Chapter 397: The Person in the Old Robe

The clamor in the barbecue restaurant stifled for an instant, but the diners seemed not to have felt that momentary pause; the chopsticks they had extended continued to reach out after a one-third-of-a-second delay.

Luo Qi opened his mouth wide. "Whoa, this is quite the spectacle. Should I be gripping my little fork tightly?"

Du Zhengyi let out a laugh; he was in a very good mood today, and no one could ruin his good mood. He raised his head and looked casually in the direction of the disturbance, still in time to see the subtle ripples in the air.

Luo Qi could not spot these telltale signs himself, but he had always followed Du Zhengyi's lead; seeing Du Zhengyi looking at the square wooden pillar, he immediately looked over as well.

The barbecue restaurant's decor was not high-end; the regional religious style was mixed with a modern utilitarian style, and small speakers hanging from the four corners of the ceiling played swirling Indian music. Six square wooden pillars supported the roof beams, and the paint on the wooden pillars should have been repainted, as the prickly wooden splinters were all standing up. The pillars divided the room into several areas, and behind each pillar were two tables where guests sat on the floor.

The barbecue used an open flame, with charcoal burning under an iron grate; grease dripped onto the charcoal, burning to produce a large amount of smoke. The exhaust system in the room was not very good, and the entire barbecue restaurant was somewhat smoky and fiery, so most of the people eating here were men.

Luo Qi did not care about a little smoke and fire; there were not many barbecue restaurants in this city, and he had nothing to be picky about. But when he saw a high-quality female Mage Robe flash out from behind a pillar, he was startled. He certainly knew that someone appearing with this kind of fanfare was not here to eat meat, but in such a setting, the flash of a lady's robe hem still strongly stimulated his sense of incongruity.

The female Mage walked out as if from the shadows behind the wooden pillar; even before seeing her true face, Luo Qi had already smelled her fragrance, seen her figure, the posture of her walking, and the patterns on her robes—these subtle details were all revealing her feminine characteristics. Luo Qi's mental state had not yet fully returned to stability; he was like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, and seeing the female Mage made it inevitable for him to feel terrified, always feeling as if an evil ghost were haunting him, and he could not help but become tense.

However, just as the sun makes the ghosts in one's heart dissipate, the worldly aroma of barbecue was also incompatible with the vengeful spirits of a Progenitor Mage. Luo Qi steadied himself and looked again at the woman from the shadows.

He could not see her appearance clearly at a glance, and if he looked closely, Luo Qi was certain that the form he saw was not real either; every second, the figure he saw of her had subtle changes. Luo Qi understood in his heart that she was either also a Mind Master, or she was wearing a rare Talisman.

Luo Qi withdrew his attention and focused his energy on the details he could confirm. She was wearing an olive-green dress, covered by a robe, and a matching hood on her head; the material of the clothes was very thick, very suitable for travel. Luo Qi guessed that she would not be too young; even a respectable old-fashioned person like Du Zhengyi was unwilling to wear traditional styles, and even if he did not wear off-white, Luo Qi could not imagine Du Zhengyi wearing a Cross-collar Robe. If he had to force himself to think about it, he could only imagine Du Zhengyi wearing a hotel bathrobe.

The Cross-collar Robe was the formal attire for Mages in this land, likely established during the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties. However, the Mage's robe must have been a simplified version of fashion at the time; it is said that this set of clothing had changed little over a thousand years, and today, the only Wei-Jin style Luo Qi could see in it was the wide robes and large sleeves. If there truly was fashion to speak of back then, this design could be called Wei-Jin cold-style.

However, it was a coincidence that the attire of Mages on other continents was much the same as theirs; the differences might only be the size of the sleeves, the difference in clothing material, and the position where the Magic Artifact was hung.

No matter who the person wearing the olive-green Mage Robe was, Luo Qi knew she had timed it perfectly, and was heading straight for them.

He calculated how many women he could possibly know, and incidentally helped Du Zhengyi calculate how many women he could know; it was not that he looked down on his brother, but it certainly would not be many.

Luo Qi briefly thought of Fan Shi's lackey coming to deliver a message, but immediately dismissed the thought. He was gradually able to feel that every Mage had their own Magic Temperament; it was a very subtle thing, like a voiceprint, like an iris, like a fingerprint. He was not particularly proud of being able to see this, but was rather curious if Du Zhengyi could see it.

He subconsciously glanced at Du Zhengyi; he could see that Du Zhengyi's state was very relaxed, completely without any guard, as if he were absolutely certain of who was coming. That meant Du Zhengyi could definitely feel the Magic Temperament. However, for him, this was just a feeling; could Du Zhengyi actually quantify it?

"I can," Du Zhengyi said suddenly.

Luo Qi was startled. "I accidentally..."

Du Zhengyi said in a low voice, "Right, you still haven't adapted to the fact that you are not in a soul state now. Find your boundaries as soon as possible, otherwise you are truly too noisy."

"Oh," Luo Qi said sullenly, and turned his head to look at the newcomer with annoyance, wanting to vent the frustration of being scolded again onto this person.

Could they not let a person eat a meal in peace? He was already so unlucky, almost ascended to heaven, and now he wanted to take a vacation to eat something, and later go back to face that group of people who were destined not to let him off as easily as Du Zhengyi—why was it so difficult?

He unleashed his anger and attacks unscrupulously, sincerely trying to make the other party flustered. That person did indeed slow down for a step, seemingly concentrating on feeling this wave of his non-violent attack, but she ended up letting out a "pfft" laugh, as if Luo Qi were some little kitten, using its fleshy paws to act coquettishly on her.

Luo Qi was immediately furious. Embarrassed into anger.

The woman faced him gently and calmly took off her hood.

At this very moment, Luo Qi felt a long-lost comfort and relaxation. It was like a scented candle with coconut, soaking in a tub of comfortable warm water.

"Young men," she said.

When the hood fell, Luo Qi was surprised to find that he could see her appearance clearly. She had a gentle and calm beauty, and that beauty came from her eyes, almost enough to offset the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. For a moment, Luo Qi felt that he saw a very beautiful woman from within the body of this gray-haired old woman.

Just when Luo Qi did not even realize he was dazed, he heard the sound of Du Zhengyi smiling; his friend's manner was as if he were about to entertain an old friend.

"Who?" he asked subconsciously.

"Shi Xiansheng," Du Zhengyi smiled and greeted the old woman, "I thought I would never have the chance to see you again."

Shi Xiansheng?

Luo Qi was stunned.