High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1471: Chapter 215: Cat City

Just like Zheng Qing, not long after entering the Magic Mirror passage, Xiao Xiao lost contact with the companion ahead of him.

But unlike Zheng Qing, Xiao Xiao had no chance to turn around and hug the companion behind him—because before this, the unreliable team leader had already let go.

So he could only drop into Dreamland, all on his own.

Fortunately, the place where Xiao Xiao landed was a large river with gentle waters. He didn’t even have to waste the Spell copied from the Law book, merely flailing his arms to paddle a bit, and he swam ashore from the river.

As he stood on the bank, took off his robe, and wrung out the heavy traces of water from the robe, his surroundings had all been imprinted in his mind.

This was a river valley, behind him were hills covered with shrubs and small patches of farmland, and in front of him was the large river he had just swam ashore from. The river was calm, clear and blue, with a trail of golden scales stretching from upstream to downstream, and white froth floating on the water, frozen in the flow.

From a distance, it looked as if someone had peeled off a segment of the sky and dropped it into this valley, forming this river.

On the opposite bank of the river, there was a small city.

The city walls were not tall, and from afar, the rooftops within the city and the pedestrians outside had some 18th-19th century European style. Dark and murky, those exuded a sort of eerie silent aura.

After redonning his now-dry robe, Xiao Xiao contemplated for a moment and didn’t immediately summon Furry Bean.

He did not feel the same urgency as Zheng Qing upon entering this world.

On the contrary, as an individual, Xiao Xiao preferred to stay in this world filled with fantasy longer, to enrich the contents of his black notebook.

”For safety’s sake, I shouldn’t run around the wilderness alone,” he murmured to himself after looking at the small city for a while: ”...Everyone who comes here needs a place to eat and sleep... That’s my mission.”

With this thought in mind, the young Diviner put his hood on, hugged that black notebook in one hand, and held the Feather Pen in the other, and walked towards the downstream of the river.

Because not far downstream, there was a large bridge spanning both sides of the river.

That was a majestic stone bridge, with sturdy piers and elegant railings. The bridge surface was a pale yellow, with rocks full of chisel marks of various depths, and railings carved with little cats of different shapes.

Xiao Xiao met a farmer at the beginning of the bridge who also intended to enter the city; he was driving a horse cart, loaded with stacks of tightly bundled firewood, under which there was a faint smell of smoked meat and liquor.

This must be the most primitive form of smuggling, thought the young Diviner to himself as he recorded these observations in his notebook.

Perhaps it was the clean robe, or perhaps it was the heavy black notebook in his arms and the Feather Pen tucked in it, the farmer treated Xiao Xiao with great respect, making the sign of the Old Seal on his chest before answering many questions.

For example, the river was called Skye River—of course, it could also be Sky River, the farmer had a strong accent, and the young Wizard was not too certain, considering the appearance of the river, he preferred to call it ’Sky River’—where the source of the river was, the farmer didn’t know; where the river flowed, the farmer didn’t know either. He was just an ordinary farmer living near this river and the city.

For another example, the bridge over the river was nearly 1,400 years old, and it was said that when the bridge was built, the chief engineer sealed living people inside the piers as a sacrifice to the Sky River.

The city on the opposite side of the river, in official documents, is called ’Wusa,’ but the people living nearby and the merchants passing through prefer to call it ’Cat City,’ because the city council had passed a famous law: forbidding anyone from killing cats.

The consequence of this law was that the number of cats living in the city grew more and more, so much so that in the Enchanting Forest not far from Wusa, the Enchanting Mice of the Zu Ge tribe had repeatedly sent protests to the city council, claiming that the existence of these cats severely affected the safety of the Zu Ge tribe.

After answering the questions, the farmer made the sign of the Old Seal on his chest again and then drove the horse cart towards the city gate.

Xiao Xiao stood at the head of the bridge for a while.

He needed to organize the notes he just heard.

Then, he circled the words ”killing cats” in red ink with a big circle.

The young diviner was skeptical that the legislators who created this law didn’t mean to prohibit killing cats, but rather to prohibit idiots. That way those simple-minded country folk wouldn’t come into the city and compete with the smart city dwellers for precious job opportunities.

This suspicion diminished considerably by the time Zheng Qing crossed the bridge.

Because the stone carvings of various sizes of cats on the stone railings on both sides of the stone bridge were enough to illustrate the extraordinary status of cats in this city.

”The captain and the monitor should have ended up here,” muttered the young diviner as he put away his black notebook and shook his head.

Compared to him, the captain of the Absolution Hunting Team, who had a black cat tail, or the monitor with a pair of cat ears, would probably receive preferential treatment more easily in this city.

With these thoughts, he crossed the stone bridge and approached Wusa City.

The outskirts of the city were filled with pleasing elements, such as light green farmhouses, neatly fenced gardens, strolling hens, and paths paved with pebbles.

Walking on those paths was a pleasure, both underfoot and in spirit.

Not to mention the various ”Furry Fruits” lying in front of houses, on tree tops, and beside roads. Cats of different sizes and colors were comfortably purring in the sun, emitting a relaxed and joyful vibe.

When a stranger approached, these bold cats would just lift their eyelids, lazily hnng a soft sound to signal their victory, asking not to block their sunbathing. Entirely different from the skittish and suspicious nature of cats from outside.

After entering the town, the number of cats increased even more.

On the pointed ancient rooftops, under the eaves adorned with gargoyles, between hanging bridges in the air above alleys, within neatly pruned trees by the road, and in countless chimneys and lanes paved with pebbles.

White cats, black cats, gray cats, Flower Cats, Big Cats, small cats, spotted, calico, glass-eyed, heterochromic — all kinds of cats were so numerous they dazzled the eye.

”They would like this place.” The young diviner said to himself once again and with that thought, he developed a strong wish in his heart — to take Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu for a stroll in this town.

”Furry Bean?”

”Furry Bean!”

”Furry Bean!!”

Xiao Xiao called out in a slightly less frequented alley for a while before the dog, Gouzi, appeared out of nowhere with a dusty figure, sticking out its tongue and sleepily looking at him, meowing, ”Meow~!”

This meow attracted many curious glances from the shadows.

Many cats of Wusa looked with curiosity at the creature that, while its appearance was utterly different from them, was speaking their language. No cat doubted whether it was a cat, but no cat was willing to step forward and greet the newcomer ’grey cat’.