Temporary Pass

The campus was empty.

Because of the Lower Yuan Festival, the vast majority of students had obediently remained in their dormitories as instructed by their professors. The few students bold enough to walk openly through the avenues mostly wore bright red armbands—the temporary insignia of the Student Union Patrol Team. In the fat man's words, red armbands were the professors' "hounds."

Facing those patrolling figures, Zheng Qing hesitated for a few seconds before decisively pulling an Invisibility Talisman from his pocket and slapping it onto himself. This Standard Talisman could perfectly conceal a wizard's form, scent, body temperature, and other characteristics for nearly a quarter of an hour. With only their naked eyes, those Discipline Team members would have a hard time discovering Zheng Qing's trail.

Even so, the young publicly funded student still chose pebble paths by the roadside or dry paved ground to travel on, afraid that footprints or something else might give him away and get him caught by the Discipline Team.

Golden-red leaves trembled in the breeze, and from time to time, a few frail leaves drifted down. As far as the eye could see, a soft golden carpet of leaves lay beneath his feet, rows of dark tree trunks stood beside him, and at the end of the shaded path was a patch of azure sky that stirred an involuntary sense of hope in his heart.

The young publicly funded student touched the notebook and reference books in his Gray Cloth Bag, repeatedly rehearsing the conversation they would have when they met later.

After passing through the tree-lined path and crossing the artificial hill by the lake, Zheng Qing caught sight of Book Mountain Hall's glass doors in the distance. His expression froze, and he stopped in his tracks.

Today was the Lower Yuan Festival.