Chapter 692: The Calculator's Courtyard

Encountering Luo Qi is likely a calamity for the Old Mages. Du Zhengyi offered Liu Xiuyun a few words of comfort, hoping the Old Mage wouldn't take it too much to heart; Luo Qi had not been having an easy time lately either.

Liu Xiuyun shook his head. In such chaotic times, the bad habits of a wild Luo Qi were the least worth mentioning among all the troubles. He did not consider himself broad-minded, and his overly rigid temperament made young Mages dislike him, but his most persistent goal was merely hoping that young Mages could become talented. A Mage so young he hadn't even fully come of age had said a few thoughtless words; he wouldn't be angry about that. He turned to introduce Zhou Yanchen, the target they wanted to try their luck with.

Zhou Yanchen was an outstanding Calculator who had just passed away last year at the age of two hundred and twenty-one, dying of old age. No one would have conspired to kill him, nor could he have participated in any earth-shattering conspiracy. Most of his life's energy had been dedicated to the Calculation Institute, papers, and teaching. To the average person, he was both remarkable and extremely ordinary. But to Luo Qi, he could almost be considered an incredibly boring person.

"As for his family lineage, his ancestors produced several Calculators and Experimental Mages, and his descendants serve in the Qionglin. His entire family lineage is clearly traceable; it is the most common type of family in the Mage World—excellent, but ordinary. His grandson just came of age not long ago, oh, actually you know him too," Liu Xiuyun said at last.

Du Zhengyi thought of Zhou Quan; he possessed an unnoticed cleverness, very much like a descendant of a Calculator. Thinking of it this way, he felt a bit of tension, because that meant Zhou Quan might be more deeply involved than he had thought.

But Liu Xiuyun continued, "He is called Zhou Ruisi, and he was involved in the same trouble as you not long ago. You remember him, right?"

Du Zhengyi was somewhat taken aback; he had almost forgotten this person. But on second thought, Zhou Quan really did not seem like someone from a family of old Scholars, while Zhou Ruisi was more like the rigid and dull grandson of a Calculator than Zhou Quan. If a clever Scholar could not produce a genius, they would most likely produce a bookworm.

Liu Xiuyun then asked, "Is there anything special about Zhou Ruisi? Anything that would attract Luo Qi's attention?"

"Nothing at all." Du Zhengyi recalled that bookworm; Luo Qi did not like him much. Zhou Ruisi was both boring and not very good with words; to Luo Qi, he was like a ration made by a Highland Mage—the kind Luo Qi would never eat if he had a choice.

"Alright. But in any case, this child survived that disaster, which is a good thing. I heard he grew up by his grandfather's side; Zhou Yanchen always kept him close and educated him personally, putting in a lot of effort. If he had died in that disaster, we would truly have felt sorry for old man Zhou Yanchen."

Du Zhengyi silently thought that the old Calculator's efforts had mostly been in vain; he wasn't even half as clever as Luo Qi. But even two Luo Qis might not be able to become Calculators, so Zhou Ruisi had even less hope.

Liu Xiuyun had no other way. "Seeing is believing; let's go to Zhou Yanchen's home and try our luck."

The park's bamboo forest spread outward from the southeast corner. When Du Zhengyi followed Liu Xiuyun into the bamboo forest, he finally understood why this bamboo forest always gave him a sense of incongruity. In a modern human city, this bamboo forest was too dense and occupied too much land. The bamboo forest connected from a corner of the park all the way to a mountain several kilometers away. The main path of the bamboo forest was paved with stone slabs, wide and neat, leading upward in folds along the mountain's terrain.

Humans taking a shortcut would walk in here, following the main path in the bamboo forest all the way to that mountain, where there seemed to be a famous Taoist temple. No human would notice the dim, narrow path behind a few clusters of old bamboo. The path was so narrow it only allowed one person to pass; the ground was just dirt, which would be a bit muddy after rain. A broken bamboo branch lay horizontally at the entrance, its cut end neat, looking like a threshold. Squeezing into the path sideways and stepping over that threshold meant one had crossed this invisible boundary.

Du Zhengyi followed Liu Xiuyun onto that narrow path; the noise behind them suddenly grew distant, and only the rustling of wind through the bamboo forest remained in his ears. It was a bit more humid here than outside; moss grew on the stones by the road, and a stream flowed slowly through the bamboo forest, with a large number of ferns growing between the water and the stones, looking as if they had been planted by hand.

After walking about a kilometer, the bamboo forest suddenly receded, and the view before them opened up. A courtyard lay quietly on a flat piece of land amidst the bamboo forest, with mottled white walls covered in black tiles; Lotus patterns were carved on the eaves tiles, the designs already worn blurry by rain, leaving only a rounded outline.

The wooden gate of the courtyard had lost its paint, revealing the dark brown color of the wood itself. A plaque hung above the door frame, the calligraphy somewhat blurred, but one could still recognize the three characters "Qizhen Chu." The couplets on both sides read, "Clouds come, the mountain has its bearing; wind passes, the bamboo leaves no trace."

Du Zhengyi subconsciously looked up at the mountain behind, shrouded in clouds and mist above the bamboo forest; presumably, Zhou Yanchen really liked living here. This place didn't look much like an ordinary residence; it was more like a Taoist temple.

Thinking of Zhou Yanchen's actual age, when he was born, this place was still under the rule of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Mages mostly truly appeared in the guise of "Mages," and their dwellings were often built as Taoist temples or places for Taoist meditation. Mages often couldn't keep up with the pace of humans; Mages who entered the Qing Dynasty from the Ming Dynasty couldn't keep up with the changes of the times, and Mages who entered the modern era from the Qing Dynasty couldn't either. A Mage like Zhou Yanchen might have spent his whole life living in such a place far from modern hustle and bustle; the clear breeze and bamboo forest were more familiar to them than humans.

Mages generally wouldn't lock their doors like humans. Du Zhengyi skillfully opened the Zhou family's security barrier and pushed open the main gate. The courtyard was paved with blue bricks, with moss growing in the cracks. An old osmanthus tree in the courtyard grew well, with a stone table and stone stools beneath it. Moon gates on both sides of the house connected to the backyard, but Du Zhengyi had already lost his patience looking. There were no traces of any abnormal Magic here; it was completely the most ordinary old Mage residence. If he walked through the moon gate, he would likely still see the herb garden that such old Mages liked to plant.

Liu Xiuyun had even less interest in the old Mage's leisurely pursuits. There was no one in the house, so they entered the main room uninvited.

The characteristics of a Mage were revealed more in the house; there were books almost everywhere, and almost every room had bookshelves. Du Zhengyi immediately pulled out some books; this place was like a Library for a Calculation Mage. However, a small portion were human books, and most of these were hand-copied Ming and Qing novels. He was somewhat surprised to find that the most prominent position on one wall was entirely filled with Dream of the Red Chamber; he didn't understand why someone would store several sets of the same book. He pulled one out to look and could only tell that the handwriting was different; they were likely copies by different people.

Liu Xiuyun only did a simple browse of these and went straight to the old Mage's study, which was piled with many manuscripts; the old Mage was the type of Mage who relied more on handwriting. Some Mages believed that slow handwriting could provide deeper time for thought.

The current owner of this house used a family Pendragon Track to Teleport into the main hall at this very moment.

Du Zhengyi was rummaging through the pile of Dream of the Red Chamber in the main hall when Zhou Ruisi appeared opposite him, looking dazed, and a sharp, piercing noise came from his throat.

This should have been an awkward scene, but Du Zhengyi looked at Zhou Ruisi with a straight face. The latter's throat seemed to have been choked; the tension and anxiety of seeing the King of Hell made him tremble. Despite this, he still screamed out a coherent sentence: "That is a precious original manuscript of Dream of the Red Chamber!"

Du Zhengyi glanced at him idly and, as if nothing had happened, stuffed the thread-bound book back into the bookshelf.

The Pendragon Track activated once more, and another person Shixian-ed out. This person said a low "Ah—" and took a step back, "Boss?"

Du Zhengyi was finally taken aback, looking at the person who had arrived, "Yan Hao?"