Lin Shu's movement technique truly startled the Weasley twins. Even if they racked their brains, they never expected Lin Shu to be clinging to the ceiling. Is that something a normal person can pull off?
Could she be a spider with suction cups that allow her to stick up there?
George and Fred's shock was written all right across their faces, and Lin Shu could guess a thing or two about what they were thinking.
To be honest, she thought this was nothing at all—just that these little foreigners lacked exposure and knew nothing of the subtleties of martial arts.
Take the cultivators of Dongxuan like herself: practicing spells was a given, but they would never neglect physical training. Otherwise, if two people fought and blindly threw spellcraft around without any real martial skill, sooner or later someone would close the distance and beat them flat to the ground.
So to her, this kind of superficial flashy show was truly not worth mentioning.
At least compared to those practical, lethal moves, it was really a bit embarrassing to show off.
"Ooh-la-la! Merlin! That's so cool. Sweetheart, with moves like yours, whatever you do will be a success."
As soon as George finished speaking, Fred chimed right in:
"Like dodging Filch, sneaking into the Headmaster's Office... and giving free rein to our grand prank-making enterprise."
Lin Shu pursed her lips. That didn't sound like anything a good person would say!
"So, two senior schoolmates, you've followed me all this way—is there something you want?"
"Did we follow you?"
"No such thing."
The two of them bounced off each other like a crosstalk act; the moment one finished, the other immediately picked up the straight man's cue. They were truly in perfect sync.
Lin Shu watched them spout nonsense with amusement. When the two finally quieted down, she smiled and spoke, though that smile somehow radiated two parts danger no matter how you looked at it.
"Senior schoolmates, you're lying, and that's not right. So I've decided to give you a proper punishment."
"Pfft—"
"Hahaha—"
Perhaps because Lin Shu looked entirely too harmless, George and Fred didn't take this breezy threat seriously at all. And given their own confidence, there was no one in Hogwarts better at pranking and stirring up trouble than them.
The person who could give them a punishment hadn't even been born yet!
"Sweetheart, you're really cute. If your time permits, we can take you to a fun place."
"Come play with the big boys, sweetheart."
Lin Shu refused. She certainly wouldn't.
She had a very strong premonition that being targeted by them would mean endless trouble, and perhaps her future school life would never know peace again.
As for troublesome matters, she preferred to avoid them whenever she could.
Right now, however, it was also true that she wanted to teach the two of them a lesson, and using this opportunity to slip away sounded like a pretty good idea.
The very next second, they saw her eyes turn toward the front, a look of sheer terror and fright bursting into her gaze as she spoke in a trembling stammer:
"Pr—Professor Snape?"
George and Fred whipped their heads around instantly, but what met their eyes was still the long corridor, with not a trace of Professor Snape anywhere.
Taking advantage of this opening, Lin Shu slapped a "Marching in Place Talisman" onto each of them.
This talisman wasn't difficult to write, and as long as the paper wasn't torn off, the effect wouldn't wear off.
"Two senior schoolmates, I'll take my leave first. You guys can just march away here at your leisure!"
Lin Shu flashed a mischievous smile, watching George and Fred's legs march uncontrollably in place, no matter how hard they struggled against it.
"Sweetheart, be a good girl and untie us already."
"No way."
"Be obedient, sweetheart. We can't just keep marching here forever; this is way too stupid."
"Nope. Who told you to sneak up and follow me? Consider this a lesson so you'll remember it!"
Lin Shu waved her hand and walked away decisively, leaving only George and Fred behind shouting at the top of their lungs, though Lin Shu didn't look back.
Having wasted quite a bit of time, Lin Shu ran all the way to the second-floor bathroom. When she arrived, sure enough, Hermione was already waiting outside.
"Terribly sorry, Hermione. I ran into a small mishap on the way and I'm late."
"Actually, I only just got here myself. Should we go in right now? I've heard that Moaning Myrtle's temper is extremely unstable, and I don't know if she'll be willing to lend us her place."
"Don't worry, I've already prepared everything that needs preparing. Whether she's an Eastern ghost or a Western ghost, as long as she's a ghost, she absolutely won't be able to turn me down."
Hehehe—it was a good thing she wasn't some black-hearted Daoist priest with a fetish for catching ghosts to put them to work. Otherwise, ghosts like Moaning Myrtle and Sir Nicholas, appearing so brazenly before everyone's eyes, would none of them escape the fate of becoming beasts of burden.
The bathroom door was pushed open, accompanied by a sound of sobbing and wailing. The sound was prolonged and low, like the rustling of leaves stirred by the wind at night.
Hermione instantly grabbed Lin Shu's arm; clearly, she was not immune to this sound. Her whole body was tense, giving off very much the feeling of someone about to walk to the execution ground.
Lin Shu's state, on the other hand, was much more natural. Among us practitioners, whose hands haven't released a few grievances souls into peace?
Things like this were second nature to her.
If Dumbledore hadn't explicitly stated that these ghosts were also friends, her occupational disease would truly have flared up—transcending every single one she saw, sending every single one on their way.
She took large strides, tracking the sound of weeping. Stopping in front of a toilet stall, the sound was coming from here without a doubt.
Her first reaction was—do these Western ghosts really lack all sense of propriety? They don't mind the filth?
"My deepest apologies, Miss Moaning Myrtle, to intrude. Although it's terribly presumptuous, I'd still like to have a word with you. Might I ask if you could pause your crying for a moment?"
As her voice fell, a ghost appeared before Lin Shu and Hermione with lightning speed.
Looking closer, she had straight, long hair, wore thick glasses, and had large eyes, though her expression betrayed endless sorrow and loneliness.
There were no missing limbs, no terrifying wounds, and no missing parts—just a corpse-white complexion and a figure drifting like a helpless wisp of smoke through this damp and chilly space.
This was already quite good; at least it beat 99% of ghosts.
One had to know that most people who died young had gone through major accidents, and whatever they looked like at the moment of their tragic death was what they looked like after turning into ghosts.
Therefore, Lin Shu had seen plenty of ghosts with miserable appearances in her past life. Seeing one so intact now, she actually found Moaning Myrtle rather delicate-looking.
"Ooh, Myrtle, seeing you is better than hearing a hundred tales. You're a very dainty and graceful young lady."
Lin Shu praised her from the bottom of her heart, causing Moaning Myrtle—who had been primed to explode—to instantly lose her voice.
What?
She said I was graceful and dainty? And called me "young lady."
Merlin! This was simply too incredible.
Moaning Myrtle froze for a split second, then swooped down from the ceiling above the toilet, pressing face-to-face right against Lin Shu, yet Lin Shu neither flinched nor dodged.
"You're a Slytherin student! You Slytherin little snakes are venomous; how could you genuinely praise me?"
"Young lady, those fixed mindset notions of yours belong in the ancient history books. Slytherins nowadays are all very good—mates loving and helping one another. Even if we really are the venomous snakes in your mouth, we still know to pull in and retract our fangs."
"Sharp-tongued! Fitting for a Slytherin. Speak up, then; what do you want coming to my place?"
Lin Shu smiled and didn't answer right away, instead holding back a little mystery first.
She first took out all the food she had packed, arranged them in order, and set them up in a square formation. After that, she pulled out a large bundle of gold ingots, joss paper, paper-crafted clothes, incense candles, and other items.
Moaning Myrtle must have been truly lonely; watching her bustle about, she had no intention of disturbing or chasing her away, but instead watched with keen interest, wanting to see what this little snake was up to.
"Myrtle, how long has it been since you tasted the flavor of food? Do you miss it?"
Moaning Myrtle frowned. In her view, Lin Shu's question, much like the person herself, was filled everywhere with a sense of absurdity.
"I'm already a ghost. I can't eat food, and I can't taste flavors. Are you deliberately bringing this up to twist the knife in my heart? Waaah—"
With that, she uncontrollably burst into tears again. Soon her tears broke through the dam and poured back down into the toilet bowl, causing the dirty water to spill all over.
Seeing her emotions so unstable, Lin Shu hurriedly stopped her:
"Myrtle, calm down! Quickly hold those tears back; if you cry anymore, we'll really have a deluge over the Golden Mountains. Besides, I can let you taste flavors again—don't you want to give it a try?"
To a Western ghost, the content of those words was nothing short of an Arabian Nights fairy tale. Yet although Moaning Myrtle didn't believe it in her heart, her body was exceptionally honest, and she quickly choked her tears back.
"Little snake, I'm already dead. Must I still not be left alone now that I'm a ghost? Are you still going to make fun of me?"
"I know you certainly don't believe it, but give it a try anyway! Trying won't cost you a pound of flesh. What if I really can show you a different world?"
Moaning Myrtle was persuaded by Lin Shu and nodded half-doubtfully. Anyway, according to what Lin Shu said, she was just trying and had nothing to lose; even if the end result wasn't satisfactory, she could just treat it as adding a little vignette to her boring life.
Next, Lin Shu was seen formally beginning her work. She first stepped into the center of the formation, sat cross-legged right in the middle, and then lit three incense sticks and inserted them into an incense burner, letting the rising smoke drift straight up toward the ceiling.
The scent of this incense was lingering and long-lasting, and its appeal to ghosts was simply peerless. The moment Moaning Myrtle caught a whiff of this wispy smoke, she practically believed everything Lin Shu had said—even if those words sounded like pure fantasy, so what?
This was the first time since her death many years ago that she was smelling a scent again.
One had to know that after people die, they completely lose their senses, wandering day in and day out for years in the place where they died. When you really think about it, how was that not a form of torture?
Moaning Myrtle greedily inhaled the fragrance. From initially floating as she inhaled, she ended up pressing flat against the floor right beside the incense sticks, sucking it in fiercely, completely uncaring about her image or anything else.
She only felt that this incense was too wonderful—not only did it smell good, but it also made her whole body feel comfortable. As a ghost, that instinctive drive kept reminding her to inhale more, inhale even more.
"Oh dear lord, Myrtle, you're really an eyesore."
Lin Shu was just about to chant her incantation when she looked up and saw that Moaning Myrtle had shoved her nostrils right into the incense sticks.
Goodness! Who could understand this!
Who could lend her a pair of eyes that hadn't witnessed this scene.
She felt she had been tainted.
Sure enough, looking at everything would only ruin her.
"Never mind me! You have no idea how good this incense smells. Can you light two more?"
"There's a set number for how many get lit."
After Lin Shu shook her head helplessly, she began chanting the incantation. When the time was right, she set a fire and burned the gold ingots, joss paper, and paper-crafted clothing all at once.
The fire blazed fiercely, and since they were flammable materials, it took virtually no time for those items to turn to ash.
Looking over at Moaning Myrtle's side, a floor full of gold, silver, treasures, and silks had now genuinely appeared right before her, becoming physical objects she could actually touch, dazzling anyone who looked at them.
"Oh heavens! Shu, you really did it. I simply can't believe my eyes."
Hermione exclaimed, having watched the whole process, yet she still had no idea how those items had made their way over to Moaning Myrtle's side.
Seeing that the task was accomplished, Lin Shu also wore a gratified smile.
This showed that her skills weren't rusty yet.
"Not just those. Myrtle, come quick and taste the offerings I brought you. Although they're all packed to-go from the cafeteria, at least it's a familiar taste."