High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1411: Chapter 158: Listening to the Tide (Part 1)

”This old man always speaks in riddles.”

”Last time was the same, the door was not yet open because it was not time, yet he had to bring up ’behind or not behind,’ needlessly making people overthink.”

”Did you understand what he said just now?”

Leaving Flying Garden, Zheng Qing couldn’t stop complaining about the old man’s obscure speech, all the while hoping Xiao Xiao could solve the old man’s riddle for him: ”The old man mentioned the Black Tide outside the island... The Silent Black Tide has passed, hasn’t it? Or is he talking about next year’s tide?”

”It is Old Sir,” Xiao Xiao first corrected Zheng Qing’s inappropriate term, then cautiously answered, ”As for the tide he mentioned, I think it’s not a real tide... but a great trend. A vast and mighty trend of the world.”

”The world... a great trend?” Zheng Qing hesitated for a few seconds, finally waved his hand: ”Well, since it’s such a big issue, let’s not think about it... simply living our small lives joyfully is awesome.”

”We are different.” Xiao Xiao glanced at the young public-fund student and commented, ”As the saying goes, ’Cats and dogs gather, children pair up’ marks a winner in life. You are only halfway from becoming a life winner, naturally, you want to live your small life. But we who don’t even have a single dog, need the surge of the era’s tide to achieve our dreams...”

Zheng Qing pondered seriously for a few seconds.

He has a group of cats, a dog that can gather a group, and also a Little Fox.

So, I am only missing a son!

He muttered to himself inwardly, and his spirits lifted slightly; by that count, he was only a quarter away from being a life winner.

”What are you muttering in your heart?” Xiao Xiao seemed to have heard Zheng Qing’s inner voice and asked.

”There is a mouse over there, did you see it?” Zheng Qing pretended not to hear the Professor’s question but instead pointed to a Golden-rain tree not far away, exclaiming, ”Wearing a red vest... quite rare, huh! Do you think Dingdang Ears knows them?”

Xiao Xiao followed the direction of Zheng Qing’s finger.

Under the Golden-rain tree, a mouse in a red vest turned to give them a glance before turning back, diving behind the tree, and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

...

...

After the mouse in the red vest entered the tree hole, it ran wildly and soon reached a fork in the road.

There were two branches at the fork; one path was narrower, similar in width to the one it was currently on; the other path was wider, able to accommodate two Big Mice walking side by side.

The mouse in the red vest stopped at the fork for a moment.

Soon, rustling sounds came from the narrower path. In a moment, another mouse wearing a red vest, bigger in size, darted out and nodded to the first mouse.

No squeaking.

The two mice, one after the other, silently darted into the wider path.

Just like that.

One fork in the road, two forks, three forks.

With more and more intersections passed by, the Rat Road beneath became wider, and the number of mice scurrying along it increased. Their vests were no longer limited to red; blue and even yellow vests appeared. The mouse initially wearing a red vest was quickly lost among various colors of vests and its figure vanished.

The surging swarm of mice was like a tide, swirling around the caves in all directions, their frantic footsteps intertwining, more intense than a summer downpour, both intricate and vast.

Above these burrows.

Far from these mice on the ground.

Located at the end of Beta Town Pedestrian Street in a tiny shop.

Yellow Flowered Cat was squatting on the highest shelf of the San You Bookstore, tilting its ear, lowering its head, listening to the sounds of the surging tide of mice underground, its pupils slightly squinted, emitting an orange glow in the dawn light, casting a bit of depth.

Although the door of the bookstore was closed, the interior was not empty.

Aside from Yellow Flowered Cat, there was another uninvited guest in the store.

Old Yao, biting on his pipe, was sitting cross-legged on the thick carpet, his large black robe spreading like a shadow from the corner of the room to the center, then abruptly stopping under the sunlight coming through the window.

In front of him was a tea tray.

The tray contained a small dish of red sauce, a few peanuts, a small red clay teapot, and a square-mouthed teacup. The silvery mist was pouring out of the teapot spout, like a Ba Serpent winding towards the sky.

Old Yao picked up a peanut with chopsticks, rolled it in the small dish with some sauce, then popped it into his mouth, slowly chewing with a sound somewhat muffled by the sauce:

”...Lei Zhe and Augustus both agree to retire, calling for an early election. This has reduced the disputes between Jiuyou Academy and Alpha Academy lately... Those kids have shifted their focus to the election. They haven’t fallen to the extent of using external conflicts to manipulate the election situation.”

”That is undoubtedly good. It helps lessen the pressure on the school. You know, ever since that tree started blooming, I haven’t had a proper rest day... I’m either struggling with myself or fighting for the school. But that’s not the worst part.”

”The worst part is, we clearly know that somewhere in the school—or say, on Buji Island—there are Xiangliu’s spies, but we just can’t completely eliminate them. Like the head of that old Sea demon Xiangliu, chopping off an old one only to have a new one emerge. It always finds the right collaborators among us...”

Yellow Flowered Cat twitched its ears and squinted at Old Yao.

The look in its eyes was full of mockery.

Old Yao ignored the look, and picked up another peanut, dipping it in the sauce:

”...I didn’t come today just to complain. I just want to analyze the current situation with you.”

”The current situation is that the school is understaffed. The Xuan Huang Fruit is about to fall in a fortnight, and we have no clue from where Xiangliu might strike. Even my old connections over there are unaware of this. Of course, we can’t fully trust what they say.”

”So, in the Professor Joint Meeting a couple of days ago, it was decided to further tighten our forces, deploying most of the strength to Black Prison. To guard against any sudden attacks... This would make the school, especially the external defensive capabilities of the school, weaker.”

”You know, we can’t count on the opposite...”

As he said this, Old Yao pointed at the Wandering Bar diagonally opposite San You Bookstore, paused for a moment before adding: ”We can’t count on that old fellow to co-defend; we’ll thank our lucky stars if he doesn’t cause trouble... It just happens that you’ve been staying in town recently. So, could you possibly help keep an eye on the town... Don’t worry about the school, the Protect Legal Formation is still very stable.”

Yellow Flowered Cat finally shifted its gaze away from the empty floor.

It landed on Old Yao.

”None of my business.” Its whiskers drooped down, clearly in a bad mood.