High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2367: Chapter 588: Cognitive Bias

Zheng Qing heard a saying.

If you can’t understand your encounters or everything you’re experiencing right now, then plant a seed deep in your heart, and day by day, water and fertilize it, infusing your confusion along with accumulated experiences into that seed, and continue living a blissfully ignorant life.

Until one day in the future when you can understand and accept, you’ll suddenly find that the seed has sprouted and grown, already bearing fruitful results—whether those fruits are sweet, sour, bitter, or have long since rot.

Zheng Qing felt that he had just planted another seed.

Because the wizard who helped examine his body couldn’t find any traces of evil magic corrupting him—due to limited clues, even the big wizard couldn’t divine much valuable information—and less than five minutes after Zheng Qing fearfully uttered the word ’Ravens’, more than ten therapists and diviners of various ranks came to examine him, but without exception, none found anything abnormal.

For a moment, the young public cost student even wanted to open up his arm for them to examine more thoroughly.

”There are many methods to tenderize beef...”

Not far away, the magical zoology teacher, already cleared of suspicion, was discussing quietly with Xin Fat Man about various ways to prepare beef: ”The best way is naturally to choose veal, as its texture is the tenderest and doesn’t require much preparation, making it a delicacy; some people like using metal hammers to crush the coarse fibers in the beef quickly and efficiently, although it’s hard work, tends to splash everywhere, and the taste isn’t as good; others, like me, prefer using magical marinades, applying special marinades to the meat before roasting for a slow, controlled transformation that retains the flavor while making it more suitable for your palate... So the key is to find your own marinade recipe.”

”Are you sure the Ravens tampered with it?” The voice asking in his ear pulled Zheng Qing’s attention back from beef marinades to reality, coming from Mr. Milly with Trident Sword who was looking seriously at him.

Zheng Qing wasn’t familiar with Mr. Milly, but had heard the staff at D&K mention that during last year’s summer vacation, he had frequently led teams to visit the Ears Brother working in the store, seemingly trying to find the Rat Immortal’s trace, but in the end found nothing.

Just like this time.

”Absolutely certain.”

The young public cost student earnestly looked at the agent’s light gray eyes, almost swearing an oath. He felt that the agent before him was more like an insurance investigator than a wizard, dressed in a crisp robe, holding a law book bound in calfskin, every question seeming to suspect the motivations of those involved.

”But with so many wizards present, it can be very certain that no traces of Ravens were found.”

Another Trident Sword agent next to him couldn’t help but ’kindly’ remind Zheng Qing: ”Gan Ning’s teacher’s barbecue was prepared by sprites, he just applied a bit of his personal sauce on it... We are currently screening the relevant suppliers and service personnel one by one... Now the problem is, how do you know that ’Golden Copper Bean’ was tampered with by the Ravens?”

The Trident Sword agent enunciated the word ’Golden’ very clearly, and Zheng Qing didn’t immediately understand what he meant.

He looked around vacantly, the grand wizards who had checked his body did not participate in the follow-up inquiry but were gathered together discussing softly; the school teachers and Trident Sword agents surrounding him each had furrowed brows, as if each had their own concerns; and the guests from Danghag and Moon Council standing outside the crowd had expressions that were somewhat subtle.

Especially Duke Milton, whose face almost openly showed schadenfreude.

”The Absolution Hunting Team has been tracking the Ravens for more than a month now, we were the first team in the school to perceive the Ravens’ presence,” Xin Fat Man finally realized the situation his companion was facing after recovering from the beef marinade topic—as a journalist, he knew best not to lose initiative in conversations, and promptly answered for Zheng Qing: ”Earlier, we saw them use this kind of thing!”

”Could it be a gold bean?” Someone proposed such a guess: ”I remember some places in Huaxia like to wrap money inside foods, symbolizing prosperity...”

”No one would wrap gold beans in barbecue, and where is the gold? After chipping your teeth, how did it just disappear?”

”Could it be delusion? I mean, possibly seen incorrectly?”

The disordered discussions in his ear sounded as though they wouldn’t have results any time soon, Zheng Qing took a deep breath, settled his mind, and went to find the ’tenant’ within his body to understand the situation.

”Don’t worry, it’s a good thing.”

The reassuring words from the Little Green Snake made Zheng Qing pause instantly: ”Really something came in? Where is it? Wait... Did you say good thing? Are you sure? I remember it was something the Ravens experimented with... The Northern District Wizard who used it last turned into a monster.”

”How could it be a monster?” The Little Green Snake disapprovingly retorted, its tail almost poking the boy’s nose: ”You wizards, each looking incomplete, strangely shaped, I didn’t say anything...”

At this point, Zheng Qing finally realized something.

The Little Green Snake was a trace of obsession left by the Sea Demon King, which meant it retained the Sea Demon King’s ’aesthetic’, and the Sea Demon King, at its core, was still a demon.

Demons and wizards are not the same.

Thinking of this, the young public cost student suddenly felt his expression crumble: ”What kind of good thing is this! I don’t want to grow tentacles, or have seventeen or eighteen more eyeballs!”

”Having more eyeballs, wouldn’t viewing the ’Dao’ be clearer? This would greatly help your mastery of Forbidden Curse!” The Little Green Snake evidently could not understand why the boy responded so vehemently, with an undisguisable tone of confusion: ”Besides, this Bloodline Seed can greatly strengthen your physical body... Haven’t you always been troubled by the mismatch between your body and spirit? Now with this seed, such issues definitely won’t occur. You can think of it as reinforcing the ’dam’ within your body, with its presence, you might even slightly improve control over Forbidden Curse, less prone to self-destruction.”

”I don’t want it!”

Zheng Qing didn’t bother to explain, only firmly expressing his attitude: ”Why can’t anyone else find traces of erosion?”

The Little Green Snake shrugged—who knew how Zheng Qing could see a shoulder shrugging from a snake—closed its red and blue eyes, lazily coiling up on the Tree of Forbidden Curse: ”Because the seed isn’t ’harmful’ to you, more akin to a tonic, without external interference, your physical transformation is slow and controllable, naturally hard to detect... As for not wanting it... then don’t want it... spare some time to slowly remove it cleanly...”

”Can’t you help remove it?”

”Please, I’m just a little snake gradually vanishing, how would I have the ability to perform such a delicate surgery!”

”Aren’t you supposed to ensure my safety?”

”Are you not safe now? You’re even safer and healthier than before you consumed the seed!”

”I don’t want the kind of health you offer!” The young wizard felt his mentality slightly collapsing, shouting in his sea of consciousness: ”I don’t want to grow so many tentacles!”

”I’m not a beautician...”

Zheng Qing was taken aback to realize for the first time that the snake’s words were so sharp, he was momentarily left speechless.