Chapter 369: Highland City

"I am fine," Du Zhengyi said to Luo Qi, reaching out to grab Luo Qi's arm and pulling him aside. "Why isn't Guan Xinyue with you?"

"I didn't see where she went. Why are you looking for her? My god, is that Zhou Quan? What happened to him?" Luo Qi asked, frowning, his eyes fixed on the stiff human body being tended to by the Highland Mages, trying his best to see clearly.

"The underground here is riddled with Curses; he went looking for death," Du Zhengyi replied, while looking up to search through the crowd.

Maji was toward the back of the crowd, pushing his way over; seeing that Du Zhengyi was looking for him, he hurriedly quickened his pace.

"Curses?" Luo Qi turned his head, looking confused at the collapsed house. "Will he die?"

"I don't know," Du Zhengyi answered somewhat stiffly, turning his head to ask Maji, who was walking over, "Where is Guan Xinyue?"

"Huh?" Maji was also stunned, not expecting Du Zhengyi to ask about her so suddenly. "She's over with Liu Ziyi, helping Liu Ziyi take notes. Why? Is she in danger?"

"No," Du Zhengyi said, somewhat irritably. "Zhou Quan went down there looking for death; didn't you keep an eye on him?"

"Who? Zhou Quan?" Maji was greatly startled and froze for a few seconds. "He wouldn't go that far..."

"You're that familiar with him?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"Not that familiar. I don't usually stay in Qionglin for long; I've only handled business with him a few times. As for my impression of him... in my memory, he isn't the type to meet force with force. To stir up trouble right under the noses of the Highland Mages and you, that takes some guts," Maji mused.

"He already abducted Luo Qi right in front of me; didn't you notice?" Du Zhengyi said irritably.

Maji was taken aback, vaguely feeling that Du Zhengyi was blaming him. "You blame me for not keeping an eye on him? You didn't explicitly tell me to watch him that closely, did you?"

This matter had something to do with Luo Qi again, and Maji couldn't help but glance at Luo Qi. He looked a bit surprised, and that idiot face of his carried a hint of pleasant surprise. Maji felt a bit unhappy, though he didn't want to say it out loud. Du Zhengyi was very difficult to get along with when he was in a bad mood, and while there were many reasons for his poor popularity in Qionglin, more than half of the cause certainly lay with himself. Maji had always been good at enduring Du Zhengyi's shortcomings, but now, added to Luo Qi's face full of joy, it really made him furious.

Du Zhengyi turned his head to look around, seeing many prying eyes and pricked-up ears. There were many listeners to their conversation, and his expression darkened. "Has Liu Ziyi found a way to kill the plants? If she still can't find one, the Highland Mages are going to start tearing down houses. If we let the plants continue to grow downward, sooner or later they will draw the Curses up; these Curses are currently isolated by Physical Barriers."

"I don't know," Maji said, also somewhat stiffly.

"Call Guan Xinyue; we are leaving here," Du Zhengyi said bluntly.

"What?" Maji was stunned, too busy to be angry with Du Zhengyi. "We're leaving? Where to? Don't we need to contact Pei Shu first?"

"We don't need to go too far, just withdraw to a safe distance until the situation here is under control. I'm worried that the Curses underground here will spread upward. Go ask those who don't need to stay and help: who is willing to leave with us?" Du Zhengyi said.

"Alright," Maji said, agreeing with the idea.

But what he didn't agree with was Du Zhengyi turning his head toward Luo Qi, his voice and attitude softening by several degrees. "How about we go for a stroll in the human city?"

Luo Qi's eyes lit up, and he gladly complied.

Most of the Qionglin Mages chose to follow Du Zhengyi and temporarily leave the Highland Mages' residence. Although few of them genuinely wanted to follow Du Zhengyi, being trapped in the Highland Mages' four open-air gardens was truly too exhausting. Furthermore, while the rainforest, desert, and swamp were interesting for a novelty when first seen, and great for throwing parties, that was as far as it went.

Du Zhengyi led them on foot for twenty kilometers, where they boarded the Pendragon Orbital System and arrived at a Highland City of the humans. The entrance was right inside a temple, and bustling human tourists wove through the streets and alleys near the temple, none of them giving them a second look. Most of them wore reasonable human clothing, keeping up with human trends, and to tell the truth, in this paradise city, many humans dressed even more strangely than the weirdest Mages.

Du Zhengyi took them to find a teahouse to rest for a while. A small portion of those who followed were not well-adapted to the Highland and stayed there with them, while most of the others went off to find their own fun and soon disappeared into the city.

Luo Qi sat cross-legged on a thick cushion on a felt rug, watching with great interest as Du Zhengyi skillfully swirled the butter tea, poured the thick tea into a Persian-style cup, and pushed the cup in front of him.

Maji declined the butter tea and ordered black tea for himself. Guan Xinyue only wanted to drink water; she had no energy at all and looked sickly. Maji had already offered several times to give her a check-up, promising repeatedly that he was just as knowledgeable about the human body.

The few Qionglin Mages who remained were mostly introverted and not very bold; the mere fact that Du Zhengyi was present put a lot of pressure on them. They sat at the table holding their breath, and Du Zhengyi was indeed radiating an intimidating aura today.

Luo Qi sipped the butter tea with satisfaction, uncharacteristically quiet.

Guan Xinyue glanced at him cautiously. "After a child has a major illness, they get upgraded to spoiled treatment from their guardians; Luo Qi's treatment today is simply—like a little princess."

Luo Qi gave her a sickeningly sweet smile, reached out with a fork to spear a piece of pastry, and after tasting it, said slowly, "If only I were a girl."

Du Zhengyi spat a mouthful of butter tea back into his cup, looked up, and stared at Luo Qi with a complex expression. Maji glanced at him, idly wondering if he was being serious or just trying to outdo Guan Xinyue in being shameless. The others looked at Luo Qi with evasive expressions, all looking as if they wished they hadn't chosen to sit there.

Maji could see that Luo Qi didn't care at all. Thinking about how Luo Qi was always one to say something shocking, what surprised him was that Guan Xinyue's expression was very serious and she appeared calm. She turned to Du Zhengyi. "Mage's Curses are diverse, right?"

Luo Qi scoffed. "There are no such things as Curses in this world." Du Zhengyi looked at him. "Do you think there are no Curses underground at the Highland Mages' place?"

"What kind of Physical Barrier could block a Curse? Build a wall, raise a shield, and you can block a Curse? How is that possible?" Luo Qi said. "But I don't think the Highland Mages would lie. They said the underground is off-limits?"

Du Zhengyi nodded.

"Then there must indeed be an insurmountable danger."

Du Zhengyi looked at him with interest. "You think the danger exists, just that it isn't a Curse."

"An insurmountable danger can certainly be called a Curse; there's nothing wrong with saying it that way," Luo Qi said, and he contentedly ate a piece of pastry.