High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 814: Chapter 162: White and Black

Turning into a cat was Zheng Qing’s third plan.

Of course, to enact this plan, Zheng Qing still needed a proper excuse. Just like in his first plan, he had to give up his work at Greenhill Mansion because he needed to go to Old Yao’s office; in his second plan, he was ’injured’ during the practice class and was also forced to quit his job at Greenhill Mansion.

When he initially settled on the third plan, Zheng Qing did not think it was overly complicated.

He only planned to ask for a half-class leave during the practice class on Friday afternoon, then sneakily transform into a cat and directly slip into the forest behind the academy.

That forest was full of all sorts of small animals; a black cat hiding there was like a drop of water falling into a lake, causing not even a ripple. Zheng Qing could completely disappear from the campus without a trace.

In the entire First University, only a handful of people knew he was a cat. Most of them, following Li Meng to Greenhill Mansion to work as laborers, would definitely not have the chance to notice a particular black cat strolling in the forest.

However, on the one hand, asking for a half-class leave on Friday afternoon was not easy, and explaining it afterward to Li Meng, Xiao Xiao, and others was hard to find an appropriate excuse, so this plan was just as a backup of backups, listed at the very end.

But as the first two plans ’fell apart mid-way’, Zheng Qing had to initiate the third plan.

Differing from the original plan, the young government-funded student suddenly realized something when he was about to implement the third plan, that he could still use Professor Yao as an excuse.

Because in the Fu Lu Class, everyone knew he had left the classroom after receiving a paper crane from Old Yao—with Teacher Zhang’s endorsement from Fu Lu Class, no one would question the authenticity of that paper crane—with the shadow of ’force majeure’, the young government-funded student could completely flaunt it.

By the time Xiao Xiao and others were done and returned to the dorm, he could come back from outside openly, and then complain to his friends how unbearable Old Yao’s tasks were, how he was taken to a secluded small black room in a lab and spent the entire afternoon there, and so on and so forth.

It’s not like anyone would confront the dean of Jiuyou Academy about it.

Nor would anyone question the authenticity of his story—after all, even Greenhill Mansion, just to hire a few temporary workers, required signing a Silence Contract, let alone the laboratories at First University.

Plus, he could transform into a cat to clear his mind.

It was indeed killing several birds with one stone!

Another slightly difficult part of the plan, which was Zheng Qing needing to ask for half a class’s leave, normally wouldn’t be easy to obtain without a solid reason. This difficulty naturally disappeared after the Fu Lu Class claimed the time of the practice class.

Since Teacher Zhang from Fu Lu Class has always been generous to the government-funded student who recited all the basic runes from the first preparatory exam, as long as the reason was passable, she was very willing to give Zheng Qing some preferential treatment.

The black cat, while mulling over his whole scheme contentedly in his heart, briskly ran along the stone steps on the edge of the lawn towards the deeper part of the small forest in the backyard.

He could clearly feel that his group of cats was in that direction.

When Zheng Qing slipped out from the dormitory balcony, the time had just passed the mark of five o’clock in the afternoon. In the academy, the majority of classes had just ended with the ringing of the dismissal bell.

From the dormitory to the small forest, groups of young male and female witches surged along the way—like a gust of wind passing through, carrying noisy clamor and bustling atmosphere—since he had a pair of bright red eyes, the black cat needed to very carefully choose his path forward, trying his best to lower his presence and avoid troubles.

This time, Murphy’s Law did not apply.

As twilight faded and his dark fur blended into the evening, Black Cat stealthily slipped into the woods, finding his group of cats.

Just like when Zheng Qing first saw the group, this time, the cats still lazily hung from the branches. White, black, orange, calico, tabby, with blue-green eyes, and so on, big and small furballs clustered here and there, neatly sitting among the forks and branches of an old locust tree.

The largest forest cat still looked like the second-in-command to the Black Cat boss, occupying the sturdiest branch at the top of the tree. Its front paws joined together, its chin slightly lifted, squinting, feeling the evening breeze blow by. A few similarly large shorthairs, Chartreux, and Maine Coons gathered around it, showing their loyal, sycophantic nature.

The young ragdoll cat wasn’t as dominant. It lay at the bottom of the locust tree, also at the sturdiest forks of the trunk, cuddling with a group of equally delicate fold-ear and Persian cats.

Black Cat approached the tree and gently coughed once.

At the tree, all the relaxed cats suddenly stretched their necks and widened their eyes, looking down towards the base of the tree. Black Cat looked up to see a dense mass of colorful cat eyes shining brightly in this dark corner.

If a wizard had passed by and seen such a scene, they would have surely felt their scalp tingle and their SAN plummet. However, as Black Cat surveyed the area, he oddly felt a sense of kinship rise within him.

This isn’t right, this feeling isn’t right.

I’m not a cat!

I’m just a wizard in a cat’s skin!

Black Cat shook his head vigorously, trying to dispel the unbidden sense of familiarity, then sprinted and swiftly climbed the locust tree, stepping on the backs and heads of various cats along the way, until he reached a spot not at the very top but the safest, nook shielded from the wind.

He then kicked a Blue Cat that was lying on that branch, sending it tumbling down. After a few pitiful meows, the Blue Cat shrank back, swapped to a slightly lower branch, and resettled it.

The other cats on the locust tree also quickly returned to their initial ease after about ten seconds of brief disturbance.

Black Cat put his front paws on his belly, hooked his tail, squinted his eyes, and felt the tame chilly breeze flowing through the large tree.

Yes, the tame chilly wind.

Whether it was because some wizard at the academy had magically modified this locust tree, or because it had hidden too many spirits leading to a situation where extreme yin begets yang, one thing was certain. Although it was deep winter in the campus, Black Cat could not feel the bone-chilling cold around this big tree.

Only a slight surge of coldness brushed past the fur and the bark.

No wonder these active cats could endure staying perched in this big tree.

The night grew deeper, and the moonlight brighter. It seemed as long as one was within the school’s boundaries, the sky would never lack that shining light.

The long-silent cat group suddenly became somewhat restless again, waking Black Cat from his drowsiness.

Zheng Qing stretched his neck and looked down.

A small white cat, about knee-high, was looking up at the tree.