High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1071: Chapter 133: Gathering Firewood

Zheng Qing was indifferent to Xiao Xiao’s sorrowful musings about the spring.

Instead of listening to someone else’s prattling, Zheng Qing focused more on the small bonfire in front of him. Watching the tangerine flames flickering in the fire, the young state-funded student heaved a satisfied sigh, waved his hand, and replied:

”As the saying goes, ’The edge of a sword comes from sharpening, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold.’ To wear the crown, one must bear its weight.”

Having just built a good fire, Zheng Qing was now full of confidence, making grand gestures as if he were directing a battle:

”The ancients even knew that when Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a man, it first strains his mind, toils his muscles and bones, starves his body and skin, leaves his body exhausted, and disrupts his actions. How much more for us?”

Doctor Xiao glanced emptily at the spirited Zheng Qing.

”Have you taken the wrong medication?” He was quite skeptical of Zheng Qing’s current state.

This question hurt the feelings of the state-funded student.

”There isn’t much firewood left; go gather some firewood... Don’t just stand around talking.” Zheng Qing gave the doctor an annoyed look: ”Since we’re already here, can’t you be a bit more proactive and get to work!”

He said this to Xiao Xiao, but also to himself.

In the original plan, Zheng Qing had intended to skip today’s spring outing.

Recently, he had quite a few things to worry about—the Faceless Monster had not yet been caught; the coursework for next semester was becoming increasingly burdensome; conflicts between school clubs were becoming more prominent, and as the person in charge of both the Absolution Knight Group and the Atonement Hunting Team, Zheng Qing had to spend more time balancing club work; in addition, work in Professor Montelio’s laboratory was troublesome, and the follow-up adjustments for Sister Korma’s magic circle occasionally disturbed him.

Nothing was more exhausting than the Gypsy witch’s strange behavior lately, which fluctuated between warm and cold. Sometimes, the day before, they would sit together, eating, chatting, and doing homework with smiles, but the next day she would turn icy and hostile.

With these concerns in mind, Zheng Qing didn’t have many solutions.

He actually broached the subject gently with Elena during a date, but the Gypsy witch nonchalantly stated that these were normal conditions during the practice of traditional magic and did not warrant excessive concern. Left with no choice, Zheng Qing had to pay extra attention to the witch, just in case.

Zheng Qing had originally planned to skip this outing; he had even reported to Professor Montelio, who agreed to write him an excuse that read, ’Due to busy affairs, student Zheng Qing is specially called to assist in laboratory work, et cetera.’ Of course, the work in the lab during the magic-free festival was nothing more than organizing data; absolutely no magic-related tasks were involved.

However, when he heard that Elena would participate in the outing, he did not desert but chose to join everyone in stepping out of the library, out into the spring sunlight, and into the wild.

As per tradition, the witches were responsible for gathering wild vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, and clean water for food, while the warlocks took care of making a fire, burying the stove, building shelters, and hunting.

Of course, the young warlocks’ prey today were not the dangerous magical creatures they usually faced, but small animals like rabbits, moles, and wild birds. The tools they used for hunting were no longer law books or charm guns, but rope, sticks, and spades.

The rope was used for making snares, and the spades for digging traps.

This novel way of hunting surprisingly gained popularity among many warlocks. Most of the boys, including Xin Fat Man and Zhang Ji Xin, opted to go hunting. Therefore, Tang Dun ultimately assigned those who were relatively slim and not so keen, such as Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao, to be responsible for burying the stove and making a fire.

Zheng Qing had no objections to this.

He had decided to join the spring outing mainly to spend more time with Elena. As long as they weren’t separated by too much distance, the simple task of lighting a fire and setting up a stove was something Zheng Qing could handle all by himself.

”Are you sure you want me to go gather firewood?” Xiao Xiao held his notebook, glanced at Zheng Qing, and coughed lightly, ”I just saw Elena head towards the Resurrection Poplar Forest to pick mushrooms...”

”Come on, the fire’s all set, you keep an eye on it.” Upon hearing this, Zheng Qing didn’t say another word and leaped up, handing over the stick he was using to poke the fire to Xiao Xiao, while completely going back on his previous assertion, ”I’ll go gather firewood, you stay here and don’t move... You have less experience, the firewood you pick won’t burn well.”

Xiao Xiao sneered twice, but did not argue.

Zheng Qing, with not a trace of embarrassment on his face, naturally wiped his hands smudged with black ash on the hem of Xiao Xiao’s robe, completely ignoring the vein popping on Xiao Xiao’s forehead.

Following the witch’s vanishing figure, Zheng Qing darted into the Resurrection Poplar Forest.

To his disappointment, Elena’s red robe had disappeared deep into the forest, dense with trees and underbrush. All he could see were the Resurrection Poplars of various heights and thickness and the whisper of the wind in his ears.

The young wizard heaved a deep sigh and turned his attention to his task.

Gathering firewood, as the name suggests, means picking up branches and wood from the ground that can be used to make a fire.

Soon, Zheng Qing found this task to be not so simple—the thin branches and twigs on the ground had probably been carried away by nesting animals, and the ground was covered with a layer of dead leaves. But everyone knows that these leaves won’t burn easily; moreover, under the shallow layer of dead leaves was a thick humus layer. Its dampness aside, the young wizard hesitated at the hidden poisonous insects within the humus layer.

Zheng Qing’s only choice was to pull some of the dead branches from the trees in the forest.

This was a troublesome job.

Thin branches weren’t suitable for burning, and he couldn’t pull the thick ones; he couldn’t reach the high ones, and when he tried to pull a couple from a smaller tree, he found that the bark was still green. No doubt, throwing these green-barked branches into the fire would only produce a lot of smoke and potentially get Zheng Qing beaten up by the angry wizards and witches.

Thinking of this, the scholarship student shivered, shook his head to dispel those horrifying images from his mind.

In front of him stood a frail-looking sapling, seemingly perfect for firewood. The only problem was that its bark was slightly greenish, and it was rooted firmly, so pulling it out wouldn’t be easy.

He then looked around.

The forest was quiet, not a single person in sight.

The warlock’s hand silently reached into the grey cloth bag at his waist, pulling out his Law book with the intention of casting some drying and cutting magic on the small tree in front of him.

Though it was the Festival of Prohibited Magic, as long as no one saw him, it shouldn’t be a problem, Zheng Qing reassured himself.

”No, no, that won’t do!”

An unexpected and unfamiliar voice sounded right above Zheng Qing’s head, startling him so much that he subconsciously tucked the Law book back in and switched to gripping his Colt Silver Python instead.