High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1116: Chapter 178 Fools

”Qualitative analysis has always been big and empty, extremely boring,”

”But since you asked, specifically regarding your question... if someone asks a stupid question, then your response can only be two-fold, to answer or not to answer.”

”Answering also has two types, answering seriously and giving a perfunctory response.”

”If you’re serious, you’ve lost... the person who stoops to the level of a stupid question is likely a fool himself.”

”If it’s perfunctory, people might think you can’t even answer a stupid question properly, naturally, you’re even worse than a fool.”

”Similarly, not answering also has two types. Either you don’t know the answer, or you choose to stay silent because you don’t want to bother. The former, as mentioned, is a great fool for not being able to answer even a stupid question; the latter is slightly smarter, but only slightly. After all, how smart can a person be if they choose to sit and chat with a fool?”

Zheng Qing rolled his eyes at Xiao Xiao’s complicated and convoluted explanation, but he eventually grasped the underlying meaning of Xiao Xiao’s words.

”Oh, so no matter what I say, I’m a fool?” the young publicly-funded student put down his feather pen, rolled up the line drawing on the table, and glared at Xiao Xiao irritably, ”If one person plays the fool, what is it to others!”

”What if I give an even stupider answer?” Xin Fat Man, who was chewing on a plum, joined the roommates’ conversation with enthusiasm, ”...that way, my answer could help him go further down the path of foolishness.”

Zheng Qing looked at the fat man in disbelief.

”I had thought you were a good person,” he said, shocked.

”To smart people, I am a good person,” the fat man lifted another piece of candied fruit with his stubby fingers and stuffed it into his mouth, ”As for the fools... to the fools, only a fool is a good person. I certainly don’t want to be their good person.”

This statement was so logical that Zheng Qing couldn’t argue against it.

When Doctor Xiao heard this, he chuckled and said, ”There were no fools in this world originally. When the number of people agreeing with foolish opinions increases, the number of fools also increases. Therefore, for the sake of having fewer fools in this world, next time you hear a fool posing a question or someone saying something foolish, don’t waste your spit, just give them a beating.”

Zheng Qing smacked his lips, ”Doctor, you always make sense when you talk.”

”These aren’t my words.” Xiao Xiao stood up, stretched comfortably, ”They were said by a Big Wizard from the Zhou Family of Shaoxing; I just made a slight change when quoting it.”

”The change you made makes some sense.” Xin Fat Man seemed to remember something, his hand holding a piece of fruit hanging in the air, not stuffing it into his mouth for a long while, a thoughtful look on his face, ”It’s just the sentence ’when the number of people agreeing with foolish opinions increases, the number of fools increases as well’... I think, those fish-lipped guys in Lin Zhong Lake are spreading their stupidity far and wide inside and outside the academy. I feel like there are more and more fools in the school.”

”What do you mean?” Zheng Qing asked curiously—he had already given up discussing his inner confusion with his two companions. In fact, he had also realized the question that had been puzzling him could only be solved by himself.

”Do you remember the centaurs who caused trouble outside Alpha Fortress a few days ago?” the fat man finally put the fruit that had been hanging in the air into his mouth and mumbled.

”Are those the ones who wanted to raise the rent and then clashed with the businessmen from Beta Town?” Zheng Qing nodded.

”Exactly. Those fools thought they could get the support of Alpha Fortress just like the fishmen of Lake Bell... completely failing to look through the issue to see the essence of the matter. How could the Wizards of Alpha Fortress allow barbarians to run amok on their own turf? The barbarians who run amok at Jiuyou Academy are the good barbarians.”

”It is indeed a bit foolish,” Zheng Qing began to grasp the meaning of Xin Fat Man’s words, ”those fishmen from Lin Zhong Lake have caused no small harm.”

”I haven’t finished yet,” the fat man pulled out a handkerchief, wiped the sugar stains off his fingers, then took out a handful of dry-fried beans and crunched away:

”Sir Friedman recently took a hit in his rivalry with Sepulano, and an internal survey within their club suggests his support rates have plummeted. So, he urgently needed to demonstrate some achievements to show his supporters his strength.”

”Fortunately, or unfortunately, he chose the Horseman Tribe as his breakthrough.”

”The good news is, he effectively quashed the disturbances, presenting a strong image to his supporters. The bad part, however, is that his actions saddled Alpha Fortress with a heavy moral burden. It’s all too easy to imagine, the spokesperson of Alpha Fortress had just condemned Jiuyou Academy for the suppression of the Bell Lake Fishman Tribe, and then their own people did the exact same thing.”

”Sir Friedman’s shortsighted actions have caused more and more neutral forces to lean towards Sepulano...which is why I say stupidity is contagious.”

”So, you mean the fishmen passed their stupidity to the Horseman Tribe, then onto the students of Alpha Academy?” Zheng Qing’s expression was somewhat complex, ”I always feel this is a kind of negative feedback loop.”

”In other words, it’s like lifting a rock only to drop it on your own foot,” Xiao Xiao explained with a more colloquial saying.

”Actually, I’d prefer it if Sir Friedman becomes the next Augustus.” Xin Fat Man swallowed his last bit of bean dregs, finally stopped stuffing his mouth — Zheng Qing inexplicably let out a sigh of relief — then looked at the fat man as he picked up his water glass, ”Although we’ve said before that we shouldn’t sit down and chat with fools...in real life, having a fool as an opponent is always more relaxing than having a smart person as an opponent.”

”Those things are far removed from us, as I emphasized before, we shouldn’t get involved,” Zheng Qing reminded the fat man, then suddenly remembered something from earlier in the coffee shop and asked Xiao Xiao casually:

”Did you forget to buy a gift for Sima?”

”What gift?” Xiao Xiao looked completely clueless.

”Umm, I heard someone ask about it in the coffee shop today...said Sima doesn’t call on you to answer questions in class anymore, thought you had promised some kind of gift before,” Zheng Qing scratched his head, equally puzzled.

”Oh... I see,” Xiao Xiao raised his eyebrows, his face showing a reflective expression, ”I understand now... thank my Elena.”

”What do you understand? And... who told you it was Elena?!” Zheng Qing’s eyes widened instantly.

”Then thank Jiang Yu for me,” Doctor Xiao waved his hand dismissively, as though shooing away a buzzing mosquito.

Zheng Qing felt like he had swallowed a green bottle fly.

”What do you understand?” he persisted doggedly.

Xiao Xiao sighed, ruffled his hair, and looked troubled, ”It’s about that blind date...didn’t I say it was no big deal the other day? Just let her meet the guy if her family wants her to...then she seemed to get angry.”

Fearing Zheng Qing still didn’t understand, he quickly added, ”If she doesn’t go meet him, her family will definitely argue with her over it. Anyway, it’s just a formality, so I thought it was fine to let her go through with it.”