High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1370: Chapter 117: Teacher’s 3rd Lesson

Zheng Qing lay on the six-pillar bed in the dormitory, his body resting on a mat of finely woven rattan. It was already the end of May, and after the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather was getting hotter. Everyone in the dormitory, except Dylan, had laid out bamboo mats.

Dylan’s coffin had many slots for embedding runes. In winter, he would use warmth-preserving charms, and in summer, insect repelling and cooling charms, so he didn’t need to prepare bamboo mats like everyone else.

In fact, Zheng Qing always felt that Dylan embedding insect repelling charms on his coffin was a waste. There were no mosquitoes inside the coffin to bother him, and outside the coffin, the buzzing mosquitoes could not affect the sleeping Blood Werewolf dormmate.

Fat Cat lazily called out.

The Warlock yawned heavily, his eyes dazed as he looked outside the canopy—around his six-pillar bed, the thick winter drapes had been replaced with summer gauze, thin and transparent, allowing him to clearly see the movements inside the room.

There was no one in the dormitory.

It was Saturday today, just past two o’clock in the afternoon. Dylan had gone to a half-Blood Race gathering—he said there was a half-Werewolf gathering in the evening too—probably he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning; Xiao Xiao and Xin Fat Man had gone to the library.

Normally at this time, Zheng Qing was supposed to be working in Professor Montreya’s laboratory, but mid-noon, he suddenly received a Parchment from the laboratory. The Professor stated that with finals approaching, the laboratory was temporarily closed to give students time to review their lessons.

This notice was a bit sudden, but understandable.

Yet, it was this suddenness that disrupted Zheng Qing’s schedule. Over the weekend, every desk in the library from morning to night was occupied, and the study rooms were packed. After pondering for a long time, the young funded student had to admit that besides his own dormitory, there was no other suitable place for him to revise.

But the dormitory was never a good place to study.

Sitting in front of the desk for less than an hour, Zheng Qing’s eyes began to close. The afternoon sun was warm, shining through the window on his body, making one drowsy. And the Fat Cat snoring at the edge of the desk reinforced this sleepiness.

There was no easier way to relax than listening to a cat snoring.

Until he drooled on the parchment for the third time, Zheng Qing finally made up his mind—whether sleeping on the desk or in bed, as studying was not going in anyway, why not allow oneself to sleep more comfortably?

Let the fall come more fiercely!

With this, he finally lay down on his six-pillar bed with peace of mind.

He slept for two hours.

Outside the mosquito net, on the desk, Fatty Cat made another sound.

The call was full of humility and pleasantry, utterly lacking its usual authority. Zheng Qing rubbed his eyes, his vision cleared a bit, and then he saw a familiar yet strange figure in front of the desk.

It was Mr. Wu!

The young Warlock rolled off the bed, pulled open the mosquito net, shoes barely on, and stumbled forward a few steps. It was unquestionably Mr. Wu.

Mr. Wu was bending over, earnestly looking at the Philosophy of Magic paper Zheng Qing had left on the desk before sleep. Fat Cat, eyes closed, curled up into a ball, resembling a yarn ball, huddling in the corner of the desk. The yarn ball was covered in Sprites, which, compared to the yarn ball, were much braver; several even dared to chirp and flutter down onto Mr. Wu’s shoulder.

Zheng Qing signaled with his eyes for them to quickly prepare hot tea and fruits.

The bold Sprites joyfully flew from Mr. Wu’s shoulder, and only then did Zheng Qing feel his cheeks getting a bit hot.

He dimly remembered that before he went to sleep, the parchment carrying his dissertation had a few splotches of drool. He had planned to clean those stains after waking up, but unexpectedly, Mr. Wu suddenly appeared in the dormitory.

This made everything seem a bit chaotic.

”You, why are you here?” The student stuttered, breaking the silence in the afternoon dormitory.

In the corner of the desk, the Fatty Cat quietly pricked up its ears, trembling slightly. Its head was still buried under its arm and paws, refusing to emerge.

”I happened to have some free time, so I came for a visit,” Mr. Wu didn’t look back, still carefully reading Zheng Qing’s dissertation, and gently replied: ”Since you also seem to have time... we can move tomorrow’s lesson to today.”

Zheng Qing quietly swallowed.

The title of the dissertation was ”The Way of a Gentleman is Not to Be a Vessel,” beginning with ’The metaphysical is called Dao, the physical is called a vessel,’ summarizing all the worldview and methodology Zheng Qing learned in his first year. The dissertation was not yet completed, stuck on the case analysis. Zheng Qing struggled to find a fitting example that both pinpoints the main subject and encompasses the philosophical theories he learned.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zheng Qing saw Fatty Cat pull its ears back again. Sprites, holding juicy fruits and steaming tea, floated gracefully beside Mr. Wu, as Hehe played host.

Mr. Wu finally shifted his gaze from the dissertation, straightened up, nodded slightly to the sprites, accepted the tea, took a sip, and then turned around to look at the young cost student.

”Seeing the title of this dissertation, do you already have some thoughts about the third lesson?” Mr. Wu’s tone was affirmative.

Zheng Qing silently nodded.

During the first lesson, Mr. Wu took him to observe two scenes— North District Trickster sought power from Korma; the seeds of rebellion in the New World turned to dust with a wave of Mr. Wu’s hand.

Then he learned ’The benevolent are free from worries,’ a person of virtue is guilt-free.

In the second lesson, Mr. Wu took him to explore the World in the Mirror. Although there was a slight hiccup, Zheng Qing unexpectedly met Zhu Si, but overall, Mr. Wu’s teaching goals were not off track.

This lesson taught him ’The wise are not perplexed,’ a wise person is not confused by appearances.

Then came the third lesson.

With the foundation from the first two lessons and combining something Mr. Wu had said during lesson one, ’When substance wins over refinement, one turns wild; when refinement wins over substance, one turns historical; only with both in harmony does one become a Gentleman,’ Zheng Qing easily found the related content in ancient texts.

”The Master said, ’The Way of a Gentleman is threefold which I am incapable of achieving: The benevolent are free from worries, the wise are not perplexed, and the brave are without fear,’” Zheng Qing cleared his throat, recited this phrase, and then looked at Mr. Wu, ”In the third lesson, you should be teaching me what ’Fearless Brave’ means.”

Mr. Wu nodded, and glanced sideways out the window.

Fatty Cat had become noticeably fuller, a gentle breeze entered the room, the slender cat fur moved with the wind, shimmering with a comforting luster in the sunlight.

”Do you know what can make people feel afraid?” Mr. Wu raised his hand and placed it on the student’s shoulder.

Zheng Qing blinked, just about to answer the question, when he suddenly felt the ground beneath him disappear, that sensation of falling from a great height surged from all directions once again, enveloping him thoroughly.

Two figures abruptly vanished from the room.

Hehe, holding the teacup and fruit plate, called out, looking around in confusion, not knowing where the guest and the host had gone; Fatty Cat, which had been curled into a ball, shook its ears, stretched lazily after a moment, erecting its tail, returned to its cat form, acting as if nothing had happened, started to strut around on the desk confidently.