High School of Demon Hunting

Zheng Qing knew from the start that Thursday was not a good day according to the old almanac.

It’s not suitable for anything; everything is taboo.

Thus, he spent the whole day tense, being extra cautious.

But perhaps because he was too cautious, he felt today everyone looked at him strangely—for instance, Li Meng, who, during class at Edge Academy in the afternoon, kept staring at him while mumbling to herself, like she was in a daze; then there’s Jiang Yu, whose gaze seemed to avoid him during the Art of Body Transformation class; and Old Yao, whose expressions during class were very subtle, as if he wanted to say something but held back.

This feeling was depressing.

Even worse, his ears didn’t seem right.

Ever since he was captured by Thomas for an experiment last time, and listened to many absurdities from the former assistant that day, he’s been experiencing occasional tinnitus.

At first, he thought there were mosquitoes around.

But since the timing was off, and he had a talisman warding against them, he would still occasionally hear that sound, and eventually, Zheng Qing realized he had tinnitus.

This puzzled him greatly.

It’s known that a qualified wizard is very sensitive to their own health, and he had hardly missed any morning classes lately, showing no discomfort while exercising. Moreover, since absorbing that spirit seed from the crows during the winter break, his physical body was greatly reinforced, there’s no reason for his ears to act up.

But thinking about that bronze bean, the warlock couldn’t help a darker expression, suspecting whether it was the bean’s negative effect coming through.

In the evening, when the Gem Cat returned to the dorm, it happened to see the original body sitting cross-legged on the bed, head tilted, eyes closed, seemingly performing a complicated yoga pose.

"What’s he doing?"

The Gem Cat, having just jumped over the windowsill, hesitated, stopped by the edge of the desk, tilted its head to glance at Xiao Xiao: "——What did you do to him?"

"It’s not related to us."

The Fat Wizard sitting on the other side answered while revising his manuscript at the desk, not even bothering to raise his head: "When he was doing the stealth mission earlier, he felt the tinnitus coming on again, suspected a mosquito crawled into his ear, and is trying hard to shake it out."

The Gem Cat couldn’t help but shake its ears.

Ridiculous!

It silently grumbled to itself—knowing full well he had tinnitus, yet suspecting a mosquito crawled into his ear; if it’s not a mental issue, what is it?

But in the next instant, it seemed to hear the word, as if it was an auditory illusion.

"Is something wrong with your ears?" Zheng Qing, still sitting cross-legged on the six-pillar bed, although still with closed eyes, seemed to sense the Gem Cat’s arrival and directly asked.

The Gem Cat stared for a moment, then jumped up angrily: "——There’s something wrong with your ears!"

Cough!

Tuan Tuan, who was curled at the Fat Wizard’s side, discontentedly coughed, signaling that it was late, and the black stone shouldn’t be jumping on the desk.

"I think my ears really might have a problem." Zheng Qing finally opened his eyes, sat up, picked at his ear with his little finger, looking a bit hesitant, but ultimately shook his head—regardless of whether there’s a problem or not, it couldn’t be confirmed tonight—he bracingly looked at the Gem Cat that returned late at night: "Did you discover anything unusual?"

At noon before Time Conversion, after he and Jiang Yu met Su Ya on campus, he always felt that little fox lady held some ill intent, so he sent the Gem Cat to follow the girl secretly, to see if anything suspicious could be found.

"A complete waste of time!"

The Gem Cat shook its head, putting aside its earlier anger, speaking in a businesslike manner: "After chatting with Big Jade a bit, that girl went directly to the Two-dimensional Evolution Laboratory to find that Big Fox... she probably didn’t find him because she quickly came out... don’t ask why I didn’t follow into the lab building, I don’t want to die... anyway, without finding the Big Fox, she obediently returned to Greenhill Mansion. On the way back, she bought a cup of milk tea, a box of sugar figurines, a packet of dried plums, a roasted chicken leg, and picked a little yellow flower by the roadside; I think these all fall under normal behavior, nothing out of the ordinary."

Zheng Qing frowned slightly, momentarily silent.

Instead, the Fat Wizard, upon hearing a certain term, chimed in with a gossip-laden inquiry: "Who’s Big Jade? Jiang Yu? If there’s a Big Jade, then is there a Little Yu? Who is Little Yu? Zheng Zha’s new schoolgirl crush? Isn’t he afraid of Su Councilor’s wrath?"

Remarkable how he can think of so many rhetorical questions in a breath!

The Gem Cat rolled its eyes, pondering whether to pounce at the Fat Man and scratch his face when Doctor Xiao raised his head: "——Idiot! Little Yu must be Jiang Yu’s White Jade Cat!"

Xin Fat Man immediately lost interest upon hearing this.

Meanwhile, Zheng Qing ignored his roommates’ strange conversation, looked at the Gem Cat, and sighed: "Well, that’s that, if nothing was found... Remember not to leave the campus!"

The last sentence clearly allowed the Gem Cat some freedom tonight.

"Sure thing!" The Gem Cat agreed happily, turned around, and ran towards the window, showing no hesitation. But just as it crouched on the windowsill, it heard the voice of the original body from the six-pillar bed:

"——Is there really nothing wrong with your ears?

"Scram!"

That was the last word the Gem Cat left as it leaped out the window.

All the way to the Cat Fruit Tree.

It remained somewhat annoyed, so much so that upon seeing the White Jade Cat, it couldn’t help but start complaining: "That scum’s ears are broken, yet he insists my ears are broken... Has his brain broken too?"

The White Jade Cat was somewhat bewildered by this sudden string of ’broken’.

Before she could collect herself, a voice from the tree rang out, barely stifling laughter: "——You’re his transformation, if he’s scum, then what are you?"

The two cats below the tree suddenly raised their heads, faces showing vigilance.

There they saw a large blue fox lazily perched upon the throne belonging to the ’real black cat’, while the fur fruits that once blocked the kittens’ access now obediently hung on branches, seemingly turned into actual fruits, not daring to make a sound.

Noticing the gaze from below the tree.

The Big Fox languidly got up, leapt lightly, elegantly landing beneath the tree. As it jumped down from the throne and landed in front of the two little cats, the Gem Cat suddenly realized this fox seemed much larger than them—if the Gem Cat and White Jade Cat were about an inch in height, then this fox was at least over three feet tall!

More importantly, the Gem Cat felt this fox seemed somewhat familiar.

Those eyes, the face, looked much like Poseidon’s mom, the fox Zheng Qing once found—except for the color of its fur being off.

Wait, Poseidon’s mom?

Originally just cautious, the Gem Cat suddenly stiffened.

It suddenly felt, being a stone might be quite nice.