High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1534: Chapter 278: Weighing the Options

”I think...”

Fatty had just planned to speak when Zhuzhu raised her hand and interrupted him.

”Pray to Lord Nicolas!” she shouted, the scarlet gleam in her eyes sparkling with excitement. ”Let the little goats pray to Lord Nicolas... He will bless them, make them His followers... Black Mountain Goat cubs don’t eat cabbages, nor do they fear Gray Wolves!”

Zheng Qing silently glanced at Nikita.

The female demon covered the little demoness’s mouth and smiled apologetically.

Zheng Qing looked at Xin Fat Man. ”What were you thinking just now?”

”Arab-style roasted whole camel,” Xin Fat Man coughed lightly, giving his suggestion.

”What do you mean?” The others appeared puzzled.

”Arabs roast whole camels, stuffing a goat into the camel’s belly, a goose into the goat’s belly, a chicken into the goose’s belly, a fish into the chicken’s belly, and vegetables into the fish’s belly,” Fatty swallowed audibly before continuing, ”We could simplify the process—put a wolf into the belly of a sheep, and then the sheep into a basket of cabbages.”

”I wouldn’t mind stuffing more things into my belly,” Nikita replied positively.

”But I mind.” Zheng Qing squinted and shot a glance at Fatty. ”Do you even realize what you’re saying? Did we go through all this trouble just to end up in Nikita’s belly?”

Zheng Qing felt the narrative had derailed.

He began to regret discussing a commoners’ math puzzle with a group of wizards. They were better at understanding and solving problems related to magic.

Of course, not everyone was as unreliable as the two characters above.

Xiao Xiao was still dependable.

”I understand this story of yours,” he said, spreading open his notebook and quickly drawing a few simple diagrams for comparison. ”In theory, we should have the farmer and the goat cross the river first, leaving the wolf behind so it won’t eat the cabbage; then the farmer goes back to ferry the wolf, bringing the goat back; third trip, he takes the cabbage over, and finally returns for the goat one last time...”

Zheng Qing nodded repeatedly. ”This is also an option. In fact, during the second trip, we can skip ferrying the wolf and bring the cabbage instead. The reasoning is the same.”

”Here’s the problem,” Xiao Xiao poked a large X onto several diagrams with the feather pen’s tip and shook his head, closing his notebook. ”In our story, I’m not the farmer... At best, I’m the little boat. And this boat can only carry one person across the river each time.”

”That’s why I said ’similar,’ not ’exactly the same,’” Zheng Qing spread his hands.

”We need to find a larger ’boat,’” Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses and turned toward the grayish little town on the other side of Skye River.

”Are you planning to go to the temple?” Xin Fat Man followed the short warlock’s gaze and immediately understood.

”If there’s anyone around here who knows of a broader path home, it could only be that elder in Wusa Temple.”

”Are you planning to go alone?”

”Yes... uh, wait no, I’ll go with Fatty.”

”Reliable partners always show their reliability,” Xin Fat Man flexed his arm to reveal his muscular biceps, looking quite pleased with being chosen by the doctor.

”No,” Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses and explained, ”I just think that after you transform into the Blue Giant, our pace will quicken considerably. Besides, do you still have Amber Light left? The elder at Wusa Temple seems to have a fondness for real liquor.”

Xin Fat Man’s face, blue and gleaming, turned somewhat green as he listened to this explanation.

So not only would he serve as Doctor Xiao’s ”steed” for this trip, but he’d also have to splurge on drinks for Wusa Temple’s elder? Last night he had already wasted a lot of alcohol!

Zhang Ji Xin clutched his stomach and slapped the floor, laughing hysterically at Fatty’s predicament.

...

...

The Blue Giant, with the small warlock perched on his shoulder, gradually disappeared from view as the pair moved farther and farther away under the watchful gazes of the other young wizards of the Absolution Hunting Team.

When that blotch of blue entirely vanished into Wusa City’s shadow, Zheng Qing finally withdrew his gaze and shifted his attention back to Nikita.

Then he saw the female demon staring dazedly at the tranquil surface of Skye River.

”Behave yourself!” He shook his charm gun, roughened his voice, and barked.

Nikita turned her head and tugged at the corners of her mouth.

”Relax, young man.” She pointed to the jade talisman hanging on her body and then shook the bracelet plastered with talisman papers on her wrist. ”We’re both sealed tightly... You don’t need to constantly point your gun at me.”

Zheng Qing pursed his lips, unmoved.

Indeed, Nikita had been cooperative throughout. But the more compliant she seemed, the more vigilant he became. A female demon capable of evading a school hunting team, maneuvering between the forces of Witch Demons and Sea Demons unscathed, and yet presenting herself as meek, was the most suspicious.

As the saying goes, ninety miles traveled is but halfway done.

He wasn’t willing to let his guard down in the final stretch of the escort mission and let her turn the tables on them.

”If you’d care to tell us what you were staring at just now, it could be a good starting point for building some mutual trust,” Jiang Yu approached from behind Zheng Qing, sat down beside him, and smiled at Nikita. ”I noticed you were focused on the water surface for a while.”

Then, she pressed Zheng Qing’s shoulder and softly reminded him, ”You really should relax a bit... Maintaining constant tension is the greatest taboo when guarding a captive. It leads to fatigue.”

Zheng Qing forced a smile.

He couldn’t explain the true reason he’d been on edge—inside his Conscious Sea, the tube inserted into the ”Wind Group” was continuously drawing massive amounts of magic power, concentrating it into his charm gun’s bullets. A fresh bullet was nearly ready to fire again.

He knew such tension couldn’t be sustained for long.

But he also understood that without this unrelenting focus, both the charm gun and the raging magic power might easily overwhelm him and his companions completely.

Moreover, perhaps it was precisely this ”unrelenting vigilance” that kept Nikita so docile.

”Where’s Zhu Si?” He diverted the conversation, glancing behind the female wizard.

”Listening to the elder’s story,” Jiang Yu answered with a smile, flipping open her Law Book and casting a Heart Clarity Spell and Calming Incantation on Zheng Qing. ”She loves the elder’s hunting tales.”

Zheng Qing looked in Zhang Ji Xin’s direction in slight surprise.

Zhu Si and another young female demon were seated neatly, hugging their knees, listening to the head hunter recount his adventures and hunting stories—how, at the age of ten, he had narrowly escaped three Himalayan Snowmen while hunting a Tanggula Ice Chi with his family.

Further away was the ”army” Nikita had recruited.

The Shatak Bird flock tirelessly circled overhead, resembling patches of dark clouds; Ghouls and Ancient Leather Giants stayed obediently downwind, sparing their owner from the stench of their foul breath; the most numerous, the Enchanting Mice Zu Ge, stacked themselves in rings upon rings, forming a pyramid-like structure.

Perhaps it was some ancient custom of theirs.

”I was looking at the passage in the river just now,” Nikita’s voice sounded unexpectantly close to Zheng Qing’s ears. ”That water eye specifically. Perhaps its size changes based on who interacts with it... Anyway, that’s just a guess.”