Chapter 61: Inadequate Hit, Quantity to Make Up
Liangyue had very little memory regarding the actual effect of the Initial Scene Spring Breeze Charm, after all, she had never succeeded in creating it herself, and the records in ancient texts were quite vague.
As a result, Luxianbei only knew that the Initial Scene Spring Breeze Charm could simulate the breath of the spring wind and the sun, awakening all things and achieving effects of dispelling evil spirits and invigorating the mind, but she did not know how strong this effect was.
Originally, after making her first talisman last night, she wanted to randomly select a lucky one from the urban legends in her apartment to be the first to experience her labor’s result. However, they ran too fast, and she couldn’t catch any.
Now, using it on Luxu was a good opportunity to verify the power of the Initial Scene Spring Breeze Charm.
Luxianbei thought this as she took off her backpack and placed it on the ground, preparing to open it when she heard Professor Ma beside her say, “Are you ready to begin?”
“Mm!” Luxianbei nodded in response, and then suddenly remembered something, pausing her actions, and expressionless said, “Uh… the things in my bag are a bit strange, I hope you won’t mind when you see them later.”
“You child…” Professor Ma smiled bitterly, “What have I not seen?”
Having been a teacher for so many years, he had seen far too many students pull strange things out of their bags, from cigarettes and alcohol, to phones, game consoles, even artifacts, pets, household appliances, and various contraceptives and novelty items.
“That’s good.” Luxianbei replied, and with a “whoosh!” she pulled out a shiny kitchen kn*fe from a compartment in her backpack and slammed it onto the table beside her with a “DUANG!”
Her movements were fluid and skillful, clearly indicating she was an experienced chef.
Suddenly feeling a chill, Professor Ma was startled and instinctively took a step back. When he calmed down, he saw that it was a broad-bladed kitchen kn*fe, and his lips quivered. His body, already weak, immediately broke out in a sweat at the temples.
“This… this…” Professor Ma’s lips parted slightly, momentarily at a loss for words.
Although he had seen such things, he had never seen anyone carrying one in their backpack at all times.
“Uh… sorry, Professor. I have a lot of things in my bag. I was afraid to take the kn*fe out first, worrying I might accidentally c*t myself when looking for something later.”
Luxianbei said, and with another “whoosh,” she grabbed a handful of talismans and scattered them onto the table.
Professor Ma was just regaining his composure from the shock of the kitchen kn*fe when he saw the talismans inscribed with spell inscriptions and coated with a purplish-red substance, and he was slightly taken aback again.
“What is this…?”
“This… this is an exorcism talisman I learned from an ancient book.” Luxianbei looked at Professor Ma, explaining, “Professor, is there something wrong with this talisman?”
“There’s actually nothing wrong.” Professor Ma replied, glancing at the talismans on the table, he pondered for two seconds, “Only the inscriptions on it are a bit interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“Mm.” Professor Ma nodded slightly, then pointed at Luxu in the corner, “But right now the most important thing is to help Luxu. Afterward, I’ll talk to you about those inscriptions.”
After saying that, he glanced at the talismans on the table again, his gaze deepening.
Perhaps these talismans of Luxianbei really have effects, Professor Ma thought.
Originally, he had a bit of skepticism toward Luxianbei’s claim of understanding mystical knowledge, but at this moment, seeing the spell she took out from her bag, he instantly believed it to a large extent.
What the inscriptions on the Initial Scene Spring Breeze Charm represented, Luxianbei didn’t really care; in her opinion, it was enough to know a little about these things. Knowing too much might not necessarily be a good thing.
Thus, after hearing Professor Ma’s words, she merely shrugged in nonchalance, grabbed a handful of talismans, and walked toward Luxu in the corner.
Just as she took a couple of steps forward, the previously silent Luxu suddenly spoke up; his voice was hoarse, as if something was lodged in his throat.
“Useless…”
As he spoke, Luxu turned his stiff neck to look at Luxianbei, his round, lifeless eyes staring at her like a doll.
Luxianbei felt a bit uneasy under his gaze and stopped moving, but also felt somewhat defiant.
This was a talisman I worked hard to create! You dare say it’s useless?
“How would you know if you don’t try?”
Luxu stared at Luxianbei intently, and with some peripheral vision glanced at Professor Ma, a hint of crimson flaring up in his eyes as he suddenly shouted frantically, “I said it’s useless! Get lost! All of you get lost!”
As he yelled, he seemed to vent his emotions by tearing at the blanket wrapped around him. Only then did Professor Ma see the exposed chest beneath the blanket.
The emaciated chest looked as if it had been malnourished for a long time, skinny to the bone; several bl**d-red lines, about the thickness of a thumb, spread along his arms to his collarbone, faintly trending upward towards his neck, where the skin looked rotten, resembling some sort of severe parasite.
Moreover, Luxianbei saw even more than Professor Ma.
At the moment Luxu lifted the blanket, Luxianbei’s eyes began to burn violently.
Strange streams of light raced past her peripheral vision, and a chorus of painful wails from women and children echoed in her ears, followed closely by the sight of a thick fog spreading behind Luxu.
Through the fog, Luxianbei saw a pale figure shrouded in ominous energy; one hand held a bloody lantern while the other rested on Luxu’s wrist. Where the corpse-like fingers fell was precisely where the bl**d-red lines on Luxu’s body started to grow.
…
Professor Ma did not know what Luxianbei saw; he only noticed that Luxu had unveiled his body with the frightening bl**d lines and that Luxianbei had stood dazed in place.
Luxu staggered to his feet, gasping heavily, letting out a series of inhuman low growls, his eyes fixed on Luxianbei like a monster, before suddenly lunging towards her.
With eyes seemingly about to burst, he lunged forward with arms outstretched, resembling a zombie from a movie, indeed rather terrifying.
“Luxianbei, be careful!”
Professor Ma’s exclamation rang in her ears. The fog and figure before her dissipated instantly, and as she regained her focus, she saw Luxu charging towards her, her heart skipped a beat.
Whoa! Is he going berserk?
Luxianbei gasped internally, pulling out a talisman and throwing it.
In her panic, she hadn’t even considered if she could hit him; the talisman brushed past Luxu’s shoulder and flew by.
Having missed, Luxu was already right in front of her, and seeing this, her pupils slightly constricted. Without time to think, she raised her hand and scattered all the talismans she had toward Luxu.
This time, she threw way too many—about seven or eight pieces—like a shower of flowers, coming at Luxu without him being able to avoid them, and four or five talismans smashed into him.
As the saying goes, when you can’t hit enough, make up with quantity; Luxianbei had quite a few talismans on hand—covering the ground with firepower wasn’t a bad idea!
“Whoosh—!”
As soon as the Initial Scene Spring Breeze Charm contacted Luxu’s body, it immediately emitted a wisp of green smoke; then with a series of “crackling” explosions, the entire dorm room was enveloped in dazzling green light.
Being in that green light was like bathing in the morning sun, feeling warm all over, with a fresh wind passing through the sunlight, mingled with hints of floral fragrance, making one feel invigorated.
But Luxu did not seem to think so.
He lay on the ground, curled up, letting out terrible howls, struggling painfully, his limbs twisting into shapes normal humans couldn’t achieve. The skin where the Initial Scene Spring Breeze Charm had touched felt like it was seared by a branding iron, leaving behind burn marks.
As her eyes gradually adapted to the strong light, taking advantage of Luxu’s struggles on the ground, Luxianbei turned around, grabbed her backpack from the table, and pulled the dazed Professor Ma out the door. Before exiting, she casually grabbed a talisman from her bag and tossed it toward the collapsed Luxu.
So…
Another round of even more intense screams erupted.
Hearing the cries, Luxianbei shrank her neck, thinking to herself, isn’t this just not enough? Isn’t it enough! I brought over seventeen or eighteen today, and after two throws, I’m almost out!
Therefore, making two or three hundred was absolutely necessary!
…
Upon exiting the dorm door, Professor Ma suddenly regained his senses, turning back to glance at the continuously screeching dormitory, his voice trembling, “Luxianbei, what was that just now… what happened?”
“Ah—!” Luxu’s screams came through, causing Professor Ma to shudder.
“At first glance, he’s indeed entangled by something.” Luxianbei said expressionlessly. “But you also saw the situation just now; he couldn’t communicate at all, so I don’t know what the thing entangling him is.”
“Then…” Professor Ma hesitated, looking at the dormitory where screams were still echoing, then glancing at Luxianbei, who remained calm.
Why is he so calm? It’s as if he has a sure victory? Could it be that Luxu is already fine?
Thinking this, Professor Ma asked, “Luxianbei, is Luxu… going to be alright?”
“You will know soon.” Luxianbei replied ambiguously, turning her head, not daring to look into Professor Ma’s eyes.
For something like this, how could she dare to say anything rashly?
In Liangyue’s memory, this charm was meant for safety, its effect was similar to an amulet; how could she know it was so powerful?
Looking at that kind of scene, it might well eliminate the entity possessing Luxu, and he would vanish from the world with it.
But, she couldn’t completely blame herself, could she? Luxianbei thought secretly. It’s like throwing out a firecracker, only to realize at the moment of explosion that it was a grenade—I didn’t mean for it to be that way!
…
Luxianbei and Professor Ma waited outside the dormitory for an unknown amount of time, the wails gradually subsiding, and after a few seconds, Luxu’s weak voice called out from the dormitory.
“Professor… Professor… you can come in now, I… I’m fine now…”
Concerned for her student, Professor Ma was about to step forward but was stopped by Luxianbei.
Professor Ma looked at Luxianbei in confusion, only to see him whisper, “Be careful; it might be a trick.”
While saying this, he grabbed two talismans from his backpack and waved them in front of Professor Ma.
Seeing this, Professor Ma blinked for a moment, then nodded in understanding, stepping aside to let Luxianbei pass.
Luxianbei held a talisman in her mouth and approached, climbing the door frame to peek through the gap above the door, where she saw Luxu lying on the ground, barely alive. Her gaze narrowed slightly; freeing one hand, she took the talisman from her mouth and aimed it at Luxu’s head, tossing it over with a “whoosh.”
“Bang—!”
The talisman arched through the air, striking Luxu squarely on the forehead, the sound clear and crisp. This time, there was no green light, no spring wind, and no floral fragrance; even Luxu couldn’t be bothered to scream, his body twitched once before casting a resentful glance toward Luxianbei.
Seeing this, Luxianbei pretended not to see, jumped down from the door frame, and turned to shrug at Professor Ma, saying, “It should be fine now, but we still need to be cautious when we go in.”
Recalling the earlier scene, Professor Ma nodded repeatedly, “Mm-mm, makes sense… makes sense…”
“Alright! Let’s go. Let’s ask what exactly happened to him.”
…
“Creak—!”
As soon as she pushed open the dormitory door, Luxianbei immediately looked towards the back of Luxu.
The unsettling thick fog had not dissipated, and the pale figure holding the lantern was still there, only this time it had retreated far away, as if hiding in a mysterious parallel space, leaving only a faint red light flickering, a peculiar, bl**d-red gaze lingering.
So that means, the Initial Scene Spring Breeze Charm merely alleviated the entity’s encroachment but did not eradicate it? Luxianbei thought.
“Luxu, what on earth happened to you that made you suddenly turn into this?”
Professor Ma helped the fallen Luxu up, inquiring with concern while Luxianbei listened quietly with pricked ears.
The next moment, Luxu started to low growl incoherently.
“Someone is trying to k*ll me… in my dreams… there’s a red lantern floating behind me… as soon as I close my eyes, it will rush over, wanting to drill into my body! Control…”
As he spoke, he constantly turned to look behind, into the empty room, his cheeks flushing, an inexplicable excitement coursing through him, as if he had taken a stimulant. Before finishing his sentence, he suddenly twitched, white foam escaping his mouth as he fainted.
