Chapter 410: Zhou Quan, the Wind-Blower

"I can tell you some news right now; the Magic World doesn't have hourly news broadcasts for you to catch." Zhou Quan worked hard at smoothing Luo Qi's fur while stealing a few pistachios from Luo Qi's pocket. "Don't, don't, don't be unwilling to listen; you must know this first piece of news."

"What kind of bullshit must I know?"

"The Emergency Investigation Team of the Qionglin is arriving in a few days," Zhou Quan said, watching Luo Qi and observing Luo Qi's reaction.

"Investigating what bullshit?" Luo Qi asked impatiently. "Can you finish in one breath and not use such clumsy methods to keep people in suspense?"

Zhou Quan explained with unusual patience, "It's not investigating bullshit; it's coming to investigate you."

"Oh," Luo Qi said, glaring at him unhappily.

"You didn't know?" Zhou Quan asked.

"I knew, my brother already warned me," Luo Qi said. "If you're here to provide this kind of news, you'd better get lost quickly and return the pistachios you ate of mine."

"This certainly can't count as news. Such massive Magic Energy was moved here; after the Qionglin's monitoring system, which hasn't sounded in eight hundred years, went off, an Investigation Team would definitely come to inspect. You don't need to hear this from others; this is standard procedure, you surely could have thought of it. But, do you want to know the personnel list of the Investigation Team?" Zhou Quan said with a beaming smile.

Luo Qi looked him up and down, "How did a Mage like you come to be?"

"Likewise," Zhou Quan laughed. "Don't be so serious when dealing with people, don't be particular about those rules and regulations, and don't care about those details. You must take a good look at this list for the Emergency Investigation Team."

As he spoke, he extended the index and middle fingers of his right hand and flicked them through the air. A halo of light shot out from his fingertips. A blurred paper scroll flew diagonally onto the treetop; Du Zhengyi reached out to catch it, and the scroll unfolded before him.

"A little Magic gadget that burns after reading," Zhou Quan said to Luo Qi with a smile. "Of course, it doesn't have much use for you, but I've heard that one shouldn't fight an unprepared battle. It's always good to have a head start in everything; knowing early can also give you some mental preparation."

"I'm not familiar with the personnel at Qionglin, why don't you explain it?" Luo Qi said, looking at him.

"I'd be happy to. I'm too familiar with the personnel at Qionglin, more familiar than I am with my own family genealogy. Can't help it, I'm just that professional," Zhou Quan said.

"Stop blabbering."

"Alright. First, you need to know that there are people from Fan Shi in this," Zhou Quan smiled and teased. "Several Telepathic Mages under Fan Shi, and one whom I know you have already crossed paths with—the squad leader of Fan Shi's Cleaver Squad, Chi Yu."

"That brainless gorilla?" Luo Qi remembered who he was; he had even recorded a video of him at the Street Office.

"Ah, yes, that's the thing. But you also need to be careful; his lethality in the Battle Mage sequence is second only to Du Zhengyi. And he is different from Du Zhengyi; no matter how astonishing Du Zhengyi's lethality is, he always has a sense of integrity from beginning to end. I can't feel that in Chi Yu. We can talk about this in private, but I can tell you, I feel like he is gradually losing control."

"You think Du Zhengyi has a lot of integrity?" Luo Qi asked.

"Buddy, can you focus on the main point? Can we praise the one in the tree another day?" Zhou Quan said.

Luo Qi asked in confusion, "But can that gorilla even perform investigative work? What kind of investigative work is he capable of with that bit of intelligence? And why was Fan Shi able to send people over? Isn't he supposed to be under investigation by Qionglin right now?"

"Fan Shi is a Venerable, one of the Nine Venerables. To be honest, it is almost impossible for a Mage at this level to be convicted. I've read the Qionglin records; at least on the surface, no Nine Venerables have ever been judged guilty. A few days ago, Pei Shu initiated an impeachment against Fan Shi at Qionglin, and this process is naturally very long. If it weren't for the fact that the person initiating the impeachment was a respected Mage like Pei Shu, and the head of the Nine Venerables at that, the outcome would definitely have been Du Zhengyi being found guilty instead. Fan Shi would at most receive internal punishment; after all, the prestige of the Nine Venerables cannot be damaged. The situation was very favorable for Pei Shu a few days ago; my original assessment was that Fan Shi would be imprisoned and might undergo thought detection by a Magic Array in secret. But..." Zhou Quan dragged out a long sound and shrugged helplessly.

Luo Qi's heart sank, "But we caused trouble here and generated high-energy Magic consumption, so Qionglin turned to suspecting Du Zhengyi?"

"Du Zhengyi and you," Zhou Quan corrected his statement. "Now you are tied together, grasshoppers on the same string."

"So this investigation is very tricky?" Luo Qi asked with some annoyance.

"I'm afraid Pei Shu has no way to simplify the process. He can't stop them from doing things by the book; he can only let them investigate you through the normal process," Zhou Quan said. He looked into Luo Qi's eyes and emphasized, "So... be worried, Qiqi."

"Screw your Qiqi," Luo Qi said rudely. "If you call me Qiqi again, I'll eat your brain."

"Alright, Qiqi. By the way, let me highlight another point for you: there is a person named Han Yi participating in the investigation," Zhou Quan said with a smile.

"Sounds a bit familiar," Luo Qi said.

"Ahaha, him? He is Du Zhengyi's colleague and also a Battle Mage of Qionglin. His fiancée used to be Du Zhengyi's... teammate, and later became Du Zhengyi's battle casualty," Zhou Quan chuckled twice and finished the rest of the sentence quickly and in a low voice.

"Damn," Luo Qi said with understanding, "that's a deep grudge."

"Yeah, deep as the sea," Zhou Quan said. "These two have the greatest hostility toward you; as for the others, there is no direct connection. But... you know Du Zhengyi is very famous. Because of his work, he has some grudges with many Mage families. Can't help it; the more families that produce Great Mages, the greater the probability of High-Reaction Mages appearing. Now that they've encountered such an opportunity, I'm afraid many families will try their best to send people with some distant connection to them to find an opportunity to catch Du Zhengyi's handle. You must be careful, Qiqi; don't become Du Zhengyi's battle casualty in politics."

"That sounds really unpleasant," Luo Qi said irritably.

"I don't mean anything else, I just hope you won't let your guard down and will be careful. Also, by the way, the Investigation Team will arrive today," Zhou Quan said.

"Fuck," Luo Qi shouted. "You didn't say so earlier! What kind of head start is this?"

"Good brother, I've done my best; I can only help you up to here. As for what family interests the others represent, and which people are truly clean and fair, I will help you find out about that slowly," Zhou Quan said. "I have to go adjust the arrangements for the people entering the city now; they've all been fighting to enter the city to play lately—another fine example you've set!"