Chapter 38 Yes, I am here to look for ghosts
Back mountain, dirt road.

The girls walked deeper and deeper into the mountain, until the road leading to the back of the mountain was cut off, leaving only a dirt road with few pedestrians.

This dirt road is rarely walked on, and weeds occasionally grow where people step.

The surroundings became increasingly quiet; even the rustling sound of walking on the dirt road became extremely obvious. The tall and dense ancient trees around made the journey even more eerie and strange.

After walking for a while, Naoko suddenly stopped and led everyone off the main road and into the forest nearby.

The girls were becoming more and more nervous.

Originally, you could still see a path to walk on on the dirt road, but after entering the forest, there was no path at all, and you could only push aside the bushes and continue walking.

At this time, the forest was full of trees and bushes. The occasional crow's cry seemed to indicate that there were still living things here, but when you were in it, you had a vague sense of déjà vu, as if this was not the forest behind the mountain, but a ghost forest leading to a gloomy castle.

Crack-boom!

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion similar to lightning in front.

Although the sound was not loud, it was particularly harsh in the deep and dark forest.

"ah!!!"

Several girls were immediately frightened by the sudden explosion and screamed in panic.

However, before they could escape back the way they came, a loud shout was suddenly heard.

"who!"

As the sound echoed, a dark shadow appeared silently in the gap of the forest. The figure of the dark shadow was blurry, and only the pair of sharp eyes reflecting the dim light could be vaguely seen.

Being stared at by these eyes, Naoko and the others stiffened all over, a chill ran up their spines, and they wanted to turn around and run away, but their bodies were somewhat out of control.

"Xia classmate?"

Suddenly, Zhishi took a step forward, looked at the black shadow and shouted uncertainly.

The loud shout just now gave Chise a very familiar feeling, and she noticed that those eyes froze for a moment after seeing them.

Although it was not obvious, she still noticed it. This meant that the owner of the eyes might know them. Combined with the sense of familiarity just now, Tomoyo made a bold guess and shouted.

"Xia classmate?"

When the others heard Zhishi's words, they were also stunned. It seemed that there was only one student in their class with the surname Xia. After all, this surname was quite unique.

After a few seconds of silence, the black shadow walked out from the gaps between the trees. The darkness on his body gradually faded away. When he came in front of the girls, they also saw the true identity of the black shadow.

It was their classmate, Xia Yu.

At this time, Xia Yu was wearing a school uniform, holding a thick book in one hand and an exquisite wooden stick in the other.

"Xia, why are you here?"

Naoko, who was standing at the front, looked at Xia Yu and her pounding heart slowed down. Fortunately, he was a classmate she knew and not a ghost.

She was so scared just now that she thought she had encountered a new ghost.

Thinking of this, Naoko couldn't help but feel a little regretful. She was very keen on all kinds of supernatural events and ghost stories. It would seem nice if she could meet a new ghost like last time.

"I also want to ask you? Why are you here?"

Looking at the little girls in front of him, Xia Yu was speechless. Who would have thought that he would meet his classmates by chance while practicing magic here?

This mountain behind their school is quite desolate, with a cliff at the end. It is extremely scary when it gets dark. Normally, no one comes here, and even less so when it is unusual. When he first came here to practice magic, he did set up a Muggle shielding spell, but after a few times, no one came, so he was too lazy to set it up.

Besides, even if you really meet someone, you can just use "Forget Everything" to get rid of it.

Simple and clear, without any trace.

But who would have thought that he would be met by his classmates in such a desolate forest. If they were ordinary classmates, it would be fine, he could just use "Forget Everything" to make them forget this part of their memory.

But Sakura and Tomoyo are also here, so it’s a bit difficult to handle.

Sakura has magic powers, but he doesn't know if "Oblivion" will work. Secondly, out of selfishness, he doesn't want to use magic that manipulates memory like "Oblivion" on them.

Seeing that the atmosphere seemed a bit awkward, Naoko rubbed her arms and replied: "We are here to look for ghosts... Wait, could it be that Xia is here because of ghosts too?"

"ghost?"

Xia Yu blinked. This was not his first time here, and he didn't see any ghosts.

Although in this world there are indeed souls left after death, ordinary people cannot see souls. Only people with magical powers can see souls. How can ordinary people possibly encounter a ghost?

But since Naoko helped him come up with a reason, he could just use that reason to explain it.

Retracting his thoughts, Xia Yu smiled and said, "Yes, I am here to look for ghosts. Dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth, and everything is nothing. This kind of soul drifting in the world should return to the underworld. I am here to save it."

"..."

It is indeed classmate Xia. Only classmate Xia can say such impressive words so naturally.

Although they didn't quite understand what Xia Yu meant, the girls realized that Xia Yu, like them, came here to look for ghosts.

"Eh? If we're here to look for ghosts, why are you holding such a thick book, Xia?"

"Book?"

After being reminded of this, the other girls also noticed the book in Xia Yu's arms. The book looked very old and thick, with a letter "H" in the middle of the cover, which gave it the style of a magic book from a fantasy world.

The person asking the question was Chiharu. Xia Yu wanted to step forward and rub Chiharu's head angrily because of his curiosity. You are just too sharp-eyed!

The book in his hand is "The Wizard's Field Guide", which wizards can use to record their learning progress.

Although the spells he exchanged from the system can be used directly, they usually require the assistance of a wand. He wants to become proficient enough to cast spells without a wand, to the point where he can use the spell with just a thought without having to say it.

That's why he would only come here to practice magic when he had nothing to do, because the magic in the Harry Potter series mainly depends on proficiency and adaptability.

Seeing that Xia Yu did not answer, Zhishi seemed to have guessed something and hurriedly stepped out to smooth things over: "Okay, okay, since Xia is also here to look for ghosts, let's act together. Besides, Xia is a boy, so we will be safer with him."

As soon as these words came out, the other girls' eyes suddenly lit up.

"Yes, Tomoyo is right."

"Then let's act together with Xia. Xia got here before us, so maybe he has already discovered something."

"Yeah, yeah."

Seeing that the other girls had shifted their attention from the book in Xia Yu's hand to Xia Yu himself, Tomoyo pulled Sakura forward to block the other girls' sight, and silently made an OK gesture to Xia Yu behind his back.

Seeing this, Xia Yu gave Zhishi a thumbs up in his heart, secretly stuffed the book behind his back and put it into the system space. At the same time, he took out his schoolbag from the space, put it on his back, and then he walked towards the group of girls.

(End of this chapter)