High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 228: Chapter 152: Seeking Peace of Mind in Every Possible Way _1

It was now two-o-three in the morning.

There were still nearly two hours left until the end of tonight’s patrol task.

”Snap!”

Zheng Qing closed the cover of his pocket watch forcefully, leaning on his patrol staff to continue moving forward.

Once the raging flames of anger faded quietly, what remained in the ashes was the result of agonized deliberation.

Mike Gold Cypress Plano quietly left after a brief exchange with Zheng Qing. Although he indirectly expressed some threats at the end of the conversation, his proposal was one Zheng Qing couldn’t refuse.

According to Sepulano’s plan, all Zheng Qing had to do was participate in the university hunting party scheduled for the following month, then win the newcomer’s competition and help this deputy chairman of the Alpha College Student Union make a big win with his gambling game. All past grudges between them would then be settled.

Admittedly, Sepulano’s demands were high.

Even though Zheng Qing currently knew next to nothing about the hunting party or the newcomer’s competition, that didn’t prevent him from understanding their implications. To stand out among thousands of freshmen at the university was certainly challenging.

That being said, if Sepulano truly kept his promise, then the demanding bit was well worth Zheng Qing’s effort.

Regardless, the demon pig that had been banished to death on Bluestone Road in the Great Ming Pavilion had an unbreakable connection to Zheng Qing.

Every time he thought about a vibrant life sinking into the darkness, potentially facing a tragic future, in which he played some role, a lump formed in his heart.

This matter fermented in his heart, causing restlessness every time it came to mind.

Because every time he thought of it, he remembered a story from his childhood.

At that time Zheng Qing had just entered junior high school and wanted to keep a small pet. One day, his classmate called him, saying he had a kitten he wanted Zheng Qing to look after for a few days.

”This little guy has been hanging around the lawn of my house for days now. It rained last night and this morning, I saw it shivering badly in its grass nest... it looks pitiful. Knowing that you like pets, I brought it here.”

Seeing Zheng Qing’s struggling expression, his classmate quickly added: ”Just keep it for a week, and then I’ll find it a new home.”

In the end, Zheng Qing kept the kitten.

What remained, along with it was a newly bought black pet bag, and several bags of fish-flavored cat food, given by his classmate.

The kitten was a grey-white country cat.

Zheng Qing could no longer clearly remember what the kitten looked like. The most profound impressions left in his mind were its frailty, timidity, and a pair of bright eyes.

”This is definitely a house cat, just lost by someone.” His classmate angrily complained after the event, ”My uncle says that people today are just too unreasonable. They bite off more than they can chew... they simply discard life just like that.”

All Zheng Qing could do was nod in agreement.

The kitten indeed behaved like a well-educated pet, quiet in the house, seldom meowing rowdily, and even knowing to use the bathroom for its business. After eating its meal, it would hide under the sofa, refusing to come out no matter how Zheng Qing tried to coax it.

At one point, Zheng Qing even thought about keeping it forever.

But every time he considered the details of looking after a cat, such as vaccination, cleaning, hygiene, etc., he would back off.

So, after staying at Zheng Qing’s place for a few weeks, the kitten was eventually taken away by that classmate.

It seemed to sense that it was going to be thrown out of the house again, and the kitten was especially frightened.

It cried and hid, and when Zheng Qing pulled it out from under the sofa, he could feel its frail body trembling.

That feeling was something he could never forget.

This is murder, he said to himself in his heart, but he still hardened his heart and gave the cage with the kitten to his classmate.

The cage was filled with newly bought cat food, he wanted to use these items to compensate for his sense of guilt.

Later, every time he heard the story of ”Ye Gong Hao Long” (meaning a superficial fondness, i.e., loving something without understanding its true nature), Zheng Qing felt an inexplicable sense of shame.

He was very aware of his classmate’s family situation.

Though not poor, they would definitely not allow another kitten to be kept. And neither of them, as underage students, could afford the cost of boarding it at a pet store.

Zheng Qing never dared to ask what became of the kitten.

Maybe, a kind-hearted family took it in, or maybe his classmate really did take it to a pet store. But most likely, the kitten ended up dragging its frail body around some corner of a neighborhood, quietly watching this dirty world.

If only he could have taken on more responsibility back then, how good would that have been.

Zheng Qing would often sigh quietly when it’s quiet at night and then try hard to forget the unhappy memory.

The demon pig of the Great Ming Pavilion, from some unknown corner, stirred up his buried memories.

They were both innocent lives, both fell into darkness with his participation. Maybe he was not the executioner, but what difference was there between a bloodstained knife and a clean rope drawn tight?

But he sought peace of mind, that was all.

Filled with random thoughts, dragging his weary body, Zheng Qing limped past the bodhi tree, returning to the clearing deep in the woods.

The previous confrontation with the fishmen’s leader, although short, was extremely dangerous.

When the adrenaline subsided, what followed was muscle pain, fatigue, and lethargy.

Furthermore, his foot was sprained due to an improper posture when he fell to the ground earlier.

This made Zheng Qing less enthusiastic about the remaining two hours of patrol duty. Now, all he wanted was to cuddle up with his pet little fox on a comfortable bed and sleep for a day and a night.

Oh, little foxes weren’t allowed in the student dormitory.

Oh, in the afternoon, no, today was Sunday, he had to go to the library this afternoon to tutor Elena in Talisman studies.

So he couldn’t possibly snuggle with his little fox and sleep for a day.

Realizing that even such a simple wish could not be fulfilled made Zheng Qing feel even more dejected.

”Brother Qing is back!” Lin Guo’s voice comes from not far away, sounding very cheerful, ”Just you left... Did you catch the big fish monster?”

”Fishman, not fish monster.” Old man Ferna snorts, ”You’re all university students now, mind your words. If you speak nonsense in front of the fishmen and they drag you to the Bell lake and drown you, don’t blame them for not showing mercy.”

”Almost,” Zheng Qing forced a smile, shaking his head, ”Didn’t catch it.”

”That’s okay, we’ve already caught quite a few here,” said Lin Guo reassuringly, swinging his staff and making whooshing sounds.

The dim moonlight mixed with the light from the deadly wind lamp illuminated the clearing in the woods very brightly.

The items originally scattered around had been neatly arranged on the clearing by Lin Guo, sorting them into clear categories at a glance.

Near these items, four fishmen were sprawled haphazardly on the grass, their bare bellies and reflective scales glistening as they snored like thunder, an amusing sight for the onlooking wizards.

Old man Ferna, stern-faced, leaning on his staff, stood next to these fishmen.