The magician in the city

Chapter 681 The Gift of Our Ancestors (71)

Du Zhengyi left Qionglin smoothly, knowing that the supreme contract was at work. The last time he came out of Qionglin, he sensed a trace of tracking magic on his body; he didn't know who had placed it, nor did he try to shake it off.

Removing the tracking spell was easy, but he didn't know whether the person who left it was for surveillance or as a warning. However, this time when he went out, he clearly felt that the unpleasant tracking spell had disappeared.

The magic cast by countless individuals is like intricate threads weaving a complex causal logic, forming this entire magical world. There are many reasons why a spell might fail or disappear; perhaps it's canceled by a deeper causal logic, or perhaps it forms a paradoxical set with other spells. The deeper one's understanding of the principles of magic, the more complex the calculations, and the more powerful the magic one can wield.

His understanding of magic was limited, but within his knowledge system, he was acutely aware of the clear priority hierarchy within magic, with magic related to Lonely Mountain having the highest priority. Therefore, when he was on the path to protecting Lonely Mountain, magic would extend its greatest benevolence to him, and countless causes and effects would be reassembled. Of course, this did not mean he would be invincible, but many spells that hindered him would indeed be canceled, leaving only those parts that were logically impossible to remove.

There is practically only one type of magic that doesn't fall under this logic: telekinesis. Telekinesis is the most unique, and perhaps, as many have pondered, it originates from the mage themselves, not from this world. One day, magic in this world will dry up, and most mages will become indistinguishable from humans.

Therefore, when Du Zhengyi arrived at the temple, he encountered no obstacles, no malicious probing, and no furtive tailing. The magical world itself guaranteed that he could stand smoothly before the temple gates, fulfilling the world's will as its executor.

The temple was bustling with activity; the late spring had finally brought a touch of warmth, drawing many people out of their homes. This Northern Dynasties temple was quite famous, and many people enjoyed visiting it. While not actually Lonely Mountain, it was closely connected to it, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it its outer perimeter.

The temple is filled with the smoke of incense and candles, lit by humans. The monks have no real faith and do not pray to gods or Buddhas. Humans kneel and worship before the Buddha and burn incense in the courtyard of the ancient temple. The wooden temple cannot withstand the risk of fire, and humans are always more adaptable than the monks.

Du Zhengyi couldn't find many traces of magic here. He was certain that some kind of attack or probe had occurred, but they had been very cautious. Whatever the people who came here did, they didn't disturb the human tourists. Human children were laughing and joking, holding temple-shaped ice cream cones. Young girls were taking photos with the temple while holding up their creative ice cream cones. Du Zhengyi followed their gaze, but the only thing they were looking at was the ancient temple; they completely missed the towering pagoda behind it.

Humans cannot see the stupa.

He was standing too close to the stalls in the courtyard. A girl selling souvenirs blushed and asked him if he wanted a temple-themed ice cream, a must-try for photos. He shook his head. If it were Roach, he probably wouldn't miss the chance to eat at a temple. He wondered if Roach would still be the kind of person who would happily eat at every temple of every color after it all was over. The magic of time tends to oscillate and correct back to the original path, and Roach might also head towards pain and darkness. All encounters and struggles are like oscillations caused only on the original straight line; the curve will eventually return to its original state.

The crowd moved forward, and he moved forward with them. The joy and excitement of humanity under the spring sunshine slightly stung his skin. Only now did he understand Roryan's arrangement for Roach. He wanted to send his son among these humans; he was doing everything in his power to change his son's fate. If one could live a muddled life among humans, there was nothing wrong with that. Perhaps, that was the best outcome.

Someone handed Du Zhengyi three sticks of incense. He was lost in thought and subconsciously accepted the incense. Only when he realized he was holding three sticks did he come to his senses and notice that everyone around him had received incense. The lay disciple in charge of distributing the incense patiently reminded him, "You can't bring your own incense. Three sticks of incense are enough for your prostration and worship."

He hesitated for a moment, but couldn't return the incense, so he held it in his hand and walked forward with the crowd.

Stepping over the temple's high threshold, the light suddenly dimmed. Forty-eight wooden pillars supported the thousand-year-old Buddhist hall, and behind these pillars, exuding the scent of pine branches, the Buddha compassionately gazed upon all beings. He avoided the gaze of the gods and Buddhas, walking towards a corner of the hall. Slanting sunlight streamed through the beams, falling upon the hall, revealing the standing Bodhisattva with his back to him, leaving only a dark silhouette. Suddenly, he felt a tightness in his chest, a choking sensation in his throat. He suddenly wanted to ask the Bodhisattva why he turned his back on the world, why he abandoned humanity, he wanted to ask… but what? He could not speak, and no one listened. The Buddha and Bodhisattvas would not favor him; he was a Dharma Master.

He walked out of the temple, somewhat dazed, unsure what to do with the incense in his hand. A middle-aged woman who was strolling and exercising nearby noticed something, glanced at him, and unexpectedly said, "Why hesitate if you have something on your mind? Light the incense, pray, it might help!"

Du Zhengyi was a little embarrassed, "I..."

"Come here, young man. Light the incense in the incense burner, bow in all four directions, and then put the incense back in." The old woman made the decision for him. This kind of human woman at this age is a jinx to all young men. She wants him to light the incense, and even if he is Du Zhengyi, he can't disobey her and then walk away.

Before Du Zhengyi could figure out a way to escape, the old woman had already arranged everything. He could only reach out and light the incense. He already had a premonition that if he didn't do so, the old woman would say, "Why is a young man hesitating over such a small thing? You're not like a man."

He awkwardly lit the incense, but couldn't bring himself to bow in all directions. Holding the incense, the smoke curled upwards, yet it seemed as if he were truly communicating with the gods and Buddhas in a dreamlike way.

He didn't bow, but stood silently for a while, holding the incense sticks, lost in thought. Seeing that he seemed to be praying silently, the old woman let him go and didn't disturb him further. He eventually silently placed the three lit incense sticks back into the incense burner, raising his head to gaze at the Buddha's lowered, compassionate face. Du Zheng turned and walked towards the back of the temple, passing through a moon gate invisible to humans. The back of the temple was the monks' quarters, strangely laid out, as if bypassing an unseen area. Humans, when doing this, believed their reasons were perfectly valid, but as time passed, they forgot why they bypassed the invisible area. Later, even those who occasionally had the insight to see this layout would forget their original intentions when they got too close.

Now, Du Zhengyi walked straight across the open space, raising his head to gaze at the majestic ancient pagoda. If any human were observing Du Zhengyi at this moment, they would only see him looking at the distant farmland.

This is one of the territories of the Qionglin fortune tellers. Some fortune tellers are periodically transferred to work on Lonely Mountain, but most of the time they have their own workplaces. The fortune tellers' workplaces are not necessarily exactly the same, but the layout is always similar. For example, fortune tellers always need a lot of energy, and this tower itself is an energy source. The mages' workplaces are underground, or rather, in the underground palace beneath the tower.

Sometimes, these ancient towers, besides providing energy, also house many souls; some say they imprison many souls. Du Zhengyi couldn't confirm it; he didn't even remember who said it. He had come into contact with too many core secrets of the magical world and dealt with too many special individuals within it. He tried his best not to remember their ravings, but some inevitably caught his attention.

Humans build pagodas to enshrine relics or Buddhist scriptures, but for monks who have no gods, these thirteen-story pagodas seem more like a way to suppress the spirits of the dead.

Du Zhengyi looked at the octagonal pagoda, its eaves were multi-tiered, and its base was a tall Sumeru pedestal. A seated Buddha was enshrined in the niches within the pagoda, above which were reliefs of flying apsaras. Spring always seemed to arrive somewhat late in this land; no spring grass had yet sprouted, and the trees beside the pagoda appeared to have been dead for a long time. The pagoda's grayness seemed to absorb the surrounding sunlight, making it always darker than other places.

Du Zhengyi slowly walked towards the tower. A man in a black trench coat emerged from behind the tower, his face gloomy. He glanced at Du Zhengyi, then lowered his gaze; he must have also sensed the unique aura of the Lonely Mountain Guard. Du Zhengyi recognized him as well; he must be a newly appointed Lonely Mountain Guard.

The man nodded stiffly to Du Zhengyi, neither introducing himself nor showing any interest in getting to know him. "The attack occurred on the upper level of the tower. It's a brick tower, a hollow brick tower, but there are no stairs inside. There were guards on duty here, and they fought back. The diviners also rushed over to resist. No one died, but the attacker was a powerful mental mage, so the lack of deaths doesn't mean no one's mind was corrupted. The diviners believe the attacker wanted to steal souls."

"What kind of mental master is he?" Du Zhengyi asked.

“The witness said it was a short male mage. But witnesses who have come into contact with a Grand Mage of Mind are unreliable, and we never trust such accounts,” the male mage said. He looked at Du Zhengyi, “Your level is higher than mine, I can sense that. So I’ll be leaving now, this is in your hands.”

"Where did the two recent deaths of guards on Lonely Mountain occur?" Du Zhengyi asked.

"I don't know. It happened suddenly and ended just as suddenly. I suspect it was Lonely Mountain," the male monk said briefly. He had been standing in the shadow of the gray pagoda. Seeing that Du Zhengyi didn't seem to have any problems, he took a few steps back and left in another direction.

The guards on the isolated mountain couldn't even stand each other.

Du Zhengyi used several detection spells to examine the pagoda, but there weren't many. Mental magic is inherently difficult to detect using ordinary methods. His tests only proved that the mental magic master acted extremely quickly and withdrew just as fast.

He opened the entrance to the underground palace and appeared in a subterranean corridor. Two fortune tellers walked out, talking as they went, presumably to leave through the corridor. They fell silent upon seeing Du Zhengyi, and Du Zhengyi clearly saw one of the fortune tellers slightly twitch his nostrils. No one greeted him; they both watched Du Zhengyi warily, as if guarding against a sudden attack.

Du Zhengyi stood still. They waited quietly for a few seconds, and realizing that the guards of Lonely Mountain had no intention of taking them away, they immediately took action and disappeared into the corridor.

The sorcerers were peculiar; they always seemed to know more than others, yet they were unwilling to interact with other groups of mages, much less explain their knowledge to them. They always disliked the Lonely Mountain Guards; Du Zhengyi had heard them say when he was younger that the Lonely Mountain Guards smelled too strongly of blood.

Du Zhengyi walked through the corridor and into the door of the fortune tellers. The dozen or so fortune tellers behind the door immediately fell silent, and a dozen pairs of eyes looked at him.

(End of this chapter)