Chapter 394: Life's Dreams

Luo Qi twitched, then reached out a hand, trying to brace himself against the ground to stand up. Du Zhengyi still gave him a hand, lifting him up with ease.

The moment Du Zhengyi let go, Luo Qi immediately knelt back down, reflexively reaching out to grab Du Zhengyi's thigh.

"What are you doing?" Du Zhengyi asked him. "Will hugging my thigh keep you from getting beaten up? Have you no shame?"

"Have you no humanity?" Luo Qi shouted, following his tone. His throat was hoarse, half-whispered, and nowhere near as imposing as he had been in the Consciousness World. "I'm paralyzed! My central nervous system must be finished after being broken for so long! It's over, I'll have to rely on you to carry me for the rest of my life!"

Du Zhengyi realized what was happening, but he wasn't particularly worried; he even reached out and poked Luo Qi's head, making Luo Qi wish he could bite him.

"It's fine, just take it slow. I think it's temporary, let's see how it is after a few hours of recovery," Du Zhengyi said nonchalantly.

Luo Qi had no choice; unable to move, he had fallen into a complete predicament and could only take the opportunity to hug Du Zhengyi's thigh and start wailing.

"Beg me to save you," Du Zhengyi said, kicking him while he was down.

Luo Qi never cared about dignity; clutching his thigh, he blurted out, "I beg you, help your brother out!"

Saving face is definitely not something you do in front of your buddies—this was Luo Qi's life motto, plus edition.

Besides, although begging seemed like it lacked face, didn't he get it back in the blink of an eye? Using Du Zhengyi as a mount—ask yourself, how many people could pull that off?

Luo Qi lay on Du Zhengyi's back, being carried by him. He had suffered a great loss these past few days and felt very aggrieved, but life, after all, still had to be carried on, and one had to know how to find joy for oneself. Right now, he was in high spirits.

"I'm hungry. How many days has it been since I ate? I must be digesting myself by now," Luo Qi said.

"I'll give you something to eat when we get back," Du Zhengyi said. "Just endure it a little longer."

"What?" Luo Qi was shocked. "I've been through a brush with death, and you're only giving me beans?"

"You're fucking shocked? It's good enough that I'm giving you food. Never mind the little schemes you had to betray me, let alone why you caused this trouble in the first place—do you think I'm not going to settle accounts with you?" Du Zhengyi said, carrying him back.

Luo Qi was shocked again. Reading the situation, he determined that Du Zhengyi was just talking, though he himself felt a bit of trepidation; still, his bluster rose to the surface. "Don't you dare pin the label of traitor on me! You actually listened to that old monster's instigation? Was your IQ eaten by a dog?"

Du Zhengyi made a "tsk" sound, and Luo Qi started yelling first, "I want to eat meat! I want to eat barbecue! How many days has it been since I ate human food! I've lived two lives now; no matter what I did wrong, can't I at least have a meal of barbecue?"

"Luo Qi, you..." Du Zhengyi was so angry his teeth itched.

Luo Qi had his arms draped around his neck and was about to lie on his back and wail when he suddenly caught sight of Liu Ziyi, who was observing him with great interest.

Luo Qi was instantly stunned. "What? There's an outsider! And you didn't tell me!"

"Damn it, aren't you a Mind Mage?" Du Zhengyi said. "You didn't sense anyone?"

"I only look at minds, how would I know there's a beauty here!" Luo Qi said indignantly.

"You're not only shallow, but you actually want to save face," Du Zhengyi said. "I really have new discoveries about you every day."

Luo Qi restrained himself a little; it wouldn't do to look too unseemly.

Liu Ziyi thought for a moment and said, "It's fine, you're still okay, you're the youngest anyway."

"Then I still want to eat barbecue," Luo Qi said earnestly.

"Don't be fooled by his appearance," Du Zhengyi said to Liu Ziyi. "His consciousness has spent a long time in the depths of time; his mental age might already be much older than he looks."

"Then are you taking him into the city for barbecue?" Liu Ziyi asked with interest.

Du Zhengyi fell silent. Luo Qi quickly turned his neck to stare at his face, half-eagerly hoping to get his way, and half-feeling that Du Zhengyi had been stumped, which he couldn't help but secretly chuckle at.

"Going into the city isn't that much trouble," Du Zhengyi finally said. Luo Qi laughed triumphantly.

Liu Ziyi looked at Du Zhengyi with a smile.

Du Zhengyi rarely defended himself. "He died once, after all; perhaps his obsession before dying was to have a meal of barbecue. Now that he's alive, it seems right to resolve that obsession."

Liu Ziyi shrugged, and Luo Qi keenly sensed what she meant—whatever makes you happy.

He triumphantly greeted Liu Ziyi, "Young lady, want to come along for barbecue?"

Liu Ziyi shook her head. "My work here isn't finished yet; I need to continue analyzing the data."