Chapter 424: Trial (1)

Luo Qi stood in a spacious room; the long table arranged in a fan shape was the most prominent feature in this hall. This fan shape had Luo Qi as its center, and in front of Luo Qi was also a very small table, like a lectern in a conference room, reaching up to his waist. Luo Qi looked left and right, feeling that this layout was like being inside a slingshot, and he was the small stone inside the slingshot, about to be flicked away.

His hands were shoved into his trouser pockets as he faced forward. All the tabletops were made of marble, reflecting cold light under hundreds of floating lamps, but they could only clearly illuminate the faces of the few people sitting behind the fan-shaped table. Behind the fan-shaped table sat at least several dozen more people, but the light did not reach them; they were draped in black robes, sitting quietly in the darkness. Luo Qi looked around at them, sarcastically thinking that they looked like they had come to attend his funeral. According to ancient tradition, this was what you called a "living funeral"—it could be considered the best form of changing one's luck, a super-charged ritual to ward off bad omens.

"Student Luo Qi," Liu Li called out to him with authority, pulling back his attention. She was already sitting at the furthest point of the fan-shaped table, which was the center position; her voice and posture indicated that this interrogation had officially begun. "We shall initiate questioning on behalf of the Committee."

Luo Qi could not tell if this was an interrogation or a trial, but this formation looked more like a trial. Regardless, he became serious and calmly stared at the faces below. This included those sitting in the darkness whose faces he could not clearly see; they were all likely the darlings of the Mage World, people he had both envied and feared in the past. But now... he could not describe his feelings; he no longer envied them, nor did he feel that intense hatred and desire for revenge that a poor person feels after turning the tables. He was just very calm; everyone was a stranger to each other, and he no longer had the mood to look at them even once more.

He nodded, bowed his head to pay his respects, then raised his head and looked calmly at those below, "Committee."

"Please state everything that happened from the time you left school until we arrived," Liu Li commanded.

"In minute detail?" Luo Qi's gaze swept once more over the main members of the Investigation Team behind the fan-shaped table; following Qionglin's custom, there were still nine people sitting behind the table. Three female Mages, six male Mages, including Liu Li, Peng Xiaopeng, and that female Battle Mage.

"Please provide a brief self-statement first, and then we will begin our questioning of you," Liu Li explained.

"Alright," Luo Qi said, "may I have a glass of water?"

His words and actions triggered a burst of light whispering in the hall. Luo Qi smiled slightly, "I would like to remind all the Great Mages that I can feel your emotions at this moment. For the sake of Qionglin's principles of justice, I request that you try to restrain yourselves and not interfere with me."

A rather awkward emotion emerged from the crowd. Almost everyone sitting there was a Great Mage, and a certain percentage of them were over a hundred years old; Luo Qi's words were practically equivalent to accusing them of being naked. This also indirectly reminded them that they were fundamentally unqualified to examine a Mage like Luo Qi.

Liu Li's stern expression did not change; she nodded objectively, then proceeded to use Qionglin's standard administrative language to remind the Mages present to restrain themselves and maintain a professional demeanor. Incidentally, she also gave Luo Qi a glass of water.

Luo Qi said thank you and picked up the water glass to take a sip. Everyone could only watch him slowly drink the water and then slowly put the glass down.

"At the end of the last semester, Du Zhengyi and I were summoned to Teacher Liu Li's office, where we were given a social research assignment. The topic of the research was 'An Analysis of the Authenticity of Human Group Reports Based on Supernatural Phenomenon Sightings.' According to the needs of the research, we went into human society to contact a human who provided reports of supernatural phenomena on the internet; her name is Guan Xinyue."

No one asked a question, so Luo Qi continued. "In the village where Guan Xinyue witnessed the supernatural phenomenon, I discovered a human corpse. A Mage named Li Xu, who was also investigating there, colluded with his direct subordinate Zhao Zhiyan, and based on the crude, moronic, and incompetent principle that the first person to discover something is the most suspicious, they forcibly brought me back to the Qionglin underground for interrogation. The true identities of Li Xu and Zhao Zhiyan were later confirmed... Great Mage Liu Li, may I mention this part?"

Liu Li nodded cautiously.

"Alright, Li Xu and Zhao Zhiyan are now known members of the Lotus Burner." Luo Qi heard a gasp from the crowd sitting in the shadows behind him, and he raised his voice to continue, "Li Xu and Zhao Zhiyan were perhaps planning to follow their own faith and kill me, a Mage whose abilities were crippled, as a sacrifice to heaven."

There were some angry gasps in the crowd; Luo Qi even regretted having attacked them before. He continued, "The two of them, just like everyone sitting here today, mistakenly thought I had some kind of mysterious ability, or that I was very important. This is probably because I associate with giants, so it gave all of you this illusion. If there is a huge shadow behind me, the owner of that shadow is Du Zhengyi or Pei Shu, not me. I am just a student who hasn't even finished school. No matter what it looks like I've done, I only wanted a few credits so I could advance to the fourth year."

He looked at Liu Li, and many Mages also turned their gaze toward Liu Li following his. The fair and strict Great Mage Liu Li, who was almost flawless, thought for a moment and finally nodded, acknowledging his statement. At least up to this point, Luo Qi had not told a single lie.

He stood alone in the middle, the floating lamps casting light upon him; his eyes were sparkling, and his soft, short black hair reflected the light slightly, as if he had an angel's halo on his head. He was so small, shorter than most Mages, his face soft and cute, his expression simple and innocent, even looking a bit lonely and miserable. He looked very convincing, and at least one-third of the female Mages sitting in the audience were generally quite old; as a result, most of them almost forgave him for his shitty behavior earlier today. If a little boy caused trouble, wasn't that the most normal thing in the world? Who could really be angry at him for such a small matter?

"I have heard that many children release their abilities in the face of immense pressure," Luo Qi said sincerely. "I am the same, it's just that most Mages complete this around the age of fifteen. I don't know why mine appeared so late; perhaps it is because my luck is very special. Li Xu tortured me and wanted to kill me; I fought back against him in an unconscious state. If they had not subjected me to water torture, had not electrocuted me, and had not caused me to lose my senses, I would never have hurt them like that. But I did do it; I defeated them and escaped from Qionglin. I will not deny this."

I am an honest child—Luo Qi put on his most honest face. He was a particularly honest child; he even believed this himself for the time being.