High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1412: Chapter 159 Watching the Tide (Part 2)

Just speak up, that’s all it takes.

After hearing the Yellow Flowered Cat speak, Old Yao’s face revealed a satisfied smile.

He tapped his chopsticks against the teacup, ting ting ting, and then continued, ”I remember the principal once said, causality is like a vast net, firmly binding every soul that seeks freedom... The stronger the power, the tighter the net binds. Buji Island, or rather, First University, is where that power in the Wizard World is strongest.”

”If you willingly step into the center of this net, you should be prepared to be trapped and immobilized by it.”

”For example, Zheng Qing...”

The Yellow Flowered Cat shot a warning gaze at Professor Yao.

Old Yao immediately lifted his chopsticks and picked up another peanut, changing the subject: ”Or like that Big Mouse, it too is a strand tying up your hands and feet... Are you still tracking the Big Mouse? It’s a mouse now, and if it wants to escape with its life, you wouldn’t be able to catch it.”

”None of your damn business!” The whiskers of the Yellow Flowered Cat curled upwards, its temper flaring.

”Because that big net isn’t isolated. Every node on the network is interconnected,” Old Yao spread his hands, his smile vanishing, his expression grew more serious:

”Every action we take affects the existence of other nodes on the network. For example, your relentless pursuit of the Rat Immortal could be the final straw that breaks it, making it reject the olive branch offered by the school and instead, accept the recruitment of the Dark Council...”

”So what!” The Yellow Flowered Cat’s whiskers seemed to have been singed by fire, curling inward, the corners of its eyes drawn up high in anger, fiercely glaring at Old Yao, as if it would pounce and bite seven or eight bloody holes in him at any moment.

”Just a friendly reminder.” Old Yao smiled slightly, bowed his head, picked up the last peanut with his chopsticks, and rolled it in the bright red sauce:

”Every era has its themes. The theme of each generational era is chaotic before it is ultimately determined. The only certainty is that, no matter the era, no matter the theme, the youth are always the final answerers.”

”I’m old, and so are you, but they are still young.”

”When the tides of the era surge over and they are not yet ready, we are the last line of defense. They stand on the embankment watching us, just as we once watched the elderly before us...”

Upon hearing this, the Yellow Flowered Cat’s expression finally softened a lot.

Its whiskers relaxingly spread out, and its tail dangled casually.

However, its words were still not pleasant to hear:

”You sound like an Elder Wizard, not like an old demon... Just watching over the town, right? Shouldn’t be a big problem. Hmm, that girl in the North District can also be of considerable help... Just to be clear, I’m very busy, how long will I need to watch over?”

Professor Yao chuckled softly.

”Not long, not too long.” His figure gradually faded away with the laughter, like a shadow under the setting sun, from vivid to vanishing: ”At most two weeks... It’s very likely everyone will be free by this weekend.”

The guest departed.

San You Bookstore became empty once again.

The Yellow Flowered Cat stared at the teapot and plate left by Old Yao, an inexplicable annoyance rising in its heart. It simply bowed its head, pricked up its ears, and resumed tracking the surging tide of mice beneath the ground.

The mice’s footsteps, fragmented yet grand, were like white noise during a rain shower, slowly dissipating the irritation in its heart, and the mood returned to serenity.

...

...

The rat tide surged through the underground caverns.

Passing through the entanglement of roots, over rocks standing tall with strange shapes, it finally poured into the wide and tranquil Silent River after a humid and mist-filled passage.

At the moment they hit the water, the vests the mice were wearing automatically sprang forth a layer of circular transparent film, resembling soap bubbles, encasing most of their bodies within, only leaving a slender tail outside the film.

Their tails flattened upon contact with water, morphing into fin-like appendages.

Just like tadpoles.

The mice in Red Vests clearly mastered this technique; with a slight flick of their tail fins, they quickly adjusted their position, silently moving forward with the current.

The mice in Green Vests were slightly less adept, but they too managed to navigate independently.

Only the young pups in Yellow Vests, seemingly in their first water experience, were incredibly nervous, frequently a bunch of ’soap bubbles’ would huddle together, with numerous tails entangling as they tumbled and spun in the water, struggling to move even three to five meters.

In the end, it was a few larger mice in Red Vests who took the lead, guiding those clusters of soap bubbles forward.

Not far from this ’tadpole swarm’, a witch was quietly observing everything.

The water of the Silent River flowed abundantly.

Korma sat in a secluded cove by the riverbank, where a Return Soul Poplar had died and now lay slantingly on the ground, its bark covered in moss and mushrooms.

She tilted her face to the side, listening to the sound of the tide surging in the riverbed, while caressing a silver ring on her right index finger. The ring was set with a piece of amber, and through the semi-transparent brown, one could vaguely see the shadow of a mountain range within the amber.

The ring was a congratulatory gift from the Rat Immortal when she became a Big Wizard. The amber contained a miniature world for housing her True Form.

”The tide is rising, eh.”

She sighed softly, her long hair beside her ear slightly undulating in the damp river breeze, her wide robe fluttering backwards, shielding the spying gazes from within the woods.

A Northern District Witch standing next to her peeked into the river, scratching her head, visibly puzzled— the Silent River was as calm as ever, where was the slightest sign of a rising tide?

Korma withdrew her gaze from the riverbed.

”Continue,” she instructed the witch beside her.

This witch had been reporting to her about some ominous signs that Northern District Wizards—or more precisely, North District Mages—had recently uncovered.

”Alright, Great Sage.” The witch bowed respectfully, continuing her report: ”...Because bearing Your curse mark requires a robust body, thus lately the demand for Jia Fruits, which boost qi and blood, and Li Wood Fruits, which increase strength, has grown significantly in the North District. The fruits on the outskirts of Silent Forest have been completely picked, forcing everyone to look deeper into the woods.”

”In the process of searching for new harvesting locations, our people have noticed that certain species within the Silent Forest have been gathering abnormally. Including the Calamity Fight Group, Poisonous Horn Beasts, Corpse-eating Insects that had appeared a few months ago; as well as Centaurs, Goblins... and some even saw the shadows of Giant Dragons and Giants.”

”Theoretically, many of these figures would only appear before a Dark Tide. They might not even surface during the Dark Tide itself.”

”That means,” Korma interrupted her subordinate’s report, summarizing: ”you surmise that a new Dark Tide is about to burst forth in Silent Forest?”

”Yes.”