High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2253: Chapter 474: Three Witches, Three Dances, and Three Conversations (Part 1)

”Oh, it’s the little girl from the Jiang Family.”

Su Shijun, an Upper House Member of the Moon Council, immediately spotted that solitary and brilliant red on the grass. There was a hint of surprise in her voice, along with a smile.

Zheng Qing swiftly withdrew his gaze and looked at the witch on the golden seat.

The next second, he let out a muffled groan and quickly lowered his gaze—today, Su Shijun wasn’t wearing glasses, and she was wearing makeup! Heaven knows how much stimulation this close gaze caused the young warlock. He felt as if his heart had been twisted like a towel.

Just a second ago, he was suffocating from fear; the next second, he forgot how to breathe because of the unbearable beauty. Two completely different emotions seemed like two large hands, gripping both ends of his heart and twisting it forcefully.

Bang!

A pale blue magical firework soared into the sky, exploding beside the moon. The splendid sparks outlined a giant blue Nine-Tailed Fox, which dissipated into a gigantic blood-colored bat with outspread wings, followed by a blue giant wolf, emitting a pearly ghostly glow, and a brass-colored zombie.

The images of the five major upper house member races of the Moon Council appeared one by one in the night sky, and the blooming magical fireworks finally awakened the dazed warlock.

”Isn’t this the Clans of the Moon’s ball?”

Zheng Qing opened his mouth, only to find his voice somewhat hoarse.

”The way you talk sounds just like a medieval vampire crawling out of a coffin,” Su Shijun, seated on the throne, smiled and overlooked the entire venue. Though her lips didn’t move, her teasing voice clearly echoed in the young cost student’s ears: ”The Moonlight Ball, as the name suggests, is a ball held under the moon. Any wizard who receives an invitation surely meets the selection criteria of the ball... In a way, student Jiang Yu has more qualification to attend this ball than you.”

The last sentence immediately reminded Zheng Qing of the lunch he had with Jiang Yu and the deeper meaning she introduced about the Moonlight Ball, which was to give young wizards of different bloodlines a chance to ’socialize.’ It was a ball aimed initially at matchmaking.

He suddenly felt an inexplicable panic.

The giant Christmas tree sat back on the stump, closing its clumsy eyes and retracting its rough face; the melodious strings echoed again, like a small river, filling the background gap after the magical fireworks slowly extinguished.

The insects began to chirp, the birds briefly called, glasses clinked crisply, and the little wizards’ sweet Christmas carols blossomed above the ball, holy and ethereal. One by one, the young wizards attending the ball followed the emcee’s guidance and ascended the high platform to pay homage to the queen of the night.

They acted gracefully, were proficient in etiquette, and their greetings were impeccable, eagerly accepting the blessings from the Moon Council’s upper house members.

Zheng Qing felt like he had turned into a stone sculpture, standing dazedly beside Her Majesty the Queen’s golden seat, with a stiff smile on his face—he dared to guarantee, even if he lost manners again, no one would notice, as no one could divert their gaze from Su Shijun.

But not necessarily.

Because sometimes, the small blemishes next to perfection are the most noticeable. And to avoid having such ’blemishes’ magnified, the best way is to stay entirely under that ’perfect radiance’.

The entire ’homage’ ceremony lasted for more than an hour.

When the last short witch cheerfully left the jade steps, and the platform was empty again, Zheng Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief—not because he could free himself from the statue-like stiff posture, but because Jiang Yu didn’t come to the jade platform to pay ’homage.’

Zheng Qing felt he couldn’t imagine what it would be like if the two witches stood face-to-face in this scenario. Just thinking about it made him feel suffocated as if his blood vessels might burst in a pressurized environment.

”Get ready... it’s our turn for the opening dance.”

Su Shijun’s voice was equally relaxed, clearly indicating that she too was very tired of the recent rituals and red tape: ”After we finish the opening dance, we will all be free!”

The little wizards’ singing on the Christmas tree came to a pause.

The dazzling magical fireworks rose again, one after another, blossoming in the night sky like a meteor shower scattered beautiful sparks. The melodic violin suddenly transformed, becoming rapid and layered, interspersed with sounds of reeds, drums, piano, and other instruments, together composing a richly layered and distinct background music.

Under the platform.

The young wizards amid the grass looked up at the sky full of fiery flowers and silver trees. The warlocks could still maintain a bit of composure in their sight, whereas the witches already raised their small fans to cover their mouths, unreservedly revealing the fervor in their gaze. Every girl would fantasize at this moment, hoping that one day, fireworks would bloom in the sky for her.

On the platform.

Finally, Su Shijun left the golden high-backed chair.

She raised a hand, placed it on the young cost student’s stiff arm, and proceeded leisurely. The four fox tails behind her silently retracted, turning into four layers of misty blue gauze, flowing like water behind her.

One pair, two pairs, three pairs.

More and more gazes shifted from the still striving fireworks to the Moon Council’s upper house member and her dance partner as they slowly descended the jade steps.

Zheng Qing could clearly feel the confidence and grace naturally exuded by the witch beside him, clearly catching the hint of malice mixed in the gazes cast from the grass below the platform, and could also clearly detect the serious regard from the witch in a grand red gown at the edge of the grassland.

This made him feel as if he were walking on hot coals, with every step causing sizzling screams underfoot.

”Focus, don’t get distracted!”

Su Shijun’s reminder came to his ears: ”...If you misstep and roll down the stairs, believe me, you will become the biggest joke in the entire school for the future year. There’s no doubt.”

Zheng Qing quietly took a deep breath, striving to clear away distracting thoughts, no longer using his peripheral vision to peek at the scarlet figure at the grass edge, but instead focused more on his feet.

One step followed another as the steps receded behind them.

The dance floor drew nearer.

The faces of the young wizards attending the ball became increasingly clear to Zheng Qing—as in the prior homage ceremony, because guests ascended one by one, he hadn’t felt such immense ’public attention’ pressure as he did now.

This was a genuine pressure, leaving one feeling ’at a loss.’

The young cost student recalled the teaching from the mansion, sliding his gaze blankly over each guest’s face, striving to maintain the illusion that he was looking directly at everyone yet never truly made eye contact with anyone. The crowd retreated to both sides like a tide, the boys staring at him with eyes like tigers, and the witches critiquing him.

This was the feast of the whisperers.