High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1549: Chapter 293: Trying to Forget the Past

The soft tendril finally withdrew slowly from in front of Zhang Ji Xin.

But it did not retreat into the house.

As it passed by the cauldron, the tendril paused for a moment, then with a sudden snap under everyone’s watchful eyes, it broke off. Along with the gold bean adhered to the tip of the tendril, it fell into the bubbling mushroom soup.

The thick mushroom slices were flipped over by the impact of the tendril and gold bean, but soon, they began bubbling again in the soup as the broth churned. As for the tendril, it struggled in the broth for a long time, until its color began to tint with a faint golden hue, and then it slowly stilled.

The entire process was so sudden, so unsettling, that the young wizards present stared dumbfounded at the cauldron for a long while, unsure of how they should react.

Behind the door, the blurred face let out a hissing sound, like the sound of someone inhaling sharply—in this, Zheng Qing wasn’t entirely sure, as the figure’s voice had always been rather abnormal—it spoke in a jumbled, cacophonous tone, offering a hint: ”Find that gold bean, it will take you all home.”

Zheng Qing cautiously glanced at the cauldron.

”What price do we need to pay?” He had not forgotten the most critical principle when dealing with a Black Wizard and reiterated his earlier offer: ”Gold, knowledge... or the life you mentioned before?”

Behind Nikita, the small female demon let out a low moan, seemingly cursing this damned world.

”Gold... Ha.” The face behind the door released a trembling, mocking sound: ”This is Dreamland, what use would gold have to me here? As for knowledge... my current predicament stems from knowing too much, yet being able to discard too little. Too much knowledge is like a noose, slowly strangling you within the confines of books.”

”Then what do you desire?” Jiang Yu finally couldn’t help herself and spoke.

”What do I desire?” The blurry face seemed momentarily lost after hearing the witch’s question. It raised its indistinct visage, its jet-black eyes gazing into the pitch-black night sky. After a long pause, it replied softly, ”I want to forget. Forget the faces of the gods.”

This was an answer that no one had anticipated.

Zheng Qing had been prepared to hand over Nikita in exchange for their chance to ascend the mountain with his companions. But he hadn’t expected the Black Wizard’s request to be so peculiar.

”Why?” He felt as though he was brushing against some forbidden knowledge, and in the sea of consciousness, the colossal cocoon of light throbbed and pulsed, causing his head to ache.

The warlock couldn’t help but press his temples gently, the red tint in his gaze slowly receding.

Jiang Yu cast him a worried glance.

The homeowner’s jet-black eyes slowly turned back toward Zheng Qing: ”Because They do not like to be observed... The Divine Spirits are no longer as magnanimous and benevolent as they once were. They forbid mortal beings from witnessing Their forms, forbid discussions of Their movements. Long ago, They resided atop Kela Mountain, but now, They have erased all traces of Their existence.”

”Have you ever seen the visage of the Divine Spirits?” Zheng Qing keenly picked up on the homeowner’s vague phrasing and instinctively used honorifics—though his mentor had told him before that the Divine Spirits were merely beings of immense power, the mystery and majesty represented by the term could not be erased with a simple understanding.

This time, the homeowner was silent for much longer.

”A long, long time ago, I once ascended to the summit of Kela Mountain on a cloudy, eclipsed night,” the blurry face retreated slightly further into the doorway, as if trying to completely conceal itself, but its voice—blended with jarring, layered echoes—continued to flow unbidden into the ears of the young wizards:

”...I watched Them sing atop the peak, watched Them dance wildly under the moon. Dense clouds imbued with solemnity engulfed the mountain’s summit but could not block my prying eyes... I saw it, the gods singing and dancing under the moonlight... They began to panic, or perhaps I was the one who panicked... Then the moonlight dimmed... Wails and laughter intertwined, and beneath my feet appeared an infinite abyss... By the gods, I fell into the sky.”

”Fell into the sky?” Zheng Qing couldn’t help but interrupt the owner’s bizarre description, trying to prompt a clearer explanation.

But immediately, he felt a tug on his sleeve.

Turning his head, he saw it was Jiang Yu.

The witch frowned, her expression filled with pain. She opened her mouth, seeming like she wanted to say something, but Zheng Qing heard not a sound. The other hunters of the Absolution Hunting Team, including the two female demons, found themselves in similar states.

Xiao Xiao had, at some point, once again raised the turtle shell magic artifact. The dim golden membrane extended around the others—a fragile layer, as if weathered by a storm’s relentless assault—and it trembled precariously in Zheng Qing’s gaze.

Jiang Yu clutched a jade pendant in her hand and spoke once more.

This time, Zheng Qing finally heard her words.

”Do not listen, and do not ask!” her voice carried an unusual panic: ”That is forbidden knowledge! He has been contaminated by a presence from the Deeps of the Starry Sky!”

”I still have some pre-prepared Lourdes Holy Water!” Xin Fat Man struggled to fish out several transparent glass ampoules from his pocket. The bottles contained a luminous, clear liquid that radiated a white light, with faint golden starlight swirling within.

”We need it too!” The Faceless Demon, who had been hiding behind Nikita, raised a hand and shouted loudly.

The Fat Man glanced at Zheng Qing.

Zheng Qing hesitated for a few moments, then nodded. It wasn’t out of overflowing compassion but out of fear that the contamination originating from the Starry Sky might bring harm to the school through the two female demons. Moreover, he didn’t know what kind of mutation might occur if a demon contaminated by the Starry Sky lost control—if it caused them to rampage, it would be the worst-case scenario.

Compared to that kind of chaos, Zheng Qing preferred the tenuous balance of the present situation.

Perhaps aware of the unsettling state of his guests, or perhaps lost in memories from so long ago, the voice behind the door fell into a prolonged silence after being interrupted by Zheng Qing.

The courtyard was devoid of insect chirps, devoid of wind; all Zheng Qing could hear was his companions’ heavy breathing and the gurgling of the boiling cauldron. Occasionally, the soft pop of an ampoule cap being removed interjected.

”Few can display the kind of composure you have after hearing such forbidden matters,” at last, the homeowner’s hoarse, layered voice arose again from behind the door. Zheng Qing wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but this time, the voice seemed even harder to decipher: ”It gives me greater confidence in our transaction... I now understand Little Atal’s purpose in bringing you to this house.”

”I doubt that,” Zheng Qing responded as he endured the periodic throbbing from his sea of consciousness, vaguely guessing why he hadn’t succumbed to contamination from the Starry Sky’s depths.

He turned once again to look at his companions, unease creeping into his heart over the decision he had made earlier.