Chapter 690: Turmoil

Even the most dull-witted people began to sense that something was wrong with Qionglin. The thorough investigation into the infiltration problem of the "Great Raccoon King" lasted for two days and finally came to a phased conclusion, but the matter was far from over. The frequency of personnel dispatched by Qionglin was accelerating, and news of Mages losing contact was increasing. The worst situation occurred at noon two days later, which could be considered the climax of this series of events.

At that time, Du Zhengyi was looking up information in the Qionglin Library. He could not go directly to find Luo Qi in this atmosphere at Qionglin, and the hints Luo Qi had relayed to him suggested the same. He respected Luo Qi's opinion and his own brain, waiting for a suitable opportunity. But he also realized that he was becoming more anxious by the day; his past experience told him that a suitable opportunity would never appear just by waiting.

He searched for information on the Zhouqiao Grass Market for a while and soon realized that the information laid out in the open was not even as much as what he already knew. He began searching for information on Wushan again. He gained slightly more in this category, but none of it was important information; it all looked like old gossip, and it involved a particularly large number of people. If it were Luo Qi, he might have found it fascinating, but Du Zhengyi's head was swelling from reading it, and he grew increasingly irritable.

It was at this moment that the Magic Field underwent a massive change. Complex magic invocations surged instantly, and hurried spell changes intertwined. It was a summoning from at least seven or eight people, without any coordination or method. The released spells contradicted, canceled out, and erred against one another. The magic power responding to the invocations was forcibly dragged out from the Magic World, and the magic balance in the small area was almost torn apart.

The lighting in Qionglin flickered under the pull of the magic power. Du Zhengyi was pushed and shoved in this field, so irritable that he almost unleashed his own magic to terminate those spells that should never have been used in the first place.

Many people screamed, and several offensive spells finally took shape. Du Zhengyi did not know who the targets of the spell projections were. He ran out of the corridor; the center of the chaos was in the central hall. A few minutes ago, the hall had been the same as always—people often passed through here, and some would stop to rest—but now, the perfectly fine hall had been brutally sculpted into a frozen world.

One person was flash-frozen on the ground and was likely already dead. Seven Battle Mages surrounded him, three of whom were injured, one of whom had half their body frozen by their own people. Du Zhengyi was not familiar with these seven Battle Mages. He scanned his surroundings, quickly counting the innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire; at least ten were injured. Some were screaming, some were already lying on the ground, and it was unclear if they were still alive; at the very least, they had suffered severe frostbite.

His hand moved again, wanting to handle this semi-out-of-control magic. Dealing with such situations on the fly was almost his instinct; if others did it, they might make things even more troublesome, and he would have to spend more effort cleaning up in the end—it would be better to do it himself.

But today, the surging spells were suppressed by him for the second time, as if to restrain his diligent instinct. He just stood at the edge of the scene, uncharacteristically delaying. Liu Li rushed in during his hesitation; she angrily released a few spells and neutralized most of the chaotic magic. Very wisely, she did not touch those who had already been frozen, leaving them to the Doctors, and only rescued the few innocent people who had been affected.

Du Zhengyi breathed a sigh of relief, only then seeing clearly that the person attacked by the Battle Mages was a Level One Mage. He must have been working at Qionglin all along; Du Zhengyi did not know him, but he should have seen him before. He looked at those Battle Mages with some surprise; they were actually arresting people in Qionglin in public.

A Battle Mage saw Du Zhengyi, likely recognized him, and felt he should explain and report to him, so he walked over and said, "This is a Lotus Burner."

Du Zhengyi was noncommittal, and the Battle Mage walked away.

Du Zhengyi was not used to this. Previously, there had never been arrests inside Qionglin; there was no need to make such a big scene, which not only harmed the innocent but would also trigger panic among the Mages.

He observed Liu Li. She was pressing her lips tightly together, her expression looking exceptionally serious, but she was not particularly angry—she had known beforehand that an on-site arrest might occur.

Du Zhengyi walked toward her. She did not look at him, but instead turned and walked away quickly, wanting to avoid him. It was as if she were very afraid that Du Zhengyi would ask her a question, though Du Zhengyi was not sure which question she feared.

"Teacher Liu Li," Du Zhengyi called out to her.

She did not stop. Du Zhengyi quickened his pace to walk behind her. "Teacher Liu Li, how is Mage Xiang Qian's granddaughter?"

Liu Li turned her head in surprise, unable to help but stop. "Xiang Qian does not have a granddaughter."

Du Zhengyi was somewhat confused. "She said she had a granddaughter about my age."

"Xiang Qian has always been on her own; she never married and has no daughter, so how could she have a granddaughter?" Liu Li said quickly. She paused, then looked Du Zhengyi over a few times, seemingly realizing something. She sighed, her tone softening. "I see. She has always been unreliable in her speech, especially when she likes to tease you. She cares a lot about the younger generation; she has always cared about you. Child, she was just teasing you."

Du Zhengyi froze. After a long while, he asked, "Is there anything I can do for her?"

Liu Li looked at Du Zhengyi carefully, her gaze gentle but carrying a hint of warning. She looked straight into his eyes. "Child, it is time; you should retire completely."

She added in a low voice that others would follow up on these matters, then left quickly.

Du Zhengyi watched his teacher leave, not attempting to speak to her again. He had received a warning, or rather, a piece of advice. That was that he had reached the time to make a graceful exit. They knew everything, but in consideration of his limited days and his past hard work, they allowed him to think it through and leave with dignity.

The scene of the arrest and killing of the Mage in Qionglin had not yet been fully cleaned up, and Du Zhengyi stood there, pondering that Pei Shu had never before shown his iron-fisted side to the world so directly. But having done so much classified work, he could not have been unaware of this side of Pei Shu. He also knew that once Pei Shu fully stepped into his political role, it would no longer be realistic for anyone to go and plead with him or petition him.

What Liu Li warned him about was Pei Shu's intent. Pei Shu understood him and expected his rationality. They should also not meet again; that would make them both miserable, because Pei Shu might have to do something that would make Du Zhengyi leave early.

Leaving him alone now might be because Pei Shu also had obligations to Gushan, or perhaps this was purely personal—the last few remaining irrational choices Pei Shu could make.

He stood quietly for a while. When this moment arrived, his heart was more complex than he had previously anticipated. His personal fate had been written from the very beginning, spread out before him like a Contract. The ending was clear, life was fleeting, and the only way to keep himself from being disturbed by emotions was to focus and avoid the unnecessary emotional tentacles of the men, women, old, and young around him.

Luo Qi should not have reminded him that Majiang was his close friend, nor should he have reminded him that Liu Ziyu very much regarded him as an older brother. Xiang Qian should not have cared for him with such kindness... Their actions were meaningless; the return he could give them was too little, and the unhappiness left behind would be longer-lasting.

"Du Zhengyi."

Someone called him. He turned his head in annoyance. At a time like this, who would be such a person, unable to read the room, to speak to him in public?

When he turned back, he saw the face of Liu Xiuyun, which was boring to the extreme. He almost wanted to pretend he hadn't heard and just walk past him. He had sometimes done this in Qionglin before... perhaps, in fact, he often did this.

But Liu Xiuyun had never known what it meant to be measured in his conduct, nor did he care much about the dignity of a Venerable Mage. He walked a few steps to Du Zhengyi's side. "I have thought about it for a long time; you have a great influence on Luo Qi."

Du Zhengyi was slowed down by those two words and suddenly smiled. "Venerable Liu, Luo Qi is the latest forbidden word; don't say it so loudly."

He wanted to leave again, but Liu Xiuyun walked outward with him. "I cannot call him by his nickname; that would be too damaging to my dignity."

"That has nothing to do with me," Du Zhengyi said.

"Luo Qi once threatened me. Are you aware of this?" Liu Xiuyun asked him.

"I generally choose not to ask, so as not to get worked up," Du Zhengyi said.

"You are indulging him."

Du Zhengyi stopped in the corridor and let out a long breath. "Look at my age; I haven't even reached the age when a typical Mage gets married."

"What do you mean?" Liu Xiuyun asked stiffly.

"It means that Luo Qi was certainly not born by me; the only people qualified to 'indulge' him are his parents. Is it any of your business to talk to me about it?" Du Zhengyi's face turned cold, and he wanted to walk away, but ended up being grabbed by the arm by Liu Xiuyun.

"I still want to know, you have always had good character, why do you allow Luo Qi to perform these little tricks around you?"

Du Zhengyi sighed a second time. "Mage Liu, if Luo Qi threatened you, it was only because he felt you were too slow in your work and were wasting his time. He... doesn't have much time; he has always been in a hurry. I know you will certainly do as he asks, but if you hadn't followed his requirements at the time, he actually wouldn't have really hurt you."

Liu Xiuyun did not say anything more and let go of his arm. Du Zhengyi walked forward a few steps in irritation, suddenly stopped, and turned back to look suspiciously at Liu Xiuyun, who was still standing in place.

Du Zhengyi walked back slowly. "Has Luo Qi threatened you again recently? Have you seen him lately?"

Liu Xiuyun looked at him for a while and finally said in a low voice, "Luo Qi demanded that I open up the data of my department, the Genealogy Regulatory Committee, to him."

"Luo Qi wants to check the household registration of Mages?" Du Zhengyi frowned. After a long while, he said, "You can also ignore Luo Qi. Now the entire Qionglin is monitoring people who have contact with Luo Qi; this pressure is not small, you can seek protection from Pei Shu."

"Mage Du, please tell me, does Luo Qi have the ability to completely control and manipulate my thoughts and actions?" Liu Xiuyun asked suddenly.

Du Zhengyi was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"But he chose to threaten me."

"Indeed, not very smart?" Du Zhengyi was not quite sure what Liu Xiuyun meant.