Chapter 9: The Witch and The Joker
“That sound just now…”
Carrie was a little puzzled; it seemed like a balloon exploding just now.
“Don’t worry about it so much, keep riding your bike, or you’ll be late.”
After Xue Landi finished speaking, he noticed that the black aura emanating from Carrie was increasing.
He turned his head to look ahead; it was a long stone bridge that looked very old, with various green plants covering both sides of the bridge.
But there was no Joker blocking the middle of the road.
“What’s wrong?”
“Below that bridge… there’s a tunnel, that’s where the students say the Joker lives.”
Carrie turned her head uneasily.
Xue Landi saw deep fear in her eyes, and the black aura emanating from her became even thicker.
Xue Landi even vaguely heard sniffing sounds, as if someone was carefully smelling something.
Then he understood.
The black aura was a manifestation of Carrie’s fear.
This scent of fear seemed to have been perceived by something.
“Heh, you’re afraid of this? You’re a devout believer, you can continue to close your eyes and pray.”
Carrie took a deep breath after hearing this, then clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.
“God bless, Holy Spirit bless…”
She kept her eyes tightly shut, constantly self-hypnotizing, and her prayers sounded more sincere.
But it was of no use; Carrie’s fear continued to spill out, and prayer did not give her a sense of security.
Another person with impure faith, or perhaps it could be said that the god Carrie believed in did not act on faith and did not provide protection.
However, considering her mother’s neuroticism, true believers still need to be moved by love.
Believers brought by kimchi and intimidation can never last long after all.
Xue Landi’s gaze focused on the stone bridge ahead.
Because a red balloon suddenly rose from the side of the bridge.
It was exactly the same as the balloon that had been following the two of them earlier.
He couldn’t let the situation develop like this anymore.
“Enough, stop.”
Xue Landi said sharply.
“God bless…”
Carrie was startled, reopened her eyes, and looked bewildered.
“What’s wrong, Landi?”
Xue Landi’s gaze was still on the distant bridge, and as the balloon floated up, a pale hand holding the string slowly emerged.
There must be a new emotion to replace Carrie’s fear.
This can be easily achieved.
Xue Landi reached out and put his arm around Carrie’s waist.
…
The emotion of fear also stopped abruptly.
Xue Landi looked at the side of the bridge, and it had indeed worked; although the red balloon didn't disappear, it seemed to be stuck, constantly flickering frame by frame.
There was no black aura spilling from Carrie either.
Now it seemed the effect was surprisingly good; shame had successfully occupied her mind.
Carrie asked timidly, “How could you…”
Xue Landi didn’t think there was any problem with this; he hadn't touched any sensitive areas.
The purpose of doing this was just to change her fearful emotions.
“We’re friends, right? It’s very normal for many friends to hug when they meet. I heard that in some parts of Europe, friends even have cheek kisses and hand kisses when they meet.”
Xue Landi explained calmly, then released his embrace.
Deprived of the emotion of fear, the distant balloon quickly deflated.
Then a pale hand reached out, pulled the balloon string, and retracted back under the bridge.
However, this monster never revealed its true face from beginning to end.
But, after more than twenty years, it came out to eat children, in the image of a Joker, and fed on the emotion of fear.
Xue Landi looked at the flustered Carrie again.
He asked tentatively.
“Carrie, do you know what a menstrual period is?”
Carrie slowly came back to her senses but showed a confused expression.
“Menstrual period?”
At seventeen or eighteen years old, yet not knowing even basic physiological knowledge, it could only be that Carrie.
“It’s nothing, let’s keep going. If you don’t hurry, you’ll be late.”
Xue Landi ended the topic; now he could basically confirm the truth of this world.
No wonder he felt Carrie’s family setup was a bit familiar.
So it was Carrie from “Carrie, the Witch.”
Therefore, she hadn't encountered her first predicament in life yet, and her magic hadn't awakened either.
Then the Joker rumor Carrie mentioned must be Pennywise from Stephen King’s “It”?
A monster that devours fear, most fond of bullying children.
When there is no fear, it no longer appears.
So, he had entered the world of Stephen King’s novels? Or… the movie world.
Xue Landi once again adjusted his assessment of the upper limit of his strength.
Perhaps, he could grow even further!
It should be known that as the leader of the Outsiders, believers not only bring the power of faith, but he can also randomly master one of their own abilities!
It’s just that in the previous life, most of the believers were ordinary people, so this ability seemed very useless.
But now it was different.
Carrie was a major force! In the movie, in her rage, she could stomp a crack in the ground, and with a wave of her hand, she could make a fast-moving car stop, and wherever she went, flames scorched the earth, leaving nothing alive…
The most crucial thing was that the difficulty of conquering her was extremely low.
If Carrie also became his believer…
Xue Landi’s gaze towards Carrie was now much more amiable.
Carrie was still confused, but she didn’t dare to ask questions.
So she could only bury the questions in her heart and start cycling again.
With this distraction, the original fear vanished, replaced by many other jumbled thoughts.
Xue Landi did not change his attitude towards Carrie.
For someone with Carrie’s personality.
If you slapped her hard, then asked her caringly if it hurt.
She wouldn't remember the slap, but rather marvel at your gentle concern.
As they passed over the stone bridge, no further incidents occurred.
Xue Landi tilted his head slightly and looked at the cave opening beneath the bridge.
Dark and deep, it led to the entire town’s underground drainage system.
If he remembered correctly, this wasn’t the Joker’s main base either; its true lair was under a dry well in West City. It was just that this place used to be the 'Losers' Club's' base in the movie, which is why the Joker frequently appeared here.
Xue Landi needed to confirm the current timeline again.
The plot of Carrie, the Witch, hadn’t unfolded yet, so the plot of It shouldn’t have unfolded either, but considering the current era, it should be leading into the second part.
The second part tells the story of the ‘Losers’ Club’ growing up and reuniting, enduring hardships to defeat Pennywise.
This cycle is 27 years.
After traveling a long distance and confirming that the Joker was not following them, Xue Landi finally spoke again.
“How long ago was the last large-scale disappearance?”
Carrie seemed to have been waiting for this sentence for a long time; as soon as Xue Landi finished speaking, she immediately replied, “I do!”
Xue Landi: “???”
Carrie suddenly reacted, slamming on the brakes: “What? Huh? I mean…”
Finally, she stammered for a long time before blurting out, “I’m sorry, Landi, I just… didn’t hear what you were saying.”