High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 2478: Chapter 699: Lantern Festival Ritual

After Su Man’s reminder, Zheng Qing suddenly realized that there was also a mansion of the Jiang Family in Beta Town West District.

Jiang Yu lifted the long hair that hung beside her ear and smiled slightly: ”There are no elders at home on the island, just a few of us incompetent juniors, and since I’m a witch, I’m not qualified to preside over the ritual... As for assisting in the ritual, it’s up to the elders in the mansion. If I went, it would only cause trouble for them.”

Zheng Qing solemnly nodded.

Although he didn’t know what assisting in the ritual meant or why witches weren’t qualified to preside over the ritual, he sensitively realized that staying silent was the best reaction at this time.

The head maid of Greenhill Mansion did not continue to dwell on the subject, made a slight bow, stepped aside, and led the two young wizards inside.

Compared to usual, the Greenhill Mansion during the Lantern Festival was more lively, but still within the range of Zheng Qing’s understanding, after all, he spent the New Year’s Eve here.

The only thing that surprised him today was the small garden.

Usually, the various flowers only flaunted their beauty in the daytime, but today they began to compete with each other in the night. It’s unknown what magic the witch cast on them, but tonight every flower in the garden began to glow, from the stamens to the petals, emitting a faint multicolored glow in the darkness, hanging on the branches like various little flower lanterns floating in the night.

The flower sprites fluttered their transparent membranous wings, joyously darting among the flowers, collecting the glowing pollen from each cluster of stamens, and leaving the dew they had brewed for long on the petals.

This joyfulness was infectious to everyone passing by the garden.

So much so that Zheng Qing didn’t notice the owner of Greenhill Mansion standing at the exit of the garden. Naturally, he didn’t notice that the other little orange lamp in his hand had somehow ended up in Councillor Su’s hand.

”You’re quite thoughtful.”

Su Shijun fiddled with the little orange lamp floating in front of her with her fingers and nodded in satisfaction: ”Even though I’ve long outgrown the age to enjoy lanterns...”

It might have been a misconception, but Zheng Qing felt that when she said this, she seemed to inadvertently glance at Jiang Yu.

”... But since you brought it, it would be rude to refuse. Just in time, I hadn’t decided on a gift for Dong Dong today, and this little orange lamp is just right.”

As she spoke, she looked at Zheng Qing inquisitively: ”You don’t mind if I give this lamp to Dong Dong, do you? After all...”

She blinked, as if she thought there was no need to continue.

Zheng Qing stared blankly, momentarily unsure of what to say.

How should he put it?

Originally, this lamp was meant for Poseidon, but after Councillor Su’s intervention, although the lamp ultimately went to Poseidon, it somehow didn’t seem like it was for Poseidon.

This isn’t a tongue twister.

Yet it makes Zheng Qing’s head hurt more than a tongue twister.

”No, I don’t mind.”

He stammered, then immediately realized this response was very inappropriate, and quickly corrected it softly: ”I meant that this lamp is meant for Poseidon...”

Perhaps due to the presence of a superior and a big wizard, Zheng Qing’s voice became weak and almost inaudible, to the extent that he doubted anyone besides himself heard his feeble argument at the end.

Holding Poseidon, Su Ya emerged from a corner, confidently standing beside Su Shijun, looking disdainfully at the frightened warlock, then took the little orange lamp from the mansion owner’s hand.

Poseidon eagerly hugged the little orange lamp, sniffing hard, as if trying to inhale all the fragrance the lamp emitted.

”Besides, it’s good you came today.”

Su Shijun apparently didn’t care about the warlock’s soft argument, leaned down, scratched Poseidon’s ear, and then took a dew plate from the hand of a nearby maid, handing it to Zheng Qing: ”... Just now, I was wondering what to do about tonight’s Lantern Festival, and there you are. Your identity is just right.”

Zheng Qing didn’t understand how his ’unmarried’ status was ’just right,’ nor did he know the specifics of the ’Lantern Festival.’

But he was very clear that such an important matter as the ritual was not something he could casually handle. Especially the rituals of the wizards, with every move carrying magic feedback, were not something an inexperienced little wizard like him could do.

”I have never...”

”Everyone starts from not knowing.”

Su Shijun interrupted the boy’s unspoken excuse with an indisputable tone: ”Besides, it’s just a few very simple ceremonies, it won’t waste much of your time... You have other things to do tonight, right?”

In front of a great wizard skilled in divination, an ordinary wizard can hardly have secrets.

Zheng Qing hesitated for a few seconds, glanced quickly at Jiang Yu who was a step behind him.

The witch turned her face as if she was carefully observing the vibrant ’little flower lanterns’ in the garden, seemingly unaware of the conversation happening here.

He swallowed a little saliva, gritted his teeth, and dipped his fingers into the dew plate, simply washing them.

The dew was icy cold, making him shiver.

A maid timely handed over a steaming hot towel to help him wash his face and hands. Then another maid brought a tray to him, with a porcelain dish holding a Yuanxiao and a pair of bamboo chopsticks beside it.

No one offered any hints.

Zheng Qing hesitated, picked up the chopsticks, and ate the Yuanxiao.

A very classic black sesame rice dumpling, with the right sweetness, stickiness, and temperature, made even Zheng Qing, who didn’t like such food, savor its flavor a bit more.

A third maid brought forward a piece of turtle shell on which holes had already been drilled.

Zheng Qing muttered a spell softly to summon a cluster of spiritual flames, holding it under the turtle shell, and began burning the holes according to the most basic divination sequence. It took only a short time for the turtle shell to emit a slight crackling sound, the sound of the shell cracking under the flame.

Curved cracks surfaced in the sound of cracking, connecting the holes together.

However, a strange expression gradually appeared on Zheng Qing’s face.

When the cracking stopped, the warlock felt a bit at a loss. Because the intersecting divination cracks on the turtle shell surprisingly displayed four very clear seal characters — Great Luck and Prosperity!

The divination had never been in this form, never.

Nor was the divination text ever such words!

Zheng Qing dared to bet on the little green snake in his ear, that this turtle shell had definitely been tampered with. Just like the coins wrapped in dumplings during New Year in the past.

”Very good!”

Su Shijun beamed as she received the turtle shell, then somehow produced a bundle of willow branches and handed it to Zheng Qing: ”Place it above the gate... Yes, right there, it doesn’t need to be too high.”