Bang!

A firework suddenly rose in the far distance, its fiery red sparks appearing particularly faint in the sunlight.

The abrupt sound immediately drew the attention of the three young wizards. However, judging by the distance, the location from where the firework rose seemed to be outside the town, and possibly even within the Silent Forest. Therefore, Zheng Qing’s attention quickly refocused as he vigilantly scanned his surroundings and discreetly summoned a helper.

"Furry Bean!"

He whispered softly, and in the blink of an eye, a grayish shadow emerged from the shadow of a corner on the street. Wagging its tail cheerfully, it dashed towards Zheng Qing’s feet, weaving around the hem of his robe.

Having not seen it for a while, Zheng Qing noticed that Gouzi’s body had become much more slender.

But now was not the time to focus on such trivialities. As he summoned Furry Bean, he also took off the string of Haha Beads from his wrist. Seven gold beans fell to the ground and transformed into dolls about a foot tall, each armed, leaping and scattering around to help the three wizards explore their environment.

Xiao Xiao retrieved his Guardian Turtle Shell, raising a layer of light yellow protective enchantment; Xin Fat Man’s face turned a shade of blue as his body grew a bit larger. The three skillfully formed the Little Three Talents Formation, with Zheng Qing on the left, Xiao Xiao on the right, and the Fat Wizard at the forefront, acting as both the spearhead and the sturdy shield against injuries.

"I wonder if our reaction is a bit exaggerated." Zheng Qing muttered, taking out another Remington and slinging it over his back after releasing Gouzi.

They just felt something was amiss. In fact, although there were fewer pedestrians on the street, people continued to come and go. Occasionally, passersby would notice the glowing spells between the charm gun and the law book in their hands, unanimously bow their heads, and quicken their pace to distance themselves—completely in line with the typical reaction of Northern District Wizards when encountering trouble.

The nearby street shops had begun to notice the fluctuating magic power, quickly closing their doors and windows. However, a few courageous ones dared to peek out, seemingly curious about what was happening.

"One person feeling something is off may be an illusion. But if all three of us think something’s wrong, then something is definitely wrong." Before Xiao Xiao floated a crystal ball reflecting the surrounding street scenes within a few miles. As he manipulated it, the scenes changed rapidly, flashing across several suspicious targets in an instant: "... no threats detected for now."

"It’s not exaggerated, not at all."

The Fat Wizard’s deep voice buzzed from the front, uncharacteristically earnest: "If you ever have the chance to attend a Su Councilor fan club meeting, you’d know how lucky you are to be alive... I suspect if I said we were roommates, Sam’s Pass would refuse to renew my personal insurance contract for the next quarter."

"When we set out, we were already prepared for being caught in your crossfire." Doctor Xiao’s voice came from the other side, calmly adding another jab.

Zheng Qing silently rolled his eyes.

Bang! Bang!

Two more fireworks went up, seemingly closer this time.

This time, only Zheng Qing couldn’t help but glance over. Though setting off fireworks in broad daylight was rare, today was the Quiet Magic Festival. Without using magic, wizards didn’t have many ways to celebrate, so he merely glanced over before quickly pulling his wandering attention back.

"That bowl of lamb eye juice earlier..." Zheng Qing was recollecting their prior experiences and remembered the small cart.

"The lamb eye juice is fine."

Without lifting his head, Xiao Xiao interrupted while monitoring his crystal ball: "After Fat Man’s reminder, I thoroughly checked myself and found nothing strange... Have your Haha Beads returned any abnormal feedback?"

Zheng Qing shook his head slightly, feeling the agile Alchemy Puppets still darting through the street and alley corners within his awareness: "No, everything’s normal."

"What about Furry Bean?"

"Meow meow!" The gray-skinned Gouzi joyfully dismissed the presence of danger.

"I also don’t see any suspicious targets."

Xin Fat Man, now nearing three meters tall, shaded his eyes and peered around, his towering figure utterly overshadowing his companions and thoroughly scaring away passersby on the street.

"No targets is the greatest abnormality."

Absolution Hunting Team’s Diviner pointed out sharply: "Under normal circumstances, none of us have made a small commotion. If everything were indeed normal, someone from either Beta Town’s patrols or the Trident Sword’s investigators should have come to take a look... At the very least, shouldn’t those Northern District Wizards inside Sakura Pub have sensed something?"

Hearing the words ’Sakura Pub’, Zheng Qing suddenly recalled Korma’s peculiar behavior, his expression slightly darkening.

"Don’t pin any hopes on Gu Diao Street." He lightly breathed in and reminded his companions, "I told you before, Sister Korma is a bit odd... I don’t doubt her, but I am sure that while in the pub, she definitely sensed something but chose not to interfere."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The fireworks rose for the third time during the day.

Both the sound and the light were closer to the young wizards.

Even the slowest onlooker should now realize these fireworks were not merely for festive cheer but, rather likely, a means of communication between different groups—considering how using fireworks is much more clever than using magic, which could leave traces for diviners to capture.

More importantly, with the third round of fireworks, a faint mist began to spread from all sides, seemingly just the smoke residue of burned-out fireworks, but surged with the force of the rising tide under the moon, enveloping the entire street within moments.

The three young wizards immediately donned the Trident Sword’s Cat Masks—honorary rewards for excelling in the Hunting Team’s advancement tasks.

"Fat Man, shrink down, don’t become a target... unfold the Three-Light Star Array!"

Zheng Qing shouted, urging his companions to swiftly reconfigure. This was an array effective against mist, so-called ’Three-Lights’ referring to the lights of ’Sun, Moon, Stars’, linking to the celestial bodies, helping wizards orient themselves in the dense fog.

With several invisible Silver Locks descending from the Heavenly River, Zheng Qing immediately felt his surroundings become much clearer.

Bang!

Bang Bang!

Bang Bang Bang!

Constant fireworks rose from all directions, each exploding into countless streams of fire, slowly raining down like a glowing curtain, casting bizarre and colorful reflections through the gray mist.

"We’ve been swept into a sandbox."

Watching those flickering, aurora-like colors, Xiao Xiao was the first to declare, "We can’t stay here unmoving; we must charge out quickly... Otherwise, who knows what strange rules they have set for this small world!"