Chapter 412: Keywords in the Memory Bank

"Your sister?" Luo Qi asked hesitantly, his mind calculating rapidly.

"Are you two in some kind of trouble?" Guan Xinyue glanced into the distance; she could no longer see Du Zhengyi's back, but she had felt the tension in the atmosphere just moments ago.

She wanted to get to the bottom of her sister's situation, but the matter was too big for her, and after waiting for so long, and then patiently waiting for Luo Qi to recover, she felt with a trace of numbness that she wasn't quite as anxious as before.

Luo Qi also perceived her feelings; even without his "hacks," he was a sharp person.

He opened his mouth to summarize the situation he was facing, "It's nothing major. It's internal strife within the Qionglin; the high-level Nine Venerables are fighting for power, and Du Zhengyi and I are their opportunity to pry Pei Shu loose. They think two little brats are easy to leverage, a breakthrough point."

Guan Xinyue stepped on the soft green grass, walking a little closer to Luo Qi, though she subconsciously detoured toward an old tree, putting some distance between herself and him again. "Are you planning to work for Pei Shu? Like my grandfather did?"

Like my grandfather did... Guan Xinyue's voice was very soft, but it fell on Luo Qi's ears with much greater weight, practically shocking.

"To be honest, I hate being used the most," Luo Qi said. "But I have no choice. Whether the people coming are after me, Du Zhengyi, or Pei Shu, I'm the one on the front line. I was forced to stand in this legion, and since I'm standing in the first layer of the legion, saving my own skin is the priority."

"Right, you've never liked those power-hungry Mages," Guan Xinyue said quietly. "Even if every Mage mentions Pei Shu with worship, you treat him like a scarecrow. You aren't loyal to him; you're loyal to Du Zhengyi, and he will realize that sooner or later."

Luo Qi thought silently for a while; two birds were squabbling on the branch above their heads, and he was a bit distracted. "No need to be so serious. Being loyal to a friend is how it should be."

"Loyalty to a friend is how it should be," Guan Xinyue said, and she stepped out from behind the tree. Luo Qi saw her hands behind her back, her footsteps light, her expression indifferent, and he knew he had been played. "So you should know that for me, everything I've done has been to find my sister."

Luo Qi didn't make a sound, maintaining a cautious silence.

"If you know her whereabouts, or whether she is dead or alive, you should tell me," Guan Xinyue said.

Luo Qi opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"If you don't say it, I assume it must be because you think it's impossible to track her whereabouts right now, or because you don't know how to break the bad news to me," Guan Xinyue said.

Luo Qi's tension eased slightly; he felt there was a way forward.

But before he could open his mouth to speak, Guan Xinyue said, "I'm just making excuses for you; the truth is nothing like that at all."

"I..." Luo Qi said.

Guan Xinyue interrupted him once more, "I know you've already confirmed my sister's whereabouts. You didn't say anything; you decided to do this without any hesitation or struggle. You're happy every day, under no pressure, because my sister's matter isn't important to you at all. I care about you so much—that goes without saying—I worried about you so much, I was so heartbroken thinking you were dead..."

"I'm not..." Luo Qi felt awkward; he discovered he had no idea how to deal with girls. Come to think of it, he could roll around under Du Zhengyi's feet and it wouldn't matter, but how could he be shameless in front of a girl?

However, Guan Xinyue immediately brought up Du Zhengyi, "If it were Du Zhengyi's business, you would never be so indifferent. No matter what you say normally, when it comes to the critical moment, it shows that a Mage is a Mage, and a human is a human. Two worlds are just two worlds. I understand, I just hope you can at least tell me the truth. I won't ask why you've kept it from me, but I have the right to know what happened to my sister."

"No, no, it's not like that," Luo Qi was dizzy from being grilled. "How could you think that?"

"Tell me!" Guan Xinyue commanded wearily.

Luo Qi rubbed his hair in frustration, "It must be that old hag who said something. My privacy was completely exposed to others; damn it, I feel like my underwear was stolen."

"Luo Qi!" Guan Xinyue called out.

"The fact is I don't know," Luo Qi saw Guan Xinyue's expression was extremely ugly and hurriedly explained, "I know, but I also don't know."

"Speak clearly," Guan Xinyue said angrily. "I know you're the best at lying; you just have an innocent face!"

"I'm telling the truth. It's true, I might know your sister's whereabouts, but I have no way to recall it right now," Luo Qi explained.

"How do you expect me to believe that? That thing—I don't care what that thing that occupied your body is—anyway, it knows! It saw it in your memories! Other things can recall it for you, but you can't recall it yourself? Don't lie; you're the Mind Archmage! Mages outside are breaking their heads trying to win you over! Don't tell me everyone is wrong about you," Guan Xinyue said.

Luo Qi licked his dry lips, realizing the problem was a bit serious. "I swear one day I will remember. Your sister's whereabouts are in my head, I admit it. But I hid this memory away. Only when a certain thing I'm waiting for happens can I remember it. I need a trigger event; I need someone to pull the trigger."

"Why?" Guan Xinyue asked, bewildered.

"For a logical reason," Luo Qi said hollowly. He knew he sounded like a liar, but he didn't know how to explain his own way of acting so that this heartbroken girl could accept it. "Since Mind Mages exist, the mind is not a safe place. Only when even I have forgotten it can the secret not be discovered."

"That thing discovered it," Guan Xinyue said distrustfully.

"Except for that extreme situation, who else has the ability to traverse my mind? Even if they got my brain, seeing that matter would just be that old hag's good luck," Luo Qi said. "Xinyue, we are friends through life and death; trust me, okay? Since I would do this, there must have been an important reason at the time."

"If my sister is alive, then it means you think finding her isn't important. If my sister is already dead, then it means you think she's dead anyway, so let the dead make way for more important things."

Luo Qi was quiet for a while; after a long time, he said, "I don't think I'm that cold-blooded."

"You don't even know if you are!" Guan Xinyue said sarcastically. "Then undo the roadblock you set for yourself and tell me the truth."

"I can't," Luo Qi said.

"You can't?"

"Technically, I can," Luo Qi hesitated for a moment, but he knew his choice. "But if a thing cannot be seen through to the end, it has no meaning. The me of now must abide by the decision the me of that day made. I will not betray any of you, and I will never betray myself."

"You..." Guan Xinyue's eyes turned red. Luo Qi rarely showed such persistence in a matter; he was usually mild-mannered, but when he insisted on something, the psychological pressure he radiated onto others was surprisingly great.

She turned her eyes away, "Fine, I understand. I have no reason to stay with you guys anymore either."

"What? No, no, no, no, you've been with us for too long; many people will be watching you from the shadows. The Lotus Burner would be the first one not to let you go..."

"I will stay here for a while. But today's events have at least made me understand one thing," Guan Xinyue said.

"What?" Luo Qi asked nervously.

"The time to part ways will always come; I have to plan for myself," Guan Xinyue said.

Luo Qi began to feel uncomfortable, like he was carsick. "Don't, the situation is too complicated right now; you shouldn't come into contact with anyone else."