Moaning Myrtle's eyes were practically brimming with tears. She cradled countless treasures in her arms—things she had never possessed in life, yet somehow received in death.
More than that, as events unfolded to this point, she couldn't help but admire Lin Shu's methods. She could swear that not a single professor in the entire school could pull this off.
Excitedly, she lunged toward Lin Shu, who deftly stepped out of the way.
"Oh, Shu! Do you despise me? Do you hate me just because I'm a ghost? Boo-hoo-hoo—"
Lin Shu sighed helplessly. Do ghosts change their expressions this fast these days?
Rubbing her temples and letting out a long breath, she patiently explained to the sensitive and fragile ghost girl:
"Of course not. If I hated you for being a ghost, I wouldn't have come here in the first place. But I dodged you for your own good. You can't get close to me at all; if you actually collided with me, your spirit would only be severely burned and destabilized. So let's keep a polite distance!"
Myrtle nodded, half-understanding, and immediately began devouring the offerings in her arms.
It was a taste she hadn't experienced in ages. This time she was truly eating, no longer just looking without being able to touch.
She was ready to cry her heart out. The more she thought about it, the less she could control her tears, which threatened to break through the levees once again.
Spotting her chance, Lin Shu quickly diverted her attention.
"Myrtle, look, I burned gold ingots for you and brought offerings. Now that you've got your perks, can you let me borrow your place to refine some pills?"
Without even lifting her head, Myrtle agreed instantly.
Refining pills? That was nothing at all.
Seeing her goal achieved, Lin Shu exchanged a glance with Hermione, both of their eyes brimming with a strong sense of accomplishment.
"Shu, that's wonderful. Now you can come over and brew pills whenever you want."
"I just hope my pill-refining career goes as smoothly as that spiritual summoning just now! Please, God, no exploding cauldrons."
Dreams are wonderful, but reality is harsh.
Lin Shu tried various different methods of refining, but every single attempt met the inevitable fate of an exploding cauldron. If she hadn't pasted soundproofing talismans all over the walls, the professors probably would have already stormed over to slap her across the face.
After numerous tries, the final batch of pills proved much more cooperative than the previous ones. They had clearly taken shape; all that remained was to continue simmering them until they were done to call it a complete success.
Leaving the medicinal efficacy aside for a moment, simply getting them to form shape was already a qualitative leap.
One had to bear in mind that the herbs used here were all potion ingredients.
Even a potion-making master like Professor Snape could only brew them into liquids, utterly incapable of turning them into pills without altering their medicinal properties.
If she actually pulled this off, she could truly be called a genius.
Full of confidence, she stared at this batch of pills as if looking at her own soon-to-be-born child, the maternal affection overflowing from her eyes.
At this thrilling moment, even Hermione and Myrtle held their breath, terrified of making the slightest mistake.
Yet heaven does not always grant what humans desire.
[Boom—]
The cauldron burst apart, shattering into pieces. Lin Shu hurriedly threw hand seals, conjuring a shield to enclose Hermione and once again avert an explosion disaster.
"Hah! As expected, I should have known it wouldn't be that simple."
Lin Shu's own condition remained fine, save for a hint of lingering regret. Beside her, Hermione's mouth opened and closed as she struggled to find comforting words, though it was clear she wasn't good at this, leaving only a couple of thin sentences on her lips:
"Don't be discouraged, Shu. You've already done wonderfully. Maybe the timing isn't right yet; you have to believe in yourself, you'll definitely succeed."
"Naturally. When it comes to alchemy, I am a proper inner-sect successor of my school. Cauldrons exploding and whatnot—anyone with half a brain knows it's the fault of the cauldron vessel. What does it have to do with a genius like me?"
Hermione was once again left speechless. It was her first time seeing this side of Lin Shu—so vastly different from before, yet far more vibrant and full of an upward-surging vitality.
After all this commotion, by the time the two of them tidied up the scene and bid farewell to Myrtle, it was already very late.
Lost in the bathroom, the two hadn't noticed the passage of time at all, and only upon stepping out did they realize it was pitch black outside.
"Shu, I think we should hurry. Otherwise, if we miss the prefects' night patrol, we might get punished."
"Don't panic. Once we're out of the Teaching Building, I'll give you a ride back."
"Give me a ride back?"
Hermione was puzzled. They hadn't brought any Flying Broomsticks on this trip! How was she supposed to give her a ride? Could it be another one of those Dongxuan methods she had never seen before?
Seeing her furrow her little brow in deep thought, Lin Shu found her simply adorable.
"Mm... it's pretty much like riding a Flying Broomstick, except on our side we call it Sword-flying. I'll take you for a spin in a bit to try it out!"
"Okay."
Hermione nodded fiercely. It was her first time being this rebellious. At that moment, missing night rounds and facing punishment no longer mattered in the least. She just wanted to follow Lin Shu and explore a world she had never seen before.
As the two came down from the upper floor and walked into the corridor, two familiar figures came into view. Yet in the dark environment, the movements of those two figures were utterly bizarre—stepping in place, neither advancing nor retreating, as if struck by a jinx.
"Shu, look at that? How terrifying."
"Don't panic! This matter... to my shame, is actually my fault."
She quickened her pace, walked over, and peeled the Talisman Papers off George and Fred.
You guys are still marching in place here? Didn't a single person walk past and help you tear off the talismans in all this time?"
"Oh, sweet dark-hearted honey, you're finally back."
"I thought you were going to torture us to death."
"God knows how much my legs hurt right now."
"My feet don't belong to me anymore."
George and Fred launched into their banter mode once again, cutting each other off without giving anyone else a chance to wedge a word in.
"I'm sorry, but who told you to tail me? You should have had enough of this lesson by now.
Besides, I didn't mean to drag this out for so long. I thought someone would come along halfway and help peel the talismans off you! Who would have thought nobody came?"
Fred felt furious the moment he heard that.
From lower years to upper years, everyone had outdoor classes that afternoon. The two of them had been marching in place here for so long without a single soul entering the Teaching Building.
They could only chalk it up to bad luck.
However, the two of them weren't the type to take a loss lying down. Just as they were plotting how to turn the tables, an abrupt "Meow~" broke the previous harmony.
Fred immediately recognized it as Filch's cat. Honestly, if they were caught by him, nobody's fate would be pretty.
"What do we do now? It's too late to run back."
Hermione was panicked to the core. In her eyes as a well-behaved student, this situation was simply too much.
Besides, the corridor here was very long, and running would create a huge commotion, only serving to attract Filch to investigate.
"You two hide behind us. We're repeat offenders; there's nothing he can really do to us."
George and Fred spoke almost simultaneously, and they weren't just talking—each of them grabbed someone, pulling Lin Shu and Hermione behind them.
Though they were still just boys, they already displayed an unmistakable sense of responsibility. Looking at Fred's back, Lin Shu suddenly didn't find him quite so annoying anymore.
Glancing down at the hand he was still holding onto hers, she felt it was scorchingly hot, like a branding iron—stamped not just onto her skin, but plucking at her heartstrings.
Perhaps this was the camaraderie of classmates!
Yes! It had to be that.
She thought to herself.
The next second, she broke free from Fred's grip, walked to the front of the group with a composed expression, her eyes holding three parts cold indifference, three parts mockery, and four parts casual nonchalance.
"What's to panic about? Just turn invisible."
Before anyone else could speak, she began forming hand seals, chanting under her breath:
"Nuogao, General Taiyin, open only for the great-grandson Wang Jia, close to outsiders; let those who see Jia think him a bundle of firewood; let those who do not see Jia think him a non-human."
In an instant, the group saw a faint shimmer wash over their bodies, wreathed in a mysterious mist as their forms gradually blurred.
George and Fred let out involuntary gasps, their voices completely unsuppressed as they completely forgot their current environment. Seeing this, Lin Shu reached out directly to clamp her hands over their mouths, but it was already too late.
At the same time, Filch heard the noise and strode toward them.
"Who's there? Come out at once! Or when I find you, I'll hang you by your thumbs in the dungeon and whip you for three days and three nights."
Was he really that savage?
Lin Shu's eyes widened like copper bells.
Whether Filch was just saying it to scare people or actually meant it remained unknown.
For the moment, however, she held her breath, not daring to make another peep.
Yet who could have expected that George and Fred wouldn't stay put? Fred rushed to the very front, lunged forward in a long stride, and gave Filch's hair a hearty tug.
George was not to be outdone, blowing out the oil lamp Filch was holding.
Seeing this scene, Lin Shu felt her soul leave her body.
She and Hermione had only wanted to peacefully dodge this bullet and go straight back to the dormitory to rest!
Good grief! What on earth were these two doing?
Exchanging a quick look, she and Hermione reached a swift consensus.
Both of them threw their weight into pulling the boys back, grabbing one each. To prevent them from stirring up any more trouble, Lin Shu gripped the sleeve of Fred's robe in a death-death grip.
A piercing chill radiated from her eyes as she stared unblinkingly at Fred, as if saying: If you dare misbehave again, I'll toss you out.
Fred found it rather amusing, yet he didn't put up the slightest fight. When Filch angrily turned back around for another go, Fred directly pinned him against the side wall, leaving a clear path for Filch to vent his madness.
"Who is it! Who the hell is it! Come out—pranking a professor, you'll all be expelled!"
The howling echoed endlessly. As Filch kept cursing and refusing to leave, the others didn't dare make a sound. Lin Shu simply let Fred shield her in front, their faces close enough that their warm breaths brushed against one another, creating an unusually intimate atmosphere.
Just as everyone held their breath, praying for Filch to hurry up and leave, his cat sprang into the air from an unguarded corner, hurtling straight toward the spot where Lin Shu and Fred were hiding.
A cat's leaping power and speed were top-notch. Lin Shu could have easily dodged it herself, but Fred might not have. At the critical split-second, she grabbed Fred to dodge together.
Perhaps due to momentum, the two of them tumbled straight to the ground. As they landed, Fred wrapped an arm around Lin Shu's waist to protect her, leaving them in an extremely ambiguous posture—she was draped flat on top of him.
Lin Shu could only feel her heart beating wildly, faster than ever before.
Perhaps she had fallen ill; she ought to cast a major healing charm on herself...