Chapter 426: Interrogation (3)

"I noticed you didn't mention the situation regarding the mage with the surname Guan. Did you not notice that a mage family extermination case occurred at your investigation site?" Peng Xiaopeng asked. As Luo Qi gradually grew impatient, he himself finally calmed down bit by bit.

Luo Qi looked down at him from a superior position, pondering for about a second. For a child of his age, his expression became somewhat cold. "I'm afraid you're implying that we were harmed by the school. I didn't know you had such grand career ambitions, planning to interrogate the school and Qionglin as well."

A look of embarrassment flashed across Peng Xiaopeng's face, and he couldn't help but glance at Liu Li, who was sitting right next to him.

Luo Qi stared at him with schadenfreude. Qionglin had always held absolute authority; it allowed itself to act in a sneaky and mysterious manner, but it never permitted others to investigate what it was actually doing. It allowed no questioning, no prying, and no lack of cooperation.

Peng Xiaopeng coughed, pulling back his mental faculties that had been on the verge of falling apart just a moment ago. "My focus is on your behavior, Student Luo Qi. I noticed you speaking up for a human girl. You seem to be friends. Faced with the tragedy of her family being exterminated, didn't you do something? In my view, this girl is very actively trying to find the cause of her relatives' deaths and is also very eager to find the whereabouts of her sister."

"I sympathize with her," Luo Qi said cautiously, thinking about how to phrase what came next while recalling the events. He recalled the process of their discovery, the Shenmiao that worshipped the Da Hei Heaven, and the Merit Points they had accumulated. The incense at that dilapidated temple of Leader Zhao and Clownfish had likely already been cut off. That bastard Clownfish not only almost succeeded in beating Du Zhengyi half to death but also used humans to kill many mages, and perhaps even killed Guan Xinyue's entire family. Damn, he looked just like an anti-Lotus Burner, a standard Lotus Eater! And yet, Du Zhengyi had actually cooperated with him once without any hard feelings... Hmm, so Du Zhengyi really is a calm, mature man worthy of his emulation.

"Student Luo Qi!" someone called him, in an annoying tone.

"Hm?" he said unhappily.

"We are asking you a question," Peng Xiaopeng reminded him from below.

No one missed the brilliant expression of sudden realization on his face as he came back to his senses. Even he himself knew that if there were a mirror in front of him now, he would certainly be able to admire his own classic, foolish sequence of "zoning out – coming to – becoming embarrassed and angry." With this stupid face of his, he would surely earn a rating of no more than two intelligence points. Only Du Zhengyi was used to looking at him every day and usually showed no reaction. Now, many of the elite mages below were looking at each other, exchanging expressions.

Luo Qi's expressions were usually quite infectious, but a rich variety of expressions was not his forte; right now, his expression had stiffened.

Yet on the other hand, Luo Qi's mental tentacles felt the hostility in the room recede to a very satisfactory range. He was somewhat surprised, so he wisely pursed his lips and said nothing.

He wore a gloomy face, looking even more like a blockhead; only those with low intelligence got angry often. However, he was thinking of a new line of reasoning. Perhaps there really was a unique skill. This skill was not being a Mind Master; even if he didn't have Telepathy, he could still do it. His unique Magic skill was that even if he were a Transformer, people would still view him as a dwarf.

"So... you sympathize with her? That's it?" Peng Xiaopeng asked in surprise, trying his best to induce him to reveal more information.

"What else can I do?" Luo Qi asked back earnestly. "I also wish I were Sherlock Holmes."

"Who?" Peng Xiaopeng asked, puzzled.

"A great detective written by a British human author, he..."

"Shut up, Luo Qi," Liu Li interrupted him, unable to bear it any longer. Compared to the others, she understood Luo Qi a bit better and knew that if Luo Qi let his mouth run wild, he could lead everyone astray. "Let's not turn Qionglin's investigation into a farce. Child, take back your English literature lecture; we still hope to be able to eat breakfast tomorrow."

Oh, Luo Qi silently said the word "oh."

The continuous offensive that Peng Xiaopeng hoped to achieve had unfortunately been broken again. He had no choice but to take a few deep breaths, struggling to find his train of thought and rhythm again. "Student Luo Qi, I ask you to answer a key and direct question."

"Okay," Luo Qi said, cooperating.

"This question is one I discovered while checking Li Xu's work log," Peng Xiaopeng said.

Luo Qi's face showed a trace of nervousness upon hearing Li Xu's work log; this subtle change did not escape Peng Xiaopeng's eyes.

"Student Luo Qi, why were the high-ranking monks in the Da Hei Heaven temple scared out of their wits when they saw you? Why you? Forgive my bluntness, but Du Zhengyi looks much more terrifying than you," Peng Xiaopeng asked.

"I am a Mind Mage," Luo Qi said. He could only deny it this way; he still hadn't truly figured this question out himself.

But the moment he said it, he realized a loophole. Sure enough, Peng Xiaopeng's face revealed a look of having caught him. He opened his mouth and said, "But Student Luo Qi, you only erupted with the potential for Telepathy in the Interrogation Room beneath Qionglin two days after that."

Luo Qi looked at him, and after a few breaths, he suddenly said, "Du Zhengyi is very happy when he is by my side."

"Huh?" Peng Xiaopeng looked at him, stunned, almost forgetting what he had asked.

"I would like to ask everyone present, especially the Great Mages who are in the same combat sequence as Du Zhengyi, when have you ever seen Du Zhengyi in a good mood, happy and peaceful?" Luo Qi thought of a remedial measure in his heart and had already arranged how to say it.

No one was willing to answer this question, because earlier today, these people were almost vomiting just because Du Zhengyi was standing there with ill intent.

It was that female Battle Mage sitting in the front who spoke first; it was a sound of being amused. Everyone's attention turned to her, and she said somewhat indifferently, "Fine, this question needs someone to answer it, so I'll say it. Du Zhengyi is notorious. To be honest, it's not that he doesn't do good deeds, but he deliberately makes people uncomfortable even when he is doing them."

She likely noticed the silence around her and the conservative quiet nearby, so she paused and couldn't help but sneer. "What's wrong with being blunt? An ill-bred brat who is stronger and smarter than everyone else—you just can't stand him, but you can't beat him either. Looking back, you must remember what he was like when he was a kid; from the moment he appeared in Qionglin, everyone avoided him. I remember when he was twelve, one day he suddenly became obsessed with magical plants. He cleared a vegetable patch in Qionglin. I still don't know what he planted there to this day. But I remember—I don't know which unlucky soul it was—when adjusting the Qionglin climate, they forgot his vegetable patch needed a tropical climate and executed a temperate autumn climate across the board. As a result, that twelve-year-old brat was furious and made Qionglin maintain an Arctic climate for seven whole days. It didn't matter who talked to him; even the Great Mages worked overtime for seven days before they found the spell he had modified. I still remember the chilblains on my hands when I woke up. By the time he finally grew up, hey, his temper was even more damnably bad. Nine out of ten times I saw him, he was in a foul mood. The things he did later are simply too numerous to record."

Luo Qi opened his mouth in surprise and finally couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Xiang Qian," Liu Li said helplessly, "I have already participated in nineteen special seminars regarding the handling of the Du Zhengyi issue. There is no need for us to twist the nature of today's meeting as well, right?"

The female Battle Mage nodded and stretched out both hands in a gesture of "I'm helpless too."

Luo Qi suppressed his laughter and continued, "But Du Zhengyi is the gentlest person I have ever met; he loves to laugh and really likes to take care of people."

More than one person shuddered.

Luo Qi said, "I just want to tell you that before I realized my own potential, I still had great power subconsciously. I think, Mage Peng, because you are not a Mind Mage, that is why you would ask such a question. Other Mind Mages should be able to understand what I am saying."

Luo Qi had never thought that the words his father once said to Du Zhengyi would come out of his own mouth again. "Even when I didn't have Telepathy, my Yajian could still radiate out in wisps. I can always win the favor of those I take a liking to." He smiled, and although there was a hint of bitterness at the corners of his lips, he continued, "So I can also scare away some people who make me feel afraid. This is a kind of instinct to seek advantages and avoid harm."

I'm afraid no one had ever—at least no one in the school—realized that Luo Qi was actually a quick-witted and clever person. He ended his words, stopping at the right point, waiting for others to say more.

Peng Xiaopeng had nothing to say for the moment. The senior Mind Mage behind the fan-shaped table nodded at him, confirming that Luo Qi's words were reasonable.

Peng Xiaopeng raised his head to look at him. "Du Zhengyi has indeed never stood on anyone's side. I am indeed not used to him suddenly having a friend. So, are you used to using others?"

The topic turned to proving whether Luo Qi had lost his humanity. Luo Qi knew that what they most wanted to determine was always whether he was a pervert. But this question still made a bitter taste slide onto his tongue.

"Du Zhengyi is not a fool; he wouldn't be used by someone for so long," Luo Qi said dryly.

Perhaps Du Zhengyi's intelligence quota was indeed too high and very credible, so this question actually passed just like that. They didn't say anything more. Luo Qi saw Peng Xiaopeng hesitate for a moment and then make a checkmark on his paper.

Peng Xiaopeng pondered for a moment before raising his head to say, "Apart from the above questions, I noticed that your statement intentionally avoided one place. There is conclusive evidence proving that during your so-called 'recuperation period,' you appeared in a market with a somewhat controversial scope of business. Someone provided information to Qionglin that you once interrogated a customer there."

"Does the fact that I went to a market with Du Zhengyi also need to be reported?" Luo Qi said slyly. "But if you want to ask, I am of course happy to answer; there's nothing big about it."