High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1410: Chapter 157: The Tide of the Times

Gouzi helped Zheng Qing catch ’prey’ twice.

The first time was a frog. Zheng Qing kicked a stone at a frog, and Gouzi saw what the frog looked like. The second time was Professor Trudeau, Gouzi was hung on a tree by the professor using magic, having also seen what the professor looked like.

Therefore, if Zheng Qing wanted Gouzi to help find the lost Black Mountain Goat, or the Faceless Demon, he must first make it aware of what it was supposed to find.

The next morning, when Zheng Qing woke up and was preparing for morning class, he lifted the curtain only to see Gouzi squatting by the bed, tongue lolling out ’haha’. Professor Trudeau was not brought back by it.

He laughed, petting Gouzi’s head and praised:

”Well done!”

Gouzi’s tail began to wag even more cheerfully.

”Is it treating the dorm as its own home now?” Fatso, who rarely opened his eyes early in the morning, hummed drowsily: ”Does it pay a lodging fee?”

Tuan Tuan let out a long purr.

”You can have it help you catch wild chickens,” Zheng Qing cheerfully suggested, casually sticking an Anti-evil charm on Gouzi’s body, watching the talisman paper emit a wisp of blue smoke in the morning light, he added: ”...As for from where it catches them, you’ll have to figure that out yourself.”

Naturally, wild chickens would not be indigenous wildlife on the island, and within the school’s vicinity, they were most likely some students’ pets. Fatso did not intend to provoke too much trouble for a moment’s taste satisfaction, hence the eyelids that Zheng Qing’s suggestion initially aroused quickly closed again.

”Who are you planning to have it find first?” Xiao Xiao changed into his training suit and took a few steps towards the door.

Gouzi ’puffed’ and vanished from its spot, reappearing squatting behind Zheng Qing.

”Depends on the situation.” The Young cost student muttered, tightening his belt. The Black Mountain Goat belonged to Lin Guo, who was the manager of the Absolution Hunting Team; the Faceless Demon had once killed an innocent Little White Cat, making Jiang Yu suffer greatly last semester.

For Zheng Qing, both targets were important, with no particular order.

”Stay close, don’t let anyone spot you on the road.” He bowed his head, glanced at Gouzi at his feet, and warned: ”The school does not view you special-bloodline fellows kindly.”

Gouzi, not knowing whether it understood or not, continued to loll its tongue out, foolishly wagging its tail.

...

...

Today’s morning class was no different from usual.

The same time, the same place, the same brisk scene. The only surprise came from an old man, an Elder Wizard sitting on a blue-checked cotton cloth, holding a bamboo tube and smoking water tobacco.

”Gouzi is not bad,” the Elder Wizard praised as Zheng Qing passed by the cotton cloth, exhaling smoke rings: ”It’s much more lively than the old dog Ferna kept!”

Zheng Qing anxiously looked around but couldn’t spot Gouzi.

Even he couldn’t see it, so how did the Elder Wizard notice Gouzi’s presence? Carrying this question in mind after finishing the morning class, Zheng Qing kept pondering over it—moreover, he always felt that the Elder Wizard looked a bit familiar.

”Have we seen him somewhere before?” Zheng Qing nudged Xiao Xiao with his elbow, pursing his lips to gesture towards where the old man was. Poseidon, who had just finished morning class with him, was sprawled out on the grass, sticking out his tongue, very much like Gouzi.

Xiao Xiao was also polishing the shell of his turtle.

Hearing this, he answered without lifting his head: ”The first time we went to the School Works Committee Office, we couldn’t find the door. It was the old man who directed us.”

Zheng Qing suddenly realized.

”How could he spot Gouzi’s tracks? I can’t even find it myself!”

”Besides the things under your eyelids, what else can you find?”

This remark was a bit heart-stabbing.

But right after, Zheng Qing started to have another small idea.

”Is he from the School Works Committee... He just complimented Gouzi, does it mean the School Works Committee allows it to stay at the school?”

”Why don’t you ask and find out?”

Zheng Qing hesitated for a moment, eventually walked up to the old man, and gave a respectful greeting: ”Hello, was the Gouzi you praised just now this one?”

Speaking, he pinched Poseidon’s forelimbs and lifted it in front of the old man for display.

Little Fox’s tail slightly curled upwards, covering its own buttocks, then looked with an innocent face at the old man.

Elder Wizard buried Half-Face in a bamboo tube, from which a series of bubbling sounds emerged.

After a long while, he lifted his head and expelled a chain of evenly-sized, interlocking smoke rings — this scene deepened Zheng Qing’s impression even further.

”That?” The old man panted, glanced at Poseidon held by Zheng Qing, squinting: ”Isn’t that just a fox? I was talking about Gouzi... the hunting dog that always follows you.”

Zheng Qing finally confirmed that the old man indeed saw Gouzi.

He steadied his spirit, looked around, but still couldn’t find Gouzi’s figure anywhere. He wondered if it was hidden behind some bushes or in the canopy of a tree.

”Do you know the origin of this dog?” he asked quietly.

The old man chuckled.

”Not many dogs can travel through time and cling so closely to a person,” he panted, his words always a bit sticky: ”... But as for you, you’re quite fortunate. If this dog’s bloodline were any denser, the school wouldn’t tolerate it; any thinner, and it wouldn’t have that smart knack.”

Hearing this was reassuring.

Zheng Qing finally relaxed deeply, smiling: ”I also feel... with such a large school, why would they bother about a little dog.”

Young Wizard completely forgot that just a short while ago, he had been anxiously rushing to the School Works Committee office to urge them to handle the matter with Gouzi.

”The school is not concerned about a little dog.” The old man tapped the ash in the bamboo tube and turned to look into the distance: ”The school cares about that piece of starry sky behind Gouzi... just like that tidal wave.”

”Tidal wave?”

”Black tidal waves surge from beyond Buji Island, red tides and white waves churn within Buji Island. These are the tides of the era. Unprecedented tides will engulf everything. If you don’t want to be overwhelmed by this tide, you must learn to dance at the crest of the waves... Those not good with water are now building boats and rafts to avoid being smashed into the water’s depths.”

Zheng Qing glanced at Xiao Xiao.

Doctor frowned, his expression very serious.

”What about you?” The young public-funded student deliberated for a moment before finally asking: ”Are you planning to surf, or stay in the boat?”

The old man laughed heartily.

”I’m old,” he said: ”I can only sit under the tree, watching the scenery, listening to the sound of the tide surging... Close your eyes, listen carefully... You can hear the sound of waves crashing and breaking on the rocks all around.”

Zheng Qing listened intently.

He could only hear the rustling of leaves in the wind, along with the shouts and cheers of the young wizards in Flying Garden.