High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1392: Chapter 139: A Persistent Nuisance

”It’s that dog again!”

”Where?”

”Next to the trash can, see it?”

”No... Are you sure? I only see a stone.”

”It’s not that stone... Too late, it’s run away.”

...

”Look, look at the dog!”

”Where?!”

”Behind those small Ligustrum bushes... Look, isn’t that its tail?!”

”Where, where? I don’t see anything.”

”...It’s gone already!”

...

”Dog!”

”Where?”

”...It’s run away.”

...

When Zheng Qing pointed to a corner for the Nth time, swearing to his companions that he saw that dog, and everyone again came up empty-handed, Xiao Xiao finally couldn’t help it and pulled the young cost student’s robe, signaling him to stay behind.

”My neck is about to cramp,” Xiao Xiao rubbed his neck helplessly. Previously, Zheng Qing had reminded him to turn his head quicker, but no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t outspeed the dog’s disappearance.

”Need to be even quicker!” Zheng Qing was also helpless: ”Or say, do you have any suitable Detection Magic that can survey the environment any time?”

”That would waste a lot of Magic Power, a whole lot,” Doctor Xiao firstly rejected the young cost student’s suggestion, and then very tactfully reminded him: ”I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of a story called ’The Boy Who Cried Wolf’... The story talks about a shepherd boy who, because he was very bored, thought of a way to trick everyone for fun...”

”You think I’m playing tricks on you?” Zheng Qing angrily interrupted the Doctor’s ’story.’

”My feelings aren’t important,” Xiao Xiao soothed the cost student’s anger, paused for a moment, skipped over the well-known part of the story, and directly went to the ending:

”What matters is the ending of the story... Because the shepherd boy deceived the farmer over and over, so when he finally did encounter a wolf pack and sought help, the farmer thought he was lying again, and everyone ignored him, no one went to help him... and then the shepherd boy was bitten to death by the wolves.”

”The shepherd boy wasn’t bitten to death, it was his flock that was bitten to death,” Zheng Qing corrected with a gloomy expression.

”That’s not the point,” Xiao Xiao didn’t argue with Zheng Qing about whether it was the sheep that were eaten by wolves or the shepherd boy: ”The point is, you can’t make a big fuss over every little thing... it will deplete everyone’s enthusiasm and waste everyone’s trust in you.”

”It’s not a little thing.” Zheng Qing grumbled.

But he also knew that the Doctor’s words were reasonable. Although in his view, his actions were fundamentally different from that boy’s; he was telling the truth, and the boy lied. But to others, the difference might not seem so big. His words could not be substantiated, and he was wasting everyone’s energy.

”If you’re really feeling uneasy, you can go to Old Yao and report the situation,” Xiao Xiao offered what he thought was a very appropriate suggestion: ”After the Curse Course this morning, he said he’d be in his office all day... you’ll definitely find him if you go. After all, he’s our Dean and also our counselor; it’s part of his job.”

”Heh heh.”

Zheng Qing forced a chuckle.

He would rather become a cat and lead his cat gang to catch dogs than go to Old Yao’s office.

”Have you been avoiding Old Yao recently? Did you smash his office plant pot or soak his tobacco in water?” Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses and glanced at the young cost student.

”That was Li Meng, not me,” Zheng Qing criticized the Doctor’s wild guess: ”Am I that unreliable?”

”Based on today’s situation with this dog, very much so.”

Zheng Qing couldn’t dispute on this matter.

”I’m not avoiding Old Yao.”

”But in today’s Curse Course, you almost didn’t raise your hand all class... that’s not like your usual style.”

”I just... just because finals are approaching, I need some time to review,” Zheng Qing replied vaguely. In fact, he also felt his reaction was a bit exaggerated, but instinct—or perhaps the seed of a Forbidden Curse—reminded him deep inside to be cautious: ”I just need some time.”

He swore the last sentence came from the heart.

Xiao Xiao wasn’t hard-pressed to discern this.

”Alright... but I need to remind you, there isn’t much ’some time’ left before final exams... Banna has saved us seats in the library, what time will you go over? Are you still reviewing Potion Making today?” Xiao Xiao skipped over the previous topic and asked Zheng Qing about his study plans for today.

”I was planning to review Potion Making.” As he spoke, Zheng Qing touched the gray cloth pocket at his waist, sighed, ”But this afternoon I suddenly received a Paper Crane from the school laboratory... I might have to get busy for a while. Save the seat for me.”

Xiao Xiao stopped in his tracks and looked scrutinizingly at Zheng Qing:

”From lunch until the Fu Lu Class in the afternoon, and up to now, you’ve been following me around trying to get me to see that invisible dog... when did you receive the Paper Crane?”

Zheng Qing was caught off guard.

He had just thrown out an excuse on a whim, not expecting the Doctor to pinpoint the flaw.

Soon, he found a way to defend himself: ”You can’t even see a dog, how can you see if I received the Paper Crane? You’re blind for a reason...”

”Where’s the Paper Crane?”

”I threw it away.”

”Where did you throw it?”

”...I was a bit hungry at the time, so I threw it into my stomach.”

”Heh heh.” Xiao Xiao scoffed a few times.

Zheng Qing seriously explained: ”No kidding, the Paper Crane really tasted a bit like meat... Have you ever tried it? Hmm, I seem to remember Tuan Tuan mentioning that he’s eaten a Paper Crane...”

Xiao Xiao did not let the cost student’s poor attempt at changing the subject distract him, and he gave Zheng Qing a warning look: ”Anyway, you should know what you’re doing...”

”What do you think I’m going to do?” Zheng Qing was puzzled—his plan had just emerged in his mind a few minutes ago, which led to the previous shoddy excuse. He didn’t think the Doctor could guess it.

”There are about ten days left until finals,” Doctor Xiao’s voice rose slightly, overpowering Zheng Qing: ”You’re still under school probation... If I were you, I’d put off anything besides exams until after the exams are over...”

”Except for that dog.” Zheng Qing’s face showed his disgust, and his gaze moved beyond Xiao Xiao’s shoulder, his voice trailing off.

Xiao Xiao noticed his line of sight.

”Did you see it again?”

”Anyway, you can’t see it.” The young cost student took a deep breath and repeated his earlier statement: ”...Other things can indeed be postponed, except for that dog. It’s already made me so nervous that I can’t eat, sleep, or revise properly without dealing with it.”