High School of Demon Hunting
Chapter 622 - 291: Nourishment_1

Chapter 622: Chapter 291: Nourishment_1

"Water Mirror Demon!"

Realizing that he didn’t need to take matters into his own hands, Zhang Ji Xin relaxed his stance, took a long breath. His voice was filled with relief, "These are just small demons, their power is less than 0.1. They can perfectly mimic the actions of a wizard, but they basically can’t fight. Even a five-year-old child can break them with a slap...fortunately, these are just subspecies of Mirror demons and not actual Mirror demons."

To wizards, Mirror demons are particularly vexed due to their ability to mysteriously appear and disappear, possessing an unpredictable shape and being apt at peeking into one’s heart. However, these demons seldom show up at hunting grounds. Instead, they prefer to attack wizards from hiding in ancient houses. The Trident Sword records numerous instances of Mirror demon attacks.

"We shouldn’t underestimate it just because it’s not a Mirror demon." Zheng Qing squinted his eyes, scanning the surroundings, his gaze soon fell on a small pond about ten meters away, "If I am not mistaken, these Water Mirror demons should be under the command of a Water demon... just as a Tiger demon likes to catch attendant ghosts to assist them."

Following Zheng Qing’s gaze, Zhang Ji Xin swiftly noticed something unusual about the small pond.

Similar to the others scattered across the grassland, the small pond and its surrounds was full of Cord grass and Calamus. Unlike the others, the water of this pond was unusually calm. The silent water surface was devoid of ripples, and not a single water flea or mosquito larva were in sight.

"A water demon, huh?" Absolution’s lead hunter nodded thoughtfully, "It’s a very rare kind of demon... but this type has a low power level and is basically useless. Although it’s highly deceptive, it can be avoided as long as one’s careful. Few hunters waste their energy on them."

"It’s only useless to you." Blue Fatty corrected, his booming voice echoing, "The heart of a Water demon is a valuable alchemical material... usefulness isn’t exclusive to tangible eyeballs and hearts."

Zheng Qing paid no heed to the conversation beside him.

He took an ampoule bottle from himself, walked to the front of the pond, lightly shaking it, and said calmly, "Ten seconds to release them, or I’ll pour this Transformation Potion into the pond... if I recall correctly, the Transformation Potion is highly toxic to shape-changing water demons."

"I know you understand my words... and I remember that water demons are known for their cunning. You wouldn’t be that stupid."

"You should also know that we have some unfriendly guys following us."

"We’re short on time, so our negotiation methods might be a bit blunt."

"But believe me, I mean it."

The water surface remained calm like any other pond, causing Zheng Qing to look slightly foolish.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..." Zheng Qing pulled out his pocket watch, focusing on the dial, methodically counting down. His finger began to slowly tighten.

This Transformation Potion was a recent gift from Professor Li to treat his migraines. Since he had been busy recently and his migraines had not been acting up, Zheng Qing had yet to use it.

Unexpectedly, it had come in handy at this moment.

"How do I know you are telling the truth?!" Another figure of ’Andrew’ abruptly emerged from the water surface. His restless eyes flicked to the ampoule bottle in Zheng Qing’s hand. In a dodgy tone, he exclaimed, "Besides, we are not afraid of the Transformation Potion... at most, we would get diarrhea..."

Zheng Qing grinned sarcastically, pulling a face at this statement.

With a little bit of force, he broke the neck of the ampoule bottle without resumption of counting.

A wisp of pearl-colored mist whirled up from the opening of the bottle, but under the blockade of magic power, it roiled back into the bottle without any leakage.

’Andrew’ on the water surface involuntarily shrank back.

"If I were you, I wouldn’t say such foolish words." Zheng Qing didn’t look at ’Andrew,’ instead, he continued to look at the calm water surface at his feet, "Last warning. Let them out and we’ll leave... As I just said, our time is precious. Also, I don’t want to waste such a valuable Transformation Potion on you."

The tranquillity of the pond was finally broken.

Bubbles began to pop on the surface one after another, bringing up the silt and moss from the bottom. In no time, the clear water was turned into a muddy mess. It looked like boiling thick soup but lacked any semblance of aroma. Instead, it gave off a disgusting smell.

"...four, three, two..."

"Alright, alright! Stop your countdown! You damned wizards! I’ve never done anything wrong! These guys just slipped right in..." As the cursing continued, the ’Andrew’ on the water surface burst with a bang, turning into a puff of water droplets, and fell back into the pond."

Not long after, a large bubble squeezed out of the pond.

Inside the bubble, the faces of several hunters from the Hunting team had gone dark purple due to suffocation.

"Pop!"

The bubble burst in mid-air, dropping the young wizards back onto the grassland. The remaining pond water silently slid back into the pond along the short edge, carried by the low couch grass.

Zheng Qing’s gaze slid over the members of the Serpent’s Tail Hunting Team and he slowly furrowed his brows, walking back to the edge of the pond.

Without a word, he directly inverted the ampoule bottle in his hand, dripping one drop of transformation potion into it.

The transparent sticky potion fell into the water pit, without a splash. However, much like sodium in water, it gave out a hissing sound, sparking a trail of fire.

"You’re untrustworthy! All of you despicable wizards!" A blurred figure struggled on the water’s surface, screeching in a hoarse voice: "I’ve already handed over the prey I just captured..."

"All the prey." Zheng Qing shook his head, adding: "Perhaps I didn’t make it clear just now. So let me clarify, we need you to turn over everyone that fell into the water just now. Every single one of them, understand?"

"That drop of transformation potion just now was a warning. I hope you realize the severity of the situation."

"But, that’s all of them already?!" The water demon wailed piteously.

"A hunting team consists of five hunters, you only spit out three people." Zhang Ji Xin, who had been standing by with suppressed anger, finally strode forward, confrontationally questioning: "Where’s Andrew Taylor? He’s the leader of this hunting team, and you just mimicked his appearance. Don’t tell me you’ve eaten him up completely!"

The water demon finally stopped wailing, fumbling for a while before spitting out another water bubble.

Wrapped in the bubble was a magnificent deer leather hat.

It was undoubtedly the hat of the leader of the Serpent’s Tail Hunting Team.

"Where’s the person?" Zheng Qing furrowed his brows.

The water demon hemmed and hawed for a while, finally blurting before Zheng Qing’s patience ran out: "I thought he was a wolf demon... you know, he smelled like a wolf... I’ve always had a bad relationship with that big white wolf. They pee in my pond at will, ruining my chances of capturing any prey for a month at a time..."

"So, when he ’accidentally’ fell in, I couldn’t resist for a moment..."

"However, I still have this hat!"

"It’s in perfect condition, deer leather, I can smell it. It’s the hide of a plump deer, quite sturdy! It’s a nice catch!"

"What about Julian? That dark-haired, narrow-eyed male wizard? I remember he’s also part of Andrew’s team." Zhang Ji Xin pressed on.

"I swear by the name of the True Ancestor, there were only four of them in total!" The water demon frantically vowed, insisting that only four people had slipped and fallen into the water.

Looking at the flattering water demon in front of him, Zheng Qing took a deep breath and threw the ampoule bottle in his hand into the pond without a second thought.

Silence filled the pond for a second before a giant blue flame suddenly exploded. The water in the small pit swirled crazily, stirring up muddy water and whipping up the water grass at the pondside.

"Sorry, it slipped from my hand."

Zheng Qing said expressionlessly to the struggling, screaming water demon before turning to leave.

"Take them and retreat!"

He pulled out a pile of shift talismans, slapping them each onto his members’ bodies. Finally glancing at the still writhing and screaming water demon, he mumbled an incantation under his breath.

A wisp of green smoke rose up and was carried away by the breeze. Suddenly the grassland was completely bare of people.

After about ten seconds, the howls of pursuit echoed as the wolf pack finally reached the pond.

But there was no sign of the wizards anywhere on the grassland.

Even the wizards’ scents had strangely disappeared.

The Wolf Demon King howled furiously, glowering menacingly at the dying water demon not far away.

The wolf pack obediently lined up in turns, striding towards the pond and cocking their legs.

Sizzle.