High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 854: Chapter 202: The Missing Yellow Flowered Cat

The negotiations with the two mice had a precondition: they were to replace the spit-upon carpet in the D&K with a new one—the one soiled by the spit of the Rat Immortal.

The two mice agreed without hesitation, even kindly offering to take care of all the related expenses themselves.

This made Zheng Qing greatly surprised; he thought the mice were playing some sort of ”to gain something, one must first give” trick.

It was not until Xiao Xiao quietly reminded him that the young, publicly-funded student realized: to the young wizards of First University, the carpet was merely dirty with the spit of a mouse, but to those talking mice in various-colored vests, acquiring a carpet imbued with the aura of their ancestral spirit was probably a spectacularly good fortune.

”Speaking of which... is your ancestor a bit, you know?”

Zheng Qing gestured a circle with his index finger and thumb, implying that the Rat Immortal was only about the size of a ’walnut’ and wrinkly all over—of course, these were adjectives he could never utter in front of the two mice.

Moreover, adding such comments behind their backs made the young wizard feel somewhat inexplicably guilty, prompting him to glance around corners of the store.

In the corner, the mouse holes created by the Mouse Clan’s guests had vanished with their departure.

This somewhat reassured him.

”Not at all! My ancestor’s true form is super big...” Ding Dong Ear argued indignantly, but right after he spoke, his long sharp snout was clasped shut by the Dangdang Ears next to him.

”What he means is, we shouldn’t disclose the identity of such a major figure... Disrespectful as it sounds, how much does that vampire duke really know about our world? In any case, it’s enough if we maintain sufficient respect for our esteemed figure,” Dangdang Ears said cheerily, looking at Zheng Qing with a smile while speaking in what seemed like evasive platitudes.

Zheng Qing pursed his lips and said nothing.

Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, seemed thoughtful, nodding his head as he spread open a notebook in his arms and quickly jotted something down.

The two mice in green vests exchanged uneasy glances, then forced the conversation back to the topic of carpet handling.

”This is a win-win decision!” Dangdang Ears stretched out a paw, fumbled under him for a bit, and drew out a small bag of Broken Diamonds, handing it to his companion with a grin, ”By agreement, the carpet is mine...this is your share.”

”I’ve always felt you should have a better place to stash things,” Ding Dong Ear said, pinching the small package handed over by his companion, his long mouse face filled with disgust.

A Flower Cat passing by peeked curiously, sniffing the air, which scared Ding Dong Ear into immediately stuffing the small package into a bag he carried.

”I mean, in a store that sells mice, why would you keep such a big cat? I’ve heard that the meat goes sour from fright and the body deteriorates quickly...” Dangdang Ears positioned his paws behind him and looked around as he loudly critiqued, ”This is simply a waste of money. Why not keep a few dogs instead?”

”Because dogs are too noisy, and cats aren’t much different from dogs to the mice locked up in cages,” Xin Fat Man kindly explained from the side.

”Also, these cats are our guests too, so don’t start conflicts with them... otherwise, we might just have to ask the Trident Sword or the School Works Committee to step in,” Zheng Qing warned Dangdang Ears with a glance—the daring mouse had just seemingly tried to pluck a few hairs from a kitten’s tail, completely oblivious to the fact that just a few steps away, the mother cat was staring at him with wide eyes.

”It was just a joke, only a joke,” under the young public-funded student’s intervention, Dangdang Ears finally sulkily retracted his paws and did not continue with his mischief.

However, since he brought up the store’s cats, it finally reminded Zheng Qing of another guest he had previously overlooked.

”Brother Huang?”

He raised his head and looked again at the corner shelf of the store.

But there was not a single cat on the shelf, just a few empty mouse cages with their doors slightly ajar, sitting there in silence.

”Brother Huang? Which Brother Huang?” Xin Fat Man, who was pressing down a small female cat for Tuan Tuan, turned around in surprise and asked, ”When did you start calling Tuan Tuan ’Brother’?”

The dormitory’s pet, Tuan Tuan, was also a yellow Flower Cat, and given what Fat Man was doing, such a misunderstanding was understandably possible.

”He’s talking about the Yellow Flowered Cat that was on the shelf before! Not the dumb fat Orange Cat next to you,” Li Meng said disdainfully, staring at Fat Man’s action for a few seconds before muttering a warning, ”In broad daylight, you guys are too much! Is there no king’s law anymore, is there no law anymore...”

Fat Man felt perplexed.

”Is there something wrong with taking pictures?” he scratched the chin of the small female cat with his stubby fingers, quite pleased with himself, ”Listen, she’s purring... If she didn’t like it, I would definitely stop.”

The Orange Cat Tuan Tuan, tucking its paws under, lay next to the small female cat, displaying a harmonious scene.

A few steps away, Zhang Ji Xin, who was holding a camera, had already grown impatient, ”Fat Man, move back a bit... Tuan Tuan wants a photo of both cats, not you to be a third wheel in there.”

”Without me, it wants to take a photo of both cats?” Xin Fat Man scoffed at Zhang Ji Xin’s statement.

”Actually, you could totally use the Image Flower for capturing the moment... At most, there would be a bit more cropping and editing involved later,” Xiao Xiao, who was checking transaction terms with two mice behind the counter, looked up and pushed up his glasses to suggest.

”No, no, no,” Fat Man shook his head repeatedly, ”I am going to become a gold-medal journalist, so it’s crucial to start training my own professional photographer from now on.”

Zheng Qing did not participate in their playful banter.

After discovering that the Yellow Flowered Cat was missing, he hurriedly ran to that shelf, looking left and right, trying to spot the familiar figure of the cat somewhere in the crevices of the shelf or a corner of the store.

”When Councilor Su came in, it left,” Jiang Yu followed behind him, seemingly knowing what the Warlock was thinking, and whispered to him.

Zheng Qing stared at the empty shelf, not speaking for a long while.

”You mentioned the store next door before... Could it have run over there?” Elena, holding a thin cigarette in her mouth, mumbled unclearly.

Although she held the cigarette, she did not light it, but simply bit on it like a lollipop.

Zheng Qing’s eyes brightened, but he seemed to remember something, and his steps suddenly slowed down.

”Let’s just forget it,” he sighed slightly, ”If Brother Huang wanted to see me, it wouldn’t have left. If it left, I won’t be able to find it... When we played hide and seek as kids, I could never find it.”