High School of Demon Hunting

”I have a suggestion.”

”What?”

”Let’s eat meat!” Xin Fat Man’s face bloomed with a huge smile.

”Eat!”

Zheng Qing answered viciously: ”We’re not just going to eat meat, but also drink! Eat big chunks of meat, drink big gulps of alcohol! Like the heroes of Liangshan, roaring and lively, never dwelling on things!”

”We can also meet new girls.” Dylan blinked and forgot his craving for ’heartbreak blood’ and set his sights on a more long-term goal, excitedly asking, ”Where should we go? Yota? Eat parrotfish? Half-penny bar?”

The fat man glanced at him sideways, raised his arm and shook the watch on his wrist:

”We eat in the dormitory!”

Instantly, Dylan sagged like a deflated ball and slowly slid back into the coffin in his tent, soon leaving only half of his head outside, resembling a huge black snail.

The fat man reassuringly patted Zheng Qing’s shoulder: ”Rest assured, good food and drink, let off some steam... and tomorrow you’ll be back to a fine fellow again!”

”Speaking of fine fellows, where is this Liangshan you just mentioned?” Dylan, with only half of his head still outside the coffin, stopped sliding further and asked curiously: ”I’ve heard of Kunlun, Alps, Olympus... Are the heroes of Liangshan famous?”

Zheng Qing blinked, unsure how to answer this question.

Xiao Xiao promptly opened his notebook.

”The Black Wizard Group of Liangshan Shuibo were a bunch of evil wizards corrupted by the Deeps of Starry Sky, who called themselves ’Son of Star’.”

The Doctor pointed to the part underlined in red in his notes, held it up in front of the coffin, and explained with enthusiasm: ”They named themselves after different stars and caused a lot of turmoil in the Middle Earth world of the eleventh century... Eventually, these wizards were banished by the Danhag Supreme Court Qingzhou Circuit Court to some undeveloped New World. Their deeds also helped prompt the creation of ’Wizard Stealth’, after lengthy discussions in the eight hundred and fifty-sixth meeting of the Wizard United Assembly...”

Zheng Qing listened with glazed eyes, dumbfounded. Faced with Dylan’s inquiring gaze, he could only nod helplessly, indicating he couldn’t provide any more information.

”Sounds like they stirred up quite some trouble?” Dylan poked his head a bit further out.

Xiao Xiao glanced at him:

”If you’re willing to come down for a couple of drinks, I can tell you those stories.”

Mister Blood Werewolf, always quick to take advice, swiftly slid back out of the coffin and explained to the other two dorm mates: ”Since the Doctor is willing to talk more knowledge... naturally, I must respect his patience.”

The fat man looked at him, silently smirking.

The student dormitory has limited space, and the rules are strict. Barbecue in the dormitory is out of the question. When Xin Fat Man suggested eating meat, it naturally meant pre-cooked and marinated ready-to-eat meats.

As the fat man skillfully arranged the plates on the table, Zheng Qing could no longer hold back, sidled up to the Doctor, and whispered in his ear: ”What’s your take on this matter?”

”What matter? The Liangshan heroes?” The Doctor seemed perplexed.

”Elena.” Zheng Qing’s face darkened, and it took a great effort to keep his temper in check: ”The letter breaking off friendship.”

”Oh, I don’t have any particular thoughts on it.”

”Eh?” This response caught the young cost student off guard: ”None?!”

”Why must I necessarily have any thoughts?”

”No, you don’t have to... but I think,” Zheng Qing struggled to articulate his thoughts, and tried another approach: ”...I want to know if you think this thing is good or bad?”

”Good or bad, they’re just reflections in the eyes of others.”

Xiao Xiao picked up a skewer of meat from the table and waved it in front of Zheng Qing:

”Like this skewer, some may think it’s fatty, others may find it delicious... If you can face slander with a smile, in some people’s eyes that’s a disgrace, a loss of face, a sign of your powerlessness and inability to build your own prestige; but in others’ eyes, it shows you’re cheerful, generous, not engaging in petty disputes, full of magnanimity; of course, it doesn’t exclude the possibility that in the eyes of someone with special preferences, you could be a person with an invisible trait of masochism.”

Zheng Qing took the skewer, with a disheveled look, and bit into it fiercely.

Bits of fat blossomed on his tongue, mixed with a rich blend of spices, layering the meat with a delectable taste. Despite being taken from a watch, the skewer still retained the warm heat as if it had just left the grill, which further whet the appetite.

Xin Fat Man timely handed over a cup of cold butterbeer.

”Here, here, here, this is a speciality from Hog Mode,” he beckoned warmly, like a tavern’s servant: ”Last year when my uncle visited Hogwarts, he brought this especially for me... try it, come on, everybody try.”

Zheng Qing took the beer unconsciously and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

The icy drink flowed through his mouth, clearing away the flavor of the roasted meat and sobering up the young sponsored student’s thoughts a little.

Dylan’s enthusiastic discussions with the fat man reached his ears: ”I heard that butterbeer mixed with Green Bee can taste like a clear tea, and it kicks even harder... do you have Green Bee in your watch?”

”What a joke!” The fat man laughed dismissively: ”If you want a hundred or eighty pounds I might not be able to pull it out... but whether ’have’ or ’not have’, that word is an insult to my reputation as a gourmet!”

Zheng Qing stuck out his tongue, licking the remaining flavors at the corner of his mouth.

That was the aftertaste of beer mixed with roasted meat.

”No one thinks skewers stink and goes to eat them; everyone eats them because they smell delicious.” He first refuted Xiao Xiao’s initial example, and then emphasized his own viewpoint:

”In what kind of world do you think we are living? Our bodies may live in an objective world, but our consciousness lives in another, subjective world. That subjective world made up of everyone’s views and understandings.”

”Skewers don’t stink, but they vary in fat content.” Xiao Xiao used chopsticks to pick up another piece of braised meat, lifting it as the thick meat juice slowly dripped down: ”...why should our thoughts and ideas reference others’ opinions?”

”What do you think is the meaning of our existence?” Zheng Qing gave up debating about food with Xiao Xiao and took another two sips of beer, his earlobes warming up a bit:

”If living is just to eat and then keep on living, what’s the difference from a walking corpse? Aren’t we alive to pursue others’ praise, envy, or even their hatred? In other words, we actually live in the eyes of others.”

”Dull consciousness.”

While continuing the conversation, Xiao Xiao mimicked Dylan’s method, mixing Green Bee, Amber Light, Sea Monster Langmu, and butterbeer together, and cautiously took a sip.

Then his eyes lit up and he gulped it all down in one go.

This made his face turn a bit pale, and his speech somewhat slurred: ”...do you still think you’re a commoner living in the gaze of others? Wrong, wrong, wrong!”

”The moment you received that letter, you were already out of the world you thought you were in. The worldview you had built had already collapsed at that moment. In this brand-new world...”

He spread his arms wide, his drink splashing everywhere, upsetting the Sprites like Hehe who were used to a clean and tidy environment, and somewhat taken aback by the chaos in the dormitory.

Fatty Cat Tuan Tuan had already escaped from Xin Fat Man’s bed at some point and was squatting on the windowsill, squinting and tucking in its paws, watching the chaos below with a smirk.

”...In this brand-new world,” the Doctor slurred, having completely forgotten the topic of his discussion with Zheng Qing: ”Your spirit possesses greater independence...World! World! Everyone is an independent world! The theme of our world is ours to decide! Has nothing to do with others!!”

”No concerns with others!!” Xin Fat Man shouted with a flushed face, making a ruckus: ”The melons haven’t come to market yet, the watermelon is already finished... There are no melons in my watch! But I do have melon seeds!”

Zheng Qing ate the skewer, downed his drink, and listened to his roommates chatting away, his gaze somewhat vacant.

In the end, Xiao Xiao wrapped his arm around his neck and said something that was a real mood killer:

”No matter how exquisite the food you eat is, in the end, it’s no different from shit. Are you going to stop eating because of this realization?”

”Get lost!”

”Shut up!”

”Do you want to eat shit?!”

The other three rebuked in unison.