High School of Demon Hunting-Chapter 1512 - 256: Under the Door

The journey is arduous, the journey is hard, burdened with much, one can hardly move forward.

A back laden with bags, hand holding a leather pouch, growing heavier and heavier, Featherweight Talismans, Climb Cloud Talismans, Cloud Sliding Talismans, Godspeed Talismans, Armour Horse Charms, and so on—the energy-saving talisman papers had all been consumed. And the distance between that distant Bronze Gate and Zheng Qing seemed to have not changed at all.

A journey that seems to never see its end.

Not only that, but the road beneath his feet also seemed to become harder to traverse.

With every step, it wasn’t his ankles sinking into nests of grass, it was his shoes stepping into mud pits that appeared out of nowhere. Every step was incredibly difficult.

"This is really a case of ’seeing the mountains in the distance, exhausting the horses’."

When the Young Wizard once again pulled his foot out of the mud pit with gasping breath and looked at that distant but distinctly clear Bronze Gate, he couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

Then, he suddenly paused.

Because he remembered a similar phrase he had heard—Desire is like a bottomless abyss. If desires were like the endless sea, then one would face a bottomless abyss.

Zheng Qing was shocked.

He stopped in his tracks, silent for a moment, and then dropped the two leather pouches he was holding.

Clattering, jewels of various colors, bright and clear, scattered on the ground, shining brilliantly under the grayish sky, casting an enticing halo.

Taking another step forward, indeed, it felt much lighter.

Not only that, but when Zheng Qing looked up at the huge Bronze Gate again, he suddenly found the door had seemingly moved closer to him—just a few minutes before, he had checked, and he was definitely not mistaken.

Zheng Qing stopped walking once more.

He reached for the Grey Cloth Bag hanging from his waist.

He fished a blue cat’s eye gem from the bag and tossed it onto the grass.

The cat’s eye gem spun through the air and then disappeared into the soft, pliable earth, and throughout its fall, Zheng Qing didn’t spare it a glance. He kept his eyes focused on the towering Bronze Gate.

The moment the cat’s eye gem touched the ground, Zheng Qing knew it was not an illusion—the Bronze Gate really was a bit closer to him. Since he had not moved, it must have been the gate that shifted.

One by one, beautiful gemstones drifted out from the Grey Cloth Bag and fell onto the deserted wasteland.

The black grass became soft and tame again, the earth underfoot became much more solid, free of deceptive mud pits. Of course, most importantly, the Bronze Gate was getting progressively closer to Zheng Qing.

When only the last handful of gemstones remained, Zheng Qing was about to toss them all at once but then he hesitated.

"Where is this place?" he muttered as he put a light blue moonstone back into the Grey Cloth Bag.

Then a green peridot: "Who is that person in the yellow clothes?"

A deep obsidian: "What does He want?"

A lovely cat’s eye gem: "What can I obtain?"

A clear Yellow Gemstone: "How can I return to the school... with Zhu Si. Safely." With each precondition he added to the question, Zheng Qing prepared one more gemstone.

A total of seven gemstones, that was all Zheng Qing thought he’d need, but just to be on the safe side, he picked up a few gold beans, weighing them in his palm, playing with them, just in case.

After all, that fellow in the yellow clothes, he didn’t seem all that reliable.

Having finished organizing, the young scholarship student hesitated no longer. He lifted his head for a glance at the Bronze Gate that was within arm’s reach and, disregarding the gemstones scattered at his feet, he bolted.

...

...

When Zheng Qing sprinted towards the Bronze Gate.

In a place extremely remote from him, an area engulfed by boundless emptiness, Mr. Wu was also heading towards a gate. Unlike the simple and sturdy Bronze Gate in front of Zheng Qing, the gate before Mr. Wu was much more extravagant.

To call it a ’gate’ is actually to speak of the embodiment of the concept of ’connection’.

Just like the ’way’ in its everyday meaning compared to the ’Dao’ in philosophical terms.

Therefore, this gate didn’t have the common components like a ’threshold,’ ’door panels,’ or ’door leaves.’ It consisted of countless spheres emitting various glows; each orb was an entrance to a universe, each beam of light was a link connecting the self and existence.

The incessant brilliance lit up the abyss that even darkness could engulf.

Mr. Wu stood in front of the gate, lifting his head to look at the ’gate’ constructed by billions of luminous spheres, and exclaimed, "Even I sometimes find it hard to imagine that you still possess self-awareness."

The multitude of light spheres trembled at his words, countless glimmers flickered in response, their trembling and flickering merging into a thick, trembling voice teeming with complex streams of information: "I think, therefore, I am."

Mr. Wu, with hands behind his back, surveyed the glowing spheres and nodded:

"It seems like you are very close to the final step... In this step, you have gone further than Nya’s Child and Shub."

The voice emanating from the ’gate’ became somewhat clearer amidst its complexity and depth: "All things bear yin and embrace yang... When you condense into the one, crossing that chasm, our ’dispersed’ Dao will naturally open up."

"So you should thank me, for letting you avoid falling into a state of chaos like Azathoth."

"...Thank you."

Mr. Wu’s smile twitched, and after a long while, he spoke again: "Thanks aren’t just said with words."

The countless glowing spheres trembled slightly and then, in front of Mr. Wu, flashed numerous images—different worlds, different universes, different San You Bookstores, and Mr. Wus of various ages and states—all manifested entities akin to rainbow bubbles.

They assembled a silhouette that vaguely resembled a humanoid figure, respectfully saluting Mr. Wu.

This was an expression of gratitude that transcended time and space, across countless dimensions and worlds.

It was indeed very formal.

Mr. Wu sighed.

"Let’s talk practicalities," he waved his hand and all the rainbow bubbles in the countless images dispersed simultaneously: "I don’t like this fluffy stuff... I want to know what you all—like Nicolas, Hastur, Miskatonic, and even that lazy bug Satoguya—are really up to. Why do you violate the agreements of the Alliance and the Starry Sky by constantly appearing in the school, especially in front of my students!"

"They are not my people," the voice from the gate came back with a touch of annoyance: "...You shouldn’t bring your troubles to me. The likes of Miskatonic are always coveting my authority; why should I clean up their mess?"

"Because you exist within all ’They.’ Because your tendrils extend into the Endless universe, enveloping everything. And I can’t be bothered to go through every timeline... You’re the most convenient to approach for this sort of thing."

The endless glow and spheres trembled ever so slightly with the explanation, seemingly in anger, and concurrently as if in contemplation.

After a long while.

Or perhaps just an instant later.

The final words came from the gate: "They have simply pinned their hopes on the future."