Chapter 380: Luo Qi's Choice

"I can feel your hatred." She stretched out Luo Qi's hand and made Luo Qi's most innocent expression. She stepped on the solid snow beneath her feet and walked slowly toward Du Zhengyi. Facing Du Zhengyi's biting killing intent, she did not use any defensive Magic. "My only fault is that I didn't tell you the truth."

Du Zhengyi waited silently for her to continue. Separated by a few steps, his expression appeared somewhat inscrutable.

"Things are not as you think," she said. It sounded like a sophistry, but she spoke unhurriedly. She was like a gentle mentor guiding her student back to the right path, pursuing the truth, and understanding this world better.

Du Zhengyi stared fixedly into her eyes, filtering out all the confusion and interference caused by Luo Qi's appearance, looking straight at the ghost hiding behind Luo Qi's body.

"That day I met Luo Qi, or one could say I met a soul that was searching," she said, a faint smile flashing in her eyes. "I had a heart-to-heart talk with Luo Qi. Of course, 'heart-to-heart' is relative to the time we spent communicating via Telepathy, and it was based on that ability."

"Who are you?" Du Zhengyi interrupted the rhythm of her conversation.

"I have many names, most of which you may have heard. My name is scattered throughout the myths and legends of humans and Mages; my name is one of the names of the Creator. Today, you can call me Yi Wa," she said with a smile, winking playfully at Du Zhengyi. It was a world of ice and snow all around, yet she was able to make the atmosphere here gradually warm up, as if a stove had been quietly lit and warm, fine wine was being placed on a tray.

She walked closer to Du Zhengyi, gave him a playful look, and then paced around him, as if admiring a perfect statue carved by a master. "You are a miracle."

"Luo Qi is too," he said in a low voice.

"Oh, Luo Qi is a mutant," she said without hesitation. "The decline of the Mage population is inevitable. Luo Qi's appearance is the death throes of the species, the result of an extremely low-probability birth. Unfortunately, he is bound to be incompatible with the current Mage society; the tallest tree in the forest is always the first to be broken by the wind—this is a law of nature. Fortunately, mutants are meaningless to the entire biological population. If Luo Qi had offspring, they might not necessarily be excellent individuals, not to mention that the fertility rate of Mages is already so low. Of course, I am not saying that Luo Qi's soul is not precious. Setting aside these cold rules, Luo Qi is unique, and he was generous to you. Oh, you feel a sting; I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned that."

"You can clearly feel my emotions?" Du Zhengyi asked. His barriers were still up; even Luo Qi could not perceive his feelings with complete clarity.

"Luo Qi belongs to a type of atavism; his physiological characteristics are very close to ours, closer to us than you are. His ability leans toward Telepathy, but he is still far from truly understanding where his limits lie. We... also talked about this, and we reached a consensus: he bears too much pain in his heart, and this pain has limited his development," she said earnestly, looking up straight into Du Zhengyi's eyes. "You have glimpsed into the depths of his heart, haven't you?"

Du Zhengyi did not deny it.

"A gray, oppressive, and painful childhood left too deep a mark on him. He may never be able to fully walk out of it in his entire life. For a smart and sensitive person, his heart has been constantly tormented. If he continues to move forward on the path of life, he must carry the past pain and constantly receive new injuries; this world will not treat him kindly. He is not a bad person, I must admit; he deserves better things, but what he truly craves is rarely obtained, and you are the only one who has given it to him. I want to tell you that he is even more grateful to you than he has admitted to you."

She paused, sizing up Du Zhengyi, wanting to harvest the results of planting these words from his expression and his heart. Du Zhengyi himself was like a stone statue, facing her coldly and rigidly.

She continued, "Luo Qi fell into an obsession. Deep in his heart, he hates Mage society. I don't think you can necessarily understand this; you are the darling of Mage society, a talent. Even if your peers envy you, the authority of Mage society loves you. Besides, being envied is a nice feeling, isn't it? Just like the light reflected on a trophy, it's heartwarming to look at. But Luo Qi, he has only suffered bullying and abuse; he has always relied on his own cleverness to barely maintain his dignity. When he was a child, the world of children was cruel enough, but when he finally grew up a little, the Lotus Burners found him. When he had no power, Mage society not only wouldn't protect him, but would also expel him from this society after repeated testing. Of course he hates this world, hates those Mage authorities who make the decisions. He said you were his conscience; you might not understand the weight of that sentence. He could only believe that this world still had value for him to strive for because he believed in you. But if there is something hidden in the deep pit of the Mage World that could save your life, yet they think you are not worthy of using it..."

Her voice lowered. She sensed the young man before her, his symmetrical face that met the requirements of composite aesthetics, his skin temperature slightly higher than the average person, the sound of his still-beating heart; she could even smell the faint scent on him. "I can understand his feelings about wanting you to live." She turned her head, slightly avoiding the influence of a young male living body on her; she hadn't removed this part of her ability from the body.

"If you are implying something to me," Du Zhengyi said, his voice cold, carrying great restraint and disgust, "you are attacking my heart. Are you trying to dig into Luo Qi's inner thoughts to make me blame him? No matter what Luo Qi thinks now, he doesn't need to be responsible for things he hasn't done. Not to mention that I don't believe your implications at all. How could Luo Qi manage to step over my corpse to get the thing that would keep me alive? No matter how he hopes or plans, this matter itself is an impossible paradox."

She raised a hand to make Du Zhengyi pause; this gesture was Luo Qi's, learned from Du Zhengyi. Luo Qi had many small habits that were deliberately imitating Du Zhengyi; it was perfectly normal for a boy to want to imitate the big brother in his own mind. But now, seeing this action, the corner of Du Zhengyi's eye twitched. Biting killing intent erupted from his chest; heartache fueled his anger, and the warrior instinct he usually restrained was triggered.

She couldn't help but take a step back, her outstretched hand turning into a gesture of pleading. "Please listen to me, there is no need for us to conflict, otherwise it would truly be unfair to Luo Qi."

Du Zhengyi looked at her.

She kept a close watch on Du Zhengyi's movements, guarding against a surprise attack, while having to speak more sincerely. "I am not implying anything to you. Just as you said, neither of us needs to be responsible for things we haven't done. Luo Qi just hoped to obtain the secret hidden in Gushan to get a Ship Ticket for you. But how exactly Gushan's rebirth is achieved, without seeing it with one's own eyes, it cannot be certain; in the end, it is still ethereal. Moreover, not taking that Ship Ticket is your choice. As long as there is a way, Luo Qi hopes to respect your first choice. If there is a way to keep you alive in the present world without rebirth, that is of course the best. That is also your choice."

"What do you mean?" Du Zhengyi asked in a low voice.

"I showed Luo Qi my abilities," she said softly, looking into Du Zhengyi's eyes. "Luo Qi believes that I can indeed heal you; there is no need to go far to Gushan, nor is there a need to go astray. I am his path. You have your choice, and Luo Qi has also made his choice: a life for a life."

"All lies!" Du Zhengyi growled. He was no longer the quiet and harmless-looking young man; flames burned in his eyes, a Spell was on the tip of his tongue, and power gathered at his fingertips, ready to be unleashed at any moment.

"This is what I didn't want to tell you, the truth I didn't want you to know!" she also said loudly, using Luo Qi's voice, carrying the tone of another person. "If you knew nothing, I would leave you for a while. We would have our gatherings and partings like all friends, gradually drifting apart, and when we met again, you would think it was just an old friend who had changed. Then I would tell you that I had learned something, and I would heal you. You wouldn't know that Luo Qi was already gone, and everything would be as Luo Qi hoped. You would live on, and he would be rid of the painful life he had long been weary of! If it weren't for that sensitive girl, Guan Xinyue, discovering me..." "I don't need anyone to tell me that my brother is already gone," Du Zhengyi said angrily, as if rolling his words into ice cubes and hurling them at the other person, at the one who was no longer Luo Qi. People are born fragile; the flame of life can be extinguished at any time, and brilliant souls can drift away at any time. He must take good care of them, guard them carefully, yet he could still lose them at any moment. How could these... be understood by the Creator? The Progenitor Mages are a completely different kind of existence; how could they understand?

The soft expression on "Luo Qi's" face became cold and hard. Du Zhengyi's anger had burned away the possibility of negotiation; a fatal strike was imminent. She looked at him in disappointment. "In Luo Qi's consciousness, you are a cold and rational person, a mature man." "Does he think that I would be indifferent to his death? How long has he even lived? He hasn't even reached the standard of adulthood for a Mage, and he is going to die?" Du Zhengyi said in a low voice, sadness softening his emotions, as if it also weakened his aggressiveness.

She perceived it keenly. "You are always able to recover well from the death of a companion."

"That is your opinion, not Luo Qi's," he said.

She nodded in acknowledgment. "That is indeed my opinion, an opinion I obtained from Luo Qi's memories. Luo Qi did not think so; I originally thought he was wrong."

"No matter how long one can live, it is a stroke of luck to meet someone who can completely understand oneself," Du Zhengyi said.

"I have all of Luo Qi's memories; I cannot say that Luo Qi is completely gone, so I can understand you. At least I can understand you using Luo Qi's way of thinking," she said.

"You killed Luo Qi?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"I had no choice," she said. "Only one consciousness can exist in one body. No matter how much you hate me, I hope you can accept this. At least let me fulfill Luo Qi's wish; I hope you don't make this meaningless. Let me heal you; I can let you live until the day you die naturally." "I said, it is not easy to meet someone who can completely understand oneself. Even if you possess all his memories, you can neither understand him nor understand me," Du Zhengyi lowered his head, as if looking at the snow on the ground.

She pondered this sentence. She had "heard" that Du Zhengyi did not speak nonsense, neither hypocritical nor chicken soup for the soul. Vaguely, she felt a slight adjustment in the force field. "You..."

Du Zhengyi raised his head, his pupils suddenly becoming somewhat unclear. She looked at him in astonishment, while simultaneously calculating rapidly what was happening, but Luo Qi's brain was not as suitable for Calculation as she had hoped; she was not calculating fast enough. Du Zhengyi sneered, "I said, Luo Qi would never give up his chance to live; he never liked losing the initiative. Would he entrust the hope of keeping me alive to you, whom he cannot control? This is absolutely impossible! Even if you are a Progenitor Mage, he would not believe in you."

The earth beneath their feet began to tremble, and she glared at Du Zhengyi in anger.