High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 559: Chapter 228: Life Lesson_1

All scholarship students of the Jiuyou Academy must attend the ’Campus Cup’ dance party on Saturday night.

Zheng Qing first learned of this in Life Class on Thursday afternoon.

Though Life Class was only scheduled for half a year and held once a week for three and a half hours, for first semester freshmen, this course was as important as Talisman Studies, Astronomy, and Divination.

This was because most students of Jiuyou Academy were living independently for the first time, so the school took responsibility to teach them some daily-use magic spells — like common Escape Techniques, communication spells, Repair Spells, and Cleaning Spells, etc — to ensure no one was running around the campus in grubby robes because they didn’t know how to wash clothes.

That would be an absolute disgrace to all wizards.

Considering the importance and necessity of this course, Jiuyou Academy listed it as a compulsory course. This meant every freshman had to achieve at least a passing grade.

Life Class was taught in Room 402 of the Western Teaching Building. Though it was a small room, it was a professional classroom.

In addition to the regular desks, chairs, and blackboards required for classes, there was an independent washbasin next to each desk, as well as three brass taps providing clean water at different temperatures.

It was late autumn and the afternoon sunlight wasn’t as blinding anymore.

The large glass windows insulated against the outside chill, allowing the room to only retain the warmth of autumn without the bleak autumn breeze. This made Zheng Qing, who was standing in front of the washbasin, feel strongly drowsy.

Especially when the autumn breeze blew against the window, and the glass and window edges made rhythmic clicking noises, he felt even drowsier as if he was being bewitched.

”I think you should ask Professor Tian for a sick leave, you look unwell.” Xiao Xiao suggested in a whisper, standing next to Zheng Qing, ”The professor won’t be pleased if you fall asleep standing.”

Professor Tian was the teacher for Life Class, an old lady with a kind face but a hunched back.

She often walked slowly around the classroom with a tapering vine cane, inspecting each student’s study results carefully with her monocular.

When she encountered anything unsatisfactory, she would not hesitate to wield her vine cane and ’strike’ the young wizards’ backs. Despite the pain, they never got injured — and the professors’ council somehow always turned a blind eye to this, with the school ignoring hundreds of complaints every year.

This caused a lot of anger and fear amongst the young wizards in Life Class.

As a scholarship student at Jiuyou Academy, Zheng Qing hadn’t yet been on the receiving end of Professor Tian’s vine cane. He definitely didn’t want to provoke the professor’s anger with some foolish persistence.

On hearing Xiao Xiao’s reminder, the young scholarship student blinked hard, took a few deep breaths, and forced his eyes open.

On the stage, Professor Tian was leisurely writing spell symbols on the blackboard, seemingly too invested to stop anytime soon.

”Forget it.” After hesitating for a few seconds, Zheng Qing dismissed the idea of interrupting the professor, shook his head and said, ”Perhaps I’m only tired because of late training yesterday... I’ll feel better after some rest.”

The Freshmen Hunting Contest would take place in less than three days.

With the assistance of the Judgement Hunting team and Deng Zi, the Absolution hunting team had been training for almost ten hours each day. Excluding seven to eight hours of class time, meal times, and assignment writing time, the hunters of Absolution got less than five hours of rest every day.

This insane training schedule had lasted for about a week now.

”Just three more days. Bear with it, it’s okay.” Zheng Qing was merely going through the motions, feeling as if he could pass out in class any moment.

”We all have the same training schedule and the Judgement team even provided us with energy potions... but you seem to be faring the worst.” Xin Fat Man in the front row tilted his head back and wondered aloud in a low voice, ”Could it be because you lost your shadow?”

Zheng Qing wrinkled his nose, and looked down at his feet.

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the tall glass windows and cast a shimmering, ripple-like halo on the floor. Everything standing in the halo, whether it was the desks, chairs, students or the professor, cast a pitch-black shadow.

Except for Zheng Qing.

Last week, during a visit to Su Shijun’s Dimensional Evolution Laboratory, Su Daxu had ’conned’ Zheng Qing’s into losing his shadow with a contract. This had left the young scholarship student feeling somewhat unaccustomed recently.

”That shouldn’t be the case.” After hesitating for a moment, Zheng Qing softly responded, ”Didn’t Dylan say that not having a shadow would only cause mild photosensitivity, and no other negative effects?”

As another member of Dorm 403 who did not have a shadow, Mister Wolfman had a noteworthy opinion on this matter.

”You’re different from him,” Xiao Xiao shook her head, ”Vampires naturally don’t have shadows... while you did, it was just ’taken away’... Who knows if this kind of magic might have some negative effects.”

”Maybe you should discuss this issue with Su Daxu again.” Unable to hold back any longer, Zhang Ji Xin turned around and asked fervently, ”When will you go? I can be your bodyguard!”

”And me, and me!” Xin Fat Man chimed in, not to be outdone.

Zheng Qing’s mouth twitched, and he let out a weak chuckle.

”Let’s wait until the Freshmen Hunting Contest is over.” He sighed slightly, ”It’s only two to three days away anyway, I can still hang in there... worst comes to worst, I won’t attend the dance party on Saturday night and get some more sleep in the dorm.”

”It’s fine by me if you don’t go.” Xin Fat Man cupped his chin, seeming thoughtful, ”Ever since Old Yao warned us in Curse Class on Monday not to cause a ruckus at the dance party, I’ve been on edge... I feel like something is going to happen. It might be best not to go after all.”

”Thump, thump, thump!”

Several heavy thumps rang out from the lectern, where the wooden cane hit the ground.

”Gentlemen sitting at the back, please keep quiet.” Professor Tian beamed at the guys, giving another forceful knock with her cane, which drew everyone’s attention.

All heads whipped around to look at the boys in the back, only to immediately turn back around and quietly watch the professor onstage.

Professor Tian seemed to be in a good mood, she didn’t storm over in a rage to smack the boys.

”Today, we’ll be learning a ’Cleaning Spell’... With the ’Academy Cup’ dance coming up, I’m sure you’d all like to be fresh and clean, dancing under the moonlight with your partners... instead of smelling like a dung-beetle that just crawled out of a pit in stinky robes.”

As she spoke, the old lady gave a firm tap of her cane on the ground.

A pile of grubby, stinky robes suddenly appeared in everyone’s washing basin.