High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1056: Chapter 118: The Confrontation on the Shore

The day before, Zheng Qing had been discussing with his companions the likelihood of an escalation in the disturbance at Lin Zhong Lake.

By Saturday night, he had witnessed this ”possibility.”

Following the previous plan, on Saturday night, the Absolution Hunting Team, along with Jiang Yu, Li Meng, Liu Fei Fei, and Nicholas, conducted the ”Academy Sweep Operation.” On one hand, they continued the search for the potentially existent Faceless Monster, and on the other hand, they helped Liu Fei Fei look for her lost giant snake pet.

The group agreed to meet at No. 11 pavilion on the lakeside of Bell Lake.

The pavilion was located to the northeast of Bell Lake. Outside the pavilion, separated by a railing, was a gently sloping grassland. Since spring thunder had just begun sounding recently, the green shoots had not yet emerged, and at this moment, the area was still a scene of withered yellow.

At the end of the grassland was the northeastern shore of Bell Lake.

A few hundred meters north along the shore was the small plaza in front of Book Mountain Library; on one side was the rockery where Xiao Bai the cat had met its fate, and on the other side was a small grove where Zheng Qing’s subordinate cats often gathered. A few days ago, the Night Patrol Team had stumbled upon a Fishman smuggling case in that grove.

A few hundred meters to the south along the shore was the ’mud pond’ on the exact east side of Bell Lake, which was home to a large family of Longevity tortoises. In winter, these tortoises all hid deep within the mud pond, scarcely moving for months. Recently, with spring thunder in succession, Xiao Xiao had heard that some of the tortoises had begun to emerge, so today’s search focus would be on this group of Longevity tortoises.

That was because the first ones to come out of the mud pond in previous years were always the younger tortoises aged within three years, with soft shells and petite figures, much to the liking of ravenous insects that had been hungry all winter. Liu Fei Fei was worried that her pet would be led astray by those gaudy vixens outside, while Jiang Yu had just realized that the elusive No Face might be hiding in this mud pond. After discussing both sides, they quickly determined tonight’s main investigation area.

Searching for an elusive Faceless Monster and a giant snake in a mud pond at night was not an easy task.

Dressed in a heavy one-piece dragon skin suit and wearing thick Dragon-skin Gloves, groping in the mud, and each person carrying an Invisibility Talisman— a friendly-sponsored gift from Jiang Yu— Zheng Qing seriously doubted whether they would be turned into skeletons if the Faceless Monster really was in this mud pond, before they had time to pull out a law book.

However, Xiao Xiao kept explaining that the Faceless Monster had limited abilities and was almost zero in combat aside from disguising. With the addition of Jiang Yu and the other two witches holding law books, amulets, and guarding the shore, it gave Zheng Qing a slight sense of security.

The wet, slippery mud flowed between Zheng Qing’s fingers, giving a strangely satisfying feeling when grabbed.

Suppressing the urge to play with the mud, Zheng Qing’s fingers slowly fumbled in the mud, carefully distinguishing every pebble from hibernating Longevity tortoises, and cautiously stuffed back the caught mud loaches and Earth Dragon larvae deep into the mud.

The entire process was exceptionally tedious.

The only thing that could slightly energize him was the occasional extraction of Silver Horns or gold beans from the mud. From the beginning until now, while they hadn’t found their target, they had indeed gathered several of these unexpected treasures.

These coins were left by wizards who came to pray for blessings by seeking Longevity tortoises before exams. Since the final exams for the last term occurred in winter, and it had not been long since then, coupled with the fact that most tortoises had not yet become active, there was a bit of ’leftover scraps’ in the mud pond, which brought surprises to Zheng Qing.

The reason other wizards had not ’stolen’ this prayer money was partly because the school did not allow it. During the day, under everyone’s watch, and at night, with the Night Patrol Team around, without powerful equipment like an Invisibility Talisman, it was difficult to complete the task. Moreover, the remaining money in the mud pond was scarce, and if one bought an Invisibility Talisman with real gold and silver and then tried to retrieve the money, they were likely to suffer a loss.

Zheng Qing and his group were lucky to stumble upon some luck due to their circumstances.

”There seems to be someone on the opposite side!”

Soft warning voices came from the shore.

The previously bustling mud pond suddenly fell into silence, and Zheng Qing stood rigidly in the mud, not daring to move an inch. Although they were wearing Invisibility Talismans, they still had a Thief’s Guilty Conscience. Being found in such a place during curfew meant that with one careless move, they could be announced and criticized by the school and possibly even receive disciplinary action.

Therefore, everyone was extremely cautious, fearing any mishap.

The young cost student’s gaze followed the direction Li Meng had just pointed out and he instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

The place Li Meng mentioned was far away from the mud pond, on the other side of Bell Lake, Zheng Qing estimated it should be near that artificial mountain. And the figures that appeared, if all went as expected, should be the Lingzhong Lake Night Patrol Team.

The long magic wands they were holding in their hands, Zheng Qing was very familiar with. Last semester he had dragged those wooden sticks around the lakeside back and forth quite a bit.

”It’s okay, it’s the patrol team,” Zheng Qing coughed lightly and reminded in a low voice, ”Alright, everyone focus, let’s quickly search this area... the sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest.”

No one replied, but the rustling sounds nearby started up again.

Zheng Qing licked his lips, bent over, and continued to fumble through the mud pond. Only this time, he was a bit distracted from the mud pond at his feet, his attention drifting towards the members of the Night Patrol Team on the opposite bank.

If he remembered correctly, during patrols each member would have a relatively fixed route—and those routes definitely did not include a large group of people congregating in front of an artificial mountain.

From a distance, along with the breeze skimming over the lake, came the faint sounds of unrest among the patrol team members.

However, because the distance was too great, Zheng Qing couldn’t make out what they were saying. The only thing he could be sure of was that those patrol team members seemed quite agitated, with some of their magic wands even starting to emit a series of sparks.

This certainly didn’t look like a scene from a regular patrol. Zheng Qing felt slightly worried and wondered where the old school worker leading the team had gone. Why didn’t he see anyone stopping those agitated patrol members?

”Splash!”

Loud splashing sounds arose in Bell Lake, accompanied by a series of clear, rippling waves.

Zheng Qing straightened up slightly.

Several stout figures surfaced on the lakeside, standing off against the patrol team members across the stone steps on the shore. As expected, it was the Fishmen of Bell Lake.

”What are they doing?” Jiang Yu’s worried voice came from beside him.

Zheng Qing snapped back to reality and coughed again, ”This is our chance, while their attention isn’t on us, let’s speed up the process... don’t worry about the noise, they can’t hear us now!”

Nicholas’s low voice of agreement came from not too far away.

Zheng Qing glanced at the grassy slope—Jiang Yu’s Invisibility Talisman ensured that the witches holding this Peach Charm could see each other—he saw that the three witches, including Jiang Yu, had shifted their attention away from the mud pond and onto the Fishmen and patrol team members on the opposite shore.

He pursed his lips and looked up at the moon’s position.

”Hmm, in at most a quarter of an hour, we should be able to wrap things up,” he estimated, feeling a renewed surge of energy within him.