High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2057: Chapter 278: The Start of Week 8

Monday evening.

Beta Town, Number 97, Pedestrian Street, D&K.

The shop door was half-closed, and through the clean glass window, the flickering light and a few blurred figures could be vaguely seen inside, confirming the presence of people.

Dong, dong dong!

The knocking sounded hesitantly a few times, and moments later, the shop door was rudely pulled open. A red-faced, stocky warlock shouted, peering out halfway: ”Why so late... um... who are you looking for?”

Outside stood a witch dressed in a gray robe, with a light veil tied across her forehead, faintly revealing the tadpole-shaped black spell mark underneath, and a strand of silver hair drooping at her temples. This was the favorite fashion of Northern District witches in recent months.

Seemingly frightened by the warlock’s violent movement, the witch outside gasped softly, stepping back several steps in a row, one hand reaching into the pouch tied around her belt, and the other clutching a worn law book.

The red-faced warlock—none other than Zhang Ji Xin—glanced at the pouch, guessing in his heart how many frogs were in there.

Although Korma had developed the ’Man-made Philosopher’s Stone’ to replace frogs, due to costs, it was still impossible to equip every Northern District wizard with one. Cheap frogs remained the most widely used spellcasting material for many Northern District witches who had just grasped magical abilities.

”So late, what do you need?”

The warlock’s tone softened a lot, even trying to muster a smile, though his efforts were overshadowed by his stocky face, making his expression appear more hideous in the dim night light.

”I... I heard... I heard there are mouse... mouse people here, so I wanted to see.” The witch stammered, looking as if she could escape at any moment.

”Oh... is that so.” The red-faced warlock scratched his head, turned to look inside the house, and shouted, ”She wants to see Ding Dang brother!”

A male voice came from inside: ”Come back tomorrow, we’re busy tonight... and they’re not in the shop.”

As the red-faced warlock turned to convey the message inside, the witch nodded repeatedly, retreated in small steps, and then dashed away with her law book and pouch.

Zhang Ji Xin sighed dejectedly.

Looking around, there weren’t many students on the street on Monday evening—especially with the Wandering Bar opposite—and among the scattered figures, there were no customers he was waiting for.

The warlock mumbled something softly, reached back to fetch a sign from inside and hung it roughly on the shop door before retreating back inside.

Under the dim light through the window, the words ’Closed’ were clearly visible on the sign. The night breeze gently swayed the sign on the door, deterring the next potential visitor from knocking.

...

...

After the Northern District witch left D&K, she slowed her pace only after estimating she was some distance from the shop, occasionally looking back. Her face, which was previously filled with fear, had turned completely calm.

Walking a short distance along the pedestrian street, the witch turned into a narrow alley. The alley was winding, and many of the blue stone slabs on the ground were damaged. There were no street lamps on either side, yet her nimble steps did not pause for a moment, like a dragonfly skimming over the water, agile and quiet.

After turning through a few alleys, she finally stopped by a quiet inlet.

This was a lesser-known branch of the Silent River flowing through Beta Town. The sides of the inlet housed some old neighborhoods, sparsely populated with no shops, and at this hour, not even an elder wizard on a stroll; a small boat was moored in the bay, with two Northern District warlocks fishing on the front deck.

Seeing the witch’s figure, one of the warlocks picked up a plump frog from a bamboo basket on the deck, muttering a few incantations.

Invisible magic fluctuations spread from the boat, blending into the heavy night instantly.

He nodded to his companion.

The companion tugged the boat’s rope, pulling the boat ashore, welcoming the witch aboard.

”They’re waiting inside,” the first warlock reminded softly.

The witch nodded slightly, said nothing, and bent down to enter the small cabin. Contrary to its shabby exterior, the interior was a rather spacious room with several pale yellow magic lamps hanging on the walls, casting a gentle glow. A thick carpet covered the floor, an exquisite bar was in the corner, and delicate pastries and fruits were placed on a coffee table in the center of the room, with a few figures seated on low sofas around it.

Hearing the entrance footsteps, the figures all looked toward the door.

”I couldn’t see.”

Before the host could ask, the Northern District witch quickly replied: ”I can confirm the Atonement Hunting Team is meeting in that shop, the doorman is Zhang Ji Xin, and he’s very vigilant... I couldn’t find a chance to enter.”

A mildly disappointed sigh echoed through the room.

”Didn’t have much hope anyway.”

The host’s voice seemed lazy as she tossed an item, throwing it into the Northern District witch’s arms: ”Thank you for your effort... Send my thanks to Korma.”

The Northern District witch looked at the expensive magic gemstone in her hand, her calm expression finally showing a hint of excitement. Although, compared to the man-made Philosopher’s Stone, the magic contained in such gems was extremely limited, it was already much better than frogs.

”Thank you.” She bowed deeply, not disturbing the host further, and quietly left.

After the Northern District witch left, the host stretched and stood up, walking to the bar in the corner, picked up a bottle of gin, and poured herself half a glass.

”Once again, congratulations on making it to the finals.”

She raised her glass, her eyes somewhat drowsy: ”I’m not the lesser Zhu Si, so I won’t pressure you too much... Even if you end up last in the finals again, it’s not shabby at all... Cheers!”

Behind the coffee table, the five hunters of the Fringe Hunting Team exchanged glances, ultimately obediently following the ’mentor’s’ instructions, raising their own glasses.

”Captain,” Lin Yan seized the moment during the drinking pause, whispering in Nicholas’s ear: ”Why’s the attitude so different between the big one and the lesser one?”

Nicholas squinted—this was Liu Fei Fei’s suggestion, as looking at others with quivering eyes often gave an impression of feeling guilty or lacking confidence—shook his head: ”It has nothing to do with us... Our most important task today is to discuss our finals strategy... as well as how to use it.”

As he spoke, he pointed at a small wooden box placed at the center of the coffee table.

The box was about an inch long and wide, lined with velvet padding, on which lay a pitch-black ’spoon’. This was the ’clue’ the Fringe Hunting Team received after the finals rules were announced last night, according to the puppeteer’s statement, only by correctly using their clue could they truly step into the finals arena five days later.