High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 373: Chapter 42: The Professor’s Office_1

Time flies quickly, and the busy Monday soon drew to a close.

Until before going to bed that night, Zheng Qing did not receive the group fee.

Not a penny.

Xin Fat Man did not return to the dormitory that night, presumably out on a writing assignment with his editor-in-chief; Xiao Xiao honestly sat at the desk, but the thought of the series of charges mentioned by the doctoral student deterred him from wanting to ask for the group fee.

As for Dylan, he had been quietly lying in his coffin since noon. Zheng Qing really didn’t have the courage to lift the lid of the coffin and ask a dead person for money.

Of course, considering that the Knights Group has not been formally established and has not organized any activities, Zheng Qing does not need to consider ’worries’ like a balanced budget or a deficit for now.

He still has a lot of troubles to resolve as soon as possible.

For example, the long dress to be given to Elena—the Gypsy Witch has been elusive recently, making it difficult for the young doctoral student to find an appropriate time to talk to her;

and to revisit the treatment plan for his intensifying headache.

Zheng Qing needs to go to Professor Yi’s office after class on Tuesday to talk about this matter, as arranged in advance by Old Yao.

But after the divination class on Tuesday, the boys of Astronomy Class 08-1 gathered together to discuss the upcoming school hunting party—from which hunting team will stand out this year, to who should be asked to dance at the Hunting Dance, and even to when the parliament member of Under the Moon, Miss Su Shi, might visit the school.

All kinds of rumors and news were flying around, to the point that the young doctoral student was fascinated and almost forgot that he had to go to Professor Yi’s office.

Until Doctor Xiao kindly reminded him.

...

...

When Zheng Qing arrived at Professor Yi’s office door, the professor of divination was standing in the corridor, discussing something with a few senior students.

He was holding a large tarot deck in his hand.

The fluttering paper cards created a rustling sound, like a large moth dancing the tango. Coupled with the dim light in the corridor, it created a perfect mysterious atmosphere.

Seeing the doctoral student, the veterans only raised their eyebrows slightly, and then refocused on the tarot cards in the professor’s hands.

”I’ll explain a few things... you go in first, and wait a little while.” Professor Yi did not let Zheng Qing eavesdrop on the slightly advanced divination techniques, but instead opened the door of the office and pushed the young doctoral student in.

Zheng Qing couldn’t remember how many times he had been pushed through unfamiliar doors.

But he clearly remembered that this was his second time in Professor Yi’s office.

In Jiuyou Academy, apart from the collective lounges in the teaching building, each professor has his own separate office in the office building.

These offices vary in size and decoration according to the professors’ needs.

For instance, Old Yao’s office was very simple, with only a large redwood bookcase, a redwood desk, and a few leather chairs, and otherwise empty. On the other hand, Emma’s office was like a scaled-down Hundred Herb Gardens, filled with all kinds of potted plants and trees, from citron to holly, from cacti to bowl flowers, and even the walls of the office were covered in Ivy.

Zheng Qing always felt that Emma’s office would suit Professor Li Qihuang better.

In contrast, Professor Li Qihuang’s office always had a strange smell, a mix of formaldehyde-like sharpness, the light aroma of fully fermented yeast, mixed with the odor of rotten grass, and the smell of a long-sealed basement. This is probably because Professor Li often boils magic potions in his office, which keeps most students from his office.

Professor Yi’s office is a bit different.

His office was hexagonal in shape.

The tall bookshelves stretched from the floor to the ceiling, filled with a dense array of books, thick, thin, leather-bound, paperbound, hardback, paperback, a variety of every sort, an inclusive universe. Through the clean and shining glass bookcase, one inevitably felt an awe-inspiring atmosphere.

The office floor was covered with a light yellow carpet.

A black hexagram pattern was painted in the center of the carpet.

In the middle of the hexagram, a black oval-shaped desk was placed, with two or three high-back leather chairs scattered around it.

When Zheng Qing had previously come in haste with Old Yao, he’d concentrated entirely on the conversation between the two bosses and hadn’t had a chance to look around this office. This time, Professor Yi wasn’t back yet, so Zheng Qing had the opportunity to inspect more carefully.

Compared to the few offices Zheng Qing had seen, the lighting in Professor Yi’s office seemed significantly dimmer.

Although it was nearly noon, in the season of high clear skies, the outside daylight was exceptionally bright, and the curtains around the professor’s office weren’t drawn. Yet, curiously, the light inside the room remained significantly dim.

On the other side of the large floor-to-ceiling window behind the desk, Zheng Qing could clearly see the bright daylight outside. Yet the light that shone through the window from outside seemed to disappear into a black hole, illuminating nothing within the room.

It was as if a passerby on the night road was viewing a brilliantly lit mall through a window.

Zheng Qing shivered involuntarily.

Looking up, the office ceiling was like the dome of the building’s first hall, a dull black studded with hundreds of bright points, like stars. These points of light slowly flickered, like a starry sky on a dark night.

Zheng Qing squinted, raised his hand, and slowly traced the outline of those points of light.

He had a vague feeling of familiarity.

”You’re thinking correctly. This is an astrological sand table designed to simulate the movement of stars and help infer changes in star maps.” A leisurely voice suddenly sounded in Zheng Qing’s ear, seemingly guessing his thoughts. This startled young man who had been imitating the star map.

Zheng Qing turned around.

The owner of this office had already opened the door and returned to his world, unknowingly.

Furthermore, he had brought another guest back with him.

”Good afternoon, Professor Yi!” The young state-sponsored student quickly bowed, then changed his orientation and bowed again: ”Good afternoon, Professor Yao.”

Old Yao held a pipe in his mouth, waving at Zheng Qing with a smile. After dumping a stack of documents onto the oval desk, he pulled over a high-back chair and sat quietly.

A moment later, his gleaming bald head was once again enveloped in a swirl of green smoke.

”Could you show some decency in others’ offices?” Professor Yi complained, sneezed, went behind the desk, and forcefully pulled the curtains next to the glass window.

The bright world outside was completely blocked by the curtains. The office fell into a dense shadow, with only the points of light on the ceiling flickering weakly.

”Decency is a good thing... If you really feel uncomfortable, why not open the window?” Old Yao muttered, clamped down on his pipe. The glowing red tobacco flashed in the dim office, as if it was a piece of Mars sparkling in the midnight starry sky.

Zheng Qing stood with his arms hanging down, his eyes on his nose and nose on his heart, trying to minimize his presence.

Professor Yi didn’t continue to banter with Old Yao but sat in his large chair, quietly opening the stack of documents that Professor Yao had just placed on the table.

For a moment, the office fell into a strange silence.