High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1562: Chapter 306: Drinking and Taking Medicine

When Xin Fat Man woke up, the moon was hanging high in the sky.

He was the last one among everyone to open his eyes.

In front of Xiao Xiao was a cauldron, in which magic potion was brewing. Beneath the pot, orange-red flames flickered, while the potion inside glowed a warm orange-yellow. A faint red light surrounded the cauldron, giving anyone who looked at it an immediate sense of warmth and comfort.

Jiang Yu sat nearby, holding Zhu Si in her arms, whispering softly into the little witch’s ear. Zheng Qing, with a charm gun in hand, kept his gaze shifting between the cloud masses above and Nikita. The female demon, clutching her head, leaned lazily against a large green stone, seemingly having completely given up the fight.

In the distance, rumbling noises echoed, resembling thunder.

Moments later, the thunder ceased. A dark figure emerged from behind a cliff ahead, appearing within Xin Fat Man’s view.

It was Zhang Ji Xin.

Steam sizzled off him, his face beet-red like thick sauce. His robes were stained with slushy snow, and faint traces of blood marked the gloves on his hands.

”A lone stray dog – chased it off,” the red-faced male wizard reported nonchalantly to his teammates before glancing at the newly awoken Fat Man, ”Oh, awake now? I thought you’d sleep till sunrise.”

Xin Fat Man looked up at the bright moon overhead.

”I heard a saying while in the editing room,” he muttered, shaking his still-dizzy head, ”All of history is made at night... As a proper journalist, I wouldn’t miss the chance to witness history.”

”Then you better toughen up,” Zhang Ji Xin slapped the snow off his robes, jeering, ”I’ve always told you, your body’s weak with fat—it’s bound to cost you during hunts!”

”This is vigor,” Fat Man grumbled, leaning toward the cauldron in front of Xiao Xiao and sniffing deeply, ”Astragalus, atractylodes, sunflower, Houdou blood—ugh, there’s even fire dragon bone... Such heavy supplements—what’s it for?”

”To dispel cold and ward off evil, replenish energy, and uplift one’s yang,” Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses and glanced at Fat Man, ”This mountain summit feels sinister, the air heavy with death... You woke up at the perfect time. Come, watch this pot of magic potion for me. I need to hurry and burn some bones.”

”Burn bones?” Fat Man took the wooden ladle handed over by the doctor and began stirring the potion neatly, asking curiously, ”This kind of magic potion needs bone-burning too?”

Xiao Xiao didn’t answer but instead stiffened his expression and pulled a few white beast bones out of his pocket, tossing them into the orange-red flames beneath the cauldron.

Zheng Qing kindly provided him with an explanation.

”Divination purposes,” the captain of the Absolution Hunting Team stomped his chilled, numb feet, exhaled white air, and explained, ”We’ve made it to the summit... but haven’t found the way home yet. So the doctor plans to burn some bones to do a reading... Considering collective brainstorming—if you have any good ideas, share them for everyone to evaluate.”

While speaking, his gaze instinctively flicked toward Zhu Si.

The little witch sat obediently in Jiang Yu’s arms, speaking with apparent seriousness. Zheng Qing couldn’t tell if it was the seven-year-old Zhu Si speaking or the version of Zhu Si that was over a thousand years old, but he knew that at this critical moment, both ’Zhu Si’s were surely present.

Just like Nikita.

Through Zhu Si, Zheng Qing learned that the red-eyed, cunning female demon also housed another ’resident’ within her. Zheng Qing found this intriguing, believing Nikita’s other ’resident’ likely had a bizarre story as well. However, this wasn’t the time for tales, and the warlock had to suppress his curiosity.

”The way home?”

Xin Fat Man paused for a moment, glanced at the deep night sky, but his ladle stirring the cauldron didn’t falter: ”... I thought you’d find a ’light gate’ or something like a magical pathway on the summit.”

”If only it were that easy,” Zheng Qing sighed and stomped his feet again.

The summit was indeed freezing cold, especially under the bright moonlight.

”If you ask me, we should courageously jump down,” Zhang Ji Xin pulled at his gloves and kicked a small rock at his feet, his voice filled with boldness: ”Just like the method we mentioned entering Dreamland—reach the edge of a cliff in the dream, then jump off... When you wake, you’ll be standing on Dreamland’s soil.”

”According to your logic, we should jump toward the sky instead,” Fat Man countered mockingly.

”Then jump upward and give it a try,” Zhang Ji Xin, slightly unsure himself, squatted down and jumped upward forcefully. He looked just like a giant frog hunting prey.

His leap barely left the ground and was far from reaching the sky.

It looked comically silly.

His antics brought snickers from his companions.

Meanwhile, the small stone Zhang Ji Xin kicked flew through the air in an arc, tumbled off the cliff, and vanished into the depths of the dark night. After a long while, a muted ’plop’ echoed up from below.

Zheng Qing couldn’t help but tighten his robe around himself.

”An idea full of courage,” he dryly praised, but resolutely rejected Zhang Ji Xin’s suggestion, ”Unless the world’s going to end in the next second... Otherwise, I’d rather take you all back to Wusa City and hassle that old wizard... or shoot the moon.”

”Shoot the moon? Why?” Xin Fat Man stirred the potion a final couple of times, eyed the cauldron’s yellow-orange hue, sniffed the mist wafting from above, nodded in satisfaction, and served each person a bowl.

Zheng Qing took his portion and replied, ”Earlier, while listening to the echoes of Kela Mountain’s history with the beans, wasn’t there a mention of something like ’Night of the Eclipse’? So I think creating a moon eclipse image might have some effect.”

The potion looked scalding, but upon sipping, it proved warm and comfortable, with a pleasant taste.

Zheng Qing simply downed it in one gulp, his entire body instantly warming. Besides the pervasive chill on the summit, the unnerving aura that had seeped into his bones was also slowly dissolving under the potion’s effects. He felt like he was standing under a warm sun, with a faint prickling sensation on his skin.

He couldn’t resist stretching lightly.

”Shoot the moon,” Fat Man muttered while continuing to distribute the potion and glancing back at the slightly restless warlock, ”You sure have ideas... The Elders used brute force to handle dilemmas; you now resort to Fu Bullets for everything... Has your brain been entirely conquered by symbols and bullets?”

”I know what you’re insinuating!” Zhang Ji Xin cracked his knuckles threateningly, the crackling sound sharp.

”And what if you do?” Xin Fat Man grinned cheerfully, handing over a bowl of potion to Zhang Ji Xin, calling out, ”Elder, time to take your medicine.”

Zhang Ji Xin scowled but obediently accepted his portion, downing it in one go.

”No fun,” as the potion settled in, the red-faced male wizard regained his vigor, ”This watery brew tastes like sugar water... Would’ve been better if we had a couple bottles of Sea Monster Langmu—also wards off evil and dispels cold.”