High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 731: Chapter 79: Conversation with a Mouse_1

”Holy geez, you scared the mice out of me!!”

As the chubby person screamed, the little mouse also squeaked in terror, with a vigor that even surpassed the chubby person. The black cat observed from the side.

Following the two screams were the noises of other animals – the loud cries of the big cat, the meows of the little cat, and occasionally the bleats of the Black Mountain Goat. All at once, the scene resembled that of a chaotic circus.

”Did the mouse just...talk? Did it seriously speak? What have you been feeding it?!” Lin Guo’s voice seemed weak amidst the ruckus, but the black cat, shaking its ears, was able to hear him clearly.

It, too, finally snapped out of the shock.

”Everybody, quiet down!” The black cat lifted one of its front paws, swiping powerfully. In the wind, the paw swelled and instantly enlarged to the size of a millstone. It then slammed heavily against a leafless paulownia tree nearby, sending out a dull thud and causing a gust of wind.

The paulownia tree shook violently for a moment, and a few dried leaves that had previously refused to fall were finally blown away by the gust and eventually fell.

The screaming chubby guy, the yelling little wizard, the shrieking mouse, and the cats and goats braying in unison, finally regained some clarity amidst the gust and falling leaves. Looking at the millstone-sized paw, they all shut their mouths.

There was a brief pause before the black cat retrieved its gigantic paw and walked slowly towards the little mouse.

That mouse was still being held mid-air in a cat’s mouth, and if it weren’t for its glaring round black eyes and elongated face showing a furious expression, Zheng Qing would’ve never believed it had spoken human language.

The black cat squatted on the ground, staring intently at the mouse until it was uneasy. Observing the long tail coil around in mid-air, it finally asked its first question:

”You can talk?”

”Strange indeed, why wouldn’t I speak!” The little mouse twisted its nose and looked at the black cat sideways. The sense of contempt in its eyes hit the cat square in the face. This expression seemed very familiar to Zheng Qing. After pondering for a bit, he remembered that Lin Guo’s Black Mountain Goat often looked at him in the same manner.

So Zheng Qing couldn’t help but look back at the goat standing nearby.

Thanks to the little mouse, for once the Black Mountain Goat was not staring at him but was looking immobile at the little mouse. Its usually emotionless face seemed to show a trace of astonishment.

Of course, this might just be Zheng Qing’s illusion. After seeing so many bizarre things, he started to find normal occurrences slightly strange.

The black cat turned back to the little mouse, cleared its throat and added gently, ”Cough...what I meant was, you’re a mouse, how can you speak human language?”

”Well you’re a cat! You also speak human language, don’t you?” The little mouse, although small-brained, put up a cogent argument and immediately refuted the black cat’s point of view.

”No no no, I’m a wizard, and that’s why I can speak in human language.” The black cat shook its head and lifted its white paw, pointing around at the other cats and kittens, ”They are the cats... Have you seen them speak human language?”

”Can those uncultivated idiots be compared to us?” The little mouse looked contemptuous, but its response caused the wizards to perk up.

”Cultivation?” The chubby boy raised an eyebrow.

”Us?” The black cat’s attention focused on another aspect.

Zheng Qing and Chubby exchanged glances, both chuckled and returned their attention to the little mouse.

After a brief pause, Zheng Qing gathered his thoughts, and finally began to ask the questions swimming around in his brain, ”What do you mean by ’cultivation’? Are there many other mice that can talk like you? Why are you at the University? Is it because the Silence Tide is coming early? Are you behind the increase in mice at school?”

”Oh dear, such a nuisance, such a nuisance!” The little mouse covered its ears with its tiny front claws, shaking its head in a pained expression, ”The Elderly Ancestor was right, cats and wizards are devils, avoid them whenever possible...”

The black cat’s eyes uncontrollably narrowed, but it didn’t mind the mouse’s rudeness. Instead, it focused on a new word it mentioned - the ’Elderly Ancestor.’

A talking mouse with an Elderly Ancestor? Is it an enchanted mouse or something else very peculiar? This aroused his interest even further.

”Let’s take these questions one at a time, there’s no need to rush... we have plenty of time.” The black cat reassured the little mouse in a pleasant tone, lifting its paw to signal the other cats to stand guard and stop messing around.

Meanwhile, Chubby pulled out several oranges from his arms, sat down cross-legged next to the black cat and was leisurely peeling an orange, occasionally glancing at the little mouse with anticipating eyes. Lin Guo also slid off the back of the Black Mountain Goat, shuffling over to the other side of the black cat expectantly, hoping the mouse would reveal more interesting secrets. Even Blue Bird, who was always indifferent about such matters, closed in a little, showing a bit of interest in the little mouse.

Seeing the wizards gather around it and the black cat with its spine-chilling stare, the little mouse twitched its body uncomfortably, curling its tail into a ball and hiding it under its buttocks.

”Squeak squeak...the Elderly Ancestor is just the Elderly Ancestor, the one who cultivated us,” said the mouse.

”As for cultivation... it comes from being hit on the head with a book. If a mouse is able to speak after being hit once, it means the cultivation has succeeded; but if it falls asleep, those are considered failures and are put in little wooden boxes by the Elderly Ancestor.”

”There are indeed many Spirit Rats like me! The Elderly Ancestor’s mana is boundless, and cultivates any mouse when they are free of work. There easily could be a thousand of us.”

”I simply heard this year’s Silence Tide coming early, and there are a lot of our relatives coming in from the outside. So I came out to see if I can bring back some kindred spirits... Elderly Ancestor most enjoys kindred spirits, because the success rate of cultivation seems to be higher!”

”Where do you live?” said the Black Cat, finding the little mouse’s ramblings even more strange, it could not help itself from probing, ”Can you take us to see?”

”Where do we live?” The little mouse raised its head, showing a hint of confusion, ”We live right here in the School. The Elderly Ancestor said we are safe here, and we can roam freely as long as we avoid picking fights with cats and wizards. As for taking you home...”

At this point, the little mouse lifted its small paw, twisted the whiskers beside its mouth and finally shook its head, ”No no no, the Elderly Ancestor didn’t invite you, so you can’t come.”