High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1064: Chapter 126 Snake Molt

Li Meng held the plush bear Li Neng in her arms, standing under the Cat Fruit Tree with her head tilted back, raising her little hands, counting one by one the big and small cats on the tree that were meowing.

Even if her ears were filled with the noisy meowing, it did not stop her concentration.

”Eh?! Why is it missing?!”

The Little Witch circled the Cat Fruit Tree, counting over and over again, but she never saw that familiar figure, and finally confirmed that the little white cat her cousin had transformed into was not on the Cat Fruit Tree.

Earlier that evening, Jiang Yu made a secret plan with her, instructing her to lure the Hunting Team to gather near the Cat Fruit Tree, then Jiang Yu herself would turn into a cat and act as the bait for the team.

At first, Li Meng was reluctant to agree to the plan.

Such a dangerous thing, her cousin couldn’t just be whimsical if she wanted to do it. After all, she was already a university student and knew the importance of things and the principle that Wizards don’t stand beneath a collapsing wall.

But when her cousin took out a new schedule for Li Meng, she immediately compromised—with the new schedule, sixteen out of every twenty-four hours were marked with study, study, and more study, plus getting up at six in the morning, keeping lunchtime to fifteen minutes, and so on.

It was practically the death of Li Meng.

So, the Little Witch eventually accepted Jiang Yuyan’s battle plan with a sullen face.

However, she also repeatedly emphasized that if anything went wrong and they were caught by the family or school, she would not take the blame. Jiang Yu had no objections to this and happily agreed.

But now.

”This isn’t according to the plan,” Li Meng bit her finger, staring at the beautiful Persian cat in the tree, totally puzzled.

The Persian cat lay on the sturdy trunk with pride, completely oblivious to the blank gaze from below. To it, being admired by humans was natural; not being admired would be abnormal.

”What’s different?” Xiao Xiao had also been paying attention to the Cat Fruit Tree.

Like Li Meng, he scanned the tree laden with cats. However, he hoped not to see a certain black cat on this tree.

After all, he was a man with the title ’Doctor,’ aware of the current season, so he was very concerned about some reckless person who drank a Transformation Potion and strolled onto the Cat Fruit Tree tonight—just in case, you know, something happened.

Fortunately, Xiao Xiao did not see a black cat in the Cat Fruit Tree.

This meant that his previous concerns were unnecessary.

Doctor Xiao let out a sigh of relief, turned his neck, and eased the stiffness in his muscles.

Although he didn’t see the black cat now, it didn’t mean everything was safe. He’d have to warn a certain scholarship student when he got back to the dorm later that night. Spring had come, and it was the time of year when life flourished. He should avoid turning into a cat lately, and just stick to the routine between studying, the lab, and the dormitory.

Xiao Xiao thought this to himself and pulled out his notebook to write a memo.

As he was taking notes, he heard the Little Witch muttering beside him and turned his head curiously, ”What’s different?”

Startled as if caught stealing, Li Meng immediately turned around, stammering a denial, ”No, I didn’t say...Achoo!”

She felt her nose tingle and couldn’t help but sneeze forcefully.

The sneeze came at just the right time, immediately diverting Doctor Xiao’s attention.

”These days the climate has been changing drastically, with a large temperature difference between morning and evening, so make sure you don’t catch a cold,” Xiao Xiao frowned and gave the Little Witch a once-over. ”Maybe you should go back and rest tonight... We can handle the rest of the search on our own.”

Li Meng sniffed, puffed out her chest, and held her head high, refusing. ”What’s to be done today must be done today, I’m not in the habit of leaving things half-finished!”

In her arms, the fluffy teddy bear raised its paws and, with a face full of compassion, wiped away a little drool from the Little Witch’s chin, and the snot string hanging from her nose tip.

”We should head to No. 11 pavilion now!” Nicholas called out to his two companions from not far away. ”Hurry up, or we’ll be up till late into the night again.”

”Coming, coming!” Li Meng responded loudly, and in an instant, she lost the languidness that came with her sneezing, hopping and skipping toward the direction where Nicholas and the others were.

Xiao Xiao shook his head and took one last look at the Cat Fruit Tree behind him before following suit.

...

While Xiao Xiao and Li Meng searched under the Cat Fruit Tree for certain figures, their intended targets wandered aimlessly near the grassy shores on the east side of Lin Zhong Lake.

As the night deepened, there was no moon in the sky, and this season had few clusters of fireflies. So the lakeshore was pitch black, save for some noctilucent birds hanging from branches, and there were almost no other light sources. Coupled with the chill in the air, witches wandering around at night were a rare sight.

The Fisherman tribe that used to live in the lake would place some luminous pearls near the shore as a token guard, but these days the relationship between the tribe and the academy was tense. Due to various considerations, the Fishmen had removed the luminous pearls.

Before lighting time, the patrol team was still chatting and farting in their respective restrooms, and the whole Lin Zhong Lake lay sunk in tranquil silence.

Fortunately, Zheng Qing was now a cat.

For cats, day or night didn’t make much of a difference. Perhaps for cats, the night was even more comfortable. After all, with fewer people around at night, there’s less risk of someone making a foolish face and meowing at you every which way on campus.

Every time Zheng Qing thought about those who meowed at him, he wanted to rush up and give them a good scratch.

Xiao Bai, the little white cat, trotted ahead of Zheng Qing, her tail dragging on the ground. Her body twirled, drawing elegant S-shapes in the air like a fish, a sight to behold.

The only slightly jarring note was the burr stuck on Xiao Bai’s back.

It must have gotten there by accident when she was rummaging through the bushes.

The black cat jogged a few steps, lifted his paw, and helped Xiao Bai pull the burr off her back, tossing it into Lin Zhong Lake.

”Meow!” Caught off guard by the ’ambush’ and still shaken by the peculiar experiences just before, Xiao Bai got startled, screeched, and jumped high on the spot, arching her back.

After regaining her senses, Xiao Bai immediately became infuriated with embarrassment, baring her teeth and flashing the claws from her meat pads in an aggressive posture as she charged at the black cat.

The black cat certainly wasn’t foolish enough to let her scratch at will and took off running.

Xiao Bai was relentless, meowing as she followed right behind him.

And so, the two cats, one black and one white, ran a parkour around all the nooks and crannies nearby in what turned into an impromptu chase.

Not until Zheng Qing’s front paw stepped on something slippery and he tumbled to the ground with a splash, did Xiao Bai catch up to him and manage to land several hefty scratches.

The black cat, clawing at the grass with discontent after managing to stand up, glanced back, curious to see what enigma had tripped him up.

Then he saw a small piece of dry, shriveled snake molt, lying quietly at the foot of a shrub.