High School of Demon Hunting

However, Zheng Qing had underestimated the speed of rumor spreading.

On his way to school the next day, he saw many students - whether freshmen or senior veterans - began to visibly wear protective talisman.

Those who were low-key tied multicolored silk threads around their wrists or ankles. It was an ancient guarding curse, with wizards knotting runes with the thread to fend off unknown curses. Female students favored this beautiful and simple amulet.

Those who were more ostentatious hung five-colored peach seals filled with runes around their necks, tucked auspicious gourds into their waistbands, or painted vibrant curses on their faces. Some students even walked around campus in hordes, openly brandishing their law books.

This forced the academy to urgently issue a notice reaffirming the ban on casually opening law books on campus to avoid any panicked young wizards causing accidents.

Other than that, the spread rumors were also bizarre.

Some claimed that the school’s magic curse laboratory had leaked, and an unknown curse had begun to spread by the lakeside.

Others said that it was the fishmen of the Lin Zhong Lake Reserve making sacrifices to some evil entity from the shadows, planning to restore their glory from the Middle Ages.

Some even passionately insisted that the perpetrator was a demon who had infiltrated the school!

They relentlessly plotted out the demon’s infiltration route: hiding in the special plane with the female demon Nikita, devouring a student and taking their place while she caused a ruckus in the cabin. Then, they claimed, it would wreak havoc at the First University to create an opportunity for their demon ancestors to attack the university.

You have to admit, the younger ones are always daring in their thoughts and words.

However, these rumors were soon clarified by the school.

Posters were put up at the entrance of many gardens in the Main Teaching Building, Administrative Building, Laboratory Building, and the Book Mountain Library, stating emphatically that the recent multiple magic creature attacks had nothing to do with demons:

”...These incidents are related to the recent resurgence of the Silent Forest Beasts, and the First University has tasked relevant departments to handle this matter... Please do not believe or spread rumors...The school committee will deal severely with any action that disturbs the school’s public security environment!”

To some extent, this notice restrained a lot of the malicious rumors.

But public opinion is harder to control than flooding - before the truth came to light, the unilateral block on information could not completely clear the anxiety being whispered amongst the students.

On the contrary, due to the information asymmetry, this blockage only caused further chaos.

One of the most widely spread rumors within the academy for instance, was that a thousand-year-old zombie in the Back Garden Cemetery had just woken up and was gathering its strength, planning to push out of its coffin to take a stroll.

To Zheng Qing’s surprise, many students believed this absurd rumor without question.

Black Donkey’s Hoof, live roosters, and dog blood in the magic shops on Beta Town’s pedestrian street were sold out for a time.

When this panic spread, students in Jiuyou Academy began to stock up on various goods, and even students far away in other territories like Alpha’s Castle, Starry Cube, and Atlas Tower also started hoarding magic amulets.

Even the Grey Robe Wizard of Wandering Bar kindly reminded Zheng Qing that Wandering Bar had prepared a series of magic tools against zombies for their gold card customers, offering a fifty percent discount, on a first-come-first-served basis.

”Of course, as you’ve already got our best Black Donkey’s Hoof, you might not be interested in these ordinary magic items. But your classmates must be in need of them. As a gold card holder, you can enjoy a fifty percent discount for any purchasing activity during this special period.”

Zheng Qing slapped the letter on the desk and sighed.

The underlying message from the Wandering Wizard was very clear which was one of the reasons Zheng Qing had initially agreed to accept the gold card.

Even if he didn’t need to buy anti-zombie magic supplies from the Wandering Bar, he could buy a batch at a low price and then sell them at a higher price to other students who needed them.

It was a profitable business that was as legal as it gets. No one could criticize him for it.

Yet, being young, he always felt that it wasn’t the right thing to do.

”How could it be zombies?” Zheng Qing sat in the classroom, looking at his classmates next to him, out of breath and with a smile on his face, ”Just use your brain a little bit, you would know that this is absolutely impossible!”

He couldn’t understand how such irresponsible yet popular rumors could arise in a wizarding university.

Not to mention whether the Zombie Clan, one of the five major races of the Under the Moon Council would allow their ancestors to run rampant in the top university. Let alone a thousand-year-old zombie, wanting to absorb a bit of life force, would probably make an area of a hundred miles around deserted. How could it only secretly target smaller creatures like Kappas and Turtles?

”Exactly, exactly.” Zhang Ji Xin repeatedly shook his head: ”A thousand-year-old zombie... even the big buffalo in Lin Zhong Lake are just appetizers in their eyes, what could a Kappa possibly be? It’s not even enough to pick their teeth with!”

”A brain is a good thing, but not everyone has one.” Xin Fat Man was lying on the table, blowing his nose, and muttered, ”The person who spread this rumor must not know that zombies love brains the most.”

Perhaps Dylan spilled too much disinfectant powder in the dorm yesterday, causing Fat Man to sneeze all night.

This morning when he got up, everyone else saw that his nose had become round and swollen, looking like a clown’s red nose.

This made the Fat Man’s mood deteriorate quite a bit, so much that even his favorite potion class in the morning couldn’t lift his spirits.

”Rather than these chaotic words, I think the Invisible Ghost Dillon mentioned is more likely.” Zheng Qing couldn’t help but complain: ”At least, like a ghost, it is silvery white and can float around, which allows it to hide in trees to avoid the caretakers’ search.”

The only problem is that most magic books categorize Invisible Ghosts as magical creatures with high curiosity.

Zheng Qing felt that if there were an Invisible Ghost wandering around the campus, seeing the young wizards in odd costumes, it definitely wouldn’t be able to resist getting a closer look.

But if that were the case, more students should’ve been victimized.

Thinking about these mixed-up things, there suddenly came a pleasant tinkling sound like wind chimes being blown by the breeze.

With a fresh fragrance that came with the breeze, Li Meng’s figure ran in front of him like the wind.

Zheng Qing immediately raised his head, cautiously looking at this little lady, his left hand involuntarily covering his gray cloth bag.

”What do you want!” The young public student cried out somewhat in fear: ”I’ve already sold you my protective talisman! I sold it to you at a huge discount...what else do you want?”

Maybe because of her youth, cuteness or maybe due to her mysterious Spirit Witch status.

The peopl e in the Academy were exceptionally indulgent to this twelve-year-old college student. Many people didn’t even try to hide their affection for her. Plus, she fainted several times during her first few weeks at school, which increased people’s sympathy for her.

Gradually, Li Meng lost her initial insecurity and shyness and started showing her lively and willful side again.

But for Zheng Qing, this was not good news.

Because it meant that he was bound to be at a disadvantage when dealing with Li Meng, and there would be no reason at all.

”Tch, stingy.” Li Meng wrinkled her nose, looked back a bit guiltily, and muttered: ”Who wants to buy your talisman...my cousin is looking for you, looking for you the ’big public student’!”