Chapter 699: Ata's Meeting

A valley.

"You betrayed my Coordinate," Luo Qi said knowingly, looking at him with eyes that had almost no focus.

His fingers tightened around the ring; the crystal on the ring setting could activate the Orbital Teleportation System. Another torrent of Magic surged up, and several shadows appeared behind him; the grass by the lake rustled as it was stepped upon. Their people had arrived.

His mission was complete; they had confirmed Luo Qi's location, and his own teleportation had begun to initiate. He would enter the teleportation space within a tenth of a second, and his Mental Barrier could withstand Luo Qi's main attack during this time. Even if he had to suffer a certain degree of Mental Damage, he could endure it.

Yet this moment seemed to become infinitely long, and everything became unusually clear. He had betrayed Luo Qi, and the scent of blood on the killers behind him poured into his nostrils as if it were a physical substance. Luo Qi stood quietly; the Mage's vision allowed him to see Luo Qi's brown irises glowing with an amber hue under the sunlight, the unfocused pupils looking like inorganic matter. Why did he not counterattack in anger?

The crystal-clear blue lake was like a teardrop that had fallen into the valley. Luo Qi stood quietly by the lake, the dense primeval forest surrounding the water, leaves rustling, ghosts looming. His breath hitched, his body stiffened; why had he not noticed the anomaly just now? Were those shadows already in the woods? Or did they suddenly appear out of thin air?

Gudu.

"I was just wondering when you would show up," Goddess Ata looked at Du Zhengyi with a smile. "As a major client, if you didn't come soon, I would have had to send the registry to your door."

"Deliver it to Qionglin?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"There is nothing that cannot be done." A smile rippled in the depths of Ata's eyes, as if she had accepted an invisible provocation, yet there was not a hint of malice. She looked at Du Zhengyi and complained, "It's just that we haven't had the time; everything here is a mess. Mages and humans are mixed together, curious Mages and reckless humans piled up to form a double disaster. Some Mages like to tease humans, and some humans don't like the clothes Mages wear; there are just too many conflicts. There are also some Highland Mages who are mistaken for lamas; humans chase after them to give them money and want them to perform consecrations."

"Highland Mages?" Du Zhengyi couldn't help but interrupt her.

Ata gracefully raised a hand, signaling Du Zhengyi to look toward a corner of the room, where a silent Mage sat in the most remote spot. "Nowadays, everyone wants to get something from my boss, and even Highland Mages cannot stay out of it."

The Highland Mage did not refute her; Du Zhengyi did not know him, and he did not pay any special attention to Du Zhengyi.

"Highland Mages are people of the outside world, while the rest of us are insiders," Ata said, withdrawing her gaze and looking around at the others sitting in the room. "The Grass Market has always maintained its own order, and the boss doesn't want to see Mages teasing humans anymore. If we followed Qionglin's standards, for instance, Du Zhengyi's standards, some Mages would probably have been dragged into the depths of Qionglin these past few days. Huajing, are you actually capable or not? If you can't even maintain order in the Grass Market, I'm afraid I'll have to replace the manager."

The man called by name flushed red upon hearing this. Huajing was a burly male Mage; Du Zhengyi had an impression of him, having seen his photo in the Battle Mage chronology. He had once been a Battle Mage, but he had little interest in working for Qionglin and had left after completing his mandatory service. His family had always been closely linked to several families in the Black Market; Du Zhengyi thought perhaps he was a newcomer promoted after Luo Qi took out several of the old families.

"Ata, my people are simply not enough, you know that. The Grass Market used to be heavily fortified, and there wouldn't be so many humans mixed in; the workload for maintaining order wouldn't be this heavy," Huajing said.

"Then I can call my people. It's not that we people of Wushan can't engage in security work; we are even better at subduing the enemy without fighting. It's just that you would feel uneasy again, feeling that your minds were being kept at a distance by us," Ata said, as if she found the matter very interesting, her beautiful eyes shining brightly. Everyone feared the next moment would be Ata clapping her hands and a team of Wushan goddesses walking in. No, perhaps even worse, a team of Wushan gods walking in.

"No," one person refused with a groan. He was a middle-aged Mage with a miserable face.

"Tan Qianfan, have you finally decided to state your position?" Ata looked at him, the corners of her lips curling.

He avoided Ata's gaze and swallowed with difficulty, "I can... I agree to increase the budget, but I can only approve the money to hire ten more Mages at most."

Du Zhengyi could tell he came from that family that held the power of finance; the surname of this family had not changed.

Ata looked at Huajing with a look of urging, and the latter nodded, "Ten more is fine, it's better than not adding anyone."

"I really don't like mixing with humans. We don't need to make things so troublesome; we can expel the humans. The risk is lower, and the cost is lower," Tan Qianfan said painfully. "This was originally the land of Mages, wasn't it?"

"No, after 1949, the land was nationalized," Ata said with a faint smile. She saw what Tan Qianfan was about to protest, and those captivating eyes looked at the man, forcing him to turn his head away in unease, as she continued herself, "In even more ancient times, this wasn't the land of Mages either; no major thoroughfare could ever be occupied by Mages. I still remember when this Grass Market was first formed, humans would hold grand festivals here every Dragon Boat Festival. From here to the river in front of Jinshan Temple, thousands of sails would race. Heh, humans back then were truly wild; every year at the Dragon Boat Festival, several boats of people would die, and later it was banned by an enraged Emperor Shenzong or Emperor Zhezong of Song. This part, I don't remember clearly."

Her words made half the people in the room look up, and Du Zhengyi sensed the strangeness of the atmosphere. Ata looked at them in surprise, "What? Do you think I have lived that long? Of course not, Wushan just shares memories. Wushan believes that everyone must die. However, you don't see it that way; you all still hope to get a Ship Ticket to Qionglin, don't you?"

Her question was very gentle, not like the interrogation of a superior, but more like the soft heart-to-heart talk of a Wushan goddess; they were almost unable to wait to pour their hearts out.

Someone coughed violently; the person coughing was Huajing. Tan Qianfan gave him a grateful look, and with a hint of panic, was eager to change the subject, "Are we going to continue holding a meeting and discussing in front of an outsider? This young Du Mage, although famous, we are not strangers to him, but surely we don't need to invite him to sit in and observe these trivial matters of our own?"

Ata followed the flow and took Du Zhengyi's arm, "Then everyone, please allow me to excuse myself for a moment. I will personally take this distinguished guest to re-register for the Grass Market, and then personally see him off."

No one made a sound; Tan Qianfan just nodded. Only then did Du Zhengyi realize how stifling this room was; once Du Zhengyi completely shifted his attention away from Goddess Ata, it was as if the only light had vanished from the room, and he realized that sitting in this room were the most boring and snobbish Old Mages in this world.

However, before they could walk out, the door was pushed open with great force.

A tense Mage stood at the door, holding something in his hands.

Du Zhengyi frowned amidst the heavy smell of blood; he saw clearly what the person was holding—it was a severed arm, cut off at the elbow, with a dazzling ring still on the finger.