High School of Demon Hunting-Chapter 1480 - 224 Wusa’s Pumpkin Car

In Wusa, no one can kill a cat.

This is not just because the law in Wusa City strictly forbids the killing of cats, but also because some sacred and great gazes always look after these furry creatures, endowing them with an extraordinary status in the city.

"It is said that the original reason for the passage of this law was because of an old couple who delighted in the cruel slaughter of cats." Leading two companions on their way to Wusa City, Xiao Xiao was incessantly narrating everything she had learned:

"The farmer and his wife used traps to kill every cat that came near their home for fun. One year, a caravan arrived in Wusa, with a little orphan boy who relied solely on a small black cat for company. On the third day of the caravan’s visit, the little black cat went missing. The boy searched for a long time but couldn’t find it. Townspeople secretly told him about the old couple’s wicked habits."

"The boy wept, fell silent, thought, and then began to pray."

"He uttered words that no one understood, beckoning to an existence no one knew of. That day, everyone saw the sky tearing apart, the clouds distorting, and a dark, hazy figure reflected in every corner of the city. Then, all the cats in the town disappeared."

"After several days of wandering, the cats reappeared. However, they had become sleek and shiny, plump and large, their eyes now lively and spirited."

"The Police Chief, along with a notary, the Police Chief, and a doctor, went to the old farmer’s house. Inside the house, there were no living people, just two white skeletons lying in front of the fireplace with not a shred of flesh left on their bones."

"Since then, Wusa had this infamous law."

Zheng Qing, listening to this somewhat terrifying yet not so terrifying tale, felt a hint of boredom—aside from the brief fright he got when the story’s little black cat made its appearance, and the weird look he received from the Witch beside him, he felt nothing new.

Compared to that, the occasional pumpkin carriages speeding past on the road were of more interest to him.

"Where are we going now?" Once he had patiently listened to Xiao Xiao’s story, he finally found the chance to start a new conversation.

"To the Wusa City Museum," replied the Diviner from the Absolution Hunting Team.

"Hmm?" Zheng Qing raised an eyebrow: "Another museum?"

"To be precise, it’s a temple within the museum that worships the Old Gods," Xiao Xiao was holding a notebook, twirling a feather pen in her hand, capturing the fresh scenes around with a drifting gaze, her voice somewhat languid: "...The Priest in that temple has lived a very long time and knows many things. It wouldn’t hurt to have a chat with him."

"Why not wait until Fatty and the Elders arrive before going?"

"Once the Hunting Team gathers, we’ll need to get down to business... Have you forgotten the reason we came to this World?"

Of course, Zheng Qing hadn’t forgotten—the initial reason for entering Dreamland was because of the Faceless Demon that had escaped into this world impersonating Liu Fei Fei’s pet snake—plus the agreement he once had with Zhu Si, and the prophecy Mr. Wu had made for him, all pulling the young ’cost student’ back into this dreamlike realm.

"Can we ride those pumpkin carriages?" The ’cost student’ shifted the topic again, pointing at an orange carriage that had just whizzed by and asking with interest.

"As long as you have fish snacks," Xiao Xiao’s answer was somewhat cryptic.

Zheng Qing stopped in his tracks, fumbled through his grey cloth bag for a while, and eventually pulled out a handful of mackerel snacks, lifting them in front of the Doctor: "Fish snacks like these?"

Xiao Xiao adjusted her glasses, seemingly surprised as she glanced at him.

"I thought only Fatty’s watch contained food at all times," it was clear she had not anticipated that Zheng Qing would really produce a handful of fish snacks.

"Just in case." The young scholarship student curled the corner of his mouth and replied vaguely.

Now that he had the dried fish, there was no need to walk any further.

Xiao Xiao pinched the tail of a small dried fish, held it up in mid-air, and cried ’Meow’ with amusing seriousness!

Zheng Qing shuddered involuntarily.

"What are you doing?" He grabbed Jiang Yu and took a few steps away from the Doctor.

Xiao Xiao glanced at him: "Calling a ride."

Before his words fell, a bright yellow Pumpkin Carriage, with the sound of the wind, screeched to a halt in front of the small dried fish. A fluffy paw reached out from the front of the carriage and scooped up the small dried fish into its grip.

"The parking fee is collected! One barbel dried fish!" The coachman announced in a lazy, slightly sticky voice: "Where would the passenger like to go?"

Zheng Qing stared blankly at the Pumpkin Carriage.

The carriage didn’t differ much from the pumpkin carriages of the Wizard World; it had four wheels with the two steering wheels in the front being smaller and the two load-bearing wheels at the back being larger. The carriage made from a giant pumpkin, with its top still equipped with partially dried pumpkin vines, had small windows carved into its side, adorned with a few Little Orange Lamps, emanating a fresh natural fragrance from inside out.

What differed were the carriage’s driver and the creatures pulling it.

The coachman of the Pumpkin Carriage was a hat-wearing Flower Cat with a round face and spotted fur, slick and shiny all over, with a thick tail coiled around its waist like a whip.

The ones pulling the carriage were several hefty ’Big Mice’.

Calling them mice wasn’t quite accurate, since Zheng Qing had never seen mice with pointed ears. These creatures with brown fur bore a resemblance to mice in their pointy muzzles and contours, so he provisionally labelled them as mice.

"The last time I saw mice pulling a carriage was during last year’s Christmas." Zheng Qing felt a sense of déjà vu with those pullers and took another closer look: "A Pumpkin Carriage dispatched by Greenhill Mansion, with drivers and pulling mice from the Underground Rat Clan... Remember those ill-tempered ’Christmas Mice’ who always wrapped gifts in socks and scattered them everywhere?"

Both of his companions ignored Zheng Qing’s reminiscing.

"They’re not mice," Xiao Xiao was the first to correct the inappropriate terminology used by the Warlock: "Such creatures are called ’Zu Ge,’ a species unique to Dreamland, classified under the order of rodent-like magical creatures the ’Zu Ge family’ in the Wizard’s Encyclopedia, a very distinct category... However, due to their mouse-like appearance, many people also call them ’Enchanting Mice’."

"Fine, fine, fine, I know you can recite the entire Encyclopedia," Zheng Qing rolled his eyes and raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.

Jiang Yu tugged at his robe.

"Those creatures lurking in that oak forest, spying on us, must be these guys, right?" She said, staring at those brown outlines of the Zu Ge with some uncertainty in her voice.

Zheng Qing narrowed his eyes and finally understood where that sense of familiarity had been coming from.

"The Enchanted Forest is indeed an oak wood, also the most concentrated area of the Zu Ge tribe." Xiao Xiao confirmed the Witch’s guess and added, "As for these creatures pulling the carriage, they are tributes from the Zu Ge tribe for the Cats of Wusa City... In ordinary years, the cats command them to pull carriages, but in years of disaster and famine, they become top-notch food sources."