Chapter 501: Seven-Day Hearing

Liu Xiuyun is a Great Mage who has served the Qionglin for a total of over sixty years. His appearance still looks quite young; his hair is black and thick, there are almost no wrinkles on his face, and of course, he has not gained weight—Mages rarely gain weight. He just celebrated his one-hundred-and-twenty-fifth birthday last month, which means he has spent nearly half of his life working for the Qionglin. Unlike many who are forced to serve the Qionglin, he has liked his work at the Qionglin from the very beginning. He can handle the trivial tasks that Mages dislike in an orderly and systematic way. He can organize dull materials and is willing to memorize complex interpersonal relationships. He has efficient working abilities and the magical strength of a Level 1 Great Mage. Over sixty years, he has steadily risen through the ranks in the Qionglin, eventually sitting in the position of Chief Mage of the Genealogy Regulatory Committee.

He has spent sixty years in the hub of the Mages and has a wide network of contacts, yet he does not particularly like socializing. In the eyes of many, he is too serious. Perhaps for this reason, it was not until fourteen years ago that he finally met a woman who was a kindred spirit, married her thirteen years ago, and then, after another long ten years, finally had a daughter. He personally registered his daughter's information in the Mage registry of the Genealogy Regulatory Committee that he manages; that moment was truly the most beautiful time of his life. It should be said that ever since he met his wife, his life entered a beautiful time.

No matter how many Mages look down on his earnestness, he cares less and less; idle gossip cannot shake his determination. He firmly believes that the Supreme Committee is very important to the scattered society of Mages. The meaning of everyone's existence is self-bestowed. He believes in his work and believes in the efforts he has put into it; his wife fully supports his convictions. He earnestly organizes every Mage level examination and personally conducts the final review for every Mage who must transfer to human society to survive; he considers himself to have a clear conscience. However, this Mage named Luo Qi is like a piece of mud thrown at him, sticking to his door panel and becoming a stain on his entire department.

However, up to now, no one has specifically attacked his department; perhaps it is because they did not detect a strong A-Grade Telepath, and the Yajian Society must also bear half the responsibility.

He knows he is letting his mind wander. Subconsciously, he extends his finger and taps the unpainted tabletop with his second knuckle; the sound interrupts Zhou Quan, who is reading a report. More than one Mage turns their gaze, looking at him with sleepy eyes. It seems he is not the only one distracted. In the temperate woods of the Highland Mages, the warm breeze blows; on a spring afternoon created by magic, the warm wind makes people listless. An unknown little bird in the canopy is singing, and a yellow caterpillar falls onto the table, only to be transformed by the Secondary Mage of the Experimental Magic Committee into something larger than an eggplant, and in another five minutes, it might reach the size of a winter melon.

Liu Xiuyun glares sternly at the Experimental Mage. The little bald man of the Experimental Magic Committee is named Sanchun; his surname is indeed San, his name is strange, and he himself is not quite normal. Male Mages are rarely under one meter eighty, but Mage Sanchun is not only under one meter eighty, but his upper body is also quite long—a rare, poor proportion among Mages, making him look particularly short and fat. He blinks at Liu Xiuyun. Liu Xiuyun has no sense of humor and glares at him coldly until he finally gives up, waving his hand to move the caterpillar through the air to the back of the tree.

The female Mage opposite him, named Xiang Qian, rolls her eyes and, not very politely, mouths the words, "I thank you!"

The bloated caterpillar hits the tree trunk at this moment, shattering with a "pop." Liu Xiuyun can imagine the disgusting scene behind the tree trunk, and he glares sternly at Sanchun once more. Not until Sanchun turns his gaze away and starts rubbing his bald head does he withdraw his gaze, his attention drawn to Mage Fan Ning, who is sitting diagonally opposite. He is the younger brother of the Ninth Venerable Fan Shi. The Fan Family, like the Liu Family, is a family that can be considered flourishing in the Mage World; although they cannot compare to the great human families, their birth rate is still higher than the average for Mages themselves. However, Fan Ning is Fan Shi's half-brother; they do not share the same mother. He is very knowledgeable about the personnel and genealogical structure of Mages, especially the major Mage families. He notices that Fan Ning is very nervous, with an awkward expression that makes one unable to bear looking over; he keeps rubbing a patch of skin above his own brow bone, as if worried to the point of a headache.

It is no wonder he is like this; the secretary Zhou Quan, who is serving as the meeting moderator, is reading a long investigative document. Aside from the excessive attack by Fan Shi on a young Mage in the Ancient Town, which they all already know about, it now adds the part about how the Battle Mage Chi Yu, who is affiliated with Fan Shi, maniacally attempted to put Mage Luo Qi to death in the territory of the Highland Mages.

Zhou Quan reads until his mouth is dry. Now they have all finished hearing the process of how Luo Qi counterattacked and escaped; the report should be nearing its end. Liu Xiuyun looks at Venerable Liu Li, who has been sitting next to Zhou Quan without changing her expression; this report might have come from her hand. She has been very cautious in her speech throughout the entire investigation process; after all, she does have some relationship with the person involved, and being cautious and steady is the attitude she should have.

Zhou Quan ends his speech at this moment, picks up the transparent glass cup beside him to take a sip of water, and then raises his eyes to look at the entire Investigation Committee sitting around the round table. "The above is the entire process of Battle Mage Chi Yu attacking Luo Qi, provided here as supplementary material for the risk assessment of Luo Qi. Now, you all must know that for well-known reasons, the Highland Mages have requested that we end the risk assessment of Mage Luo Qi within a time limit. Please note that the Supreme Committee has agreed and requests that you all form a final report within seven days."

He pauses for a while; no one raises an objection, and no one even speaks. The meeting announcement was a formality; everyone already knows about the thunderous rage of the Highland Mages and the political friction brought about by their improper handling of the matter. Zhou Quan continues, "Within seven days, the Supreme Committee has opened the highest level of authorization for this assessment operation. You Mages may request to review any materials related to Luo Qi at the Hearing and may summon anyone related to Luo Qi, including but not limited to all Mages."

"I would like to summon Luo Qi's father."

Hearing this, Liu Xiuyun looks over. The one speaking is a Mage named Bailida, a member of the Mage Commercial Trade Control Committee; Liu Xiuyun is not very familiar with him. He vaguely remembers that his main time is spent working in the Pendragon Orbital System. The access points of the Pendragon Orbital System need to be reviewed by the Mage Committee, and he is also responsible for this review work. Liu Xiuyun once proposed that he hoped the Mage society could have a recusal system; for instance, situations like his own self-review should be eliminated. But most Mages opposed his proposal. On one hand, the practical situation is that there is a shortage of Mage manpower, and service in the Qionglin is often part-time; it is difficult to be picky in such situations, and professional Mages handling professional work is an efficient choice. On the other hand, Mages believe that they can all stand the test and can be subjected to trust investigations; they are all upright Mages, the elite of the elite, and naturally can handle the Committee's work fairly, justly, and reasonably. That is to say, a virtuous Mage can, of course, do the work well.

Zhou Quan seems not to have heard clearly what Bailida asked, looking puzzled, until Mage Bailida repeats his question one more time, and Zhou Quan finally understands. "Uh... Mage Baili... should know that Luo Yisheng is missing and away..."

"Since an important witness cannot attend and cannot be investigated, how can we be clear about Luo Qi's safety?" Bailida asks earnestly.

Zhou Quan chuckles dryly, "Then we might as well list Luo Yisheng as another criminal whose safety needs to be investigated and restart an investigation against him on another day. I personally suspect he is a pervert; Luo Qi is clearly his first victim."

Venerable Liu Li does not speak, but she looks at the slippery Zhou Quan with approval.