Chapter 431: Waves Rising Without Wind (3)

"Luo Qi?" Someone behind the desk at the end of the room looked up and saw him, then raised their voice a little, calling him with a decisive, dignified, and slightly displeased grandmotherly tone, "Luo Qi, come here, I was just looking for you!"

Luo Qi was startled, his feet as if fitted with wheels, automatically walking toward Liu Li, who was sitting in the innermost part of the open-plan office.

Majiang also glanced inside, and upon catching sight of Liu Li's stern face, he immediately shut his mouth. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaned his body against the wall by the doorway, and watched from afar as Luo Qi went over to speak with Liu Li.

"Teacher Liu." As soon as Luo Qi walked into the office, he chose the form of address most likely to bridge the gap and called out to her earnestly.

Before his next sentence was finished, the female Mage behind the desk waved her hand, and a strange sensation enveloped Luo Qi, as if he had fallen into a giant bubble or had noise-canceling headphones placed over him; the original clamor in the office was filtered out in an instant. Liu Li closed the door to her temporary personal office, and they entered a private conversation.

Following Liu Li's gesture, a stack of stapled papers flew toward him, and Luo Qi hurriedly caught them. He couldn't wait to flip them open, as if he could flip a flattened Du Zhengyi out from within. To his surprise, the content written on the paper made him freeze instantly; it wasn't that he couldn't read, but the words on the paper were like background noise in life, making it impossible for him to focus at all.

"What is this?" He didn't even notice that he had childishly shouted in a complaining, accusatory tone.

"What do you mean 'what is this'?" A flash of unbelievable irritability crossed Teacher Liu Li's face, and she said indignantly, "This is the reading list you must finish, as well as the teaching notes for our school's Mind Course."

Luo Qi restrained the urge to eat the stack of papers; his temper, as vast as the entire Himalayan mountain range, was on the verge of erupting, but now was truly not the time to lose his temper. He swallowed, adjusting the shout he was about to let out into the whisper of a normal person; if he wanted to compete in thunder-making with the Thunder God and Lightning Mother Teacher Liu Li, he might not win. "Teacher Liu, I have a mentor. I—"

Teacher Liu Li interrupted him impatiently once again, "I know, student Luo Qi, Pei Shu of course told me. But we have always had conflicts with the Highland Mages' educational philosophy. If you really want to cultivate immortality and become a Buddha on the snowy mountains, Luo Qi, then I won't stop you. But judging by the pockets you have filled with a cat and snacks, it seems you can't be a monk!"

"Oh." Luo Qi said limply, his temper blown away by a great wind named Liu Li. He was much more docile, just a bit stifled.

"So," Liu Li said sternly, "learn to control your mind ability from those monks, and read through the entire reading list I gave you; every single book requires study notes. You didn't finish reading the materials I gave you just now; the last page is the topic for your final thesis assignment, and the completion time is marked on the assignment. Given the big commotion you caused a few days ago, from the perspective of protecting your own safety, it is appropriate for you to live in seclusion here for the time being; it is not suitable for you to return to school to study immediately. But we don't want to delay your learning progress, especially in your current situation where your ability is growing every day."

"But... but am I not currently under investigation?" Luo Qi asked in surprise.

"Your investigation has already ended," Liu Li said crisply and decisively.

"Huh?" Luo Qi opened his mouth wide in astonishment.

Liu Li's expression became vigilant, "What do you mean? Do you still have materials that need to be disclosed?"

"No, no, none," Luo Qi said hurriedly, "but I thought—"

Thought what, he didn't say. He thought it wouldn't be this easy, that Qionglin wouldn't let him go so easily, such a huge safety hazard.

"These are extraordinary times; Qionglin needs more fresh blood, needs to strengthen itself. The Lotus Burners have been proven to exist, and their influence exceeds our expectations." Liu Li sighed and said, "I think you already know that they have infiltrated Qionglin; we don't know which established Mages can be trusted. At a time like this, your appearance is a huge treasure for us."

My appearance? Luo Qi couldn't help but repeat in his heart, as if I hadn't existed all those years before.

He couldn't suppress this bit of rebellion in his heart; if he didn't have his current abilities, he wouldn't even count as "existing" in the Magic World. Heh, although he knew Liu Li's words were very upright and essentially not wrong, he was still somewhat uncomfortable.

Liu Li looked into his eyes; he didn't know if she had captured anything or not. She continued, "But you can be trusted. From my personal perspective, I don't want to probe into why your ability unsealed so late, and most other Mages don't care about these things either; we are a pragmatic race. Your situation actually has a positive side; when you lacked Magic Ability, you suffered harm from the Lotus Burners, you are their peer, so you are the least likely to lean toward the Lotus Burners in your thinking. Both Du Zhengyi and Majiang have tried their best to prove this to us, and I also believe they are right."

She paused and said again, "Qionglin has never encountered an opponent as powerful and secretive as the current Lotus Burners. Qionglin may not be perfect in your eyes, but for Qionglin to lead the continent with the largest number of Mages in this world is still better than the Lotus Burners leading it. Their most likely platform of action is, first and foremost, to reduce the human population; this is a heinous act, worse than beasts. So, Luo Qi, we need a powerful and firm Mage like you to stand on our side."

Luo Qi's heartbeat quickened, and he felt a slight sense of shame. He didn't really want to think about this matter; no matter how much he didn't want to admit it emotionally, and no matter how ruthless Liu Li's words were, he knew she hadn't said a single wrong word this time.

Luo Qi had always been conflicted; of course he hated the Lotus Burners. What they did to him and their disgusting propositions made him unable to endure them. And that person, that bastard, no matter if he called himself Clownfish or whatever, and no matter for what purpose he helped the two of them, Luo Qi still couldn't forget that he was the one who directly severely injured Du Zhengyi. They were all in that Lotus Burner gang, that bunch of stinking maggots in the dung heap.

But he didn't like Qionglin either; he didn't like it, didn't trust it, and was full of disgust. He rebelliously wanted to open a pet shop and live his life; he also clearly knew that Du Zhengyi had never really asked him to take on any responsibility, and he likewise hoped that he would just go open a pet shop. But such thoughts also made him feel ashamed, as if he originally had the ability to pull someone drowning out of the water, yet he was busy queuing up to buy Heytea at that moment.

Above all this, Luo Qi had always had two ways of overcoming moral dilemmas. One was being busy running for his life and unable to look after himself, so he had no energy to be a world-conquering hero. Two, he believed that no one would truly place the interests of outsiders above those within their personal sphere. In other words, he would always care more about his friends; he wanted his friends to live, to be able to enjoy the life expectancy and the most basic life happiness they deserved as much as possible.

But what could he say right now? He couldn't tell the truth. The official stance of all Mages must be the same; besides supporting Qionglin and fulfilling their obligations according to their ability, Mages had no other choice.

He nodded toward Liu Li, but that was all. To make him say any more grand words against his will to guarantee that he would be at odds with the Lotus Burners for Qionglin, or that he would definitely be loyal to Qionglin, he couldn't do it.

Liu Li spoke with him for a while longer; fortunately, she was a person whose words were sharp but simple and clear, and she would stop once she felt she had said enough. Luo Qi felt relieved that she was still fairly satisfied with him; most of her emphasis was on his studies, reminding him that his final assignment must be sent back to the school's Mind professor via the public hub on time.

Luo Qi finally waited for an opportunity he felt was suitable to interject. "Okay, Teacher. Then where did Du Zhengyi go? I haven't seen him since last night."

After Luo Qi asked, he realized that this was actually the only thing he truly cared about.

"Du Zhengyi?" Liu Li asked in confusion, as if she thought she had misheard.

Luo Qi looked at her in confusion, not knowing why she had such a reaction. Did he ask the wrong thing? Of course he would ask.

"Du Zhengyi went to do his own business," Liu Li replied, as if she thought Luo Qi's question was redundant.

Luo Qi didn't understand; he suddenly felt that he really didn't understand, and this was the only thing he didn't understand today. "What business of his did he go to do?"

Liu Li stared at him sternly for a while, as if she suddenly wanted to probe whether he had any heart to resist Qionglin at this moment.

Luo Qi was at a loss, and also a bit nervous, a bit startled.

"You aren't intentionally prying into the work content of an Advanced Combat Mage and Execution Mage, are you?" Liu Li asked seriously.

"What?" Luo Qi asked in bewilderment; his thinking ability seemed to have been buried thirty levels underground, and it was only after a long while that he felt the gears of his thoughts click shut. He understood, "You mean, Du Zhengyi was sent out again, to carry out a mission, to work?"

"Of course," Liu Li said in surprise, simultaneously relaxing her facial expression, but Luo Qi still saw the shadow of a hidden storm in her eyes. "Of course he went to work. The investigation is already over; any Mage of sound mind would not ignore the contributions Du Zhengyi has made to Qionglin for so many years. Except for those few with ulterior motives, no one would truly doubt him. Without an investigation, and he doesn't need to hide in the Highland, why would he still be wasting time here? These are extraordinary times; Qionglin needs to mobilize all its forces, and Du Zhengyi will of course be sent out."

"But he..." Luo Qi gripped his cuffs tightly, "but he..."

"I know his problem," Liu Li said dogmatically, "the mission he was sent on requires his experience, not his combat ability. Du Zhengyi is likewise a precious treasure of Qionglin; no one wants to lose him intentionally."

But Luo Qi was still frightened; were they just sending Du Zhengyi out like that?

His mental barrier was very strong, and Liu Li did not have the ability to read his mind, but his meaning was written all over his face, and Liu Li understood. "Wanting to work is Du Zhengyi's own idea; no one forced him, he understands what the situation is now. He is very mature, and I hope you can be more mature as well."

Luo Qi didn't speak; he found he couldn't cope with his current emotions. On one hand, Du Zhengyi was fine, no one punished him, no one hurt him, and they had both passed the test. On the other hand, he suddenly discovered upon waking up that Du Zhengyi was no longer by his side. He trembled all over, suddenly understanding an obvious fact that he had always ignored: he understood Qionglin's power, understood the power of authority. He was indeed a Mind Mage that everyone feared, but whether he could see his friend, whether he would have the chance to look at his friend one more time, and whether he could say another word to him, these were all decided by Qionglin.

His mind was a mess; he dealt with Liu Li haphazardly, said a few more words, and finally left Liu Li's desk in confusion, holding the stack of learning materials he had to complete. Majiang looked at him with concern at the door; he heard Majiang ask him what was wrong, so he told Majiang the matter briefly.

He heard Majiang curse loudly, and then he walked into the depths of the office with a Doctor's pace to argue with Liu Li. Luo Qi couldn't hear what they were saying, but from what he saw, the Doctor must have fiercely resisted Liu Li and Qionglin's arrangements. Given Luo Qi's current situation, it would be best not to transfer Du Zhengyi away, or perhaps from the Doctor's perspective, he also protested the act of letting Du Zhengyi continue to serve.

But Luo Qi vaguely knew that the result wouldn't change. That Qionglin in the world of ice and snow was forever cold and dignified, and everyone would shrink before it. It could harden its face and separate him from his friend. Perhaps Du Zhengyi would die somewhere, and they wouldn't even have a farewell.