High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 956: Chapter 18 Truth and Lies

Late that evening, Zheng Qing didn’t meet up with his companions at D&K as arranged; instead, he sent a paper crane to inform everyone that he had an urgent matter and had to analyze some talismans for Greenhill Mansion.

As for lodging, Greenhill Mansion had already arranged everything. He would be able to return once he finished his business.

About the specific location of his stay, what talismans he was analyzing, or when he would finish the tasks, Zheng Qing was deliberately vague in the message sent via the paper crane—on the contrary, he hinted throughout the note that he was not actually staying inside the mansion.

He could fully anticipate that if he honestly told the others that he would be staying at Greenhill Mansion for the next two weeks, he likely wouldn’t have a moment of peace for the entirety of the term.

The next morning, before dawn had broken, Zheng Qing stealthily made his way to Flying Garden.

Flying Garden was where students attended their morning classes.

Zheng Qing’s plan was simple.

In the early morning at Flying Garden, aside from those who were there for classes, no one else would be around. To Zheng Qing’s recollection, among the members of the Absolution Hunting Team, aside from himself, only Xiao Xiao was a regular there.

Most of the time, Xiao Xiao was very calm.

This ensured that upon seeing Zheng Qing, he wouldn’t shout or scream, causing the whole world to become aware of Zheng Qing’s connection to Greenhill Mansion. Then Zheng Qing could try to glean from Xiao Xiao what they had discussed at yesterday’s meeting and how much he knew about Zheng Qing’s dealings with Su Shijun, including whether there was any concrete evidence or not.

The plan was perfect, but reality was harsh—life loved to catch you off guard just when you had everything figured out.

When Zheng Qing hurried to Flying Garden and arrived under the big tree where they usually had morning classes, he did not see Xiao Xiao or the old turtle Xiao Xiao kept.

Standing under the tree were Xin Fat Man, Dylan, and Zhang Ji Xin.

None of them had the habit of attending morning classes.

With just a glance, Zheng Qing turned and started to leave Flying Garden.

Get real, there were plenty of other places to attend morning classes, but he only had one life to live. Those guys looked nefarious at first glance—wasn’t it better to beat a hasty retreat than stay and get beaten up?

Unfortunately, his decision to leave came a bit too late.

He had taken barely two steps when a figure flashed before his eyes, blocking his path.

It was Dylan.

As a creature of the Blood Race with vampire heritage, Dylan had impressively retained the acute senses and agility of his kind. Zheng Qing had no doubt that the moment he set foot in Flying Garden, Mister Blood Werewolf had already picked up on his presence.

”Wow, long time no see!” Exuding an air of surprise, the wizard waved at Dylan: ”You sure slept in late today!”

Normally, Dylan had the opposite schedule to everyone else. At this time during the day, he would be headed back to the dormitory, ready to slip into his coffin.

”I’ll go back to sleep after I see you,” Mister Blood Werewolf replied dully, eyes drooping, his voice unwelcoming.

Zheng Qing wrinkled his nose and cautiously looked back.

Xin Fat Man and Elder Zhang Da were approaching from both sides, casually, in the strategic encircling movements used during hunts, smiling maliciously as they cracked their knuckles.

”Yo, good morning!” The young government-sponsored student forced a smile, waving at his companions: ”Everyone’s here... Since when did you all start doing morning classes?”

As they spoke, Xin Fat Man and the Elder had come up behind Zheng Qing, but didn’t respond to his question.

Zheng Qing felt a bit anxious.

”Have you seen Poseidon?” he forcefully changed the topic, ”That guy, I don’t know where he ran off to... I’ve always told him not to run around during morning exercises, but he just doesn’t listen... No good, I need to go look for him, in case he’s chased by some ill-mannered big dog, that’d be trouble.”

With that, Zheng Qing planned to slip through the gap between the three of them and escape.

But a thick arm reached out from behind and grabbed the collar of his clothes, holding him in place.

”What were you up to last night?” Zhang Ji Xin asked roughly from behind him.

Zheng Qing sighed in his heart.

”I went to help at Greenhill Mansion,” he turned his head and answered honestly — everyone knew about it, and if he were to continue to beat around the bush, it would seem inappropriate.

”What did you do? Is there anything we can help with?” Dylan’s eyes lit up, his drooping eyelids suddenly lifted, and his tone became much more eager.

Zheng Qing tugged at the corner of his mouth, and cautiously replied with eight words: ”Analyzing Talisman... Silence Contract.”

This was the excuse he had thought up after agonizing over it all night.

If he didn’t come up with some actual work, he would definitely not be able to plug the wild speculations of these guys. If he lied too much, contradictions and oversights might arise.

So, Zheng Qing’s best strategy was to mention just a little bit of the ’truth,’ and then use the universal plaster of ’Silence Contract’ to cover up the remaining gaps, sparing him the trouble of further explanations.

After all, the members of the Absolution Hunting Team had previous dealings with Greenhill Mansion and had signed a silence contract that wasn’t too harsh but was very detailed, so they would likely accept Zheng Qing’s explanation.

As expected, upon hearing Zheng Qing’s reply, Dylan’s expression immediately fell, but he didn’t continue to press for details.

The young scholarship student quietly heaved a sigh of relief — before he could completely relax, Xin Fat Man immediately followed with a third question: ”Where did you stay last night?”

This was yet another thorny question.

”A place arranged by Greenhill Mansion... Silence Contract,” Zheng Qing chuckled dryly twice and answered tersely.

That wasn’t a bad response.

The place where Zheng Qing was currently staying was indeed arranged by Greenhill Mansion, but the charm of language lies right here. He did not explicitly admit that he was staying at Greenhill Mansion, which meant he could just be living in a location rented or provided by the mansion on the outside.

This was common practice.

Wizard organizations outside the school frequently invited students from First University to help with delicate and meticulous magic work. Such work not only came with a generous bonus but often included room and board — the lodgings provided were typically in hotels or guest houses rented by these wizard organizations, arranged for the students to stay temporarily.

Zheng Qing hoped everyone would think in this direction.

”Silence Contract! Silence Contract! When I become the chief justice of Danghag, my first order will be to abolish the right to sign silence contracts privately!” Xin Fat Man grumbled, completely ignoring the strange looks from those around him.

”Heh, I didn’t hear you had aspirations to become a chief justice,” Zheng Qing chuckled dryly and then quickly took back control of the conversation: ”What about the doctor? Why haven’t I seen him come for morning exercises today?”

”He said he had some business to prepare for and told us to wait for him here.” Not getting the answer he wanted from Zheng Qing, Xin Fat Man seemed downhearted, his tone became much more despondent.