High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2321: Chapter 542: Sorting Out

Buji Island.

A certain area on the edge of the Silent Forest.

A pit resembling an upside-down pyramid quietly hides in this forest. The soil and rubble around the pit have been cleared away, and the twisted Return Soul Poplar has been uprooted, leaving only another small pit by the side, like a rotten sore, emitting a twisted aura that makes the wizards nauseous.

At the edge of the pit, the pale yellow caution tape, like a giant spider web, wraps around the sturdy trunks. Even after more than a month of exposure to wind and sun, they still maintain their bright color. Because of the expulsion spell on them, the area is dead silent for miles, not a sound from birds or insects, and not even the stubborn Horseman Tribe or the irritable Ogre Tribe ventures here to hunt.

Of course, the more likely case is that the animals of the Silent Forest carefully avoid this area, leading to no prey and thus no hunters.

Rustle.

The sound of a few loose rocks falling at the bottom of the pit breaks the forest’s tranquility.

Moments later, a few gray silhouettes crawl out from the pit’s edge, cursing. Trailing at the end of the group is a Fat Wizard with a slightly bluish skin tone, wearing a cat mask. His robe is noticeably dirtier than the others, and his mask is skewed from the tough journey.

They are the five young hunters of the Absolution Hunting Team.

”I said down there, we should just fly out with a flying curse!”

The Fat Wizard struggles to stand straight, brushes off the dust, tears off the mask from his face, and his sweaty cheeks shine a bit in the sunlight. The grievance in his voice is almost tangible: ”It’s easy and effortless, just a spell... and this stupid mask... we’re back on Buji Island, why are we still wearing this thing? You can’t see a single snow cicada within three or five miles, who’s going to spy on us? With my build, like this, is there anyone at school who doesn’t know me?”

”You overestimate your fame.” Dylan squints his eyes, looking him up and down.

The fat guy widens his eyes, wanting to retort.

Xiao Xiao glances at him, adjusts his mask, and reminds, ”When carrying out the Trident Sword’s mission, the rules of the Trident Sword should be followed. It’s a responsible approach for everyone on the team.”

This heavy statement immediately douses the Fat Wizard’s spirit a bit.

”I didn’t say not to wear it,” he mutters, fiddling with the cat mask, seeming like he still wants to say something more, when a third voice interrupts.

Following the Doctor, Zheng Qing also speaks up: ”Didn’t we discuss it down there? This was originally an illegal laboratory of the Black Wizard. Even though the school cleaned it up, the magic environment had been distorted. Using a flying curse recklessly might trigger unpredictable risks... even if that possibility is very low, there’s no need for us to risk it... Speaking of which, the school did clean this place quite thoroughly!”

He genuinely meant the last sentence.

Due to a ’bottleneck’ in the pursuit of the Black Wizard, the Absolution Hunting Team planned to retrace the existing clues, starting from the initial ’crime scene’ to see if they could find any new breakthrough.

As expected, they didn’t have any unexpected gains.

The entire laboratory ruins were cleaned thoroughly, the trees were uprooted, only a few rectangular traces sketched with a marker were left where the experiment table was, the blue stone slab inscribed with runes was completely removed, and every corner of the pit received a thorough disinfection. Even after a month, the pit still emitted a suffocating Magic Potion smell.

Zheng Qing suspects that if this area wasn’t slightly larger, the school staff responsible for cleaning might have packed up the entire laboratory—everything including the pit.

A hunting team of five people.

Three people have already fired at him.

Xin Fat Man pitifully looked at the last team member who hadn’t said anything, hoping for a bit of support, but immediately, he gave up on that notion.

Blue Bird never likes getting involved in such verbal disputes.

But sometimes, God just likes to play such impossible jokes.

Perhaps sensing the Fat Wizard’s gaze, Blue Bird, holding a sword, with tilted head, sized him up unexpectedly and said, ”You should exercise more.”

Once these words left his mouth, not only the fat guy but all three of the others were startled.

Xiao Xiao instinctively put his hand on the crystal ball, seemingly wanting to check if this guy beside him was possessed by the Black Wizard.

But seeing Blue Bird’s eyes, he forcibly stopped that impulse.

”My mistake, my mistake!” The Fat Wizard obediently raises his hands, sighing as he loses his earlier brashness from climbing out of the pit: ”It’s all my fault...”

While speaking, he puts the cat mask back on his face.

”What’s next?” He asks gruffly.

The forest instantly resumes its previous deathly silence.

A week of pursuit had already given Zheng Qing an inkling that the Black Wizard seems to be toying with them like ’walking a dog’; they managed to catch a prisoner only to have them snatched away under their noses.

Revisiting and sorting out clues this time also yielded no results.

The hunting team’s morale had significantly dwindled.

After a while, Zheng Qing punches his palm and makes a decision as the team leader: ”Drink.”

Four pairs of eyes look at him.

”Drink?” The Fat Wizard’s eyes are filled with confusion, even through the mask, Zheng Qing could almost see his face all scrunched up.

”Is this some kind of ’metaphor’?” Dylan whispers a question in Xiao Xiao’s ear.

The Absolution Hunting Team’s Diviner hangs his eyes, a thoughtful look on his face.

In the next second, Zheng Qing unravels the mystery.

”Yes, drink! Simply just drink!”

The team captain of the Absolution Hunting Team takes a deep breath and spreads his arms, seemingly wanting to embrace the entire forest: ”We’ve been exhausted for a week, it’s time for a break... Always being on edge can cause a snap. Let’s go back to school, get some sleep, take a shower, change into clean robes, hit the bar and go wild for a night, then we’ll talk about catching the Black Wizard tomorrow.

At worst, we fail this mission, admit defeat, and don’t catch that Black Wizard. What’s the big deal? It’s only January, we still have eleven months this year, and we’ll surely complete other Alliance-assigned tasks.”

Xin Fat Man stares at him intently.

After a while, the Fat Wizard claps his hands vigorously, the first to agree with Zheng Qing’s arrangement: ”Exactly! What’s the big deal! If we don’t catch them, so be it... I had to eat fast food for a week because of this...”

Compared to him, Xiao Xiao is more concerned with another detail: ”Is the money for the bar reimbursed by the team?”