Chapter 684: The Ancestor's Gift (73)

"It seems I've made a wasted trip today," Du Zhengyi said, trying his best not to sound awkward. He thought he should soothe the innocently startled victim, though she didn't look startled; still, she had been troubled by this visit.

But Du Zhengyi had never soothed any victims before; he had always left as soon as the work was done, never caring about the mess left behind. Now that he wanted to offer comfort, he didn't know what to say.

Or perhaps he should make some polite small talk to build a rapport? But he had never done that either.

He felt awkward for a moment and said with difficulty, "Luo Qi has mentioned you, and oh, I have also read your papers."

Yes, Luo Qi had mentioned her, and he also remembered Luo Qi saying that they were not close; Luo Qi hadn't seen this aunt, who was a Calculator, for many years.

Mentioning Luo Qi, Chu Jin smiled gently, "I am not married, and in our whole family, Luo Qi is the only child. He is so cute; he is our treasure."

Du Zhengyi did not respond to this. Luo Qi came from a family of Great Mages, and such families usually provided limited companionship to their children while demanding high levels of independence. He could indeed feel that Luo Qi was doted upon, yet he always carried a certain loneliness. It might be true that Chu Jin found Luo Qi cute, but Luo Qi had never thought to ask her for help even during his most difficult times.

He saw the shadow of Luo Qi on Chu Jin's face; feeling a sense of closeness to her was one thing, but trusting her was another.

Du Zhengyi wanted to end today's meeting; he should offer a few superficial pleasantries, showing proper etiquette before an elder of a friend. But he was truly not good at this; the greatest respect he showed his teachers was simply not talking back and keeping quiet. That was hardly the look of an excellent young Mage friend suitable for a younger family member to associate with.

Just as Du Zhengyi intended to stand up, a sentence from Chu Jin pressed him back into his seat.

"Luo Qi has always been in great trouble, trouble that our whole family has no way to solve."

Du Zhengyi was slightly stunned; she knew about Luo Qi's situation? He had always thought Luo Qi's matter was so significant that only his parents knew.

"I am good friends with Liu Li; it was I who begged her to kick Luo Qi to you. You are the greatest protection I could think of, the greatest I could find for Luo Qi. As for what happened later, whatever Liu Li could tell me, she has already told me. I know you have taken good care of him; thank you."

"No, no need to thank me," Du Zhengyi said awkwardly, "Uh... Luo Qi also takes good care of me."

"Please don't be angry, don't blame me for using you," Chu Jin said in a low voice.

"It can't be called using, Mage Chu is too polite; Luo Qi is my friend," Du Zhengyi said.

He hesitated for a moment, "I wonder if you have been in contact with Doctor Luo Ruian recently?"

"If you are asking me in your capacity as an Execution Mage or a Battle Mage, then I haven't seen him or my sister recently," Chu Jin smiled, a playfulness similar to Luo Qi's flashing through her eyes.

Du Zhengyi understood what she meant, "Did Doctor Luo say anything about... Luo Qi encountering new trouble now? This trouble has something to do with me."

"You mean our precious Luo Qi, who has taken you as his Anchor Point, as the only Beacon he can use to find himself again?" Chu Jin said candidly.

Du Zhengyi felt uneasy; now that he was facing Luo Qi's family, he was no longer as confident as he had been when facing Luo Ruian. But on the other hand, he hadn't expected that Luo Ruian, who was on the run, would have told Chu Jin all these things so quickly; the family relationships of the Luo family were not as distant as Luo Qi had thought.

Unexpectedly, Chu Jin continued, "Isn't that normal?"

Du Zhengyi looked at her in surprise.

"Doesn't that just mean you are his best friend? Everyone has an origin point in their heart for why they are themselves; many times, we become ourselves because of others. If a Mind Mage wants to maintain mental health, it is best not to use a goldfish as an Anchor Point," she said with a mocking sneer.

Du Zhengyi heard the faint sarcasm toward Luo Ruian, and also caught a glimpse of the most common family relationship between a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law—mutual contempt. Although there were few large families among Mages, family relationships were indeed very similar to those of humans.

What truly surprised him was that Chu Jin even knew about the goldfish used as an Anchor Point when Luo Qi's abilities were sealed in his childhood.

"So, regarding Luo Qi's special situation, your whole family actually knows?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"Our family is considered a high-incidence family for Mind Mages. My Mind Grading is not very high, but with so many Mind Mages in the family, naturally, we understand what this is all about. When my sister fell in love with Luo Ruian, the family did not agree. Luo Ruian himself is an outstanding Mind Mage; I think in this mediocre era, probably only Pei Shu's ability was significantly higher than his. Once he married my sister, the probability of giving birth to a Mind Archmage was too high. Of course, we opposed it; the whole family opposed it; my father was almost angered to death. But you know how low the probability is for a Mind Mage to find a lover; once they are compatible, it is truly difficult to separate," Chu Jin said, sighing slightly as if recalling the scene from back then.

"Understandable," Du Zhengyi said.

"We made many preparations for Luo Qi's birth," Chu Jin lowered her head, as if recalling a dark time. She shook her head and waved at the coffee machine; coffee beans condensed out of thin air, and the Italian coffee machine began to prepare on its own.

Genes are very mysterious; Du Zhengyi thought of Luo Qi's recently erupted talent—making beans, making cookies, synthesizing drinks; he worked tirelessly on the Highland Mage's turf. He dared to say that the theory and practice of Mind Magic Luo Qi learned from Mage Hashi were very limited; his time was all spent on doing these things.

Two cups of coffee appeared on the round table, and Chu Jin invited him to taste them. The coffee tasted quite good; Du Zhengyi could only say that it seemed Luo Qi still had plenty of room for improvement. "Despite being prepared, Luo Qi still exceeded your imagination."

"Yes, we thought at most he would be another Luo Ruian-level Mind Mage, or a Mind Archmage that had appeared sporadically in our ancestors' history. We really were not prepared to raise a child who transcended the era. Facing Luo Qi, we were completely ignorant. We didn't know that such a Mage would develop Mind control abilities in infancy. We thought infants couldn't develop wisdom at all, so how could such low-level Yajian affect the consciousness of others? We were too ignorant. What's worse, not only us, but this Magic World was also not prepared to accept Luo Qi. How long has it been since we last saw such a Mage? Hundreds of years? A thousand years?" Chu Jin sighed.

Du Zhengyi did not refute; he might not have fully agreed with this before, but after struggling for so long, and with Luo Qi having almost died so many times, he began to understand the choices made by the Luo and Chu families. "So hiding Luo Qi's abilities was a decision made by your whole family."

"At that time, all the living Mind Mages in our family participated in the plan to seal Luo Qi's abilities. We hid Luo Qi's characteristics from the outside world, and we also hid them from Luo Qi. We told Luo Qi that our whole family's Mind Grading was extremely low, and we started planting this psychological suggestion when he was very young. We did this to ensure that Luo Qi himself would not become curious about Mind Magic. Everyone will gradually understand themselves throughout their lives; if Luo Qi became curious about Mind Magic, then that Seal would be very dangerous. Because although the Seal contained his parents' power and his grandfather's power, the main power maintaining the Seal was actually his own. We designed it this way so that one day in the future, when the time was right, he could rely on himself to break the eggshell from the inside and gain a new life that belonged to him," Chu Jin said.

"I can understand," Du Zhengyi said, but he remembered what happened when he first met Luo Qi, "But... the process of him knowing himself... was truly too painful."

Chu Jin lowered her head; Du Zhengyi's voice was not loud, not aggressive, but her expression still revealed a hint of pain. "Life is truly difficult."

Du Zhengyi hesitated, wanting to ask if she had any other methods, although perhaps not as good as the Highland Mage, but if Luo Qi's family was a Mind Mage family, would they have some special methods? He hadn't opened his mouth to ask yet, but noticed Chu Jin was sizing him up; it was a look he couldn't quite describe. It wasn't cold, even a bit compassionate, but there was still calculation in her eyes, as if she were calculating his value.

He felt an impulse and blurted out, "Can I help Luo Qi?"