High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1345: Chapter 92: Shattering Illusions and Emerging from the Mirror

Zhu Si ultimately didn’t accept the inkstone.

She picked from the pile of goods Zheng Qing had spilled on the ground for quite a while, and in the end, only took a pack of cinnabar, a few stacks of Yellow Paper, a bundle of Feather Pens, and that 2008 edition of ”Entering First University.”

”Okay!” She nodded in satisfaction: ”These... can be used for a very long time.”

”Why not take a few more books?” Zheng Qing pointed to the extracurricular readings he had borrowed from the library: ”For example, this ’Mastering a Hundred Spells in Three Minutes’ contains a lot of clever little magic, and there’s also Man Kun’s ’Principles of Rune Construction’. Though the content is dry, it’s very systematic and will definitely be of great help to you!”

”No need, no need.” Zhu Si patted her pocket, looking proud: ”When I left, I took all the books from mom’s bookshelf... and I haven’t finished them yet. I feel like I can read them for another hundred years!”

”What about food? I’ll give you these snacks, too.” Zheng Qing looked anxious and took the initiative to push the beef jerky, pickled chicken feet, Allah stick cookies, and a few pieces of chocolate he had gotten from Xin Fat Man towards the Little Witch: ”You must be out of these, right?”

”That’s too much, too much.” Zhu Si bit her finger, her eyes glued to the pieces of chocolate, but her face showed a bashful look: ”Just a little bit is enough.”

For the first time, Zheng Qing regretted not having enough chocolates and candies in his bag.

He rummaged through it again and pushed the mint candies and Snake Oil, which were used as medicine, towards the Little Witch.

”Just consider it sold to you,” Zheng Qing said adamantly, forcing them over: ”When you go out later, just pay me back with more gold.”

”Gold?” The Little Witch’s eyes lit up: ”I have gold!”

She opened the pocket of her tattered robe and poured out a heap of things.

Deflated golden pots, broken silverware, colorful gemstones, hefty gold beans rolling all over the place, Mithril stamped with various insignias and bronze essence scattered among them, and even a few Luminous Pearls the size of fists—Zheng Qing felt as if he had stepped into a Giant Dragon’s lair.

”These... what are these?” The Warlock pointed to the dazzling wealth in front of him and stammered: ”These... are they all yours? How do you have so much gold!”

”Earned it!” The Little Witch answered confidently.

”Earned it?”

”If you spend a bit more time in the Mirror World you could earn it too... Walk around, and you’ll see a pile of bones lying behind some mirror; all you need to do is squat next to them and chant the ’Scripture of Hou Tu’ and ’Recitation of Rebirth’ a few times, and after those bones disappear, these things will be left on the ground. Magic rules, equivalent exchange!”

Having said that, the Little Witch waved her hand in disgust: ”It’s just that these things are neither edible nor usable; other than looking nice, they’re probably only good for making a noise when thrown out to divert the attention of the Mirror Demons.”

This indeed was an affair filled with irony.

In the real world outside, the Wizards bust their backs for a little more gold, to amass more resources – deceiving, coaxing, enduring hardship, toiling all day without rest.

And in this illusory World in the Mirror, wealth lay at one’s feet – nothing but impediments.

Perhaps that’s why the Mirror World is more enticing to those lost souls than the real world. Zheng Qing suddenly gained a deeper understanding of why his mentor sent him to this world.

He shook his head to dispel these distant thoughts.

Zhu Si picked a few pretty gemstones and some Luminous Pearls from that pile of blinding wealth and stuffed them back into her pocket, then waved her small hand: ”The rest is all yours!”

This time, it was Zheng Qing who bit his finger.

”That’s too much.” He smiled wryly, scratching his head as he picked up a gold bean: ”What I gave you, using this to trade is already more than enough... You’ve given too much.”

”The surplus can be considered as a prepayment!” The Little Witch demonstrated shrewdness beyond her years: ”Next time you come, bring more tasty and fun things... and if there’s any left over, bring more leaves of the Mystical Grain. This is the commission.”

Saying this, she grabbed a few pieces of Mithril from the pile of treasures, shoved them into the Warlock’s arms, and pat his arm with an unexpectedly mature touch: ”Having received the commission, you should take the task to heart!”

Zheng Qing took a deep breath and, without hesitation, swept everything on the ground into his Grey Cloth Bag. But since there was too much gold, after stuffing the bag full, he still had a Gilded Silver Pot of a lotus-seated Dragon Beast left outside.

He had to carry the silver pot in his hand.

”How do I get out?” The Warlock asked eagerly.

He wanted to leave as soon as possible, then return as soon as possible.

Zhu Si had already put a mint candy in her mouth, squinting happily. On hearing the boy’s question, she waved her hand indifferently and said: ”It’s simple, first walk out of the labyrinth, go straight out after you see the exit... Remember, never look back.”

Zheng Qing’s face revealed a trace of doubt.

Zhu Si immediately noticed his suspicion.

”Don’t think it’s easy!” she poked the warlock’s arm a bit angrily: ”Without my help, you would never be able to escape this labyrinth made of mirrors... Eight or nine out of ten people would be trapped and die in this maze.”

”Then why were you able to find the way out?”

”Because I’m smart!” the little witch said smugly, hands on her hips.

Then, her face turned serious: ”You have already missed one chance to escape the World in the Mirror, this is the second, and also the best opportunity. There’s a saying, ’Don’t push your luck,’ if you can’t get out on the second try, you’ll have to wait a very, very long time to try a third time. And if you can’t get out after three tries, then you’ll never get out.”

This warning made the warlock break out in a cold sweat.

The development afterward was exactly as Zhu Si had described — the process was very simple.

She directed Zheng Qing through a ’hive’ of mirrors, over barriers made of one mirror after another, no matter how ridiculous her commands — such as crawling on the ground beneath a mirror, or, like a maggot, bulging and arching through a hive, and even though they had just passed through a hive, they immediately turned back and went through it again.

Zheng Qing followed her instructions without question.

Soon, they reached the edge of the labyrinth.

”Alright, you need to walk the remaining path on your own, remember the final...” the little witch’s voice whispered in Zheng Qing’s ear, becoming fainter and fainter until it was barely audible — as soon as Zheng Qing removed the clothes covering the mirrors, she disappeared from his sight again, and no matter what he tried, he could not find any trace of her.

Zheng Qing took a deep breath and stared at the white halo the size of a disc deep in the shadows.

Zhu Si said that it was the exit of the Mirror World.

He took a step forward.

”Right!” Behind him came Zhu Si’s annoyed voice: ”Is this something you dropped? It looks very precious...”

Zheng Qing looked down and felt his bulging grey cloth bag at his waist.

”For you!” He waved his hand backward and continued on his way without looking back.

Zhu Si let out an ’Oh’, stopped for a moment, then started to make noise again: ”I’ve thought about it, I’ll borrow that ’Principles of Rune Construction’ by Man Kun... There are too many mirror demons here, it’s good to learn more knowledge. I just flipped through, and didn’t find that book in the bag.”

Zheng Qing’s form wavered slightly, almost turning around.

But he firmly remembered the little witch’s hint and continued to walk forward, replying loudly: ”That book belongs to the library of First University, next time I’ll buy you a new one! Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon!”

Just like that, he walked more than ten meters, getting closer and closer to the white halo, when suddenly, a scream came from behind.

It was Zhu Si’s scream!

In the scream was mixed the growls of wild beasts and the cackling laughs of monsters.

Zheng Qing’s right leg, which he had just lifted, hung in mid-air, hesitant to take the next step.

”Help... save me... save... save...”

”Wah wah...”

”Don’t come back, run, and remember to smash a few mirrors after you get out!!”

”Get away, you monsters... get away!”

”Mommy... I want mommy...”

The crying and screaming of Zhu Si grew more and more distant, as if she was being dragged deeper into the World in the Mirror by nameless monsters. The warlock bit his lip hard, biting until his mouth was full of fresh blood, and a haze of red clouded his vision.

”Wait for me.”

He answered in his heart, then stomped down hard with his right leg, not looking back as he charged towards the white halo.