The early summer air was somewhat warm and moist, the ancient locust trees and weeping willows lining the street had breathed out an aura of green that had been brewing all winter, enveloping the shops on either side of the street in their shadow.
Long, massive bluestone rocks paved the streets of the Four Seasons Pavilion, even and clear.
Usually, streams of tourists filled the street, where naughty Tree Elves often swung on the slender branches of the willows, jumping from one person's head to another, occasionally dropping some small trinkets made from the twigs and leaves.
But now, all the Tree Elves hid inside their tree holes, shivering in terror as they watched the tree trunks tremble from the thunderous drumming sound.
Under the trees, on the street.
The wild boar monster stepped forward with its four short and fat hooves, running wildly on the bluestone road, making a rapid clattering noise.
It was as if rain was hitting plantain leaves, and a pig was falling on a jade plate.
Three symbols that floated out from Thomas's Law book, with his spell, transformed into tiny strands of breath, integrating into the vast air of the world.
The Tree Elves hid deeper within their tree holes.
They sensed a terrifying presence circling around.
Zheng Qing widened his eyes.
He felt the air was enraged.
Each and every breath burst its own filaments.
Piercing anyone who breathed in the air, making their bodies tingle.
Thomas stood in front of Zheng Qing, exhaling a murky breath.
A deep thunderous sound rumbled.
The sound was muffled and long-drawn-out.
As if it came from the distant horizon.
He turned his head, showing Zheng Qing a mischievous smile.
"Cover your ears!" he shouted.
Zheng Qing opened his mouth wide, covering his ears, trying to say something.
But his voice was drowned out.
The sound of thunder, like exploding beans, constantly reverberated in his ears, drowning out all other noises.
The enraged air seemed to have finally found an outlet, howling and roaring unrestrainedly.
The entire world was engulfed in endless trembling.
Even though he covered his ears, Zheng Qing still felt his whole body buzzing.
He strained to open his eyes, seeing the rolling thunder strike the wild boar monster.
There was an explosion.
The wild boar monster, with its tusks piercing through the light veil, screamed and rolled about.
Chunks of flesh mixed with blood clots rolled off its body.
Leaving a cruel trail on the bluestone road.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of ozone and the fragrance of roasted meat.
But Zheng Qing only felt a desire to vomit.
After a while.
The thunder ceased.
The air regained its usual warmth and peace.
The Tree Elves relaxed their curled up bodies within the tree holes, but they still dared not come out.
Zheng Qing rubbed his face, opened his mouth, looked at the mangled boar monster not far away, and yelled at Thomas, "Is it dead?"
His ears were still buzzing, and if he didn't shout loudly, he wouldn't know what he was saying.
Thomas also yelled at him, "It should just be unconscious! A massage of this magnitude won't kill it."
"This magnitude!" Zheng Qing grumbled in frustration, "The spell almost exploded on us! What kind of lunatics are at Starry Sky Academy!"
"That's a personal attack! You'd get demerits for that at school!" Thomas laughed with a wide open mouth.
Before even entering the school, Zheng Qing had already deeply experienced the unruly manner of Starry Sky Academy.
He was now very relieved that he did not step into the examination room of Starry Sky Academy in his dream.
Just a few hours ago, Thomas's serious and reliable image was completely bankrupted after the rolling thunder fury.
"Do you want to go over and check it out?" Thomas asked.
"I'll wait until my Calm Heart Talisman has fallen down!" Zheng Qing looked up at the sky, dumbfounded.
Earlier when the thunder raged, he got anxious and dropped some Calm Heart Talismans he was holding.
Some of them were turned to ashes by the angry thunder.
But two were floating in the high air due to the flow, narrowly escaping destruction.
Now, these two talismans were circling for a landing.
Zheng Qing decided to wait for them.
Ever since he discovered that he was a penniless wizard, he started to be careful with his expenses.
In Cloud Think Boutique, he overheard some students buying clothes talking about a flea market in the school where you can exchange talismans, potions, array plates, and similar things for experimental supplies.
The idea excited him.
He had a box of ready-made talismans under his bed. Maybe he could trade them in for quite a few things!
He jumped up, grabbed the talisman that was floating a bit lower, and stuffed it into his grey bag.
The other talisman was affected by the flow of air caused by his jump and flew farther away.
Zheng Qing caught his breath, picked up his head, and followed the talisman.
To his side, Thomas, with a Law book in one hand and a quill pen in the other, was busily writing on the Law book.
He glanced at Zheng Qing and warned, "Don't run too far. Once I've finished copying this spell, we'll head back."
Zheng Qing agreed and followed the talisman into the middle of the street.
The pedestrians on the street were still sparse.
The little elves wandering on the ancient locust and willow trees were still hiding in their tree holes for refuge.
The stepping sounds on the bluestone road were extraordinarily clear.
Zheng Qing stopped walking.
The yellow talisman was hovering above the blurry body of the wild boar monster.
Bowl-sized wounds were all over its body, the wounds were black, occasionally flashing small sparks.
The three heavy folds on its neck had completely disappeared, revealing its fierce tooth socket and upper jaw.
The originally pale tusks had black marks seared on them. The sharp tusk tips had been broken off by the rolling thunder, revealing a broken stump with traces of blood.
Zheng Qing carefully kicked its curled hoof.
The boar monster didn't move.
He kicked its belly again.
A wave of the flesh rippled.
The boar monster still lay stiffly on the ground, eyes closed.
So he reassured himself and looked up, searching for his talisman.
The energy of the world had stabilized, the powerless talisman floated in mid-air for a while, but finally started to lose power.
Zheng Qing watched cheerfully as it got closer and closer to his hand.
Then he heard a heavy breathing sound.
A terrible thought rose from his heart.
He held his breath, turned his eyes, and cautiously looked down.
A pair of scarlet eyes.
Hungry, savage, chaotic.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
At the corner of the street, Thomas had just finished copying a spell. He put away the Law book and lifted his head to look for Zheng Qing's figure.
The street was devoid of pedestrians, vast and quiet. He easily spotted Zheng Qing's figure.
At the same time, he also saw the savage boar head that the wild boar monster was slowly lifting.
There wasn't enough time, Thomas looked at the two figures with a sense of despair.
His Law book never recorded weak spells.
Those powerful spells, any one of them hitting Zheng Qing, would mean death.
He seemed to see the figure of the principal roaring at him.
He saw some faces crying out in desperation.
Then he saw a touch of faint yellow.
Zheng Qing held his breath.
He watched the yellow talisman sway lightly in mid-air and land on the nose of the wild boar monster that was panting heavily.
The wild boar monster stared with its scarlet eyes at the talisman.
Slowly, its breathing from the nostrils became smoother and smoother.
Then it closed its eyes.
The snoring sound was like thunder.
Zheng Qing sighed with relief and sat down on the ground.