High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 166: Chapter 90 Matthew Karen_1

Outside the library, it was just the right time of day.

The sunset’s afterglow grazed the lofty spire of the Book Mountain Library, casting a long, thin shadow on the small square in front of the library.

The shadow extended all the way to the lakeside of Bell Lake.

The warm breeze was slightly intoxicating, and on the sparkling water, several Meijuu boats gently sway. Occasionally, some suspicious shadows skimmed from the bottom of the water along the sides of the boats, but it did not affect the students’ spirits.

The beasts in the lake dared not harm them - this was the confidence that every first-year student had. As long as they were careful not to drop anything into the water.

Not far along the lakeshore, Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao saw a rockery, white in color, faintly turning yellow in the setting sun. The red warning tape around the rockery was shaky in the breeze, as if it would break at any moment.

The two young wizards stopped in front of the rockery.

A few days ago, a kitten died here.

In front of the rockery on a small plot of land, an unknown senior student used bamboo branches to enclose a small area. The most robust bamboo branch held a round sign written with the character ’mourning’, and in the lower right corner of the sign, a simple drawing of a kitten was outlined with a black marker.

There was no tomb, no tombstone, and no inscription.

But inside the small bamboo fenced-off area, many mementos were arranged.

A yarn ball, a cat scratcher, a cat teaser, a cardboard cat climbing frame, a cat bed, along with varying heights and sizes of white candles, colorful blessing talismans, sundry silk ties, clay mice heads, fish fins, etc.

”Isn’t the cat Jiang Yu’s? Why didn’t she build a grave or something?” Xiao Xiao seemed curious about this.

”She felt the kitten died with its eyes open.” Zheng Qing shook his head somewhat regretfully. ”So until the murderer is seriously caught, she feels she doesn’t have the face to see the kitten... After that day, she hasn’t come here at all.”

”I saw her at the library this morning.” Xiao Xiao raised his eyebrows.

”Researching. She is reading through Jiuyou Academy cases involving unusual animal deaths in the past ten years. She told me that if the files from the past ten years could not provide clues, then she’d look at the last twenty, thirty years. Eventually, there would be traces to follow.”

”Unwise.” Xiao Xiao shook his head repeatedly. ”You should let her look up the registry of monsters known to gouge out eyes. Maybe there would be a higher possibility of catching the murderer. What if the murderer was a first-time offender?”

”Do you expect to discuss wisdom with a girl who’s lost favor?” Zheng Qing looked at Watermelon Head with pitying eyes. ”You really are destined to live a lonely life.”

Xiao Xiao was dark-faced and did not retort.

A soft breeze brought a few falling leaves gently fluttering into the memory pool. Several wild fireflies flew over the lake’s surface and landed on those burning candles, happily gnawing at the wax.

A frog with a huge belly crawled out slowly from the bushes.

It targeted the little bug gnawing wax.

Although the memory coursing through its blood told the frog that the glowing little bugs could be a bit hot to the mouth, for an amphibian preparing for hibernation, any food that could replenish energy should not be missed.

The frog squinted its eyes slightly, appearing as if it was asleep, it tilted its head up, opened its wide mouth, and its belly began to move slowly.

The firefly on the candle lifted its head, its antennae quivering in uncertainty.

Unfortunately, in the daylight, these little bugs’ sensation is always a bit poor. It didn’t detect the green-skinned assassin’s figure not far away in the bushes.

The frog kicked with both legs and its tongue shot out, hitting hard against the large mouth of the candle, and then quickly retracted.

The light yellow flame quivered, making a few ’beep’ sounds, before it quieted down and burned again.

On the candle, the firefly that ate the wax had vanished.

Only the two observing young wizards witnessed its final fate.

”Truly pitiful.” Xiao Xiao lowered his eyelids, his tone a bit downcast. ”One always fails to see the danger right before one’s eyes.”

Speaking to this point, he seemed to recall something, raising his head and adjusting his glasses. He glanced at the mourning corner marked out by bamboo branches, his tone filled with mockery, ”Humans always turn a blind eye when they have the power to see, consumed by regret after opportunities have slipped through their fingers, always using the deceased to torment the living, pretending to be alive... In fact, most people are barely alive.”

”Shut up!” Zheng Qing turned his face, looking at Watermelon Head with a blank expression. ”Can you just space out quietly for a bit?!”

”What are you living for?” Xiao Xiao, choosing to ignore his irritation, asked.

”To live a bit longer,” Zheng Qing pondered for a moment before answering seriously.

”And what are you living a little longer for?” Xiao Xiao pursued relentlessly.

”To stay alive,” Zheng Qing revealed a brilliant smile and turned away from the lakeside, heading toward the dormitory.

This question had troubled him for a long time.

But now, he had finally figured it out.

He was alive, simply to be alive, without any profound purpose to be remembered by history.

The reason a life exists is not that it once existed, but rather that it is still in existence now.

”Watch me live forever, sitting before your gravestone and laughing, scattering flowers for you, shedding tears for you,” Zheng Qing put his arm around Xiao Xiao’s shoulder, ebullient, ”I have to live longer than all of you, and then tell you what it means to be alive.”

”You’re sick,” Xiao Xiao, holding his notebook, sighed deeply, ”Watch yourself, someone’s coming.”

Zheng Qing reined in his enthusiasm immediately, tugging at the hem of his robe, and putting on a serious face.

Being a publicly financed student of Jiuyou Academy, Zheng Qing was not exactly famous, but he did need to maintain a proper image in public places.

He definitely did not want his scholarship affected because of being reported for ’lax behavior’ and subsequently being summoned by the student council.

With the breeze, the leaves of the golden rain tree collided with each other, making a rustling noise.

The lighting on the cobbled path beneath the Shelter of trees was a bit inadequate.

But it didn’t obstruct the vision of the two young wizards.

The student approaching was not a stranger, but Matthew Karen, a classmate of theirs, who was in the same class.

He had golden hair and pale skin, if he weren’t always wearing an aloof expression, perhaps he would be more popular than Zheng Qing among this year’s new students.

As a member of the renowned Karen Family in the wizarding world, he had the qualifications.

Obviously, Matthew also noticed his two classmates holding their textbooks.

As they crossed paths, the three of them smiled and nodded in greeting without breaking stride.

”I never understood.” Zheng Qing cautiously looked back at the classmate who was leaving, shaking his head again and again, ”Being a member of the legendary Karen Family, why didn’t he go to Alpha Academy, but came to this school that doesn’t emphasize bloodlines and talent? ...his academic performance isn’t even that outstanding.”

”Not everyone is publicly funded,” Xiao Xiao retorted, ”Being able to get into Jiuyou Academy means his academic performance is excellent already. Remember, I haven’t even got the exam results yet!”

”Moreover, the current admission methods of the top four schools, which are based on different principles, isn’t really the intent of university establishment,” Xiao Xiao explained before Zheng Qing could rebut. ”The original founders actually favored creating specialized colleges like the ’Magic Arts Institute’, ’Potion Academy’, ’Symbol Academy’, ’Divination Academy’. But due to long-standing conflicts and estrangement, the current situation has formed.”

”So, the school administrators often deliberately adjust the student roster, assigning some students with multiple traits to other academies. In their words, it’s to promote unity within the school.”

”Our classmates Matthew Karen and Jiang Yu belong to this category. If we strictly followed the school’s admission guidelines, they would probably be more suited to the environment in Alpha Academy.”

”So, you’re saying we should consider the bigger picture,” Zheng Qing summarised in the end, ”Everything is for the sake of the university, and everything the university does is for its own sake.”

Xiao Xiao hummed through his nostrils, which was his way of agreeing with Zheng Qing.