Chapter 550: Zhou Quan's Nth Repentance

"Luo Qi!"

As he was walking quickly through the corridor, a familiar voice called out to him, and then a nimble figure darted out; it was none other than Zhou Quan, who constantly caused him trouble while also creating opportunities for him.

Zhou Quan gave Luo Qi a quick look, assuming Luo Qi was unhappy about yesterday's events, and said with a fawning smile, "Still angry about yesterday? It's not that I wasn't being a friend, but I truly couldn't handle Du Zhengyi's rage, so I had to avoid it."

"You're just like that, I don't have the leisure to be angry with you," Luo Qi said, turning to walk away.

"Hey, hey," Zhou Quan caught up to him and said, "Du Zhengyi went to Ganzhou, do you know about this?"

"I know, he'll be back in eight hours... there are five hours left now," Luo Qi said.

Zhou Quan paused, surprised that Luo Qi was actually keeping time, though Luo Qi had always been strange; anyone who dealt with Luo Qi for long would inevitably find it unsurprising and wouldn't overthink whether there was a deeper meaning behind every one of his odd actions. "Why is the time limit so tight? Did Venerable Pei demand it? I didn't hear Venerable Pei say that at the meeting."

Luo Qi looked at him for a few seconds, "No reason, it's because Du Zhengyi needs to recharge; he's actually a robot."

Zhou Quan paused, realizing Luo Qi was telling a joke and didn't want to tell him the truth. He never forced others to speak, and thinking of someone seriously making up stories about Du Zhengyi, he couldn't help but laugh. "Since he can be back in a few hours, he won't be exploring too deep, so it should be fine, don't worry. Besides, he brought..."

"Twelve Battle Mages," Luo Qi took over his words, nodding calmly, "I know, so there won't be any trouble; no one can take down that many Battle Mages at once."

"Right," Zhou Quan said, looking at Luo Qi curiously, "Is that why you're staying here? What are you doing staying here?"

"Attending class, learning properly from the Highland Mages," Luo Qi said brazenly.

Zhou Quan gave a fake smile and exposed him, "I've seen you wandering these corridors three times now, and you've entered four different rooms."

Luo Qi said without hesitation, "I need to see more of the Great Mages; it's very good for my future connections."

"Is that so?" Zhou Quan mused. He was genuinely trying to compensate Luo Qi, so he offered another piece of information, "The Lotus Burners have escalated their actions; an Execution Mage died in Ganzhou."

Luo Qi didn't speak, subconsciously looking left and right, a flash of anxiety crossing his eyes. Zhou Quan saw he had urgent business and suddenly laughed, "What's going on, Qiqi? It seems I don't need to tell you this time; you already know everything? You can't even be bothered to ask for more details about the little bit of news I revealed. How has the High Committee become like a leaky bag? As soon as a meeting ends, all the news leaks out. You told Du Zhengyi you were here learning from the Highland Mages, didn't you? Don't worry, I won't let it slip. But teach me, how did you get the Great Mages to accept you so quickly?"

Luo Qi hesitated, feeling for the first time that Zhou Quan was very troublesome. This person was just as shameless as he was, even more slippery, and immune to both soft and hard tactics; furthermore, he needed to ask for his help from time to time, so all the methods he used on others were completely ineffective here. Forced, Luo Qi had to get serious and asked helplessly, "Zhou Quan, what exactly do you want?"

Zhou Quan looked at him twice and chuckled, "Fine, since you've admitted defeat, I'll let you off."

He cleared the way for Luo Qi, but after Luo Qi moved forward, he followed him, walking side-by-side and whispering to him, "I guess you threatened those Great Mages, didn't you?" As he spoke, he sniffed the air, "I can smell it."

"I haven't cast any Magic today," Luo Qi said dismissively.

"Then I don't know; you know, I'm not that proficient in Magic. What I can smell is the atmosphere between people, and this atmosphere tells me you didn't use Mind Magic at all, and it has nothing to do with Telepathy, right?" Zhou Quan said, laughing with interest again, "Do you have some way of getting the dirty little secrets from people's closets?"

Luo Qi didn't speak. Talking to Zhou Quan had always been subtle; he could make people feel extremely comfortable in just a few words, not caring about being humble, yet never being sycophantic. But in reality, when talking to him, you never knew when you had said too much. He always had trump cards held in his hand, and he cheated, too.

Zhou Quan was also sizing up Luo Qi. When this person met his own people, he would act spoiled and silly; when he met those he couldn't afford to offend, he would talk nonsense; and when he met anyone else, he was as cold as ice. He didn't know if the elders in his family knew the child was a smiling, sharp-tongued tiger. He could see Luo Qi was wary of him now, and he didn't want Luo Qi to let this wariness develop into a thorn, so he didn't let Luo Qi guess for too long and broke it himself. "Did you go to the Black Market to buy information? That's very expensive information; do you have enough money?"

Luo Qi was startled, "If I don't, will you lend it to me?"

"That's not impossible," Zhou Quan whispered, "But can you give me some interest? Give me some consecrated Amulets; the Amulets you make sell very well. Once connected to your crystals, they can react to average-level illusions and the probing of average Mind Mages."

"No," Luo Qi refused flatly, "The adults in my family told me not to continue selling myself."

Zhou Quan clicked his tongue, "It's just asking you to copy a segment of your thoughts, your Magic; at most, it counts as a shadow of yours. If I could sell shadows for money, I would have done it long ago."

"I've never seen a Mage who likes money as much as you do. What on earth do you need so much money for?" Luo Qi asked.

"To exchange for more resources!" Zhou Quan said, "That way I can sell even more for money."

Luo Qi had nothing to say. After walking a few steps, he thought that he couldn't avoid making a concession to return a favor to Zhou Quan; for someone like Zhou Quan, a step back could only be taken with the truth. "I didn't need to buy the information; someone gave it to me."

"Given?" Zhou Quan looked at him in astonishment, his footsteps faltering. Luo Qi was in a hurry to move forward, and he grabbed his arm. "Luo Qi, who would give you something so valuable? Does Du Zhengyi know? I won't ask; he definitely doesn't know. Luo Qi, you have to be careful of the Mages in the Black Market; they aren't the same as ordinary Mages. To give you such a big gift, what would they have to take from you to break even!"

Luo Qi remembered the old woman who walked out of the Black Market. There were some things he hadn't thought about, but he was in such a difficult position that he really didn't want to think deeply. His heart stirred, and he said calmly, "Someone is willing to use me; that's enough for me."

"This..." Zhou Quan was stunned, "How can you say such a thing?"

"Me?" Luo Qi was confused, "Why can't I say that?"

Zhou Quan looked at him a few more times, "What is wrong with you? You are already a hot commodity, and soon you will be the little darling of the entire Mage World. Even without mentioning that, you have parents protecting you, now you have the favor of at least two Venerables, and you aren't lacking good friends to support you; how can you say such desolate and lonely words?"

Luo Qi felt lost for a moment upon hearing this, and Zhou Quan looked at him suspiciously again. In a flash, he felt as if he had grasped something, but he shook his head, not wanting to think about other things at this moment. "I'm leaving; I have an appointment in the woods."

"I'm going out too," Zhou Quan said, "I have nothing to do right now; it's really too boring. Are you going on a date?"

"You have times when you have nothing to do?" Luo Qi finally reached the Teleportation Point.

Zhou Quan pushed past a few Mages passing by and followed him. "I'm going outside to get some air too. Don't worry, I won't watch you; once we're out, I'll go my own way."

(End of chapter)