Chapter 499: Proof Material

The Highland Mage stood up, the room returned to its original state, and Luo Qi was still sitting on his single bed.

"I can feel your anxiety," Mage Hashi said suddenly.

Luo Qi noticed the change in address and realized they had entered a private conversation.

"Hmm, I do have some things on my mind," Luo Qi said, downplaying it; he smiled and raised his eyes to look at the Old Mage in a friendly manner.

"In ancient times, family members shared each other's spiritual worlds; this was the early form of an Anchor Point. Aside from family, this situation also exists between high-quality marriages or like-minded friends. In fact, even humans completely without Telepathy, if they are slightly sensitive, can feel the attraction of each other's souls. If even humans can identify similar souls, how much more so for us Mages who possess the ability of Telepathy? I have heard of Du Mage's reputation in the vast world; he has proven his soul with almost everything he has. Qionglin should not have tested your character; since your Anchor Point is Du Zhengyi, your soul has already proven everything. Everything else is unnecessary, but unfortunately..." Mage Hashi shook his head, "Qionglin has always been doing unnecessary things; mediocre people prefer to trouble themselves."

Luo Qi suddenly understood why the Highland Mage trusted him; his proof was Du Zhengyi. While others circled around his complex situation, the Highland Mage simply saw it clearly at a glance. "Thank you."

"Take care of yourself." Mage Hashi turned around, faced him solemnly, and spoke a customary blessing of the Highland Mages, "Child, may you never have to walk alone in your life."

"Thank you," Luo Qi said blankly. Mage Hashi turned and left, while he remained trapped in the Mind Mage's blessing, a sour ache rising in his chest. He didn't even hear the sound of the door opening, and Du Zhengyi's hand landed on his shoulder. Strictly speaking, he knew perfectly well that Du Zhengyi had approached him, but he hadn't consciously realized it, so he was still startled and looked up blankly.

"How was it?" Du Zhengyi asked.

He glanced at Du Zhengyi's face, which was full of the hypocritical look of someone who had just taken a child to an interview at a prestigious elementary school and was both anxious and trying to hide it. Luo Qi snorted.

"Did the Highland Mage say they were all very interested in you?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"He did," Luo Qi said, "but I refused. I don't want to be a monk."

"Oh," Du Zhengyi said casually, a flash of disappointment passing through his eyes, though he also seemed relieved. Suddenly, he looked at Luo Qi again, worried. "They can't really be considered monks, you know that, right? Did they explain their lifestyle to you? Did they? You didn't misunderstand them, did you? They require abstinence from alcohol, but they don't forbid eating meat, and you can still eat sweets; you can keep making Oreos. You know that?"

"I'm not a fool," Luo Qi said with dissatisfaction, "I know all of that."

Du Zhengyi sat down in his own chair, looking somewhat uncomfortable, as if he weren't sitting in his own home's chair, lacking confidence. "This is... well... how should I put it, a very good opportunity. Let me confirm with you, you understand this, right? If there is anything you are too embarrassed to ask them, you can ask me. If you are refusing this opportunity because of some trivial concerns... is that not it?"

Luo Qi shook his head.

"Alright," Du Zhengyi seemed very glad to end the topic. "I won't interfere with your choices. Do you want some water?"

Luo Qi hugged his blanket and collapsed onto the bed, kicking his legs twice, which meant for Du Zhengyi to shut up.

It seemed Du Zhengyi understood his meaning perfectly. He made a "tsk" sound, and just when Luo Qi thought he wouldn't be retaliated against because he was "lingering in illness," he was flicked on the forehead.

Luo Qi let out an "Ow," and said, "My brain is the only thing worth any money!"

"The most annoying thing about you is your brain," Du Zhengyi said, and gave him another flick.

Luo Qi grabbed the blanket and buried his head inside. Once the surrounding light was blocked, his consciousness spontaneously became active again, identifying the person in the corridor outside the wall. "Did Liu Ziyi bring me here?"

"Can you stop talking in that split-personality tone?" Du Zhengyi said indifferently, sitting down in the chair. "Liu Ziyi refused to come in, saying she doesn't enter the boys' dormitory—I don't know what kind of problem that is."

"Geniuses all have some quirks, and people just have to put up with them. Very few geniuses are as easygoing and approachable as I am," Luo Qi said.

"You don't have the life of a genius." Du Zhengyi took a cigarette out of his pocket and fiddled with it, undecided about whether to smoke.

"Brother, why did you bring that Luo Qi' back?" Luo Qi asked.

"Stop talking nonsense, Liu Ziyi brought him for you to see. Asking if you still want him? If you don't want him, she'll keep him as a pet; she thinks you look quite pretty." Du Zhengyi finally stuffed the cigarette back. "Majiang said your lungs haven't fully healed yet, and he actually wants me to quit smoking."

"Pretty?" Luo Qi angrily pulled away the blanket. He was just a size smaller than those big oafs, so how was it that the word "handsome" didn't apply to him?

Du Zhengyi said nonchalantly, "Liu Ziyi's original words, I'm only responsible for relaying them."

"I am handsome! Has she been studying ancient Mage languages for too long and forgotten how to use modern Chinese?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Your magic waste, do you want to recycle it?" Du Zhengyi asked, looking at him.

Luo Qi sighed, "After I recycle my own portion of the Copy Consciousness, he will only have a portion of instinctive consciousness left, a walking puppet."

Du Zhengyi was silent for a while, then stood up and walked out, closing the door behind him. The corridor was quiet. That Luo Qi' was silently hanging his head, looking dejected. Liu Ziyi was floating thirty centimeters above the ground, boredly spinning around slowly, thinking about something expressionless, like a girl on a music box.

He took out a cigarette, the tip ignited on its own, and he leaned against the wall to smoke leisurely. After a long while, he spoke, "Ziyi, you'd better not look."

Liu Ziyi turned half a circle, looking at Du Zhengyi listlessly.

"Don't be unhappy," Du Zhengyi said. "A person cannot die twice; the real person has long since died. The best way to respect the dead is to return his body to him."

Liu Ziyi nodded, jumped to the ground, and walked away down the corridor.

Du Zhengyi waited a while longer. When the cigarette was almost finished, the Luo Qi' in the corridor fell to the ground without a sound. After he shed Luo Qi's appearance, he still looked like a young boy, similar in build to Luo Qi, and close in age. This similarity made him feel uncomfortable.

He suddenly remembered a human saying: in fact, a person can die twice. Humans say, once is when a person stops breathing, and once is when everyone who is alive forgets them.

Du Zhengyi let the remaining cigarette butt turn to ash, and he turned and walked into Luo Qi's room. The gloom from earlier had been swept away, and the little sun sitting in the room grinned at him. He was a bit unaccustomed to it. "You actually really thought I had become a puppet?"

Oh, right, Luo Qi had recycled that portion of the Copy Consciousness and regained the memories.

The restrained expression Luo Qi had been feigning disappeared, and he laughed wildly, "Hahahahahaha, how could the First War God of Qionglin not even be able to tell the real from the fake? Hahahahahaha!"

"Luo Qi, your mother..." Du Zhengyi said through gritted teeth.

"No poking eyes when playing around, and no cursing my mother. Ahahahahaha..."