High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1327: Chapter 74 News of the Faceless Demon

”We’re all adults now, so we can’t simply act on our preferences.”

Mike Gold Cypress Plano was repeating this to himself as he lifted his eyes to seriously size up the freshman before him who had been included in the Great Arcana by the Magic Wand as a public-expense student.

The first time he heard the name Zheng Qing was during the Four Seasons Pavilion incident, when his good-for-nothing brother was attacked by a Wild Demon, metamorphosed into a Demon, and then was subdued by this then-not-yet-enrolled young man using a Talisman.

Sepulano knew that the incident was not so simple.

Neither the cause nor the result.

Although his brother was good-for-nothing, he was still a formal Wizard, not someone who couldn’t deal with a Wild Demon or quickly transform after being assaulted; the response of the Mage Alliance could be described as ’more thunder than rain,’ with loud declarations but no substantial actions.

According to his private investigation later, the Four Seasons Pavilion incident involved multiple forces such as Demons, the Dark Council, and the Moon Council. Among them, there were Demons who were purely venting their destruction, the Dark Council who took the opportunity to cause trouble, and the Moon Council’s power play of killing with a borrowed knife.

At the very least, Sepulano had found a multitude of connections between the Demon who attacked his brother and the Karen’s family. As for whether it was one of Friedman’s idiotic subordinates acting on their own to please him, Sepulano didn’t care. He simply kept this account firmly in mind and would choose an appropriate time to repay the favor.

Zheng Qing was just an intrusive piece on this complex chessboard.

Originally, Sepulano had no plans to trouble such a ’minor character,’ but to reassure the people behind the scenes, he spread the word that he would ’take care of’ a certain first-year student who didn’t know his own weight.

Then there was the ’unexpected encounter’ during a night patrol.

Then there was their ’betting agreement’ about the school’s hunting party freshman competition.

Then, Zheng Qing’s Hunting team actually won the championship.

At this point, Sepulano no longer wanted to trouble the ’pawn scapegoat.’ On the contrary, seeing potential in a certain young Wizard, he was very interested in befriending this freshman.

It would be a successful investment.

But before he could place his chips, the conflict between Jiuyou Academy and Alpha Academy suddenly erupted. From the school hunting competition to the winter break, and then continuing throughout the entire second term.

And the relationship between him and Zheng Qing became increasingly sour with each conflict. Especially the most recent one, where Zheng Qing blasted him into severe injuries with a Charm Gun, and both were swept up by public opinion and stances, inevitably standing on opposite sides.

This was not something Sepulano voluntarily did.

Having founded the Xiang Qi Club from scratch, Sepulano was a very shrewd fellow. He knew that if he wanted to achieve the goal of reforming the Blood Comrades, reforming Alpha, he needed to unite all possible forces, whether Zombies or Vampires, or even Hybrid Werewolves.

He also knew that before he could become Augustus, there were some people he could no longer afford to provoke.

Such as a certain young Wizard who could casually produce ’Grand-Wizard wrapped Fu Bullets’ to deal with campus disputes; such as a certain young public-expense student rumored to have an affair with the newly emerged North District Grand-Wizard; and moreover, a common Wizard who had two Grand-Wizards following him, ready to testify at any moment.

Unfortunately, all three ’for instances’ referred to the same person.

When he learned from a Trident Sword informant that Zheng Qing had once again violated curfew and public security regulations by seriously injuring two Black Wizards in the North District, yet was protected and taken away by the dual endorsement of two Grand-Wizards, the founder of the Xiang Qi Club and soon-to-be Augustus of Alpha, a public-expense student, immediately resolved to settle this matter thoroughly.

He absolutely did not believe that the two Grand-Wizards who testified really just ’happened to pass by,’ saw the entire course of events, and came forward to prove Zheng Qing’s innocence. After all, in the entire Wizard World, there were not many Grand-Wizards.

How could it be a mere coincidence?

Before everything became irrevocable, it was imperative for him to mend fences with Zheng Qing.

And the market held by Quanke comes offered an excellent opportunity. Considering his previous encounters with Sepulano, Zheng Qing did not believe this young man was an idiot.

At least not as foolish as Friedman.

...

...

Children talk about good and evil, while adults only consider where they stand.

This saying of Sepulano’s sounded all too familiar to Zheng Qing. After a moment of intense thought, he recalled that on the evening when he last used his Charm Gun to critically injure Sepulano, during their standoff he had said something similar to Li Meng:

”Children distinguish right from wrong, while adults only look at the pros and cons.”

Now, Sepulano had repackaged those words and served them back to him.

That was quite interesting.

As for Sepulano’s ’stance’ theory, Zheng Qing did not believe a single word of it.

It wasn’t that he disbelieved the insight underlying the statement ”Children talk about good and evil, while adults only consider where they stand,” but rather that he did not trust that Sepulano would extend an olive branch based solely on this theory.

That was not the ’Ouroboros’s’ style.

Therefore, there must be some factor that influenced Sepulano, which he himself had overlooked.

Having dealt with Sepulano several times, Zheng Qing had come to understand more about the Fat Wizard before him. He wasn’t as crude as he appeared to be; on the contrary, Sepulano was a very ’slippery’ opponent. Unlike most Alpha People who valued face, Sepulano didn’t mind losing face temporarily if it led to ultimate victory.

Like during the last conflict at Lin Zhong Lake.

In the initial battle, Sepulano didn’t recklessly engage in hand-to-hand combat with Zhang Ji Xin or Xin Fat Man. Instead, he repeatedly used ’Peach and tender’ to evade the entanglements of the Absolution Hunting Team, all for the sake of finding the best moment to cast a spell.

Had it not been for Zheng Qing’s incredible luck with a Blood Symbol Bullet, the victor of that conflict would still be up in the air.

”Since it’s all about where we stand, I’m even more puzzled as to why we should stand together,” Zheng Qing couldn’t hide the confusion in his voice, ”Whether it’s from the stance of Jiuyou and Alpha, Nicholas’s accident, or your injury... there doesn’t seem to be a united stance between us.”

At the mention of ’injury,’ the muscles on Sepulano’s face twitched slightly.

After a moment of silence, he replied with composure, ”On a larger scale, we are all from the First University. When the school faces external threats, everyone should stand together.”

Zheng Qing slightly narrowed his eyes.

”This is something you should report to the professors,” he said softly.

”I will,” Sepulano waved his hand, speaking without hesitation: ”But I want you to feel some kindness... I heard you’ve been looking for a Faceless Demon that pretended to be a pet snake before it escaped? Maybe you can find some clues in the mud pools on the east side of Lin Zhong Lake... The Fishmen say that the Longevity tortoises there have become restless recently. Many old turtles that have been dormant for years have been stirring.”