High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2238: Chapter 459: 17 Weeks

Zheng Qing ultimately did not hide in the school hospital as Xiao Xiao suggested.

Of course, Jiang Yu’s fruit helped him a lot. At the very least, during the following celebration, the young cost student no longer needed to speak—he just had to show eight teeth and clap vigorously amidst the crowd.

But the situation wasn’t as bad as Su Shijun described.

Perhaps being a vessel for a Forbidden Curse made him immune to many negative effects; perhaps the Fox race is more sensitive to raw River plums; or perhaps it’s simply because Zheng Qing is older than Su Ya and has stronger resilience.

In any case, by the next morning, the swelling and numbness on Zheng Qing’s tongue had significantly subsided, allowing him to utter somewhat vague sounds.

Thankfully, students don’t necessarily need to speak in class.

And with the approach of finals, most professors were quickly reviewing the semester’s key points, scribbling and sketching, which made the young cost student forget about the issue in his mouth.

Until the afternoon.

After Fu Lu class, on their way to the library, he, along with Xiao Xiao and Xin Fat Man, saw a raven.

It wasn’t a masked freak, but a real raven, perched on a sycamore branch, cautiously observing its surroundings and occasionally tilting its head to preen its back feathers.

Under the tree, a first-year male student raised a Law book and hurled a Binding Spell at the raven.

If there’s anything else different about this Monday, it would be the echo gradually arising from the ’bomb’ Zheng Qing threw.

As the ”Beta Town Post,” ”Ganges Daily,” ”Daily Horn Newspaper,” and other publications successively reported on the details of the ’First University’s Winter Hunting Accident,’ gathered from various sources, more and more students started discussing whether the school was indeed invaded by the Starry Sky, and whether there is truly a group of ’Ravens’ conducting illegal experiments on kidnapped students.

Group emotions are always fervent and blind.

Accompanying these discussions, the first to suffer misfortune were the various ravens on campus—those ordinary, black avian creatures of the corvid family. Of course, due to the protection of the Wizard’s Codex, no student committed the taboo of slaughtering ravens, but expelling them with spells and stones was not restricted.

Just like now.

The first-year boy suddenly threw a Binding Spell at the raven resting on the tree, then picked up the fallen Big Bird by its feet, tossing it over the wall, earning a loud cheer from his companions.

Throughout this process, the unfortunate black bird struggled hard, but to no avail.

This drew the discontent of a passing witch.

”Why did you attack it?”

The brave first-year witch questioned the boy’s actions: ”It was just standing there, doing nothing, not bothering you...”

”Merlin Above! Look at those eyes!” The boy exaggeratedly waved his arms, as if he had just defeated a Demon: ”Devils don’t tell you they’re Devils! Haven’t you ever read the newspapers?”

”The newspaper only mentioned evil wizards with raven masks, nothing to do with ordinary ravens!” the witch argued earnestly.

The boy shrugged: ”All ravens are equally black... they’re just a bunch of unlucky creatures.”

This statement won unanimous approval from his companions.

”The notion that ravens bring misfortune has no support in mystical theories.” The witch fumed: ”It’s just the imagination of old-fashioned wizards... They even think black cats bring good fortune!”

At this point, the Fat Wizard and the Doctor, who had been watching with interest, both looked at Zheng Qing.

”On this point, I remain reserved,” Doctor Xiao humorously remarked.

”This is the limitation of classical magic theory,” Xin Fat Man took over Xiao Xiao’s usual role and seriously analyzed: ”They always look for commonalities in specific events and use the occasional largest common denominator to guide the unknown... self-deception... it’s the classic case of shooting the arrow before drawing the target.”

Zheng Qing ignored his companions’ jests, neither seeing nor hearing them.

”This isn’t what I envisioned.”

The young cost student gloomily stared at the scene, voice muffled.

”If you can’t speak clearly, then say less,” Xiao Xiao glanced at him, playing with a small crystal ball in his hand: ”Though I believe, whatever you said, you were definitely wrong.”

Zheng Qing sighed heavily, then turned and continued walking towards the library.

After a few steps, he seemed to remember something, halted, and sighed again heavily.

”You’re too young to sigh so often.”

The Fat Wizard patted his belly, offering wise advice: ”Keep an open mind about everything... they say only a broad mind can accommodate a great soul.”

”The soul and the body never have an equivalent relationship,” Xiao Xiao quipped, adjusting his glasses and looking at Zheng Qing: ”Remember this evening’s ’course’?”

At yesterday’s anniversary celebration, Su Shijun noticed Zheng Qing seemed lacking in social etiquette, so she required him to start attending classes at Greenhill Mansion from tonight.

Though there’s less than four days till the Moonlit Eve dance, as the saying goes, ’better late than never.’ Cramming his brain with random knowledge was still better than leaving it empty.

”There’s just no time!”

Zheng Qing, sensing a sympathetic resonance, once again poured out his grievances to his two companions: ”Final exams are coming up, and I still have to learn all these useless things like table etiquette, wine tasting, art interpretation... which sound entirely pointless... but the Greenhill Mansion keeps reminding me I have to master the full set of Moon Council rules... otherwise, the Clans of the Moon will ostracize me.”

”Do you think it’s because you lack table etiquette that you’re being ostracized?” Xiao Xiao sneered at the young cost student, almost pointing at his nose, criticizing him for his lack of self-awareness.

Zheng Qing summoned a Water Mirror, staring at the face he considered quite ordinary.

”Is it because I’m too handsome?” He doubted his possibly overly critical aesthetic sense, wondering if he had been unknowingly facing a handsome man in the mirror every day for nineteen years.

Xin Fat Man looked astonished at the shameless cost student, full of admiration: ”No wonder you can be a playboy... this shameless confidence, I could never learn!”

Xiao Xiao took a deep breath.

Zheng Qing immediately changed his tune: ”...Or, is it because I’m a student of Jiuyou Academy?”

Xiao Xiao hadn’t finished inhaling.

Zheng Qing carefully reasoned, ”The people of the Moon Council mostly come from Alpha Academy, and they dislike me, a thoroughbred Jiuyou person, so they ostracize... extremely niche.”

Finally, Xiao Xiao stopped inhaling, turning his head to exhale slowly.