High School of Demon Hunting
Chapter 218 - 142: Forest Clearing_1

Chapter 218: Chapter 142: Forest Clearing_1

The vegetation around the Lakeside of Bell Lake was extremely rich.

There were low shrubs such as Forsythia, Four-pistil Primrose, and Eight Immortals Flower, as well as tall trees like Weeping Willow, Bodhi, and Bay Laurel. Moreover, there were also many climbing plants like Chinese Clematis, Pansies, and Clematis twining around.

Interweaved branches and overlapping flowers and leaves formed a dense protective net in the forest, blocking the bright moonlight in mid-air, turning the forest into a dark and cold world.

Clusters of shrubs, huddled here and there, formed a simple yet exceedingly complex maze, easily leaving one lost and dazed in this woodland.

This forest serves to prevent restless creatures in the lake from intruding deep into the school on the one hand, and also to halt certain restless students from advertising their bravery in the wrong place.

Of course, neither the maze nor the darkness presents any obstacle to the old school workers.

Old man Ferna briskly strode along, leaning on a wooden cane. Guided by the faint light emanating from the lantern on the cane’s tip, he navigated through the dense undergrowth in the forest. Soon, he brought two first-year students, panting heavily, to the edge of a glade in the woods.

The overpoweringly fishy odor from the fishman grew stronger, as if it was nearby.

"Shush!" The old man raised his index finger to his lips, gesturing for silence. He gently swayed the top of the cane, extinguishing the dim light of the lantern, leaving only a wisp of blue smoke gently swirling and dissipating inside the lampshade.

Zheng Qing held his breath, struggling to suppress his racing heart.

He looked at Lin Guo; the young boy’s face was also red from holding his breath, looking quite amusing in the dark forest.

"Embrace the tree, don’t move." The old man’s lips barely moved, but his voice clearly entered the students’ ears: "Perhaps we might witness something interesting."

With that said, he pushed the two freshmen against a tall Bodhi Tree beside him.

This Bodhi Tree looked like it had been growing for many years, and was exceptionally sturdy. The greyish-white trunk was covered in many large aerial roots that twisted and turned upwards; the extensive canopy blocked most of the light under the dense, emerald-green leaves in the moonlight.

The old man’s actions were quite rough; Zheng Qing’s cheek was pressed hard against the aerial roots. His eyes widened in surprise as a sleeping firefly just a few centimeters away from his nose pulled its mouthparts out of the bark. Pale yellow tree gum slowly seeped out, solidifying when exposed to the wind, and an irregular gum ball formed at the wound.

The bloated firefly seemed to just realize the unexpected guest beside it. It moved its thin legs, approached, and gently rubbed Zheng Qing’s nose tip with its sharp mouthparts.

Luckily, the insect had just eaten and had no further movements.

Zheng Qing watched it fly away and slowly let out a sigh of relief. If the bug did decide to sting him for blood, he wasn’t sure what he would do.

"Hold your breath and concentrate." The old man’s subtle voice rang in their ears again.

The young scholarship student inhaled deeply and immediately widened his eyes. The air that filled his nostrils mixed with the freshness of tree gum and the fishy smell of fishmen, causing his stomach to churn.

Before he could fully regain his senses, a gruesome fish head peeked over the Bodhi Tree, appearing in the forest.

With the little moonlight penetrating through the leaves and branches, Zheng Qing could clearly see the fishman’s transparent eyelids with a hint of wrinkles, its large round eyeballs, and he could even make out the black spots on the eyeball and the dense bloody strands.

Its cheeks were covered with shiny hard scales, the chest and abdomen were protected by thick shield scales, and sharp comb scales covered its arms.

Perhaps due to excessive tension. The pale green fish scales that Zheng Qing remembered turned gray under the moonlight, and those shimmering magical tattoos all disappeared from his memory.

All he could see was a monster covered in scales.

Giving off a stench.

Zheng Qing couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air, just as he opened his mouth, a rough hand immediately covered it.

"Silent." The voice of Elder Ferna was like a mosquito, fine and sharp, incredibly clear.

This must be the rumored secret sound transmission, Zheng Qing’s thoughts wandered again, his mind suddenly spinning with this idea.

The abruptly appearing Fishman didn’t care about the old Bodhi tree with twisted roots beside him.

He swung his dorsal fin, stepped with heavy footsteps, passed the robust Bodhi tree, looked around, then raised his head and sniffed.

"... Ssss... Hurry..." A hissing call came from not far away, as if it were right in the ear.

Zheng Qing blinked hard, swallowed silently, and dared not move at all.

There’s more than one Fishman here! His mind was in chaos. Could it be that these Fishmen used insects to catch Kappa? He hadn’t heard of Fishmen liking to eat Kappa.

The Fishman who had entered the copses side glances doubtfully, its round eyes staring at the Bodhi tree behind it.

Although there was nothing in sight, only gray-white tree bark and a few insects. But it always sniffed a few points of distressing aura from the air.

A companion’s urging came from not far away again.

The Fishman finally gave up the doubt in his heart, randomly stirred around a few bushes, scared up several fireflies sucking tree sap, didn’t even see a slightly larger mouse.

"... Ssss... No... one... Ssss..." The Fishman turned around and yelled once, then dragged his heavy steps to leave this forest.

"A little blind eye spell," the old janitor’s voice sounded next to Zheng Qing’s ear again, his tone full of amusement: "Don’t make too much noise, you can slowly turn... This is quite interesting, it’s hard for a freshman to encounter."

Zheng Qing tried to control his somewhat stiff hands and feet, slowly turned his head, looked through the gaps between the roots of the Bodhi tree, and looked at the slightly noisy woodland clearing not far away.

Because there was no dense shade of trees overhead, the bright moonlight could fall unimpeded on the grass in the clearing.

In the moonlight, several figures appeared clearly in front of Zheng Qing.

Five Fishmen.

Three wizards.

Under the moonlight, the Fishmen seemed to be enveloped in a thin halo, their scales glinting with a clear light. A Fishman, the largest in size, stood with arms crossed, in the very front of all the Fishmen, firmly staring at the wizards before him.

The other Fishmen each carried a huge package, standing obediently behind it.

On the other hand, the three wizards wore heavy black robes, wide hoods, their faces shrouded in deep shadows.

The wizard in the middle was tall and looked rather fat. His ten fingers intertwined in front of his abdomen, his body stood upright, his fat figure didn’t hamper his display at all, on the contrary, it made his pose even more forceful.

The other two wizards stood behind him at an angle, carrying bags in their hands and holding law books in their arms.