Chapter 693: Macaque

Liu Xiuyun walked out of the study upon hearing the sound and returned to the main hall to greet the current owner of this courtyard. Zhou Ruisi was still as prone to nervousness as ever; despite being the owner, he managed to make himself flustered.

Du Zhengyi had no interest in him; his attention fell upon Yan Hao. The name of this intern Battle Mage was still on the missing persons list, yet not only was he safe and sound and moving about freely, but he had also failed to report to the Imperial Academy.

He was even more nervous than Zhou Ruisi now, looking at Du Zhengyi in a panic, then glancing nervously at Liu Xiuyun, his fingers clenching into fists before nervously unfolding them. Du Zhengyi sensed a Teleportation Magic about to emerge, but it was suppressed before it could take shape.

Liu Xiuyun was earnestly conversing with Zhou Ruisi and did not seem to notice. In fact, Du Zhengyi guessed that Liu Xiuyun was not that sensitive to the invocation of Magic, nor had he necessarily looked closely at the recent missing persons list.

He glanced at Yan Hao and tilted his head slightly toward the outside.

Yan Hao hesitated for a moment, glanced nervously at Liu Xiuyun again, and seemingly made a decision, forcing himself to follow Du Zhengyi.

Du Zhengyi led him until they were out of the Mages' hearing range and sat down at a stone table in the Zhou Family Courtyard. "Are you injured?"

Yan Hao was taken aback by the question, then realized Du Zhengyi must be asking about the situation before they parted ways. "No."

Du Zhengyi looked at him, knowing that his reaction meant he had actually been doing quite well lately. "Is someone threatening you?"

"Threatening me?" Yan Hao seemed startled again. He looked flustered, but he was far from the state of a Battle Mage in distress. He was hesitant at first, but finally sighed and shook his head.

When he spoke, there was a hint of guilt in his voice, as if he regarded Du Zhengyi as Qiong Lin itself. "I know you want to ask me why I didn't go back to report."

Du Zhengyi did not speak, waiting for him to continue.

Yan Hao stood straighter in his nervousness and began to stutter, but then spoke faster and faster. "I... I'm not afraid to tell you the truth, but I don't know how to explain my actions. What happened that day was too big; it overturned my understanding. Things happened too fast, and before I could react, I had made my choice. By the time I realized it, I was already following Luo Qi. Luo Qi didn't threaten me; he told me I could choose for myself. If I went back, Qiong Lin would take apart my brain and wipe away that part of my memory, and I could return to my past life. If I didn't want to be controlled, I could also help him out for a while. He also said I could choose to regret it, and when I did, I could tell him, and he would help me modify my brain to make it look like I had been manipulated by his will all along. By then, Qiong Lin would think I was still innocent."

"So, your little group has a rather loose organizational structure," Du Zhengyi said flatly.

Yan Hao caught the sarcasm, his body tensing even more, and he even began to probe for Attack Magic in the field. But Du Zhengyi remained in a relaxed state, with no intention of taking him back. He let out a sigh of relief and muddled through, adding to Luo Qi's words, "Luo Qi said that if I were ever caught by you, I should tell the truth about my own affairs and not lie to you. If I don't lie, I should be fine."

"What about things other than your own affairs?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"Luo Qi said he would tell you about other things himself when he meets you. If I talk too much on his behalf, he'll keep my intelligence level at the stage of constant drooling," Yan Hao said nervously.

Du Zhengyi sighed, showing a hint of amusement. "Luo Qi is still a child; you shouldn't be intimidated by a child. Children always exaggerate when they speak. You are an adult; don't be led by the nose by a child."

Unfortunately, his inducement had no effect. Yan Hao shook his head immediately. "No, every word Luo Qi says comes true; he never exaggerates. Boss, it's good to see you're okay. But you probably haven't been to the Grass Market lately. It's not like it used to be; Luo Qi is in charge now, and everyone knows the Great Civet Cat King doesn't joke around."

Du Zhengyi's expression turned cold, and he stood up. Yan Hao's hands, hanging at his sides, began to tremble slightly; Battle Mages were all somewhat afraid of Du Zhengyi. "Then why shouldn't I take you back to Qiong Lin? What information can you provide me that would make me willing to let you go? You'd better keep a clear head. The method Luo Qi told you to use against me is limited to himself. Do you still think you have some kind of 'good child visa' here with me? He is naive, and you are just as naive? I said, you are already an adult. Do you not understand what I mean?"

Yan Hao held his breath, sweat broke out on his forehead, and the pupils in his upturned eyes trembled slightly. His expression was actually very naive, much like Luo Qi's; no wonder he ran off following him.

"Who else went with Luo Qi?" Du Zhengyi asked coldly.

"Only me." Yan Hao swallowed, then hurriedly added, "Only me among the Battle Mages. Zhou Ruisi also went with Luo Qi."

Du Zhengyi glanced at him impatiently, his face full of mockery as he continued to pressure his nerves. "Tell the truth: what exactly is so terrifying that it scared you into chasing after Luo Qi?"

Yan Hao's face flushed red with shame, but he mustered the courage to talk back. "It's not... it's not that simple. If it were just something scary, I wouldn't have lost my mind. Besides, Luo Qi hasn't told you yet; he's only doing it for your safety. Qiong Lin is completely untrustworthy."

Du Zhengyi's anger was about to erupt when Zhou Ruisi darted out from the room, approaching them timidly, and tactlessly greeted him. "Du... Mage Du's complexion... is not very good. Is the weather too bad, affecting your mood?"

Du Zhengyi looked at him with annoyance. "Did Venerable Liu finish talking to you so quickly?"

"The Venerable just wanted to ask for authorization to look at the books here. The Venerable is too polite; my grandfather has always liked to share knowledge." He shuffled closer with small steps, offering a fawning smile to Du Zhengyi.

Du Zhengyi saw that his pockets were bulging; he must have just taken important personal items from his grandfather's study. He felt a sudden perverse urge to confiscate what he had taken. His mood today was indeed very bad, and his temper was growing.

"Then why didn't you go to Qiong Lin to report? Did Luo Qi's charisma infect you?"

Zhou Ruisi seemed to shudder. "Ah? No, no. He doesn't have a shred of charisma—ah, no, no, I didn't mean that... I just didn't dare go to Qiong Lin. I'm afraid of Qiong Lin messing with my brain. Mage Du, my brain, my intelligence, and my way of thinking are the most precious treasures gifted to me by my grandfather; I don't want anyone to touch them. The Mind Mages of Qiong Lin have no interest in doing delicate surgery; their way of deleting memories is like an amputation. My brain would be ruined by them. At first, I just thought it was safer to be around Luo Qi. He did protect me, and when he ran away, he muddled through and took everyone around him with him; I was naturally one of them. It wasn't until I followed him that I had a chance to figure out what was going on. However, he said I wasn't of much use and told me to fend for myself. But I didn't want to go back to Qiong Lin, nor did I want to be discovered by them. I persuaded him to let me stay and be his secretary. I have to say, in terms of being a secretary and an assistant, I am still..."

"Shut up." Du Zhengyi could no longer stand it; Zhou Ruisi's mouth seemed to be missing a bit.

Zhou Ruisi closed his mouth, eyeing Du Zhengyi with flickering eyes, then bravely opened his mouth once more. "Mage Du, your complexion is really bad. You should eat more bananas; potassium can regulate your mood." Observing the change in Du Zhengyi's face, his words took a turn. "It could also be because of the cloudy weather; sunlight can also improve your mood. Mage Yan, do you want to cast a full-spectrum Light Magic..."

"Did Venerable Liu say you could get lost?" Du Zhengyi said impatiently.

"How rude," Zhou Ruisi said indignantly, lifting his feet to walk away, and Yan Hao hurriedly followed him as they slipped away.

A few times, Du Zhengyi felt Zhou Ruisi look back at him, as if there was more nonsense to spew, but his mood was so foul that he didn't pay attention. He looked up to calm himself; the thin layer of clouds overhead seeped with white Sunlight, and not a trace of blue could be seen.

But it wasn't as if there was a lack of Sunlight here.

The locals all thought this was a sunny day.

Zhou Ruisi was also a local.

Yet he, like Du Zhengyi, felt it was a cloudy day, as if they had both originally lived in places where the sky was often clear and sunny.

Du Zhengyi suddenly realized what he had overlooked. He hurriedly chased after them, but the Teleportation Magic had already occurred. He ran to the gate, and outside the Zhou Family Courtyard, there was only a dark bamboo forest.

They had not used the Orbital System; Yan Hao had taken him and teleported away. Yan Hao's ability to teleport was not particularly outstanding, but it was enough to carry one person a few kilometers away.

He was truly a fool. No matter what, Yan Hao would not become a friend who went home with Zhou Ruisi; he would only go out with Luo Qi.

He had bumped into Luo Qi, yet Luo Qi had actually run away right in front of him. He was standing right in front of Luo Qi, yet he couldn't see him. Was this some kind of retribution from Luo Ruian falling upon him?