High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1378: Chapter 125: Chance Encounter in Front of the Library

Not until he left the teacher’s class did Zheng Qing remember another matter.

It was near the end of the second lesson the teacher had given him when he had mentioned that next semester, Professor Yao would replace Lady Shi Hui to become the vice-chancellor of the First University.

Originally, for Zheng Qing, this was merely a piece of valuable news.

But today, ever since he found out Professor Yao’s true identity, Zheng Qing unexpectedly felt a trace of unease regarding the possibility his teacher had mentioned—was it really a correct decision to have a Great Demon take the position of vice-chancellor at the First University?

For some reason, he recalled a movie he had seen in the past, undercover for three years, and then another three years, becoming the boss of a gang, then directing his underlings into a police trap.

This confusion, like a shark, wildly darted around in the young wizard’s mind, gnawing at him, and every thought that surfaced made Zheng Qing feel that everything was tasteless.

Hunting party, Hunting Dance, hunting paintings, processing the hunted, team-building for the Hunting Team, and so forth, all activities related to demon hunting, all those blood-pumping scenes, those exciting songs, under the reverse reflection of the ’truthful’ mirror, turned into clowns wearing grotesque masks.

All mocking him.

”You’ve not been yourself lately,” Xiaoxiao looked at the distracted cost student with furrowed brows after finishing the morning class on Sunday: ”Is it because the pressure of the final exams is too much?”

Zheng Qing looked at a group of red-robed ones undertaking Hunting Array training not far away and numbly shook his head.

”Is it over Lin Guo’s Black Mountain Goat?” Xin Fat Man handed over millet porridge and pumpkin cakes to his companions who had just finished their morning class, then wiped his greasy hands: ”Don’t take it to heart... if it hasn’t been found for so long, the prospects are most likely grim. We should consider buying a new little goat for Lin Guo.”

Little goat, black goat, Black Mountain Goat, Mountain Goat of the Forest, Nicolas.

Heh.

Such terms flashed through Zheng Qing’s mind; he bit into the pumpkin cake and chewed, the taste as bland as wax.

He cast an envious glance at Fat Man.

Fat Man, no matter when and where, seemed to always have a good appetite and never fell into melancholy due to too much pressure. Even last year when he was doing the investigative report in North Beta Town and was affected by the severe ’moral crisis’ there, he only ate one or two spoonfuls less rice each meal.

Zheng Qing assessed that he couldn’t achieve this.

”It has nothing to do with those things,” the young cost student pulled himself together, bit into the pumpkin cake fiercely, chewed hard, and mumbled vaguely: ”...Let’s not talk about those frustrating things. Let’s finish eating and head to the library to review our coursework.”

Despite the outer newspapers reporting on the threats of the Outer Gods in great detail, for students of the First University, especially those at Jiuyou Academy, the final exams in two weeks after the first academic year are what’s most important—even last night, the Saturday night patrol at Lin Zhong Lake, the School Works Committee had considerately allowed lower-grade students to rest.

Even the Absolution Hunting Team, which needed to help Lin Guo search for the lost Black Mountain Goat, only chose to do so during their fragmented free time. The Hunters were still mainly focused on the final exams.

Hearing Zheng Qing’s words, Xin Fat Man immediately came to his senses.

”Right, you guys eat slowly; I’m going to grab us a spot.” With that, he hurriedly ran towards the direction of the Book Mountain Library. Getting up so early today was just to snag a good spot at the library.

Zheng Qing looked at his somewhat clumsy figure running away, and his mood inexplicably lightened a little.

”Let’s eat up quickly as well.” He turned to say to Xiaoxiao.

Xiaoxiao raised his hand, showing his now empty paper bag to the young cost student, then downed the soy milk in his cup in one go, and wiped his mouth.

”You, not ’we’,” he corrected: ”Only you haven’t finished eating.”

...

Today is Sunday.

And it wasn’t even 7 o’clock in the morning yet.

But on the way to the Book Mountain Library, groups of young wizards clutching various textbooks and review materials were hurrying along, showing none of the joy and relaxation that weekends should bring.

Zheng Qing even noticed that many of the male students hadn’t washed up, their stubble and the creases on the corners of their eyes were clearly visible. Some students’ faces still bore the red marks from being pressed against the rattan mats while sleeping. It was clear they had rushed to the library straight after getting out of bed.

Anxiety is contagious.

Zheng Qing followed the flow of people toward the library, and involuntarily felt a growing unease, which in turn somewhat dissipated the emptiness in his mind that had been stirred by the ’truth’.

”I have a bad premonition,” Zheng Qing said subconsciously as he walked on the blue stone slab road, looking at the crowded scene.

Xiao Xiao sighed in agreement.

”It’s a bit beyond expectations,” he adjusted his glasses and muttered: ”Maybe we should get up even earlier tomorrow.”

No, it’s not that kind of ’ominous’ feeling.

Zheng Qing shook his head internally.

At the end of the blue stone slab road, a familiar figure appeared.

Tall in stature, slightly hunched back, hair slicked back neatly, with a pipe clenched in his mouth, his complexion a bit sallow. Even though he was walking against the crowd, his wide robe still fluttered at the hem, like a shadow following behind him. The surging crowd parted abruptly before touching that shadow, sliding away on either side of him.

It was Professor Yao.

Zheng Qing’s face turned somewhat pale.

Xiao Xiao followed his gaze and also noticed the figure of Professor Yao.

”Uh, looks like Old Yao just came from the direction of Lin Zhong Lake,” Xiao Xiao analyzed quietly: ”Although everyone has been saying that the tower on Lake Heart Island is the entrance to the Black Prison, the school has never officially recognized it... Bumping into him here today could be seen as corroborative evidence.”

Zheng Qing couldn’t care less about any damned indirect evidence of the Black Prison entrance.

All he could see was Old Yao moving through the crowd, smiling and heading towards them. He felt like he was about to suffocate.

Indeed, Zheng Qing had always had a favorable impression of Professor Yao, but this good feeling was shattered under the hammer called ’truth.’

It’s like finding out that a neighbor, whom you often visited for meals, is a convict on parole for murder from the local police. This huge discrepancy is enough to cause a heart attack.

”Good morning, Professor!”

”Good morning, Professor!”

Zheng Qing hadn’t yet steeled himself when greetings resounded around him. Not only from Jiuyou’s red-robed ones, but also the yellow-robed and even white-robed students, all greeted Professor Yao politely.

This was the respect owed by the students of the First University to the head of the Academy.

The Professor strode through the crowd, nodding his head from time to time to acknowledge greetings. Zheng Qing looked at his face seriously for the first time. Perhaps psychologically influenced, this time, as he watched Professor Yao, he always felt that the professor’s smiling face seemed somewhat stiff, his brows knitted with an indistinct gloominess.

Before he could decipher any more subtle expressions, Professor Yao suddenly paused as he passed by two young wizards.

Zheng Qing’s heart thumped violently.

Turning his head, the professor blinked his dark eyes, removed the pipe from his mouth, and exhaled a thick puff of smoke: ”Are you headed to the library?”