Chapter 400: Child of Hope

Luo Qi stared at the old woman in front of him in shock.

How old was she? Two hundred? Two hundred and fifty? Luo Qi couldn't say for sure, but she was very old, old enough to be making funeral arrangements for herself.

He originally couldn't connect the old lady with the bewitching Wushan Goddess, but there was a fact most easily overlooked by men like him. That is, time is both fair and ruthless to everyone. It is not only ugly people who grow old; beauties, too, must eventually face their twilight years. Since the Goddess could be in the prime of her youth, peerless in beauty, and soul-captivating, she could naturally also become a doddering old man or a white-haired old woman.

Perhaps the only thing that remained unchanged about them was their charm. Even if their bodies had aged, their life experiences only added to their charm, and their spirits remained powerful, merely trapped within increasingly aging souls. A thought skipped through the depths of Luo Qi's mind, but before he could grasp it, it vanished into the messy pile of his thoughts.

Of course, for Luo Qi, he wasn't actually so shallow that he had to link charm with youth. He was certain that when he grew old, he would surely be a charming little old man as well. What truly shocked him was how a bewitching Wushan Goddess could become a regional hegemon of the Mage World, ruling over an invisible empire.

But once he thought of it, once she admitted it, everything became perfectly reasonable. Just think of how he had involuntarily knelt at the Goddess's feet like a fawning poodle just now, and even Du Zhengyi, that cold-blooded warrior, had to give her a VIP pass. Of course, of course it was so. Now he adjusted his perspective and examined her closely; her spiritual flame was extremely seductive to both of their spirits, her soothing voice, her way of speaking, the way she drank, the micro-movements of her gestures—none of it was anything less than professional.

But could she bear to deceive a weak, pitiful, and helpless child like him? As a Goddess, didn't she feel it was an unfair victory?

He looked at his big brother with a grievance, intending to tattle. He could tell at a glance from Du Zhengyi's calm expression that Du Zhengyi knew. Of course he knew; they must have dealt with each other many times. If Du Zhengyi had ever minded, he certainly didn't mind now. It was possible that Du Zhengyi, this man of steel, was mostly immune to the Goddess's armaments. So... everyone bullied him, this poor little thing. Luo Qi tucked his lower lip over his upper lip, made a wronged baby face, and looked at Du Zhengyi accusingly.

"Shut up," Du Zhengyi said in a low voice.

Luo Qi was shocked, "I didn't say anything, not even through Yajian, are you so old you're having auditory hallucinations?"

"I'm saying it in advance," Du Zhengyi said, "I can feel that you are about to start nagging."

Luo Qi's surprise became even more dramatic, and he glared at Du Zhengyi with resentment.

Du Zhengyi ignored him and said to the old woman, "Shi Xiansheng, you see him. He is still a child."

The old woman smiled and said, "I can understand why you have hidden him for so long. He looks too harmless."

"Looks?" Du Zhengyi countered. It wasn't an interrogation; Du Zhengyi spoke with certainty, "He is inherently harmless, just as there are no such things as poisonous mushrooms in this world. A beautiful little mushroom, growing in the forest—if you don't eat it, you won't be poisoned; if you don't touch it, it will live and die on its own, having nothing to do with worldly affairs. So from this perspective, there are no poisonous mushrooms in the world, only greedy mouths."

Luo Qi subconsciously tensed his nerves; the warm, cozy atmosphere was suddenly pulled taut. He knew Du Zhengyi might be forced to develop a favorable impression of the Goddess, but he was definitely not a frog being boiled in the Goddess's pot. When he wanted to lash out, he could break free from the gentle vines at any time. This tearing sensation originating from the Consciousness World caused slight jagged scars on the edges of his consciousness. If he were a Doctor, he would never recommend this unhealthy behavior of Du Zhengyi's. It was simply equivalent to waking up in the morning and immediately jumping out of bed to do fifty push-ups; it was really, damn it, not conducive to heart health.

"Child, I rarely see you so full of anger," the old woman said, ignoring the rudeness in his words as if she hadn't noticed the change in atmosphere.

In reality, Du Zhengyi did speak quite calmly, without any hint of angry accusation.

Luo Qi blinked and interjected, "You rarely see him lose his temper? I see him full of anger every day."

"A bad temper is one thing, but true anger is a poisonous thorn in the heart." The old woman smiled slightly and reached out to pat the back of Du Zhengyi's hand.

Luo Qi keenly felt the old woman dispelling the emotions Du Zhengyi had condensed. He subconsciously extended his feelers to block the old woman's almost well-intentioned consciousness.

Shi Xiansheng looked over in surprise. Luo Qi awkwardly withdrew his consciousness, hid behind his wine glass, and muttered, "Sorry, sorry, just a habit."

"It's alright," the old woman said, though she still looked at him with surprise. "I can help him relax a bit; tense nerves are no good for his condition."

"Thank you for caring about him, you are such a good person," Luo Qi said obediently, awkwardly rubbing his nose, but still couldn't help saying, "But, don't touch him."

"Alright. I rushed over just to see if you two could still keep going, to evaluate how much further you can walk," the old woman said gently, magnanimously not taking offense. "To be honest, it would be too shameful for us old folks to just ignore you."

"Pei Shu is taking care of us," Du Zhengyi said. "Those words I said just now were not directed at you."

"I understand," the old woman said nonchalantly, as if she were used to the brief ingratitude of a rebellious child at home; a Nainai always had endless tolerance. "Child, you bear too much; there must always be an outlet. Just as the earth is hard, yet there is always the thinnest patch on the surface used to erupt magma."

Luo Qi glanced at her; she described Du Zhengyi very aptly. It seemed he wasn't the only one who knew Du Zhengyi's core was boiling magma. But the effect of telling the truth might not be too good; Du Zhengyi detested being seen through. Luo Qi planned to change the subject. Du Zhengyi must have had a hard time these past few days, and looking back, he must have been under a lot of pressure during this period. Luo Qi didn't want to actually see a volcanic eruption.

"Nainai," Luo Qi called out affectionately with a thick skin, "I... am not a bad person. My dad didn't have to hold a pagoda when he saw me."

The old woman was amused and teased, "You are a rare Mind Archmage. I was pondering that when a Child of Reform like you appeared, there should have been strange phenomena like thunder in winter, snow in summer, or old trees blooming."

Luo Qi thought about it seriously, "Are you saying I'm an auspicious omen?"

The old woman smiled and fell into a brief silence. She looked at him; aging could not take away her spirit. Her eyes were gentle and profound, and Luo Qi could see a secret and vast world hidden behind those eyes. "You are hope."

Luo Qi was swept into a sacred feeling; he had never tasted the feeling of being expected and valued like this. But Du Zhengyi's emotions swept in like a storm, shattering his illusion.

"He is nothing; he is just a little mushroom," Du Zhengyi said forcefully.