Early spring was not normally a season when spiders were active.
The other insects they fed on had yet to fully emerge from deep in the soil, so most spiders should have been resting quietly in cracks between rocks and hollows in trees, concealed within thick webs, waiting until after the Awakening of Insects, when the weather grew warmer, to venture out.
But First University was different from the outside world, after all.
The abundant magic power kept the campus lively even in the depths of winter. Thus, when Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu strolled through the woods, bothered by strands of spider silk dangling from the branches, neither of them thought anything was amiss.
At most, Zheng Qing had to walk a little farther ahead, waving a long, slender twig to sweep away the wispy white strands overhead and ensure that the witch behind him suffered no disturbance. Of course, wizards had easier ways to do this, but at that particular moment, nothing showed more sincerity than doing it himself.
Then a crisp clinking of jade suddenly came from Jiang Yu.
Clink! Clink!
The girl walking just behind him grabbed him.
"Wait!"
There was a hint of wariness in her voice. She offered no explanation, but one exchanged glance was enough for Zheng Qing to understand her meaning. He dropped the twig and reached back to unhook the spellbook at his waist.
Just in case, he also drew the Colt from his Gray Cloth Bag, even though he doubted there could be any occasion to use a Talisman Gun on university grounds.
"Yǎn Yǒu Sì Fāng, Jinjin Qi Ming!"
Waves of Detection Magic spread in every direction from the two young wizards. The stirred-up magic power set the spider silk between the branches fluttering, but the spell's feedback indicated