"Victor!"
Two low growls, choked with suppressed fury, doused Victor's euphoric high like a bucket of ice water, freezing him in place.
He stiffly turned his head and saw Enid and Wednesday standing shoulder to shoulder.
Enid's sapphire-blue eyes were misty, their rims slightly reddened.
Wednesday's perpetually frozen face was now covered in a thick layer of frost, and her deep-pool eyes seemed ready to shoot icicles.
"Oh..."
Victor instantly deflated. He subconsciously hid the gourd behind his back, straightened his posture, and stood there with lowered eyes and a submissive air.
He looked exactly like a troublemaker caught red-handed by the head teacher, awaiting his judgment.
However, the Venom on his shoulder clearly hadn't fully sobered up from its earlier revelry. Several inky-black tendrils continued to sway uncontrollably to the lingering BGM beat in its head.
One even curiously poked Victor's head.
"Bro, why'd you stop? Let the music play, let the dance continue!"
Venom's raspy voice carried an unsatisfied complaint.
"Uh oh..."
Only then did Venom belatedly sense the two gazes that could practically freeze it into an ice block. It instantly cowered as well.
All its tendrils retracted with a *whoosh*, transforming into a limp, puddle-like black substance that draped weakly over Victor's shoulder, pretending to be nothing more than an ordinary black shawl.
"Sorry..."
Victor's voice was as small as a mosquito's hum. His head hung even lower, his whole body radiating an 'I know I messed up' aura.
"Do you even know what you did wrong?"
Enid's voice held a barely detectable tremor, but it was mostly laced with lingering fear and concern.
"You just put any random, weird thing in your mouth? Is that something you can just casually taste? What if something went wrong? You... you scared us half to death!"
Victor looked up at Enid with a pitiful expression. Those usually manic, dancing eyes were now watery, like a wronged large dog.
His lips were slightly pouted, trembling a little uncontrollably, as if golden teardrops were about to fall any second.
"I..."
He opened his mouth but only managed a single syllable. Anyone seeing him like that would have their heart soften.
All the scolding words Enid had prepared instantly clogged in her throat. Seeing his expression, her heart felt tickled by a feather—sour and soft.
"Don't... don't look at me like that..."
She tried to maintain her sternness, but her tone had already softened involuntarily.
"That trick won't work... I... Ugh, fine, you win."
She ultimately surrendered, turning her head away in annoyance and ceding the 'battlefield' to her companion.
"Wednesday, you handle him! I can't stand that face of his!"
Wednesday let out a cold, derisive snort and delivered a biting critique:
"Utterly useless. A little trick like that and you're already backed down."
She took a step forward, ready to properly educate this reckless fool with her signature coolness and sharpness.
However, what greeted her were Victor's eyes, brimming with unshed tears.
And a look that seemed utterly abandoned by the world, yet shimmering with star-like hope, staring straight at her, silently.
That gaze was pure and fragile, full of dependence and a pleading 'I know I was wrong, please forgive me.'
Wednesday: "..."
All the sarcastic remarks she had prepared instantly jammed.
Her icy eyes met those teary, starry ones. A stalemate lasted a full three seconds.
Wednesday abruptly averted her gaze, taking an almost imperceptible breath. She spoke at top speed, with a hint of fluster:
"Don't do this again!"
Having said that, she immediately took a step back, returning to Enid's side. She crossed her arms, resuming her usual cold, aloof posture, though the tips of her ears seemed slightly flushed.
Enid shot her a sidelong glance, her eyes saying, 'And you criticized me?'
Wednesday returned her gaze expressionlessly, retorting with her eyes: 'Takes one to know one.'
Jade, who had been watching the whole scene from the sidelines, now had her eyes wide as saucers and her mouth forming a perfect 'O'. Her mind was reeling with shock!
Oh my gosh! What level of divine skill was this?!
She watched Victor's effortlessly controlled expressions, his perfectly timed tears, his precisely calibrated pout and tremble... This was art! It was a weapon! It was the key to a heaven of doing whatever you wanted!
Jade was so excited her little hands were trembling. She desperately wanted to whip out a notebook and meticulously record every detail of Victor's technique—the eye contact, the angles, the muscle control.
If she mastered this move, would she ever fear Uncle jackie's scolding again? Fear unfinished homework? Fear not getting snacks?
Just one look, and she'd be invincible!
Seeing the crisis had passed, Victor instantly switched faces, putting away the pitiful act. His signature bright smile reappeared at the corner of his mouth.
As if the teary-eyed guy from a moment ago wasn't him at all.
Like a magician, he pulled two exquisitely wrapped chocolates from his pocket and ingratiatingly shoved them into Enid and Wednesday's hands.
"Alright, alright, I know I was wrong! I promise it won't happen again!"
His tone was light and cheerful, carrying a hint of placation.
"Here, have something sweet to calm your nerves."
Enid looked at the chocolate with its delicate pattern in her hand, then at Victor's 'I'm so well-behaved' expression. She sighed helplessly, though the corner of her mouth couldn't help but twitch upward.
Wednesday, on the other hand, expressionlessly weighed the chocolate in her hand, shot Victor a glance, and said coldly, "Sugar-coated bullets."
But she still unwrapped it and took a small bite.
She didn't like sweets, but Victor's gifts were an exception.
"Hey! What about mine?!"
Jade, who had been watching the show, protested, stamping her little feet.
"Kids get cavities if they eat sugar at night," Victor stated with solid reasoning.
"You're discriminating against minors!" Jade accused, puffing up her cheeks in anger.
Victor grinned mischievously and deliberately ruffled her hair again, provoking another round of indignant squeals from Jade.
After the brief interlude, Victor's attention returned to the ancient-looking gourd in his hand.
"So... what exactly is this thing?"
Victor rubbed the gourd's cool, smooth glazed surface, his curiosity taking over once more.
"Tastes weird. Besides making Venom get all hyped up, drinking it didn't seem to have any special effects?"
A bit of Venom extended from his shoulder, rasping in agreement: "Tasted like oolong tea that could start a fire! Just... uh, a bit heady. The after-effects are super strong."
At that moment, Goody's spirit, who had been silently observing, drifted closer. Her slender finger pointed ethereally at the gourd, her brow slightly furrowed.
"This vessel... is extraordinary. I can sense a very ancient and powerful aura attached to it, brimming with light and purifying power."
"This is no ordinary creation. It's more like... a token left by a powerful deity, used to banish demons."
She paused, her tone growing even graver.
"That wisp of demonic energy Victor... uh, 'drank' from the gourd was likely stripped from a demon during its sealing."
Victor rushed over to the now-shattered display case in three quick steps. He rummaged through the debris and pulled out a relatively intact information plaque.
He blew off the glass shards and, under the emergency lights of the exhibition hall, read aloud:
"Divine Token – The Magical Gourd of Tieguai Li, one of the Eight Immortals. Legend has it that with this very object, the lame immortal banished Bansha, the ruler of the Atlantis Kingdom and wielder of the Water Authority, into the endless hell."
After reading, he casually tossed the plaque aside with a loud *clang*.
"Wow~" Victor whistled, his voice full of the excitement of discovery.
"Atlantis? Water Demon Bansha? Sounds way more interesting than that broken stone of Holy Lord's!"
In stark contrast to his enthusiasm—
"Good heavens above!!"
Uncle Long let out a nearly distraught wail, clutching his head with both hands, feeling his scalp go numb.
"Isn't Holy Lord enough?! How did another Bansha pop up?! And she's the ruler of Atlantis?! Just how many of these things are still hidden in this world?!"
Uncle Long felt darkness cloud his vision. A deep sense of powerlessness and despair washed over him.
The burden of protecting the world... why did it keep getting heavier? He just wanted to do safe, quiet archaeology.
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