"See you." Andrew smiled as he waved to Thomas, then patted Zheng Qing on the shoulder. With a puff, he vanished without a trace.
That sound was just like a fart. Zheng Qing mourned the loss of his talisman paper and thought maliciously.
In the end, Trident Sword said it could not compensate Zheng Qing for the Calming Talisman he had lost.
According to Andrew's explanation, Zheng Qing had used that talisman in self-defense; Trident Sword had not requisitioned his talisman paper. Therefore, in theory, the Investigation Bureau would not compensate such losses.
Before leaving, however, Andrew asked Thomas for Zheng Qing's identification materials, intending to apply for an honorary certificate for him.
"Whatever the case, you stopped that wild demon from causing further harm. The bureau will definitely recognize that." Before leaving, the short, stout wizard in black robes vigorously patted Zheng Qing's shoulder, beaming. "Maybe we can get you a Merlin Bronze Medal. At worst, you'll receive an 'Advanced Individual for Courageous Action' award. It will be of enormous benefit to your year-end evaluation."
Zheng Qing knew nothing about those honorary titles.
He only felt heartache over the talisman he had stuck on the pig's nose.
"Pretty lucky. You weren't hurt, and you got to witness such an exciting scene." Thomas watched Zheng Qing say farewell to the Treant Sapling and sighed. "Getting an honorary certificate before even enrolling."
"You won't get into trouble for casting that spell, will you?" Zheng Qing recalled what several Trident Sword agents had said earlier and felt a little uneasy. "I basically did nothing. You're the real hero who stopped that demon. If the school punishes you over this, that would be too unfair."
"Who said I'd be punished?" Thomas raised his brows, amusement glinting at the corners of his eyes. "Using high-risk magic just requires filing a report, because such magic usually affects the stability of space-time where it is used. The relevant departments need to conduct further observation and repairs."
Zheng Qing stuffed the remaining handful of mouse feed in his hand into the Treant Sapling's claws.
He stood up and let out a deep sigh.
He felt somewhat disheartened.
So the Magic World was not as free as he had imagined.
Maybe it was because Thomas still had to write an incident report after using a spell.
Maybe it was because of inexplicable institutions like the Wizard Alliance, all sorts of councils, Trident Sword, the Public Security Bureau, and the Management Committee.
Zheng Qing felt that he had merely jumped from one circle into another.
Perhaps the new circle was more colorful.
But it was still a circle.
In his fantasies, wizards should wear long robes and spend all year in their laboratories, letting the house elves clean and handle the chores. When idle, they could keep a Three-headed Dog for amusement; when sudden inspiration struck, slaughter a fire dragon for drinking snacks; when they saw injustice, pull out The Wand and cast spells; when they had a minor grudge, draw a circle and curse someone.
If you couldn't do whatever you wanted and have every wish fulfilled, what kind of magic was that!
"The magical real world is no different from the outside world." Zheng Qing said gloomily. "I used to think magic could be used however you wanted, that if you saw someone you disliked, you could open a spellbook and turn them into a pig."
"Of course not." Thomas frowned slightly, his emerald eyes sweeping sternly over Zheng Qing. "Perhaps you should prepare a copy of the Encyclopedia of the Wizarding World, the edition published by the Wizard Alliance Education Committee's Quality Education Office. It should be very useful to you. Casually opening a spellbook against another wizard is a serious act of provocation, punishable by a fine of one hundred copper coins to ten gold beans. In severe cases, you'll be detained by the Public Security Bureau for fifteen days!"
Zheng Qing sighed again.
Thomas did not lead Zheng Qing very far.
After turning two corners, they stopped before a huge wooden grandfather clock.
The grandfather clock stood around two meters tall. Its lines were simple, without superfluous decoration, and its dark reddish-brown lacquer gave it a steady, weighty appearance. The clock face was white, its Roman numerals reinforced with black copper fittings. Beneath the face hung no weights like those of other mechanical clocks, only an extremely fine thread suspending a polished copper pendulum.
The moment they stopped, the gleaming copper pendulum began to swing. At the same time, the grandfather clock began playing the melodious Westminster Chimes.
Zheng Qing was very familiar with that chime.
Grandfather had an old-fashioned walnut grandfather clock in his study, and it played that same tune every hour on the hour.
According to Grandfather, it was the chime of Britain's Big Ben. Because it was elegant and solemn, many grandfather clocks used it.
"Isn't that music from our side?" Zheng Qing asked in surprise.
"It is the prayer music of ascetics. It became popular on your side because the ascetics wished to pray for more people." Thomas took out his phone-like device and studied it for a long while before finally nodding. "Time's up."
Zheng Qing checked the grandfather clock. It was afternoon, exactly 17:00.
After thinking for a moment, he took out his Pocket Watch and compared the time. It was accurate down to the second.
"Good habit." Thomas nodded. "For wizards, nothing is more important than time."
Zheng Qing silently put away his Pocket Watch.
Teacher had said the same thing to him.
Thomas pulled open the glass door of the Grandfather Clock, gave Zheng Qing a shove, and said, "Go in."
"What is this?" Zheng Qing moved aside the fine thread suspending the copper pendulum and leaned in to peer inside.
The inside of the grandfather clock was very quiet, and the pendulum was not moving.
"Wizards generally just call it a 'Grandfather Clock.'" Thomas squeezed in behind Zheng Qing and casually pulled shut the glass door behind them. His voice was muffled as he said, "You can think of it as a rapid means of transportation, or an alchemically fixed 'escape technique.'"
"So I can get back to my home from here?" Zheng Qing was beginning to understand.
Thomas did not answer. He was squinting at the silvery-white clock face.
"This is 17:00 Station." He muttered to himself as he retrieved a brass key from behind the clock face, inserted it into the spell-slot at the very bottom, and turned it twice.
Zheng Qing heard the grandfather clock creak, followed by the ticking of its mechanism.
"Feel the wall behind you. Is there a doorknob there?" Thomas's voice trembled slightly amid the ticking.
Zheng Qing fumbled about in the darkness and grasped a round doorknob.
"Found it!" His voice sounded exceptionally loud inside the narrow clock case.
"Turn it and push the door open." Thomas called urgently from behind him. "We only have one minute. If we don't get out quickly, the Westminster Chimes will deafen us."
When he pushed open the door, he saw a pitch-black corridor, with a faint glimmer of light visible in the distance.
The air in the corridor was damp and murky, but Zheng Qing found the smell very familiar.
Behind him came the sound of Thomas closing the door.
Zheng Qing vaguely heard the Westminster chimes begin again.
"What did you mean just now by 17:00 Station?" Zheng Qing did not like this pitch-black environment. He tried hard to focus on the light ahead, making his voice sound less nervous.
"Grandfather Clocks are fixed stations established by the Wizard Alliance around the world. The clock face has twelve hours, seven hundred and twenty minutes, one station for every minute, making a total of seven hundred and twenty Grandfather Clocks. The one we just passed through was the station for exactly 17:00."
"That sounds pretty complicated," Zheng Qing muttered.
He followed the light through the darkness for some distance, then turned a corner and saw a familiar flight of stairs.
"Were we in the basement just now?!" he cried in surprise. "I never knew my basement had a place like this!"
"Your basement indeed doesn't." Thomas followed him to the stairway. He patted the dust from his head, brushed the cobwebs off his robe, and complained, "I originally planned to return directly to your bedroom, but apparently every door in your home was inaccessible, so we could only choose the basement."
Zheng Qing blinked, then remembered.
When he had been bored before, he had pasted many talismans around the doors, windows, walls, and corners of his home.
Perhaps those talismans had interfered with the Grandfather Clock's positioning.
"Next, I'm going north to take a look, so I may not have time to contact you for a while." Thomas reminded him again and again. "Remember to take that flight from Chang'an Airport on August 31. Remember, there is only this one flight. If you miss it, there's no need for you to go. Don't expect the school to violate Article Thirty-Seven of the Basic Wizard Management Regulations for one new student, and don't expect the school to open the Guardian Formation twice in a year."
"You still haven't bought me that Standard Timer." Seeing Thomas's figure about to disappear, Zheng Qing suddenly remembered the book list and could not help calling out.
"The Pocket Watch hanging around your neck is quite good..." Thomas's voice grew more and more distant as his figure faded, until it vanished entirely.
Zheng Qing sighed and pulled out the Pocket Watch hanging around his neck.
It was afternoon, 17:01:38.
Before you continue