Lin Ze and Mario crouched behind a clump of low shrubs, peeking furtively into the depths of the vines.
"What does the Libodu you are talking about look like?" Lin Ze asked in a low voice.
"It doesn't have a fixed appearance. Some people say it's a child covered in weeds, some people say it's a white-faced woman, and some people say it's just a big snake." Mario was holding a machete, his voice was shaking violently, and he could tell he was scared.
"I still want to advise you, few people who are targeted by that thing will survive till dawn."
Lin Ze ignored him, took out the wand, and tapped it gently on the bush.
A few leaves twisted silently, as if blown apart by the wind, leaving a small path for them to squeeze through sideways.
"Ah? This..." Mario opened his mouth wide and stared at the wooden stick in Lin Ze's hand.
"You... you... you..."
"What are you?"
"Are you a wizard?"
"Huh? Have you heard the legend of wizards here?"
"Yes... don't... don't eat me... please... don't eat me, I don't taste good..." Mario suddenly fell to his knees with a "plop".
Damn, according to local legends, wizards are man-eating monsters, right?
"Okay, do you think I look like that kind of monster that eats people? Just stay here. If you hear something wrong, run away and leave me alone." Lin Ze turned around and said to Mario.
Mario nodded repeatedly, but still looked at Lin Ze.
Lin Ze got in sideways.
The roots of the vines were thick and slippery, and it felt like stepping on wet snake skin. The air was filled with a strong smell of rotten leaves, mixed with some indescribable fishy sweetness.
After walking about fifty steps, the front suddenly became clear.
A shallow puddle surrounded by vines appeared in front of us, with several huge water lily leaves floating on the water.
On the shore opposite the puddle, a row of gray-white things hung upside down.
Lin Ze squinted his eyes for a few seconds, his stomach churning.
bat.
A bat as long as an adult's arm.
There are also some white bones scattered on the shore.
Lin Ze stared at the upside-down bats, then looked at the bones on the shore, and suddenly felt that the "water ghost" Ze·Mario mentioned might be more troublesome than he thought.
"These things... could they be..." Lin Ze took a half step back, trying not to make a sound.
The bats didn't seem to notice him. Occasionally, one of them would flap its wings and make a low squeaking sound, like an old man clearing his throat with phlegm stuck in his throat.
Lin Ze continued to observe for a while, and found a dark hole beside the puddle, half submerged in the water, and the rock above the hole was polished by something.
Just when he was hesitating whether to approach or not, there was a rustling sound behind him.
He turned around suddenly and almost threw him out with a Charms.
It's Mario, this guy actually followed in.
At this time, he was holding a machete in both hands, his legs were shaking very fast, but he had an "I'm not afraid" expression on his face.
"Why did you get in?"
"I'm afraid you'll be eaten by a water ghost." Mario swallowed.
"I was still counting on you to compensate me."
Lin Ze was angry and funny, but still motioned for him to be quiet.
The two of them hunched over and took a few steps forward.
Suddenly, a circle of ripples appeared in the center of the puddle, and then, a pale hand slowly stretched out from under the water.
The hands were abnormally white, and the knuckles were long and thin, as if they had been soaked in water for a long time.
Mario squeezed out a short whine from his throat and almost threw the machete in his hand.
Lin Ze, with quick eyes and quick hands, covered his mouth and both of them squatted down at the same time.
The person under the water did not completely surface. He just stretched out a hand and gently placed it on a huge water lily leaf, and then stopped moving.
Time seems to have been stretched.
Lin Ze could feel Mario shaking under his palm like an engine running at full speed.
After a while, the hand slowly retracted back to the bottom of the water.
Immediately afterwards, the giant bats hanging upside down on the shore suddenly opened their eyes.
Dozens of pairs of small scarlet eyes lit up, and they all looked in the direction where Lin Ze and Mario were hiding.
"Fuck."
Lin Ze didn't care about hiding anything, so he turned around and ran away while dragging Mario.
The swarm of bats behind them exploded with a "crash", like a black cloud pouring out from among the vines, and the sound of flapping wings almost broke a person's eardrums.
"Incendio"
Lin Ze threw out a stream of flames without looking back. The flames exploded behind him, scattering the nearest groups of bats that were chasing him, but did not stop more bats from pouring out of the cave entrance.
"Run! Run!"
Lin Ze and Mario were like two monkeys that had been poked into their nest, rolling and crawling out of their nest.
The giant bat overhead was a mass of darkness, and the wind from its wings hurt people's faces.
Lin Ze threw Charms backwards while running, using flames to keep pushing back the charging bats.
Mario was howling in his mouth. He didn't know whether he was asking for blessings from some god, or he was uttering all the curse words he had ever known in his life.
When the two of them rushed out of the vine bush, Mario's foot was tripped by an old vine lying on the ground. He jumped forward and fell to the ground.
Lin Ze quickly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him up from the ground.
The bats stopped chasing after them when they reached the edge of the vines. They circled around a few times and then retreated to the puddle.
Mario was lying on the ground, like a dehydrated fish, panting. His face was scratched several times by branches, and blood beads were dripping down his chin.
"I said... don't go there..." Mario complained while breathing.
"The Libodu you are talking about... is most likely a vampire..." Lin Ze frowned and said thoughtfully.
"Suck... vampires?"
"Most likely yes."
Lin Ze had never seen that kind of creature, but he had seen it once in Ministry of Magic's archives. It was a long-ago archive from the sixteenth century. Two Auror encountered a vampire while dealing with an incident where Magical Creatures murdered Muggle.
The vampires recorded in the files were very powerful. The two Auror who went to deal with that incident were killed by the vampires and had all their blood drained from their bodies.
The last dozen Aurors worked together to encircle and suppress it but failed to retain it. In the end, Minister for Magic at that time asked Master Flamel to take action to seal it.
Yes, it is sealed rather than killed. This creature has the characteristics of immortality and cannot be killed by any means.
Lin Ze Thinking about the contents in the file, a chill ran down my spine.
"Let's go before that thing comes out." Lin Ze put his hand on Mario.
With a "crack" sound, the two disappeared on the spot.