High School of Demon Hunting

Under the moonlight, three black cats, two big and one small, were walking slowly along the moonlit path.

The big black cat on the left had a small green snake hanging from its ear, while the big black cat on the right had a hint of blood-red in its eye. The small black cat in the middle had fur so glossy it shimmered charmingly in the night.

This was a whimsical idea Zheng Qing had just envisioned after leaving Old Yao’s office. Unexpectedly, the shadow cat did not refuse his request to accompany him.

Zheng Qing felt it had been a long time since he wandered as a cat.

Experiencing the life of a black gemstone cat through memory and transforming into a cat himself were fundamentally different. The young assistant mused inwardly, happily bidding farewell to the shadow cat at the intersection.

"Thanks for tonight. See you!"

With that, it flicked its tail and walked briskly toward the cat fruit tree. But after a couple of steps, it sensed something was off, paused, tilted its head, and cast a sidelong glance at the two black cats leisurely trailing behind.

"Why are you still following me?"

Its expression turned displeased, and it lost the patience it had earlier: "—I have business, well, I mean, don’t you have your own things to do?"

"Who’s following you?" The shadow cat snorted, taking a step forward, surprisingly overtaking Zheng Qing and continuing toward the cat fruit tree: "—School’s so big, who said I can’t walk in this direction?"

Indeed, the point was reasonable.

The stumped Zheng Qing turned to look at his alter ego.

The shadow cat was understandable, but this rock had just been summoned for some fresh air, where did it get the nerve to defy his orders?

"I don’t mind going back, but have you really thought it through?" The black gemstone cat sighed, sneakily observing the black cat’s expression: "They say ’you take responsibility for your own actions,’ and this morning’s issue was my mess. I can’t let you take the blame in front of them, can I..."

The black cat’s expression was inscrutable.

After a long pause, it nodded slightly, restrainedly: "Well, since that’s the case, you can come along too."

Under the cat fruit tree.

The green big fox and the petite white jade cat opened their mouths in sync, watching the three black cats approaching in the night.

"Is this your solution?"

After a while, the big fox swished its tail, its tone pensive: "A single cat wasn’t enough, so you brought three? The problem is, who does the third one belong to?"

It was a question aimed at the heart.

The black cat promptly responded: "Don’t be absurd, we’re not acquainted with it... Who knows why it’s sticking around like sticky tape, refusing to leave!"

As it spoke, it shoved the black gemstone cat toward its position with its paw.

All three cats formed two distinct camps in the night, the moonlight filtering through the sparse leaves of the cat fruit tree creating mottled patterns on the ground. Many of these ’shadow patterns’ trembled irregularly, as if peering from the fruits in the tree.

The black cat looked up in dissatisfaction.

Just then, the shadow cat made a run-up and leapt up the tree, gracefully landing on the cat fruit tree’s ’throne.’ The black cat froze for a second and burst into a rage.

"Get down! Is that a place you can be?"

Its silhouette suddenly expanded a bit.

The shadow cat tightened its muscles slightly but maintained a nonchalant appearance: "Ridiculous! I’m on here three or four days a week, hasn’t your alter ego ever said anything?"

The black cat quickly looked down at the black gemstone cat.

The rascal looked utterly puzzled, but seeing the original’s gaze, it immediately began to justify itself: "I have no clue! Didn’t see it come around... Whether it came around or not, doesn’t anything ring a bell in your mind?"

The black cat fell silent for a moment.

Looking up at the shadow cat on the throne.

Its silhouette shrank gradually, until matching the black gemstone cat’s size, sure enough, the shadow cat on the throne vanished. It was truly not the rock’s fault, purely because it was too small.

But what about the big fox?

Her size surely meant she could see the unwelcome guest in the tree, right?

"I thought it was a guard you hired," the green big fox, receiving the black cat’s glance, nonchalantly shook her ears: "Who can blame it for being your shadow? Never seen anyone fighting with their own shadow all day... Childish."

"You’re not childish?"

The black cat, emboldened out of nowhere, sneered: "Furry Bean told me a while back, someone bounced around stomping on their shadow in the garden when no one’s around..."

The green big fox narrowed her eyes dangerously.

In the distance.

Greenhill Mansion.

Curled up in a ball in the garden’s corner, a dozing Furry Bean suddenly sneezed in its sleep, startling itself awake. Looking around, it didn’t see any movement, only that the night’s breeze seemed a bit colder. It smacked its lips and buried its head back into its legs, curling up tighter.

Under the cat fruit tree.

Realizing the intricacies of the situation, the black cat suddenly understood why the shadow cat was so sardonic earlier in Old Yao’s office—had it more than once observed the black gemstone cat and the big fox, the white jade cat’s interactions on the tree? No wonder it talked of evasion and disgrace.

Thinking of this, the black cat felt its temper rising again.

"Why are you here so early today?" The big fox’s voice aptly broke the black cat’s frustration.

It had yet to speak.

The black gemstone cat, already snuggled beside the white jade cat to play with her, turned its head and obediently replied: "Old Yao called them both to the office, told them something, not sure what, but as soon as he left the office building, he summoned me."

The white jade cat smacked the black gemstone cat on the head.

The black gemstone cat immediately theatrically cried out, rolling aside.

The black cat suddenly felt a bit weary.

The cats it brought forth, one after another were ’near’ traitors. Call them traitors, they argued fervently; say they’re not traitors, look at what they’ve done! They seemed torn between rebellion, having a thief’s heart but not the guts.

Eh?

Why did this description sound so familiar?

While the black cat was deep in thought, the big fox lightly flicked her tail, casting a subtle barrier: "—What did Old Master Yao tell you?"

Her tone carried some severity.

The black cat smacked its lips in thought, succinctly narrating the conversation in the office tonight. Of course, it naturally omitted trivial irrelevant details like ’escape disgrace,’ focusing only on Old Yao’s mention of the ’fate disaster’ and ’evil weapon choice.’

The big fox squinted, pondering for a long time.

Ultimately, she merely shook her head, commenting simply on the Legendary Wizard’s clever tactics: "He’s smart to clear himself thoroughly."