"Thanks."
Holding his orange juice, the boy lightly clinked glasses with the witch and was about to make a quick escape when her casual voice reached his ears.
"Speaking of the fatty working overtime, I have a friend at the Beta Town Post. She said that last night, the paper's editor-in-chief got hold of some big news about the school covering up an accident during the winter hunt..."
Zheng Qing forcibly halted his raised foot and turned back stiffly.
"An accident during the winter hunt?"
The young government-funded student piled a smile onto his face, trying his best to look curious. "Didn't no one get hurt during this winter hunt? Where did an accident come from? Is the Beta Town Post trying to stir up another big story..."
The last line was something people from the school paper often used to mock the Post. Zheng Qing had heard the fatty say it many times and had picked it up himself.
Hearing the familiar jab, Barnes could not help smiling as well.
"This time, it probably isn't the Post making news. It's the school making news." After that meaningful remark, the witch lightly seized control of the conversation again. "Come to think of it, when the School Guardian Formation was activated, the You Zui Hunting Team was outside too... Did you see... or hear anything frightening?"
"Like what?"
"Like certain Magical Creatures that had gone out of control... or something even more terrifying, and so on." The witch carefully selected her words. "Like those wild dragons and Two-headed Ogres we encountered."
Zheng Qing shook his head very slowly.
"If I remember correctly, the Victor Patrol Team was also outside the Guardian Formation at the time." Rather than answering her question directly, he tried to take control of the conversation again. "Didn't