High School of Demon Hunting

”To the meat!” Xin Fat Man lifted his cup.

”For the slovenly, free, and casual clothes!” Zheng Qing shouted, somewhat bleary-eyed.

”For the dorm, for returning to the collective!” Dylan’s inner werewolf seemed to be growing wild as well.

”For a better future with more choices!” Xiao Xiao concluded with a bang.

”Cheers!”

The four cups collided heavily, splashing a flurry of froth.

After three rounds of drinks, the flavors of meat were well tasted.

The young wizards were all a bit tipsy.

Fat Cat carefully avoided the young wizards running wild in the dorm, disdainfully glanced at a chicken leg covered in beer foam, and began to ponder whether to sneakily pee in Xin Fat Man’s cup.

After all, cat urine, horse urine, or beer all taste pretty much the same.

Fat Man didn’t notice the malice emerging in Fat Cat’s eyes.

Because he was a bit drunk, Zheng Qing was pouring out his woes, clutching his arm:

”...You know, I’m not good at expressing myself in public, I can’t give her the feeling of romance... It feels like she and I are from two different worlds. Although we’re close in distance, our hearts are far apart. Even when we laugh over the same joke, it doesn’t bring our souls any closer.”

”...Did you know, when we sit together, although I’ll attentively gaze at her face and share her happiness, I always feel there’s an invisible barrier between us. You know, she’s very outgoing, her behavior is casual, and she’s always on-trend with her makeup.”

”I’m a bit overwhelmed. I’ve tried to respect her habits, tasted her recipes, imitated her style, but you know, all that failed...”

Thinking about those paste-like foods and gaseous drinks, Zheng Qing suddenly felt panicky and uncomfortable. He slammed his cup on the table heavily, and like a boneless creature, slid from the chair to under the table.

Like a maggot that couldn’t find food.

Xiao Xiao flipped through the Law book and it took four or five vines to drag the young cost student out from under the table. The vines propped up Zheng Qing’s armpits, like two crutches, preventing him from slipping further.

”Do you have any plans for your four years of university life?” Xiao Xiao started a new topic, trying to lighten the mood around the table.

With bleary eyes, Zheng Qing turned his head and mumbled, ”Career? What plans...”

”Idiot!” Xin Fat Man, holding a drumstick as if Odin wielded His Scepter, with a layer of blue glow flashing across his round face, said: ”Doctor means to ask if you have any plans or ideas for your four years of college!”

”Plans, huh...” Zheng Qing shook his drowsy head. He felt as though he were standing on the edge of a rushing river, with the turbulent water at his feet, while he struggled to maintain a balance of consciousness between reality and chaos.

Unable to contain himself, Xin Fat Man raised the drumstick high and spoke of his ambition first: ”The plan is to devour all the delicacies of Buji Island! Find all the endless secrets of the Silent Forest! Make the entire wizard world tremble under my Feather Pen!”

This ambition did not earn praise from his companions, but instead provoked laughter.

”Do you think you’re the owner of Three Flavor Bookstore or Hundred Herb Gardens?” Dylan’s tongue was as sharp as his fangs: ”You, make the wizard world tremble under your Feather Pen? Then I might as well hold the Blood Race’s Holy Grail and reign over a New World!”

The Fat Cat squatting on the windowsill meowed in agreement.

”Hey, hehe, hehehe.” Fat Man let out a sequence of spine-chilling laughs, a blue glow surging across his cheeks, gripping the gravy-dripping drumstick and tearing at the thick meat without the usual retort, but instead looked towards the Blood Werewolf classmate and asked: ”And you?”

Dylan was silent for a few seconds.

In his hand, he held a glass filled with pink liquid. It was a drink mixed with various alcohols and blood, with a thin layer of frothy gas hovering on top.

”As for me,” he paused for a moment before slowly replying: ”My goal is pretty simple—to become a top-notch Registered wizard and find myself a solid coffin... one so good that I could sleep in it for thousands or tens of thousands of years without decaying.”

Xiao Xiao nodded in agreement: ”Silent Forest has the richest variety of wood in the entire Wizard World, you will definitely find the type of wood you want.”

”Fat Man is about eating, Dylan is about living, what about you?” Zheng Qing finally caught up with everyone’s conversation pace, turning his gaze towards the Doctor.

Xiao Xiao shrugged his shoulders and curled his lips.

”Me?” He seemed very nonchalant: ”After graduation, I’ll marry Sima, and then have two beautiful children, one boy, one girl...”

”Not that sort, not that kind of plan.” Xin Fat Man waved his hands vigorously, his face stuffed full of disgust as though it was crammed with dog food: ”Tell us about your life, your career plan!”

”Life plan? Our family doesn’t really strive for much, our life paths have all been marked out. As for me, as long as I have filled this notebook in these four years, that would be up to the mark,” Xiao Xiao patted the thick black notebook on the bed, his face weary.

”Doesn’t sound so difficult,”

Dylan craned his neck to look at that notebook: ”...your notebook, it’s only around a hundred and eighty pages, you write in it every day, shouldn’t take more than a few days, right?”

”Not everything can leave a mark in history. And my notebook, it can only accommodate the traces of history,” Xiao Xiao always spoke in a tongue-twisting way.

”Which means, although you write a lot usually, in fact, very little counts?”

”That’s more or less what it means,” Xiao Xiao seemed a bit lost for words but tried to explain:

”For example, I write ten pages of records today, but when dawn comes, there may only be one line left on the notebook. It’s very common. Take yesterday for example, I wrote thousands of words all day, but the notebook didn’t leave me a single word. Just a blank page.”

”A blank page?!” Fat Man repeated in shock, his face full of pity.

”A blank page.” Xiao Xiao sighed heavily.

”That’s really pitiable,” Zheng Qing said with a sympathetic tone, thinking about the Doctor’s usual vigorous scribbling, and shook his head.

”It’s not that miserable,” Xiao Xiao seemed to recall something, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, then he looked at Zheng Qing: ”...It’s your turn now. The rest of us have already shared.”

”Me?” Zheng Qing tilted his head back, looking up at the bare ceiling, observing the dark, moldy spots in the corner of the room.

All sorts of scenes flashed through his mind.

The mysterious Mister, the ill-tempered Yellow Flowered Cat, clothed Mice, the Outer God that looked like a toad, shadows that ran out from his own body, and already having children without being married.

All mixed up together, gradually fermenting his passionate aspirations amidst the stimulation of alcohol and the aroma of meat:

”In these four years, I want to become a real man!”

The dormitory fell into silence.

Everyone was stunned by this ’grand and astonishing’ goal of the young state-funded student.

It wasn’t until Fat Cat, laughing so hard his legs went weak, fell from the windowsill, knocking a few books off the desk onto the floor, that silence was broken.

Doctor Xiao cleared his throat.

”This is indeed a very grand, very meaningful goal,” he said with grave sincerity, although his expression twisted slightly: ”Procreation... This is the most primal pursuit of life since ancient times, from the moment of emergence!”

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but laugh, followed by Dylan, Xin Fat Man starting to laugh out loud, and even Zheng Qing couldn’t help starting to chuckle.

The Sprites busy in the dormitory did not understand what everyone was laughing at but joined in the laughter, inspired by Hehe’s mirth.