Chapter 510: Seven-Day Hearing (10)

"There is no... connection," Zhou Quan finally said.

Xiang Qian glared at him with eyes full of fire. Zhou Quan made a helpless expression, and Xiang Qian said, "Perhaps your ability to investigate is insufficient, and you missed some possibilities."

"Perhaps," Zhou Quan conceded, then added, "but I cannot find any intersection. Mage Baili has no dealings with Luo Qi or the Luo family."

"The Magic World is so small; is there really a situation where two families of Mages don't know each other at all?" Xiang Qian asked.

Liu Xiuyun sat to one side listening. For some reason, this sentence reminded him of Du Zhengyi; no one knew Du Zhengyi's family.

Bailida sneered and straightened his collar. "It just so happens that I don't know the Luo family, nor do I know Luo Qi's maternal family. You are welcome to investigate; asking people who know me will yield the same result. Mage Xiang Qian, are you so keen on infighting?"

Liu Xiuyun spoke first. "Mage Baili, let us not attack each other for now. The comments you made about us just now may have some truth to them; the department I manage may indeed have some dereliction of duty, and my situation is indeed somewhat awkward. But we have known each other for some years; even if we aren't particularly close, we must have heard of each other's reputations. When I was young, the Old Mage in Qionglin called me a stubborn donkey. Now that I am older, the young Mages in Qionglin call me an old stubborn behind my back. I am a stubborn person who doesn't know how to be flexible, and I think Mage Baili knows this. It is impossible for me to avoid talking about current matters just because I was derelict in my duty before. Evasion and dodging are not in my nature."

Xiang Qian shut his mouth and said nothing. Bailida, having been bumped into neither softly nor harshly, also restrained himself. He looked at Liu Xiuyun a few times, but the words he wanted to use to attack him were swallowed back as they reached his lips. Liu Xiuyun's reputation was indeed well-known; he was a Mage in Qionglin famous for running down one path to the end, never knowing how to be flexible. Among these people, he was the least likely to let a Mage off easily; he had always been the old stubborn who was most unwilling to give others a second chance.

Bailida nodded and turned to say, "Mage Liu's integrity is always admirable."

Wusu smiled and added, "We just don't know why we are all heartless, snobbish villains."

Liu Li's face was constantly veiled in a layer of faint anger. She said to Bailida, "Mage Baili, you really don't need to say it like that. I believe every one of us here is a qualified Great Mage."

Everyone's expression was not very good, but Liu Xiuyun was the most composed. He continued to say to Bailida, "Mage Baili, although I am a stubborn person, I also believe that one must speak of the Dao in all things. In all fairness, your arguments suspecting Luo Qi are not supported by any evidence. Luo Qi can certainly hate Qionglin; not everyone has ever liked Qionglin. But if Luo Qi, despite hating Qionglin his whole life, works for the common interests of Mages for his entire life, what does his hatred or lack thereof have to do with anything? I think you completely understand what I am saying, so unless you can produce other evidence, I will not agree with your opinion."

"For the time being, I have not found other evidence," Bailida admitted. "However, I will never agree that Luo Qi is innocent, even if it reaches the Qitian."

Xiang Qian hissed and called out impatiently, "What exactly is wrong with you? I still have a mountain of work to do, and I hope to go home today!"

Wusu had already picked up his tablet, but upon hearing this, he put it back down and looked up at Bailida with interest. He pushed the tablet to one side. "Mage Baili, let's not consider this case for a moment. I want to ask you, is there anything about Luo Qi that makes you feel disgusted?"

Bailida stared at Wusu with displeasure, trying his best to appear decent and disdainful.

Wusu's pupils shrank slightly, and his nostrils flared, as if a hound had caught the hidden scent of prey. He gave Bailida an overly kind smile, his expression exceptionally soft. "Does a young man make you anxious? Does genius make people jealous? Do short people make you uncomfortable? Has Luo Qi provoked you?"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Bailida glared at Wusu uncomfortably.

The gazes of everyone at the conference table were focused on Wusu. He stared at Bailida with a smile and tilted his head with regret. "None of those? You haven't looked at Luo Qi carefully, have you? Right, you haven't looked at him carefully. You just don't like Mind Mages; Telepaths make you uncomfortable. Perhaps you suffered a loss when you were young?"

Several gazes became increasingly astonished. Bailida's face twisted, and he turned his head abruptly to stare at Wusu with disgust. "Are you also a Mind Mage?"

"Me?" Wusu laughed. "I am certainly not a Mind Mage, but I hit the mark; I understood your meaning."

"You are a Mind Mage! You are a Telepath! What is going on with you? You are also an unregistered Mind Mage! How many Mind Mages has Qionglin missed?" Bailida shouted angrily, completely unaware that his voice had gone hoarse.

"No, no, no." Wusu waved his hands with a smile. "A Mind Mage? I'm not qualified. But Telepathy? Of course, I am a Telepath, but I haven't reached the height of being a Mind Mage."

Liu Xiuyun couldn't help but interject, "Mage Baili, you don't need to be overly nervous; Wusu is indeed not a Mind Mage." He glanced at Wusu. He remembered Wusu's resume; his Telepathy ability was close to the boundary of a Mind Archmage, and he had this characteristic in several aspects of Magic. He was a very balanced Mage. This type of Mage was rare; in terms of any single item, he might not be a top-tier Mage, but he could easily approximate any type.

The luckiest thing about him was—if his Telepathy ability were any stronger, he would be a Mind Archmage, and his life would be bound to Qionglin; if his other abilities were any weaker, he would be barely classified as a Mind Mage, and he might not escape the fate of being an assistant to a Mind Archmage, eventually being drained of his energy due to frequent service. As a result, because his Magic value in other aspects was too high, he had always been helping out everywhere like this, muddling his way into becoming a Great Mage.

Wusu laughed without caring. Liu Xiuyun withdrew his chaotic thoughts and turned to Bailida with a headache. "Could it be that Mage Baili opposes him just because the other party is a Mind Mage? Is the ability of Telepathy an original sin?"

Bailida's face turned red, and he avoided answering. "Mage Wusu, you stole my thoughts. With this level of Telepathy, do you still want to deny that you are a Mind Mage?"

"I think you must have misunderstood. I did not invade your thoughts; I simply observed your reaction to the question." Wusu shrugged. "I don't care if you believe me or not. It is a pity that no one knew beforehand that you were such a biased person on this point. According to our system, as long as one person at the meeting believes Luo Qi is guilty, he cannot escape his predicament. Venerable Liu Li, the Highland Mage gave us seven days. If our meeting result is unfavorable to Luo Qi by then, I think someone will continue to appeal. Are we going to return to Qionglin to hold the next Hearing? We won't be in the seats for the next Hearing, only Mage Bailida will be, right?"

Old Mage Yun Maoran interjected, "Returning to Qionglin, the attacks on Luo Qi and Du Zhengyi might start again. I am old and muddled; isn't that why we came here? Did I remember wrong?"

Liu Xiuyun felt a chill in his heart; the situation was indeed so. "Mage Baili, I think we should return to the evidence."

Unexpectedly, Bailida refused flatly. His face turned the color of a pig's liver, full of shame and annoyance, but he stubbornly gritted his teeth. "There is no need to look at the evidence, and no need for seven days—I firmly believe Luo Qi is guilty."

Everyone, even the lazy Sanchun, sat up straight in his chair. He looked left and right in panic. "No... don't be like this? He is still a child, and he hasn't made any big mistakes. I thought we were just going through the motions, because the Sandbox data has clearly shown that he is a Mage with the ability to control himself. Mage Baili, you... you can't do this!"

(End of chapter)