High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 340: Chapter 9: A Stranger in the Dream_1

A damp scent invaded his nostrils.

Zheng Qing shivered, opening his eyes.

Within his sight were a thin white mist, a criss-cross of branches, and a golden moon in the pitch-black sky. Below, an imposing coldness had already seeped through his loose robe, bringing a thoroughly chilling sensation.

What time is it now?

Where am I?

He struggled to get up, looking around in panic. He fumbled around his body for a while but didn’t find the familiar grey cloth bag. Even the amulet hanging around his neck and the badges pinned to his chest were all gone.

A sense of unease welled up in him.

He took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly.

The breath he exhaled was like a white ribbon, wrapping up the wetness and chilliness in the air, and rolling back into his lungs.

He recognized the familiar scene before him.

It was Lin Zhong Lake in front of him.

He was standing at the end of the shady, cobblestone path leading to the lakeshore.

Under the moonlight, Lin Zhong Lake was serene and silent.

Far away was the shimmering water surface, a peculiar-looking water creature stretched out its long neck to explore the leaves of the ginkgo tree by the shore. On its back, a stout merman idly shook the reins, his eyes blinking open and shut.

The fiery-red big birds tucked their heads under their wings, huddling together as if they were a basket of freshly cooked sesame balls, with a white mist still steaming above them.

By the shore, several ornamental rocks stood silently beside the bluestone road, casting a heavy shadow on the ground under the moonlight.

He staggered a few steps, feeling a little weightless. His limbs seemed not to obey him, so he immediately reached out to steady himself on a golden rain tree by the road.

His arm passed through the trunk without any obstruction, throwing him off balance.

He held his hands in front of his eyes. Through the pale blue, semi-translucent skin, he could clearly see the curved bones, bulging muscles, the crisscrossing delicate veins, and the white blood flowing in the veins.

Ghost? Ghoul? What’s happened to me?

His mind was in a mess. He jogged over to the lakeside, kneeled on the ground, and stared at the reflection in the lake.

A glowing, blurry, white face.

”Meow!”

The sudden cat’s cry shattered the tranquillity of the lakeside and startled the young wizard who was staring thoughtfully at the lake’s surface.

He looked up.

A small white cat, about a foot tall, popped out of the grass by the lake.

This kitten must have just been born; the downy fur on its head and back hadn’t completely shed, making it look a bit mottled. Standing in the grass, it seemed a bit shaky, instantly inviting sympathy.

In contrast to its pitiable state, beneath the kitten’s front paws were two even more pitiable creatures.

Its left paw held a crab, and its right paw held a flower-skinned frog.

The kitten mewed, its paws pushing and shoving, trying to instigate a fight between the two aquatic creatures.

However, with a big enemy at hand, both the crab and the frog shrank back, curled up their bodies, trying their best to look dead.

This caused the kitten to gradually lose interest.

Suddenly, its ears twitched and its head lifted.

A black butterfly fluttered unsteadily over the kitten’s head and drifted towards a nearby rockery. The kitten immediately forgot about the pathetic creatures under its paws, jumped up, and began to chase the prey in the sky.

The butterfly shook its wings and nimbly spun a circle in mid-air, avoiding the furry little paws. It eventually landed on the towering rockery.

The kitten squinted its big eyes, sneezed angrily twice, and then, with effort, climbed up the protruding rocks of the towering rockery. It then pounced towards the butterfly.

The black butterfly seemed completely unprepared for this situation, appearing somewhat dazed under the sudden strike, even its wings had no time to spread out before the furry cat paws crushed it like Mount Tai.

Zheng Qing watched this cute little creature, and for some reason, a sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.

He could not help but stretch out his hand.

As expected, his palm easily passed through the kitten’s body without any resistance.

The kitten seemed to sense something, tilted its head, with its pure, light green eyes, it curiously looked back.

”Ah, what a cute little thing!” A crystal clear female voice came from behind, startling the young scholar.

He forcefully twisted his neck back, even his joints emitted an ominous creaking sound.

A charming face came into his field of vision.

Then she got closer and closer, finally, she even directly walked through Zheng Qing’s body.

A tickling sensation surged from his soles to top of his head, before he could let out a comfortable moan, a spicy burning sensation squeezed out from all directions, making him howl and kneel on the ground.

”This is...” Zheng Qing raised his hands, looking at the burn marks remaining in his palms, a chill surged in his heart.

As he gasped for air and looked back, the witch was squatting by the lakeside, scooping water to wash her face.

Her quiet mutterings drifted into the young wizard’s ears with the evening breeze.

”The boss said, witches are always clean freaks.”

”So they must wash their faces often.”

”He also said, as a witch, you should always apply those cosmetics... until you marinate yourself into a fragrant smell to meet the standard.”

”Just like an aura... when a witch stands there, within five meters around her, everyone will be shrouded in her fragrance... it is said that this is a passive skill, any wizard who enters the range of this fragrance, their intelligence will be forcibly reduced by more than 30%.”

”...”

With her back towards Zheng Qing, her voice underwent changes along with the rippling sounds of water.

From crisp, to low, then hoarse, and husky.

Until in the end, every word she said was filled with buzzing noise, like a poor quality radio, which was annoying to listen to.

The kitten’s meowing broke the witch’s monologue.

She looked up in surprise, seeing the cute creature on the rockery.

”You’re still here?! ...This is a bit troublesome.”

The witch stood up, went over to the side of the rockery, extended her clean slender hand, and stroked the fluffy little furball.

The kitten willingly lowered its body, purring contently from its chest.

”Oh dear... The butterfly has been shattered by you, what should I do with you?” The witch’s husky voice seemed somewhat puzzled: ”The boss said, the school does not allow random eating... even a bug cannot be eaten.”

The kitten rolled over, exposing its soft belly, mewling as if hoping to be scratched.

Its pure eyes reflected a blurred reflection.

”How terrible...” The witch muttered: ”The boss also said, you can’t let people see me washing my face... you can’t let people see my appearance... what a bad day.”

The slender white fingers swept over the kitten’s neck, scratching it, then gave it a gentle pull.

Crack.

The kitten lay quietly in its original place, without making another sound.

The witch turned around.

The spectator collapsed in horror, his mouth wide open, like a fish in a dried-up ditch.

Under the moonlight, a tall figure faced him, her face like a new moon, skin like pure porcelain, all white and vast, without eyebrows, eyes or any facial features.