High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2284: Chapter 505: Winter Break Plans

Zheng Qing really wanted to complain about the witch’s ’modesty’.

However, before he could think of how to speak tactfully and cleverly, Jiang Yu jumped off the topic of the exam and mentioned the gift box received last Friday, half-jokingly saying, ”By the way, I’ve been meaning to thank you... Li Meng really liked the Christmas gift.”

The young scholar’s face turned red with embarrassment.

Because of Li Meng’s mischief, the image of the witch in the Moonlight Box he prepared for Jiang Yu turned into that little girl. Although he included a letter of explanation in the gift, there was still some flaw in the matter. The witch hadn’t mentioned this matter for more than a week, and Zheng Qing originally thought the trouble had quietly passed.

Ahem.

The young scholar coughed twice, attempting to make amends: ”That gift was indeed a bit inappropriate, but I thought, we aren’t such strangers that we need to be as petty as outsiders... Well, the New Year gift on the 13th of next month will definitely be without any problems!”

”Are we very close?” The witch’s eyes were deep, and her tone was unpredictable.

As they spoke, the two had already reached the corner of the corridor, seeing no one around. Zheng Qing, with a sudden impulse, defended himself, ”I mean, we’ve at least made pacts and sworn vows before the sir, we’re not outsiders...”

Before he could finish, the warlock felt a cold wind blow over the back of his neck.

The feeling was so real that he couldn’t help turning his head to look and happened to see a pearl-colored female ghost slowly passing behind him and floating toward the wall.

Seemingly aware of the warlock’s shocked gaze, the female ghost tilted her head and chuckled, ”Don’t worry, I didn’t hear anything... After all, I’m just a ghost... Just consider me dead.”

Zheng Qing’s mouth twitched slightly.

Just as he was about to look away, the female ghost suddenly stopped floating, half of her body embedded outside the wall, looking at the young scholar with eyes full of curiosity: ”I just felt you looked familiar... Are you the pretty boy Su Councilor found?!”

Pretty boy?

Zheng Qing raised his hand to touch his face, unable to connect the term with himself for a moment.

Before he could regain his composure, the female ghost started babbling noisily again: ”Who was that witch just now? What contract did you sign with her? Was the vow something like marriage? Are you cheating? Scumbag!”

”Nonsense!... This isn’t something the dead should care about!” The warlock replied slightly irritably, pushing the ghost back into the wall.

Hmm, it felt like cold jelly.

He shivered, turned back, and found that Jiang Yu, who had been walking alongside him, had already gone downstairs, only a glimpse of a red hem could be seen, soon disappearing from view.

With a series of quick steps, the boy ran to catch up with Jiang Yu.

Before he could catch his breath, he heard the witch’s light question in his ear: ”Running so fast, are you going to Greenhill Mansion to explain what contract you signed?”

What a jumble!

Before he could explain, Zheng Qing was already stunned.

He suddenly realized there was a discreet reminder from the witch - the ghost clan and the fox race belong to the Moon Council, with Su Shijun almost considered the backbone of all moon creatures in the school as an upper member of the Moon Council. That female ghost might just go to Greenhill Mansion to gossip with familiar servants.

He immediately felt overwhelmed.

”No... nothing!”

He denied it without confidence and finally vaguely stated his position: ”I have a rather special relationship with Qingqiu... Poseidon was just an accident... really! I’m still the...”

He stammered for a while without being able to utter the word.

Because it involved the secret of Su Shijun advancing to the Great Wizard Rank, he couldn’t explain it carefully, resulting in some awkwardness, his face turning red without a single fluent sentence.

Jiang Yu stopped, turned to look at the warlock, her face slightly red: ”What a mess... I was just saying... I just remembered something, do you have any plans for this winter vacation?”

”Plans?”

This question finally fell within the warlock’s understanding, and his face slowly returned to normal, considering his response: ”No special plans... does going home count?”

”Do you think you can go home safely?” The witch’s rhetorical question immediately made the boy ponder.

Indeed.

If it were before the Battle of the Black Prison, like last year, choosing to go home for the New Year during winter vacation wasn’t inappropriate. But after the Battle of the Black Prison, with too many people and forces seeing him on the battlefield, going home had become a high-risk task.

The Moon Council, Dark Council, demons, and even certain forces within the Mage Alliance, just a rough count made Zheng Qing’s scalp tingle.

In addition, with his relationship with Su Shijun exposed, countless flies within and outside the Alliance would sniff out the news and come looking for him.

Thinking of those rows of nightmare dolls losing heads under his pillow, Zheng Qing realized that for his family’s safety, not going home was the best choice—just like after last year’s Battle of the Black Prison, he didn’t leave the school during the following summer vacation, instead having the school send an alchemy puppet home on his behalf.

The witch observed the boy’s expression, and when he frowned, she felt reassured, thus casually suggesting: ”If there’s no plan for winter vacation... I mean, if you have nowhere to spend the New Year, you can apply to the school to spend it at a familiar classmate’s home... The school usually has relatively safe and reliable... I mean, the school will choose sufficiently safe wizard families to arrange for such students.”

In the whole string of words, Zheng Qing only heard the word ’familiar’.

He shivered at once, looking at the witch beside him.

Jiang Yu had already averted her gaze, calmly looking at a bare maple tree not far away, yet her slightly red cheeks contrasted too starkly with her fair neck, making it hard to ignore this detail.

”Oh man... Do I need to buy a gift?” Some people’s thoughts only jump at this level, his tone tinged with some mixed emotions: ”How many people need gifts? Should the New Year’s money be gold beans or jade coins?”

”Gi... gifts?”

The red on the witch’s face deepened abruptly, and her voice immediately became stammered: ”Wha... what gold, gold beans! I don’t understand what you’re talking about! Anyway, arrange your plans yourself.”

With that, she lifted her skirt and hurried downstairs.

After a few steps, she turned back, reminding the boy: ”Right, the deadline for the stay application is January 5th, the day of the Slight Cold solar term!”

Before the words finished, she had disappeared in a flash.

Only the young scholar was left there, silently pondering—when he was young, visiting friends didn’t require bringing gifts, and he could even leave with a bag of gifts. When grown up, however, not only can’t he go empty-handed to a friend’s house, but he also has to consider the weight of the gifts.

Is this the adult world?