High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1340: Chapter 87: The Little Girl in the Mirror

Zheng Qing dashed through the labyrinth of mirrors.

At the same moment he discovered that the ’Zheng Qing’ in the mirror could paint talismans, he heard that crisp laughter again. The sound seemed very close, as if it was right behind the next mirror.

The young wizard immediately abandoned all ingenious plans and resorted to the most brutal and simplest method, charging straight ahead.

Chase, even if the mirror is filled with illusions.

Chase, for that voice brightens one’s heart.

Crash! No need to look around anymore!

Zheng Qing closed his eyes, grasping the direction from which the laughter came in his mind, and ran forward as fast as he could. Silence reigned all around, as if the ’Zheng Qing’s in the mirrors had suddenly lost their ability to speak in an instant, only staring intently at the swiftly running figure.

The crisp laughter became more frequent.

It seemed that Zheng Qing was only one mirror away from it, but it felt like a chasm was between them, always out of reach. Moreover, as he ran further, the expressions of the ’Zheng Qing’s in the mirror grew more and more vacant, and the surrounding light dimmed.

It was as though he had sunk into the depths of the sea, or burrowed into the heart of the earth, entering the darkest abyss.

The surroundings were now silent.

Apart from the increasingly heavy breathing of Zheng Qing, only the occasional crisp laughter could be heard. In a hazy state, Zheng Qing vaguely heard his own heartbeat—at the moment of its fiercest pounding, the crisp laughter ceased, turning into a phrase:

”Don’t look back!”

”No matter what you hear, don’t look back!”

The voice was very urgent, sounding like a little girl’s amongst the crisp laughter, carrying an inexplicable persuasiveness.

Hesitating for a moment, Zheng Qing slowed his running pace slightly, but then a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him.

It was the voice of Mr. Wu speaking.

Mr. Wu told Zheng Qing that the day’s lesson was over, and he could take him home. Just follow the original route back. Don’t be misled by the illusions and hallucinations of the world in the mirror.

The warlock’s back was moistened with cold sweat.

He wasn’t sure whom to believe.

His originally firm running became somewhat confused. Nevertheless, due to inertia, he still ran forward, passing through one mirror after another. Always forward, but never finding an end.

Suddenly, Zheng Qing remembered the preparations he made earlier.

While dashing, he fumbled for his Law Book and opened the spell he had prepared in advance:

”World in the Mirror, Fixed In The Middle!”

A bronze compass, with an ancient design, materialized in front of Zheng Qing, gliding forward along with his running steps. The delicate needle of the compass waved over the runes and diagrams, trembling as if a single breath could blow it away.

”Where is the exit?” Zheng Qing quickly asked, catching his breath.

The needle on the compass started shaking violently, as if electrified, and in the blink of an eye, it began to spin rapidly. A faint cool breeze brushed the young wizard’s face, carrying a vague hint of rust.

The corners of Zheng Qing’s mouth twitched.

He was using a positioning spell, not a spell for an electric fan.

Clearly, in the World in the Mirror, the effect of this spell wasn’t as remarkable—or one could also guess that the exit of the Maze in the Mirror changed positions quickly every moment, making it difficult for the pointer to capture the actual location of the real exit.

He flipped through the Law book haphazardly and found a blank page. Then, holding the book in one hand, he quickly took out a Feather Pen with the other and began to copy down another positioning Spell that surfaced in his mind:

”May the Northern Dipper guide, with the handle in the West Revealed!”

This Spell works on the principle of the echo between the Starry Sky and Magic Power, determining the Wizard’s location. Compared to the ”Fixed In The Middle” spell, this one is stronger, commonly used by New World Hunters in the wilderness.

With a burst of obscure Magical fluctuations, the green Compass before Zheng Qing suddenly shattered, transforming into a bronze spoon. The handle of the spoon was slightly curved, and it held a dollop of pale blue starlight, the size of a silkworm bean.

”Where is the exit?” Zheng Qing repeated his earlier question.

The dollop of starlight in the spoon immediately shrunk significantly, from the size of a silkworm bean to that of a soybean. The handle of the spoon, under the influence of the starlight, slowly rotated around, but never settled on a point.

It seemed uncertain of the exit’s location too.

Just as Zheng Qing was feeling disappointed, the crisp laughter of a little girl emerged once again by his ear. At the same time, as if grasping at some clue, the spoon’s handle pointed straight towards the direction of the laughter.

Zheng Qing made up his mind and strode eagerly in the direction of the laughter.

Following the direction pointed by the spoon’s handle, after crossing more than ten mirrors, Zheng Qing soon caught sight of a light spot. A light spot located outside the Maze in the Mirror, in a pitch-black void.

”Yes, that’s the exit!”

The little girl’s crisp voice rose from behind Zheng Qing, as if right beside him, cheering jubilantly.

Zheng Qing instinctively looked back and saw only a mirror behind him.

Then, his vision blurred, and he was instantly transported into another ’Hive’, still facing forward—as if the glance back had just been his own illusion.

”Oh, damn it!”

The slightly irritable voice of the little girl rang by his ear: ”Didn’t I tell you not to look back? The exit is hard to find! What if I can’t find it? Do you plan to stay here forever?”

A rare sense of shame rose in Zheng Qing’s heart.

”Sorry...” the Young Wizard muttered, ”I just wanted to say ’thank you’.”

”Thank you? Why do you need to thank me?” In front of the Warlock, another ’Zheng Qing’ inside a mirror picked his ear with a finger and asked in surprise. Then he yelled to the other ’Zheng Qings’ in the mirrors:

”Hey, everybody come and see, this fake thing thinks he’s real, he even wants to say ’thank you’... Does he even know what ’thank you’ means?”

Listening to the ruckus, Zheng Qing felt annoyed and casually pulled out an old robe from the Grey Cloth Bag and threw it over the mirror, covering the shadow who was making noise.

The World instantly submerged into tranquility.

”Yi? Good idea... Can you cover the other mirrors too?” The little girl’s surprised voice sounded by Zheng Qing’s ear: ”Just cover the six mirrors around you, that will be great!”

Without a second word, Zheng Qing rummaged through the Grey Cloth Bag and pulled out various sizes of clothing, lifting his hands to cover the other five mirrors.

The light around them dimmed significantly.

”Wow, it’s finally a bit quieter!” A bouncing voice sprang up behind Zheng Qing.

Zheng Qing turned around, bewildered, seeing no one, only a mop of tousled brown hair.

His gaze moved down, only then he noticed underneath the messy brown hair was a round-faced little girl clutching a small mirror, wearing a slightly shabby black Little Witch Robe, eyes wide and alert, looking around vigilantly.

The embodiment of someone ready to Escape at any moment.

”Who are you?” The Warlock blinked, a trace of curiosity on his face, while desperately visualizing an Anti-evil charm in his mind.

”Shh!” The Little Witch gestured for silence, putting her index finger to her lips like Mr.Wu, instructing him to keep quiet, and then whispered in the same low voice as before: ”Zhu Si... Be quiet, they eat people!”