High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1295: Chapter 42 The Course That Started Early

Mr. Wu this time was not standing but sitting on a reddish-brown wooden bench, holding a black-covered book in his hands and patiently flipping through it.

Because of the distance, Zheng Qing could not make out the contents of the black book.

However, he could see the bench very clearly.

It was the kind of long bench with a seat and back made of wide wooden slats, with black metal armrests on both sides. The armrests had a mottled paint finish, showing signs of age and wear.

Under the bench was not white mist but a small patch of red mosaic floor tiles, with a dozen weeds poking their heads out from between the cracks, determinedly welcoming their own share of sunlight and moisture.

Just a second ago, Zheng Qing had been standing dozens of steps away, tentatively asking about the identity of the wizard on the bench.

In the next moment, his vision blurred, and he was suddenly sitting on the bench himself, holding a wooden box in his hands—as if from the start, he had been sitting there with these items in hand.

”Mr. Wu!”

Zheng Qing repeated the words he had muttered just a second before somewhat speechlessly, with countless complaints bubbling up inside him, only he hadn’t yet decided where to start—whether with Mr. Wu’s sudden, attack-like way of pulling him over, or this unchanging meeting environment, or the wooden box in his hands, or perhaps the exceedingly frequent meetings as of late.

Lately, Mr. Wu had been seeing him even more frequently than before Zheng Qing had come to First University. During high school, Mr. Wu was mostly absent from the store, and Zheng Qing practiced talismans and looked after the bookstore alone. Over half a year into university, Mr. Wu appeared only once, not even showing up when Zheng Qing went home for winter break.

On the contrary, since returning from winter break, Mr. Wu had been dragging him to meetings every few days.

That being said, it wouldn’t be right to say that Zheng Qing was annoyed by meeting with Mr. Wu. On the contrary, Zheng Qing was very eager to chat with him. After all, Mr. Wu was a very powerful wizard, and talking to him gave the young wizard a sense of being involved in some significant matters.

Besides, no matter how familiar he was with First University, it wasn’t the world where Zheng Qing had lived for nearly twenty years.

Zheng Qing always felt a thin barrier between himself and this world.

Mr. Wu’s presence greatly alleviated this mindset. After all, since he was eight years old, Mr. Wu had been a part of his world, and compared to First University, Mr. Wu’s presence seemed more real.

There’s a saying that goes, ”A single day apart feels like three autumns.”

It had only been a week since Zheng Qing’s last meeting with Mr. Wu, but it felt like much longer, as if he had a bellyful of words to pour out to him.

So, before Mr. Wu could speak, the boy rambled on.

He talked about everything that had happened over the week, from the trivial, like Poseidon shedding hair and its blue patterns fading, to discovering that Cat Fruit was actually a liquid, and that hedgehogs and stinging snakes were real creatures.

He moved on to Sister Korma’s hardships, the evils of the sacrificial magic of the Northern District wizards; Old Fishman Professor Garcia inviting him to the Spring Guest Market; and how Xin Fat Man, the Blue Giant, took private revenge during a practice class.

He talked about the big issues too, like First University’s Professor Joint Meeting getting a new rotating chairperson, a new conflict erupting between Jiuyou Academy and Alpha, and the bustling rumors that Lei Zhe and Augustus might be stepping down, among other things.

Of course, most importantly was Lin Guo’s missing Black Mountain Goat—Xiao Xiao had exhausted all divination methods without locating it, the Absolution Hunting Team had deployed all its resources to no avail, and they were planning to post a missing sheep notice in the campus newspaper and on the bulletin board, while also offering a reward of one jade coin at the Wandering Bar.

Mr. Wu listened patiently to his talk, never interrupting.

Only when Zheng Qing mentioned the missing Black Mountain Goat did Mr. Wu’s brow furrow ever so slightly without others noticing.

After talking for almost half an hour, Zheng Qing finally took a breather. He felt as though a weight had lifted from his heart, making him feel somewhat lighter.

”...Do you think that Black Mountain Goat is hiding somewhere? Is it still alive?” He sneaked a glance at the gentleman’s expression and ventured, ”Or should I say, where do you think we should start looking?”

The gentleman closed the black-covered book in his hand, tapped his fingertips on the cover, and pondered for a moment.

”As for this matter, you handle it as you see fit.” He finally shook his head, ”After all, it’s just a small matter, it shouldn’t take too much effort...”

A grain of dust on the Big Wizard would be a mountain on an Ordinary Wizard — and you are far beyond even a Legendary Wizard, even the wizards of ancient times!

What is a small matter to you could be a huge one for us!

The young man complained inwardly, but ultimately did not continue to trouble the gentleman with this matter.

”Do you have something for me today?” Zheng Qing half-complained, ”If there’s something, you could just send a Paper Crane... Always springing these sudden attacks, my heart can’t take it. You know, my heart is newly installed, still in the break-in period.”

His attempt at humor was not successful.

Because there was no smile on the gentleman’s face, he was as serious as always.

”I have an unexpected commitment on Sunday, so the scheduled makeup lesson is moved to today,” the gentleman put away the black-covered book, raised his arm, and rested his hand on the young wizard’s shoulder, ”... Anyway, you’re just sleeping right now, so you have nothing else to do.”

His words made so much sense that Zheng Qing didn’t know how to respond.

”Do wizards usually conduct business in their dreams in the wizard world?” Zheng Qing thought back to the wizard college entrance exam he had once taken.

”It’s convenient,” was the gentleman’s succinct reply.

Before the words had finished echoing, Zheng Qing felt a sensation of the world spinning hit him head-on. The intense feeling of weightlessness mixed with a sense of futility while groping in the darkness overwhelmed Zheng Qing’s senses, leaving him somewhat breathless.

The sensation came on swiftly but also faded quickly.

In the blink of an eye, that suffocating feeling had evaporated, and Zheng Qing regained control of his body.

He opened his eyes to find himself in an empty world, with a brilliant starry sky above him. The gentleman stood not far in front of him. It was as if the two were standing in the void.

But that was not what the young man focused on.

Recovering from his dizziness, Zheng Qing’s first words had nothing to do with the terrible journey he had just experienced.

”Your...Your memoir... aren’t you writing it anymore?” The young man panted, concentrated, and tried to dismiss the intense dizziness in his brain as he continued from where their previous conversation had left off, ”I remember you said that you had scheduled to write your memoir on Friday.”

Mr. Wu sighed, ”There is never enough time, the memoir can be written slowly later... Today’s lesson is on case analysis; I’ll take you through two separate cases first.”

Saying so, he stood with his hands to his sides, merely glancing down slightly at his feet.

Zheng Qing followed the gentleman’s gaze downward, gradually widening his eyes.

Although the world at his feet was somewhat unfamiliar, he could recognize the identity of this world by some familiar landmarks.

This was Buji Island, outside of First University, around Alpha Fortress, Beta Town.

To be precise, Zheng Qing was currently above Beta Town!