Chapter 74: Cat

On the second night, the one sleeping on the floor was Du Zhengyi. Their conversation had ended with Luo Qi crawling back into his bedding, and after that, Du Zhengyi said nothing more.

Luo Qi slept for a full ten hours this time before waking up. Once awake, he felt immense regret for saying those things to Du Zhengyi, secretly swearing that in the future, whenever he was too sleepy, too tired, or too miserable, he must keep his mouth shut tight. Luo Qi was very grateful that when Du Zhengyi decided not to be a jerk, he could always act with great maturity, perfectly matching his age and his talent. Du Zhengyi's attitude was as if Luo Qi had said nothing yesterday; Luo Qi himself wished he could jump into the river of time, dig a hole, and bury the yesterday version of himself—he never wanted to bring those words up again.

However, there was one point: he had been happy too soon. There was still a price to pay for Du Zhengyi no longer discussing this matter with him. After he finished another bowl of milk and cereal, Du Zhengyi unilaterally announced that they were going to go find Majiang to see if Majiang could help him modify his head.

"This is my head, not my hairstyle; it's not something you can just change on a whim," Luo Qi resisted weakly, though one look at Du Zhengyi's expression told him that resistance was useless.

But, wait—Luo Qi felt a secret jolt of horror. Was he really seeing it on Du Zhengyi's face, or was he reading it from his Yajian? Luo Qi lowered his head to stare at his milk bowl, not daring to look Du Zhengyi in the eye. He didn't want to probe his friend's thoughts at all, and what he feared even more was whether his friend was guessing that he was reading his mind. The long-standing problem of Telepaths being unable to integrate into society was placed right in front of him almost immediately.

He secretly observed Du Zhengyi. Ever since he woke up, Du Zhengyi's expression had been an impeccable, thousand-foot-deep glacier. Only then did he realize how well this room suited such a Du Zhengyi: white room, white wardrobe, white blinds, paired with a gray floor and a black single bed. Du Zhengyi was as cold as a vampire in an old story, or an artificial intelligence in a new one; no emotion cast even the slightest shadow on his face.

He did not know what Du Zhengyi was thinking, and he didn't even dare to ponder it too much, lest his Yajian once again penetrate Du Zhengyi's Mental Shield. He could not overdraw his credibility. Thinking a little under these circumstances, he knew that Du Zhengyi was right; he at least needed the help of a master. After initially reaching a stable state, he still had too much to learn.

From then on, there was no more conversation between Luo Qi and Du Zhengyi. Luo Qi kept his brain in a balanced state of not thinking about much of anything, spending this short time before leaving Du Zhengyi's home in silence.

He was still dazed when Du Zhengyi grabbed his arm. By the time he came to his senses, the roof had already vanished. The vast Sunlight of the Southern Country fell directly onto his head. He looked up in confusion amidst the gentle, moist wind blowing toward him, watching the broad leaves overhead, with interlaced white Sunlight leaking through the gaps.

"Luo Qi." Someone called him, and he turned his head.

Majiang was leaning against the wooden doorframe of a Jiangnan water town house, his foot resting on the threshold, looking at him with a bored expression—he was probably amused by his dazed look. He smiled and said, "Hey, Luo Qi, I heard you went dark yesterday?"

Luo Qi's face turned black immediately.

At this moment, he was standing in a courtyard in the Southern Country, surrounded by two-story buildings from the old days. Both the front and back had carved windows pushed open toward the courtyard. Moss grew in the corners of the walls, the surfaces were mottled, and the air carried a scent of slightly corroded wood. This house was at least a hundred years old.

"A Triage Clinic?" Luo Qi asked gloomily.

"An empty town, especially suitable for your current situation," Majiang laughed.

"I'm already fine," Luo Qi said stiffly.

Majiang didn't take it seriously, saying with a cheeky grin, "Just in case."

Luo Qi had nothing to say, and Majiang added, "Besides, Du Zhengyi also caused trouble; he might be hunted down in the short term. It's best we don't stay in a place where everyone can find me."

Luo Qi was startled and subconsciously turned his head to say to Du Zhengyi, "What happened to you?"

"It has nothing to do with you," Du Zhengyi said impatiently.

"Right, it's his own doing, don't worry too much," Majiang said with schadenfreude.

"Where is Guan Xinyue?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"Playing by the river on the other side of town. I heard the Radiation monster was coming, so I had her step away for a while. I'll let her come back once I'm sure he can control himself."

"What did her family say?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"Communicated with her family; they are all sensible people. The girl is left with me for a while," Majiang said easily.

Luo Qi's heart stirred. He looked at Majiang suspiciously and asked in a low voice, "Did they understand on their own, or did you make them understand?"

Majiang smiled without answering. In the main hall behind him, there was a round table with a calico cat lying on it. Majiang moved his fingers slightly, and the cat wiggled its fat butt to the edge of the round table, leaped up, and landed on Majiang's shoulder. Majiang teased the cat casually, stroking its chin with his fingers, and the cat was extremely docile.

Luo Qi suddenly understood. The unhappiness he had felt since waking up today accumulated to its peak at this moment. He watched this scene as if he were born knowing what to do.

The calico cat suddenly lashed out, scratching Majiang's finger with a claw. Majiang was startled and hurriedly pulled his hand back. But it was already too late; it turned out that a Mage's reaction speed was still a bit weaker than a cat's. The cat's claw left a long, bloody gash on his hand. Then, the old cat stepped on his shoulder, nimbly jumped onto the doorframe, scurried to the second floor, and disappeared behind a window.

Majiang clutched his finger, staring at Luo Qi in the narrow courtyard of the South, his expression turning stern. Luo Qi said nothing, looking back at him without yielding. In this recent self-loathing, his "to hell with it" mentality had grown stronger and stronger, and now he was even taking his anger out on Majiang.

"Having fun playing with cats?" Du Zhengyi spoke up coldly from beside them. "I don't need Telepathy to take both of you down."

Luo Qi couldn't tell if Du Zhengyi was bragging or threatening, but he was still a bit distracted, guarding against Du Zhengyi suddenly lashing out to beat him. He had known for a long time that Du Zhengyi's temper and personality were no better than a cat's. Majiang, meanwhile, raised his hands as if surrendering, appearing to have a very strong desire to survive. "Nothing like that, that was all the cat's free will. You shouldn't look at us Mind Mages through colored glasses; we aren't that bored."

"Can we talk about business now?" Du Zhengyi said. "I don't have that much time to waste with you people."