High School of Demon Hunting

The first class on Monday morning is Magic Spell.

Zheng Qing didn’t wait for his black gemstone cat all night, feeling like his heart was scratched by a cat. After the early class, he couldn’t wait to rush to the classroom and ask Jiang Yu if her White Jade Cat had returned.

But until the class bell rang, the witch leisurely strolled into the classroom, not even glancing at him. Li Meng, trailing behind Jiang Yu, made a face at him.

The deja vu moment gave Zheng Qing a pang of ominous premonition.

Soon, he recalled that after being taken by Thomas some days ago to have his flesh sliced and blood drawn, he tried to hide this from Jiang Yu; as a result, he hadn’t seen the witch’s face for quite some time.

At that time, the ’killing intent’ she radiated was just like the feeling she gave him today when she entered the classroom.

He wasn’t the only one sensitive to this aura.

"What mistake did you make again?"

During a break in the Magic Spell class, Xiao Xiao looked at Zheng Qing with curiosity, full of suspicion: "Don’t tell me you really have some weird relationship with that little girl from the Huizong Tribe..."

"Bullshit!"

Zheng Qing rolled his eyes at Doctor Xiao, and after his irritation, he helplessly sighed: "—How would I know? Everything was fine yesterday. I swear I’ve been very well-behaved these past two days... except for participating in a school project on Friday, and she knows about that too. Other than that, it’s just been studying, studying, and more studying. The end-of-term exams are right around the corner. Where would I find the time to get involved in those messy things!"

"So, if you had time, you would get involved in those messy things?" Xiao Xiao keenly caught the ambiguity in Zheng Qing’s last words.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qing could only wish to pour concentrated sulfuric acid into his mouth.

Xiao Xiao subtly moved a small step away.

"Where’s your black gemstone cat?" he suddenly asked.

"—Went out last night, and hasn’t come back yet." Zheng Qing hesitated, instinctively glanced at Jiang Yu’s seat, vaguely saw her playing with a piece of White Jade, and couldn’t help but shiver inside.

"Is it that it hasn’t come back, or doesn’t dare to come back?"

Doctor Xiao evidently guessed a certain possibility, hitting the nail on the head: "Remember how much trouble your shadow caused previously? I never quite understood why you dared to let your Stone Cat replace you at the Cat Fruit Tree... with your agility and quick wit, you scarcely got by between Su Councilor and Jiang class leader, so how could its stone-brain get through safely under the Cat Fruit Tree."

Zheng Qing’s face lost all color.

He suddenly recalled a small detail from Saturday night — the black gemstone cat went to the Sakura Pub, listened to Korma’s nonsense, yet never quite grasped the point, while he absorbed the memory, quickly understood the witch’s unspoken intent.

In other words, he indeed overlooked the stupidity of the Stone Cat.

In the Dark Under the Lamp, that’s probably what it means.

...

...

Zheng Qing found the black gemstone cat in the underbrush beneath the Cat Fruit Tree.

After the magic spell class, Jiang Yu still left without a word, promptly surging anxiety within him, leaving him with no patience to wait for the Stone Cat to return on its own; with lunch hurriedly settled with an egg sandwich, he hurriedly followed his mental link with the black gemstone cat to find it.

Seeing Zheng Qing show up.

The black gemstone cat displayed exceptional calmness.

It sprawled out its limbs like a defunct meat pie, lethargically saying to the warlock: "Come on, turn me back into stone, I’m simply despairing at this deceitful world..."

Before it could finish complaining.

Zheng Qing lifted the Art of Body Transformation.

Spell light flashed, and the black gemstone lightly fell into the warlock’s hand, meanwhile, a tumultuous surge of panicked cold memories fiercely flooded into Zheng Qing’s mind.

Moments later.

The warlock opened his eyes, glanced at the black gemstone in his hand, and sighed heavily.

Did the Stone Cat do anything wrong?

No, it sincerely completed the task given by its main body. It even, beyond just gathering information, spent an entire night studying honestly with the White Jade Cat, quite surpassing his expectations for that stone.

But to say it did nothing wrong—

Zheng Qing weighed the black gemstone in his hand, feeling a slight toothache.

After the afternoon talisman class.

He didn’t linger like usual; seeing Jiang Yu seeming ready to leave, without a word, he hurriedly blocked the exit of the first-row seats, firmly gazing at the witch.

Since most of the class hadn’t left the classroom yet, a small uproar quickly erupted around.

Zheng Qing was unfazed, his expression unchanged.

"Say what you need to say nicely, don’t lose your temper." Teacher Zhang cradled the lesson plan, before stepping off the podium, patted the boy’s shoulder with a smile, yet her gaze was fixed on the witch.

Thereafter, she leisurely left the classroom.

"You..."

Zheng Qing had only said one word before being interrupted by the witch.

"We both still have classes later, not much time." She glanced at her pocket watch, gesturing to the door: "Let’s talk outside, while walking... you, go to the library on your own, it’s almost time for the final exams, don’t always be playing with Su Ya!"

Li Meng obediently nodded, hugging her small backpack, and swiftly ran off.

Zheng Qing followed the witch along the corridor, stopping once they reached an empty corner.

"I..."

This time, he could barely utter a word before the witch raised a finger, halting him from speaking further.

"I know it’s not your fault." She glanced at the obsidian in Zheng Qing’s hand, shaking her head: "But I can’t possibly get mad at a rock, can I? Don’t you agree?"

This answer completely caught the warlock off guard.

He had imagined many possible responses from the girl—like blaming him for two-timing; or mocking him as a time-management master, no sooner had he bid farewell to the White Jade Cat than he walked through the doors of Greenhill Mansion; at worst, she might say nothing at all, just staring coldly at him.

But all his guesses were wrong.

This caused his brain to freeze for a few seconds.

Then it began to turn again.

"Then..."

"You want to ask, if I know it’s not your fault, then why am I mad at you?" The witch finished his question for him, making Zheng Qing all the more deeply sense the black gemstone cat’s feelings last night—was he really that easy to understand?

Moreover, he felt that this being cut off mid-speech was strangely familiar.

A strong sense of deja vu.

These thoughts flashed through his mind as he nodded obediently.

"I need to express my attitude by getting mad."

Jiang Yu calmly looked at him, eyes profound: "Or rather, I need to get mad to deepen my memory. Though it’s a small matter, if I accept it quietly, then next time, should I accept something slightly more over the line? And the time after next? And so on... I’m worried that in the end, I’ll be able to naturally accept seeing you together with her. The thought of such a scene just angers me."