Elsewhere, when the black cat reached the old oak beneath which the two mice had vanished, the Ear Brothers were already gone. Their scent still lingered, but all the black cat could see was a bowl-sized, pitch-black hole in the trunk.
Zheng Qing knew that it was a tree hole created by the ratfolk using their innate talent. They could travel through such a hole to wherever they wished to go.
Of course, using that talent came with many restrictions: communication range, specific species of trees, ancient trees with sufficient Magic Power reserves, or magical markers set in advance, among other things.
But there was no denying that it was an exceptionally sophisticated movement technique, somewhere between high-level Spatial Magic and mid-level escape arts. It was so much more intricate than the Jia Ma Talisman Zheng Qing had mastered that there was no comparison.
The black cat crouched at the entrance, staring thoughtfully at the bowl-sized tree hole.
"Want to go in?" a voice behind him asked curiously.
"A little." The black cat nodded instinctively. "At this hour, the two of them should be at the shop going over accounts with Hu Wu. I don't know why they sneaked into the school... Could Rat Immortal be hiding at the school?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the black cat felt a chill run through him. The fur along his neck stood on end as he arched his back, hooked his tail, and whipped around to look behind him, a threatening feline growl rumbling in his throat.
Compared to him, however, the voice behind him seemed even more startled. "Holy shit... it really is a cat!"
The speaker was a wizard in a strange White Mask and a black robe. The black cat noticed that the mask had no facial