High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1329: Chapter 76 Divination Skill

Hearing the words ”Longevity Tortoise”, Zheng Qing inadvertently exchanged glances with Xiao Xiao.

This was the second time today he had heard about this place.

Sepulano had just mentioned that the snake, suspected to be a Faceless Demon, vanished in the Longevity Tortoise Mud Pond on the East Shore of Linzhong Lake. And now, Professor Garcia also mentioned that there were traces of Black Mountain Goats seen there.

Too many coincidences cease to be coincidental.

Thinking this, Zheng Qing felt an increasingly urgent desire to leave the Market.

But before he could leave, he needed to find Jiang Yu and Poseidon—he did not have the courage to abandon Poseidon and return to the school alone. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be his shadow that Su Shijun would sever.

After bidding farewell to Professor Garcia, Zheng Qing took a long detour around the Market.

The tracks of the witches were easy to find.

They were standing at the entrance of a fish-skin tent on the edge of the Market, peering inside. Little Fox lay in Jiang Yu’s arms, idly playing with its tail, while Korma whispered something into Jiang Yu’s ear, wearing a mischievous smile.

Jiang Yu’s cheeks were slightly flushed, and her eyes sparkled brightly.

”What are you doing?” Zheng Qing called out from a distance.

His voice was very conspicuous in the quiet Market, drawing a lot of attention. This pressure immediately made the Warlock swallow his next words.

Upon seeing Zheng Qing, Korma sighed softly, a hint of disappointment flickering across her face.

”What is this place... Divination?” It was only upon approaching that Zheng Qing noticed a short piece of fish bone wood protruding from the side of the tent, with a small blue flag hanging from it, carelessly written with the ink-drenched character for ”divination.”

”This is an ancient divination skill passed down from the Fishman Tribe, an extremely old spirit divination method,” Korma explained. ”It’s just that the accuracy isn’t very good... Probably only a few witches or warlocks who study ancient divination rituals at the school know a little about it.”

Hearing it was related to divination skills, Xiao Xiao’s eyes noticeably brightened.

”What are you looking to divine?” Zheng Qing asked curiously.

Jiang Yu’s face, which had calmed down, blushed again as she quickly spoke, ”The goat, the goat milk thing... we, we wanted to ask how the goat milk is at the school!”

Zheng Qing gave her a doubtful look.

Korma pursed her lips, remaining silent. Little Fox, however, laughed so hard in Jiang Yu’s arms that it nearly snorted, its tail flicking back and forth as if it could pass out laughing at any moment. Jiang Yu pursed her lips, skillfully kneading behind Little Fox’s ears and neck, swiftly calming Poseidon into a comfortable slumber.

You’re a fox, not a cat!

Zheng Qing muttered to himself, then asked, ”So, have you finished the divination?”

This time, Korma answered him.

”If we had finished the divination, we wouldn’t be standing at the entrance, would we?” She stood lazily to one side, arms crossed, seemingly losing interest in what was happening next.

”Since it hasn’t started yet, let’s go check it out together.” Xiao Xiao immediately replied, adjusting his black-framed glasses. ”I’ve always been interested in spirit divination... But because this magic involves a lot of uncertainties and mystical pollution, it’s hard to find a skilled diviner familiar with the proper rites out there.”

Zheng Qing hesitated for a second but ultimately agreed.

It was just a matter of tens of minutes. He had already wasted so much time at the market that going out a bit earlier or later wouldn’t make much of a difference. Plus, he hadn’t yet decided who to look for after leaving—whether to first find Lin Guo and tell the Little Warlock about the new hope for the Black Mountain Goat matter, or to go to the bookstore to ask the Yellow Flowered Cat about any taboos in the mud ponds where the Longevity Tortoises stayed, or to ask Professor Yao for help in investigating whether a demon was hiding on the east shore of Lin Zhong Lake.

In any case, each approach had its pros and cons.

Xiao Xiao was the first to lift the curtain of the fish-skin tent and walk in. He was followed by Jiang Yu holding Poseidon, then Korma. Zheng Qing was the last one in.

Upon entering the tent, he couldn’t help but cough violently.

The tent was filled with a thick smoke as if someone had been burning damp pine wood, and it was like hundreds of men smoking dry tobacco together. The pale white smoke filled every corner of the tent, and it was hard to see any figures from a few meters away.

The violent cough echoed intermittently.

After tens of seconds, the coughing gradually subsided, and the smoke in the tent also dispersed quite a bit. Zheng Qing could finally see his companions and the tent’s décor clearly—the Warlock suspected the dispersing smoke had been inhaled into their stomachs, which put him in a somewhat foul mood.

”Welcome... sss... welcome.”

A piercing, hoarse voice sounded from the back of the tent, where a long stone table was set and a hunched old fish-man was sitting.

The Old Fish-man was really old. Its huge eyeballs occupied almost a quarter of its face, white cataracts and gray-blue pupils together gave off an air of imminent demise. The fins on its back were dry and sparse, and a lot of its Scale Armor had fallen off. When it spoke, the whiskers at the corners of its mouth trembled slightly, as if speaking slightly louder would make those fragile whiskers detach from its lower jaw.

Even at First University, Zheng Qing had never seen such an old fish-man.

Compared to him, Professor Garcia was simply a robust young Fish-man!

This was a Nomadic Fish-man. Zheng Qing immediately affirmed this fact. Not just because the image of this Old Fish-man was unfamiliar and carried an air from beyond the island, but also because its attire significantly clashed with that of the Fish-men in Lin Zhong Lake.

For instance, the prayer beads made of baby skulls, the Human Skin Hat on its head, the Cloak woven from Unicorn hair and Azure Phoenix tail feathers—items like these containing a large amount of contraband magical items had long been forgotten in their uses by the reformed Fish-men of Buji Island.

Only an outside Nomadic Fish-man would preserve these ancient traditions.

Perhaps this also explained why this Fish-man was using the ancient art of spirit divination.

While Zheng Qing focused on the old Fish-man Priest, Xiao Xiao was fascinated, examining every bit of décor in the tent. His gaze slid over huge deer antlers, dried bear skins, elephant skulls with tusks, and whips twisted out of ox tails hung on the walls, with his Feather Pen frantically recording everything in a black notebook.

Suddenly, a sharp and ethereal song burst forth.

Zheng Qing abruptly turned around, only then noticing that apart from the Old Fish-man, there was a row of young fish-men wearing Beast Skin robes seated in the tent. They were the old priest’s choir.

Unlike the grim appearance and murky aura of adult fish-men.

These young fish-men had a very clean aura and somewhat adorable looks. Big eyes, translucent scales, clean and soft fins, and that crisp and pleasant voice.

It reminded him of a phrase.

”One is made of water and flesh, the other is a turbid creature from the mud.”