High School of Demon Hunting

Zheng Qing opened his eyes.

Before him was a vast expanse of white.

Just like the image in his mind.

He sniffed, and a scent mixing disinfectant, herbal concoctions, and free magic permeated his nostrils, instantly activating buried memories within him.

Ah, he’s back again.

The school hospital.

It felt as familiar and reassuring as returning home—

"You’re awake?"

A crisp voice sounded beside his ear, interrupting his internal monologue.

Zheng Qing turned his head and saw a young witch in a white robe, holding a notepad, looking at him with surprise from the bedside: "—The therapists just left. I forgot to record your skin color, so I came back! I didn’t expect you’d be awake already! Merlin bless... Miss Bella was considering inserting a catheter for you... Hold on, don’t be anxious, I’ll go get Lady Bella... Don’t worry, it’s not to insert a catheter."

The little nurse chattered away without giving the warlock a chance to speak.

It wasn’t until the room door closed with a bang, leaving Zheng Qing alone in absolute silence.

He rubbed his ears, murmuring to himself:

"—I just wanted to ask what time it is now."

...

...

"It’s now eleven thirty at night."

The horse-faced therapist skillfully examined Zheng Qing and casually answered the boy’s doubts: "—May 13th. Theoretically, the Quankela Fair hasn’t ended yet... Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"

"Theoretically?"

Zheng Qing stretched his arms and legs, shook his head, and finally rubbed his ear, muttering: "I don’t feel any discomfort. Just my ear, I mean, my left ear isn’t quite clear?"

His left ear felt as if water had seeped in while swimming. Although there wasn’t a gurgling sound when he shook his head, the sound was somewhat muffled, contrasting starkly with his right ear.

The horse-faced therapist shook his head.

"Of course, theoretically."

He pushed aside Zheng Qing’s left hand and somewhat roughly inserted a brass-like metal rod into the boy’s left ear, complaining: "Did you think the fair could continue as normal after such chaos? Most guests just came for novelty, not wanting any trouble... So, once the temporary ban was lifted, it only took a moment for the fair’s guests to disperse thoroughly... There’s nothing wrong with your ear function, probably just a small bug got in, or earwax is blocking it."

Zheng Qing felt somewhat reassured.

Then, he cautiously glanced at the horse-faced therapist.

"Were you also at the fair earlier?" he asked, choosing his words with curiosity.

"Don’t speak, the ear probe is extremely sensitive to sound, be careful it doesn’t burst your eardrum following the sound!" The therapist warned the boy while placing a fist-sized shell on his left ear and advising: "—But don’t be too nervous, the ear probe’s working pace follows your heart rate. If your heart beats too fast, its movements can become somewhat rough. Essentially, it means you’ll feel a pricking sensation while it cleans your ear."

Zheng Qing hissed lightly, taking in a breath.

He no longer focused on the rambling of the white-robed wizard.

As soon as the shell was placed on his ear, he felt a wet, slimy, slender thing extending into his ear canal, inexplicably reminding him of the tongue of a giant anteater exploring an ant nest, licking the ants.

A mixture of disgust and delight intertwined, contorting his expression.

Quickly, as the wet thing retracted, he distinctly ’heard’ something being slowly dragged out of his ear canal, and the sound grew increasingly clear.

"How does it feel?"

The therapist removed the shell from his ear, handing him a clean towel: "Wipe it yourself... or you can choose not to, the ear probe’s saliva is beneficial for protecting the ear."

Zheng Qing, not interested in those benefits, meticulously wiped the ins and outs of his ear.

"Hmm... my hearing is restored," he murmured, turning to the white-robed wizard, his gaze shifting between the shell and the empty tray: "—What was the thing that just came out?"

"I knew it!"

The horse-faced wizard’s mouth drooped—making his face appear longer—he picked up the tweezers and tapped the shell: "Every patient is interested in what gets pulled out of their bodies... whether it’s a segment of intestine, a piece of bone, or a chunk of earwax. I should write a paper on this mentality someday!"

The shell’s owner slowly poked its head out, revealing an octopus-like front end and a small section of pink shell flesh. Just by its dexterous tentacles, Zheng Qing didn’t doubt it could thoroughly explore every nook and cranny of the ear canal.

Yet now, it clutched a peanut-sized oval object between its tentacles.

"What’s this?" he craned his neck, intrigued—It doesn’t look like earwax!

The horse-faced wizard’s expression turned slightly serious. Carefully using tweezers, he took the oval object from the ’octopus’s’ grip and brought it close to examine.

"—Looks like a bug egg?"

...

...

"—I think it’s a snake egg!"

Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses, pinching the ’peanut’ between two fingers, examining it closely, eventually giving a vague conclusion.

"Zhang Yu said the same," Zheng Qing yawned widely, collapsing onto his bed.

After a thorough check at the school hospital showing no abnormalities, the two assistants waiting outside the ward simply asked him a few questions and agreed to his request to return to the dormitory.

This greatly surprised the boy.

He thought he would at least be forced to stay in the hospital ward overnight.

"The school is trying to avoid trouble."

The fat wizard, busy writing a news article at his desk, lifted his head, massaged his stiff cheeks, and sighed: "If tomorrow morning you’re still in the school hospital, the journalist from Beta Town Post would likely block you... Though Quankela isn’t a major fair, it’s a well-known and distinctive trading market within the Alliance. This time, it was halted by the school just a few hours after starting... While the Merman faction can’t upfront say anything seriously, they might impede quietly. Plus, with so many people at the market..."

He shook his head, evidently not optimistic about the subsequent public opinion direction. Then he glanced at the egg in the doctor’s hand: "...Why do you think it’s a snake egg?"

Xiao Xiao glanced at Zheng Qing’s ear.

"Obviously, because someone has a snake living in their ear," he adjusted his glasses again, his reasoning leaving Zheng Qing speechless.