High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1279: Chapter 26: 12 Zhou Begins

May 4th, Monday, also marked the twelfth week of the second semester.

The next day was the beginning of summer, and the sun started to stay in the sky longer each day; often, by just after five in the morning, the horizon would start to brighten.

Although he had experienced an exhilarating weekend witnessing grand scenes and even getting blasted himself twice, these events didn’t diminish Zheng Qing’s habit of attending morning classes.

Yes, it was a habit.

A habit meant that you could navigate through numerous obstacles right after getting out of bed with your eyes still closed,

As dawn broke, he rustled about getting up, finished his washing up, and silently left the dormitory with Doctor Xiao amid Xin Fat Man’s snoring sounds, heading towards Flying Garden.

Inhaling the fresh scent in the air and feeling the breeze across his cheek, Zheng Qing felt rejuvenated. It seemed as if all the gloom accumulated in his body over the weekend was swept away with each breath.

Due to the gradually warming weather, more and more students were willing to crawl out from under their covers and stroll out in the morning. Zheng Qing even spotted a familiar little white pig, wriggling its butt as it rolled around on the lawn, grunting and squealing.

”Did I hear that you went on a date with Jiang Yu yesterday? Aren’t you afraid Elena will find out?” Doctor Xiao could be reliable in many aspects, but like Xin Fat Man, his interest in gossip was annoying.

”Humph,” the young scholarship student droned, his eyelids drooping as he stared at the wriggling little white pig—he’d rather imitate the grunting of a pig than respond to such senseless inquiries.

”What does ’humph’ mean?” the Doctor persisted.

This time, Zheng Qing did not answer.

While his gaze followed the little white pig, he unexpectedly spotted two familiar yet strange figures. A giant black cat and a young wizard in a cyan robe and Daoist bun were leisurely making their way towards the office building.

They were familiar because Zheng Qing knew both figures, especially the big black cat, which had initially run away from him. The reason they felt strange was that after last year’s school hunting party, he hadn’t seen these two fellows again.

As far as Zheng Qing knew, the person codenamed ’Forty-One’ was a wizard from the school’s ’relevant department,’ a department supposedly responsible for handling ’forbidden spells.’

And the big black cat had initially been merely a shadow cut off by Su Shijun, yet it had managed to break free from the two-dimensional world, returning to reality—by now, Zheng Qing could quite guess where the ’forbidden curse’ that helped the black cat break free came from.

Thinking of his own identity and looking at those two figures, Zheng Qing felt involuntarily apprehensive and scrutinous.

His apprehension stemmed from his concern that the ’relevant department’ might, according to related policy, confine and manage him, just like several other forbidden spells at the school.

His scrutiny was about why two individuals from the ’relevant department’ would visit the office building. Were they looking for Professor Yao or some other wizard? What was their purpose?

”Hey! Hey!!” Xiao Xiao grabbed his arm and shook it, then followed Zheng Qing’s gaze: ”What are you looking at? You still haven’t told me, are you really two-timing... how are you managing that?”

If it were another day, such a ’profound’ question could have sparked great interest in Zheng Qing. But today, he was completely uninterested.

”What do you think they are doing at the office building?” Zheng Qing squinted, watching the black cat and ’Forty-One’ from behind, and asked softly.

”They?” Xiao Xiao raised an eyebrow — in his line of sight, aside from a little white pig twisting its behind, there was no second figure — but the magic capable of concealing one’s form was plentiful, he didn’t think Zheng Qing was seeing things: ”...I can only tell you, I can’t see ’them’, what I see is a little white pig.”

Zheng Qing suddenly turned around, meeting the doctor’s serious gaze, then he immediately shifted his focus back to the two figures, his eyes filling with contemplation:

”Can’t see them? That makes sense...”

...

A black cat, the size of a leopard, walked through Jiuyou Academy with a steady gait. Its steps were neither fast nor slow, its head held high as if a general inspecting his territory, its thick tail hanging slightly behind it, almost like a general’s scepter.

At the side of the black cat was a young wizard dressed in a blue robe, wearing glasses, his expression serious. A badge with the silver number ’Forty One’ hung on the wizard’s chest.

Despite the many students passing by within the academy, not a single one directed their gaze at these two unfamiliar figures, almost as if they didn’t exist — except for a certain inquisitive look not far away.

”He is my real form; it’s not strange for him to sense my presence,” the black cat said, tugging at the corner of its mouth to reassure the blue-robed wizard.

”Even so...” The blue-robed wizard gave one last look at the figure of the young student on scholarship, finally giving up on persisting, and followed the big black cat into the empty office building.

It wasn’t yet working hours, and there weren’t many wizards in the office building. The few busy figures present were first-year members of the student council, who needed to remove outdated documents from the bulletin boards and related areas before the professors began their day.

This was a task that couldn’t be left to the sprites or parrots.

After entering the office building, the black cat and the blue-robed wizard took a left and a turn, familiarly locating the Dean’s Office of Jiuyou Academy. Two Door Gods on duty at the red wooden door checked their identities and briskly opened the door for them.

”He hasn’t slept all night, so his mood is probably bad...be a bit careful,” warned the white tiger lying under the frame of the Door Gods, just before they stepped inside — this was a courtesy only shown among those of the same kind.

Although the black cat and the white tiger weren’t closely related, in First University, it was extremely rare to encounter another feline of such size, which explains the white tiger’s enthusiasm.

The black cat, holding its head high with pride, completely disregarded the white tiger’s kindness.

However, the seemingly cold blue-robed wizard smiled warmly at the white tiger and acknowledged it with a nod.

Old Yao’s office was, as always, filled with smoke. Even the clusters of fireflies clinging to the ceiling were dimmed by the smoke, their bellies puffier and more smoke-filled.

”Achoo!”

Upon entering, the black cat let out a big sneeze.

”Is this even a place for people?” It complained loudly, as if returning to its own home, nimbly leaping onto the sofa on one side of the office, settling into the most comfortable spot to lie down, its front paws crossed with its head resting on them, while it roughly ordered the office sprites:

”Bring a cup of milk, skimmed, thank you.”

The behavior was very polite.