Chapter Fifty: The Relapsed Headache

Zheng Qing had always felt he was born with a flag: if he thought something was absolutely impossible, it was highly likely to happen.

Later, he learned this flag had a name: Murphy's Law.

On today's journey, this law was being demonstrated to its fullest.

On the school's private jet, which he felt was incredibly safe, a banshee with blood-red eyes had appeared; he thought the vast crowd consisted of strangers, but one classmate after another showed up before him.

Zheng Qing squeezed his eyes shut, rubbed his forehead, and eased the throbbing pain on the top of his head.

The aftereffects of the headache hadn't completely dissipated, but the pain was within a controllable range. An old ailment that hadn't recurred in over a decade had suddenly reappeared, casting a shadow over his already gloomy mood.

He pulled two yellow paper talismans from a grey cloth bag and placed them on his temples.

The talismans slowly emitted blue smoke.

A cool sensation spread from his temples, soothing his battered mind.

He opened his eyes to see a girl with a pointed chin, holding a cobra, standing nervously before them.

It was she who had interrupted the slightly awkward atmosphere.

"Excuse me!" the girl bowed deeply, her face flushed red. "I accidentally overheard your conversation, so I couldn't help but come over to say hello. I'm also a freshman in the Astronomy 08-1 class at Jiuyou Academy, please take care of me!"

After speaking, she bowed again.

The cobra in her arms dangled its head, its body draped around its owner's neck, listlessly flicking its tongue.

"A snake!" Li Meng shrieked and jumped back, hiding behind a few of the boys.

Xiao Bai the pigeon also cooed and flapped its wings wildly, causing Poseidon in Zheng Qing's arms to become restless.

"How old is she?" Zhang Jixin leaned close to Zheng Qing's ear and quietly pointed behind him at Li Meng, asking in a low voice.

"Twelve," Zheng Qing replied in a low voice. "Don't bring up her age in front of her; she prefers to be called a university student."

The boy with the red face pursed his lips and nodded, a look of understanding on his face.

"Little Dragon is very well-behaved and doesn't bite!" the girl with the pointed chin said nervously, waving her hands and offering the thick cobra in her arms to them.

The small wounds on the cobra's cheeks were no longer visible. As if sensing its owner's intention to greet them, it raised its head, flicked its bright red tongue, and hissed at them with its dark eyes.

This time, even Zheng Qing couldn't help but take a step back.

Then he felt that his retreat might be seen as offensive. So, he stared at the cobra, took a step forward, returning to his original position, and said comfortingly, "Excuse me, what's your name? Is your pet alright?"

"My name is Liu Feifei, you can call me Feifei," the girl with the pointed chin said happily, cradling the cobra again. "It's just that Little Dragon suffered a lot and feels like it will be weak for a long time. I don't know if the school has a suitable pet doctor."

The cobra's neck seemed to have suddenly lost all its bones, slumping back into Liu Feifei's arms, its tongue hanging out of its mouth, motionless.

This cunning reptile is almost as sly as a little fox, Zheng Qing thought to himself.

"Why are you keeping a snake!" Li Meng poked her head out from behind Zheng Qing, asking nervously. "For most wizards, it's not a very friendly companion."

"When I got it, it was still an egg. My great-grandmother told me it was a dragon egg," Liu Feifei said with a dejected expression, explaining slowly. "But it turned out to be a small snake when it hatched. It was too late to exchange it, and the little snake treated me as its companion. Great-grandmother said it was fate and told me to raise it well."

All fate, Zheng Qing thought silently, glancing around.

As time passed, the atmosphere in the dining hall gradually stabilized.

The black-robed wizards at the entrance were ushering the surviving freshmen to sign their names on the roster. Those who signed could leave the dining hall and return to their seats in the cabin.

Next to the roster stood a smiling flight attendant, handing each freshman who signed a small red gift box.

Xiao Xiao did not join the small gathering of his classmates but went straight to sign. However, after signing, he didn't leave immediately; instead, he returned to their group with the small paper box.

The small red paper box was plain, without any patterns, and the craftsmanship was a bit rough.

"What's inside?" Zheng Qing asked curiously.

"A mint, a piece of dark chocolate, and a Calming Talisman," Xiao Xiao said, picking up the yellow paper talisman with his fingertips and examining its patterns carefully, shaking his head. "It's just a small token of comfort, likely made in a hurry. The cinnabar on the Calming Talisman isn't even dry yet."

"The food station at the door has been restocked. Do you guys need anything?" Zhang Jixin returned after signing, holding a glass of water and poking his thumb towards the food station not far away. "There are free drinks there too – coffee, milk, iced water, anything you want."

"I want Green Bee!" Li Meng said and walked away.

"There are no alcoholic beverages," Zhang Jixin hurriedly added from behind her.

Li Meng turned in a disappointed direction and went to sign at the door.

Zheng Qing couldn't help but smile.

"Classmate, open flames are prohibited on the private jet. If you have special needs, please inform our cabin crew," a flight attendant in a dark blue uniform said gently to Zheng Qing.

Zheng Qing gave an embarrassed smile, pulled off the smoking talisman stuck to his temple, crumpled it into a small ball, and threw it into the trash bag the flight attendant was holding.

The cool sensation disappeared, and the severe headache returned.

He couldn't help but frown. He gripped his scalp tightly, rubbing it forcefully, trying to alleviate the waves of sudden, intense pain.

"Were you affected by demonic energy?" the flight attendant asked nervously. "There are no professional physicians on the plane; we'll need to arrange for you to see one after landing. We only have some anti-motion sickness medication."

"No, no, it's not necessary. It's just a slight headache, nothing to do with that banshee," Zheng Qing said, pressing his temples and rubbing them gently, trying to make his expression more natural. "Do you have anything refreshing, something that makes your head feel clearer?"

The flight attendant went to the lounge to look and eventually found only a small box of cooling balm.

Zheng Qing gave a wry smile and accepted the small red round box.

Zhang Jixin watched him apply a layer of cooling balm to his temples and asked in surprise, "Were you really affected by demonic energy? Are you alright! It's rare for wizards nowadays to have such sensitive constitutions."

Zheng Qing's right hand stiffened, and he gritted his teeth, saying fiercely, "This is an old problem, it's not because of that monster!"

"It's okay," Xiao Xiao explained comfortingly. "It's common for muggle to faint instantly when hit by demonic energy. We're not much stronger than muggle, and besides, you were too close to that banshee, so some aftereffects are unavoidable."

Zheng Qing rolled his eyes and didn't respond, merely extending the massage area of his right hand to his entire cheek.