High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2184: Chapter 405: Laughter Amid the Wind and Snow

Time rewinds for a moment.

After the Atonement Hunting Team retracted their formation under Zheng Qing’s orders, Jiang Yu naturally appeared beside the warlock.

”Do you need a break?”

The witch pulled down her mask, glancing around vigilantly as she asked Zheng Qing. As she spoke, the furry ears atop her hood twitched slightly, like a real cat’s ears on alert.

This was a moment of whimsy Zheng Qing had while picking cloaks for the team members—while the warlocks’ cloaks were all plain and boring, the witch’s cloak not only had a ring of white fur around the collar and lapels but also had a pair of sharp white cat ears on the hood. They offered no magical benefits for hunting, purely meant to sway like real cat ears or fold into airplane wings, expressing the owner’s mood.

At this moment, the cat ears were swiveling slightly from side to side, indicating the witch’s slight tension beneath the hood.

The captain of the Atonement Hunting Team couldn’t help but smile.

”Take a break!”

He signaled to his companions and quietly reminded the witch close at hand, ”There’s something in the forest; I sense danger... just not sure what yet... stay safe!”

The witch nodded firmly and flipped her wrist, immediately crushing a jade bead to erect a small golden barrier, enclosing herself and the young cost student within.

Zheng Qing’s smile froze.

The wind and snow howled past outside the golden barrier, not stirring a single hair. Whether it was an illusion or not, the warlock faintly heard low, intermittent laughter from outside the barrier, like a deflating balloon. He felt his ears heat up, as if seeing the other hunters of the team exchanging knowing glances.

”What are you two doing!”

Sure enough, within ten seconds, Xin Fat Man’s blue face appeared outside the golden barrier, eyes wide as he peeked in, ”In broad daylight, in public, why put up a barrier?”

Zheng Qing opened his mouth, unsure how to respond.

Jiang Yu, on the other hand, was quite straightforward.

”Mr. Zha said there’s danger nearby, so I took some safety measures,” she said naturally, using that terrible moniker, making the faces of the two warlocks inside and outside the barrier go pale simultaneously.

”My codename is ’Sir’!” the young cost student corrected seriously and earnestly.

”Danger, and you only care about the two of you?” Blue Fatty’s voice was filled with incredulity, and he grumbled quietly, ”I’m also a member of the team; I have the right to seek shelter!”

The witch eyed him scrutinizingly and extended five pale fingers, ”Private shelter, five jade coins for one time, no bargaining.”

The fat wizard’s face shifted to a bluish tint as if wanting to say more, but Doctor Xiao behind him tugged him away, dragging him off while apologizing to the males inside the barrier, ”Sorry, the kid didn’t understand and caused you trouble... but you should be a bit mindful of the volume of your laughter...”

”Who’s laughing? Is this the time to be laughing?”

The young cost student retorted annoyedly, and before he finished, his expression changed sharply. His right hand brushed his waist, and the silver-white Colt Python-gun pointed low into the empty forest depths, ”...Gentleman Hunt Freely!”

He growled low.

Almost at the same moment.

Xiao Xiao and Xin Fat Man had a faint yellow turtle shell phantom above their heads; a little further away, Zhang Ji Xin and Blue Bird watched the white world alertly, back to back. Three groups of hunters gradually and orderly approached the same direction.

”Hee hee~”

”Ha ha ha~”

”Heh heh heh~”

”Cackle~~”

The strange, piercing laughter was torn apart by wind and snow, yet it clearly reached the ears of each young hunter; correspondingly, the six hunters of the Atonement Hunting Team had already linked their magic power, constructing a positive and negative hexagram battle formation.

”What ghosts and monsters, laughing so horribly!” Xin Fat Man’s blue face lessened somewhat, habitually complaining, then looked toward Xiao Xiao, ”Doctor, analyze it... maybe we’ll get bonus points!”

Saying this, he nudged a thumb upward unnoticeably, meaning someone above was watching and scoring each hunting team, so they should perform well.

Xiao Xiao cautiously tucked the old turtle shell into his coat.

”There are many.”

The diviner of the Atonement Hunting Team didn’t notice the fat wizard’s gesture; he didn’t even adjust his glasses, instead, he followed his heart, habitually rambling fast, ”Three-headed, six-tailed Qiqian, tattooed like monkeys You Yan, spirit infant Ying Ning raised by foxes and ghosts, demons from Tosa County, Japan, Qian Xi Woman from North Mountain... and all kinds of lively mountain spirits and water beasts plus young magical creatures... they all love laughing.”

”But Ying Ning doesn’t laugh so creepily,” Jiang Yu immediately refuted.

”That’s right.”

The diviner of Atonement fiddled with another divination token, not lifting his head yet nodding in agreement, ”Whether Ying Ning, Qiqian, or You Yan, they’re extremely rare magical creatures. Even if they are in Silent Forest, they would stay in the deepest parts of the woods... If they indeed appeared so close to school, hunters rushing for them would be swarming even without school intervention to catch them thoroughly!”

”I don’t know about others, but I do have some impressions of Ying Ning. Qingqiu over there has always wanted to find a live Ying Ning...” Zheng Qing also wanted to try displaying himself, but his speech was cut off halfway, stopping conspicuously yet subtly for three seconds, then naturally explaining, ”...I’ve heard Su Ya, the little girl, mention it many times. By the way, Li Meng is good friends with Su Ya—have they ever mentioned it?”

He looked sincerely at Jiang Yu.

The witch lowered her eyelids, pursing her lips, ”Such small matters... Meng Meng doesn’t need to tell me.”

”Ahem.”

Xiao Xiao gave two quiet coughs, breaking the anxiety-inducing conversation, instantly reaping a look of gratitude from their captain.

”So, our target should focus on those mountain spirits and water beasts.”

The diviner of the Atonement Hunting Team had a serious expression, wiping his hand through the void with divination tokens, and lifelike patterns floated in the Array, appearing before the young hunters, ”The Qian Xi Woman mentioned earlier—their laughter carries magic, making those who hear it faint at best or die at worst... And we haven’t experienced any discomfort. Plus, these creatures are native to Tosa, a rather niche presence, so the probability of a Qian Xi Woman is very low.”

Speaking this, a divination token fell, and a picture of an enchanting woman shattered into light mist in mid-air.