bookbashuk Chapter 394 The Legendary Steel-Toothed Rabbit
Chapter 394 The Legendary Steel-Toothed Rabbit
"Brother! Tristan, Ronya! You're here!" (?＞?＜?)
Her tone was light and cheerful, as if she wasn't the one who had just scared someone so badly with the talisman and then threatened them.
Looking at the smiling Liu Lingyin, and then at the group of young people on the ground who were clearly physically and mentally injured, Allen and his companions were overwhelmed with complex emotions. (⊙_◎)
It seems... they have some misunderstanding about what "soft girls" are?
Is it a steel-toothed rabbit? It has an adorable appearance, but hides a pair of steel teeth that can bite through its prey?
Allen, Tristan, and Echizen Ryoga carefully bypassed the young men lying on the ground, trembling and barely daring to breathe, and quickly came to Liu Lingyin's side, forming a protective barrier.
Allen immediately looked his sister up and down to make sure she was still alive and well before letting out a sigh of relief and looking at the few young men who had been so hateful before but were now lying pitifully on the ground.
It seems... I worried for nothing? (◎-◎；)
No, it's more like I almost worried about the wrong person?
"Let's go," Allen said softly, putting his arm around Liu Lingyin's shoulder.
If we don't leave soon, we'll probably make the headlines.
Liu Lingyin nodded, obediently putting away the remaining talismans in her hand (this action made the group opposite her shudder again). Before leaving, she seemed to remember something, turned back, and, facing the four young men lying on the ground, still stiff and numb, lightly uttered a sentence in clear English:
"This is just a minor punishment to serve as a warning. Your body will return to normal in an hour."
She paused, her voice still sweet, but sending a chill down the listener's spine, "However, if you have any more bad intentions... well, you can try... I think you'll probably not even want to use your brain."
After saying that, she even winked playfully, as if sharing a fun little secret. (＞?o)
The red-haired youth and his brown-haired accomplice were now pale and ashen-faced, their eyes filled only with utter terror and a belated, "clear-eyed stupidity." They nodded frantically and dramatically, almost indistinctly, making muffled "uh-huh" sounds, indicating that not only did they dare not do it again, but their companions absolutely dared not either.
At this moment, they dared not have any other thoughts! This girl could cast curses using those ancient, evil, and mysterious yellow papers from the East! If they had known earlier... they would have avoided her at all costs, not just a hundred times, but a thousand or ten thousand times!
Don't say Westerners aren't superstitious; they're the most superstitious people out there, otherwise why would their catchphrase be "Oh My God"?
They go to church to pray every week. Why? Because they believe in God!
But today they realized that perhaps believing in God is useless, and that they should convert to Eastern deities to ward off the curses of Eastern witches.
And it wasn't just one or two people who had this idea. Not to mention the two young men with red and brown hair, the few who fell to the ground and those who secretly witnessed the whole process all experienced a breakdown and reconstruction of their faith. Later, many of them even formed a team to go to China to become monks or Taoist priests.
Of course, that's a story for later. At this moment, Liu Lingyin and the other three ignored them and turned to leave the strangely atmospheric alley, leaving behind six young people (including two who had already hidden away) whose minds were severely shaken.
The four who had been "specially cared for" by the red light seemed to have their last bit of strength drained away after Liu Lingyin's figure disappeared. Like four puddles of mud, they could only stare in vain, feeling their bodies trembling slightly and feeling uncomfortable everywhere. They even had difficulty lifting a finger.
Time ticked by. The alleyway wasn't entirely deserted, but every passerby, local or tourist, upon seeing the four pale-faced, clearly disturbed young men lying on the ground, and recalling the scattered rumors and terrified whispers they'd overheard about "Eastern curses," "yellow talismans," and "witches" (the two accomplices who had run away hadn't completely shut up), tacitly chose—
They took a detour and quickened their pace.
Some people whispered and pointed at them, their faces showing a mixture of fear, curiosity, and "I knew it"; others glanced at them briefly and left as if avoiding a plague; even an elderly couple who seemed to live nearby stood not far away and watched for a moment. The old woman tugged at her husband's sleeve and whispered, "Don't go over there, it's 'that'... left by that Asian girl. She said she'll get better on her own."
For the next full hour, a bizarre scene unfolded in this ordinary alley in Brighton: four stylish, tall young white men lay sprawled on the ground in various poses, their eyes glazed or filled with terror, their bodies twitching involuntarily from time to time, as if nailed to the ground by an invisible force. People passed by, but no one offered to help them up, not even calling an ambulance.
Everyone's logic was surprisingly consistent: "That's an ancient Eastern curse! That girl who knows witchcraft said it herself, it will only take an hour! Anyway, it's the middle of summer, lying on the ground for an hour won't kill them, they won't get too hot (at most it'll be a little uncomfortable), so... let them lie there! It's better to avoid trouble, what if they get infected by the curse?"
Thus, under the tacit "watchful eye" of everyone, these four unfortunate souls fully experienced the longest, most helpless, shameful, and bizarrely fantastical hour of their lives.
Only when the sun had almost completely sunk below the horizon and the distant church bells could be faintly heard did the deep-seated tingling and weakness in their bodies slowly recede like the tide.
First, their fingers could move, then their arms, and then their torsos... The four of them struggled, using up the last bit of strength they had regained, and got up from the ground in a disheveled state. They helped each other up, their faces still pale, their eyes unfocused, and their bodies filthy, looking like extras who had just escaped from some horror movie set.
They didn't even dare to look at the pointing and whispering gazes around them, nor did they dare to recall the details of the yellow talisman and the red light. They simply kept their heads down and, as fast as they could (although their steps were still unsteady), dragged each other away from this place that haunted their nightmares.
As for revenge? To cause trouble? That thought didn't even dare to fully form in their still-shaken minds before it was suppressed by a deeper fear. Some "lessons" are enough to be remembered for a lifetime. And the legend of that sweet girl who knew "Eastern witchcraft" would probably quietly spread in a small circle in Brighton.
Leaving the eerie alley, the four walked side by side down the street leading to the food street, gradually illuminated by the lights of various restaurants. The sea breeze carried the aroma of food, easing the tension from before, but another subtle atmosphere flowed between the three teenagers.
Allen, Tristan, and Ryoga Echizen were all seventeen or eighteen years old, at an age when curiosity was at its peak (Ryoga was even younger). Having witnessed a scene that defied common sense—yellow paper spontaneously combusting, red light shooting out, and villains falling to the ground stiff—the shock and curiosity in their hearts were like being scratched by a cat's claws, and they could not calm down.
After walking in silence for a while, Allen couldn't contain himself any longer. He turned to look at his sister beside him, who looked relaxed and was even humming a little tune. His tone was filled with undisguised surprise and caution:
"Lingyin, just now... those yellow papers, and the light... you... really know... that... Eastern witchcraft?"
The word "witch" lingered on his tongue, but he still didn't dare to ask it directly, for fear of offending her.
Tristan leaned closer, his beautiful, deep blue eyes filled with pure curiosity and amazement:
“Rinne, that’s just… incredible! I’ve never seen anything like that before… ‘skill’. Is it some kind of ancient Eastern secret technique?”
He used relatively neutral words, but the inquiry in his eyes was almost overflowing.
Although Ryoma Echizen did not speak, he slowed his pace, his gaze falling on Rin Rin's face. He raised an eyebrow and slowly asked, "Are you a shrine maiden or a Taoist priest?"
Ryoga Echizen was, after all, Japanese, and especially since he often traveled around the world, he had heard a lot about strange people and events from all over the world, so he knew a little about what kind of special professionals used talismans.
Stared at by three pairs of eyes filled with question marks, Liu Lingyin couldn't help but chuckle. The feigned mystery she had shown when facing the villains vanished completely, and her face regained the liveliness and cunning that belonged to her age.
"No witchcraft, secret arts, witches, none of that."
She waved her hand, her tone as casual as if she were discussing the weather, "Just some little tricks, or rather... a bit more sophisticated 'magic'!"
"magic?"
The three of them spoke in unison, clearly not believing it. What magic trick could make paper spontaneously combust without fire and emit a red light that knocks someone to the ground?
“Really!” Liu Lingyin blinked and began to “reveal the secret”, “The yellow paper you see is specially made by me. It has a special… well, you can think of it as a chemical paint used to draw those patterns. When that paint comes into contact with air and is rubbed—like when I flung it out—it oxidizes quickly and produces a low-temperature burning effect. It looks like it spontaneously combusted, but the temperature is actually not high and it won’t really burn your hand.”
She paused, noticing the three men's skeptical expressions, and continued:
"As for the red light... it's from a trace amount of another chemical substance mixed into the paper that emits a specific visible light when exposed to high temperatures. It bursts out the moment it burns, mainly for visual effect, to scare people. The real thing that works isn't the light."
"What is it?" Allen pressed.
"It's medicine powder." Liu Lingyin smiled like a kitten that had stolen a fish.
"As I flicked out the talisman, a tiny bit of special medicinal powder flicked out between my fingers. The four people were close by, and they were breathing rapidly, with their mouths open and eyes wide open, so it was easy for them to inhale it or get it on their skin."
The powder worked quickly, causing temporary muscle soreness, numbness, and weakness, making people sluggish and appearing as if they were "frozen in place." Of course, it also contained ingredients that caused muscle pain, so those four were in a worse state. The two who stayed further away were unaffected.
Tristan suddenly realized: "So, they weren't 'cursed,' but rather affected by... pharmacological effects?"
"Bingo!" Liu Lingyin snapped her fingers. "As for what I said after that... it was half true and half false!"
"How so?" Ryoma Echizen finally spoke, his voice filled with interest.
"It's true, there are indeed trace amounts of residue in that powder. If the user experiences intense emotional fluctuations, especially strong negative emotions like anger or malice, causing a sudden change in hormone levels, it may slightly stimulate the residual effects of the powder, causing physical discomfort such as palpitations or brief dizziness. However, it will not be as strong as the first time, and the user will not really 'remember' their bad intentions."
Liu Lingyin explained by substituting the Gu worms for medicine.
"It's fake. This 'trigger period' is very short, about a month, and the effect is negligible. After a month, the residue will have been metabolized and there will be no problem. I'm just scaring them so that they'll feel uneasy about it for at least a month and won't dare to have any crooked thoughts."
Anyway, medicine and poison are inseparable, and the venom of poisonous insects is also a kind of medicinal property, so she's not really lying. Well, even if she were lying, as long as the other party doesn't know, who would know she lied!
After listening to Liu Lingyin's clear and even somewhat scientific (or pseudo-scientific) explanation, the three of them looked at each other, unsure of what expression to make.
Shocked? Yes, but more than that, I felt...awe and admiration.
This is hardly a delicate little sister in need of protection! This is clearly a mobile, multi-functional "biological weapons arsenal" with its own acting skills and intimidation abilities!
Packaged with seemingly mysterious Eastern symbols, the inside is precisely calculated chemistry and pharmacology, coupled with superb acting skills and psychological intimidation... This combination not only resolves the trouble on the spot, but also leaves a psychological shadow for a long time.
"Is this a cute girl? She's a walking weapon!"
Allen murmured to himself, looking at his younger sister's smug expression that seemed to say, "Praise me for being smart!" He felt incredibly conflicted.
"And it's the invisible kind."
Tristan added, unable to suppress a laugh, this time purely out of appreciation and amusement, “Rinne, you always manage to bring unexpected ‘surprises’.”
Ryoga Echizen chuckled, put his hands back in his pockets, and glanced at Rin's backpack, which was full of "trinkets." He thought to himself: I must never offend this girl in the future. Who knows what "surprises" she might be hiding in those bottles, jars, and colorful papers?
What Ryoma Echizen doesn't know is that after he went to Japan's U17 team, that "surprise" turned into "fright," and he even directly attached the title of "someone you can't afford to offend" to Rin Yanagi's head.
As we chatted and laughed, the warm lights and enticing aromas of the food street came into view, completely dispelling the gloom that had enveloped us in the alley.
The four young people blended into the bustling crowd, and the discussion about "Eastern witchcraft" was gradually replaced by a pleasant debate about "what to eat." However, after this experience, Allen and his two friends' understanding of Liu Lingyin was quietly refreshed—she was a formidable character who could not be judged by her appearance and was a wolf in sheep's clothing.