"See you around," Andrew said with a chuckle, waving to Thomas, then patting Zheng Qing on the shoulder before vanishing without a trace with a 'poof'.
That sound was really like a fart, Zheng Qing thought maliciously, feeling distressed about his Talisman.
Trident Sword ultimately stated that it could not compensate Zheng Qing for the loss of his Tranquility Talisman.
According to Andrew's explanation, Zheng Qing's use of the Talisman was an act of self-defense, and Trident Sword had not requisitioned his Talisman. Therefore, theoretically, the investigation bureau would not be responsible for compensating such losses.
However, before Andrew left, he asked Thomas for Zheng Qing's identity Materials, intending to apply for an honorary certificate for Zheng Qing.
"No matter what, you prevented this Wild Demon from causing further harm. The bureau will definitely show its appreciation for such an act," the short, plump black-robed Wizard said, patting Zheng Qing vigorously on the shoulder with a bright smile before he left: "Maybe you can even get a merlin bronze medal, or at the very least, a 'Good Samaritan Advanced Individual' award. This will be of great benefit to your year-end evaluation."
Zheng Qing knew nothing about these honorary titles.
He only felt distressed about the Talisman hanging from the pig's nose.
"Good luck, no injuries, and you witnessed such an exciting scene," Thomas said, watching Zheng Qing bid farewell to the Tree Sprite, sighing: "You're getting an honorary certificate even before enrolling."
"You won't get into trouble for casting that Spell, will you?" Zheng Qing remembered what the Trident Sword Commissioners had said earlier, feeling a bit uneasy: "I basically did nothing; you were the one who truly stopped that monster. It would be too unfair if the school punished you for this."
"Who said I'd be punished?" Thomas raised an eyebrow, a smile in his eyes: "It's just that using high-risk magic requires filing a report, because such magic usually affects the spatiotemporal stability of the area where it's used, requiring further observation and repair by relevant departments."
Zheng Qing stuffed the remaining handful of mouse food into the Tree Sprite's claws.
He stood up and sighed deeply.
He felt a bit disheartened.
It turned out that the Wizarding World was not as free as he had imagined.
Perhaps it was because Thomas needed to fill out an accident report after casting a Spell.
Perhaps it was the Wizard Alliance, various councils, Trident Sword, the Public Security Bureau, and the management committees—all these inexplicable organizations.
Zheng Qing felt he had merely jumped from one circle to another.
The circle might have become more flamboyant.
But it was still, in essence, a circle.
In his imagination, Wizards should wear long robes, stay in their laboratories all year, and have Little Elves clean and handle household chores. When idle, they'd keep a three-headed dog for fun; on a whim, they'd slaughter a Dragon for a drink; if they saw injustice, they'd pull out their Wand and cast a Spell; if there was a minor grudge, they'd draw a circle and curse them.
If you can't do whatever you want and have your wishes come true, what kind of magic is that!
"The magical real world is no different from the outside," Zheng Qing said sullenly: "I used to think magic could be used freely, and I could just open a spell book and turn someone I didn't like into a pig."
"Of course not," Thomas said, frowning slightly, his emerald eyes sweeping strictly over Zheng Qing: "Perhaps you should prepare a 'wizarding world encyclopedia', the version published by the Wizard Alliance Education Committee's Quality Education Office. It should be very useful to you. Casually opening a spell book on another Wizard is a serious act of provocation and will be fined from one hundred coppers to ten gold beans; in severe cases, you will be detained by the Public Security Bureau for fifteen days!"
Zheng Qing sighed again.
Thomas did not take Zheng Qing far.
After two turns, the two stopped in front of a huge wooden Great Clock.
The Great Clock was about two meters high, with simple lines and no superfluous decorations. Paired with its date-red baked paint, its design appeared more stable and substantial. The clock face was white, with black copper casings reinforcing the Roman numerals. Unlike other mechanical clocks, there was no heavy pendulum suspended below the clock face, only an extremely thin silk thread holding a polished brass pendulum.
As soon as they stopped, the highly polished brass pendulum began to swing, and at the same time, the Great Clock chimed with the melodious Westminster music.
Zheng Qing was very familiar with this chime.
His grandfather's study had an old-fashioned walnut Great Clock, and it always played this music every hour.
According to his grandfather, this chime was the sound of Big Ben in England, and because of its elegance and solemnity, it was used by many Great Clocks.
"Isn't this music from our side?" Zheng Qing asked in surprise.
"This is the blessing music of the Cultivators. It's popular on your side because the Cultivators want to pray for more people," Thomas took out his phone-like device and looked at it for a long time, finally nodding: "Time's up."
Zheng Qing looked at the Great Clock's time: late afternoon, seventeen hundred hours exactly.
After thinking for a moment, he took out his pocket watch and checked the time, it was spot on.
"Good habit," Thomas nodded: "For a Wizard, nothing is more important than time."
Zheng Qing silently put away his pocket watch.
His teacher had also said this to him.
Thomas pulled open the Great Clock's glass door, pushed Zheng Qing, and said, "Go in."
"What is this?" Zheng Qing pushed aside the thin thread holding the brass pendulum and peered inside.
It was very quiet inside the Great Clock, and the pendulum was not swinging.
"Wizards generally just call it the 'Great Clock'," Thomas squeezed into the Great Clock behind Zheng Qing, pulling the glass door shut behind him, and said in a muffled voice: "You can think of it as a fast mode of transportation, or a 'escape' (escape) solidified by Alchemy, either works."
"So, from here, I can go back to my home?" Zheng Qing understood a little.
Thomas didn't speak; he was squinting at the silvery-white clock face.
"This is the seventeen hundred hours station," he murmured to himself, reaching behind the clock face to pull out a brass key, which he inserted into the lowest slot on the clock face and turned twice.
Zheng Qing heard the Great Clock creak, and then the ticking sound of the clock began.
"Feel around, is there a doorknob on the wall behind you!" Thomas's voice trembled slightly amidst the ticking of the clock.
Zheng Qing fumbled in the dark and grasped a round doorknob.
"Found it!" His voice echoed loudly in the narrow confines of the clock's base.
"Twist it and push the door open," Thomas called out hurriedly from behind: "We only have one minute; if we don't get out quickly, the Westminster music will deafen us when it chimes."
Pushing open the door, a pitch-black corridor appeared before them, with a faint light visible in the distance.
The air in the corridor was somewhat damp and murky, but Zheng Qing found this smell very familiar.
Behind him, he heard Thomas closing the door.
Zheng Qing vaguely heard the Westminster chime sound once again.
"What did you mean by the seventeen hundred hours station just now?" Zheng Qing didn't like the dark environment. He tried to look at the light ahead, making his voice sound less nervous.
"The Great Clock is a fixed station set up by the Wizard Alliance around the world. There are twelve hours on the clock face, seven hundred and twenty minutes, one station per minute, for a total of seven hundred and twenty Great Clocks. We just passed through the station at exactly seventeen hundred hours."
"Sounds very complicated," Zheng Qing mumbled.
Fumbling his way towards the light source for a distance, he turned a corner and saw a familiar staircase.
"Were we in the basement just now?!" he exclaimed in surprise: "I didn't even know my basement had a place like this!"
"Your basement certainly doesn't," Thomas followed him to the staircase. He patted the dust from his head, brushed the cobwebs from his robe, and complained: "Originally, I wanted to go directly to your bedroom, but it seems all the doors in your house were locked, so we could only choose the basement."
Zheng Qing blinked, remembering.
He used to stick many Talismans on the doors, windows, walls, and corners of his house when he had nothing to do.
Perhaps these Talismans interfered with the Great Clock's positioning.
"Next, I'll be heading north and might not have time to contact you recently," Thomas repeatedly urged: "Remember the flight you need to take at Chang'an Airport on August thirty-first. Remember, there's only one flight; if you miss it, you won't need to go. Don't expect the school to violate Article Thirty-Seven of the 'Wizard Basic Management Regulations' for a new student, and don't expect the school to open the Protective Formation twice within a year."
"You still haven't bought me that standard timer," Zheng Qing suddenly remembered the book list as Thomas's figure was about to disappear, and he couldn't help but call out.
"The pocket watch hanging around your neck is quite good..." Thomas's voice became increasingly ethereal as his figure faded, until it vanished completely.
Zheng Qing sighed, pulling out the pocket watch hanging around his neck.
Afternoon, seventeen hundred hours, one minute, thirty-eight seconds.