High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1502: Chapter 246: Missing

Similar to when they left the edge of the Enchanted Forest before, this time, the Absolution Hunting Team still chose the ’Soybean + Cloud Sliding Charm’ combination for their escape.

Soybean provided the propulsion, and the Cloud Sliding Charm served as their ’sled’.

Nearly a hundred dusty gray Dogs, bodies equipped with supple, long vines, with the ends of these vines pulling five Young Wizards hurtling through the winding alleys of Wusa City. With the effect of the Talismans, the Young Wizards’ limbs transformed into streaming clouds, minimizing air resistance and weight, allowing the Dogs to gallop freely between the void and the Dreamland.

Even during the retreat, the Absolution Hunting Team still maintained a loose Hunting Array.

Zhang Ji Xin was at the forefront, clutching all the reins extending from the Dogs. In the entire team, he was the only one still possessing enough arm strength and skill to control the direction of the pack of Dogs.

Flanking Zhang Ji Xin were Xiao Xiao and Xin Fat Man.

Xiao Xiao had put away his thick black notebook, and was cradling a Crystal Ball in his arms, responsible for Divining the fortunes of the path ahead and monitoring the risks near the team; Xin Fat Man was struggling to concoct a Recovery Potion amidst the headwind – the punch from Nikita, falling from the sky, had dispersed his vital energy so much so that without a Magic Potion, he wouldn’t have had the strength to fight again in a short time.

Jiang Yu sat at the center of the battle array, eyes closed, holding a Law book.

A foot-high pale green glow emanated from the Law book, and the figures of nearly a hundred slender vines appeared intermittently within this glow. Though it was Zhang Ji Xin who controlled these ’vine reins,’ the only ones capable of maintaining such a complex Binding Spell in the Absolution Hunting Team were Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu.

As a result of the backlash from the Blood Symbol Bullet, Zheng Qing was nearly incapacitated. He lay on a makeshift mat woven from multiple vines, head up, eyes open, listening to the whistling wind by his ear and conversations among his peers while staring blankly at the colorful, flowing clouds in the sky.

Waves of shock surged through the Sea of Consciousness, lifting countless hidden fragments of memory in Zheng Qing’s heart, intertwined with reality, plunging him into a ’chaotic lucid’ state—he knew where he was, could see the passing streetscape beside him, hear the conversations of his companions, but at the same time, many vivid memories also surged forth, such as playing with Little White Cat on the Cat Fruit Tree, the cool kiss with the Gypsy witches beside the lakeside snow, enjoying the light of matches with Zhu Si, the red-eyed Female Demon on the airplane, the shivering Sprites in a cardboard box, Su Shijun removing his glasses, and more.

But what appeared most frequently were images of the Little Female Demon next to Nikita, and the Little Witch in a tattered black robe in the World in the Mirror.

The same face.

Completely opposite temperaments.

Zhu Si with blood-red pupils, laughing wildly with blood dripping from his lips, and the next moment Zhu Si stealing a timid smile, biting lightly on a pale green leafy vegetable.

This paradoxical and noisy repetition drove the young scholarship student mad.

Maybe it was an illusion, but for a brief moment, in the gap between the rapidly alternating images of the two little girls in front of Zheng Qing’s eyes, he saw a tender green sprout wrapped in a golden halo, with delicate roots and two slender green leaves held aloft as if they were holding up the sky.

It seemed to sense Zheng Qing’s gaze.

The two green leaves on the sprout shook slightly as if waving.

The alternating images before Zheng Qing’s eyes were fixed on Zhu Si—the Little Witch wearing a black robe, stood in front of a mirror, combing her fluffy brown hair with a small wooden comb, her face brimming with a brilliant smile.

Zheng Qing’s vision blurred, his body enveloped in a faint halo of light.

The halo twinkled and vanished in the blink of an eye, shrinking to the size of a person and then to a pinpoint.

And Zheng Qing, who had been lying on the makeshift vine mat, disappeared along with that tiny black point, vanishing without a trace.

The entire process was swift and silent.

The remaining four hunters of the Absolution Hunting Team, including Furry Bean who was vigorously tugging, were all oblivious, continuing to chat about their previous topic.

”No one expected the Wusa Temple to suddenly intervene,” Xin Fat Man shook his head recalling the aged hairless cat: ”With their help, the pressure on us has reduced a lot... They have no obligation to do more.”

”Their obligation is limited to this small town.” Xiao Xiao held the crystal ball, staring at the seven-colored radiance emanating from the sphere, his glasses almost touching its surface: ”Wusa Temple is the temple of Wusa City, Wusa City is the city of Dreamland, it doesn’t belong to the sea, nor to Buji Island...”

The wind blowing against them tore the Diviner’s voice somewhat, yet it still completely reached everyone’s ears.

Xin Fat Man craned his neck and guzzled down a bottle of Magic Potion, smacking his lips thoughtfully: ”...So, it neither wishes to, nor does it want to offend either the sea or any party from the university... This is typical Fence-Sitting Faction style. To put it nicely, it is called neutrality.”

”Neutrality is the best choice for every minor force to survive, just like Absolution Hunting Team should learn from Wusa City’s approach when facing recruitment by Augustus and Lei Zhe.” Xiao Xiao summarized, repeatedly bringing up the troublesome issues of First University, while turning back to Zheng Qing’s location: ”So, Captain, we should try...”

His voice gradually faded.

His facial expression became increasingly astonished.

The members of the Absolution Hunting Team sensed something was wrong and turned around.

”Uh!!!”

Zhang Ji Xin abruptly pulled on the vine reins in his hand, and several too cheerful Gouzi, caught unawares by the sudden strong pull, tumbled backwards, landing headlong into the muddy pothole in the alley.

But at this moment, no one cared about those unfortunate Gouzi rolling in the mud and coal slag.

Everyone stared fixedly at the empty simple vine mat behind them.

It was empty.

Their team leader had vanished.

A Flower Cat turned around the corner and suddenly saw a large group of dust-covered Gouzi. Sensing the strange figure, the Gouzi all turned their heads in unison to look at the Flower Cat.

Startled by the hundreds of eyes staring at it, the Flower Cat shrieked, jumped forcefully from the corner directly onto the vine mat, then using a bit of leverage from the mat, leaped again, frantically fleeing the frightening alley.

The vine mat wobbled from side to side from the Flower Cat’s kick.

Finally snapping the dazed crowd out of their stupor.

”Did... did this... fall halfway?” Xin Fat Man stuttered out his guess, his usual eloquence useless at this time.

”Impossible.” Jiang Yu looked very calm, staring at the sprouts on the vine mat, softly responding: ”My Binding Spell, I understand it. His wrists, waist, and robe were tied by me many times... Even if you fall, he wouldn’t.”