High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 862: Chapter 210: Perhaps Testing

”The Moon Council has never been a monolith,”

”As the saying goes, ’No faction within a party means imperial thoughts; no party within a faction means myriad oddities.’ The Moon Council is so big, with hundreds of different bloodlines and various races squeezed together in meetings, it’s absolutely impossible for them to maintain the same centripetal force from beginning to end.”

”A council, a council, is a place for conversation, debate, and assembly... It essentially determines that it is an institution of mutual checks and balances, of compromise. There can be the loudest voice, but not the same voice.”

”I believe that Duke Milton represents the Radical Group within the Moon Council that attempts to meddle with Forbidden Curses. And Su Daxu probably belongs to the more moderate Conservative Group. That’s why she was invited by First University to come to the school and oversee a laboratory...”

Zheng Qing stood in front of his friends, waving his arms and spitting as he spoke.

From external to internal factors, from subjective desire to objective conditions, from the Moon Council to First University, the young scholarship student had picked apart and pulverized the reasons behind Duke Milton’s attack on him, analyzing them so clearly and plainly that he almost convinced himself, not to mention Zhang Ji Xin and Xin Fat Man who were listening to his analysis.

Perhaps only Doctor Xiao would always retain a critical mindset towards Zheng Qing’s analysis.

And, indeed, that was the case.

After Zheng Qing finished his analysis and closed his mouth, intending to take a break and have a drink of water, Doctor Xiao’s comment sent a chill down his spine.

”The analysis makes a lot of sense... I suspect that’s just part of the pretext.”

As soon as Xiao Xiao spoke, Zheng Qing immediately felt on edge—he thought that this sharp-minded individual had detected some flaw in his set of pretexts, or had realized the true reason behind Duke Milton’s visit.

For a moment, the young scholarship student even started to consider what to do if everyone discovered his relationship with Su Shijun—whether to throw out a bunch of confusion spells and make a quick getaway, or to kneel down and weep in self-reflection, pleading for everyone’s leniency.

Just as he was reaching into the grey cloth bag and his gaze began to wander, Doctor Xiao’s next words made him breathe a sigh of relief.

”Do you remember what Duke Milton said in the shop—’But that’s not what I want’—do you remember?” Xiao Xiao looked around, his gaze sweeping the group.

Zhang Ji Xin scratched the back of his head, looking confused, while Xin Fat Man crossed his arms, calmly waiting for the doctor’s explanation. And Zheng Qing, after blinking hard for a while, gave up on trying to recall.

He wasn’t Doctor Xiao, without such a good memory or being a prolific note-taker.

Xiao Xiao waited for a long time and still no one picked up on it.

Ultimately, he was forced to recapitulate the scene himself, in disappointment.

”...You should remember. At that time, Jiang Yu used her jade pendant to prop up a small defensive barrier, keeping the vampire duke outside, hoping that the vampire would know when to retreat to avoid being ’immediately stopped’ by the school, which would be troublesome.”

He bit heavily on the words ’immediately stopped,’ but Zheng Qing was still confused and clueless.

Doctor Xiao shook his head and continued, ”Then Duke Milton said the phrase I just mentioned: ’An interesting idea... but not what I want. And even if there is trouble, what does it matter?’... This sentence is key, did you catch the gist of it?”

At last, Zheng Qing began to come around, ”Are you suggesting that Duke Milton wasn’t concerned about being caught red-handed by First University? Or rather, he was quite keen on encountering First University’s formidable institutions there?”

”Bingo!” the Doctor snapped his fingers.

Belatedly, Xin Fat Man exclaimed in shock, ”He’s that bold? What if First University really sent someone? Is he not afraid of sparking a conflict between First University and the Moon Council? Or does he not fear attracting the attention of Vice Principal Shi Hui, who despises moon creatures the most, and having his two pretty little fangs plucked out?”

”You said it yourself, ’if’,” Xiao Xiao countered with an uncommonly serious expression, ”What if none of the university’s professors are present? Who could stop a mana-powerful Upper House Member of the Moon Council?”

”Assistant Hilda told us when she came that Old Yao couldn’t make it for special reasons... If I’m not mistaken, most of the other senior professors also wouldn’t be at the university.”

”Furthermore, the reality is, the final entities that helped us solve the trouble—the mice, the cats, or the foxes—weren’t the true forces of First University.”

”Do you think the Moon Council is testing First University?” Zhang Ji Xin finally showed some sensitivity to the topic, vigorously shaking his head in denial, ”That’s dangerous and goes against the fundamental interests of the Moon Council... Those old men in the council would never agree to him doing that.”

”Since when has The Radical Group listened to the stubborn old men,” Xiao Xiao sneered coldly, ”If the radicals always followed orders, they wouldn’t be called radicals.”

”Without evidence, your speculation is even less reliable than Brother Qing’s argument,” Zhang Ji Xin asserted with unusual firmness on this matter.

”There is evidence,” Xiao Xiao patted the black notebook beside him and looked meaningfully at his companions, ”Earlier today, I had a chat with Andrew Taylor. Guess who else was outside the shop when Duke Milton was inside?”

”Prince William Tabbot?” Xin Fat Man, exercising a journalist’s sharp intuition, immediately provided the answer.

Xiao Xiao neither confirmed nor denied, simply sneered in silence.

”No wonder that young wolf pup was so brazen at the time, daring to face off against Milton head-on.” Xin Fat Man realized, ”He knew that Prince William wouldn’t stand by and let Duke Milton hurt him severely.”

”So, Duke Milton and Prince William, ostensibly, had a confrontation over some trivial matter, but in fact, were probing First University’s guardian forces, or rather, testing how much high-end combat power First University had left,” Zheng Qing, rubbing his chin and summarizing, came up with a new question, ”But why would they do that?”

Though he had this new question, Zheng Qing felt Doctor Xiao’s hypothesis seemed closer to the truth than what he had ’assumed’ to be the facts.

He had always thought Duke Milton’s attack on him was owing to the beauty Su Daxu—in fact, she was certainly a direct factor—but under Xiao Xiao’s deductions, he felt the vampire duke must have had more important and larger goals. He himself was merely incidental loot in the duke’s opportunistic hunt.

With this thought, the young cost student felt an inexplicable sense of relief, and the guilt in his heart also lessened a little.

Then, his disdain for that pretentious vampire Upper House Member grew even more.