hospital bed. He asked a few more questions about Luo Qi's physical condition and then wanted to take his leave. "I think Zhou Quan should have been brought back as well; I will go check on his situation. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask us. Child, do not dwell too much on this matter; once you recover your health, your lessons will continue."

Luo Qi nodded gratefully and thanked Mage Hashi repeatedly. Just then, the door to Luo Qi's bedroom was pushed open again.

Majiang pushed the door open and walked in. He looked at Luo Qi first, probably confirming that Luo Qi's condition was about what he had estimated, gave a casual nod to Luo Qi and Du Zhengyi, and then turned to Mage Hashi.

"Master, you are here. I was looking for you," Majiang said.

Mage Hashi looked at him inquiringly, and Du Zhengyi interjected, "Did something happen? Why are you in such a hurry to find Mage Hashi?"

"It's nothing, nothing, nothing major," Majiang said quickly, as if he did not want to make matters worse at this time.

Du Zhengyi did not see any real tension in him; Majiang would not be this flippant when he was nervous.

"Is Zhou Quan out of danger?" Du Zhengyi asked again.

"I've already checked him carefully, don't worry, this kid has a tough life, nothing will happen to him," Majiang said with a smile, "He hasn't woken up yet, but I estimate he will be able to wake up in a few hours. The bump on his head is an external injury, there is no internal injury. Nothing will happen, don't worry. However, there is still one thing I need to discuss with the Highland Mage."

Mage Hashi was not quite sure how serious the matter was; he made a gesture, seemingly asking Majiang if this matter required a private conversation.

Actually, Majiang did not sense the atmosphere at all; he took something out of his pocket. "It's like this, when I was checking Zhou Quan, I found that he was clutching this thing tightly in his hand."

Du Zhengyi glanced at his hand and felt as if he had seen a walnut. "Is he learning from humans how to polish walnuts and play with beads? What does this have to do with us?"

Majiang laughed, "You spend all day with Luo Qi and have been corrupted by him; what kind of talk is that? Ah, this isn't a walnut, and how would he even polish a walnut? Besides, what kind of walnut is worth clutching tightly even when one is dying?"

Majiang said, handing the item in his hand to the Highland Mage. "Master, please take a look. I think this is something Zhou Quan brought back for you all."

"This is..." Mage Hashi took it and said hesitantly, "This seems to be a plant seed."

"It's still a walnut," Luo Qi said softly while lying on the bed, and Du Zhengyi patted him.

"I don't know exactly what kind of seed it is, but I think there must be some reason why Zhou Quan was clutching it so tightly in his hand. This thing is useless to us; we Mages rarely study plants, as each profession has its own specialty. I feel that since this thing was originally discovered in the territory of the Highland Mages, and it is a plant seed, it should be returned to its rightful owner and delivered to you, Master Hashi," Majiang said, then looked at Du Zhengyi, "I'm not wrong to do this, am I? You don't object, do you?"

"Of course not," Du Zhengyi said. He felt, to some extent, that this was making a mountain out of a molehill. Why Zhou Quan was holding a walnut, no one knew; perhaps he had just encountered a sudden change in the situation and grabbed a handful of something at random. Perhaps it was simply a plant that grew on the Highland, and the wind had blown its seed into the cave.

However, Mage Hashi did indeed examine it carefully for a while. High-level Mages were, just as Luo Qi had said, like natural-born botanists; even a walnut was examined with extreme scrutiny. He looked at it carefully for a while before saying to them, "This is indeed not an ordinary plant seed. I do not believe it is a thing of this world. There is no such seed in the inventory of us Highland Mages. I have seen some things roughly similar and might classify it as a vine plant, but what it actually is, I cannot say."

Majiang gave Du Zhengyi a forceful look and said to Mage Hashi, "Then, Master, you are likely interested in cultivating it."

Only then did Du Zhengyi realize that Majiang might be hoping to try and mend the rift between the two groups of Mages caused by the reckless behavior of Luo Qi and Zhou Quan this time. Fortunately, Zhou Quan had actually brought something back. Since the Highland Mages would not enter that valley, they would not have found this plant. So, regardless of whether this walnut was useful or not, or whether it could grow into a walnut tree or a walnut vine, it at least seemed capable of appeasing the Highland Mages.

Mage Hashi looked at the seed carefully again. It was the first time Du Zhengyi had seen this Mage take such a great interest in anything. He felt almost grateful for Majiang's clever move; it seemed to show quite a bit of diplomatic flair.

"Thank you," Mage Hashi said. "I would like to hand it over to Mage Kawa; he has the most experience in cultivating rare plants. Perhaps he really can discover something. Every seed is a new hope."

Mage Hashi carefully put away the walnut, greeted them again, and asked Majiang in detail about Zhou Quan's physical condition, much like a chief physician consulting with an attending physician. Only after he was certain that Zhou Quan would not have any major problems did he turn and leave.

Watching Mage Hashi leave, Du Zhengyi beckoned to Majiang, "Alright, come over and see if there is anything wrong with Luo Qi. Especially check his head carefully; his head is the only part of him that is worth anything."

Luo Qi pouted weakly, and Majiang, suppressing a laugh, cast Medical Magic on him again and examined him carefully. After about 20 minutes, Majiang finally said, "He is fine. I think his body is recovering very quickly, even better than I imagined."