High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 987: Chapter 49 The Duoni People

In appearance, the Houdou didn’t look much different from the ordinary domestic dogs people kept.

At most, the Houdou’s fur was a bit glossier, and its presence a bit more imposing.

To Zheng Qing, the three little Houdous locked in the cage looked like three fluffy little puppies. The only difference was that these puppies were toying with red-hot charcoals, not table tennis balls.

The biggest of the little Houdous was sprawled out with its front legs splayed in a ’v’ shape, squinting as it lazily measured the distance between itself and the glowing red charcoal. Its fur was silvery-grey, which was quite different from the adult Houdou’s typically glossy black. However, like the adult Houdous, it had equally bright red eyes, like two perfectly round red gems glittering in the sunlight.

The other two more lively little Houdous weren’t lying down like their sibling. At the moment, they were huddled beside the pile of charcoals, heads down and tails wagging, contentedly licking at the dark flames flickering from the charcoals. They jostled each other and rubbed together, making soft purring complaints.

Occasionally, small flames would appear from beneath their tails, then fall onto the sandy floor of the cage, hissing and bubbling as they set the sand alight like dripping flames of oil.

The vendor guarding the stall was attentive in all directions, warmly beckoning to the young customers squatting in front of his booth, while occasionally using the long-handled tongs beside him to scoop out the Houdous’ excrement from the sand and toss it into the small stove in front of him.

It was both a precaution to prevent the fire from spreading and causing accidents and a way to save on costs, maximizing the utility of waste.

After all, those droppings were excellent fuel, perfect for the small stove.

The roaring flames heated the stove intensely hot and also cast the vendor’s face in a warm glow. In this cold season, the glow was incredibly precious, saving the vendor the money he would have spent on gloves and a heavy coat.

”It’s really very cheap... Where else can you find Houdous selling for only two jade coins!” The vendor kept on chattering non-stop to the young wizards about the merchandise in the cage: ”Magical creatures! They’re magical creatures of a very high pedigree, you know?!”

Zheng Qing was getting quite annoyed by the repetition of the same phrases he heard.

There was a reason why this man was still a street vendor. The young cost student thought that even if he gave the man a Fire Dragon, he wouldn’t be able to sell it at a good price.

”We really should be going... It’s getting late,” Zheng Qing finally tugged at the Doctor’s coat.

This time, Xiao Xiao didn’t refuse.

He sighed, struggling to his feet. The long squat had made his legs numb, and he stumbled as he stood up. Xin Fat Man timely extended his arm to support the Doctor from behind.

”What exactly were you observing just now?” Xin, still supporting the Doctor’s arm, curiously leaned forward to get a better look at the little Houdous in the cage: ”Or rather, what did you see?”

”War.” Xiao Xiao shook his dizzy head and answered in a low voice: ”The flames left by the Houdou are excellent materials for divination. I just saw war in those flames.”

”So you were looking at dog shit,” concluded Xin Fat Man bluntly: ”In the most literal sense.”

In the cage, two little Houdous squabbled over a piece of charcoal, shrieking and tearing at each other, only to end up tumbling together into a heap of sand.

”If I brought Poseidon here, there might be a war.” The young cost student shook his head vigorously, trying to expel the adorable images of the two creatures from his mind, then turned around and muttered, ”Poseidon is always keen to fight over any novelty.”

Behind him, in the narrow alleyways of the Forest Goods Market, several unfamiliar figures passed by.

At first glance, these figures seemed not much different from ordinary humans, but their short, nearly non-existent necks, and the flat bulges at the front and back of their heads, clearly identified them to the few young wizards.

They were the Duoni People.

The Duoni People are aliens, and it would be more descriptive to call them ’multi-brained people’. However, for diplomatic reasons, the translators of the Mage Alliance rendered the word ’brain’ as ’ni’, which is said to look better.

Whether it looks better is up for debate, but it’s undeniable that the Duoni People are a very strong extraterrestrial force.

As children, the individuals of this species are indistinguishable from Earth humans, but as they age, their cerebellum grows gradually larger until it forms a flat, round protuberance on the back of their head. Hidden under this bulge is a secondary brain with capabilities nearly equivalent to the main brain. Consequently, adult Duoni People possess excellent physical coordination, making them natural experts in physical arts.

Having strong bodies alone is no different from mutant gorillas. However, this is not the real reason the Duoni People stand out from the countless extraterrestrial forces.

Their true strength lies in their ’secondary brain’, which can keep proliferating with increasing strength and age. Starting from the first one at the back of the head to the second and third ones on the sides, until eventually, their heads are covered with a cluster of brains resembling grapes.

Zheng Qing had once seen the appearance of an Elder of the Duoni People in a book introducing alien species.

He thought that the Elder resembled Buddha Tathagata he had seen on the TV drama ”Journey to the West” when he was a child. The only difference was that the ’meat bun’ on the Tathagata’s head was a sign of immense mana, while the ’secondary brains’ on the head of the Duoni Elder were a sign of extraordinary wisdom.

Imagine, with each Duoni individual possessing one main brain and several secondary brains, they are like having a cheat device when dealing with problems. On the same examination field, a human from Earth using a calculator would be considered cheating, while the Duoni People, naturally carrying multiple brains, effectively have cheat devices grown into their own bodies.

This conclusion is somewhat disheartening.

In any case, according to the Committee of the ”Encyclopedia of the Wizarding World”, there’s no essential difference between Duoni People and Earth humans; both belong to the category of primates under the family Hominidae. But, given the vastness of the universe, the existence of intelligent life is exceedingly diverse, and many alien species possess completely different appearances, habits, and other characteristics. These don’t constitute any fundamental difference.

Generally speaking, those aliens would stay within their own territories. This made them comfortable and also reassured the wizards.

In Buji Island, the alien envoys’ usual residence is in the extraterrestrial embassy district of Beta Town West District. There, the Mage Alliance has created a custom living area for them, which is very safe and also very secluded.

Normally, on the outskirts of Beta Town, especially the Beta Town North District where the Tricksters congregate, one wouldn’t expect to encounter these ’noble’ figures.