Chapter 494: Hello!

The door was pushed open, and a draft blew onto Luo Qi's head.

A thought crossed Luo Qi's mind: this meant the Highland Mage's roof still hadn't been fully repaired. He raised his eyes and looked at the Highland Mage—the most senior one, Mage Hashi, who could still be considered half a mentor to Luo Qi.

He saw that even though there were still faint traces of doubt and vigilance on Du Zhengyi's face, upon clearly seeing that the visitor was Mage Hashi, he still revealed a look of humble, fawning deference, like a student seeing his son's homeroom teacher. Luo Qi stared at the ceiling beams, resentful and sullen.

As the intruder, Mage Hashi performed a bow half a rank lower to Du Zhengyi. This was excessively formal; out of the corner of his eye, Luo Qi saw Du Zhengyi immediately return a more complete, lower-ranking bow. He laughed twice in his Consciousness World, secretly slandering that they should just keep up the politeness and finish off the next nine levels of bowing, like two idiots arguing over who gets to pay the bill at a restaurant entrance.

Du Zhengyi turned his head and glared at him, as if he knew what he was thinking. Luo Qi felt nervous for a moment, truly afraid he would bring up his manners just like his mother used to. Of course, Du Zhengyi didn't; he just glared at him, looking at him with profound meaning.

Luo Qi still lay obediently on the bed, saying listlessly, "We are all Mind Mages; the physical body is nothing but shackles. In the realm of the spirit, we are all free. Without the constraints of gravity, any direction can be 'up.' Great Mage, just pretend I'm standing right now."

The bed beneath his backside trembled; Du Zhengyi kicked the foot of his bed without ceremony.

There was only the same faint smile as usual on the Highland Mage's face; Luo Qi knew they were supposed to be like this, never provoked. The Highland Mage walked two steps toward the center of the room, and the door closed behind the Mage. "Butterflies under the sunlight are pleasing to the eye, yet their kin flying in the lightless night are bloated and gloomy."

Luo Qi pondered for a moment, raised his eyes, and stared sharply at Mage Hashi. Mage Hashi's hands were folded in front of his robes, and he bowed slightly, as if asking for Luo Qi's forgiveness for the offense in his words.

"I didn't quite understand," Luo Qi said slowly, glancing secretly at Du Zhengyi. A mage trained by Qionglin like Du Zhengyi shouldn't be able to understand such words that required imagination to fill in the blanks. But he had never seen a mage smarter or more capable of comprehension than Du Zhengyi; sooner or later, he would understand.

"To remain like a butterfly of the day in a darkness invisible to others—this concerns the soul," Mage Hashi said. Luo Qi looked at him; he had a gaunt, dark face with some fine wrinkles. When he said these things, he was still smiling, his eyes wise and serene. Being reproached by such a person made one feel very uncomfortable.

Luo Qi knew he had been caught peeking into someone else's memory; shame made his jaw ache, but he firmly swallowed that feeling. Instead, he lay even more relaxed on the pillow, his gaze drifting casually to the ceiling. "Butterflies of the day, moths of the night—beauty and ugliness are just human perspectives. They don't care, and besides, nature has its own laws."

"Nature has the laws of nature," Mage Hashi nodded.

Luo Qi smiled and said, "Whether it's a butterfly or a moth, they both come from caterpillars. Humans call this—metamorphosis. What difference does it make?"

"Luo Qi," Du Zhengyi called him in a low voice, with a warning to speak carefully.

Luo Qi didn't care; he raised his arms to pillow his head, letting himself lie higher, and looked at Mage Hashi without straining his neck. He wouldn't provoke his elders, but his gaze was already unfriendly, and he also smiled slightly. Du Zhengyi didn't say anything more; he understood Du Zhengyi. He treated people as equals from the bottom of his heart, and if he really expressed his stance, Du Zhengyi would always respect his thoughts.

"Mage Hashi, do you know the human Voltaire?" Luo Qi asked suddenly.

Mage Hashi did not react to his earlier roundabout sarcasm, nor did he show surprise at his sudden change of topic. "A window through which humans glimpse reason."

"Ah, he reminds me of the Highland Mages."

"The Highland Mages have never enlightened the Mage society," Mage Hashi said.

"No, no, I didn't mean it so profoundly. I just read in a book that Voltaire declared he would only smile his whole life—he wouldn't be provoked, wouldn't be sad, and wouldn't laugh out loud. Later, I saw statues of Voltaire; all the statues have the same smile, just like the Highland Mages smile."

"Then he made a rational choice," Mage Hashi said.

"He wouldn't happen to be a Mage, would he?" Luo Qi asked suddenly.

"Mages do not yet have the honor of having such a clansman," Mage Hashi said.

"I'm going out for a moment," Du Zhengyi said suddenly. Luo Qi caught his expression; it was close to the look Guan Xinyue had when she was bored and wanted to roll her eyes. "Mage Hashi, I assume you must have come to talk to Luo Qi. As a Qionglin Mage, I should excuse myself."

Mage Hashi bowed to him, inviting him to do as he pleased. Du Zhengyi returned the bow neatly and simply, retreated, and gave Luo Qi a warning look before the door closed.

The door closed, and Luo Qi said, "If I join the Highland Mages, will I smile like this in the future?" He gave Mage Hashi an annoying smile—the kind that could tick off Du Zhengyi and earn him a few bumps on the head, but the Highland Mage was unaffected by him.

"Just as humans always produce some rare individuals after a long silence, it is the same among Mages," Mage Hashi said. He looked into Luo Qi's eyes; their gazes met, and their spiritual worlds made a shallow contact, like tides lapping at the edge of the land. Luo Qi distinguished that this was a contact, not an attempt to probe.

"Mage Hashi, ordinary Mages wouldn't know who Voltaire is. You all really know humans too well." Luo Qi heavily closed his Consciousness World; in an instant, it was eternity. In his world, the barriers were completed at nanosecond speed.

Mage Hashi closed his eyes slightly. "This barrier of the heart is extremely similar to Du Mage's. Your learning ability is more powerful than your Telepathy. It is a pity you lack the ability to trust."

"Have the Mages heard the human story of Frankenstein?" Luo Qi ignored his words.

"I am willing to hear you tell it."

"That was the first piece of human science fiction. Humans imagined they created a sentient life—ugly, intelligent, lonely because it knew who it was, and even more powerful than humans. People are obsessed with this subject; they constantly enrich this story, pondering the moral issues and doomsday risks within it." Luo Qi said slowly, "I am also obsessed with this subject; I've watched quite a few movies. Mages don't have a Voltaire, no Voltaire-like figures to conduct critical thinking. If Mages accidentally created a Frankenstein monster, no one would particularly care. No one would throw a tantrum like the Highland Mages."

"Is that so?" Mage Hashi smiled slightly.

"As you said, I am a genius of the age... oh my, it feels great to say it out loud." Luo Qi laughed out loud. He looked craftily at Mage Hashi. "I know my own ability. Although I am still a long way from being invincible, it's not to the point where someone can easily push me out of my mind's eye."

Mage Hashi looked at him.

Luo Qi also smiled slightly. "Unless you are not you—you are 'you all'."