High School of Demon Hunting-Chapter 1526 - 270: The Nullified Contract

The wide and lush Enchanting Forest was unusually silent.

A faint breeze descended from the green-gray mountain at the edge of the forest, crossed the charred plain, carrying traces of ash, and drifted into the dense and highly unnatural fungal cluster within the forest. The elongated canopy of the fungus stretched greedily, absorbing these nutrients bestowed from the sky.

Trees that had already died or were on the brink of death lay fallen on the fertile earth, slowly rotting, their trunks covered in bluish-white moss, resembling patches of scars.

An Enchanting Mouse poked its head out from a cluster of mushrooms, cautiously scanning its surroundings. Not detecting any movement, it made a leap onto a tree lying across the ground, almost dying, its limbs swiftly propelling it forward. Tiny claw marks were left scattered among the moss.

Then, it saw the distinct figures at the edge of the charred plain.

The Enchanting Mouse immediately rolled off the tree trunk, disappearing back into the mushroom cluster.

Its movements were light and quick, but it was easy to spot its coat that starkly contrasted with the forest’s colors for anyone paying attention. However, the young wizards in Ashland were caught in the profound shock and endless confusion caused by Student Jiang Yu’s little story, leaving no one to notice the small brown silhouette in the woods.

"If I haven’t misunderstood,"

Xiao Xiao gently stroked the Crystal Ball in his hand and spoke slowly, "Miss Jones was also involved in that explosion, correct? She wasn’t saved by a man... she hasn’t attended class in quite some time."

The reason given by the school was that Elena was temporarily absent from classes due to busy affairs with The Gypsy Witch Coven.

But now, everyone knew this wasn’t the truth.

"Elena isn’t dead." Jiang Yu explained briefly, "She’s just in some kind of magical sleep. Mr. Wu said she will definitely wake up."

"Big Wizard, Big Wizard, Big Wizard!"

Throughout the story, what Zhang Ji Xin most aspired to was Sister Korma’s situation: "So that esteemed sister actually advanced in such a way... no wonder both her family and the Alliance have been vague about how to celebrate this. A Big Wizard under twenty-five years old... only such a daring method would succeed!"

"That was a very dangerous, very dangerous, very dangerous illegal magic experiment," Jiang Yu reminded uneasily, repeating ’very dangerous’ three times for emphasis. "It’s not something worth celebrating, even Sister Korma thinks so."

She recalled Elena’s transformation into unity with a small tree, her expression dimming again.

"But wasn’t the result good?" The Red-faced Male Wizard spread his hands, noticing the regret in the witch’s face, quickly correcting himself: "Of course, I’m not saying I want to do what you’ve done... I just suddenly understand that to become a Big Wizard, blindly following rules doesn’t work... sometimes you must learn to break free from conventions and traditional constraints."

"That’s no excuse for violating Alliance laws," Xin Fat Man glanced at the restless Red-faced Male Wizard, raising his hand again as if attending a press conference like a journalist:

"You conducted an illegal magic experiment. Didn’t Danghag... or the Alliance cause trouble for you? The school didn’t further deal with it?"

"The school just made us sign a Silence Contract, demanding we remain silent about everything that occurred in the forest. All Alliance investigations were handled by the school..." Jiang Yu’s voice cut off abruptly.

A hint of uncertain suspicion showed on her face.

The same suspicion appeared on Xiao Xiao and Xin Fat Man’s faces, only Zhang Ji Xin hadn’t yet realized what had happened.

"Why did you suddenly stop talking?" The Red-faced Male Wizard had been listening intently for a while, finally shouting, "Don’t tell me your Zhongshan family went and paid off Danghag again?" freeweɓnovel.cøm

This was the most commonly used method by noble families to deal with legal issues.

Jiang Yu didn’t respond to his taunt. She simply frowned, lowered her head, and carefully studied her hands. Through her translucent skin, the charred ash beneath her feet could be faintly seen, enveloping the entire scene in a shadowy hue.

"Is the contract expired?" Xin Fat Man forced a smile, suggesting an answer even he didn’t believe. No one had ever heard of a Silence Contract with just a one- or two-month validity period.

Jiang Yu shook her head.

"The contract’s validity is permanent." She had only just realized that she had unintentionally revealed so much hidden information without receiving any reminders from the contract—she should theoretically be unable to recall these details or, even if she deliberately tried to, the contract would first impose minor penalties to remind her not to break the magical agreement.

For instance, a tiny bolt of lightning falling from the sky, or a patch of nettle rash appearing on her hand, or temporary loss of voice, sight, or sharp stabbing pain.

And the penalties for truly violating the contract were extremely severe.

But after she saw the charred plain, her mind went blank, solely consumed with thoughts of finding Zheng Qing, momentarily forgetting about the Silence Contract’s existence.

Thus, a factual breach had occurred.

"Could it be because we’re now in Dreamland, affecting the contract’s effectiveness?" Zhang Ji Xin finally realized something was wrong, nervously looking around as though expecting a figure cloaked in black, wielding a massive scythe, to appear from the void.

Xiao Xiao denied this assumption.

"The Silence Contract’s effectiveness is reinforced by the Alliance," he adjusted his glasses and explained, "Every wizard in the Alliance contributes their strength to that contract law. In other words, only if you possess magic power surpassing the entire Wizard Alliance can you overcome the constraints of the Silence Contract..."

Jiang Yu definitely didn’t have such immense mana.

Not even the entire Zhongshan Jiang Family possessed it.

"Could it be related to that gentleman?" Xin Fat Man guessed quietly.

The witch pressed her lips together, saying nothing. Upon realizing the Silence Contract had failed, the first image that surfaced in her mind was that night, in the little bookstore, where Mr. Wu stood before her and Zheng Qing, witnessing another contract.

Her intuition told her the Silence Contract’s failure was linked to that agreement.

"The topic is drifting too far. If curious, we can ask the captain for details later after leaving. For now, let’s focus," Xiao Xiao stopped the conversation from extending further, turning toward Jiang Yu: "... Do you believe this charred area resulted from the explosion’s aftermath?"

The witch nodded silently.

"This scene is almost identical to the one after the explosion in Silent Forest," she replied quietly.

"If that’s the case, the captain might already..." Xin Fat Man didn’t finish his thought, but everyone knew what he meant.