Chapter 506: The Seven-Day Hearing (6)

"Wait a moment." A cheerful voice cut in.

Liu Xiuyun turned his head and saw Wusu looking up from the... he dared to be certain that what Wusu held in his hands was a human tablet computer. Liu Xiuyun stared, seeing that he was also holding a stylus, a pen used for tablets, and his tablet was displaying a nearly finished illustration. The background of the image was a human skyscraper shimmering with electronic light noise; the high-rise buildings fanned out at radial angles. At the core of the radial streets was a vermilion torii gate. He could tell it was raining on the street. In the foreground was a panda wearing a leather jacket, riding a motorcycle; the leather jacket fluttered in the night wind, and the panda carried a large gun on its back, about to charge into the torii. The golden ratio point of the image fell on an advertising light box on a building, which flashed with a few ancient languages of the Magic World—a Spell, but he could not identify the meaning of that Spell.

For some reason, this nonsensical painting made his already confused mind even more chaotic. Why would a Great Mage like Wusu draw such a thing? He was ninety years old, not a nineteen-year-old Mage Apprentice easily swayed by distractions. He was sitting here at a high-level meeting of the Mage World, using a human product, drawing a picture that belonged to humans. Only humans would do such things to disturb their own minds, drawing pictures that were fundamentally unreasonable. No, his heart gave a jolt; in fact, mages didn't draw at all—painting was meaningless, a pure waste of time. In a trance, he had an illusion that he was in a dream; only in a dream would such an absurd scene appear. Perhaps only in a dream would Du Zhengyi appear, fatherless and motherless, with no past.

Just then, Wusu raised his pen and spoke, looking at Pangzi cheerfully and modestly, "Please allow me to ask a question."

Pangzi glanced at him cautiously; Wusu's entire demeanor was enough to make one unable to refuse him.

Wusu smiled amiably, "Before Luo Qi and Du Zhengyi walked into your shop, your inventory had been completely cleared out. How interesting, doing business... oh, you said you aren't doing business, just exchanging between antique collectors. Very well, how could you antique collectors trade away your entire stock? This defies logic."

"Luo Qi said the same thing." Pangzi nodded, rolling his eyes to peer at him.

He placed a hand on his chest, performed a half-bow, and thanked Pangzi for the compliment with humor and magnanimity.

Liu Xiuyun's mind finally began to turn, waking from his daze, realizing clearly that none of this was a dream.

Pangzi said slowly, "Because the other party knows us very well—to tell the truth, too well. They gave us some benefits, some benefits we couldn't refuse. These benefits are complex; we had no choice but to hand over all the High-Energy Crystals on hand. These benefits weren't about how much money or how many credit points; out of privacy, I cannot say too clearly. But it's like when you are thirsty, being promised water, or when you are weary, being promised the safety of sleep."

"I understand," Wusu said. "Someone dug into your inner hearts and mastered all your needs."

Pangzi did not answer; his face was shrouded in the shadow of the tree canopy, appearing somewhat gloomy.

"So when Luo Qi appeared, you were happy to have hope of finding a big tree, a backer, someone who might be a match for the person who threatened you," Wusu said.

Liu Xiuyun felt a jolt in his heart.

Pangzi didn't seem to mind him saying that; instead, he shrugged, "My boss is a clear-headed person, not very complicated either. What he wants and what he can give are all clear and plain; he is righteous and straightforward."

"Who is it?" Wusu asked suddenly.

Liu Xiuyun was stunned for a moment before he caught up with the train of thought, realizing that Wusu was asking who had threatened them.

Pangzi looked at him for a while, "Do you really think my boss is the only unregistered Mind Archmage? If you ask me, there are at least three."

Liu Xiuyun suddenly felt his scalp tingle.

Wusu actually laughed out loud, "We mages must have been fertilized; suddenly we're so accomplished that we can produce three Mind Archmages in the same fifty years."

Pangzi shook his head and said, "You can't put it that way; I believe my boss is the strongest."

Liu Xiuyun quickly filtered through the data and caught up with their progress, "In Luo Qi's testimony, he believes the person who took the High-energy Crystals from you is a woman named Yao Yu."

Pangzi glanced at him, "Am I obligated to report this?"

Bailida, at the worst possible time, cut in, "Is there any need to create side issues? I know a lot has happened in the Grass Market, but the High-energy Crystal matter should be filed and investigated separately."

Liu Xiuyun watched with disappointment as Liu Li nodded in agreement with Bailida, "Let's leave this matter here for now."

Wusu smiled and said nothing.

Liu Xiuyun knew he couldn't count on him; this man was always so inscrutable. He didn't know why he pointed this out, nor did he understand what he was pondering now. However, Liu Xiuyun couldn't help himself, "I want to inquire about Yao Yu." He paused and said, "Who is she?"

Liu Li glanced at him, her expression inscrutable. He vaguely felt something was wrong, as if there was still something in this that would deal him a heavy blow. From last night until today, he had already suffered enough blows.

Liu Li hesitated for a moment, "We considered that we might need to question Yao Yu. But Zhou Quan told me that he did not find this person in your files, Mage Liu Xiuyun."

"What?" Liu Xiuyun was stunned. Another one? In his mage files, not only was Du Zhengyi missing, but a second person was also missing?

"We considered the possibility of her being born on other continents, but our location already concentrates eighty percent of the mage population. I remember that Mage Liu Xiuyun collected information on mages from other continents into our archives ten years ago, is that correct?" Liu Li asked.

Liu Xiuyun was in a trance for a while before he came back to his senses and replied, "That is correct."

"We searched for the name Yao Yu, and later considered that it might be a pseudonym, so we asked the Mind Society to cross-reference the group of Telepathic Mages. But we still couldn't find this person," Liu Li sighed at this point, "She suddenly started becoming active in the Black Market these past few years; before that, she seemed to have never existed. We realized she must be a Mind Mage, but judging by her behavior, we don't think she is a mage of Luo Qi's level. Or rather... let's hope she isn't of that level..."

"That is to say, we have missed at least two Mind Archmages?" Liu Xiuyun said in astonishment, "One is Luo Qi, and the other we don't even know who it is?"

"Yes," Liu Li said with difficulty, as if she had a toothache, like swallowing a mouthful of bitter water.

Yun Maoran, who was so old he was about to lose his teeth, seemed to have only just heard, and said, "At least Luo Qi is still under our control, thank goodness."

Sanchun pondered and said, "If that's the case, we had better not offend Luo Qi too much. If another Demon King pops up, Luo Qi is still the most capable of putting up a fight."

Liu Xiuyun looked at Sanchun in disbelief, unable to believe he was serious. Of course, he wasn't serious, because after he finished speaking, he yawned and wiped away the tears that came from yawning. Liu Xiuyun was filled with worry; such a big thing had happened, and they didn't take it seriously at all. However, in the final analysis, the failure to properly archive mages was indeed his greatest responsibility among these people; this matter, of course, had nothing to do with Experimental Mages or Marginalized Mages.

For a moment, he felt even more depressed.

(End of chapter)