High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1451: Chapter 195: Crossing the Lake

According to the original plan, Zheng Qing intended to gather a standard five-person hunting team within the Forgiveness Knight Order to embark on tonight’s adventure. However, plans cannot keep up with changes, and the schedules of the other hunters in the team were not very accommodating.

Take Blue Bird for instance. Approaching the term’s end, as an outstanding student of Starry Sky Academy, Blue Bird had spent many consecutive days in the arena, especially today being Friday; it is said that he broke many bones in today’s defense battle, so Zheng Qing really hesitated to ask this cool swordsman to venture out injured.

And Monk Shi Yuan was preoccupied with a sacred ritual. Today, on the Gengwu Month, Xinsi Day, the thirteenth day of the lunar month of May, is the worship day for many divine spirits like Guan Gong, Cheng Huang, and Dragon King—of course, these are all far-fetched excuses from traditional mysticism, never confirmed by any legendary wizard about the birthdays of the gods—but every time such a day comes around, students of Atlas cannot avoid reciting prayers in front of the statues of gods.

You may not worship gods that are not yours, but you cannot lose respect for them.

Another significant reason why Zheng Qing did not inform Monk Shi Yuan was that the monk had almost never participated in the training of the Absolution Hunting Team. Asking him to join would be less reliable than inviting Nicolas.

In the afternoon, Nicolas did quietly approach Zheng Qing, hoping to join the adventure tonight. Zheng Qing knew he wanted to help Liu Fei Fei catch that Faceless Demon disguised as a pet snake, but Zheng Qing was unwilling to ask Nicolas to join.

Setting aside Nicolas not having participated in hunting team training like Monk Shi Yuan, which would largely render him a figurehead if invited; merely the status -- Northern District Wizard -- was already head-scratching for Zheng Qing. The infamous Sacrificial Spell with a reputation for using a magic spell at the cost of a frog’s sacrifice, and its unstable magic effects, were factors that led Zheng Qing to politely decline Nicolas’s eager request.

As for Dylan, he was the first hunter to be excluded from the list of options. His daily routine was opposite to that of Zheng Qing and the others; when Zheng Qing went on an adventure at night, it coincided with Dylan’s class time. If it were during the school term, letting Dylan take a leave would not be too concerning, but now it was the end of the term.

For college students, the last few classes before the end of the term are the most important of the entire academic year. Many students who slack off during the regular days would count on the key points outlined by the teachers in these classes.

Dylan was one of those students.

So, after much contemplation and selection, Zheng Qing invited Jiang Yu to join tonight’s adventure. As expected, the witch happily accepted his invitation.

Indeed, Jiang Yu had not participated in the Absolution Hunting Team’s training, but her previous adventures in the secret realm’s miniature world and her performance in the daily practice classes made Zheng Qing confident in her participation. Also, Zheng Qing hoped that through this adventure, he could help Jiang Yu resolve her mental burdens.

According to general hunting rules, all participants in a hunting competition must use code names.

Although tonight is not a hunting event, the rule still applies.

Zheng Qing’s code name is ’Black Cat’—originally ’Mr.’ which was changed due to Mr. Wu’s presence, leaving the young public-cost student feeling a bit self-conscious, so he switched to a new code name this time.

After all, everyone present is aware of his other identity.

Jiang Yu’s code name is ’Monitor’, which is up to standard, no one would call it wrong, nor would anyone guess randomly.

The rest are habitual: Xiao Xiao is ’Doctor’, Zhang Ji Xin is ’Elder’, and Banna is ’Fatty’, with no objections from everyone.

As for the positions, Zhang Ji Xin still takes up the role of the main hunter, with Banna and Xiao Xiao serving as the Left Auxiliary and Right Aide, Jiang Yu as the Wandering Hunter, and Zheng Qing as the Tracker, in charge of the most crucial search work for tonight.

After briefly confirming the code names and positions, Xiao Xiao once again emphasized to everyone the requirements and taboos of entering and leaving the museum—such as the simultaneous use of temporary access cards and student IDs, no touching of any exhibit or lagging behind the team when passing through the galleries quickly, and especially when passing through the Magical Painting Exhibition Hall, one must always keep their eyes on the silver lines on the floor, never looking at the paintings on either side.

”During daytime exhibitions, the school will activate protective barriers to control the influence of those magical paintings. But come nightfall, to save magic power, the museum will turn off those barriers,” Xiao Xiao gravely warned:

”If you don’t want to be sucked into the purgatory depicted by the hellish paintings, or experience screams beyond that of a female demon’s wail, you must be cautious, cautious, and then cautious!”

”I have a small question.” Fatty asked while adjusting the leather straps of his Law Book, ”Using student IDs to enter and leave the museum will leave a trace of identity, won’t it... Is Brother Qing okay with that?”

The implication being that this is a violation of rules, and Zheng Qing was already under the penalty of school probation.

Zheng Qing finally realized what he had overlooked, feeling a pang of annoyance in his heart.

”Whether it’s against the rules or not depends on what we did,” Xiao Xiao said with confidence, having considered this question before. ”You have temporary work passes, and I can attest that you are volunteers I invited to help temporarily at the museum. Theoretically, the school should even provide you with a stipend... under the condition that you don’t damage any exhibit in the museum!”

This was the third time tonight that he had stressed this last point.

The chubby one chuckled and waved his hand to show he understood.

Xiao Xiao looked around nervously but seeing Zheng Qing’s resolute expression, he finally sighed and walked towards an old crooked willow tree by the lake.

The willow tree was very old, and compared to its robust counterparts, its branches and leaves were somewhat sparse, allowing more moonlight to filter through its canopy.

Xiao Xiao lifted a cluster of drooping willow branches to reveal a crooked wooden sign hanging on the trunk.

There were a few faint characters on the wooden sign, which Zheng Qing could not clearly discern due to the lighting. Xiao Xiao did not intend to let everyone take a closer look and reached out to tug beside the sign.

Only then did Zheng Qing notice a thin rope next to the wooden sign.

Following the rope upwards, there was a shiny brass bell hanging on an upward slanting thick branch of the crooked willow. The little bell swayed from side to side under the pull of the rope.

The clapper of the bell swung soundlessly.

The brass bell did not ring.

But Zheng Qing could faintly hear a crisp bell sound from a far distance. He was not sure if it was just his imagination. Looking around, his companions also appeared somewhat puzzled.

Ding-a-ling.

”Did you hear it?” He whispered into the witch’s ear.

Jiang Yu’s earlobes turned a bit red.

She shook her head.

”Quiet!” Xiao Xiao sternly glanced at their team leader, and Zheng Qing promptly raised his hand and made a zipping motion over his mouth.

Ding-a-ling.

The barely audible bell sound still lingered from afar.

Before long, faint ripples appeared on the surface of the lake. Shortly after that, several dark grey iron oxen slowly emerged from the water, calmly making their way to the shore and offering their broad backs to the young wizards.

Xiao Xiao was the first to jump onto the back of an ox.

The iron ox shook its head and turned steadily, beginning to swim towards the deeper part of the lake. Zheng Qing bit his lip and jumped on second, with the others following closely behind.

Soon, the lake shore returned to its usual tranquility.

In the depths of the lake, only a few vague figures could be seen.