Chapter 697: The Grass Market Executive

"I still remember when you were small, people would always come to ask whose child you were, and you would never pay those questions any mind. You are of the Du Family; Senior Mages know what that surname implies. A Du Family child brought up by Pei Shu can only be of the purest bloodline. In this era of ours that has already entered the Twilight Era, you are a priceless treasure. In those years, too many people had designs on you—trying to curry favor with you, provoke you, test you. We all had our own jobs; no one was truly responsible for specifically looking after you. None of us managed to take very good care of you, and we could only watch as you avoided everyone, your temperament becoming increasingly reclusive," Wan Pei said.

"No need to be so sentimental, old man, you're making me a bit embarrassed," Du Zhengyi laughed. "Actually, I don't feel anything at all; I didn't pay that much attention to those things."

"Yes, you isolated yourself completely, relying on no one, and speaking your heart to no one. I know you didn't deliberately force yourself to be independent; you were very busy from a young age, the kind of good child that elders hope to see. A strong thirst for knowledge, heavy curiosity, burying yourself in piles of books every day, desperately absorbing knowledge, or else constantly practicing Magic and Combat. Every inch of time was precious to you; you weren't willing to waste time on any person or thing not worth it. Generally speaking, this is also a trait of a genius," Wan Pei sighed. "Luo Qi wants to know who your biological parents really are. But I don't know this either, and I can't help him. But he is also satisfied just to hear your past stories. I've roughly figured it out; he is different from those other people, he has no interest in the Du Clan."

Du Zhengyi did not speak. They walked to an open area; turning back, they could see the rooftops at their feet, and in the distance, the river water surged mightily forward. In human imagery, river water does not stop for anyone; time flows away like river water day and night. He would eventually be carried away by the passing water, fruitlessly wondering what he could leave behind.

Wan Pei stopped his steps with him, looking into the distance together. He suddenly said, "But I always feel that Luo Qi actually knows more than I do."

Du Zhengyi turned his head.

"Just a feeling," Wan Pei said. "When Luo Qi came to visit, I discovered he was different from the person I met last time. He seemed to have accumulated centuries of knowledge and experience. Conversing with him too deeply, for a moment I almost felt he was the old one. Sigh, Shi Xiansheng gave him too much; she shouldn't have pitted him like this, the burden in his mind is too heavy. Luo Qi is very interested in the Du Family; he has almost figured out my relatively simple branch of the lineage. When he straightened out my family tree, he smugly said that figuring out your origins would only require a little more imagination."

Du Zhengyi shook his head. "Let him investigate; if he really finds out, it will only make him more disheartened."

A group of human tourists discovered this place, and the platform for admiring the river began to grow noisy. They avoided the crowd and continued walking forward.

Wan Pei said to him, "I'll take you to meet the new heads of the various trades in the Grass Market today."

"No, since Luo Qi isn't here, I'll head back first. I'll see those people another day," Du Zhengyi said.

"At least one person must be seen—the manager appointed by Luo Qi. Meeting one person won't delay you much time. I originally wanted to have a drink with you, but things are not peaceful these days; Luo Qi hopes you can stay in the Qionglin, and he is right," Wan Pei said.

Du Zhengyi was not quite used to the old captain saying "Luo Qi" every other word; he seemed to have completely ignored Luo Qi's age and status, developing a strong trust and obedience toward Luo Qi. He described a brand-new, iron-fisted Luo Qi, and Du Zhengyi was completely uninterested in the new role Luo Qi was playing.

"I want to ask a direct question," Du Zhengyi said. "Why have I become a target for attack? I don't think those targeting Luo Qi would figure out Luo Qi's interpersonal relationships so quickly."

"Child, you have always been a target for attack. Don't you know how much you invite hatred? You plucked so many children, husbands, and wives out of their homes and sent them into the underground Cube of the Qionglin," Wan Pei sighed and said, but the old man's gaze avoided Du Zhengyi.

Du Zhengyi followed him in silence for a while, then suddenly said, "In human society, the work police do is similar to mine, but very few people go to retaliate against the police. They assume these matters have nothing to do with the police themselves; the police are merely Enforcers, executing the will of the state. There is only one situation where police are retaliated against. That is when state organs collapse and society enters a state of disorder."

Wan Pei stopped his steps and turned his head to look at Du Zhengyi. "Even if that day comes, that is still not Luo Qi's fault. But we cannot endure collateral damage falling upon you."

"Are you crazy? The way you're talking now is just like you're following Luo Qi," Du Zhengyi looked at the old captain in disbelief. "He is just a child; no matter how mature and wise he appears now, that is just a deformed, rapid growth. He is still missing many parts."

"You are also still a child, Du Zhengyi. You've forgotten that you were doing an adult's work before you were even an adult," Wan Pei looked at him with some sadness. "We have already entered the Twilight Era; children have to start working before they are grown. Luo Qi is indeed still young, and that is just right, because only young people can complete a transformation. Let's not talk about this; I don't know what Luo Qi is doing either, I just vaguely smell some scents. You debating with me neither convinces me nor serves any purpose. Come, I'll take you to meet Luo Qi's executor; Luo Qi has a lot of imagination in employing people."

By the time they said these words, they had already arrived at the gate of a courtyard. Sunlight leaked into the small courtyard sandwiched between small buildings, like a bright ecological tank, yet the houses inside were shrouded in silent shadows.

Du Zhengyi "looked" into the depths of the courtyard; human figures were moving in the shadows. He knew it was not as quiet as it appeared inside; a layer of Magic Screen obscured the true scene within.

His old captain checked the authorization status at the entrance and gestured for him to move forward. "I'm going to attend to other things; someone will send you out later. If this old guy nags any more, it will become annoying; anyway, they will nag you too."

Du Zhengyi walked into the narrow gate of the Jiangnan-style courtyard. A slight Magic Field acted upon the air, though the space inside and outside the gate remained the same. Having lost the filtering of the Magic Screen, the colors of the world behind the gate became more vivid, and the courtyard was larger than it had appeared before.

Before he could look closely, the door under the eaves across the courtyard was suddenly slammed open by Magic. The sound of arguing inside was thrown out as if it had broken through a barrier, and it gradually stopped when they saw the person outside.

Du Zhengyi walked slowly across the courtyard, receiving the curious gazes of the people in the room. Several people stood in the middle of the room; they were the main source of the noise from the argument just now. Five or six people sat on various wooden chairs scattered on both sides, most of them familiar faces—originally managers or shop owners of various trades in the Zhouqiao Grass Market.

He walked into the room, and the people standing moved to the sides, clearing a path for him, and he was finally able to see the person sitting in the main seat. That person revealed a smile at him, incomparably beautiful.

He was slightly stunned; the woman had already reached out a hand to him, silently urging him. Powerful beauty and charm mixed together, becoming an irresistible force; that force urged him to bow his head, urged his steps forward, to take that hand and let her borrow his strength to stand up and welcome his visit.

He knew this was not Luo Qi; Luo Qi could only imitate the appearance of a goddess, but he definitely couldn't pull off this kind of demeanor.

"Goddess Ata, have you changed jobs? Or did I go to the wrong place?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"My new boss said I am better suited for this job," Ata smiled slightly.