High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1103: Chapter 165: Humans, Cats, and Mice

Terri Duzem.

Zheng Qing often called him Doctor Duzem, an ’old’ yet young wizard residing in the East Zone of Beta Town. He was called old because his face resembled that of an octogenarian or nonagenarian, filled with wrinkles and age spots. He was considered young because he was not yet forty, which for most wizards, still classified him as a youth.

Last semester, in order to save a group of innocent sprites, Zheng Qing sought medical help everywhere and, with Jiang Yu’s assistance, finally found Doctor Duzem, who lived reclusively in a corner of Beta Town.

Although Doctor Duzem often presented a slovenly appearance, he was highly skilled in crafting magic potions. With his help, the sprites Zheng Qing had adopted survived safely to this day.

Indeed, when Jiang Yu had initially introduced him, she had mentioned Doctor Duzem’s past madness and genius, but for the young public expense student, without tangible experience, it was difficult to comprehend the glories that followed.

Zheng Qing’s most profound impression of Doctor Duzem was not the doctor’s proficiency and focus while concocting potions, nor his disheveled look, or even his nearly deserted dilapidated courtyard, with its trembling old servant.

The deepest impression Doctor Duzem had made on Zheng Qing was when the doctor, in front of him, plucked out his eyeballs and soaked them in a potion, where they bubble and cleaned with a gulping noise.

It must be admitted that for a young man who had not been exposed to the wizard world for long, that terrifying image left a very deep mark in his heart and more than once lingered in his dreams.

It always scared him into a cold sweat.

Hearing the name the hamster finally announced, the room fell into an unusual silence.

Elena and Sister Korma were silent because the name was extremely unfamiliar to them, as they racked their brains trying to dig up a sliver of memory that might exist deep within their minds. The Black Cat fell silent because the name was beyond his expectations.

For this reason, the Black Cat’s attitude became even more cautious.

He naturally hoped to get rid of Sister Korma as soon as possible, but he also did not want to cause any trouble for Doctor Duzem. And Fei Rui, the fat hamster, felt to Zheng Qing like a big problem.

As for the silence of the witch and cat, the hamster naturally understood. It sat on the White Weasel’s head, shifting to a more comfortable seniority, leisurely waiting for the witch or Black Cat to start speaking again. Its paws somehow had grabbed a real caterpillar and were plucking the hairs from it one by one.

”Oh, almost forgot to remind you,” before the witch could speak, Fei Rui seemed to remember something and mentioned in a casual tone, ”I can tell you the name Terri Duzem, but it’s very difficult for you to break certain magic restrictions to tell others... You know what I mean, that’s the most annoying part about those spells.”

Whether Fei Rui counts as a person is a debatable issue, but its timely intervention certainly lightened the oppressive atmosphere in the room.

”If we can’t utter the name, how are we supposed to find him?” Sister Korma furrowed her brows, seizing the opportunity to ask.

”Do you plan to ask at each house along the Pedestrian Street? Or distribute survey reports throughout the entire campus?” The hamster sneered before stuffing the hairless caterpillar into the mouth of the White Weasel below: ”If it were that simple, why wouldn’t I do it myself?!”

The White Weasel smacked its lips, savoring the bug juice, and seemed to relish it with extra sweetness.

The Black Cat felt the hairs on its back stand on end.

”If it’s so difficult, why did you give us this task?” Elena looked at the Hamster seriously, slowly asking each word, ”Although we are slightly more capable among our peers, I don’t think we are outstanding compared to other wizards you could have found.”

”As a wizard, I must always believe in the results of divination,” the Hamster spread its paws in a resigned gesture.

The atmosphere fell silent again for a few seconds.

Fei Rui fished a fresh caterpillar out of thin air and started to pluck its hairs. The Black Cat watched with eager eyes as the caterpillar turned over and struggled in the Hamster’s paws, oozing green thick juice.

Elena, ignoring the poor caterpillar, continued, ”Since you also mentioned that the school wouldn’t let Doctor Duzem act without control, am I to understand that you are asking us to violate the school’s prohibition?”

Fei Rui laughed, ”Ha! Prohibition?! Do you even care about such things? Is using magic during the Ban of Magic Festival not a violation? Sneaking out of school during the Tomb-Sweeping Festival and not following school requirements, isn’t that a violation? Using Transformation without the school’s approval, isn’t that a violation? At First University, if a student doesn’t break a few prohibitions during their studies, they can’t be considered a real college student!”

”I was authorized by the school to use Transformation!” the Black Cat interjected to correct it.

”That’s not the point!” Fei Rui became somewhat irritated and started waving his little paws around, shouting, as the caterpillar in its paw bounced around like an elastic band: ”As far as I know, that first-year student at Jiuyou Academy, the scholarship student named Zheng Qing, has accumulated two disciplinary actions in just over half a year of study... Did that affect his scholarship status? Did that stop him from receiving the Merlin Medal or being listed in the Great Arcana?”

Elena’s gaze flickered, she didn’t say a word; Sister Korma chuckled softly, as if she found the Hamster’s example amusing.

The Black Cat struggled to restrain itself from turning the little Hamster into mush with a swipe of its paw, but it was so angered that it puffed up.

It had never seen such outright provocation!

”That’s different,” Elena shook her head quickly, disagreeing with Fei Rui’s view: ”Zheng Qing might have broken the school’s rules, but it was within permissible scope, minor issues... What you are asking of us now is like secretly opening the gates of Black Prison and helping the monsters inside escape.”

”It’s no longer an issue of breaking prohibitions,” Cole nodded in agreement, ”It’s committing a crime. It’s a matter of life and death. We just wanted to find that newly-born Secret Realm to score some benefits, not to risk our lives for it.”

”Hey!! Black Prison!” As Fei Rui muttered the term, it inadvertently squeezed the caterpillar a bit too hard and accidentally squished it into two pieces. The White Weasel underneath snapped its head quickly from side to side, and with two streaks of red, the caterpillar severed in twain hadn’t even hit the ground before it disappeared into thin air.

The Black Cat carefully sidestepped the droplets of bug juice passing through the air.

”Black Prison!” The Hamster wiped its damp paws between the ears of the White Weasel: ”Who would send you on such a suicidal mission... I only presented you with a choice. I just need results, and don’t care about the process.”