High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 953: Chapter 15 Return to School

February 2nd, 4:40 PM.

Zheng Qing, with a grey cloth bag hanging on his waist, quietly slipped into the basement and embarked on the pitch-dark journey back to school.

Of course, this time, he set out alone.

This was his third use of the Clock Portal, and the first time he had done so without the assistance of any other wizard.

To ensure everything went smoothly, Zheng Qing had specially requested Deng Xiaoxian to use the Compound Soup Remedy as a decoy so his parents would take ”him” to the train station. Everything had to look reasonable—in fact, he could have chosen a simpler way to leave home, like having his family enter a pleasant dream or casting an Illusion Technique. But every straightforward method came with its own side effects.

However, Zheng Qing didn’t want to cause his parents mental weakness or neurological disorders just because he was heading off to school. Therefore, he preferred to exert a bit more effort on this matter.

At 4:44 PM and 30 seconds, a faint blue glow suddenly appeared in the confined space of the basement.

Soft blue light outlined the form of a clock on the basement’s iron door.

The dial, the hands, and the vague ’tick-tock,’ ’tick-tock’ sounds.

Zheng Qing twisted the handle of the iron door and pulled hard.

Behind the door, there wasn’t the cluttered mess that filled the rest of the basement, but a slender, brass pendulum. Beyond the pendulum was a wooden door inlaid with colored, opaque glass decorations.

At that moment, the pendulum had stopped swinging, but there was still a faint sensation of trembling within the clock.

Zheng Qing quickly moved past the pendulum and pushed open the wooden door.

A loud closing sound came from behind him as the basement’s iron door shut.

”4:45 PM, from Yunhua Residential Complex, Ninth-Grade Astronomy Class 08-1, student Zheng Qing.” A tired and indifferent voice reached Zheng Qing’s ears, and before he could react, the voice somewhat rudely urged, ”You have returned to First University. Please protect your ears and close the ’Big Clock’s’ door as soon as possible.”

The speaker was a tall, slightly hunched grey-robed wizard.

In one hand, he held a silver-white pocket watch, and cradled in his arm was a large notepad, with various colored feather pens dancing merrily upon it.

Noticing the young wizard’s curious gaze, the grey-robed caretaker gestured forcefully backward with the hand holding the pocket watch and emphasized, ”Close the door, cover your ears!”

Zheng Qing understood he needed to close the door of the Big Clock; he swung his arm back and shut the wooden door inlaid with colored glass.

But the directive to protect his ears was a bit puzzling.

Zheng Qing obediently covered his ears while he pondered over it.

”DONG!!!...”

The deafening bell shattered Zheng Qing’s confusion and made his head buzz. Even though he had plugged his ears as best as he could, it didn’t completely block out the tremendous surge of sound.

An arm reached out from beside him, gave a forceful pull, and dragged the young scholarship student a little farther from the Big Clock. With just a few more steps taken, the terrifying sound of the bell rapidly decreased in volume—it felt like it went from a hundred degrees down to a mere three or five.

Zheng Qing turned his head blankly to see a nearly transparent dome-shaped barrier enveloping the space above the Big Clock.

He had just passed through the layer of light.

It was obviously a magic barrier meant to isolate sound.

”Is this your first time using the ’Big Clock’?” a familiar voice called out to Zheng Qing, shouting, ”Why did you stand by the Clock like a fool for so long!”

It took Zheng Qing’s buzzing head a few seconds to react before he noticed Xiao Xiao and Xin Fat Man leisurely standing beside him, with Xiao Xiao being the one who had spoken.

Xiao Xiao wasn’t wearing his robe today but was dressed in a white shirt, a black casual suit, and a pair of big-toed leather shoes. His signature Watermelon Head hair had also been changed to a side part. Though not dyed or permed, his overall trendiness had instantly skyrocketed by several dozen points. In comparison, Xin Fat Man was as greasy as ever—his baggy parachute pants and bulky wool sweater made him look like a brown bear whose skin had severely sagged after failing at dieting.

Zheng Qing’s gaze wandered over his two companions for a few seconds before finally settling on Xiao Xiao.

”Are you a Doctor?” he asked with a touch of skepticism.

Xin Fat Man, shaking with laughter at the side, said, ”I knew Brother Qing would say that! Hahahaha...”

Xiao Xiao, with a darkened face, turned and walked away, ”Quit yapping.”

Having finally controlled his laughter, the Fat Man patted Zheng Qing on the shoulder, signaling him to follow, ”The Doctor just had lunch with Mister Sima at noon, so you know... To get this look, we helped him fuss over it all afternoon yesterday. I even asked Senior Linda for some advice!”

”That’s killing several birds with one stone,” Zheng Qing commented, feeling like he had missed an entire TV series.

”Sign here before you go!” The grey-robed staff worker called out from behind Zheng Qing, stopping the Warlock who was about to leave, then took out a white feather pen and had Zheng Qing leave his name on the notepad.

...

Since it was winter break, there weren’t many students on campus, which gave it an empty, quiet feel. Additionally, the sparse vegetation due to the winter season only intensified this sense of desolation.

There were still two weeks left until the official start of the new semester.

Like the other students who stayed on campus, Zheng Qing would also need to live in a new dormitory for the remaining time.

”You brought your bedding, right?” Xin Fat Man reminded while leading Zheng Qing to his new dormitory, ”Our temporary dorm is in Alpha Castle, which is gloomy and feels like living in a graveyard... If your bedding isn’t warm, you definitely won’t be comfortable.”

”I suspect that the original Alpha students who lived in that dorm put some kind of unfriendly spell on it before they left,” Xiao Xiao added, turning to Zheng Qing after hearing Fat Man’s comment, ”Otherwise, no one but a ghost could stand the overwhelming gloominess of that place.”

”That’s not necessarily true,” Fat Man countered, ”At least Dylan likes that kind of atmosphere... He told me yesterday that our temporary dorm feels as comfortable as his big coffin, and he enjoys staying in it very much.”

”Oh, that’s certainly good news,” Xiao Xiao said sarcastically, ”Too bad I’m not of undead lineage and can’t appreciate that comfort.”

Zheng Qing wasn’t particularly fond of staying in a temporary dormitory, and his companions’ conversation only made him more averse to the idea. However, he was also very curious about the living conditions in Alpha Fortress—although he had toured the fortress a few times before, those brief visits hadn’t left him with a deep impression.

His conflicted feelings didn’t last long, however.

Because on their way to the dormitory in Alpha Castle, they were stopped by a Little Witch.

To be precise, a Fox Maid.