Chapter 526: Inclination

Liu Xiuyun stood up.

This was a posture, expressed through his body; his stance was extremely formal and would not retreat. To Luo Qi, it perhaps represented a red exclamation mark.

Liu Li understood it even more clearly. She looked at Liu Xiuyun and let out a helpless sigh, her eyes filled with disappointment, and perhaps some exhaustion. However, the Venerable of the Supreme Committee still pulled herself together, her voice softening, sounding more like she was speaking to a colleague she respected. "You have been influenced by Luo Qi; you see, he is still a child. Our only hope is that the adult he trusts can restrain him, but unfortunately, the adult who manages him has also just reached adulthood. Are you truly planning to let two children run things for us?"

Luo Qi glanced secretly at the other person referred to in her words. He had not discussed this with Du Zhengyi beforehand, and now he could not guess what he was thinking. But no matter what Du Zhengyi had thought, he showed no reaction; that familiar mask of frost was firmly hung upon his face.

"Thank you for the reminder, Venerable Liu. But I guarantee that all my thinking comes from my own brain. I am fully capable of independent thought; Luo Qi did not influence me."

Luo Qi shifted his gaze to look at the speaking Liu Xiuyun. His expression was very firm and full of caution, just as it had been when they talked last night.

"I know, I believe that is the case." Liu Li nodded in agreement. "The reason Luo Qi said what he said today is because he is still a child, and a child will take a direct response to any injustice. He sees things, he wants to say them; he thinks it is unfair, he wants to act. This is... what we might call a heart of innocence. Mage Liu, the reason you were moved by his words is because you are also an upright Mage; I believe that is the only reason. But... to use an old saying, we must deliberate at length. The matter Luo Qi spoke of has far-reaching implications and is absolutely not something that can be brought out for broad discussion."

"On that point, I agree," Liu Xiuyun said, though everyone could hear that he still harbored plenty of disagreement. Most of the Great Mages looked at him with worry, especially Peng Ruxin of the Security Committee, whose complexion had turned terrible, as if a heart attack were about to strike. "If all secrets are deeply hidden, I have no intention of learning them. Just as Mage Peng said, sometimes ignorance is bliss. But the problem now is, I want to ask, exactly how many people still do not know? Fan Shi was suspected of attacking a Battle Mage who served Qionglin. We didn't know the details before; we only knew that Psychic Beasts were used on a large scale. Psychic Beasts—we all took it for granted that they were lions, tigers, wolves, bears, or whatever fierce beasts could be found in human nature reserves, not this kind of thing!"

His hand pointed in a void direction where the illusion created by Luo Qi was still there. Liu Xiuyun said, "In case the Venerable has blocked Luo Qi's illusion, let me describe it: one only needs to take a single look at this nightmare-like thing to trigger a stress response. I originally thought the Scavengers of Qionglin were the most disgusting magical creatures—ah, I also originally thought Scavengers were the only magical creatures. It seems I have had quite a lot of common sense re-cleansed these past few days. So it turns out there really are sealed Ancient Divine Beasts in this world, and, it turns out that Mind Mages can also be sealed and hidden away."

Sanchun nodded in agreement and muttered, "Yeah, that's right, truly anything is possible."

Luo Qi's eyebrows twitched, but he said nothing. Things were fermenting; he had to wait quietly. There was no need to distract them now.

"It is very clear that Qionglin's operations have malfunctioned." Liu Xiuyun reached his conclusion. Luo Qi also knew such a conclusion, but the same words spoken publicly by a Senior Mage carried a truly different weight. Moreover, this thought had already crossed the minds of all the Great Mages; now that someone had said it aloud, it was as if all the echoes were resonating together. "A Seal Beast must be a deep secret of Qionglin. I can understand Qionglin keeping them, but now a single Venerable can mobilize them. I want to know what the original follow-up to this matter was supposed to be? To test the blade on a high-energy Battle Mage, then use it as a sharp tool to eliminate dissidents, and finally, try to replace the Committee system and have a go at being the monarch of the Mages?"

"Perhaps..." Yun Maoran spoke up hesitantly, wanting to ease the situation and smooth things over. "Perhaps we should concentrate our strength and find Venerable Fan Shi first?"

Fan Ning raised his head uneasily; he was now truly a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow. "I don't know where he is! To tell the truth, I never knew things were this serious, I..."

Liu Li made a gesture for him to calm down, soothing Fan Ning. "We all know the connection between you brothers is not deep, and you are not considered close. You coming here as his representative is out of your own sense of duty to the family."

Fan Ning nodded and relaxed a little. No one was attacking him; the Great Mages were all sitting calmly around the round table, and even Mage Baili was sprawled out in his chair, looking sickly.

"There is one more thing we must pay attention to," Liu Xiuyun said worriedly. "I believe Qionglin's malfunction is related to a newly risen organization of Mages."

"Mage Liu." Liu Li tried to interrupt him.

Wusu spoke up leisurely, "Is it the Lotus Burners?"

Peng Ruxin said self-abandonedly, "Could there be any other organization? The only other newly established Mage organization is the Cooking Association. I really don't think this association would have any interest in divine beasts, unless divine beasts are delicious."

"Don't talk nonsense," Liu Li said sternly. Peng Ruxin had been her student in the past, and she often brought out her school-days style when speaking to him. "Pei Shu has already begun investigating the Lotus Burners, Mage Peng; he should have already notified you."

"Yes," Peng Ruxin said bitterly, "but I don't know much either, perhaps because no one in Qionglin knows who can be trusted right now. Please, let's stop pretending we don't know much about the Lotus Burners, okay? We have homes we can't return to, forced to squat in this rain-drenched forest to hold some half-baked meeting. Is it really because we fear Venerable Fan will strike at one of us in Qionglin? Isn't it just because we are afraid of the Lotus Burners? In the end, no one knows how deep the entanglement between the Lotus Burners and Venerable Fan—a Qionglin Venerable—really goes, nor do we know if he is a Lotus Burner himself. Aren't you all afraid? I, for one, am already scared enough to wet my pants."

"So..." Sanchun blinked, his spirits somehow rising. "So perhaps the Lotus Burners have already obtained a portion of... Qiongqi-level killing weapons? Who's to say that one night, a Great Mage who married a human wife won't have his head cut off in bed by that thing?"

Luo Qi listened quietly; this miserable, bitter rain truly made this forest bitter to the extreme.

(End of chapter)