Chapter 438: The Hallucinations of a Mind Mage

Luo Qi did not go to join the crowd with Zhou Quan; it was only a matter of time before Chi Yu was caught. But honestly, the Mages were far too idle at this moment. Luo Qi stood in the great hall, watching as Mages continuously emerged from the corridors and from beneath the ground, flowing together like a trickling stream and pouring out through a floor drain. The Teleportation Point in the hall that led to the outdoors was that very floor drain.

Luo Qi stood in the hall like a stone for a while. For an instant, the firelight in the hall flickered, and before Luo Qi could look closely, the light had already grown dim. Luo Qi dazedly saw fire, blood, and water. It was a pool of dirty water mixed with blood, reflecting the firelight. He blinked, wanting to see more clearly, and he heightened his perspective, wanting to see where the bloody water was dripping from. Just at this moment, the entire world suddenly collapsed. The dome shattered and fell, the stars splintered, and a gale rushed into this world; his hair swayed and whipped in the gale like wild grass. He looked down again in terror, realizing he was in mid-air, with a scarlet ocean churning and boiling beneath him, whipping up monstrous waves like the Karma Fire of hell breaking through the earth's crust.

Luo Qi heard a shrill laugh, like someone whipping his nerves with a lash. He shuddered; in the sky where the stars were shattering, the clouds swirled like the eyes of a devil, and the shadow of a fire dragon loomed behind the clouds. He did not know what that was, but he felt a chill from the depths of his soul, as if that were the deepest fear behind everything.

He could not help but gasp, as if kicked in the gut by a vicious beast. He was shocked and in pain, then suddenly snapped back to reality. The fire, blood, and water, along with the shattered stars and the burning evil dragon, all vanished.

Luo Qi looked around in bewilderment. He was in the Highland Mage hall, surrounded by everything he was accustomed to, real and beyond question. He raised his hand, pressing the back of his hand against his lips to hide his quickened breathing. He had hallucinated; he knew this was the great taboo for a Mind Mage, and he also knew this was the situation everyone feared would occur if Du Zhengyi ceased to exist. If they knew, if they only knew, he would certainly be wiped out of existence. A Mind Mage who had lost control did not even qualify to enter the underground Cube of the Qionglin, because they were simply too dangerous. Even Luo Qi would not defend himself; this was an indisputable fact.

Although he often ordered others not to provoke him and ordered Du Zhengyi to stay with him, he had not actually taken the issue of the Anchor Point seriously. In this matter, his tendency to gamble was particularly strong; he always assumed he would find a way to solve it. He had never even imagined that this would come so quickly. Even Mahjong had told him that the problem would arise after Du Zhengyi truly died; it would be years after his death before he began to confuse reality and potentially fall into an existential crisis.

Luo Qi's panicked gaze swept between the nearby walls, candles, and curtains. In just an instant, as if a wind had brushed past, the dark red curtains moved, and Luo Qi met a pair of eyes. He froze, as if he had fallen into an ice hole in the dead of winter; at that moment, his blood almost froze solid.

The curtains closed quickly, and those eyes vanished behind the heavy drapes. Luo Qi could only think that this was someone he did not know, an unfamiliar Highland Mage.

No problem, Highland Mages never meddle in other people's business?

If they didn't meddle, why would he pay attention to him?

Luo Qi's stomach turned cold; he knew the Highland Mage must have sensed something. They were strange, always had been strange, with strange senses and strange Magic. Most importantly, they were all Mind Mages to varying degrees.

"Luo Qi." A drifting and crisp voice suddenly called him from behind.

He turned his head abruptly; it was Du Zhengyi's junior sister, that girl with a face a bit pale but not sickly. Her hair was messy today; perhaps there was no boy worth her doing a good hairstyle for today.

"Hey, Luo Qi, it really is you. I thought I'd seen wrong." Liu Ziyi swayed over to Luo Qi's side and yawned.

Luo Qi nodded at her, while unable to resist glancing back at the curtains behind him; they seemed empty now. This was becoming even more disgusting, Luo Qi thought gloomily; he didn't even know if those eyes had truly existed now.

"Why are you standing here like a fool? They've all gone out to watch the excitement," Liu Ziyi said. "There have been too many things lately, no one can calm down, and no one can get any work done. If we were in the Qionglin, everyone wouldn't be this idle. You're really composed, oh god, I get it, you're the source of the chaos, aren't you?"

Luo Qi nodded. He turned his head to look into Liu Ziyi's eyes; she was also sizing him up, though not very eagerly, nor very curiously, and she yawned again casually. "Where's my senior brother? Why isn't he with you?"

Luo Qi did not answer. She finally realized she had completed the entire dialogue for two minutes by herself, and her expression turned suspicious. "What's wrong?"

Luo Qi did not want her to keep staring at him, so he said with effort, "Du Zhengyi was sent away."

Liu Ziyi's slender brows furrowed. "Huh?"

"Finally, someone who knows even later than I do," Luo Qi mocked in a low, self-muttering tone. His head throbbed, leaving him with little patience.

"I wanted to ask him for help, too," Liu Ziyi muttered unhappily.

"Then you'll have to get in line; everyone wants a piece of Du Zhengyi," Luo Qi said in a low voice.

Liu Ziyi finally heard what he was saying and raised a pair of clear eyes to look at him, as if she had just realized his tone was unfriendly. To Luo Qi's surprise, she let out a "pfft" of laughter.

Luo Qi watched her, shocked and vigilant.

"Yeah, I just remembered, even though my senior brother ran off, catching you is also somewhat useful," Liu Ziyi said briskly in a drifting voice. "Hurry up and come with me!"

"What?" Luo Qi exclaimed in surprise; he was not willing to be bossed around by a girl. "I'm not going." No matter where.

"Do you want me to remind you? I helped a little bit with the process of my senior brother bringing you back from that place." Liu Ziyi paused, and Luo Qi could practically read her thoughts; she was gradually realizing that asking for favors from Luo Qi was useless, and she had thought of a better idea. Her face brightened. "The biggest favor I did for you two was keeping silent. In that valley, I..."

"Wait," Luo Qi said. "What did you just ask me to do?"

Liu Ziyi hugged her arms, revealing a satisfied expression. "This is what they call the father's debt being paid by the son; if Du Zhengyi ran off, then so be it."

"He is not my father!"