High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1286: Chapter 33: 3 Approaches

Xiao Xiao’s fleeting gaze, though subtle, did not escape the sharp eyes of Xin Fat Man.

This was the keen observation skill a good journalist should possess.

Moreover, at meetings like this, everyone consistently gave weight to Doctor Xiao’s opinion. But since Xiao Xiao remained silent now—looking as though he did not intend to say anything—the journalist had no choice but to set aside his underlying doubts and refocus on the conversation underway in the room.

”North District?”

Hearing Zheng Qing’s suggestion, Lin Guo was taken aback, somewhat puzzled, ”Why... Why go to the North District?”

Growing up in Beta Town, to young wizards like him, the North District was akin to what Hell’s Kitchen was to Manhattan, or Dharavi to Mumbai—a conglomeration of terror, oppression, crime, and poverty. It was the concept most commonly used in bedtime stories by wizard mothers in town to scare their young wizards—”behave or you’ll be sent to the North District,” ”go to sleep, or the North District Boogeyman will come.”

No wizard who lost something would think of looking for it in the North District.

”Recently, some wizards using sacrificial magic have appeared in the North District of Beta Town, calling themselves ’Northern District Wizards’,” Zheng Qing briefly described the characteristics of the Northern District Wizards to Lin Guo, before concluding his inquiry, ”...So, have you checked the North District?”

The news of Korma’s promotion and the emergence of the Northern District Wizards was still only circulating within a small circle. Even within the Forgiveness Knight Order, apart from the students of Astronomy Class 08-1 and room 403, others had just come to know about it. Lin Guo was no exception.

”I... I haven’t.”

Lin Guo wiped away his tears, speaking haltingly, ”The North District is... very... scary. Everyone tells me not to go there.”

A look of understanding crossed Zheng Qing’s face.

For a young wizard prodigy like Lin Guo, the magicians of the North District were nothing short of a gang of terribly vicious criminals. If he were to venture alone into that Dent Area, any number of terrible things could happen to him.

The best method to prevent that was to forbid him from going to the North District.

”The situation in the North District is rather complicated right now,” Zheng Qing thought of the Northern District Wizard who almost lost control last night and nodded, ”You were right not to go to the North District...”

”But the Northern District Wizards are now practicing sacrificial magic, and we cannot rule out the possibility that they might entertain some terrible thoughts,” Dylan, sitting in the coffin, twisted the edge of a dagger in his hands, reminding them, ”Just like my kinsmen in the Demonic Party, when the bloodlust strikes, they don’t care about the rules of seclusion or secrecy, and would bite at mice if they catch them... Therefore, I think we might need to focus our investigation on the North District.”

”Perhaps we should advise the school to be aware of the potential risks.” Xin Fat Man, stroking his smooth chin, thoughtfully flipped open the notebook on the table—providing reference information for the Student Union and Professor Joint Meeting was also among the responsibilities of the Campus Newspaper journalists:

”The school has many students who keep pets, and the town has even more. Those Northern District Wizards pose a significant threat to them...”

Blue Bird coughed deeply.

The treasured sword he cradled also chimed in on cue, frightening Xin Fat Man’s remaining nonsense right back down his throat.

”Oh, right, the main focus of our discussion now is how to help Lin Guo get his Big Black back!” Zheng Qing also realized that the previous conversation had slightly veered off track, so he immediately assumed the smooth demeanor of a meeting chairperson, ”Buji Island is so big, and the school is so huge, finding a ’lost’ pet is indeed not easy.”

He emphasized the word ’lost’ particularly hard, trying to give Lin Guo some peace of mind.

”Three approaches!” As Zheng Qing spoke, he raised three fingers: ”First, divination. We have excellent diviners, and Lin Guo has Big Black’s fur or its usual blanket and food bowl, we can completely solve this problem using a wizard’s method.”

”I brought them, brought them over.” Lin Guo promptly opened his small backpack, took out a thin blanket, and a small tuft of shiny black soft fur, then cradled them, looking eagerly towards Xiao Xiao.

In this room, the most authoritative diviner was Xiao Xiao.

Zheng Qing received the divination ’mediums’ on behalf of Xiao Xiao, then stuffed them into the doctor’s embrace, turned around, and raised his second finger: ”Second approach, the Wandering Bar... and the bulletin board. Although Lin Guo has asked the old neighbors in town and those sisters of his...”

Xin Fat Man let out an envious sigh beside him.

Lin Guo always had many ’loving’ elder sisters around him, which was what Xin Fat Man envied the most.

Zheng Qing chuckled to himself but didn’t specifically point that out—after all, the topic at hand was more serious. If he didn’t want Blue Bird chasing him with a sword to stab him, then it wouldn’t be a good idea to crack that kind of joke while discussing this topic.

”...But their search range is definitely limited. Compared with that, the success rate for finding missing pets through the Wandering Bar or bulletin board is going to be much higher.” Saying this, Zheng Qing pulled out a small notebook, flipped through it, and nodded:

”We haven’t had any expenses related to hunting competitions lately, and D&K has been operating continuously, there’s quite a surplus in our public account, we can allocate a budget of one jade coin to get this done... don’t refuse, this expense will come out of your ’manager’s’ salary.”

Lin Guo blew his nose loudly and nodded with red eyes.

The other roommates in the dormitory all looked at him encouragingly, smiling, not objecting to Zheng Qing’s suggestion—as for when a manager of a rookie Hunting team started having a ’salary,’ and how much that ’salary’ was, no one would pursue these details.

When you’re young, you tend to handle things with much more zest.

”The third approach,” Zheng Qing curved his thumb, pointing at himself: ”Ourselves. Not to boast, but even though we are newly formed Hunting team, our training is not inferior to those established teams... we can follow the standard procedure, divide by regions, and search the school again.”

Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

This indeed was the least costly, yet the most reassuring method. There are many things that, even if you already know the final answer, if you haven’t done it yourself, you will always harbor some hope.

That sliver of hope, if left to grow over time, may gradually fade away, or might become increasingly heavy, turning into obsession.

Zheng Qing had been learning Dao from his master since childhood; he knew best the meaning of the phrase ’Prevent problems before they arise,’ and also understood what this meant for a genius like Lin Guo.

”Zheng Qing is familiar with Sister Korma, so he’ll take care of searching the North District, no issue there.” Xin Fat Man slung his arm over Zheng Qing’s shoulder, eagerly offering to take on the task: ”I can accompany him to the North District... the rest of you, can handle the other areas, right?”

”You accompanying me?” Zheng Qing looked askance with vacant eyes, glancing at the grinning Fat Man, and retorted: ”You probably just want to interview Sister Korma... I must remind you, that’s not a good idea. Sister has been under a lot of stress lately, not in the best of spirits.”