Chapter 358: Curfew

Having lived in the Highland Mage's territory for so long, this was the first night without light.

The Highland Mage had tested various methods to kill the plants, but even in the most extreme environments, Jack's beanstalks merely fell into a dormant state, temporarily ceasing their wild growth. The magical power required to maintain such extreme environments was too great; as long as there was time, the Highland Mage preferred to choose gentler methods. The Highland Mage had temporarily strictly forbidden anyone from creating light, so everyone could only stay indoors. Stepping out of the room was not only inconvenient, but one could also be tripped by vines stretching out from nowhere at any moment and break their neck. Thus, the practical effect was akin to a curfew. Du Zhengyi chose to spend the curfew in Luo Qi's room.

"Why?" Luo Qi asked him. He was building a nest, trying to carve out a more comfortable area on the floor that could comfortably accommodate both of them. After all, the room was truly too small, and there was no furniture like sofas or chairs to sit or lie on; the bed was just a narrow single bed. This place was fine for one person to live in, but it felt cramped for two men in the room, not to mention it was pitch black and nothing could be seen, leaving them bumping into things like headless flies.

"Mahjong is also with Guan Xinyue," Du Zhengyi said. "At a time like this, it's safer for everyone to stay together."

"Also?" Luo Qi said. "I'm not a little girl. At a time like this, it's just a bit dark. Whose safety are you trying to guarantee—the chastity of the two of us?"

In the darkness, Luo Qi heard Du Zhengyi's laughter, relaxed and casual, which made him feel even more confused. "Your mood is not like you at all."

"I am practically on vacation right now," Du Zhengyi said. He stretched his body, lying in the middle of the pile of cushions Luo Qi was fussing over, intentionally making it impossible for Luo Qi to get comfortable. Every time he caused trouble for Luo Qi and saw his look of daring to be angry but not daring to speak, he felt good; it was like the perks deserved for taking care of a younger brother at home. You shield him from the wind and rain, but you also snatch his teddy bear and pull his hat off to hang it where he can't reach.

Luo Qi was still holding a cushion, glaring at Du Zhengyi in the darkness for a while; those bright black eyes were like an owl's. Du Zhengyi not only didn't make room for him but laughed mockingly.

Luo Qi gave up on the project of building a fortress with cushions and moved next to Du Zhengyi, propping his elbows on the carpet and glaring at those cat-like eyes from up close, as if a night owl were crouching on a tree observing Du Zhengyi. His body was always warm, just like a much younger child. Du Zhengyi did not dislike him crowding by his side or however he invaded his personal space.

"Are you very worried about those plants?" Luo Qi asked him.

"Why worry? Worried that vines will sneak into the room in the middle of the night to strangle me?" Du Zhengyi retorted.

Luo Qi laughed, "Then do you think the Highland Mage can handle this?"

"Sooner or later, they will be able to handle it," Du Zhengyi said. "Actually, they have many ways to dispose of the plants, but they just want to choose an optimal solution, so they are still pondering."

At this point, he laughed in a low voice, looked at Luo Qi, and said again, "One year, the Qionglin discovered an unverified Secret Language in the books of a human alchemist. At the time, they estimated that the long-deceased alchemist might have discovered some ancient site of a Progenitor Mage and deciphered quite a few Secret Languages; he even understood the meaning of many of them. According to my understanding, he might have deciphered part of the Progenitor Mages' language. This is also possible, because he or his elders might have interacted with Mages. Unfortunately, he didn't know that although he could understand the Secret Language, he lacked the ability to use it. Ah, that is another story; I am not here to tell that."

"What was this Secret Language about?" Luo Qi asked.

"According to their speculation, it was about Life Magic. In short, they decided to try it. At this time, someone contributed two Angora rabbits," Du Zhengyi said.

Luo Qi thought for a moment and asked, "The kind of rabbit with really long fur?"

"Yes, they applied this Secret Language to a pair of Angora rabbits. As it turned out, the so-called Life Magic was entirely reflected in changing the animal's reproductive ability. That was truly a rabbit disaster. It is said that the female Angora rabbit is a species that can enter the next reproductive cycle on the second day after giving birth; their reproductive ability is already astonishing. This time, after being treated with magic, they could probably produce a litter of bunnies every 24 hours. At the beginning, they didn't realize that this would eventually become a disaster. By the time they discovered there was a problem, it was already too late; the entire Qionglin was full of fluffy little rabbits." Du Zhengyi couldn't help but laugh again. "The Qionglin at that time was truly a spectacle. At least one pair of rabbits somehow ran into the Qionglin's Library and gave birth to litter after litter inside, eating countless precious ancient texts."

"What idiots," Luo Qi commented.

"And," Du Zhengyi paused, finally laughing uncharitably, "Teacher Liu Li is allergic to rabbit fur."

Luo Qi finally laughed, "Then how did you handle it later? A massacre?"

"They also thought of many ways. The main idea was to first control their reproductive behavior. Unfortunately, this kind of rabbit is neither afraid of cold nor heat, though everyone felt it was relatively afraid of heat after all, since the fur is quite long. Later, they raised the temperature of the entire Qionglin to 40 degrees Celsius, and the Angora rabbits finally lost the mood to mate. The disaster was only then considered under control. This is the biggest disaster I have witnessed in all my years at the Qionglin," Du Zhengyi said.

Luo Qi laughed out loud, "How come I never knew about this?"

"Perhaps the Venerables would rather list this as the number one taboo of the Qionglin and forbid anyone from mentioning it," Du Zhengyi said quite happily.

"Since you already have experience with this kind of situation, why are you still worried about the matter here?" Luo Qi asked.

"Because I am worried that the destruction caused by the plants is not the goal someone truly wants to achieve," Du Zhengyi said.

"Someone?" Luo Qi asked with some unease.

"I don't know who it is either. But I have never encountered a truly random event; everything has a reason. When people want to achieve a goal, they can burst forth with endless wisdom. Perhaps the seeds are just the first step; perhaps the wild-growing plants are just a smokescreen. They don't want the impact brought by the plants. What if what they truly want is for this place to be pitch black tonight?" Du Zhengyi said in a low voice.

Luo Qi swallowed nervously, looked worriedly at the door, and suddenly made up his mind, "I also have something I want to tell you."