Falling Lightning and Falling Talismans

The early summer air was warm and humid. Along the roadside, ancient locust trees and weeping willows unfurled the greenery they had nurtured through a winter, casting their shadows over the small shops lining the street.

The streets of Four Seasons Market were paved with smooth, clean, blue-gray flagstones.

Normally, the street would be bustling with tourists, and mischievous tree sprites would often swing from the long, slender branches of the weeping willows, leaping from one guest's head to another. Occasionally, they would drop small trinkets crafted from willow twigs and locust leaves.

But now, all the tree sprites were hiding in their tree hollows, trembling and watching in terror as the tree trunks vibrated with the thunderous drumming.

Beneath the trees, on the street.

A boar demon, with its four thick, short, fat hooves, galloped on the blue flagstones, making a rapid tap-tap-tap sound.

Like rain on banana leaves, or jade falling onto a platter.

The Rune Characters that Thomas's Spellbook had previously released transformed into wisps of extremely fine energy as he chanted his spell, merging into the vast, boundless air.

The tree sprites burrowed deeper into their tree hollows.

They sensed terrifying presences swirling around.

Zheng Qing's eyes widened.

He felt the air itself was enraged.

Every breath, every wisp, seemed to prickle his own energy threads.

It made anyone breathing the air feel a tingling sensation all over.

Thomas stood in front of Zheng Qing, exhaling a soft breath.

A low thunder rumbled.

The sound was deep and drawn-out.

As if from the far reaches of the sky.

He turned his head, flashing Zheng Qing a mischievous smile.

"Cover your ears!" he shouted.

Zheng Qing's mouth fell open, and he covered his ears, trying to say something.

But his voice was drowned out.

The thunder, like popping beans, exploded around his ears, continuous and overwhelming all other noise.

The furious air seemed to have finally found an outlet, roaring and howling without restraint.

The entire world was submerged in endless trembling.

Even with his ears covered, Zheng Qing felt his whole body vibrating.

He struggled to open his eyes, seeing the rolling thunder strike the boar demon.

Exploding.

The boar demon, its tusks already piercing the light barrier, let out a pained howl and rolled over.

Pieces of flesh and blood clots fell from its body.

Leaving a brutal trail on the blue flagstones.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of ozone and the aroma of roasted meat.

But Zheng Qing only felt a wave of nausea.

After a long while.

The thunder temporarily ceased.

The air returned to its usual warmth and serenity.

The tree sprites relaxed their tensed bodies in their tree hollows, though they still dared not venture out.

Zheng Qing rubbed his face, opened his mouth, and looked at the bloody, mangled boar demon not far away. He shouted to Thomas, "Is it dead!"

His ears were still ringing, and he wasn't sure what he was saying unless he shouted.

Thomas also shouted back, "It's probably just stunned! This level of massage won't kill it."

"This level!" Zheng Qing yelled, somewhat exasperated. "That spell went off just a few meters away from us! What kind of lunatics are at Starry Sky Academy!"

"That's personal slander! You'd lose academic credits at school for that!" Thomas grinned and laughed heartily.

Before even entering the academy, Zheng Qing had already deeply experienced Starry Sky Academy's unrestrained and unconventional way of doing things.

He was now extremely glad that he hadn't walked into the Starry Sky Academy examination hall in his dream.

Hours ago, Thomas's carefully crafted image of seriousness, reliability, and trustworthiness had completely shattered after the torrent of thunder.

"Do you want to go take a look!" Thomas asked.

"I need to wait for my Calming Talismans to fall first!" Zheng Qing tilted his head back, staring blankly at the sky.

When the thunder had suddenly erupted, he had tensed up and dropped the few Calming Talismans he was holding.

Some of them had turned to ash in the furious thunder.

Two others, caught by the air currents, were drifting high above, having narrowly escaped.

The two talismans were now circling, preparing to land.

Zheng Qing decided to wait for them.

Ever since he discovered he was a penniless wizard, he had started to be more careful with his spending.

At Yunxiangyi, he had overheard some students discussing clothes, mentioning that there was a flea market at the academy where they could exchange talismans, potions, and array plates for experimental supplies.

This idea made his heart flutter.

He had a whole box of written talismans accumulated under his bed, and perhaps he could trade them for quite a few things!

He jumped up and grabbed a talisman that was floating lower, stuffing it into his grey bag.

Another talisman was affected by the air currents from his jump and drifted further away.

Zheng Qing took a breath, tilted his head up, and stared at the talisman, following it.

Beside him, Thomas was holding a spellbook in one hand and a quill in the other, diligently writing in the spellbook.

He glanced at Zheng Qing and instructed, "Don't run too far. We'll head back after I finish copying this spell."

Zheng Qing agreed and followed the talisman towards the center of the street.

There were still very few pedestrians on the street.

The sprites dwelling in the ancient locust and weeping willow trees on either side were still hiding in their tree hollows for safety.

The sound of footsteps on the bluestone road was exceptionally clear.

Zheng Qing stopped.

The yellow talisman was floating above the bloody and mangled body of the boar demon.

Wounds the size of a bowl were scattered all over its body. The injuries were charred, and small electrical sparks occasionally burst from them.

The three thick folds around its neck had completely disappeared, revealing its ferocious gums and upper jaw.

The originally pale fangs were now marked with dark, burnt patterns, and the sharp tips had been smashed off by rolling thunder, revealing broken stumps laced with blood.

Zheng Qing cautiously kicked its curled hoof.

The boar demon didn't move.

He kicked its belly again.

A wave of flesh rippled.

The boar demon still lay stiffly on the ground, its eyes closed.

Feeling relieved, he raised his head to look for his talisman.

The atmosphere in the world had stabilized. The powerless talisman had drifted in the air for a long time, and finally, its energy was depleted.

Zheng Qing watched with delight as it got closer and closer to his hand.

Then, he heard a series of heavy breaths.

A terrible thought surfaced in his mind.

He held his breath, rolled his eyeballs, and cautiously looked down.

A pair of small, scarlet eyes.

Hungry, brutal, chaotic.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

At the street corner, Thomas had just finished copying a spell. He put away his spellbook and looked up to find Zheng Qing.

There were no pedestrians on the street; it was empty and quiet. He could easily see Zheng Qing's figure.

At the same time, he also saw the boar demon slowly raising its ferocious pig head.

There was no time left. Thomas looked at the two figures with a sense of despair.

His spellbook never recorded weak spells.

And any of the powerful spells cast on Zheng Qing would mean death.

He seemed to see the principal roaring at him.

He saw some faces crying in despair.

Then, he saw a faint yellow glow.

Zheng Qing held his breath.

He watched the yellow talisman lightly sway in mid-air and land on the nose of the panting boar demon.

The boar demon stared at the talisman with its pair of scarlet eyes.

Slowly, the breathing from its nostrils became more relaxed.

Then, it closed its eyes.

It snored like thunder.

Zheng Qing breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground.