High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1061: Chapter 123 After the Spring Equinox

Just as Xiao Xiao had predicted, before the spring equinox, the weather balloons from the weather monitor dropped like they were free, with seventeen or eighteen released overnight, and then the temperature bizarrely heated up during the day, causing the temperature difference between day and night to sometimes vary by more than ten degrees.

Although it hadn’t reached the point of ’wearing fur in the morning and gauze at noon,’ it still caused a chaotic mix in the campus’s dressing style, with some still wrapped in winter coats, while others had already switched to summer’s thin shirts; there were also those whose upper bodies were thickly bundled, while their lower bodies were unusually thin, causing astonishment.

This varied climate corresponded to the eerie atmosphere within the campus.

Jiuyou Academy, Alpha Castle, Fishman Tribe, Sacred Will, Blood Comrades, and such, a variety of complex relationships intertwined together, turning the campus public opinion into a mess.

Some Elders from the Fishman Tribe called for relocating the tribe from Lin Zhong Lake to the scenic waters outside Alpha Castle, to rebuild a new Fishman reservation that aligns with the liberal atmosphere of Alpha Castle.

Alpha Academy was vague about this and did not give a clear response but instead repeatedly reiterated the Mage Alliance’s opinions regarding the Fishman reservation and nonsense about respecting Jiuyou Academy’s ownership of Lin Zhong Lake.

In response to the verbal onslaught, besides a stern statement, Jiuyou Academy also announced it would further strengthen the nighttime patrols around Lin Zhong Lake, stating the patrol team members would carry ”Law Books”, amulets, and other powerful magic equipment, and would be authorized to pre-emptively stop any potential acts of terror.

Compared to several semi-official stances, the actions of Sacred Will and Blood Comrades were much more straightforward. From Monday to Friday, every evening, there were hunting competitions between the two societies at various hunting grounds of the school—the only consequence of this no-nonsense style was that hospital beds became noticeably scarce, so much so that Zheng Qing once heard Lady Bella complain about the school’s roster classification being too arbitrary, assigning many students who clearly belonged to Starry Sky Academy to other schools.

This messy situation continued for a week, and by the time of the spring equinox on Friday, there was still no sign of improvement, and it looked like it would last for a long time.

Although the Absolution Knight Group established a ’one-sided’ principle after the meeting, privately, Zheng Qing kept reminding his friends to restrain themselves, ’cheering is fine, entering the field is not’, to keep a low profile in daily life and not accept any media interviews, including those from Xin Fat Man or any other journalist, to avoid becoming the bird that gets shot by sticking out.

On Saturday afternoon, after returning from Montelio Laboratory, Zheng Qing fell onto his bed like a dead dog.

The search mission tonight was led by Xiao Xiao, so Zheng Qing finally stole a moment of leisure. It had been over a week since Liu Fei Fei’s pet snake and the Spirit Cat’s mentioned Faceless Monster had vanished. The Hunting Team was also becoming negligent.

By yesterday at noon, the pet snake had been missing for over thirteen days, and Liu Fei Fei had submitted the relevant application to the School Works Committee. But according to Nicolas, the Grey Robe Wizard at the School Works Committee was somewhat pessimistic, suggesting that the small animals recently disappeared near Lin Zhong Lake weren’t just one or two, and the chances of finding them were very slim.

According to the Grey Robe Wizard’s implicit statement, those missing little creatures were likely dragged away by the malicious Fishman in the lake.

Xiao Xiao held reservations about this explanation.

According to him, currently, the relationship between the Fishman Tribe and the School Works Committee was very poor. It was very likely that the Grey Robe Wizard used this method to give the Fishman Tribe a warning; from another perspective, under the surveillance of the school’s Protection Array, the mass disappearance of small animals was almost impossible, which would make the Wizard’s Codex seem like a joke.

And the Mage Alliance hated it when everyone took the Wizard’s Codex as a joke.

These chaotic thoughts drifted around in his mind, annoying him incessantly. Zheng Qing shook his head forcefully, his gaze landing outside the window.

The sun had already set, and the silvery grey sky looked somewhat bleak.

Yesterday was the spring equinox.

After the Spring Equinox, the weather monitor no longer had any reason to arbitrarily cool things down with snow, so today’s weather suddenly became much warmer.

The dormitory was empty, except for Zheng Qing; all the others were members of tonight’s search team. Only the sprites and a fat cat that ate and slept kept him company.

Ever since Doctor Duzem had examined the sprites last time and declared them unexpectedly healthy, Zheng Qing had visited the Abnormal Life Research Institute several times, but without exception, no issues were found with them.

By now, the sprites hadn’t taken any special potions for a long time; they just drank dew and nectar and lived in Zheng Qing’s tent without showing any differences from other sprites.

Doctor Duzem did become interested in these little fellows at one point and even hoped Zheng Qing would hand them over to him, promising to write a high-coefficient paper for the young warlock in return. Zheng Qing declined politely.

As for Tuan Tuan, after being raised in dormitory 403 for half a year, its body was noticeably plumper than when it had arrived, and its temper towards the warlocks softened slightly. The only thing that remained unchanged was its lazy demeanor and its fondness for chicken legs.

Because of its fondness for chicken legs, Zheng Qing and others could make it do minor tasks without compromising the spiritual cat’s dignity.

Like now.

”Tuan Tuan?” Zheng Qing lay on his bed, elongated his tone, then curved his right thumb and pointed at his own back.

”Meow...” Tuan Tuan drew out its meow, the pitch undulating, rich in tone.

Zheng Qing curled the corners of his mouth.

”I only have one left,” the young warlock turned his head, pressing the pillow, his tone carried a bit of a threat: ”Think about it, no one else is here tonight except for me, no second person to give you chicken legs.”

The fat cat disdainfully snorted, walked around the desk with dignified steps, looking as though it would die before being dishonored, yet its hanging tail accidentally swept a chart onto the floor.

Zheng Qing’s eye twitched.

”Add a chicken wing,” he drooped his eyelids, his voice filled with a negotiating tone: ”We’ve been regulars, you need to learn to give discounts... We’re in this for the long haul, you need to learn mutual benefits, aim for a win-win situation.”

Tuan Tuan narrowed its orange eyes, pondering for a while, eventually dawdling over to Zheng Qing’s bed.

”That’s right...” the warlock muttered, burying his head back into the pillow, comfortably humming, ”One step, two steps, right, a bit heavier on this side...yeah, walking the Three Pure Ones, stepping the Five Phases...right here, inhale...”

On his back, the fat cat arched its back and bent its spine, its soft paws pressing hard on the corresponding acupoints, laboriously giving him a back massage.

”This old cat’s paw skills are getting better and better, no wonder Fat Man likes it staying on his bed so much.” Zheng Qing squinted his eyes, grinning contentedly.

”This little guy still has a strange, familiar scent on him... Sss, why can’t I remember what it is?” The fat cat’s face also wrinkled up like a bun, displaying a pensive expression.