The next morning, before History of Magic class.
Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao discussed the dream from the night before.
"I think what you saw was an 'illusion.'"
After carefully listening to Zheng Qing's detailed account of the dream, Xiao Xiao gave his conclusion with great certainty. "Wizards skilled in divination can use magical techniques to conceal their identities in reality, thereby muddling the accuracy of divination... The clearest proof is that after waking from the dream, you quickly fell asleep again, yet when you got up today, you could still clearly recall everything that happened in it. That is completely different from a genuine nightmare or a witness vision. Look at it another way—only illusions need witnesses to remember every detail clearly. Real dreams are always blurry and easy to forget."
Although the analysis made a great deal of sense, Zheng Qing remained noncommittal.
It was not only because the face he had seen in that final glimpse had left a deep impression on him, but also because the dried crows hanging from the scaffolding bothered him.
"Could it be..." he began cautiously.
"No."
Xiao Xiao cut off Zheng Qing's speculation with unusual force, clearly having guessed what he wanted to say. "The crows have already been wiped out. That is a fact jointly confirmed by the school and the Trident Sword... The You Zui Hunting Team also benefited greatly from that outcome. Don't forget how you got that golden Merlin Medal."
"Then why did I see Gan Ning?"
"What you think of by day, you dream of by night. That is an ancient magical theory, and it has never gone out of date."
"Who do you think those cultists were worshipping?"
"I don't know, and I don't want to know... The best way to deal with Evil Gods