Chapter 536: Du Tingxiu (2)

"Let me finish." Han Yi appeared much more patient than Luo Qi at this moment; he poured himself another cup of butter tea and gestured to fill one for Luo Qi as well.

Luo Qi's mind was full of thoughts; he subconsciously held out his cup and received a full cup of butter tea in return.

"Aren't you curious? Why would an outstanding Great Mage betray our world? Why was a family that contributed so much to our world wiped out?" Han Yi asked, adjusting his posture in his chair to make himself more comfortable. He looked very satisfied, like a fisherman whose plans were coming to fruition.

Luo Qi did not mind letting Han Yi feel satisfied at this moment; he was interested in what Han Yi was saying and did not mind that he was currently taking the bait. Han Yi was certainly not lying to him now; what he said was easily verifiable, and no one would go to the trouble of making up this lie. Luo Qi never minded being used; anyone who wanted to leak a bit of information to him, regardless of their purpose, would be of some help to him.

As for the rest... honestly, the Luo family now consisted only of him and his Baba. With the two of them being so capable, they probably weren't far from being wiped out themselves. So, at least psychologically, he wasn't particularly shocked or curious about the Du Clan being massacred. Perhaps Luo Qi even subconsciously resisted knowing why the Du Family died.

Luo Qi remained as dull and silent as a stone, leaving Han Yi to continue on his own. "You aren't too scared to ask, are you? It's normal for you to be surprised; most people in the Mage World live unrestrained lives and rarely encounter anyone being executed."

Luo Qi raised his eyes to look at him. "I was thinking, you certainly don't know why Du Tingxiu died."

Han Yi's expression became somewhat surprised and uncomfortable.

Luo Qi grinned and said, "As you said, very few mages are executed. In fact, conversely, if you truly knew why Du Tingxiu died, perhaps you would already be a dead man yourself."

Astonishment flickered in Han Yi's eyes for an instant, then turned into a smile at the corners of his mouth. After a long while, he took a deep breath. "You are very likely right; perhaps I should be glad that I don't yet know the whole truth."

"Of course, you must have discovered some traces."

Han Yi laughed, the laughter vibrating his vocal cords as if some small parts were trembling inside, which made Luo Qi uncomfortable. He said, "Perhaps they don't count as real traces, but I am very good at analysis and organizing timelines. To analyze Du Zhengyi, I had to analyze Du Tingxiu, who is related to him; to analyze Du Tingxiu, I also had to analyze the people related to him. Do you know that when Du Tingxiu was illustrious, he once had an inseparable best friend?"

For some reason, Luo Qi resisted this direction.

Han Yi did not notice Luo Qi's sour expression and continued, "For a hundred years, the two of them led the way in the two most important fields for mages, working together for the great cause of the Mage World and leading the Magic World to correct its own trajectory. In short, the two of them truly forged a great friendship."

Luo Qi looked steadily into his eyes and asked, "Did his friend die with him too?"

"He is still alive. This great, century-long friendship ended with a world-shocking falling out," Han Yi said.

Luo Qi blinked. "If you are telling me the story of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, I am going to eat your brainstem."

"Who?" Han Yi asked, confused, looking as if he hadn't heard clearly.

"I don't think you're joking," Luo Qi muttered. He raised his hand, ran his fingers through his hair, and clutched his head. "Who is that person? The friend he broke with, the leader of the Magic World, the Great Mage dedicated to a great cause—who is it?"

"Of course, it is that Venerable who favored Du Zhengyi the most."

"Pei Shu and Du... Du Tingxiu were friends?" Luo Qi began to feel irritable. "How close were they?"

"I think at least close enough to hide Du Tingxiu's descendant and raise him personally," Han Yi said, then looked at Luo Qi suspiciously, perhaps because Luo Qi's focus was somewhat unexpected to him.

Luo Qi was speechless for a moment. If there had once existed another Du Zhengyi in this world, with similar aptitude and the same abilities, who else could he be? Gushan had always been there, and the Gushan Guards had always been there. Could Du Tingxiu be anyone else? His true identity, his ultimate identity, was not the head of a clan, not a mentor of a field, not a thinker, but a Guardian of Gushan.

"Let's not talk about Du Zhengyi for a moment; let me guess what happened back then," Luo Qi said. "Did it happen without any warning? Did Du Tingxiu suddenly turn against his friend, refuse to recognize him, harbor murderous intent toward his old friend, and want to kill him at all costs?"

"That is indeed how it was. Do you know some inside information?" Han Yi asked.

"I guess people at the time had no idea why Du Tingxiu suddenly attacked his friend, and no one knows to this day," Luo Qi asked.

"Things did happen very suddenly. Just before Pei Shu was announced as the new Head Venerable, Du Tingxiu suddenly attacked Pei Shu on Gushan. It is said that he used a lethal move from the start, and Pei Shu barely escaped while severely wounded. Du Tingxiu was also injured under the siege of the Battle Mages and fled back to the Du Clan's settlement. If the Du Clan had refused to take him in, perhaps the later tragedy would not have occurred. The Du Clan had always been loyal to the Nine Venerables of Qionglin; Qionglin would not have disposed of an entire family just because one member of the Du Clan had a mental breakdown. The Du Clan could be called a living ancient relic, the most precious treasure of the Mage World. It truly required resolute courage to destroy this supreme treasure."

Luo Qi felt a wave of nausea. He didn't care what secrets of Gushan Pei Shu had pried into; among those coveting secrets, he certainly wouldn't even rank in the top ten, but he could be certain that Du Tingxiu had launched a war of the Gushan Guards.

What he wanted to do, someone had already done, and his future had long been carved into the past. Luo Qi felt sick, as if a ball of fur were stuffed in his throat, and his stomach was uncomfortable too.

Han Yi didn't know what Luo Qi was thinking and continued, "The Du Clan subsequently announced their withdrawal from the Qionglin sequence, left the city, and returned to their hometown. Qionglin had been preparing to punish the Du Clan, but the matter was delayed, dragging on until the Head Venerable at the time passed away. It is said that the current Head Venerable, Pei Shu, had always refused to directly name Du Tingxiu, even though doing so would only have delayed things by a few days. But I know why he did it: as long as he dragged it out until he became Head Venerable, he could appropriately cheat to protect Du Tingxiu's offspring. According to Qionglin's plan, all Du Clan members involved in the rebellion would be executed, and the underage ones would have their memories destroyed and be sent to be adopted by unsuspecting families, thus destroying the Du Clan. Yet, relying on his status as a Venerable, Pei Shu, shortly after that, used the excuse of cultivating excellent young mages in Qionglin to take in an eight-year-old child, and that child's Du Clan bloodline couldn't be hidden even if he tried!"

"You mean Du Zhengyi..." Luo Qi coughed, his throat hoarse for some reason. "You mean his memory of his family was destroyed?"

"Isn't your Baba an expert at that kind of work?" Han Yi said indifferently.

"What... did you say?" Luo Qi's whole face turned pale, but in an instant, he understood that this was part of what his father had hidden from him, one of the reasons his parents were unwilling to admit they were Mind Mages.

"Oh, you don't know what your father does for a living?" Han Yi said bluntly. "Sorry, I forgot you're still young."

Luo Qi waved his hand, telling him not to mind it; he took a moment to recover before the color returned to his face. "So Du Zhengyi's childhood memories aren't necessarily reliable?"

Han Yi was not interested in this and disdained to talk to him about it. "At least you now know why the Head Venerable favors Du Zhengyi so much. Anything involving Du Zhengyi is top-secret; all his actions can use this as a shield. No matter what he has done, others have no right to investigate him."

"Wait, you said the Du Clan returned to their hometown; where was that? You must have investigated it, right?" Luo Qi asked suddenly.

"Jiangnan Twenty-Four Bridges Town." Han Yi was somewhat annoyed at being interrupted; Luo Qi kept breaking the rhythm of his storytelling. "That is their ancestral land; it is said there were many protective measures. But it was useless; that is where they were annihilated."

Luo Qi sat there in shock. "Twenty-Four... Bridges... Town?"

Han Yi smiled as if he remembered something. "By the way, it's a coincidence that you were there recently. That place was once lent by the Du Clan to the Mind Mage Society."

Luo Qi's thoughts surged in an instant, and countless ideas flashed through his mind.

He was a Mind Mage, very suitable for taking refuge there. Pei Shu had arranged it that way, and someone had guessed it. That night of Aliens filling the city was a reenactment of the night the Du Clan was massacred; had someone deliberately uncovered this bloody scar of the Mage World to show Pei Shu? Was it a mockery? Luo Qi could not be sure, but he knew that person could not be Fan Shi; Fan Shi was nothing.