High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 941: Chapter 3 What’s the Use of Me Learning This Magic

Zheng Qing held several Suppression Symbols in his hand as he tiptoed towards the bookstore entrance, slipping in without a sound.

He cocked his ear, listening intently for a moment.

Just as the hair salon’s proprietress had mentioned, sounds from a television faintly echoed from inside the bookstore, and it was a very familiar tune at that. However, for the life of him, Zheng Qing couldn’t recall which TV show that background music came from.

After pondering for a moment, he finally shook his head, abandoning the idea of tracing the source, ready to charge into the store, suppress that naive little ghost, and then interrogate it about what TV show it was watching.

”Nowadays, even ghosts watch TV... Did they all learn this from Sadako?” the young warlock muttered to himself. He reached behind the black signboard and peeled off a piece of yellow talisman paper.

The yellow paper was crumpled and seemed to have been used many times before, its red cinnabar runes faded significantly from exposure to the sun and wind. As a child, Zheng Qing never gave this talisman paper a second thought. But after returning from First University, he saw it again and immediately realized its uniqueness.

He had never seen talisman paper so weakened that it could still function.

The power sustaining this talisman paper was no longer just the few faint runes written upon it but rather a certain ’essence, qi, and spirit’ that had penetrated deep into the talisman paper. Zheng Qing believed that even if these runes were drawn in the air rather than on paper, it wouldn’t affect their efficacy.

This only made him more eager to meet Mr. Wu.

But the thought of Mr. Wu not being in the store and having to wait until the summer break half a year later made the young wizard sigh deeply.

Clutching the talisman paper in his hand, he looked around; there was no one nearby.

Zheng Qing whispered a spell quietly: ”Beneath the balance beam, no latch nor bolt can bar.”

The talisman paper twisted in his palm, folding itself into the shape of a key. Then, under Zheng Qing’s command, it reluctantly slid into the lock on the store’s door.

”Click.”

A faint sound came from the lock, and the key formed from the talisman paper slid back out of the keyhole, quickly retreating behind the black signboard.

Zheng Qing wasn’t concerned with the lazy key.

The instant the door lock made a noise, he firmly pressed down on the door handle, twisted open the door, and slipped inside.

”Suppress!”

Before his eyes could adjust to the slightly dark interior of the store, Zheng Qing had already flung a handful of Suppression Charms, softly shouting the command while simultaneously reaching for the Law book hanging at his waist. He flicked it open with a practiced motion.

”What are you doing?” a voice full of bewilderment reached Zheng Qing’s ears.

Zheng Qing paused, his motions slowing as he looked up in confusion.

On the rocking chair where his master usually sat reading, a Yellow Flowered Cat sprawled out like Ge You, staring with its big golden eyes at the young warlock.

Not far ahead of the Yellow Flowered Cat, there was a six or seven-inch mini television set, its long antennas outstretched, playing ’The Story of Tom and Jerry’—at the precise moment Zheng Qing looked, the screen showed Tom cat habitually falling into Jerry’s trap and being beaten up by the bulldog Spike, giving rise to a cloud of dust and sparks, which made Zheng Qing’s mouth twitch involuntarily.

”Is this really an appropriate scene for a cat to witness?” the young scholarship student muttered to himself, while finally realizing what the familiar background noise he had heard outside the store was.

”What are you doing meow?” came the disgruntled voice of the Yellow Flowered Cat once again.

During the conversation, it hadn’t changed its lying position with the classic Gē Yōu slouch—its hind legs splayed open, revealing a fuzzy long tail hanging slack over the edge of the seat, occasionally twitching to remind those nearby that it wasn’t just for show.

Zheng Qing’s gaze followed the Suppression Charm he had thrown.

To his relief, yet slight frustration, the Yellow Paper Charm seemed to lose its magic power after entering the bookstore. It wavered in midair, drifting aimlessly for a while, before scattering all over the ground in a mess.

”Oh... I’m cleaning, cleaning up!” Zheng Qing’s voice tightened as he quickly found an excuse, simultaneously flipping two pages forward in the Law Book he had opened to reveal a spell that he had prepared earlier, cleared his throat, and chanted:

”Bind the bright windows and brush the dust; let the canSpace be swept and cleaned!”

This was a spell he had specially looked up from the ”Comprehensive Guide to Common Household Spells” at the library before heading home, designed for tidying up the house and cleaning—based on past experience, he was completely sure that he wouldn’t be able to avoid cleaning chores when he got home, so he had prepared in advance.

Unfortunately, his preparations seemed to be of little use.

At home, someone was always watching while he worked, so he never had the chance to flip through the Law Book. And now at the San You Bookstore, after having opened the Law Book, the spell seemed ineffective. No matter how Zheng Qing recited it, no matter how many different positions he tried with his Law Book, the dusty bookshelves remained dusty—any speck of dust that did float up had been stirred by the motion of Zheng Qing flipping the pages.

This caused the young wizard some embarrassment.

What made him even more uncomfortable were the words of the Yellow Flowered Cat that followed.

”Heh... it’s the first time I’ve seen someone use a Suppression Charm to clean meow.” As the Yellow Flowered Cat spoke, its head was already turned back to the mini television, its ears twitched, and its tail’s tip curved upwards—although its tone was very calm, somehow, combined with the little movements of its body, Zheng Qing felt a sense of mockery.

”Dust, huh... could also be considered one of the bookworms... bookworms, huh, using a Suppression Charm might work.” Since he had not admitted to making a blunder before, now he had to persist to the end. Zheng Qing stiffly explained, ”Um, this is a new theory we’ve developed... I’m practicing, just practicing.”

While speaking, he was already on the ground, hastily gathering up the talisman papers that had fallen and were covered with dust, stuffing them back into the Grey Cloth Bag at his waist.

The cat watching TV, him gazing at the floor, avoiding eye contact, reduced the awkwardness in Zheng Qing’s heart a little, and the heat on his face wasn’t so evident.

The Yellow Flowered Cat was quite skeptical of the young wizard’s explanation.

”Meow... young people these days,” it said, casually flicking its tail, sounding like an old codger as it issued its judgment, but it didn’t continue on about today’s youth. Instead, it paused before explaining, ”Old Wu’s store is full of Magic Prohibition Zones, layer upon layer, no telling how many. Even for me to open a cabinet, I have to do it myself. What were you thinking, that you could use a spell in here?”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qing immediately remembered seeing the Yellow Flowered Cat stand upright as a child, sneaking around to open the cabinet door in search of dried fish, and couldn’t help but laugh.

With that laugh, the embarrassment he had been accumulating suddenly dissipated, and even his mood unexpectedly improved a lot.

”No worries, I’ve brought a broom and dustpan, along with a mop too!”

As he spoke, Zheng Qing lifted his arm, picking up the cleaning tools he had just tossed aside, with a smile on his face but chagrin in his heart.

Soul Light, I can’t even clean properly, what’s the use in learning magic?!