High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1054: Chapter 116: Turmoil

The search for the Faceless Monster and Liu Fei Fei’s pet, although scheduled, did not occupy all the spare time of the members of the Absolution Hunting Team.

Beyond their classes, Zheng Qing and others still spent most of their energy on their academic studies; furthermore, the recent unrest at Lin Zhong Lake also drew some of their attention.

The main body of Lin Zhong Lake is located in the central courtyard of Jiuyou Academy, nestled against mountains and corridors, occupying most of the courtyard’s space.

Apart from cultivating sentiments, decorating the scenery, serving as a home for magical creatures, and a venue for some practical outdoor classes, Lin Zhong Lake also has another important function, which is to serve as a reserve for the Lake Lingzhong Fishman Tribe, aiding in their propagation.

Since it is a reserve, the Fishmen naturally enjoy high degrees of freedom in this lake. Whether it’s a judicial, educational, and institutional system that’s vastly different from the mainstream of the Wizard World, or their unique culture and customs, these are well preserved by the Fishman Tribe and remain unaffected by First University, especially the external Wizards.

The recent unrest is precisely related to this aspect.

Although Lin Zhong Lake is large, accommodating thousands of Fishmen is no problem, but accommodating an entire civilization is somewhat constrained. On ordinary days, most of the resources needed by the Fishman Tribe can be self-sustained within the lake or through river channels; for those resources they cannot obtain on their own, they can submit a report and apply to First University.

Most of the time, as long as these wet creatures apply, the school always tries its best to meet their needs. However, for many young and strong Fishmen, this ’apply and approve’ model seems more like alms, or even ’feeding’.

So, some disgruntled young Fishmen began to secretly do business with the ’grey wizards’ ashore. The Fishmen provided specialties from Lin Zhong Lake and Silent River, while the ’grey wizards’ ashore resold magic materials to them.

Thus, this small-scale smuggling activity began to slowly develop.

Last Saturday, the night patrol team of the School Works Committee found such a smuggling case in a small grove not far from the lakeside, where they seized a large amount of magic materials and ’Fish Skin Magic Books’ used for trading.

The magic materials were provided by the Fishmen, mostly harvested from Lin Zhong Lake and the Silent Riverbed.

The Fish Skin Magic Books were wholesale by the wizards trading with the Fishmen from the Lower Yuan Bookstores. The problem lay precisely with this batch of magic books.

According to the regulations issued by the Mage Alliance, no wizard, without permission from the Danghag High Court of Wizards, may sell magic books to magical creatures like Fishmen and Centaurs, or teach them how to make magic books, with violations resulting in a ban on magic for three years and a fine of more than a hundred jade coins.

Normally, such smuggling activities are overlooked by civilians and officials alike; the patrol team would issue a fine and a warning and generally let it go. But that night, when the patrol team’s wizards took off the black masks from the smugglers’ faces, they found they were students from Alpha Academy and naturally were not willing to let it slide easily.

So, after a brief consultation, the wizards of the patrol team, in accordance with the regulations of the Mage Alliance, arrested both parties involved in the transaction and sent a message directly to the wizards in Danghag. By the time the elder wizard in charge from the School Works Committee arrived, the situation had escalated and could not be easily covered up.

Theoretically speaking, with both the evidence and offenders captured, and clear legal provisions, the case should be handled justly and accordingly.

But before Danghag’s circuit court had made a ruling, the students of Alpha Academy as well as the Fishman Tribe started causing a stir.

Since the wizards in that patrol team were students of Jiuyou Academy, some of whom were key members of the Sacred Will society; and the arrested smugglers were students from Alpha Academy—specifically, underlings of Sepulano. Thus, the detainment of smugglers by the patrol team naturally got labeled as an ’attack of Will on Blood Comrades,’ ’fishing law enforcement,’ ’Jiuyou Academy infringing on the rights of Alpha students,’ and so on.

Furthermore, the commotion raised by the Fishmen was because the captured Fishmen were all from the younger generation of the tribe, tracing back several generations, relating almost half of the tribe’s Fishmen. They had a very solid reason to raise a ruckus, which was that the Fishmen had independent judicial rights and should not be judged by the wizard’s court.

This had also become the most discussed topic among the students of Jiuyou Academy in recent days.

After Friday’s practical class, while Zheng Qing and his companions were applying ointment and resting in the school hospital, they overheard the neighboring ward talking about this topic and could not help but join the discussion.

”The Fishmen have independent judicial rights, yes, but this doesn’t mean they can freely trample on the wizards’ law,” Zhang Ji Xin, a staunch Big Wizard ideologist, stated, ”I have always thought that the Mage Alliance providing such a large reservation for the Fishman Tribe is a waste, just like the author of the Wizard’s Codex once said, ’The Fishmen have no ownership over the waters they inhabit, the ownership belongs to the Mage Alliance.’

The fact that Elder Zhang Da, usually brimming with muscle rather than brain, could quote something said by the author of the Wizard’s Codex, left Zheng Qing quite taken aback. What astonished him even more was that Xin Fat Man did not refute Zhang Ji Xin’s words but instead added to them.

Xin Fat Man added from the side, ”Moreover, those Fishmen were captured in a small grove by the lakeside, hundreds of meters away from the Lake Bell Fishman Tribe. Technically, it does not fall within the Fishman Tribe’s judicial jurisdiction.”

”Exactly my point!” Zhang Ji Xin exclaimed upon hearing this, slapped the bed with force, and then gave Xin Fat Man a thumbs up.

Fat Man furrowed his brows, thought for a few seconds, and finally, with a pained expression, picked up a piece of sauce-coated beef from his food box in front of him and handed it to Zhang Ji Xin as a gift of solidarity.”

”Barbaric magical civilizations like the Fishmen require a much larger territory to be maintained, exceeding the limits allowed by the progress and rightful demands of civilized life, hence they must adhere to civilized life,” Xiao Xiao articulated slowly, adding another convoluted statement.

Zhang Ji Xin scratched his head, ”That sounds pretty good.”

Doctor Xiao glanced at him, ”That’s not my own words, they’re James Monroe’s... This statement clearly points out the backwardness of the Fishman Tribe and the advanced nature of wizard civilization, as well as the necessity for the advanced civilization to guide the backward civilization.”

James Monroe was some Big Wizard whom Zheng Qing did not know, and he did not plan to memorize the entire ”Wizard’s Encyclopedia” like Xiao Xiao did.

But this did not prevent him from understanding Xiao Xiao’s stance on this matter.

”How unusual,” the young conscript’s gaze swept over the many faces in the hospital room, clucking in amazement, ”except for that last time when you guys hoisted me onto a fire, I think this is the first time your opinions have been so unified.”

”No, this is the third time,” Fat Man extended his greasy index finger, waving it in front of Zheng Qing, ”Our other consensus is that you are a scumbag.”