History and Reality

Something furry brushed across Zheng Qing's nose. With a tremendous sneeze, Zheng Qing rubbed his bleary eyes, dragged the little furry creature into his arms, and gave it a fierce rubdown.

Accompanied by a series of what sounded like snickering squeaks, Zheng Qing let out a heavy sigh.

He grabbed his phone and saw that it was August 29th. More than a month had passed since that dreamlike experience, and in two days, he would officially set out for First University.

It really was like a dream.

Zheng Qing could not help taking out his admission notice again and reading it through carefully.

A wet tongue tirelessly licked his cheek.

Zheng Qing turned his head. A pair of bright, sparkling eyes stared at him without blinking. Its pink little nose twitched, its large ears quivered, and its snowy white tail swished back and forth. It was unbearably cute.

It was Little Fox, Poseidon.

"Go play with Fei Rui. Stop licking me all the time," he muttered, getting up and carrying the little fellow toward the balcony.

That fat hamster had been freeloading at his house for so long. It was only right that it helped look after the kid. Zheng Qing maliciously tossed Little Fox beside Fei Rui's nest.

In less than two months, Poseidon had grown from the size of one fist to two. The pale blue ripples on its body had become increasingly distinct. Like its mischievous mother, the little fellow was exceptionally lively. Waking up sneezing had become one of Zheng Qing's new habits.

After casually wiping his face, he went to the balcony and practiced a few rounds of boxing. Once he had warmed up, he drank a cup of soy milk, ate breakfast, and hurried back into his room to read.

That was right, read.

If Mr. Wu had led him into a mysterious world, then First University's reading list had lifted one layer of the veil from that world, allowing Zheng Qing to see a broader history and reality.

In the past, he had always believed his future lay among high mountains and dense forests, no bigger than Huizi Market.

But after only a month, his world had become boundlessly vast.

He opened the bookmark in Great History: Modern and Contemporary World History, turned to where he had left off, and began reading with great interest:

"...At the beginning of the twentieth century by the Bading Calendar, the Wizarding World was still divided over whether wizards should reveal themselves on a large scale..."

Thomas had visited again a few days earlier and brought Zheng Qing a copy of the Encyclopedia of the Wizarding World borrowed from the library. It was the edition issued by the Office of Quality Education under the Wizard Alliance Education Committee that he had mentioned before. Since Zheng Qing had not officially enrolled yet, Thomas himself was listed as the borrower.

After repeatedly warning Zheng Qing to take good care of the book, the busy interviewer had hurried away.

After cramming for this period of time, Zheng Qing could already understand many unfamiliar terms.

Such as "Bading."

In the Wizarding World, Bading specifically referred to humans who were not wizards. In other words, the Bading World was the world of ordinary people.

"...Stubborn Wizards (the non-contact faction) believed that wizards were born noble and ordinary people were untouchable, fiercely resisting contact in any form... Conservative Wizards (the limited-contact faction) believed that wizards should remain mysterious and low-profile, reducing contact with ordinary people to prevent uncontrollable incidents... Radical Wizards (the active-contact faction), meanwhile, believed that wizards were humanity's friends and had the responsibility and obligation to help human society develop and progress more effectively. They believed that isolation policies were discriminatory..."

"...A succession of vicious incidents drove this debate to a boiling point... On the European lands of the ordinary world, several kings were controlled by dark creatures, causing enormous Bading casualties... Evil soul wizards in Vienna triggered the most frenzied instance of mutual slaughter in the Bading World by spreading hatred on a massive scale... Meanwhile, in Greater Huaxia, Fusang warrior families ran rampant, while the Three Religions and Nine Streams of Middle-earth turned a blind eye due to their stubborn stance..."

"...Given that the Bading World formed the foundation of the Wizarding World, after several rounds of debate and with reference to regulations such as the Blood Clan Seclusion Treaty, the Wizard Alliance Grand Wizard Council unanimously passed the Wizard Conduct Management Measures at its 1,536th meeting on July 21st, 1945, imposing strict restrictions on the secular lives of wizards... At the same time, capable wizards were dispatched deep into the Bading World, bringing nuclear power with them and preventing the recurrence of tragedy from another angle..."

Zheng Qing pulled out a notebook, flipped to the place where he had last taken notes, started a new line, added an asterisk, and wrote: July 21st, 1945—Wizard Alliance Grand Wizard Council—1,536th Meeting—Wizard Conduct Management Measures.

The most famous achievement of Huaxia's educational world was exam-oriented education. Having been immersed in that environment for nearly twenty years, Zheng Qing had plenty of experience in quickly mastering key points.

He knew his foundation was weak and his grasp of the material was poor.

So he raced against time, doing his best to enrich his understanding of the Wizarding World.

Before he knew it, the entire morning had passed.

After lunch, his father pulled Zheng Qing into the room and handed him a bus ticket to Chang'an. "You won't be spending much of the family's money in university, and the school even prepared your plane ticket. So at least be comfortable when you leave home. Once you get to school, study hard. Don't waste such a good opportunity."

Seeing the white at his father's temples, Zheng Qing blinked and gave a forceful "Mm."

"Your school is strange too. There's only one Special Plane, and they don't even allow parents to see students off." His mother had entered the room at some point and complained with a smile. "Um, do you really not need any money? You should bring some from home, at least."

"No need. The school is closed-campus, so there won't be anywhere to spend it anyway." Zheng Qing thought of the shocking exchange rate between wizard currency and RMB and felt deeply melancholy. Over the past few days, he had sorted through the Rune Copybook albums in the box beneath his bed. Fewer than thirty were still intact. Based on the prices he had asked about at Four Seasons Market, they probably would not even exchange for one jade coin.

Maybe he could try working part-time after class to earn living expenses.

As he thought that, he instead felt a faint urge to give it a try.

"You should still take some," his father decided at last, handing him a bank card. "There are a few thousand yuan in it. Consider it your usual pocket money. The password is your birthday."

"Mm." Zheng Qing did not refuse again and lowered his head in acknowledgment.

"You'll be leaving soon. Find time to say goodbye to those classmates of yours."

"Don't forget Mr. Wu!" Professor Zheng called out as he emerged from the study.

"I know!" Zheng Qing nodded vigorously. "I'll go check Sanyou Bookstore. I wonder whether Mr. Wu has come back today."

On the day he had received First University's admission notice, Zheng Qing had gone to Sanyou Bookstore to find Mr. Wu. But the bookstore had been tightly shut, with a notice board on the windowsill that read: "The owner is away on business. The store is temporarily closed."

This had often happened over the past decade or so. Every autumn and winter, Mr. Wu would take Yellow Flower Cat away for a while. Sometimes it was only ten days or so; sometimes, several months. Zheng Qing still remembered that when he was fifteen, Mr. Wu had left before the Mid-Autumn Festival and did not return until the following Spring Equinox.

According to Mr. Wu, he had gone off to save the world.

Whenever Zheng Qing heard that, he did not exactly scoff, but he would simply keep his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, remaining silent.