Chapter 3056 - 69: Going Home

Chapter 3056: Chapter 69: Going Home

Leaving the First Hall.

Zheng Qing didn’t go back to Xuanhuang Palace or San You Bookstore, but headed to Greenhill Mansion instead.

After all, he’d gone and assigned Su Shijun a very tricky job without even discussing it with her first; from any angle, he owed her an explanation.

Only, the moment he imagined how that Big Fox might react, his paws started to itch with nerves. He loitered by the little stream in front of the mansion gate, hesitating over how to open his mouth later in a way that sounded halfway appropriate.

Creak!

The side door in the wooden fence opened from inside, and it was Jiang Yu who opened it.

"—So, when are you planning to come in?"

She asked in a very pleasant tone.

Zheng Qing didn’t bother hiding his shock at all:

"—You haven’t left yet?!"

"So, you were planning to wait until I left before coming in?"

The Witch narrowed her eyes at that, her expression and tone both a bit delicate.

Zheng Qing immediately shook his head like a rattle-drum, and at the same time regretted his earlier hesitation—out of respect for Qingqiu and Su Shijun, he hadn’t taken it upon himself to spy on who was actually inside the mansion—honestly, he’d dug this hole for himself.

"—I just, just... hey!"

The Warlock stammered, just as shy as two years ago. He still hadn’t figured out how to explain his sneaky behavior when he felt a gust of wind shoot out from behind the door and slam hard into his stomach, making him yelp.

As soon as that gust came out, he recognized it as Poseidon.

Only his shout wasn’t because his belly hurt from the impact; he was worried about the Little Fox’s head—in his current physical condition, even if a rhinoceros charged him head?on, odds were the rhino would end up with a broken horn and fractured bones, while he himself would likely be totally fine—so right now he was only worried Poseidon would give herself a concussion on his stomach.

If that happened, never mind talking to Su Shijun about a part?time job.

He’d probably be broomed out the door before he even opened his mouth.

Luckily, the Little Fox’s foundations were extraordinary after all: she was tough as nails. When Zheng Qing scooped her up, she didn’t look the least bit hurt; instead she happily raised something the size of a goose egg in her hand and couldn’t wait to ask: "—Daddy! Look at it, isn’t it about to break shell?"

Zheng Qing recognized it as the Fur Dragon Egg Jiang Yu had given her yesterday at the celebratory ceremony—uh, to be precise, this gift was still nominally something he’d given.

At that thought—

The young Legend felt even more guilty and shot the Witch standing in the doorway an apologetic glance.

Then he grabbed—his hand hovered in mid?air for a long moment, suddenly not knowing where he could even start. Now that Poseidon had transformed and shed her fox body, he obviously couldn’t just pinch her by the scruff anymore; the ears that you could tug on humans were a bit too sensitive on a Little Fox—those fluffy ears, you were afraid of pulling fur out just by touching them, let alone yanking them around.

As for her hair, if Zheng Qing actually dared reach out and yank it, he suspected the people lining up to beat him wouldn’t stop at just Su Shijun.

The Warlock hesitated for a few seconds.

In the end he pinched Poseidon under the armpits and lifted her up in front of him, face stern: "—Dong Dong! You’ve already transformed, you’re an adult now! An adult should act like an adult... how are you still this scatterbrained?"

"Oh? Oh!"

Whether the Little Fox understood him or not, she solemnly nodded, big eyes locked on his smaller ones for a few seconds, then once again raised the Fur Dragon Egg in her hands: "—So, Daddy, is this egg about to break shell?"

As she spoke, her big tail drooped down from under her skirt and slapped randomly across her old father’s face.

Tsk.

Absolutely no way to communicate.

Zheng Qing sighed, set the Little Fox down, and rather dejectedly took the egg. Yesterday, in all the chaos, he hadn’t noticed; only now, with it in his hand, did he feel how heavy it was, hard as a Stone—no wonder her head had been fine after ramming his stomach so hard just now. He considered, a flicker of red passing through his eyes, and saw the little thing inside the shell happily snoring away.

Alive and healthy.

"—It’s still a long way off."

The young Legend stuffed the Fur Dragon Egg back into the Little Fox’s arms and cautioned: "Even though it’s quite sturdy, it’s still developing. Don’t carry it around with you and run all over the place all day. Careful you don’t shake it apart... do you enjoy being grabbed and swung around like a toy?"

Oh, that was a bad example.

The moment the words left his mouth, Zheng Qing knew it was trouble.

Sure enough, when she heard his example, Poseidon’s eyes lit up, her two fluffy ears suddenly sprang upright, and she happily agreed: "I like it!"

"Like what?" A neutral voice sounded from the doorway.

The two ears that Poseidon had just pricked up flopped down again with a smack. Zheng Qing rubbed her head sympathetically, then ruthlessly pushed her back inside.

"—Take her back, watch her until she finishes copying today’s talismans from memory. If she doesn’t finish, she doesn’t eat."

Su Shijun instructed Su Man at her side, paused, then added: "Mm, she can eat, but she’s grounded... grounded together with Zheng Susu!"

"Yes, Miss." The Head Maid agreed respectfully.

Poseidon’s little face collapsed. She glanced at Jiang Yu, then turned to look at Zheng Qing.

Both adults indicated they were powerless to help.

The Little Fox sighed, dragging her tail as she trudged wearily into the mansion. Su Man followed quietly behind her, softly reminding:

"—Your tail!"

Whoosh!

The fluffy big tail snapped back under the skirt in an instant.

Only then did Su Shijun withdraw her gaze and turn it on Zheng Qing: "—Go on, what trouble have you landed me in this time? Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t buzz around the doorway like a headless fly for half the day... come inside first, don’t let the neighbors see and laugh at us!"

She stepped aside.

Jiang Yu also silently moved over to make a path.

Zheng Qing braced himself and carefully squeezed between the two Witches.

The garden behind the door was quiet—no maids tending the flowers, and none of the annoying Flower Sprites or Grass Spirits. Zheng Qing hesitated, then haltingly told the two Witches what he’d done today, and only then brought up the "joint academy" proposal he’d submitted to the school.

"No wonder I’ve felt the weather was so gloomy all day."

The Upper House Member of the Moon Council let out a long breath, studied the young Legend in front of her, and her expression turned a bit complicated: "In one single day, Wizards and Demons each lost a top?tier Big Wizard... those big shots must be in a truly foul mood."

"—So all those High-level Demons that showed up off Buji Island earlier were because of this?" Jiang Yu pursed her lips, hesitating as she asked.

"It’s related, but not entirely."

Zheng Qing briefly explained the Demons’ reaction, then summed up: "From where I’m standing, at the very least, there’s internal disagreement among the Demons over what Vortex Brigette counts as now, and both the Sea demons and Witch Demons are wary of it... so after I helped get rid of that problem, everyone should have felt relieved. Returning the Vortex was the proof."