"How are your little sprites doing?"

This was the first question Jiang Yu asked Zheng Qing after the Art of Body Transformation class ended.

The warlock was about to answer but suddenly remembered something else. He quickly gestured to the witch to be patient, rushed out the door, and caught up with Professor Yao, who was still in the corridor.

"Professor!"

Zheng Qing stopped, panting, beside Old Yao, nervously rubbing his hands like a squirrel clutching a chestnut: "A few days ago, I took my little sprites to see a doctor. You know those little sprites, they behave very well, but this winter break, three of them seem to be undergoing transformation... so I took them to Doctor Duzem’s lab for a check-up... You know Doctor Duzem, right? Yes, you definitely know..."

The dean of Jiuyou Academy patiently listened to the warlock’s rambling for a while, and finally couldn’t resist. He tapped Zheng Qing’s head lightly but firmly with his smoking pipe: "Stop with the nonsense and get straight to the point!"

The young man scratched his head, suddenly feeling his question was a bit silly. But since he was already there, he had no choice but to ask quietly: "It’s just, I saw a new sign outside Doctor Duzem’s research lab that says ’First University’s Edge Academy Related Departments’... I don’t know what that means... the name seems a bit strange... Does the school allow Edge Academy to handle forbidden curses?"

As he mentioned those words, he instinctively looked around, his voice dropping to a whisper like a mosquito’s.

The professor’s irritation faded slightly, and he nodded thoughtfully.

"Not many students can notice this, you are indeed one of the most likely... but you need to understand something." He paused, not directly answering Zheng Qing’s confusion but replied meaningfully: "Forbidden curses are managed by the relevant departments, but the relevant departments don’t only manage forbidden curses."

With that, he offered no further explanation and turned to disappear down the corridor.

It wasn’t until Jiang Yu patted Zheng Qing on the shoulder from behind that the warlock snapped out of it.

"What are you daydreaming about?"

The witch watched him curiously, with her arms behind her back. As she followed his gaze around, her long eyelashes fluttered, giving a starkly whimsical impression, causing Zheng Qing to stare blankly.

Jiang Yu waved her hand in front of his face, bringing him back to reality.

"What?"

He repeated the question, as if to retrieve lost thoughts, feeling a bit warm on his face as he redirected his slightly impolite gaze and quickly replied: "It’s just, when you asked me earlier, I suddenly remembered, so I came to ask the professor what he thought about the sprites’ condition... The professor said it’s not a big deal... They’re still sleeping soundly, but they just haven’t woken up."

His explanation was somewhat convoluted and stuttered.

Jiang Yu showed remarkable patience.

"No abnormalities is the best case."

She nodded lightly and, with a flip of her hand, magically revealed two gemstones – one sleek black jade and one almost translucent white jade in her palm.

"Take your piece."

The witch said in a brisk tone, succinctly adding: "As far as I know, the Activation technique in Transfiguration magic requires very high-level casting skills. At our level, turning a strand of hair into a cat is quite difficult. Relatively speaking, turning a stone into a cat is much easier."

She was considerate enough to use the word ’we’ to include Zheng Qing.

Zheng Qing hesitated for a few seconds.

Inside, he felt a significant sense of annoyance. In fact, when Old Yao spoke about ’practicing activation technique with stones, puppets, toys,’ he thought about finding some beautiful, magic-infused gems to give to Jiang Yu because the professor had mentioned in class that the more spiritual the stone, the easier it is to activate.

But with just a slight delay, he went from being the giver of gemstones to the receiver.

Of course, he didn’t show his annoyance, instead happily taking the black jade, thanking the witch, and agreeing to master the Activation Transformation technique by the end of the month.

"As the professor has emphasized repeatedly, the sooner we grasp this magic, the easier our semester will be," Zheng Qing held the black jade, reflecting on the experiences from the past two weeks since the term started, feeling deeply in agreement.

As they spoke, they had already left the teaching building.

By this time, most people had already left, and the ones left behind were the bookish types focused on their studies. Though they were curious about the well-known Zheng Qing, few approached to disturb them, mostly glancing once or twice before quickly moving on.

Although it was perfectly normal for a warlock and a witch to walk together in broad daylight, inexplicably Zheng Qing felt a bit guilty and cautiously scanned the surroundings, feeling as if everyone looked familiar.

Especially the fleeting figure he glimpsed as they exited the teaching building, which looked a lot like Matthew Karen, but immediately Zheng Qing shook his head, dismissing the somewhat ridiculous thought – considering the timeline, his classmate should still be at the Edge Academy outpost off-campus, Matthew wouldn’t appear here.

The setting sun painted the western sky with orange-red clouds, resembling spilled jam on a table. The young warlock and witch walked together, their long shadows intertwining, weaving in and out of the differing shadows of buildings and shrubs.

Having been concealing himself under the invisibility talisman for a while, Zheng Qing felt he had forgotten the beauty of the real world. At this moment, he just indulged in enjoying the evening breeze and the faint fragrance beside him, forgetting about those haunting threats.

"Where’s your shadow-transformed black cat?"

As they turned a corner, Jiang Yu caught a glimpse of their intertwined shadows from the corner of her eye and suddenly remembered something. She gently squeezed the white jade in her hand: "Logically speaking, a cat formed from a shadow should count as a result of the Activation technique too!"

Zheng Qing thought about that cat’s origins and its current department, and finally shook his head.

"It’s an accident."

The boy firmly denied the possibility: "A very unreasonable accident. You’ve dealt with it in the Black Prison and should know that cat values its independence more than anything and would never allow my consciousness to occupy its body. And when I set it free again last semester... it wasn’t a pleasant matter between us."

He spread his hands, a hint of a bitter smile on his face, not elaborating on the unpleasantness between him and his shadow.

The witch nodded slightly, offering a peculiar example: "Like Li Meng, who values her status as a university student more than anything, the more you lack something the more you care about it... Let’s go this way, there’s a small path here that will bypass the western shore of Lin Zhong Lake, there’s a nice little view of the lake there."

She led him around the side and back of the teaching building into the grove of willows, walking along a winding path paved with small stones. As the time approached the Awakening of Insects, more and more small animals began awakening, crawling out of their tree holes. Many Tree Elves, born last winter, opened their eyes to see the world for the first time, their brief cries filled with joy.

Some bolder ones, seeing the warlock and witch passing under the trees, bravely tossed fallen bark, dead branches, or abandoned insect nests at them.

The Tree Elves didn’t have much strength, nor were their aim accurate. Zheng Qing regarded it as a small amusement during his stroll through the woods.

Only the cobwebs hanging down between the branches overhead, one after another, would occasionally stick to his and the witch’s hair and shoulders, which was quite unpleasant.