Chapter 2614: Chapter 835: The Fifth Class Meeting

"As the saying goes, what you think about in the day, you will dream of at night. You’ve been fixated on those ravens; they are bound to echo in your dreams... Don’t be so jumpy, seeing danger in every corner."

"Could it be that you’re under so much pressure lately that you’re hallucinating?"

Zheng Qing lay sprawled on the desk, listening to Xiao Xiao and Xin Fat Man’s analysis, yawning weakly, with a tinge of regret in his heart. He knew he shouldn’t have shared that conjecture with them, yet couldn’t help seeking their opinions—perhaps that’s what people mean by indecision.

Of course, due to the Silence Contract, he couldn’t describe the specific task from last night in detail, only vaguely mentioning his repeated ’deja vu’ experiences and how he ’intuited’ the image of a raven again yesterday.

Perhaps that’s why his companions seemed so nonchalant about it.

Thinking of this, he blinked his tired eyes, opened the silver case of his pocket watch, and glanced at the time.

It was now 5:43 PM on Sunday.

In less than twenty minutes, it would be time for the weekly class meeting.

The reconnaissance mission from last night lasted until after 6 AM. The Assistant Team found a total of 1,131 traces believed to be left by Black Wizard activities within a five-kilometer radius of the North District Wizard Hunting Team’s incident site—comprising not only the black magic secretions Hilda found but also some unusual plant deaths and certain birds and insect beasts driven mad by black magic. Don’t think this number is large, considering the vast and diverse natural resources of the Silent Forest, these traces were likely filtered by the forest itself.

"...Ravens are quite common birds. Do you remember the freshman trial before the sophomore year started last year? How many ravens did we encounter at the trial site?"

Zhang Ji Xin’s voice came from beside him.

Zheng Qing closed his pocket watch, sniffed, and lay back down in a more comfortable position, feeling his eyelids growing heavier.

Xin Fat Man continued to nag about his previous point, seemingly talking to Zheng Qing, though his voice grew more distant: "...Don’t pressure yourself too much. Sure, my earlier suggestion that you are hallucinating due to stress wasn’t very precise, but we’ve all heard Professor Yi talk about the relationship between dreams and divination... Linda’s been stirring up a bit too many rumors lately... all this pressure is temporary; just bear with it and it’ll be fine..."

It seemed like Xiao Xiao said something that Zheng Qing didn’t quite catch.

Then Zhang Ji Xin’s voice suddenly grew louder—

"That’s not possible!"

The red-faced male wizard spoke with an emphatic tone: "...The term ’caprice’ is really too high-brow, it doesn’t have much to do with little wizards like us... even those highly talented diviners, like the Doctor... Doctor, do you ever have moments of caprice?"

"It’s possible."

Xiao Xiao didn’t deny the possibility, his attitude somewhat tactful, and even with his eyes closed, Zheng Qing could almost see the Doctor adjusting his glasses as he spoke: "...Magic is adept at creating miracles. In fact, every wizard, regardless of strength, can experience a ’caprice’ at some point... Most commonly, when facing death, many people unexpectedly burst out with extraordinary spiritual senses..."

"Do you think the scenes Mr. Zha saw in his dreams could lead him to death?" Zhang Ji Xin retorted.

Who knows.

Zheng Qing answered in his heart, yawning again, his eyelids finally closing completely.

Because the Assistant Team’s mission timing was over the weekend, not during Zheng Qing’s study time, Zhang Yu apologized after the morning tasks ended, saying ’according to the rules, no new conversion time can be approved’—which meant Zheng Qing would have to squeeze precious time from his limited holidays to make up for the lost sleep time from last night.

Utterly ridiculous.

And not very feasible.

For students of Jiuyou Academy, sleep is optional, but handing in assignments is not. Especially for someone like him, labeled as a ’cost student.’ Missing assignments a few times could immediately spark new public debates and rumors—for instance, that his scholarship was obtained through cheating, or that he had suffered a severe head injury over the winter break, causing him to fall behind academically; or maybe he partied too hard with a few witches over the weekend, leaving him frail for days afterward, and so on.

He had no doubt that Linda Barnes would jump at this opportunity.

And he was entirely convinced that if that final rumor arose, many people would confidently swear they saw Zheng Qing at some inn with someone at a certain time, only leaving the following day.

The mere thought of these possibilities sent shivers down Zheng Qing’s spine.

After returning from the mission to the dormitory in the morning, he managed only a few hours of sleep before forcing himself up, guzzled several bottles of Clear-headed Potion to finish assignments.

Assignments for twenty-eight courses piled up like a small mountain.

The overwhelming pressure nearly suffocated him, and with the class meeting approaching, he still had unfinished work. He was utterly out of strength to continue.

Just like now.

Even simply sitting in the classroom listening to his companions chat, he felt woozy, unable to keep up, desperately needing a short nap to recover his energy.

But the moment he shut his eyes, he felt someone shake his arm vigorously.

"Don’t move, just let me doze a little longer."

The warlock mumbled, turning his head in his drowsy state, but caught a slightly urgent voice in his ear: "...Old Yao has glanced at you several times already, I suggest you nap later."

Zheng Qing lay on the desk, seemingly unhearing.

But only a few seconds later.

He sat up with a start, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, rubbed the marks on his face, and looked brightly towards the lectern.

Just as he suspected, it hadn’t been a dream. At this moment, Old Yao was standing at the lectern, saying something. Noticing the boy awake, he gave a good-natured glance towards the corner.

"Let me emphasize one more time! Those who didn’t catch it, listen closely!"

Old Yao clutched his smoking pipe, his tone slightly more forceful. Though not explicitly stated, Zheng Qing knew clearly that the ’one more time’ was directed at himself: "...Due to certain objective reasons, tomorrow’s Forbidden Magic Day spring outing is canceled at the last minute. However, the holiday won’t be canceled. Spend your time like any weekend, eat what you wish, drink, and have fun, just don’t try sneaking off to the Silent Forest for any spring outings. Discovery will lead to immediate sanctions, and the initiator will receive a major demerit... Understood?"

"Understood."

A scattering of responses came from under the lectern.

"Hmm?" Old Yao murmured.

"Understood!" This time, everyone responded in unison and clearly.

"Why has the spring outing suddenly been canceled? Last week’s class meeting, Tang Dun was still gathering spring outing project plans." The Fat Man, though using a questioning tone, kept glancing at Zheng Qing, his face full of smiles: "Isn’t that right, Brother Zheng!"

Zheng Qing let out a weak yawn.

"Silence Contract," he mumbled, repeating the answer he had given countless times before: "...I told you at noon, it’s not that I won’t tell you, I just can’t."