These Dangerous Girls Placed Me Into Jeopardy-Chapter 44Vol 2. : Bloodless Victory

The one who appeared behind me... was Rainie Bai.

Her hair had turned silver and now fell in an asymmetrical bob just brushing her shoulders.

Her aura hadn’t really changed, but maybe because her appearance had shifted so drastically, she gave off a different impression—less composed, more... mysterious.

Was that why I didn’t recognize her right away?

No, that’s not it. Sure, she looks nothing like how she did back in the library before I learned her name—but this wasn’t the first time I’d seen her like this either.

I’d met her like this before, during the Starline School Route. She’d worn this exact outfit then.

But even so—why didn’t I realize who she was sooner? Was my memory just that bad...?

...Wait, no. This wasn’t the time to get hung up on stuff like that!

She just called me what?

Lord Ethan?!

Why the hell was she suddenly calling me something so formal?!

Even Lillian didn’t use that kind of respectful address!

“You...”

I opened my mouth in shock, ready to ask her what was going on.

But then I remembered—we still had a killer right in front of us, watching intently with narrowed eyes.

Not the time to be chatting.

I didn’t want to stand up and cause her more trouble, so I stayed down—but as soon as I started to reach for her, she pressed my shoulder down and stopped me.

Then she stepped around in front of me, putting her back to Tong Jialin—like she didn’t care about exposing herself, as if the woman behind her wasn’t even a threat.

Rainie’s gaze briefly landed on my bare chest. Her cheeks flushed.

Then she frowned, looking angry, and /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ as she took off her outer coat, she said to me:

“We’ve met so many times, but your body... it’s still weaker than mine. If I had gotten here earlier, maybe you wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.”

“Uh...”

Well, actually... all these scratches on my body?

Totally self-inflicted.

...Sure, Snowy and Tong Jialin technically played indirect roles, but...

“...Of course, these scratches are nothing. If it had really come to it, you would’ve lost a couple fingers, or an eye or two...”

But Rainie seemed to think I should’ve come out of all this completely unharmed. She draped her coat over me, turned to face Tong Jialin, and calmly pulled her black gloves tight.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll deal with this demon.”

She said it with complete confidence.

Was she planning to take on that killer alone?

If she had a personal title like the other freaks in my class, something flashy and over-the-top, maybe I’d expect something from her too.

But hers is just [Reincarnating Childhood Friend]. It doesn’t even mean anything!

Still, from that line just now—“these scratches are nothing”—I could tell she knew exactly how dangerous these killers were... and how to handle them.

Wait—hang on.

Why did those red beans and peach pits work on Tong Jialin earlier...? Aren’t those tools for repelling ghosts...?

Ghosts... serial killers...

No way—could it be...?

While I was still trying to figure it out, Tong Jialin started moving again. Maybe Rainie’s declaration pissed her off, because she smiled sarcastically and said:

“Ohhh? ‘Deal with me’? Little girl, don’t you think you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself?”

“I’d say you’re the one stuck in a well staring at the sky. Let me guess what kind of ghost is riding you... Hmm, a Hundred-Eyed Ghost, am I right?”

The moment she said that, Tong Jialin’s smile vanished.

Her expression turned deadly serious, and the air around her surged with murderous intent.

Looks like she’s taken quite a few eyes already—more than thirty, probably.

What, are you trying to become a ghost yourself? A human turning into a demon—there’s no coming back from that.

Every word she spoke was sharp and mocking—and it worked.

Tong Jialin’s face went from fury, to shock, to that liver-colored twitch of disbelief.

Her whole body was trembling. Her name blazed in red. Killing intent overflowed.

Which meant... Rainie was right on the mark.

But... a Hundred-Eyed Ghost?

If I remember right, it’s a kind of spirit that manifests in women—female ghosts with seductive eyes who charm men and steal their eyeballs as keepsakes...

Wait. freewebnoveℓ.com

Isn’t that exactly what Tong Jialin was doing?!

So she wasn’t just some crazy killer—she was possessed! That ghost was the reason she’d become an eye-obsessed murderer!

“According to the legends, incense ash would work best against you...

But I wasn’t able to prepare that this time. A Buddhist prayer bead will have to do.”

“And for someone like you... it should be more than enough.”

As she said this, Rainie pulled out a string of prayer beads from the pouch at her waist and held it in her hand.

Is this really gonna work?

I mean, it looked kinda half-assed...

Tong Jialin gave a furious laugh. Her face twisted with rage as she stormed toward us.

“Well, well. You really do know a lot about ‘us,’ huh, little girl... I’ve never met anyone who made me want to not only gouge out their eyes, but rip them limb from limb afterward...”

She was completely pissed off now.

Seriously, even if you’re trying to provoke her, there’s a limit!

Then again... maybe that was Rainie’s plan all along.

It’s said that when people are enraged, their field of vision narrows. They act rashly, recklessly.

Maybe Rainie was counting on Tong Jialin getting blinded by her own fury.

And based on how things were going—she’d played it perfectly.

Tong Jialin kept approaching, slow and menacing, and right when she was almost close enough to reach—

She suddenly stopped.

Lowered her head and held her forehead.

When she looked up again... her expression was calm.

“Seriously. You’ve made me too annoyed to even stay angry anymore.”

“What the...? That’s weird. You suddenly calmed down? No—did you just suppress it?”

This woman... Tong Jialin was more patient than I gave her credit for.

“Well, looks like the target really is in the area I was about to search. Am I right, little brother?”

Tch—she figured it out!

“Oh~ that face says it all. Nailed it, huh? Surprised? Must be a woman’s intuition~ Hehe~ Looks like I’ll be the one scoring the grand prize this time~”

“In your dreams!”

“I’m not letting you anywhere near Snowy!”

“Exactly. So what if you know? You’re still going to lose here.”

Rainie took over for me, speaking with absolute composure.

Like her victory was already assured.

“Little girl... talking big like that... You’ve got one hell of a mouth!

Let big sis teach you how to be a little more respectful!”

Tong Jialin had finally snapped. No more holding back.

She exploded forward just like before, flying at Rainie like a ghost, moving at an inhuman speed.

I watched in horror.

But Rainie didn’t move. She stood calmly in place, waiting for the attack.

Then, just before the strike landed—

She lifted the prayer beads in front of her face.

At the same time, she stabbed a small tree branch forward, aiming for Tong Jialin’s chest.

Tong Jialin reacted quickly.

The moment she saw the branch, she raised her leg and kicked Rainie straight in the gut.

Rainie went flying.

Guess the branch wasn’t the trump card after all.

But then—something happened that no one expected.

Rainie had been kicked, yes.

But the prayer beads weren’t in her hand anymore!

Where were they?

In midair.

At some point, she’d thrown them above Tong Jialin’s head.

And they’d come apart!

Beads rained down like cherry blossoms, fluttering through the air.

Tong Jialin had no way to dodge. She threw her arms up to shield herself.

But Rainie wasn’t done. She used her momentum to recover, and before Tong Jialin could react, she was already charging forward again. From her pouch, she hurled another volley of beans at her.

The moment the last bead hit the ground, the beans followed. Tong Jialin still couldn’t move.

And then Rainie was there.

She slapped a talisman directly onto her forehead.

“Flawless execution. So fast I could barely keep up!”

“YAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

A cloud of black mist burst from Tong Jialin’s body.

A shadow ripped itself from her and let out a shrieking wail—before vanishing along with the talisman into thin air.

“I stuck you with an exorcism charm. The Hundred-Eyed Ghost that possessed you is gone.

Which means the power it lent you... is gone too.”

Without the ghost’s power—that meant...

“You’re just a normal woman now. Judging by that outfit, I doubt you can even move properly... Are you still planning to fight?”

Now that she mentioned it, Tong Jialin really was dressed all wrong for a fight—tight skirt, high heels, corset-style secretary getup. Even walking fast would be tough in that.

All those inhuman movements earlier—it had to be the ghost’s doing.

Tong Jialin’s face turned deathly pale. She bit her lip in desperation.

Then suddenly forced a smile and looked at Rainie.

“Aiya~ thank you, little sister~ Just now, big sis was... um, possessed! Right! That wasn’t me—it was the ghost! I was just a puppet! I didn’t mean any of those things! I swear!”

What a load of crap...

“Isn’t her conscience hurting from saying this shit?”

“She threw her own partner under the bus just to save herself?”

“...I don’t care if you were possessed or not.”

Rainie didn’t bat an eye. Her voice stayed calm.

“The charm only temporarily drove out the spirit. It doesn’t break your contract.”

The fake smile froze on Tong Jialin’s face.

She turned to stone.

“You... you had a bond with that ghost, right? I’m guessing it can sense your thoughts.

Which means it heard everything you just said...”

“Ghosts really hate betrayal.”

Rainie looked at her with pity—and delivered the final blow.

“Good luck.”

She said “good luck”—but the meaning was clear:

You’re dead.

Tong Jialin collapsed into a sitting heap. Her limbs sprawled across the ground.

She laughed and cried at the same time, yellow liquid pooling beneath her...

She’d completely broken down.

Because her life was now in its final countdown.

The ghost wouldn’t forgive her.

Rainie hadn’t even laid a finger on her. No proper weapon, not a single serious strike—and she’d still won.

Completely.

Just a few tools and some well-placed words—and she’d shattered a killer.

Wow...

That was almost too impressive...

She’s incredible... Rainie...

I still couldn’t believe what I’d seen, and Rainie had already turned to me, smiling as she bowed slightly.

“So? Lord Ethan, did I change your opinion of me?”

Change my opinion?

I wanted to get on my knees, grab her leg, and shout:

“Coach! I want to learn exorcism!!”

She’s out here calling me “Lord Ethan,” but I should be calling her “Master Rainie”!