Chapter 557: Red Spring Gully (2)

Du Zhengyi threw away his cigarette butt, turned around, and walked quickly back to the main hall of the temple. Xiang Qian was talking nonsense to Zhou Ruisi, acting as if she were lecturing, while the other few Battle Mages were putting in effort but not their brains, their eyes going blank with boredom. At this moment, Du Zhengyi pushed aside the Mages blocking his path and strode up to Zhou Ruisi. Zhou Ruisi was startled for a moment; he looked up to see a cold-faced male Mage wearing a black trench coat over a white shirt, with a thin tie loosely knotted at his collar.

"Do you recognize me?" Du Zhengyi asked in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ruisi examined him carefully again. His hair was slightly messy, his face narrow, his eye sockets deep, his nose bridge high and straight, and his jawline well-defined; if not for these rugged features, his double-lidded eyes might have appeared too delicate. However, even though his gaze was sharp and his expression serious, one could still detect a lazy, indifferent air about him, which might have emanated from his messy hair, loose collar, and the slight, rebellious micro-expression on his face. He might be a bit sharp, but not dangerous, perhaps even somewhat attractive.

He went over this person and this face in his memory again—no, he definitely did not know him.

"I don't know you," Zhou Ruisi said, bewildered.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Du Zhengyi. Like them, I am a Battle Mage," Du Zhengyi said casually.

"P-pleased to meet you?" Zhou Ruisi said tentatively.

"But unlike them, most of the time I am responsible for catching people. I can file a report and have you buried under the ground of Qionglin," Du Zhengyi said.

"W-why?" Zhou Ruisi did not quite believe his words. He looked at Du Zhengyi's serious eyes and hurriedly added, "I am here to enforce the law. We are colleagues, aren't we? Why arrest me?"

"No reason. My professional duty is to vet all Mages, arrest the Mages I suspect, and ensure the safety of Mage society," Du Zhengyi said expressionlessly. "I have no patience for your nonsense. Now answer my question: when the incident occurred, you were recording in this room—how long did it take?"

Zhou Ruisi's expression was somewhat anxious. "T-three minutes? It couldn't have been longer. There is nothing to see here, no one. I didn't separate from Lu Qingshan on purpose."

"After Lu Qingshan went out the back door, he climbed over the back wall. You didn't hear a sound? What were you doing that was so engrossing?"

"Climbed over the back wall?" Zhou Ruisi looked at Du Zhengyi in astonishment. "How do you know?"

Du Zhengyi did not answer him, but he saw an unquestionable certainty on Du Zhengyi's face, and he suddenly lost his footing. "I don't know. I wasn't doing anything. I was using my phone to take pictures. I... that's just how I make records."

Xiang Qian couldn't help but say, "Using a phone? You really know how to cut corners. Are you even a Mage at all?"

Zhou Ruisi looked at her pitifully. "Yes, it is quite efficient. No, I mean, I wasn't slacking off. I was just using my phone to take a photo, and I wasn't wearing headphones. If Qingshan had climbed over the wall at that time, I definitely would have heard it. Besides, Qingshan wouldn't have gone out by himself; he definitely would have told me. We are very law-abiding; every step of our operation strictly follows the guidance of Qionglin... Ouch! You... what are you doing?"

Du Zhengyi kicked him violently, skillfully landing the blow just below his knee. He let out a cry of pain and nearly fell to his knees. He looked at Du Zhengyi, shaken and terrified, his entire perception of him overturned.

"What are you looking at? First time meeting a Battle Mage? I am not as civilized as a Qionglin Mage," Du Zhengyi became even more impatient. "Don't talk nonsense to me. I don't have as good a temper as Mage Xiang. I only have five hours left and there is still no progress, so I am not in a very good mood. Tell me whatever I ask, and don't say so much useless talk."

Upon hearing him say "five hours," Xiang Qian couldn't help but glance at him, then thought that this might be an interrogation tactic.

Zhou Ruisi looked at Mage Xiang imploringly. The female Mage actually did not intervene when Du Zhengyi laid hands on him. He subconsciously looked at the other Battle Mages, but they all wore expressions of indifference. Only then did he feel real pressure for the first time. He had thought they were colleagues, or at most superiors who would just reprimand him. But now he realized he was a fool; the situation was far more serious than that.

Du Zhengyi spoke again, and this time it made him tremble. "Lu Qingshan climbed over the wall, stayed on the street outside for a while, then walked into the village, entered at least one courtyard, and ran into someone he shouldn't have. That person twisted a large hole with spiral serrated edges into his chest, crushing his lungs..." Du Zhengyi paused, seeing Zhou Ruisi's face contort at the mention of the wound, looking as if he were about to vomit. "This series of events would take at least ten minutes, not to mention that he was finally thrown back into the front courtyard of the temple, waiting for you to collect the corpse. Magic also has to follow logic. You tell me, what is going on with this time gap of at least ten minutes?"

Zhou Ruisi opened his mouth, but his voice vanished in his throat. The blood drained from his face. "Wh-what?"

Du Zhengyi stared at him coldly. A moment later, he pulled out a cigarette, put it back in his mouth, frowned as he took a drag, and made a decision. "Drag him along. Make him come with us."

A tall and sturdy Battle Mage behind him stepped forward, grabbed Zhou Ruisi, and gave a rough order: "From now on, shut up, be obedient, and don't hold us back."

Du Zhengyi turned and walked out of the temple. At the courtyard entrance, Mahjong was chatting leisurely with three Battle Mages. Seeing him come out, he greeted him, "First time seeing you bring so many people. What exactly are you here to catch?"

Du Zhengyi did not answer. He called over a Battle Mage. "Go find the Elder Association of their village. Ask them if there is a family surnamed Wang here. They should have a little girl. Also, if there is a Nainai in their family, the old woman should be a bit mentally unstable. Their little girl might have had an accident recently, gone missing or... hurry up and go."

Xiang Qian walked over and looked Du Zhengyi up and down. "Ran right into it, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Du Zhengyi said, continuing to smoke. He looked up at the snow-capped mountains in the distance; the sky here was also excessively blue. "It took so much effort, it was practically drawing road signs all the way to lead me here. But since a Mage has died, it has already surpassed a simple personal grudge. Who exactly went to such great lengths to force me to come?"

Xiang Qian shook her head wearily. "Want the truth? I don't care who it is. As long as you are a Battle Mage for a day, you will find these people everywhere. Once you have done this job for a hundred years, you won't even bother to know what their motives are, why they did it, or what they want; you will only want to crush them with a club."

(End of chapter)