High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1078: Chapter 140 Outside the Lingxing Gate

As the Black Cat perched on the tree, avidly watching the proxy war between the Mice and the insects, in another direction within the same forest, the Witch whom the Black Cat had originally been tracking stood amidst a field of ruins, silently waiting for something.

These were the ruins of stone buildings, with broken stone arches faintly revealing the form of the Lingxing Gate, and remnants of wooden structures scattered about, all weather-worn to the point that they seemed as if they would turn to ash at the slightest touch.

Further in the distance, there were dried-up ponds, arches, stone temples, and vast expanses of lush pines and cypresses, standing silently deep within the ruins. The atmosphere was profoundly tranquil and undisturbed.

Korma held her hands in front of her stomach, her body rigidly straight, her eyelids drooping, her gaze inward, resembling one deep in meditation.

She did not cross the threshold of the Lingxing Gate, yet she showed no signs of leaving.

A few watchful eyes enveloped the Witch from the shadows of the silent ruins. These gazes were neither friendly nor overly hostile, expressing, at most, a mix of curiosity and bewilderment.

The Witch had not waited outside the Lingxing Gate for long.

Soon, a sharp yet aged voice pierced through the creaks of wood into the Witch’s ears, ”I speak the absolute truth. How could such an important matter as the school’s winter hunt be disclosed to us old Mice? You’ve been on the island long enough to know not to indulge in actions that gratify enemies and agonize loved ones.”

The responding voice was somewhat hoarse but spoke much quicker, ”An undeserved disaster indeed, an undeserved disaster. It was only after I had a talk with a few old friends that I learned that the school had originally planned to hunt gorillas during last year’s winter hunt, but those clever students switched to Mouse-Wolves, causing a calamity for my subordinates. You know how well-behaved they usually are—they wouldn’t even harm a fly... Yet that one hunt led to dozens of them being killed by those naïve youngsters in the school!”

Though Korma still stood quietly in place, she subtly lifted her eyelids to sneak a peek.

The sender of the elderly voice was none other than the Rat Immortal, slowly journeying while seated on a litter, his body as robust as ever, and the Big Mice carrying his litter were as quiet as always.

The hoarse voice, however, belonged to a fist-sized creature with the appearance of a member of the Mouse Clan.

The creature had ruddy, mottled skin, short and sturdy limbs, round ears, and dark eyes, its body plump like that of the Rat Immortal. Unlike the Rat Immortal, it had no tail and was not seated in a litter. It crouched on the head of a White Weasel, its elbows propped on the round ears of the Weasel, looking utterly distracted.

During this conversation, the processional troops of the two Mice had arrived at the threshold of the Lingxing Gate and halted.

The Rat Immortal leaned slightly, looking at the hamster-like creature on the White Weasel’s head, patted the armrest of his litter, and soothingly said,

”You know, because of that incident, the elders at the school are very busy, so they delegated the winter hunt to those young kids. They lack experience, inevitably leading to some mishaps.”

”An undeserved disaster, an undeserved disaster indeed,” the plump Hamster murmured and sighed, lifting his head to see the young Witch standing quietly at the gate as if he had found a outlet for exasperation, and whispered a few curses under his breath, ”What a decline from one generation to the next... to mix up gorillas and Mouse-Wolves! These young ones... truly, a decline from one generation to the next!”

Korma stood emotionless in place, like a stone pillar. Yet, her mind was clear as a mirror. The Rat Immortal and the unfamiliar Hamster were likely discussing last year’s winter hunt.

At that time, since the school’s professors and senior staff were all busy with other major affairs, the responsibility of organizing the winter hunt was left to the student council — Korma was also in charge of the hunting part within the school.

However, it was said that later, a mishap occurred during the part of the winter hunt outside the school, which caused the entire hunt to end prematurely. But it was unknown if that mishap had anything to do with the conversation she had had with the two mice.

As she indulged in wild speculation, the Hamster had already bade farewell to the Rat Immortal, sat on the White Weasel’s head, and muttering under his breath, disappeared into the depths of the Silent Forest.

The Witch immediately gathered her thoughts and straightened up slightly.

The Rat Immortal did not leave immediately but sat on the Litter, frowning in thought. After a long while, he looked up, as if he had just noticed the Witch’s presence.

”Just arrived?” his voice was as gentle as always, but slightly muddier than before, ”Sit, sit, don’t stand... you are so tall now, I can’t even see your head when you are standing.”

Without a word, Korma sat down cross-legged on the muddy ground, seemingly not worried about staining her robe with mud and debris. The whiskers at the corners of the Rat Immortal’s mouth twitched as if he smiled, but he did not make a sound.

”Still a bit high.” He murmured but did not ask the Witch to crouch down any further. However, with his cloudy breaths, his originally few inches high body slowly grew larger, expanding with each breath. In the blink of an eye, he had grown over half a meter tall, stopping only when he could look the Witch in the eye.

His Litter beneath him also grew as his size increased and did not fall apart. Instead, the Big Mice in red vests who were carrying the Litter were pressed down into the mud by the sudden change. However, those well-trained Big Mice did not show any signs of panic but quickly adjusted their posture, standing obediently in place, silent and unflustered.

It was apparent that this was not the first time they had encountered such an event.

”That was an old friend who just visited, having been away for quite some time... um, it’s been over a decade since he last returned, so you wouldn’t recognize him. Quite an energetic fellow, you should meet him sometime.” The Rat Immortal briefly told the Witch about the recent encounter, looking at her with an added touch of affection in his tone, ”You too... it’s been a long time since you visited.”

”I haven’t been here since starting university.” Korma’s voice was very calm.

”Yes, that’s right.” The Rat Immortal turned his gaze towards the deep forest, his eyes reflecting a bit of nostalgia, ”I remember the first time you got lost and came here, how you cried your eyes out... and kept thinking I was a Black Wizard, about to capture you and boil you into a soup.”

A trace of embarrassment finally appeared on the Witch’s face.

”I was young then, didn’t know any better.” She lowered her voice, looking around guiltily, lacking the air she had as a vice-chairperson of the student council or the elder sister of Gini Cottage.

”Hey, the way you say that, it’s as if you are a hundred and eighty years old now.” The Rat Immortal chuckled, ”In my eyes, there’s no difference between you now and you from a dozen years ago... um, except you’ve grown a bit taller.”

Korma’s lips twitched, her usually stern poker face suddenly collapsed:

”You still don’t give compliments like before.”