The next morning, before the history class.

Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao discussed last night’s dream.

"I think you saw an ’illusion.’

After listening carefully to Zheng Qing’s detailed description of the dream, Xiao Xiao very confidently concluded: "A wizard skilled in divination can use magic skills to conceal their identity in reality, thereby confusing the accuracy of the divination... The most obvious evidence is that after you woke up from the dream, you quickly fell asleep again, but today you can clearly remember everything that happened in the dream. This is completely different from a real nightmare or the scene a witness describes. From another perspective, only an illusion would require the witness to remember things clearly; real dreams are always vague and easily forgotten."

Although his analysis was very reasonable, Zheng Qing remained noncommittal.

Not only because the face he saw with that last glance left a deep impression on him, but also because the dried-up ravens hanging on the scaffolding bothered him a bit.

"Could it be..." he considered as he spoke.

"No."

Xiao Xiao very forcefully interrupted Zheng Qing’s speculation, clearly guessing what he wanted to say, "The ravens have already been wiped out; this is a fact jointly certified by the school and the Trident Sword... The Atonement Hunting Team also benefited greatly from this outcome. Don’t forget where your Golden Merlin Medal came from."

"Then why did I see Gan Ning?"

"Thoughts in the day, dreams at night, this is an ancient magic theory that never goes out of date."

"Who do you think those cultists were sacrificing to?"

"I don’t know, and I don’t want to know... The best way to deal with the Evil God is not Lu Er De Holy Water or the Guardian Spell, but to not look, think, or know about them. As long as you know nothing about them, you will never have to worry about them causing you any harm."

"That sounds somewhat like burying one’s head in the sand." Zheng Qing felt somewhat disapproving of Xiao Xiao’s passive approach: "Remember the ’Gess Dessau Murder Case’ mentioned in the History of Magic? Which of those thirteen innocent people sacrificed by cultists knew of that Evil God’s existence? When a mudslide hits a village, it won’t spare you just because you’re unaware."

"Would you be buried by a mudslide?"

Xiao Xiao sharply pointed out the misunderstanding in Zheng Qing’s comprehension: "Your so-called ’innocents’ are actually ’those who are powerless to resist’; they are innocent, but their survival rate in the face of any disaster—not just cultists—wouldn’t be very high. Conversely, you with the ability to resist would be unharmed by either Gess Dessau or a mudslide."

Once again, Zheng Qing fell silent.

Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, adjusted his glasses and curiously looked behind him.

"Then do you think I should report my dream from last night to the school?" Zheng Qing, not noticing the doctor’s gaze, hesitated and asked again.

"Tell Old Yao about your dream of a group of hanged ravens, or tell the Assistant Team about your dream of a group of cultists?" Xiao Xiao sneered, shaking his head vigorously, "No one cares about the life and death of a group of cultists... as long as they don’t cause trouble. Of course, I don’t deny the possibility that someone might be sowing confusion, using a Black Magic ritual to cover up their true purpose—just like I just analyzed, the scene you witnessed in the dream may have been carefully disguised—therefore, you shouldn’t act rashly. Oftentimes, taking action based on the influence of divination can cause more harm than doing nothing."

Zheng Qing nodded frequently.

But he found Xiao Xiao’s analysis somewhat absent-minded, as his gaze always shifted to behind Zheng Qing.

Before he could turn around subconsciously, he was swiftly pinned down by the short Warlock.

"Don’t move yet," Doctor Xiao placed a hand on his Bamboo Slip Law Book, speaking in a hushed voice: "I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but I have a feeling the atmosphere in the class is a bit weird...a lot of people are sneakily watching you."

"Watching me?" Zheng Qing looked puzzled.

Just then, a rumbling sound came down the hallway, like a Fire Dragon charging forward, with heavy footsteps stopping abruptly at the door of the History of Magic Classroom.

Zheng Qing easily detected that familiar presence.

It was Xin Fat Man.

"Here! Here! Sorry, coming through!"

The Fat Wizard shouted as he apologized, without any pause, continuing to charge to the corner of the classroom, raising a sound-shielding barrier with his hand, looking at Zheng Qing with an excited expression: "...Get ready, something big is coming!"

"What on earth?" Zheng Qing was full of confusion.

Xin Fat Man slightly curbed his excitement, snapped his fingers, and quickly explained, "Linda just told me that she’s been monitoring the discussion about you at school which is rapidly heating up... so she plans to start taking action today to stir up the hype. As long as our rumors are outrageous enough, we won’t need to worry about anyone else smearing you."

"I must really thank you guys." Zheng Qing responded with a complex feeling.

Looking through the shielding barrier, indeed, many classmates started pointing and whispering about him again, except this time many of their eyes showed surprise rather than anger.

"What kind of ’revelations’ does she have?" Zheng Qing couldn’t contain his curiosity.

"You’ll find out sooner or later."

The Fat Wizard apologetically shook his hands, firmly executing his girlfriend’s command: "Linda says, during this time you only need to remain silent and refrain from making any public responses."

Very soon, Zheng Qing would know why Miss Barnes didn’t want him to know what kind of rumors she was concocting. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

At lunchtime.

Zheng Qing had just sat down at the dining table.

Li Meng came over with a big apple, biting into it while curiously sizing up the Warlock from head to toe, making Zheng Qing feel quite uneasy.

"What are you looking at?" Zheng Qing glanced around the Little Witch, trying to spot her cousin.

"Lizardman." Li Meng replied matter-of-factly.

"Uh-huh...huh?" Zheng Qing finally drew his gaze back from behind her, with a peculiar look: "What are you talking about? Lizardman? Which sub-species? Who? Are you saying me?!"

His questions intensified with Li Meng’s gaze until he arrived at an unbelievable conclusion, pointing to his own nose, feeling a mix of laughter and tears: "Where did you hear that kind of rumor?"

Despite saying that, he felt a sense of relief inside, realizing that Linda Barnes’ rumors were nothing much.

"A very reliable source."

The Little Witch took a fierce bite of the apple, refusing to give up her informant, and continued to scrutinize Zheng Qing: "No wonder your tastes are so varied, and you always walk with drooping shoulders... and Su Ya said your physical strength has been explosively enhanced recently, which is a characteristic of a Lizardman nearing adulthood... did you really come out of an egg? Hey!"

Her head was predictably flicked by Jiang Yu.

The Witch, holding a light meal, scolded the Little Witch.

"Don’t spread baseless conjectures! You’re not an elementary school student anymore!" she said, placing her tray down and sitting across from Zheng Qing, nonchalantly twisting her loose hair into a bun and sticking it in place, "...let me copy your Magic Universe Study homework this afternoon, I’ve been a bit tight on time lately and haven’t finished it."

Zheng Qing found this even more absurd than knowing he was a Lizardman.