High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 181: Chapter 105 Runaway Rabbit Master_1

Upon entering the herbal garden, Zheng Qing beheld a world that seemed to be splintered into shattered pieces before his eyes.

Not far ahead of him, a black cloud, a square meter in size, piled up more than ten meters off the ground. White lightning danced in and out of the clouds, the rumbling thunder constantly filling his ears and frequent bouts of large raindrops creating small pits in the soil when they fell. Beneath this cloud, deep red grasses peacefully stretched out their tender leaves, seeming to cherish the brutality of nature.

A mere finger length away from this storm stood a marsh spanning dozens of square meters. Thin tendrils of mist quietly flowed over the mirror-like puddles, the slender deep green reeds swaying with the passage of the mist.

Beside the marsh was a small patch of black night. Within a span of several meters, not a single ray of external light penetrated this space. An egg-sized moon hung in the void, surrounding it was a starry sky made up of sesame-sized specks of light, perfectly simulating a darkened world. Several tall plants with round leaves drooped their heads, as if they were asleep, shrouding the entire land in tranquility.

Leaving the black night behind, one step would lead into a desert. Large chunks of sand and severely weathered rocks were strewn haphazardly, plants full of thorns assembled in clusters, warning off any who would dare to prey on them.

Everywhere he looked, there were fascinating and peculiar environments.

The left shone with bright sunshine, the right was full of fog, the front inundated with heavy rain, with thunder roaring behind.

The land within their vicinity, contained a mix of dozens of different natural environments, that set one’s spirit trembling.

The saying that it could be sunny in the east and raining in the west, simply couldn’t compete with the attractiveness of this landscape.

”Bathed in thunder in one step, a drizzle in the next, beneath the moonlit night, and then in the blazing sun,” Zheng Qing admired. Gazing at the mesmerizing world, he found the sights overwhelming.

”Don’t just look at the distances, pay attention to what’s under your feet!” A harsh voice interrupted the poetic thoughts that Zheng Qing had while taking in the scenery.

Zheng Qing turned his gaze towards the source of the voice; it was the chubby old man they’d seen outside the garden.

The old man was wearing straw sandals, his gray work trousers rolled up high, exposing his skinny, slightly yellow-spotted calves. He leaned on a hoe with a crane’s beak, which was covered in mud. At his waist hung a long-necked brass spray pot. Hunched over, carrying a large straw hat on his back, he looked like a turtle spirit carrying its shell.

”Uncle Sistanda,” Professor Li Qihuang walked up respectfully, explaining, ”These are the freshmen from Jiuyou Academy this year, I brought them here to expand their horizons.”

The fat old man didn’t acknowledge him, instead he bent down even lower.

Professor Li kept quiet, simply signaling everyone else to stay where they were and remain silent.

”Thump!” The old man used the hoe he was leaning against to stomp heavily on the ridge of the field. It did not seem as if the hoe was hitting loose soil but more like it had hit a large drum covered in cowhide. A dull sound slowly reverberated from the depths of the earth, setting Zheng Qing’s feet to tingle.

”Thump!” The old man ignored the shocked expressions on the freshmen’s faces, but stomped a few more times.

”Ha! Found it!” Old Man Sistanda cheered, raising the hoe high only to slam it hard into the soil. Pulling it with force, he dug up a large pit right before everyone’s eyes.

The students in the front row craned their necks to see what was at the bottom of the pit.

They soon realized they didn’t need to because to their surprise, a plant broke free.

The plant swung its wide leaves and struggled to climb out from the bottom of the pit. A bud of pale yellow bloomed at its top, its thin petals covered in mud. Two large leaves sprouted from its thin stem, swinging like arms.

The plant was vigorously digging its long, hairy roots out of the pit, hopping away from it.

”It’s the Running Rabbit!” Xin Fat Man shouted: ”Hey! It’s become a spirit!”

”Catch it!” Old Man Sistanda hoisted up his hoe and yelled, ”Don’t let it escape!”

”Don’t move!” Professor Li Qihuang roared, stopping the agitated freshmen in their tracks. He ordered, ”Remember what was said before entering the garden!”

All the students froze in place, not daring to move.

The plant seemed to snatch at the chance to escape, wiggling through the gap between the newcomers’ legs and scampering off.

”Hey! It ran away again!” Old Man Sistanda stomped his hoe in frustration.

”They’re freshmen, they don’t know how to treat these treasures.” Professor Li excused with a smile. ”That was a Rabbit Master probably over two hundred years old. If the children accidentally knocked off a flower bud, even if we punished them, it wouldn’t make up for the loss.”

”It’s not that expensive! A single petal is just over two hundred.” Old Man Sistanda grumbled, shaking his head. ”These kids, they have less and less regard for us old folks.”

Two hundred for a petal! Zheng Qing secretly gaped, he wouldn’t be fooled into thinking that the price was in copper coins.

The students still in place became even more rigid, less daring to move.

”There it is!” Xin Fat Man shouted again, pointing to a nearby hill. Behind a low, greenish-black stone, the yellow flower bud was as conspicuous as a lantern in the pitch dark.

The yellow flower bud seemed to react, it suddenly shrunk back and disappeared behind the stone.

”Naïve thing headed to the stony beach.” Old Man Sistanda glanced and didn’t seem worried anymore. He snickered, ”Any two kids could easily catch it!”

Professor Li nodding his agreement: ”I remember there are just rocks and stones beneath that area, it seems the Rabbit Master can’t escape underground there.”

”Good lad!” Uncle Sistanda, leaning on his hoe, looked at Xin Fat Man with joy on his round face. ”Sharp eye... I hand you a task. Bring that little rabbit back here. Can you do that?”

”I guarantee completion of the mission!” Xin Fat Man strained his face into a serious expression.

”Don’t rush, don’t rush. You can find another student to help. Just in case.” Old Sistanda paused, looked up at other students, ”Another two strapping young lads, go with this little chubby guy and help me catch that little bugger!”

Zheng Qing hung his head, avoiding the old man’s scrutinizing gaze.

He remembered his funds were going to become tight in the foreseeable future, he certainly didn’t have spare cash to splurge in this expensive garden.

A moment later, Xin Fat Man and Zhang Ji Xin headed off to the stony beach to catch the runaway magic plant, as per the old man’s instruction.

”That sentient Rabbit Master!” Professor Li adjusted the protective cover on his head and looked worriedly at the backs of the two students. ”Who assigned this task?”

”Yes!” Uncle Sistanda shook his head repeatedly, complaining: ”Professor Zhang from lab 308 wants three milliliters of Rabbit Master’s juice, and Old lady Hilman from the lower two floors wants a handful of the Rabbit Master’s bud powder. Just keeps urging me, urging, urging!”

Saying so, he waggles his Crane’s Beak Hoe.

Zheng Qing was surprised to find the hoe had turned into a shovel.

”That Rabbit Master was just ripe in age, but it’s become sentient, wandering around everywhere.” The old gardener swung up his shovel, filled the hole he had just dug, and when he looked up again, his face was full of smiles: ”Luckily you guys have come, so help me, go run errands and catch that thing back to here.”

”If nothing else, I won’t bother you.” Professor Li seemed to recall something, and took a step backward, laughing cordially, ”You go ahead with your work, I’ll take the others for a lookaround.”

”Others?” Old Man Sistanda lifted his chin with a broad smile, ”Since you have come to the Hundred Herb Gardens, don’t just look. I happen to have a few tasks that could use your help.”

Professor Li Qihuang stopped in his tracks, forced a smile, but didn’t decline.