High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1262: Chapter 9 New Atmosphere

Of course, although there were only two people in the corner, there were other people in the ward—including Nicholas, Liu Fei Fei, and a nurse responsible for changing dressings and conducting examinations.

So although Zheng Qing felt somewhat guilty, he no longer felt the kind of terror he had experienced before.

On the contrary, because everyone else had left, many of the previously sensitive subjects could now be openly discussed, and Zheng Qing acted even more at ease than before.

”Shall we go now?” the young cost student always seemed a bit awkward when talking to girls. Perhaps this was precisely what some witches found endearing about him.

”Wait a bit,” Jiang Yu glared at the boy and huffed, ”Nicholas will be discharged at noon... after lunch, we’ll go straight to Gini Cottage.”

”Are we having lunch together?” Zheng Qing blurted out another foolish remark.

”You can eat by yourself if you want; we’ll meet at the school gate,” the witch said calmly, nonchalantly tearing up a silkworm paper invitation into tiny pieces and tossing them into the trash bin at her feet.

The boy caught on immediately.

”Oh, let’s eat together, it’s more convenient,” he stammered, turning his head toward the hospital bed, desperately trying to make conversation: ”Nicholas can be discharged at noon? I heard from Xiao Xiao that he was badly injured yesterday.”

”We’re wizards, and this is First University’s hospital,” the witch seemed puzzled by the boy’s words, reminding him, ”Even if a head falls off, reattaching it wouldn’t take a whole day. Why do you think he needs to stay in the hospital longer? Don’t forget, after the explosion yesterday, you were bouncing around that very evening...”

Zheng Qing was so frightened he almost shoved his hand in the witch’s mouth, but at the last moment he realized that this action would be very rude and became pale with anxiety.

”Shh!” He put a finger to his lips, waving it frantically as his eyes darted about, and whispered, ”Don’t talk about that matter outside...”

”No worries, this is the hospital, the nurses have seen worse,” the witch couldn’t help but laugh, ”Just now, a junior on the floor below had his arm blown off during an experiment... Aren’t you going to talk to Nicholas? You’ve been hiding in this corner ever since you came into the ward.”

Zheng Qing turned back to see that the nurse who was changing dressings had left, leaving the area in front of the hospital bed much emptier.

”I will go,” he inhaled in small breaths, steadied his nerves, showed a hint of a smile on his face, waved his hand, and walked over to Nicholas.

The sunlight outside the window was splendid, and the atmosphere inside was just right.

On that entire Sunday morning, Zheng Qing spent all his time in the hospital. As the only male beside the patient, he had to take responsibility for running up and down, submitting medical records, and fetching several prescriptions from the pharmacy.

After sending Nicholas off from the hospital and having lunch with Jiang Yu, it was almost one o’clock in the afternoon.

”At this pace, we’ll probably be able to get back before five o’clock,” the boy pulled out his pocket watch, looked at the time, took a long sigh, and felt completely exhausted physically and mentally. It seemed he hadn’t felt this way even when he got into the teacher’s teapot yesterday.

But he felt that the witch beside him must be a bit more tired.

Because he’d just noticed that Jiang Yu had changed into a floral dress, short deerskin boots, and was wearing a soft-brimmed wide hat—completely different from the red gown she’d worn in the morning.

Zheng Qing swore that from the morning until now, he had almost always been with Jiang Yu, completely unaware of when she changed into a new set of clothes.

”Perhaps,” Jiang Yu responded absently.

The witch’s attention was obviously not on the boy. Ever since she entered the North District, her attention had been captured by the slightly ’lively’ crowd on the streets.

Although many tricksters clad in grey gowns were doing their utmost to suppress the joy within their hearts, the glow named ’hope’ that emerged on their faces was extremely dazzling, even under the midday sun.

”Do you feel that today’s North District is a bit different?” The witch carefully surveyed her surroundings, her fingers unconsciously stroking the spine of the Law book, her fingertips lightly tapping on it.

”Different?” Zheng Qing finally snapped out of admiring the pretty white flowers on the witch’s long dress and looked around.

Jiang Yu didn’t need to say it; as soon as she did, Zheng Qing realized it too.

In the past, the North District, with many houses on both sides of the street looking like the gloomiest monasteries, desolate grave sites, and melancholy ruins, would depress anyone just by looking at them. Most of the time, the streets were quiet, and even if there were pedestrians, they all hurried along with their heads covered by hoods. Occasionally, at the sight of one or two unfamiliar footsteps, the bare windows on both sides of the street would reveal a few faces resembling ascetic monks, whose dim and icy gazes would terrify any passerby in the district.

The North District was nicknamed the ’Dent Area’ by people in the wizard world because even sunlight, upon falling into this neighborhood, would be completely devoured, unable to spark a hint of hope.

Today, however, Zheng Qing felt a completely different, fresh atmosphere on this street.

The street was still the same street—hot in summer, cold in winter, with corners piled with foul-smelling garbage, and perpetually dark corners. The small-stone-paved roads were soaked with suspiciously colored liquids turning them purplish-red, and the wooden beams on the walls were rotten and warped.

But the spirit of the people walking the streets was drastically different from before.

An elderly trickster was carefully cleaning the dirty fur on his leather mat, flashing a brilliant smile to every customer who threw Copper Coins his way. And, unexpectedly, his income today was much more than usual, with Copper Coins almost spilling out of his felt hat.

A few little tricksters with patches on their clothes darted around the crowd, giggling and laughing, yet not a single one reached out to pickpocket the passersby. It was known that most of their income usually came from such petty theft.

There was also a round-faced witch wearing a colorful long dress, dancing at the street corner and offering a dew-laden rose to every passerby.

The entire street burst forth with a vibrant, newfound vitality.

”The North District... Is there some sort of celebration going on?” The boy wondered, finally settling on the right word to ask his female companion.

”Celebration?” Jiang Yu gazed at a strand of gray-white hair hanging over the forehead of a passing wizard, her eyes reflecting a thoughtful look: ”Perhaps... Did I ever tell you that Sister Korma has been promoted to a Big Wizard?”

”No,” the boy shook his head, then realized the implications of the witch’s words, his mouth slowly dropping open: ”Wait... Big Wizard? You mean Sister Korma, the one who’s the vice president of the student council... she is now a Big Wizard? On the same level as Great Witch Su Shi Jun?!”

The last time they met, she was just a junior who had barely crossed the threshold of a Registered Wizard and had not even graduated! And now, in the blink of an eye, she had become a lofty Big Witch?!

Jiang Yu was quite pleased with the shock on the boy’s face.

”It was right after you blew yourself up,” the witch patiently explained, and finally sighed: ”No wonder the school emphasizes the dangers of illegal magic experiments year after year, but every year there are Young Wizards who rush into that big pit... Just taking one gamble, they’ve reached heights that many a wizard could not attain in their entire lives.”