Chapter 2592: Chapter 813: Consultant Invitation

The day after a spring rain was, as usual, a sunny day.

It’s just that Zheng Qing’s mood wasn’t as beautiful as the weather due to the interrogation last night.

Perhaps it’s a thief’s guilty conscience, perhaps it’s keen observation, or maybe it’s just overreacting, but in any case, Zheng Qing felt that everyone’s gaze was strange after he left the house in the morning.

A witch walking towards him flashed a sweet smile, and Zheng Qing suspected she wanted to have his child; a few warlocks in the distance gathered, pointing and whispering, and Zheng Qing felt they wanted to ambush him; even the squirrels on the trees gnawing on hazelnuts made Zheng Qing suspect they were making false moves, wondering if any wizard had used transformation magic, shadowing him with cold eyes, plotting mischief.

This sensitivity reached its peak when Zhang Ji Xin placed his hand on Zheng Qing’s shoulder.

Bang!

Zheng Qing executed an over-the-shoulder throw, hurling the red-faced male wizard onto the corridor, stirring confusion and amazement among the students, even leaving Xiao Xiao and Xin Fat Man speechless and gape-mouthed.

"It’s nothing, it’s nothing... it’s fine!"

Zhang Ji Xin struggled to get up from the ground, his face seemingly redder than usual, and loudly explained to those around: "Just joking, we were just having a little joke, ah, hahaha, hahaha... Hunting team routine training!"

He forcefully tried to explain, slinging an arm around Zheng Qing’s shoulder, acting all buddy-like.

Zheng Qing, at this point, regained his senses, with a look of embarrassment, helping to dust off the red-faced male wizard’s clothes, continuously apologizing: "Sorry, I kind of lost it just now... I didn’t know it was you."

But Zhang Ji Xin wasn’t angry at all; his eyes instead showed a hint of delight.

"Knowing you’ve ’eaten’ that Copper Bean, your body’s strength increased, I never thought your power had grown so much!" He half-admiring, half-surprisedly squeezed Zheng Qing’s arm, speaking with some wonder: "...Just with your small frame, two months ago if you’d thrown me like that, you’d only end up straining your muscles... Is that bean really that effective?"

In his words, there seemed to be much yearning.

Zheng Qing looked at him warningly, reminding: "The Raven is gone, and Gan Ning is nowhere to be found, where would you find their Copper Beans... and even if you did, would you dare use them? If your family knew you enhanced your body strength using black magic, they’d probably break every bone in your body."

At the mention of ’family,’ Zhang Ji Xin instantly wore a bitter face.

"Uh, the reason I came to you actually is related to family." He braced himself, patted Zheng Qing’s shoulder, and showed a sycophantic smile: "Your performance at Shanglin Garden was outstanding... and coincidentally, my family knows we have a good relationship, being in the same hunting team, so they wanted to invite you to be a ’Family Advisor’..."

Zheng Qing’s expression suddenly relaxed.

"You scared me." He muttered, wiping nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead, awkwardly laughing: "After your first sentence, I thought you were going to introduce a blind date to me too..."

He was still uneasy about the encounters in Shanglin Garden.

Zhang Ji Xin stealthily glanced at the front row of the classroom and hesitantly added in a whisper: "Actually, if you don’t mind, my family indeed... I have a young aunt, just started university this year, she’s quite cute..."

Zheng Qing shot him a sideways glance.

"I just tossed you, and now you want to put me in harm’s way... what’s the enmity!" He snorted, refusing to dwell on the topic, shifting focus: "What’s this ’Family Advisor’ about?"

The red-faced male wizard furrowed his brows, as if trying hard to recall: "Uh, it’s usually about providing independent, third-party opinions and suggestions regarding magic issues or affairs raised by the family. Then my family would provide you with a monthly stipend. Sort of akin to guests in old-fashioned family clans, but with more freedom... you wouldn’t be bound by any contractual obligations."

"Not a bad thing." Xiao Xiao interjected.

"Of course, you don’t need to decide right away about this." Sensing Zheng Qing’s hesitance, Zhang Ji Xin promptly added: "My family hasn’t given a time limit... Knowing you’re busy with coursework this semester, it’s fine to decide before the semester ends. Oh, incidentally, they also invite you to visit my house during the summer holidays!"

It was already late March.

With roughly three months left until the end of the second year, if all goes without a hitch, Zheng Qing should have graduated from First University by then, rendering ’summer’ or ’winter’ holidays irrelevant.

Upon realizing this, Zheng Qing felt an inexplicable anxiety, akin to standing stark naked on a boundless snowy plain, or drifting weightlessly in the deeps of starry sky, feeling lost and unmoored.

"Let’s talk about it later." He rubbed his temple, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Do you want to wear the invisibility talisman for a few more days?" Xiao Xiao’s suggestion reached his ear: "Looking at your current jittery state, wearing the invisibility talisman might keep everyone safer."

Zheng Qing hesitated for several seconds.

"No," he shook his head: "I can’t live my life always hiding in places where others can’t see me... Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you guys, how was the weekend hunting competition? Who won?"

He was referring to the private hunting competition organized by the Starry Sky Hunting Team, held at the same time as Shanglin Garden Spring Hunt, preventing him from participating.

Yesterday, Jiang Hua didn’t attend the Ancient Magic Arts Study class, so Zheng Qing only remembered it when Zhang Ji Xin mentioned the hunting team.

"It was standard, no surprises, nothing unexpected either." The red-faced male wizard shrugged, appearing a bit listless: "I thought the Starry Sky organized hunting competition would be more ’open’, but it turned out their rules were more stringent, like the Campus Cup... we weren’t even allowed to use any damaging magic, only non-harmful spells like Binding Spell, Soft Leg Curse, Confusion Spell. If not for the mushroom dog jumping around in front of me, I nearly fell asleep on the hunting ground!"

"Our editorial team discussed the rules of the Starry Sky Hunting Team." Xin Fat Man, hearing this, showed interest and joined in: "Everyone thinks this is like dancing in chains, standard ’self-castration’ within rule boundaries. To avoid accidents that might lead to a school ban, they’re preemptively eliminating all potential sources of accidents... like parents asking you to trim your nails clean, and you directly chopping off your hand — without a hand, naturally no dirt can hide under nails."

"We’re not organizers, so we can speak casually." Xiao Xiao, apparently disagreeing with the two, offered a metaphor: "It’s like ’gossip and rumors are like acne, best growing on someone else’s face,’ if trouble isn’t personally affecting us, it’s hard to have firsthand understanding and make sensible reactions."

Zheng Qing nodded in deep agreement.