High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 697: Chapter 45 A Mouse_1

During normal times, around eight or nine at night, the campus still maintains the vitality of the daytime - students studying hard in the study rooms, students doing experiments on the stage, students walking and chatting under the street lights, students secretly meeting in the groves, and so on.

But today is not one of those days.

Due to the just-ended observance of the Ghost Festival, the school’s curfew hasn’t been fully lifted. At this moment, the academy seems a bit deserted. Aside from a few students who are patrolling around as instructed, it’s rare to see people lingering around.

Except for some ’idle small animals’ who are neither wizards nor pets - they reside in this academy, but they are not students and so are not governed by the curfew. As long as they don’t mind the dangerous atmosphere outside. The patrolling team and the school workers basically turn a blind eye to these wandering figures.

That’s why Zheng Qing could leisurely cross the empty square, bypass the quiet Lin Zhong Lake, and stroll around the office building on such a night.

After leaving the dormitory, according to the plan, Zheng Qing headed straight to the office building, trying to find the professors to shed some light on what was happening to him - it would be best to find Old Yao. If Old Yao couldn’t be found, Professor Yi of the Divination class would be a good choice. If all else fails, Zheng Qing could potentially pinch his nose and enter Professor Li’s office.

However, plans are always beautiful, but reality often has its own surprises.

For instance, Old Yao is not in his office, nor is Professor Yi, and neither is Professor Li. The huge office building looked pitch black from the outside, without a trace of light.

Zheng Qing insistently squeezed through the door slit of the building, attempting to struggle a bit. However, whether it was the lobby on the first floor, or the corridors in both directions, they all represented a pitch-black world with no light or any sign of people.

There were a few milk-white ghosts, wailing mournfully and wandering in the corridors. Whenever they pass in front of Hei jiao, they would always carefully bypass it - trying to ask them any questions is out of the question, these dim-witted fellows are only interested in repeatedly narrating their own death stories, and are indifferent to anything happening around them.

Zheng Qing also tried to inquire about the professors’ whereabouts from The Door God.

”Password!” Upon hearing Hei jiao’s question, the God Tu barked aloud, hanging on the door of Old Yao’s office.

”Huh?” Hei jiao squatting in front of the door, ears pulled back like airplane wings, blinked, looking bewildered, ”What password?!”

”The code word that allows us to answer questions.” Yu Lei leaned on the White Tiger, lowered his head, drowsily looking at Hei jiao, letting out a big yawn, ”...You can’t possibly think that any Tom, Dick, or Harry can just ask us questions and we’d answer them truthfully. Especially since you’re just a cat.”

”What’s wrong with being a cat? Are you discriminating against cats?” Zheng Qing wrinkled his nose, lifted his paw to scratch his chin, feeling a bit worried at the bottom of his heart.

Zheng Qing naturally didn’t know the password. After all, he was just a regular cat and had never held any position in the student union or any other school bodies. Therefore, he had no opportunity to know the password to the professors’ offices that was only known by The Door God.

”Password!” Standing on the Peach Charm, God Tu heavily stamped his long spear on the ground and asked again.

Before Zheng Qing had a chance to respond, the White Tiger that had been lying behind Yu Lei suddenly stood up, its eyes wide open, and let out a roar, ”Who dares to act up in front of this God?!”

”You can talk too!” Hearing the White Tiger’s roar, Zheng Qing’s interest was piqued, and he involuntary wagged his tail, curiously inspecting the White Tiger, feeling a sense of companionship.

The White Tiger, along with the two Door Gods, God Tu and Yu Lei, knew nothing about the feelings of the black cat at their doorstep. At this moment, their attention was not on this noisy little black cat.

Along with a low hum of prayer, a thin layer of golden light appeared on the surface of the wooden door and quickly expanded. It seemed to cover the entire building in an instant, connecting all the Peach Charms of the Door Gods.

”Squeak!” A shrill scream sounded from the corner of the hallway, which scared the black cat, who was looking around, causing it to quickly turn its head and back against the wooden door, vigilantly looking at the corner.

Suddenly, a deep chanting voice came from the wooden door behind him: ”The time is pure and prosperous!”

A speck of white light abruptly appeared in the pitch-dark corridor and then rapidly expanded, radiating a bright light that illuminated this originally pitch-black world. Several ghosts, who were intending to phase through the walls, shrieked and retreated back behind the walls under this white light, cursing loudly at the Door God who cast the spell.

”You can use magic too?!” Feeling the light bloom around him, Zheng Qing squinted his eyes, gazing at the Door God inside the charm with a new respect. He felt as though his perception was being toppled over today, almost as much as the day he first met Thomas.

The Door Gods continued to ignore him.

Naturally, Zheng Qing would not disturb them at this critical moment.

Under the white light, around the corner, a large mouse with pointed head and round ears, dragging a long tail, appeared before everyone.

Without his consent, Zheng Qing’s squinted eyes widened a bit.

As an adult with eighteen years of life experience, Zheng Qing was no stranger to mice. These little creatures, always hiding in gutters and stealing food, were generally disliked. Even in the wizarding world, the reputation of mice didn’t seem to improve much. This was clearly seen from the pets chosen by the students—many wizards kept cats as companions, but very few kept mice as pets.

However, unlike the mice in Zheng Qing’s memory, the one that appeared in the office building was dressed.

Yes, the mouse was wearing a red vest.

The vest was small, barely reaching above the tail of the mouse. It had no buttons on the front but rather a delicate zipper. There were no pockets, but the small backpack on the mouse’s back made up for this omission.

The black mouse dressed in a red vest seemed to be blinded by the strong light. After groping around on the ground for a while, it shivered while leaning against the wall and stood up.

”Squeak...squeak!” It shrieked wildly, judging from its expression, it seemed to be cursing something.

The Door Gods who were full of bravado before, after seeing the mouse’s attire and hearing it screech, seemed to remember something. They withdrew their aura, went back to their peach charms on the door and pretended to nap.

”Excuse me, would someone tell me what that mouse is doing?” Zheng Qing lifted his paw and knocked on the wooden door beside him.

White Tiger had his eyes closed, ears hanging down, looking like a stone statue; God Tu sat to one side, lost in his own world; and Yu Lei, although still on guard with arms folded and a sulky face, was indifferent to the black cat’s question and feigned ignorance.

The mouse, after shrieking and whining for a while, seemingly tired or having vented its anger, swished its tail, made a turn, and strided away from the hallway.

The black cat hesitated for a few seconds, ultimately giving up on the idea of communicating with the several dead objects hung on the door. It then leaped up gracefully, closely following the trail of the mouse.

This mouse seems very interesting.

And cats love interesting things the most.

Moreover, catch mice and such, should be considered a cat’s sacred duty, right?

The black cat thought joyfully, completely forgetting the professor’s advice only a moment ago: ’Don’t mess around.’ It just followed its interest, satisfying its own curiosity.