Yin Qi Lei!

"That isn't a wild boar. It's a Boar Demon. The boar isn't frightened; the demon is going berserk. A Calming Talisman can soothe a frightened wild boar, but it can't stop a berserk one." Thomas grabbed Zheng Qing, who was itching to make a move, and warned him sternly. "Wizards never act rashly. Do you know what kind of monster you're facing?"

"A Boar Demon!" Zheng Qing felt his scalp tingle.

In countless works of literature, demons usually played the role of savage, bloodthirsty villains.

When Zheng Qing was little, he had always thought demons lived in caves, kept packs of fierce beasts like wolves, jackals, tigers, and bears, kidnapped beautiful women for amusement when idle, and caught a few traveling merchants for a snack when hungry. Sometimes, a few demons would even argue over how human flesh tasted best—whether it was tender steamed or chewier stir-fried.

As he gradually grew older, he learned that those stories were ultimately just stories from books.

Later, he followed his teacher to Huizi Market.

After returning from Huizi Market, Zheng Qing had once asked his teacher whether demons truly existed in the world.

His teacher had said yes.

"Do demons eat people?" Zheng Qing had stubbornly asked.

His teacher had said yes.

"What should you do if you encounter a demon?" At the time, Zheng Qing had felt as though the whole world had gone dark.

His teacher had looked at him in surprise and replied as if it were obvious, "Run, of course! You're just a frail little scholar. If you don't run, are you planning to play Buddha and cut off your own flesh to feed an eagle?"

As for what demons looked like, Zheng Qing had asked many times, and every time his teacher's answer had been different.

Sometimes, his teacher said demons had blue faces and fangs, stood a hundred zhang tall, had thick smoke rolling from their eyes, and lava pouring from their mouths.

Sometimes, his teacher said demons were swarms of tiny bugs—impossible to kill off, impossible to get rid of, and incredibly irritating.

His teacher had also said that demons could look exactly like people. If they didn't eat anyone, you wouldn't even know they were demons.

On the streets of Four Seasons Market, Zheng Qing carefully studied the agitated Boar Demon in the distance and muttered, "Demons look pretty much like pigs! Teacher was nothing but a liar."

The Boar Demon roared, lowered its pair of pallid fangs, and slammed heavily into a magic supplies shop.

The wooden sign standing outside the shop was sent flying by its charge. A massive cauldron crouched behind the sign was overturned by its fangs and rolled into the middle of the road.

It stopped, shook the wood chips from its head, then, red-eyed, charged at the next shop.

"Does it have no brain?" Zheng Qing watched the Boar Demon race up and down the street, darting around wildly. It seemed far too different from the mighty, violent image he had held in his heart.

"This is a newly transformed feral demon. It acts entirely on instinct. You can also understand that as having no brain." Standing within the barrier, Thomas looked utterly relaxed as he leisurely explained.

"What's a feral demon?"

"The lowest kind of demon. Aside from the demon king among a feral demon pack, feral demons generally have no intelligence. They're a pack of greedy hyenas, chasing the pleasure of flesh and blood. Wizards are their favorite prey."

"But there are so many wizards on the street. Why is this boar only running around instead?" Zheng Qing felt that even a mad dog would chase and bite pedestrians on the road. A berserk demon ought to be bloodier than this.

"You know we're wizards too." Thomas pointed at the pale-blue curtain of light overhead and smiled. "What do you think this barrier is for?"

Zheng Qing suddenly understood.

The Boar Demon had already run close to the two of them.

Zheng Qing could clearly see the cloudy white fluid dripping from the demon's mouth and nostrils, as well as those vicious, brutal little scarlet eyes.

Then he noticed the greasy shoulder bag hanging around the Boar Demon's neck.

That shoulder bag looked very familiar.

Zheng Qing narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the Boar Demon with its mottled gray-and-white hide.

Its bald pig head did not have a single hair, as though it had been scalded with boiling water. It was bright, shining red.

The fat on its cheeks bulged outward, piling thick folds across its narrow pig face and making those little scarlet eyes appear even deeper-set.

One layer, two layers, three layers.

The excess flesh between its face and neck had been squeezed into exactly three distinct folds.

"This pig looks a lot like that fat guy we met before." He smiled at Thomas. "The fat guy we met at Yunxiangyi and Shangyuan Bookstore. His head was like an ostrich egg, he had three chins too, and he had a greasy shoulder bag hanging from his shoulder."

Thomas said nothing. His expression had turned grave.

Outside the light barrier, the Boar Demon snorted irritably and let out sharp roars from time to time.

Zheng Qing stopped laughing.

His mouth suddenly felt a little dry.

He looked at the Boar Demon again, and a terrifying thought sprang into his mind.

"That fat guy couldn't really have turned into a pig, could he?" he muttered.

"For a wizard to turn into a pig is indeed no simple matter. It requires profound transformation magic." Thomas's voice was somewhat low. "But for a wizard to be forced into becoming a Boar Demon is very simple. He only needs to be bitten by a demon."

"Bitten!" A chill ran through Zheng Qing.

Outside the curtain of light, the Boar Demon raised its head, sniffed the air, and slowly backed away.

Zheng Qing tightened his grip on the stack of Calming Talismans in his hand and cautiously edged closer to Thomas.

"Very sharp." Thomas's tone held a trace of amusement, but his eyes remained fixed on the slowly retreating Boar Demon. "An excellent instinct. Perhaps I should recommend you for Starry Sky Academy's unrestricted free-fighting tournament."

Zheng Qing swallowed, his face turning pale.

It wasn't because Thomas wanted to recommend him for that damned fighting tournament.

It was because of the Boar Demon outside.

The Boar Demon's little scarlet eyes stared at the two people within the light curtain. It snorted heavily, its sharp hoof shells striking the stone-paved streets of Four Seasons Market with dongdong sounds.

"Why do I feel like it can see us?" Zheng Qing asked softly in a trembling voice.

Thomas silently flipped through his spellbook without saying a word.

"Awooo!" The Boar Demon let out a shrill roar, pumping its four thick, short legs as it charged straight at the two beneath the curtain of light.

Before Zheng Qing could cry out, Thomas's spellbook floated into the air. Its pages fluttered rapidly, and three Rune Characters slowly drifted from between them.

Zheng Qing recognized those three characters.

"Yin Qi Lei!"

A small gust of wind suddenly blew down the quiet street.

The breeze swept up several leaves and slapped them against the Boar Demon.

Holding his breath, face deathly pale, Zheng Qing stared stupidly at the charging demon.

Those sharp fangs were even paler than his face.

Zheng Qing heard other wizards crying out in alarm nearby.

It seemed no one had realized that the Boar Demon could see through the curtain of light.

This curtain was one of the Standard Incantations issued by the Wizard Alliance, ranking among the foremost widely circulated safety spells.

It could perfectly conceal a wizard's aura and appearance, leaving hunting demons with no way to strike.

Countless wizards had proven the effectiveness of this incantation through their own experiences.

And now, before the eyes of even more wizards, the two figures protected by this spell were about to face a berserk feral demon.

Thomas drew a deep breath and stared expressionlessly at the pair of pallid fangs in the distance.

His left hand pressed against his spellbook. His right hand formed a sword gesture, pointing at the Boar Demon as he chanted sharply:

"Yin Qi Lei, before this beast!"