Gossip

Sprites are considered one of the greatest creations of the wizarding world in the past five hundred years.

They freed up wizards' hands, serving as their assistants. Wizards could then use their freed-up brains and hands to do more meaningful things, rather than carefully watching flames or precariously holding glassware.

According to Xiao Xiao's explanation, sprites are magical alchemical creatures produced in batches. No two batches of sprites are exactly alike in the world.

Take the seeding sprites, for example. When they were still seeds, the cultivator would prepare a suitable potion for them according to their own thoughts and intentions. Until they sprouted and grew, these sprites could only live on these potions.

Their lives were tightly linked to the wizards who cultivated them. If the wizard who cultivated them died, the sprites, losing their potion supply, would also perish.

Zheng Qing felt this was extremely unfair.

"They are also intelligent life forms. Wouldn't doing this be unethical?" Zheng Qing racked his brain, trying to find suitable words.

"What is intelligence? What is life? Are they intelligent life forms? Whose ethics do they comply with?" Xiao Xiao posed a series of rhetorical questions. With each question, he would pick a grilled scallop from his plate.

Zheng Qing was speechless. He could only quietly pick some fried calamari rings onto his plate.

"These are very profound philosophical questions, difficult to explain in a few words," Xiao Xiao finally picked up a glass of juice, took a sip, and concluded, "But according to the general consensus in the wizarding world, sprites are alchemical products between intelligence and chaos. They cannot be treated as intelligent life. Furthermore, wizarding ethics do not apply to them."

Zheng Qing dejectedly scooped a bowl of corn chowder.

He looked at the sprites flying around, always feeling that Xiao Xiao's statement was wrong.

"Over here!" Not far away, Li Meng waved her small hand, securing a large table, and beckoned to them.

Young monk Shi Yuan sat silently beside her, with only a bowl of plain white rice and a plate of boiled baby bok choy in front of him.

The dining table was not far from a huge floor-to-ceiling window. Sitting at the table, Zheng Qing could clearly see the rolling sea of clouds and the dazzling sunlight outside the window.

Putting down his plate, Zheng Qing leaned lazily back on the soft leather sofa.

A strong fragrance rushed towards him from behind.

"What's that smell?" He sniffed, feeling the scent was familiar.

"Poodle dog," Xiao Xiao sat opposite him and explained expressionlessly.

Li Meng let out a "poof," spraying the juice in her mouth onto the floor. She bent over, laughing so hard she couldn't catch her breath. Several sprites rushed over in fright, bringing Li Meng a stack of wet wipes, and simultaneously quickly cleaned up the mess on the floor.

Young monk Shi Yuan finished chewing the rice in his mouth and chanted, "Amitabha."

Zheng Qing turned his head to look and couldn't help but laugh.

Sitting behind him was a tall, thin young man, the same one Xiao Xiao had previously criticized for his inappropriate perfume use, the one Li Meng had described as smelling like a poodle.

This young man was dining with four or five companions. Hearing the laughter, he looked over with confusion. Then, frowning, he quickly averted his gaze.

Although there was a small piece of potato in the mashed potatoes that hadn't been mashed, the sauce for the fried calamari was a bit spicy, and the aroma of the quail eggs was a bit strong, it had to be admitted that the ingredients in this buffet restaurant were quite delicious. Zheng Qing gulped down a large mouthful of corn chowder and stuck out his tongue.

He looked up. Li Meng's mouth was bulging, stuffed with food, just like the hamster at home. Xiao Xiao slowly chewed his grilled scallops, his gaze fixed on the patterns on the shells, as if he could see a new world there.

From behind him came the arrogant voice of the "poodle dog":

"Do you guys know about the incident where Four Seasons Market was attacked by demons a while ago?"

Zheng Qing raised an eyebrow and sat up a little straighter.

The experience in Daming Market could be considered the most thrilling event in his eighteen years. Whether it was the lightning spell released by Thomas or the pig demon transformed by Fatty, they had appeared in his dreams more than once.

As an eyewitness, he was very interested in how other wizards viewed this matter.

The conversation from behind him came through clearly.

"Yes, yes. The newspapers are going crazy about it. It's said that nine markets under Four Seasons Market were attacked by unknown wild demons, and the management committee's leaders at all levels were reprimanded by the Wizard Council. It seems quite a few people died." The speaker's voice was hurried and a bit muffled, as if his mouth was full of food.

"The statistics from the 'Beta Town Post' show eight deaths and twenty-one seriously injured," a sharp voice sneered, "As if no one can see they're playing word games. Injured under a wild demon attack, is there still a chance of survival?"

"The report from 'Gentleman and Lady' was quite accurate; their reported death toll was twenty-nine," another voice added weakly, seemingly lacking confidence, "The newspapers say the Wizard Alliance has dispatched nine investigation teams to inspect the security measures and procedures of Four Seasons Market, and the relevant reports will be submitted and published at the end of October."

"I'm also very curious. It's said that the troublemakers in those markets were all wild demons, and their numbers were very small. Most markets only had one wild demon," the last voice said slowly, with a hint of confusion in its tone, "According to regulations, there should be a Wizard Alliance security team stationed in the markets. The security team shouldn't be unable to suppress even one wild demon."

"The security team was transferred away," the muffled voice full of food chimed in again, "My uncle is the captain of the security team at Jinling Market. They were reassigned to reinforce the New World a month ago. The transfer order came very suddenly, and he only managed to send a message home. My aunt is always worried something might happen and has been crying to my mom recently."

"Did the natives in the New World launch a large-scale counterattack?" The voice that spoke slowly seemed very interested and retorted, "Logically, the situation there should be very stable, and there shouldn't be a shortage of personnel."

"No, no," the muffled voice spoke again, and Zheng Qing could almost see the speaker shaking his head in panic, "My old man inquired, and it seems that First University had some mission that recalled many senior wizards stationed in the New World. So, there was a shortage of personnel there. There was no native attack."

The topic was drifting further and further away. The "poodle dog" who initiated the conversation cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention back.

"You know, among these attacked markets, there was one market with no wizard casualties?" The "poodle dog" drew out the end of his sentence, creating a sense of anticipation.

"Isn't that Daming Market!" The sharp voice was still full of mockery, "A few days ago, the management committee of Daming Market was awarded a collective honor by the Wizard Council—that's what this is about."

"Shameless!" Someone next to him immediately cursed, "It was the Trident Sword that captured the wild demon. It's said that the management committee members didn't step forward at all from beginning to end. How dare they accept this honor!"

"The Trident Sword only took away the wild demon. It's said that the one who suppressed the wild demon in Daming Market was a freshman from First University this year," someone added, "The child of my neighbor works in the Trident Sword's office, and they say that freshman is a scholarship student from Jiuyou Academy."

"I heard that too. It seems that scholarship student cast a lightning spell! His spell directly destroyed half a street!"

"And talismans! I heard that freshman also used very powerful suppression talismans. The wild demon in Daming Market was directly stunned!"

"Scholarship students are amazing!" People around exclaimed in admiration.

Zheng Qing lowered his head and coughed violently.