High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 971: Chapter 33: Exclusive Interview (2)

”So what you are saying is that you bought the charm gun yourself?” Mrs. Pulitzer pressed on.

Zheng Qing glanced at the small archway and finally answered stiffly, ”It was a gift from a friend.”

”Was it Dean Yao?” Mrs. Pulitzer eagerly blurted out a name that surprised Zheng Qing.

”Dean Yao? No, it wasn’t him,” Zheng Qing raised his eyebrows and denied, ”The dean is my professor, my charm gun was a gift from another friend... but due to confidentiality of my friend’s information, I cannot reveal her name.”

The bell on the table remained unresponsive.

Mrs. Pulitzer seemed somewhat disappointed and continued to ask, ”Regarding last year’s ’Academy Cup’ rookie competition, there are rumors that the Absolution Hunting Team— that’s what your team is called, right?—cheated during the hunt by summoning more spiritual beasts than allowed. What do you think about that?”

”The hunting committee of the Academy Cup inspected and confirmed that the results met the standards,” Zheng Qing answered dryly.

”So, this matter has nothing to do with the school’s ’related department,’ correct?” Mrs. Pulitzer asked suddenly.

Zheng Qing took a deep breath.

He was a bit intimidated by the journalist lady in front of him; she really dared to ask anything and investigate anything—asking about ’related department’ matters at First University was like asking about the progress of 094 or 002 at Dalian Shipyard, something that would get you investigated.

”My performance in the hunting ground has nothing to do with the ’related department,’” he finally answered the question.

The bell hanging on the small archway swayed slightly but made no sound.

Mrs. Pulitzer frowned, clearly unsatisfied with Zheng Qing’s answer:

”Then, how do you evaluate Dean Yao’s actions during the rookie competition?”

”Diligent, responsible.”

”If I’m not mistaken, Dean Yao himself is the assistant teacher for Astronomy 08-1, right... don’t you have any thoughts about a student from his class winning the rookie competition?”

”I thought today’s talk was about the incident that happened on the Silent River this morning,” Zheng Qing gently reminded her again.

Mrs. Pulitzer immediately flipped through her recent notes.

”According to reliable information, you used fu bullets wrapped with blood symbols when facing the descendants of Satoguya, is that correct?”

Zheng Qing’s face showed no surprise; he nodded.

He would bet that the so-called reliable information was definitely leaked by that chubby kid Andrew.

”Do you, or should I say, the students of Jiuyou Academy, often use blood symbols?” Mrs. Pulitzer asked another sharp question.

”Not at all,” Zheng Qing shook his head and answered honestly, ”Only occasionally, when it’s inconvenient to use regular methods, will I collect a talisman with blood. Normally, no one uses blood symbols.”

”Then why did you use a blood symbol?”

”Because comparatively, blood symbols are more powerful, and in that situation, I had to make sure I was using the most powerful attack method available.”

”Does the academy impose any restrictions on you making blood symbols?”

”Restrictions? Why would there be any restrictions,” Zheng Qing was puzzled by the journalist’s question, ”Blood symbols don’t differ much from talismans drawn with cinnabar or dragons blood ink... except for a slight impact on the wizard himself.”

Miss Pulitzer’s face showed a clear hint of excitement, ”So, you are not aware of the restrictive clauses on the production and use of ’Blood Symbols’ mentioned in ’The Wizard Alliance’s Several Opinions on the Production and Use of ”Blood Symbols”?”

There’s such a thing? Zheng Qing looked surprised.

”Jiuyou Academy has not communicated this policy to the students, correct?” Miss Pulitzer, seeing Zheng Qing’s expression, asserted confidently.

Zheng Qing shook his head, bewildered.

Miss Pulitzer immediately grabbed her pen and emphatically underlined the sentence she had just recorded.

Zheng Qing’s eyes twitched; he felt that he might have inadvertently stepped into a trap.

”What are your feelings now after killing a monstrous beast?” Miss Pulitzer moved on to the next question.

”Feelings?” Zheng Qing’s mind was still fixated on the underline that the journalist had just made. Upon hearing the question, he was stunned for a few seconds before he answered slowly, ”Firstly, I did not kill that monstrous beast alone.”

The journalist nodded dismissively and continued to look at the young wizard.

”Secondly, being able to respond correctly to the attack of a monstrous beast shows that Jiuyou Academy’s education system is very successful, enabling us to react correctly when facing threats,” Zheng Qing tried to mitigate the negative impact of his previous response. Finally, he jokingly added,

”Lastly, I remember there is a certain reward of academic credits that one can apply for from the academy when responding correctly to such threats... As for feelings, naturally, it’s pleasing.”

Miss Pulitzer once again picked up the pen and wrote down a brief comment beside her notes—’Desire for credits surpasses respect for life, as well as correct reactions in the face of danger...’

”Pfft...” Zheng Qing couldn’t hold back a mouthful of coffee and sprayed it out. The coffee mixed with saliva and spattered all over the floor. The little sprites, who were initially stationed behind the bar, rapidly teleported over in a flurry, armed with rags and buckets, and began vigorously cleaning up the fresh spill.

Zheng Qing was in no mood to apologize to these little creatures.

”I was just saying that there are rewards for hunting down such threatening creatures, it doesn’t mean what you’re suggesting!” He pointed at the journalist’s notebook, his tone somewhat panicked.

”Rest assured, this is just some sort of speculation based on the investigation findings and may not necessarily be published,” Miss Pulitzer consoled him. The small bell hanging under the sign next to her jingled faintly without making a sound, which brought a slight sense of relief to the young government-sponsored student.

But her next question once again sent Zheng Qing’s heart racing up to his throat:

”We all know that Jiuyou Academy has a harsh examination system. What are your thoughts on this inhumane learning method?”

”It’s not that harsh,” Zheng Qing found himself choking on the words, murmuring, ”Although there are a lot of exams, one can learn a lot too. For instance, during the last freshmen competition, several of my classmates managed to use the semi-open spells quite well.”

”Do you still remember the first semi-open spell you learned?”

”Bind,” Zheng Qing recalled clearly: ”At that time, Professor Yao summoned a Silverback Gorilla as our sparring partner, which really scared the girls... I mean, the gorilla, it helped us, helped us to master the Binding Spell well!”

Midway through his response, Zheng Qing noticed that Miss Pulitzer had once again grabbed the pen, which made his subsequent answer stutter, as he desperately pondered if there was anything inappropriate before letting the words leave his lips.

”As you said, these spells are quite dangerous. How do you master them in your daily studies?”

”Dangerous? Not at all, I think these spells are quite safe,” Zheng Qing laughed nervously twice and said, ”Usually, we practice with each other among classmates, of course, under the supervision of a professor or teaching assistant.”

”Oh!” Miss Pulitzer’s eyes widened with a satisfied sigh escaping her lips.

Zheng Qing twisted uneasily in his seat, unable to help but sip another small mouthful of coffee.