High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1796: Chapter 17: In One Ear and Out the Other

Zheng Qing was fully aware of the trouble he was in.

In simple terms, it was a conflict between the increasingly growing forbidden curse power within his body and his limited capacity. If the forbidden curse power drifting from the forbidden curse seed was not properly guided, at best, it would cause him severe headaches and mental weakness, and at worst, it could lead to uncontrollable catastrophic consequences.

For instance, during a night patrol around Lin Zhong Lake, he severely injured Mike Gold Cypress Plano from Alpha Academy with a single shot.

Or, upon leaving the Dreamland, he accidentally shattered the school’s guardian array and the small white tower on Lake Heart Island.

And on the Black Prison Battlefield, he knocked down the slender red sky pillar, slicing through the stronghold of Black Prison, instantly pushing the slowly progressing war to its most intense degree.

Even without Mr. Zhang’s guidance, Zheng Qing had already realized his predicament—during his time in the hospital, he had to prick his finger daily, draw a few blood talismans, and use the created fu bullets to contain the continuously overflowing forbidden curse power—he had originally planned to visit San You Bookstore after his release to see if Mr. Zhang had a better solution.

Upon hearing his teacher’s words, Zheng Qing immediately forgot his confusion and the risks associated with the gift’s source, and eagerly asked:

”This little snake? How does it solve my problem?”

His teacher did not explain; he merely raised his hand closer, signaling Zheng Qing to touch the blue snake.

The young wizard cautiously extended a finger, brushing the blue snake’s forehead, feeling smooth and slightly cool to the touch, as if touching dewdrops on grass leaves in the early summer morning.

Once touched, the blue snake suddenly ceased its slumber, opening its eyes, one a deep blue and the other a blood red. Deep blue like water, blood red like jade, both crystal-clear without a hint of malice, enchanting those who gazed upon them.

Zheng Qing widened his eyes in surprise because when he touched the blue snake’s forehead, the forbidden curse power stagnant deep within his soul surged like a flood through his fingertips, rushing into the blue snake’s body.

In just a moment, the blue cyclone hovering over his heart lake evaporated—this was the forbidden curse power he had accumulated overnight, initially intended to be drawn out with a blood talisman by noon.

As the forbidden curse power dissipated, the small tree, vaguely solidified deep within his soul, joyfully stretched its branches, casually shaking a few green leaves on its branches.

Zheng Qing exhaled deeply, feeling an unprecedented and complete relaxation of his spirit.

Then he remembered the origin of the little snake.

”It...”

As the boy spoke, the teacher lowered his raised hand. However, the blue snake did not retract into the teacher’s palm but instead gently coiled and swayed, climbing along Zheng Qing’s fingertips onto his wrist.

”R’lyeh’s transformation is not complete.”

The teacher began to explain straight away, not waiting for the boy to speak: ”Whether Xiangliu or Cthulhu, they belong to the top legends, able to touch the reality of the world. Even when facing Shi Hui, the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Array, and Tai Yi’s might successively, their physical forms were not completely obliterated... You can think of this little snake as the lingering essence from Xiangliu and Cthulhu materialized into an obsession. As long as the obsession remains, R’lyeh cannot be complete.”

At this, Zheng Qing immediately felt the blue snake on his wrist like a red-hot branding iron, burning and terrifying. He wanted to shake it off onto the ground but dared not, fearing any slight disturbance might provoke the intertwined obsessions of the two legendary beings, turning him to ashes with a single thought.

The young warlock could only raise his head, pitifully looking at his teacher.

Noting his expression, the teacher chuckled: ”It poses no danger to you... You should know, a forbidden curse is conjured following a certain rule, acting as a spell that consolidates the ’world’, while legendary wizards’ strength lies in their ability to evolve real and unreal worlds. Your forbidden curse power has a unique effect on grinding away the obsessions of legends.”

”Originally, R’lyeh asked me to intervene to speed up its recovery. However, considering the balance among various parties, slower recovery is beneficial for everyone... Moreover, as my ties with this world grow more distant, you need some time to grow. Hence, I suggested you lend a hand.”

”I naturally trust you, sir.” The blurred and hoarse voice once again echoed in the hospital room. This time, Zheng Qing remained calm, no longer panicked.

”But,” the boy paused after beginning, looked around, glanced behind his teacher, as if seeing those enormous eyes again, and changed his words: ”Weren’t you asleep?”

The expected fuzzy and hoarse voice did not arise.

Zheng Qing looked at his teacher in confusion.

”R’lyeh is indeed asleep,”

The teacher did not deny the boy’s speculation: ”But for an Ancient One who has transcended the rivers of time and destiny, past, present, and future are unified, transcending the traditional concepts of ’awake’ and ’asleep’... However, the less interference with reality, the easier the convergence of the future timeline. Hence, it will not easily manifest in reality.”

Zheng Qing subtly pouted.

Bluntly stating that His Majesty R’lyeh, an advanced Ancient One, looked down upon him as a small fry and couldn’t bother responding was entirely acceptable to him.

”So this little snake is to be my bracelet?” Zheng Qing raised his hand, looking at the blue snake on his wrist, seeing its gleaming heterochromatic eyes and translucent scale armor in the sunlight, feeling slightly uneasy at heart.

He glanced at his shadow—considering even the black cat wielding incomplete forbidden curse power was closely monitored by ’relevant departments’, there was no reason he could wander casually with a ’curse bracelet’.

What if the bracelet were to explode in class?

Or worse, what if a black wizard lured it away with a beautiful little female snake?

”There is indeed some risk,”

The teacher nodded, raised his hand, pinched three spells, transforming into three points of faint golden light—one landed on the blue snake’s forehead, two on Zheng Qing’s earlobes—then withdrew his hand, smiling as he glanced at Zheng Qing.

The young wizard witnessed this scene and was suddenly enlightened. Following the teacher’s previous demonstration, he raised his hand and pinched the first hand jue.

The blue snake on his wrist immediately transformed into a stream of light, darting into his left ear canal, somewhat like water entering the ear while bathing, instantly muting and distancing the surrounding sounds.

He shook his head; indeed, his head felt as though filled with water.

This sense of immersion persisted for several seconds before gradually dissipating. With bated breath, Zheng Qing focused inward; there, hovering above his heart lake was the sapling sprouted from the forbidden curse seed, coiled by a blue snake—left eye deep blue, right eye blood red. The curse power seeping from the sapling was consumed by the scales of the sky-blue snake before it could disperse.

Zheng Qing opened his eyes, joy glistening within them, flipping his fingers as he pinched the second hand jue.

Whoosh!

A stream of light shot out from his right ear canal, expanding with the wind, transforming into a foot-long blue snake coiling in the void, slowly swaying its head. As its heterochromatic eyes blinked, starlight scattered in all directions.