High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 352: Chapter 21 Inside the Isolation Ward_1

The drizzle started around four or five in the morning and continued throughout the entire day.

Zheng Qing leaned against his hospital bed, gazing at the mist-filled scene outside the window, half-listening to the sound of the raindrops hitting the stone slabs, his eyes half-closed, his mind in a daze.

This atmosphere seemed to cloud his thinking - though perhaps, the medicine was also to blame.

He could hardly remember what day of the week it was.

Because of an encounter with a wild demon the night before, he and Lin Guo were rushed to the school’s hospital by the professors before they could complete their patrol duties. The night-shift school doctors, treating the situation as a major emergency, put the two young wizards in an isolation room and, adhering strictly to the rigid doctrines, confiscated all their personal belongings.

This included Zheng Qing’s grey cloth bag, Black Donkey’s Hoof, Lin Guo’s little backpack, and all of their clothing.

These items were reportedly going to be sent to a specialized lab to undergo a series of safety procedures according to the relevant desensitization rules.

The Black Mountain Goat did not follow them into the school hospital, but Thomas said it would also be isolated for a while under the school workers’ arrangement, to prevent any unexpected occurrences.

Zheng Qing leaned listlessly against the cushion at his back, staring blankly, immobile, reminiscent of a late-stage Alzheimer’s patient, his mouth half-open, saliva slowly trickling down from the corner of his mouth.

It wasn’t that he was too lazy to move, but that he couldn’t.

In order to prevent him from being invaded by demonic energy, the on-duty doctor had sternly fed him all kinds of preventive medicine - as long as they did not conflict medically – throughout the night.

So all the way until now, his muscles felt weak and he couldn’t muster any strength.

A little elf in a white coat fluttered its wings, landed on the young public-student’s shoulder, and picked up a towel from its hand to wipe the saliva from the corner of his mouth.

This made the young public-student feel incredibly embarrassed.

Fortunately, no one saw this scene.

He couldn’t help but inwardly express the utmost respect and sincere greetings to the wizard who implemented the isolation policy.

”Click!”

The lock on the isolation ward’s door was turned.

Several wizards wearing billowing white robes walked in.

The little elves responsible for caring for the patients swarmed towards the bed, lifting the young public-student into an upright position.

Zheng Qing strained his eyes, trying to make out the figures in front of him.

”Don’t strain yourself!” a familiar voice rang in his ear: ”Your eyes look like chameleon that’s been cursed into a zombie right now...”

The speaker was Nurse Bella, the head nurse of the school hospital.

In Zheng Qing’s memory, this lady was always serious, very strict, and he didn’t expect her to make such a comment.

Simultaneously, he felt a cold piece of glass pushed against his mouth: ”Drink this!”

The sweet liquid poured from the rim of the glass into Zheng Qing’s mouth.

The little elves held up towels, constantly wiping up the overflow.

”Don’t rush, you should be able to regain some mobility in a minute.” Nurse Bella’s voice drifted towards the corner of the ward.

Zheng Qing remembered that Lin Guo’s bed was located there.

By the time Doctor Ma came to check on Zheng Qing, the young public-student was already able to prop himself up strenuously with his two arms, able to perform some simple activity.

This inspired him greatly, and he couldn’t help but squirm around on his bed.

”Calm down, you haven’t been discharged yet...” Nurse Bella watched the young public-student with a stern face and an unhappy expression: ”If it weren’t for the robes you’re wearing, I wouldn’t have doubt that you’re a new student of Starry Sky Academy. You’re in the hospital every other day ... I’ve never seen a Jiuyou student who cares so little about their own body!”

Zheng Qing gave a dry laugh and obediently leaned back on the bed.

”Unavoidable disasters...Some people are just unlucky.” Doctor Ma stared with his bulging eyes, spoke with a weak, drawn-out voice, ”Lying in a hospital probably isn’t his intention.”

Zheng Qing rolled his eyes, unsure whether to agree with Dr. Ma’s explanation.

However, he soon lost the right to speak.

Doctor Ma took out a flat transparent stone from the medical box and put it into Zheng Qing’s mouth.

”Bite down... Bite hard.” He instructed, then turned the nearby measuring instrument, continuously recording the data on his notebook.

While writing, he kept murmuring instructions:

”Keep your diet light for a while... Eating too greasy will cause your body’s impurities to rise, and the demon’s qi can easily grow under the stimulation of these impurities.”

”Of course, since you didn’t really kill that wild demon, the invasion of demon’s qi is minimal... But that doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you want, whether you are sick or not, eating light is always good.”

”Also, be careful not to overuse your right eye... There’s only some blood stasis now, which should soon dissolve. If you’re not careful, overusing your eye could lead to some unpredictable complications.”

Zheng Qing made a low hum from his throat.

Doctor Ma nodded repeatedly, showing his understanding: ”Yes, yes... Most people think like you... Since magic is omnipotent, why not use magic to eliminate the blood stasis in your eyes, and dispel the demon’s qi in your body?”

Zheng Qing nodded vigorously.

Doctor Ma switched the notebook in his arms to the other, lifted his left hand holding the brush, and emphasized, ”This is the difference between a real healer and an ordinary wizard.”

”We always advise against using magic to treat diseases involving the delicate parts of our bodies... The human body is an incredibly intricate structure with little redundancy... While magic represents a great deal of uncertainty.”

”Any act of using magic to heal human injuries is shortsighted and lacks a healer’s philosophy.”

”So, I suggest you wait patiently for the blood stasis to dissolve.”

Zheng Qing chomped down on the transparent stone, swallowing hard.

When all the follow-up examinations were over, Zheng Qing couldn’t restrain his curiosity and asked a question that had been brewing all day.

”What are the sequelae of killing demons? Why do we have to stay in the isolation ward?”

He always felt that the others were making a fuss.

Or, perhaps there was something the others weren’t telling him.

”You don’t know?” Doctor Ma seemed a little surprised, but soon he realized, ”Oh, I almost forgot, you’re a freshman... Few first-year students would consider these issues... Simply put, wizards hunting demons will be subjected to the demon’s qi, so they need to regularly cleanse the poison from their bodies... If left untreated, the accumulated demon’s qi can transform a wizard into a Witch Demon.”

That was a hair-raising answer.

Zheng Qing thought of the crimson eyes and the greedy breath, and couldn’t help shivering.

”But...there are so many wizards hunting demons, after each kill, do they all have to...” Zheng Qing raised his hand, his face helpless as he mimed the ordeal he and Lin Guo had gone through, ”Do they all have to go through this? Isn’t it too much trouble?”

”Of course not.” Doctor Ma sniffed, slightly lifted his eyelid, ”The wild demons killed at the school’s hunting party, are all mature demons, they’ve already been ’disinfected’ several times before being released into the Hunting Grounds. As for the demons outside the school...”

At this point, he paused, and explained mockingly, ”Do you think wizards who can hunt demons outside are comparable to you freshmen who have been enrolled for less than half a year? The potions they can casually mix are enough to purify the qi of a dozen wild demons.”

Zheng Qing sighed deeply, and his shoulders drooped.

Doctor Ma’s words were a little sharp, but the logic was clear.

In the end, he was still a novice.

”Can you bring me a couple of books,” Zheng Qing made a last request to the white-robed figures before they left, ”Lying in bed all day, I feel like I’m getting dumber...”

”Now that’s a problem, you were already quite foolish...” The young nurse nearby giggled.

Even Lady Bella couldn’t help but lift the corners of her mouth.

Zheng Qing rolled his eyes pitifully.

”There’s no need for that.” Surprisingly, Doctor Ma rejected Zheng Qing’s request. He lifted his wrist, checked the time, and explained, ”Your isolation will be lifted after six thirty... But before all the medication’s effects wear off, you still can’t leave the hospital.”

”Of course, after the isolation is lifted, we will accept some patients’ relatives and friends to visit... According to the current applications we have received...” The head nurse on the side said while flipping through the file in her hand, shaking her head, ”You should be prepared to be gawked at.”

”By the time those visitors leave, it should be the time for the ward’s lights out.” The young nurse seized the opportunity to tease, ”That is to say, even if we give you two books, you won’t have time to read...”

”So when can we leave the hospital?”, Zheng Qing couldn’t help but ask.

”Tomorrow morning.” Doctor Ma said, a mischievous expression on his face, making his long horse-like face seem especially detestable, ”Don’t worry, the hospital won’t delay your first class on Monday... This is our responsibility to every student.”