High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 734: Chapter 82 The 14th Saturday_1

December 6th, Saturday, the ninth day of the eleventh lunar month.

It is suitable for blessing, excavation, dismantling, construction;

It is unsuitable for marriage, opening markets, planting, or disturbing the earth.

Nine o’clock in the evening.

Lakeside of Bell Lake, in front of a little wooden house.

This is Zheng Qing’s fourteenth Saturday at the First University, and his thirteenth time participating in the night patrol task of Bell Lake organized by the university’s work committee. As he has become familiar with the routine and the people around him, the young scholarship student no longer feels the initial fear.

Tomorrow will be the Great Snow, the third solar term of winter, signifying the formal start of midwinter. According to the Explanation of Solar Terms, ’Great Snow, the solar term of the eleventh lunar month, is when the snow is abundant.’

Zheng Qing has no certainty about whether it will snow in the next few days. Although the weather changes at the university are controlled by a certain department, they always like to give ’surprises’ to everyone—for instance, a sudden cold snap in early spring, heavy snowfall on scorching summer days, or continuous cloudy weather in the clear and crisp autumn days.

In short, if one wants to predict the weather during the first heavy snowfall using normal logic or common divination, he would likely make a mistake seven or eight times out of ten. The remaining one or two times, the wizards in charge are in a good mood and don’t bother to toy with them.

Though minor trends fluctuate, the major ones are irreversible.

For example, the daily temperature in the peak of summer won’t fall below thirty degrees Celsius; during the rainy season, the total rainfall won’t be less than six feet, three inches, eight minutes, and forty-eight points; and in midwinter, even without snowfall, the temperature will gradually decrease, crossing the freezing line and slowly moving towards a colder weather.

Because of the increasingly cold weather, the equipment for night patrols has also changed.

Each patrol member was issued a fine woolen cape. Even though nobody knew what it was made from, it was well-liked by everyone due to its lightness, softness, and warmth. Additionally, the long wooden staffs were wrapped with woolen covers at the grip—of all the equipment, only the Deadly Wind Lamp hanging on top of the staff remained the same, its Bean-sized green flame flickering leisurely in the cold wind.

Even though the old worker who used to be responsible for the night patrol of Bell Lake, Ferna, is no longer in charge, as first-year students of the First University, Zheng Qing and Lin Guo still carry on the ’pleasant duty’ from long ago, needing only to patrol along the short lakeside corridor.

The cold wind, seemingly coming from nowhere, was bone-piercing. It swept across the lake, making the bare branches above rustle and thrum.

Lin Guo sat cross-legged on the back of the Black Mountain Goat, tightly wrapped himself in the fine woolen cape, looked like a big zongzi (rice dumpling), only half of his head and a pair of black eyes were exposed.

Zheng Qing looked at the little wizard enviously, wondering how comfortable and warm he must feel now. However, as an adult, he ultimately couldn’t act as freely as the little wizard.

Luckily, he also brought a living hot water bottle to help him warm his freezing hands.

Zheng Qing shifted the Poseidon he was holding to the belly area, took his free hand and stuffed it under the Little Fox—ever since he discovered that Poseidon’s ’real mother’ was also at the university, the young scholarship student felt an unconscious sense of urgency. The Little Fox, once casually raised in the Pet Garden, was finally remembered and would be taken out for a walk every few days.

Now, the night patrol around Bell Lake on Saturday nights has become a fixed ’mood-building’ day for Zheng Qing and Poseidon.

However, today, the Little Fox was extremely unhappy with the young wizard for dragging him out of his warm spirit hideaway. From the start, he hid in the pocket of the fine woolen cape without moving, playing dead.

”At least you have a body full of fur, it can’t be that cold!” While scratching its belly, Zheng Qing persuasively called out, ”Come out for a walk, the air outside is so fresh... Achoo!”

A cold wind blew in his face, making the young wizard sneeze. The instant karma filled the Little Fox with a squee of laughter as he tumbled about in the pocket of the fine woolen cape.

”Laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh to your death!” Zheng Qing glowered grumpily, stretched a hand into his bosom, and softly pinched the Little Fox’s ear while lecturing him, ”Do you know how many forms I had to fill to fetch you from the Pet Garden? I didn’t even get to finish sleeping in! You ought to show some gratitude... even as a fox!”

The Little Fox squeaked in protest from the pocket.

Lin Guo walking beside him suddenly turned back and looked at the young scholarship student, ”Speaking of what happened this morning...Captain, have you found the number of that pavilion?”

Hearing Lin Guo mention what happened this morning, Zheng Qing, who was previously playing around with the Little Fox, suddenly fell silent.

This morning, after eating his medicine and transformed into a cat, a series of unexpected things happened to him—for instance, he saved a little witch who was having an issue with a group of cats, he accidentally became the leader of a group of cats, moreover, he encountered a mouse that could talk and even wore clothes.

After returning from the woods, the young wizards of the Absolution Hunting Team held a brief but passionate discussion, seriously analyzing the identity of the mouse—including options such as a wizard who used a transformation spell, an experimental subject from a research center, or a mutated spiritual beast from the depths of the Silent Forest.

Among them, the hypothesis presented by Doctor Xiao was more convincing. Or more accurately, the conclusion drawn from Xiao Xiao’s conjecture was more reliable.

”According to what that little mouse said, they have an Elderly Ancestor... Didn’t you ask what the identity of their Elderly Ancestor is?” After listening to the Fat one’s description, Doctor Xiao raised his eyebrows and questioned.

This question left everyone speechless.

At that time, everyone’s attention was focused on the talking mouse, and they indeed overlooked some of the words it said.

”What can the Elderly Ancestor of rats be?” As the Absolution Hunting Team’s captain, and the person with the ’highest status’ among those present, Zheng Qing had no choice but to force a smile and take over the conversation.

”It might be a rat that has lived for a very long time and gained spirituality; it could also be a powerful wizard hidden deep within the Silent Forest who is attempting to breakthrough by creating a colony of mice; of course, demonic influences can’t be ruled out either.”

”After all, there’s always something suspicious when things are abnormal...talking animals have always been a novel thing.”

When the doctor finished saying this, other wizards in the dormitory all turned their gazes towards the young scholarship student. After Zheng Qing froze for a few seconds, he blew up in anger, ”What novel thing! Are animals objects? ...Moreover, I’m not an animal!”

”The phrasing was incorrect.” Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses, remarking expressionlessly.

It was unclear whether he was referring to his previous comment’s phrasing being incorrect or if he was pointing out the improper phrasing in Zheng Qing’s outcry just now.