High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2134: Chapter 255: Winter Clothing Festival

A dead leaf was whirled by the breeze.

Silently and quietly.

The chill of early winter smeared between heaven and earth, adding a thick green-gray base color to the world outside the window. Less than ten minutes after the class bell rang, the entire teaching building was already deserted, like an aged old beast crouching in the corner, vitality quickly draining away, dead silence enveloping its surroundings.

Just like the gradually withering world around it.

Deep in the corridor on the second floor of the teaching building, in the dimming light, two wizards in black robes were standing by the window, the elder’s gaze falling on the fleeting figures of young students outside the window and the small orange-red bonfires by the Lakeside of Bell Lake.

The younger one was alert to the movements on both sides of the corridor — there were no portraits on the corridor walls, nor wandering ghosts around, saving him a lot of trouble.

”The assistant team has discovered another laboratory.”

The magical zoology teacher restrained the frivolity on his face, speaking very lightly, reporting swiftly: ”Ten minutes ago I received a transmission from number seven...the personnel have evacuated safely, but a batch of experimental subjects couldn’t be destroyed in time, most likely falling into the hands of those ticks.”

Ticks are parasites on cattle, both blood-sucking and stubborn.

Professor Montreya lowered his eyelids.

”I’ve reminded you many times,” he said in a near-whisper: ”The laboratories in the Silent Forest are not your Zoar, but Sodom and Gomorrah, constantly facing the possibility of complete destruction... The closer we get to success, the greater the risk our laboratories face, this is the catastrophe brought by destiny.”

Zoar is an ancient small city where magicians gathered, located east of Jerusalem, also known as the ’sanctuary’; whereas Sodom and Gomorrah are legendary towns destroyed by God due to wickedness.

The young lecturer hesitated.

”Anything else?” Professor Montreya raised his eyelids again, looking out the window.

The round-faced warlock hesitated briefly and finally bit his teeth, expressing his unease: ”Professor, I still feel the new experiment plan is somewhat rushed...We haven’t completely understood the mechanism of demon flesh erosion yet, nor have we enough successful cases for guidance...everyone is doubtful whether the emotional resistance obtained by extreme emotions as a medicine is controllable...”

”There’s no time.” Professor Montreya shook his head.

”What?” The magical zoology teacher was momentarily stunned.

The professor was silent for a few seconds, skipping over what he had just said: ”Any experiment, before proceeding, can never have a hundred percent certainty, otherwise the experiment is meaningless... As for feasibility... I have personally witnessed a thoroughly fallen Mi-go demon breaking free under intense emotional stimulus, making choices completely contrary to its nature, that was definitely not a mere coincidence.”

”Maybe it was a miracle?” The round-faced warlock, still somewhat unsure, questioned: ”You know... Magic is always good at creating miracles, maybe it was just a miracle.”

Professor Montreya smiled slightly.

”Behind every miracle are countless ordinary possibilities.” His gaze passed over the young figures outside the window, over the distant Lin Zhong Lake and the far-off vague and towering shadows, his voice lightly yet increasingly firm: ”Without ordinary, there can be no miracle. We cannot hope for miracles to fall from the sky, but we can focus on the ordinary, focus on the greatest possibilities in the world.”

...

...

”Damn it!”

Zheng Qing fled in panic from the teaching building, and from afar saw the small orange-red bonfires by Lin Zhong Lake, resentment rising in his heart: ”Burn! Burn! Burn! Burning at night, burning in the day! Burning all the time... Don’t they know burning grass can pollute the air, and playing with fire leads to bed-wetting?!”

Waiting downstairs, Xiao Xiao glanced at him with a touch of helplessness.

”What do you think they’re burning?” The doctor mocked as he looked at the young scholarship student.

Zheng Qing was slightly stunned: ”Isn’t it a scarecrow? Or have you guys come up with some new trick again?! I’m telling you, doing this would ultimately bring retribution...”

The doctor shook his head, walking towards the library and answering simply: ”Today is the Tenth Month Morning.”

”The Tenth Month Morning?”

The term was somewhat unfamiliar, the young scholarship student couldn’t grasp it immediately, but vaguely realized he might have misunderstood something, and hurriedly calculated in his sleeves.

It wasn’t until they passed the lakeside, looking at the five-colored paper clothes and wood symbols burning in the small bonfires, that he spoke to himself with realization: ”Tenth Month Morning, Tenth Month Morning... You could’ve just told me it’s the Cold Clothing Festival! Well, no wonder, when I left the teaching building today, the corridor was almost empty, I didn’t encounter a single ghost!”

Under normal circumstances, about half an hour after the class bell rings, the ghosts hidden in various corners of the teaching building appear one after another to roam and wander in the corridors, staircases, and classrooms, using their icy breath and ethereal forms to remind lingering students to get lost quickly.

Except on certain special days.

Like today.

The Tenth Month Morning in the Yin Yang calendar is the first day of the tenth month, a traditional sacrificial festival, historically marking the first day of entering the cold winter, where warming clothes were needed, hence also known as the ’Cold Clothing Festival’— of course, for wizards, the festival’s significance is more focused on rituals like sacrifice, burning offerings, praying, and other small magic rituals, as today is counted among the three major ghost festivals alongside the Mid-Yuan Festival and Qingming Festival, where ghosts gather to celebrate the afterlife, and souls attempt to return to this world with the Yin Qi rising between heaven and earth.

The First University is located on Buji Island, with numerous powerful wizards in residence, so rarely do souls dare to stir up trouble here, students burn some paper clothes and light some candles, mostly as a superficial formality. However, the Silent Forest experiences some disturbances around this time every year, yet it doesn’t affect the young wizards in the high-walled confines of the Ivory Tower.

Last year’s Cold Clothing Festival coincided with the heated school hunting party event, the school’s young wizards were fully absorbed in the Hunting Ground competition and the dispute between Jiuyou and Alpha, with little impression of the ghosts’ festive day.

And this year’s Cold Clothing Festival, firstly there’s no activity around this time at school, secondly the ongoing aftermath of the ’burning scarecrows’ campaign hasn’t ended, the young wizards are very interested in burning something new.

”So, ultimately, the school’s ghosts should thank me.”

The young scholarship student saw the occasional small scarecrow appearing among the five-colored paper clothes, grumbling with full resentment: ”Without me, not many would pay attention to this festival this year.”

”Yes, yes, what you said is all correct.”

Xiao Xiao lazily agreed, while reminding: ”I’m planning to go to Green Xifang to buy a cloak or jacket for Sima... Even though I’m not sure how many you should buy, you should know the ’Cold Clothing Festival’ is also known as the ’Clothes Offering Festival’, right...”

”Eh? Is there such a saying?!”