High School of Demon Hunting

The comet shines with light and has a tail; in the land it heads towards, there will be war and bloodshed. This omen is inauspicious, and within three months, disaster will strike.

This is the prophecy Zheng Qing heard on the Qingming Festival night from the elders of the Uteyama tribe—more precisely, it is a prophecy written in a poetic style.

At this moment, this prophetic verse, recorded by Zheng Qing on a parchment, quietly lies on a long table. The Fishman Elder Priest for ’Yagneg’ is staring with its cloudy blue-grey eyes, meticulously examining each character on the parchment.

The dense smoke in the tent is slowly dispersing with the elder priest’s long breaths. Zheng Qing sits properly in front of the long table, silently waiting for the elder priest’s interpretation. Jiang Yu and the Big Fox sit on his left and right, while Xiao Xiao, just like the last time in this tent, is seriously admiring the various ’art pieces’ hanging on the walls, such as the scorched yellow Fire Dragon’s Backbone, the Mammoth Skull with ivory, and the whip made of ox tails, among others.

Because there is no need for a ritual, the row of little fishmen from the choir seems quite relaxed. Although they are not whispering to each other, they are not sitting quietly on the benches but are instead curiously observing the guests in the tent with their big, beautiful eyes, especially the two cats that came with the guests.

Compared to the somewhat intimidating Big Fox and the not-so-good-looking grey-furred Gouzi, the Black Gem Cat and White Jade Cat are particularly eye-catching.

However, both cats, being avatars of adult wizards, carry a certain innate pride and do not engage in play with the little ones due to their small size.

In contrast, Poseidon seems very interested in the little fishmen’s semi-transparent scales and clean, soft fins, dragging the two cats along as he paces in front of the little fishmen, looking as if he wants to touch them yet dares not approach.

"Yagneg! Our God!"

The Fishman Elder Priest began in its usual singing tone, then its voice returned to normal. Lifting its already non-transparent eyelids, it glanced at the young man: "—When our world falls apart, moonlight turns into countless fine beams, hiding in the corners of memory, with endless colors swallowed by the bright sun. On the echoing paths, countless tiny moonlights converge into a clear spring, brewing an intoxicating taste."

Zheng Qing found it utterly baffling.

He cautiously glanced to his sides—The Big Fox drooped its eyelids, its four tails curled into a ball behind it, looking bored, just shy of napping on the long table. Although Jiang Yu seemed to be listening intently, that blank expression did not look any more comprehending than Zheng Qing’s.

The Warlock cleared his throat.

"You..."

He had just uttered a word when the Fishman Elder Priest raised its hand, interrupting him: "When we wander, Yagneg protects us from being hunted by demons, bothered by wizards, or teased by flood dragons... When we stop, He rests under the Dragon Skin Cloak in the shrine. Those who peep at destiny need not be believers of God but must show their sincerity."

These words were much more straightforward.

Without further ado, Zheng Qing pushed the gold bean he had long prepared in front of the old fishman.

That’s the price for last year’s divination, he remembered clearly.

The elder priest looked at the lone gold bean in front, its whiskers drooping, and remained silent. For a long moment, seeing the warlock had nothing more to offer, it slowly spoke: "—Destiny, what a wonderful and expensive word..."

Before it finished, the witch next to him placed another gold bean beside Zheng Qing’s gold bean.

The old fishman’s cloudy gaze suddenly became much clearer.

Yet its expression remained somewhat reserved.

This time, it hadn’t managed to speak.

The Big Fox next to him stretched out a paw and placed a translucent jade coin before it, her voice tinged with impatience: "Stop the mystical theatrics! I’m out here shopping, not sitting in this smelly tent to listen to your reveries!"

As she spoke, the four fluffy big tails behind her blossomed like a lotus, and a spirit of the Big Wizard radiated brightly within the tent.

Clang!

The Fishman Elder Priest swiftly gathered up the jade coin and two gold beans from the table.

"Alright, alright."

It clasped its hands before it, nodding repeatedly, a humble smile spreading across its broad mouth, the mysterious aura dissipating completely with these actions.

Then it picked up the parchment from the table again, fished out a monocle from its pocket, hung it on its left eye, tilted its head, and carefully read the content on the parchment, apologizing as it went: "Sorry about that, old age has made my eyesight poor. I can’t see clearly without glasses..."

"Then what were you staring at for so long just now?" the Black Gem Cat shouted from not far away.

The old fishman aimed the lens in the direction of the voice, saw the black cat, and appeared somewhat startled: "Ah... it turns out to be a cat! I thought it was a mouse at first."

The White Jade Cat raised a paw and covered the mouth of the Black Gem Cat, stopping its outrage. The Big Fox saw this scene, and its previously blossomed tails drooped slightly, looking as if she wanted to swat the Black Gem Cat around a few times.

The elder priest whose vision had improved did not keep the guests waiting long.

In just a short while, it interpreted the prophecy its own way: "—A comet with a tail is a great omen of disaster. According to the prophecy, where the disaster lands, there will be war and bloodshed, an ill omen. This will happen within three months of the comet falling... When did you obtain this prophecy?"

Removing its glasses, it glanced at the guests.

Zheng Qing didn’t reply, only felt a bit disappointed—for the content the old fishman deciphered was no different from the conclusion reached by the teaching assistant group. He had hoped to gain something more definitive here.

Like, who are the parties in the war?

Who will bleed?

And so on.

He instinctively turned towards the stone platform at the end of the long table. Underneath a wide, heavy cloak is what he remembered as the shrine to this fishman’s god, with Yagneg’s skull beneath the cloak.

Last time, it was Xiao Xiao who wore Yagneg’s skull on his head, allowing Yagneg to ’descend’ and perform a divination for Zheng Qing.

This time—

He turned his head towards Xiao Xiao, only to see them already at the entrance of the tent, seemingly ready to lift the fish skin curtain and escape. On the other side, the Little Fox happily played with the little fishmen, the Black Gem Cat bored, playing a paw-over-paw game with the White Jade Cat, while the Big Fox tilted its head, watching the two of them with an unfriendly gaze.

When Zheng Qing first heard this prophetic verse, the Black Gem Cat was still a stone, unshaped. Now, it could withstand a Big Wizard’s gaze without flinching.

He marveled at the passage of time in his heart, retracting his gaze to look at the owner of this fish skin tent—

"I want to see it for myself."