High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 963: Chapter 25 A Muddy Mess

The special amulet bullet mentioned by Zheng Qing wasn’t special due to the method of its creation, but because the talisman used to wrap the bullet was unusual. The talisman used for this bullet was drawn with his own blood.

For most wizards nowadays, using fresh blood to draw symbols is a rare practice.

On one hand, it was dangerous; if the talisman paper did not burn completely and the blood was collected by the enemy, within less than two hours, all sorts of bizarre curses could be bestowed. On the other hand, drawing blood symbols places a tremendous physiological burden on wizards, severe cases even shortening their lifespans.

Therefore, even if fresh blood was used in talismans, it was at most a few drops from the fingertip, followed by crossing another talisman at the end of the drawing session. This is what Zheng Qing had done last semester at Wandering Bar for Li Meng.

As with anything, there are drawbacks and benefits. The talismans that wizards outlined with their own blood not only made them more intuitive to use but also made them several times more powerful than those delineated with dragon’s blood ink or cinnabar. Thus, this ancient method of symbol drawing was still passed down.

After the winter hunting party, considering the limited combat methods he possessed, Zheng Qing resolutely drew several blood symbols and ended up wrapping three Blood Symbol Bullets, just in case. These bullets were usually kept in a small paulownia wood box inside a grey cloth bag.

Given that the conditions requiring the use of Blood Symbols would definitely be extremely harsh, he chose to create a more versatile Evil Suppressing Charm. Whether facing demons or those sneaky creatures from Under the Moon, these talismans had a very good restraining effect.

Originally, he thought these ’Evil Suppressing Charm Bullets’ would remain quiet inside the paulownia box for a long time, but unexpectedly, the time to use them came now.

As he pressed a bullet wrapped in crimson blood into the chamber of his Remington, the pressure in Zheng Qing’s heart finally lessened a bit. He raised his head, his gaze crossing the ship’s rail, looking toward the monster squatting on the distant rocks.

The Frog-shaped Giant Beast, an offspring of Satoguya, squinted its eyes, lazily sitting on that rock, as if the string of curses previously cast by the old boatman were just a gentle spring breeze, showing no signs of rage.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Zheng Qing always felt that behind those squinted eyes, a serious gaze observed him intently.

Like the young taxpayer student, Old Master Xiao Bonar did not let his guard down due to the offspring of Satoguya’s subdued demeanor. While turning the ferry, he still threw a series of strong Sleeping Spells to try and make that creature even more subdued:

’Sleep Without Hearing!’ ’Sleep Without Perception!’ ’Sleep Without Wisdom!’

These spells were non-attack in nature, serving as control spells. In this environment, such spells seemed a bit more reliable.

The old man was very cautious in his choice, but still underestimated the cunning of the Satoguya offspring.

At the same time as the old boatman cast the Sleeping Spell, the beast’s giant mouth slightly opened, and a crimson shadow shot out, heading straight toward the center of the ferry.

At the end of the crimson shadow’s path, a young taxpayer student, leaning halfway out, held a Charm Gun in his hands.

’How audacious!’ the old ferryman shouted angrily, his bamboo pole touching and lifting in the river. Suddenly, he speared a large, fat fish into the air, throwing it at the crimson shadow.

The fish, launched later, arrived first and blocked the path of the crimson shadow.

’Plop.’

It sounded like a clump of mud hitting rotten wood, and the crimson shadow collided with the big fish.

In just an instant, the big fish was drained of its essence under Zheng Qing`s horrified gaze, turning into a dried fish. After the crimson shadow retreated, it floated back into the river swaying in the wind, circled a few times on the water surface, and then silently sank to the bottom.

It did not stir a single ripple.

It was a sight chilling to the bone.

Zheng Qing gasped in a breath of cold air, his fingers tightened unconsciously, pulling the trigger of the Charm Gun.

’Pop!’

A dazzling red light flashed from the barrel held by Zheng Qing, and at the same time, a faint explosion sounded by Zheng Qing’s ear.

The red Fu Bullet, wrapped in a blinding light, silently penetrated the body of the frog monster.

The old boatman turned his head to look at Zheng Qing and nodded, then shook his head—the nod was an approval of the young wizard’s decisive action, as many young ones lacked the courage to attack when facing such a monster; the shake of his head, however, showed his disapproval of Zheng Qing’s method of attack, signaling him not to exert futile efforts anymore.

In the old man’s view, just one amulet bullet might not even scratch the frog monster’s skin and was just a drop in the bucket for the current situation, so it wasn’t worth wasting the precious bullet.

Seemingly annotating the old man’s reaction, the descendant of Satoguya was indifferent to the attacking bullet, even having the mood to grimace at the young wizard.

Zheng Qing seriously suspected it was mocking him.

”I was saying...” He turned to look at the old boatman, and had barely spoken two words when screams interrupted him.

”What is that?!” the voice of the shocked Gypsy witch sounded in Zheng Qing’s ear.

Zheng Qing turned his head back, utterly dumbfounded.

The frog monster that had been grimacing at him just a moment ago now had a twisted expression, its eyes which were previously narrowed to slits now bulging, and its wide mouth gaping open, emitting a silent scream that everyone could feel.

Accompanied by its scream, streaks of golden red light wrapped in red flames burst forth from inside of its body, tearing apart its originally tall and sturdy body. The black soft hairs on the surface of the frog monster’s body curled and charred under the scorching of the flames, emitting wafts of black-gray smoke that swirled upwards.

”Damn it!”

The old man named Xiao Bonar, standing at the bow, described his feelings with two crude and frivolous words very unbecoming of his status. These were also Zheng Qing’s feelings.

It was just a moment’s time.

The descendant of Satoguya, which had seemed invincible just a moment ago, turned into a puddle of black mud with a slight ’plop’ sound and sloshed down upon the rocks.

A cold wind blew, and the Silent Forest was eerily quiet.

Only the wisps of white smoke rising from the rocks on which the ferry passed explained everything that had just happened.

After a long while.

Xiao Bonar finally asked in a hoarse voice, quietly asking the young student sponsored by public funds: ”What kind of amulet bullet did you just use? Where was it made?”

Zheng Qing half-opened his mouth, staring blankly at the mess on the distant rocks, blinking, and then turned his head back to look at the old boatman, as if to confirm that everything he had seen was real.

”Did I do this?” His voice seemed empty in the cold wind, then he asserted very confidently, ”No, I didn’t do this... It has nothing to do with me!”

This point was very crucial.

Every creature in the Silent Forest was the property of First University, and any unauthorized hunting or capture would receive a terrifying fine.

Zheng Qing’s coffers couldn’t even afford the lowest level fine.

Therefore, he absolutely couldn’t admit that the monster turning into sludge had anything to do with him, not even a copper.

Maybe that monster liked to turn into a pile of sludge every now and then—who knows, the frogs at First University are all abnormal creatures, none of them normal.