Escorted by Nikita's army, the search for Xiao Xiao's entry passage met with no resistance whatsoever. The Demon Ghosts and wild beasts wandering the plains melted away before this army like snow in midsummer.
The young wizards did not even need to walk. They rode several giant spiders, as relaxed as if they were on an outing.
Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao sat atop the largest spider, with Nikita keeping watch over them.
Because Zheng Qing still had many questions for Dr. Xiao:
"Why would Hastur help us?"
"What?" Xiao Xiao was squinting at the shimmering surface of the Skye River and had not caught Zheng Qing's question.
"You said before that Hastur and the Sea Demon King are cousins. Why would He help the school instead of His cousin?"
"I'm not an Outer God. How would I know what He's thinking?" Xiao Xiao finally understood Zheng Qing's question. Shaking his head, he adjusted his glasses.
"But I can make a simple guess based on common sense. Blood ties are the most precious connection in the Wizarding World, but also the cheapest. Magic can destroy such ties with ease. Perhaps it is a conflict of paths, perhaps a clash of tempers, or perhaps Cthulhu simply dislikes Hastur looking too much like Himself... There is no need for us to guess at the stories of such great beings. We only need to know the outcome."
"How did you know about all that?"
"Which things?" Xiao Xiao asked patiently.
"The Sea Demon King being Cthulhu, Hastur's relationship with Cthulhu, things like that." Zheng Qing recalled the materials he had looked up, always feeling that he had overlooked some corner of the library. "Does the School Library have records on this?"
"Of course not... Those are private records." As he spoke, Xiao Xiao