Chapter 41: Hodu Borrows Petrificus Totalus
"Three!"
"Two!"
Hodu's countdown was as cold as a block of ice, with not a trace of intended intimidation.
Before the final number even left his mouth, Hei Wa and Bai Ge couldn't hold on any longer.
Two knives stabbed down almost simultaneously, the tips piercing through the trouser fabric and sinking into their respective thighs. Fresh blood splattered out instantly, and screams immediately rushed out of the alley, their faces completely distorted with pain.
Hodu let out only a soft chuckle.
He walked past Hei Wa, not even bothering to spare another glance. Behind him were only two people clutching their thighs and wailing on the ground, while the revolver in his hand transformed back into glittering Galleons one by one.
After leaving the original alley, Hodu turned into another alleyway. Confirming that no one continued to watch him, he then used Apparition, and his figure vanished in an instant.
Inside the villa in Shanghai, the delivered two thousand catties of mutton were already piled there, but Gao Lin had long since disappeared.
Once this mutton was dealt with, the progress points for fusing with the Dragon increased by nearly two hundred, making Hodu feel a lot more comfortable inside.
Could his Tough Skin withstand bullets now? The moment this thought popped up, he looked at the ready-made gun and bullets at hand.
Thinking was one thing, but he wasn't stupid enough to point a gun at himself and fire.
Afterwards, Hodu used Apparition again, heading straight to Beijing and going to the agency office he had visited at noon.
"Mr. Huo, the villa information you requested is right here."
The young man with his oily hair combed impeccably wore a slightly worn suit, handing over a stack of documents with both hands. Even though Hodu looked young, in the young man's eyes, he was still a distinguished guest who had to be treated with utmost seriousness.
Hodu flipped through the documents. Prices here in Beijing were indeed a bit higher than in Shanghai, but not to an unacceptable degree.
After all, these were Third Ring villas; those who could move in here were basically wealthy and powerful people, with quite a few foreign businessmen among them, so naturally they wouldn't care too much about this little expense.
"Then this one." Hodu pointed to a detached villa that looked rather pleasing to the eye, "It even comes with a swimming pool, perfect."
"Alright, but the rent must be paid in full for a whole year at once."
Hearing him agree so readily, the young man couldn't suppress the joy in his eyes at all. The commission for this order would definitely not be small.
"No problem."
Hodu took out two stacks of banknotes from his money bag, counted them on the spot, and handed them to the other party. He wasn't worried about being scammed at all; anyway, once this money reached someone else's hands, it wouldn't be difficult for him to get it back.
The young man put away the money, suddenly remembered something else, and quickly said, "Mr. Huo, regarding the matter you instructed earlier, I've also contacted several suppliers. Initial negotiations are done, and they can deliver about five hundred lambs every day. But are you really sure you want this many? One is around thirty yuan, and five hundred is fifteen thousand—that's no small sum."
Hearing this, Hodu's spirits instantly perked up. The surprise Beijing gave him was even greater than he had imagined, and getting goods directly from suppliers was much cheaper than in Shanghai.
"Of course I'm sure." He glanced at the young man, "Keep a close eye on this matter for me. Remember, I want goats. Handle it well, and your red envelope won't be lacking."
"Rest assured, Mr. Huo, I will definitely get it done well!" The young man patted his chest in agreement, so excited that his whole person became energized.
A glint of brightness flashed across the depths of Hodu's eyes. At this rate, in ten days at most, he would be able to completely fuse with the Dragon.
After negotiating some details with the agent, Hodu left the agency office. According to the other party's introduction, he found a fairly capable company in the city and exchanged all the pounds he had on him.
The exchange rate was slightly lower than in Shanghai, but in the end, he still exchanged a full one hundred ninety thousand. Coupled with the money left over from before, what was needed for the Dragon fusion task had been gathered.
When he returned to Hogwarts, it happened to be three o'clock in the afternoon here.
Today was Saturday, and the dormitory was empty; not a single person had returned. Hodu rarely walked into the Library, looked around, but failed to find Hermione, who usually always stayed here.
Could she still be angry because of that incident with Ron?
Hodu hadn't originally thought this matter had anything to do with him, after all, those harsh words weren't said by him. But whether Hermione would lump the score onto his head as well was really hard to say.
How about preparing a little gift for Hermione? After all, she was his homework partner.
Hodu silently noted down this matter, then walked over to the bookshelf and picked out a few books on spells from it.
As a Wizard, not even knowing any spells was somewhat embarrassing. Meeting that kind of situation today, if he hadn't successfully bluffed the other party, he probably would have had no choice but to suffer... as if.
If he really wanted to make a move on ordinary people, he had plenty of methods he could use. Even without Self-Transformation and Tough Skin, he could still make the other party pay the price.
For example, using Burrowing Treasure Hunting to create pits on the ground, and once the other party stepped into one, as long as a part of their body fell below the ground level, they would be at his mercy. At that time, dragging them into the soil and burying them alive wouldn't be a difficult task at all.
Thinking of this, Hodu suddenly rubbed his chin.
If one day an enemy that he simply couldn't beat came to Hogwarts, and the opponent wasn't even on the first floor, could he drag the entire Hogwarts Castle into the underground? That way, wouldn't the trait of Burrowing Treasure Hunting come in handy?
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it felt.
When he came to the Library today, he originally just wanted to learn a few self-defense magic spells to give himself more methods. Most offensive spells were placed in upper-year textbooks; Hodu flipped through them for a long time before finally finding a suitable target.
Petrificus Totalus.
The casting incantation was Petrificus Totalus.
Once this spell hit, the target would fall into paralysis, unable to move their entire body at all. It was slightly more difficult than first-year magic, but still far from truly profound, making it just right for the current Hodu.
He put the remaining magic books back on the bookshelf, took the chosen magic book to find Madam Pince for registration, and left the Library only after completing the borrowing procedures.
Returning to the dormitory, Hodu drew his wand and began practicing according to the contents of the book.
Facts proved that his magical talent wasn't outrageously strong. Exploring it on his own was especially strenuous; compared to actually sitting in class and listening to Professor Flitwick's explanations, the efficiency was lacking by more than a little.
Time passed bit by bit, and in the blink of an eye, it was the afternoon. Harry and the others also returned to the dormitory one after another. After Hodu asked a question, he found out they had gone to watch Harry practice Quidditch.
Subsequently, the four people in the dormitory headed to the Great Hall together, preparing to eat today's dinner.
They had just sat down when Malfoy walked in with a group of people. Upon seeing Harry, he immediately raised his voice to mock him, his voice echoing throughout the Great Hall.
"Potter, I heard you sneaked out yesterday and ended up scared out of your wits, running off in the middle of the night to ask someone for help, only to find nothing in the end? Hahaha, does this deserve to be called a little lion of Gryffindor? I think from now on you should be called the scared-out-of-his-wits stupid lion!"
Chapter 42 Acromantula Scares Away Malfoy
Harry's face darkened instantly, but before he could speak, Malfoy had already turned and walked back to the Slytherin table.
"This must have been spread by that old bat Snape!"
Ron slammed the table, his tone extremely confident. There were very few people who knew about that matter to begin with, so there was no way Malfoy and the others could have guessed it out of thin air.
And indeed, that was the case. Earlier, while chatting casually with Malfoy, Snape had deliberately feigned a slip of the tongue and leaked the matter.
The more Harry thought about it, the angrier he became, and he couldn't help saying, "If I'd known earlier, I shouldn't have told Professor McGonagall. That secret passage is right next to Slytherin; if that big spider really ran out, Malfoy would definitely be the first to suffer!"
Although he said that, he also knew this was just venting. That Acromantula had long since vanished, and even if they wanted to look for it, there was nowhere to find it.
Hearing these words, a slight flicker crossed the depths of Hodu's eyes.
This method actually sounded quite good.
The few of them then lowered their heads to eat. Hoduinadvertently glanced over at the Gryffindor side a few times; from the time they entered the Great Hall until they were almost done eating, there was still no sign of Hermione.
It seemed her anger had not yet subsided.
Hodu couldn't really be said to dislike Hermione. She was just a bit proud and took rules and house points far too much to heart, especially watching Harry and Ronintensely, terrified that these two fellows would accidentally lose all the house points she had worked so hard to accumulate.
As for Harry and Ron always losing points, the root cause in the vast majority of cases lay in Snape's malicious targeting.
Meanwhile, Hodu had earned extra points in Charms Classtwice recently, so Hermione's urge to discipline him wasn't as strong, nor did she watch him as tightly as she watched Harry and Ron.
Besides, Hodu knew Hermione would slowly change in the future. Right now, she just hadn't turned the corner yet; since she could be sorted into Gryffindor, essentially she wasn't all that different from other Gryffindor students.
"Did the two of you go apologize to Hermione?" Hodu still asked.
He had actually already guessed the answer.
"Forgot." Ron replied exceptionally crisply, then grew excited again. "We spent the whole day watching Harrypractice Quidditch. You didn't see how handsome Harrywas back then!"
Hodu shook his head silently.
Judging by Ron's temperament, by the time he remembered this matter, it would probably already be next Monday.
It seemed he would have to prepare a gift tomorrow. But what did Hermione actually like? Should he send pounds, or Galleons?
If he could use money to buy out all seven years of homework, what kind of price tag would that require?
As soon as this thought popped up, Hodu himself found it somewhat funny. He knew Hermione's temper very well, so of course this was just casual daydreaming.
Dinner ended, and the group returned to the dormitory. Only then did Ron remember that Hodu had been missing since early morning today, and immediately asked him where he had gone.
"I went out for a stroll." Hodu had a pre-prepared script, answering without turning red or skipping a beat.
Harry and Ron widened their eyes simultaneously.
"You aren't afraid of that big spider?"
"Didn't Professor McGonagall fail to find it yesterday? That just shows it has already run far away." Hodu wore an indifferent expression, then casually asked, "How about it, do you want to go out and take a look together tomorrow?"
The expressions of the two changed on the spot, refusing without a shred of hesitation.
They indeed yearned for the outside, but this yearning wasn't strong enough to gamble their own little lives on.
Hodu chuckled secretly in his heart, then left the dormitory and walked into the washroom.
Leveraging Treasure Perception, he locked onto the wand on Malfoy's person, and quickly sensed that Malfoy was walking toward the Slytherin Common Room, not far from the first floor now.
Hodu entered a cubicle, confirmed there was no one around, and immediately cast Apparition, instantly appearing in the storage room he had stayed in last night.
Immediately after, he began altering his bodily form. Before long, Hodu had transformed into the appearance of yesterday's Acromantula.
The space in the storage room was much more spacious than the secret passage, so the spider transformed this time was a whole circle larger, nearly twice the size of yesterday's. The chelicerae protruding from the front of its mouth were even as long as an adult's arm.
Maintaining this guise, Hodu cast Apparition once more, landing at the corner of the corridor on the underground floor. That was precisely the must-pass path heading to Slytherin.
The timing was calculated just right; there were no other Slytherin students nearby. Through perception, Hodu knew Malfoy would walk over here very soon.
Not long after, voices came from the other side of the corner.
"I saw Harry Potter training at the Quidditch training grounds today, Malfoy."
"Hmph, Gryffindor is truly crazy for the sake of winning, actually letting a first-year be a Seeker." Malfoy sneered, "This time they are definitely going to take a huge tumble, and I want to see whether Potter can still laugh then!"
The voices grew closer and closer, and Malfoy and his two lackeys soon walked out from the corner.
Just as they stepped into this section of the corridor, their gazes had not yet fallen upon the Acromantula blocking the entire passageway ahead.
When Malfoy casually swept his gaze forward, the footsteps of all three instantly froze.
They collided right with eight huge eyes. The expressions on the three faces instantly froze, and goodness knows if they could discern the faint, elusive smile on the spider's face.
"Sp-… Spider!" Malfoy trembled all over, his voice intermittent. His legs went soft, and he could barely stand; the terror in his eyes couldn't be hidden at all, and his mouth was wide open.
In just a few short seconds, the three of them were as if nailed to the spot, completely without any further action.
Hodu then opened that huge mouth, roaring silently at them.
"He-… Help!"
Malfoy finally snapped back to his senses, turning to want to flee, but his legs went soft and he tripped directly over himself, tumbling to sit hard on the ground. His complexion was deathly pale, lifting his head to stare fixedly at the approaching giant spider.
Goyle and Crabbe had already run a few steps out, and discovering that Malfoy hadn't kept up, they turned back to see him sitting on the ground while that giant spider was inching closer toward him step by step.
The two looked at each other, and although terribly afraid, they gritted their teeth and rushed back. Each taking one side, they pulled Malfoy up from the ground, and then the three of them scrambled desperately to escape toward the Castle's first floor.
Watching the figures of the three disappear around the corner, a smile emerged on Hodu's face, but he did not pursue them. He glanced at the system, and the progress of fusing with the Boggart had increased by another three points.
The effect was indeed not bad.
The next moment, Hodu returned directly to the storage room, restored his original appearance, and once again used Apparition to return to the washroom of the Gryffindor Common Room.
He walked out of the cubicle, returning to the dormitory with a composed demeanor. It had been less than five minutes before and after, and Harry and the others hadn't noticed at all.
A few minutes after Malfoy left, Snape, wand in hand, hurried down to the underground floor. His expression was frighteningly gloomy, clearly not expecting that an Acromantula had truly sneaked into Hogwarts.
Yet he searched the entire corridor of the underground floor from top to bottom, and let alone a spider, not even a trace could be found.
Before long, Professor McGonagall also hurried over, her expression solemn.
"It seems we must go take a look at that secret passage."
Having spoken, she and Snape together came to the entrance of the secret passage.
However, this time, they still discovered nothing whatsoever.
Chapter 43: The Wizard Gathering Place in the Capital
While Snape was still searching all over the Castle for the Acromantula, Hodu had already fallen fast asleep.
Just as dawn was breaking, he arrived in the Capital. The agency company was quite efficient; they had already finalized the villa for him, and even the identity he would use was resolved with the help of the company's staff.
For such a minor matter, the other party naturally wouldn't refuse. For this single transaction alone, Hodu paid two thousand pounds.
However, the arrangement for the lamb wasn't that quick. They had to place the order and pay first, then have the sheep brought into the Capital from elsewhere, delivered to a slaughterhouse to be processed according to his requirements, and finally have the scalded mutton delivered to the villa.
Just like when he was in the magic Capital, he once again asked the young man from the agency company for help, giving him a key to the villa so he could be responsible for receiving the delivered mutton.
However, the nature of the two situations was different.
On Gao Lin's side, Hodu had paid actual money to hire him as his agent. The young man in the Capital, however, was just a temporary part-timer he had found, casually given a few hundred yuan. Once the Dragon integration was complete, he probably wouldn't need him anymore.
Standing on the second-floor balcony, Hodu looked out into the distance for a while.
The scenery here was indeed very nice, and the surroundings were extremely quiet, with almost none of the noise from the outside world. In a place like the Capital, finding such a residence was already quite rare.
There didn't seem to be anything else to do today. Hodulooked down at the swimming pool in the yard, and the idea of getting into the water instantly popped into his mind.
The pool had obviously been left unused for a long time, and quite a bit of dust had accumulated inside. For an ordinary person, they would definitely have to hire professional cleaners, but Hodu himself was an expert in this area.
With a wave of his wand, a whirlwind swept it clean, followed immediately by a "Scourgify."
The bottom of the pool quickly became spotless, without even a speck of dirt to be seen.
"Aguamenti!"
Clear water gushed out from the bottom of the pool, and the water level rose rapidly. Before long, the entire pool was filled with crystal-clear water.
Hodu immediately went down the stairs to the first floor. By the time he crossed the living room, he was wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks. Taking a couple of running steps, he dove straight into the water, kicking up a large splash.
With the weather so hot, soaking in the water was incredibly comfortable.
After swimming to his heart's content, Hodu finally got out of the pool and lay down on a nearby lounge chair. The shadow cast by the parasol covered him perfectly, and he lazily rested in the shade.
It was a pity that the daily necessities in the villa hadn't been fully purchased yet; otherwise, having a bottle of ice-cold Cola right now would have been perfect.
The matter of the game console could be put on the agenda. However, playing it alone after buying it would be a bit boring.
Hodu half-closed his eyes, quietly enjoying his rare free time.
Naturally, he wanted to buy this villa outright. Especially after knowing that housing prices here would continuously rise over time, he was even less likely to let it go easily.
However, the issue of identity was always unavoidable.
He had actually thought of a solution. He was a Wizard, after all. If he found an opportunity to cast a ConfundoCharm on a Muggle in London, he could always get them to sort out a real identity for him. If magic didn't work, he could just throw pounds at the problem.
The problem was that he didn't know the Confundo Charm yet.
Moreover, the Confundo Charm wasn't a lifestyle spell, so there was no way he could figure it out on his own in a short time.
Thinking of this, Hodu suddenly remembered that today was Sunday.
In other words, the homework had to be handed in today.
The image of Hermione immediately popped into his mind. What kind of gift should he send so that she would be willing to lend him her homework to refer to?
Hodu turned his head to look into the distance, and another thought quickly surfaced in his mind.
Perhaps he should go check out the local Wizard gathering places in the Capital. Maybe there would be some novelties inside that couldn't be found among British Wizards, and he could also see what differences there actually were between the Wizards of both sides.
He then activated his Spirit Treasure Perception.
In his perception, there were two places in the Capital where a large amount of fluorescent light gathered. Judging by this situation, there should be two fairly large-scale Wizard gathering places in the city.
Hodu immediately sat up, walked into the first-floor living room, stood in front of the map hanging on the wall, and activated his Treasure Sensing once more.
Using the positioning ability of the Apparition trait, he constructed a three-dimensional map of the Capital in his mind, then cross-referenced it with the map on the wall to find the locations of those two gathering places.
As soon as he saw them clearly, Hodu was stunned.
He stared at the map for several seconds, wondering if he had made a mistake, and then cross-referenced it again. But the result didn't change at all; those two gathering places were indeed located in two completely unexpected locations.
One was a former imperial garden, and the other was the former imperial palace.
Nowadays, both of these places were must-visit tourist spots. For the Wizards of the Capital to openly set up their gathering places there was mind-boggling no matter how one looked at it.
This, however, made Hodu even more interested, and he couldn't wait to go over immediately to see what it actually looked like inside.
But before setting off, he still had to make some preparations.
He didn't know how the Wizards in the Capital usually dressed, so he naturally couldn't use Self-Transformationto directly mimic them. Fortunately, the Wizards here probably entered and exited the Muggle world too, so wearing a set of local Muggle clothes shouldn't look too out of place.
With that thought, Hodu activated his Self-Transformationtrait.
His stature suddenly shot up, and in the blink of an eye, he turned into a serious-looking, thin middle-aged man. This face was exactly what he had seen on the streets of the magic Capital before, making it perfect for hiding his identity.
The clothes on his body were adjusted accordingly as well.
On top was a plain short-sleeved shirt with a large pocket on each side of the chest; below, it was paired with black suit pants and leather shoes.
Hodu looked down and examined himself for a moment, suddenly feeling like he was still missing something.
Wizards in Britain, no matter how hot the weather was, rarely went out wearing only a short-sleeved shirt. After all, they always had to find a place to hide their wands.
So, he conjured a suit jacket for himself.
Fully prepared, Hodu began his positioning, choosing a certain spot in the imperial garden as his target.
Of course, he had considered that he might be discovered on the spot, but in the wizarding world, Apparition was a common method to begin with. Even if he were really spotted, it probably wouldn't cause too much of a stir.
In the next second, his figure suddenly vanished from the villa.
Once the Apparition was over, Hodu immediately scanned his surroundings vigilantly. After confirming there was no one nearby, he relaxed slightly and began to observe this unfamiliar place.
This place was located in a secluded corner of the garden, yet the space was unreasonably large. It looked like an Undetectable Extension Charm had been applied to the surroundings, and the entire area was isolated from the Muggle world.
In the distance, a large expanse of ancient-style buildings could be seen, surrounded by groves of trees, with birds singing and flowers fragrant. It seemed that the Wizards had even rebuilt this place to look exactly as it originally should have.
Hodu's spirits instantly soared.
Whether it was Hogwarts or Diagon Alley, their scale and grandeur were clearly no match for this place. Just looking at those ancient buildings made it obvious; although Hogwarts Castle had a history of over a thousand years, it still couldn't compare to the exquisite art displayed here.
Just then, the voices of two people came from ahead.
"There's no one over there, let's head over."
"Is this really okay?"
They sounded like a boy and a girl, and neither was very old. The girl was clearly hesitant, her tone filled with uncertainty.
Hodu thought about it and didn't make an effort to hide.
He hadn't done anything wrong, after all. If they were actual adult Wizards, he might have hidden first to avoid trouble. But since they were just two children, there was no need to worry too much.
Chapter 44: Wandering into United Academy
Not long after, two people walked over from the other end of the stone road.
Hodu was stunned on the spot, and the boy and girl opposite him also noticed him, so the two sides bumped into each other face-to-face just like that.
If there hadn't been others around, Hodu would have almost dropped his jaw into a "Holy shit".
He really hadn't expected that the Wizard here would actually have this kind of style.
Those two kids looked about fourteen or fifteen years old; the boy was wearing a grey long gown, while the girl was in a black long gown.
Each also had a fan hanging from their waist, looking nothing like ordinary students no matter how one looked at it.
Hodu gasped, and at first glance even thought he had run into cross-talk performers, or time-traveled to some old-era intellectual gathering.
The clothes themselves looked quite decent, but they were completely different from the style of his own outfit.
He had originally thought that the local Wizard only lived simply and quaintly, but he hadn't expected even their dressing style to be so retro.
The two stared at Hodu for a few glances, their eyes filled with obvious confusion.
"Someone!" The girl cried out in a low voice, her cheeks suddenly flushing red.
It was as if she remembered that everything she had just said had been heard by someone, and, feeling too shy, she quickly grabbed the boy's sleeve, preparing to pull him away.
But the boy didn't move; instead, he frowned and walked toward Hodu's side.
Only then did Hodu notice that the things hanging from their waists weren't just decorations; they were indeed real fans.
"Who are you? Why haven't I seen you before? You shouldn't be a teacher in the school, right?" The boy shouted from a distance.
School?
Hodu heard the key point from this sentence and finally understood why the vicinity was abnormally quiet.
Turns out this place was actually a school; no wonder not many people could be seen.
He inwardly complained bitterly.
Among the two large gathering places, one had actually been directly opened as a school.
Himself, a stranger who suddenly popped up, looked like a suspicious person no matter how one looked at it.
However, no panic showed on Hodu's face; he just smiled and put on a very calm appearance.
"Can't someone come here just because they aren't a teacher?"
"That's not it." The boy nodded in admission, then cast his gaze back onto him, "But why are you dressed like this?"
Since it was a school, the attire of these two kids naturally had an explanation.
So that long gown was the school uniform, it was just unclear whether adult Wizards also dressed according to this standard.
These thoughts flashed through Hodu's mind, but his face still maintained a gentle expression.
"I just came back from... over there."
When the words reached his lips, he almost blurted out the word "Muggle".
He hadn't figured out what ordinary people were called here yet, and speaking rashly would likely blow his cover again.
Hearing this, the boy looked like he understood and nodded lightly.
"No wonder."
Seeing that the matter didn't seem to blow up, the girl quickly said to the boy: "Let's go back first, the next class is about to start."
Hodu's gaze circled between the two of them.
The next class was about to start, and you guys still hid in a place like this?
Isn't this skipping class to sneak into the woods?
He couldn't help muttering inwardly: These two students really know how to play.
But having said that, seeing that the matter could be muddled through by him, Hodu also quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He had already decided that as soon as these two kids left, he would leave immediately too.
A strange face suddenly appearing in a school was simply too easy to attract attention.
The two were just about to turn around when the boy suddenly stopped his footsteps.
"Do you not know me at all?"
He looked at Hodu suspiciously, as if he had finally caught something wrong.
Hodu's heart skipped a beat.
Who are you, why should I know you?
Could it be that he ran into the Eastern version of Harry Potter?
People demanding to be acquainted just walking down the street, is he that famous?
"What, are you very famous?" Hodu could only bite the bullet and ask back, "Or are you worried that I'll tell the teacher about you skipping class?"
The girl's expression noticeably tightened, and that trace of shyness just now turned into nervousness.
But the boy chuckled twice, his face revealing that full-of-confidence expression again.
"What's there to be afraid of? Whatever we do, even our parents support it, can the teacher control us?"
When he said this, his tone gained a bit more smugness.
"My reputation is not bad, though not everyone knows me. But you don't know me, and I don't know you, this is very strange."
Hodu listened in complete bewilderment.
You don't know me, and I don't know you, what on earth is so strange about that?
How on earth did this logic turn out like this?
The boy didn't continue explaining, but instead reached his hand into his collar and took out a jade pendant from his neck.
He pinched the jade pendant hanging before his chest, his eyes never leaving Hodu, clearly observing his reaction.
"You don't even recognize this jade pendant?" The boy smiled slightly and asked deliberately.
At this step, how could Hodu still not see through it.
The other party had been pumping him for words all along, as for where exactly he had slipped up, he hadn't figured it out yet for the time being.
Since his identity had already been suspected, Hoduconversely wasn't nervous anymore.
He grinned and looked at the jade pendant indifferently: "Don't recognize it. What is this thing?"
No need to keep pretending, that made things much simpler.
If his cover was blown, so be it, at worst he'd just run away directly.
After leaving here, changing his face with Self-Transformation, what could two brats possibly do to him?
Seeing that he really didn't recognize it, the boy's smile instantly became even more mysterious.
"Interesting, you don't even know this."
That expression was simply too punchable, making Hodualmost unable to bear watching anymore.
He was even contemplating whether to casually teach this kid a lesson before leaving.
The demeanor of the boy in front of him reminded him of Malfoy.
That guy used to love showing off the snacks sent from home in the Great Hall, and when he got smug, his face would have this kind of smile that made people's hands itch to hit him.
Hodu's mouth slowly curved upward, and he couldn't be bothered to conceal the disgust in his eyes.
"What are you acting all cool for!"
This curse came out exceptionally fluently; perhaps after returning to his hometown, his native language talent had finally come back online.
He was most annoyed by such pretentious fellows, and even more disgusted by riddle-makers who deliberately spoke in half-sentences and waited for others to play guessing games.
The next moment, the stone road under the boy and girl's feet suddenly collapsed.
The two had completely no time to react, and their bodies fell down along with the ground.
Before they could make any movement, the surrounding mud had already closed in from the pit walls, completely wrapping the two of them inside.
The sunken ground quickly restored to its original state, becoming flat again, with only their two heads exposed outside.
The expressions of the boy and girl changed at the same time.
They looked at Hodu in horror, obviously not expecting that just in the span of a face-to-face encounter, the two of them had been buried in the soil.
"What kind of magic is this?!" the boy shouted in disbelief.
The girl forcibly steadied her voice and said loudly: "This is United Academy! What on earth do you want to do? The Professors won't let you off!"
United Academy?
Only then did Hodu know the name of this school.
The name, just like their clothes, carried an old-fashioned flavor, except calling teachers Professor sounded somewhat mismatched.
He ignored the girl's threat, squatted directly in front of the boy, and looked down at the head surrounded by mud.
"Come on, keep smiling. Weren't you quite fond of smiling?"
The boy's face had already become ugly to the extreme, where could any trace of a smile still be found on his face.
"If you have the ability, let this young master out! I want to duel you!"
"If you have the ability, come out yourself." Hodu scoffed.
Saying this, he raised his right hand, bent his index finger, and flicked it gently.
A stream of water abruptly flew out, landing right on the boy's face, splashing water all over his face on the spot.
The boy was so angry that he opened his mouth wanting to continue dropping harsh words, but Hodu flicked his finger again, and a second stream of water followed closely, shooting over and blocking him so that he couldn't say a single complete sentence.
The boy was choked until his eyes stared wide; the more he struggled wanting to speak, the more Hodu wouldn't let him open his mouth smoothly.
After playing for quite a while, Hodu then withdrew his hand.
"Can we talk properly now?" He looked at the boy and asked, "How on earth did you discover there was something wrong with me?"
Until now, Hodu still hadn't figured out where his flaw was, and could only guess that it was because he was truly not familiar enough with certain common sense here.
The boy still refused to yield, bearing a wet face, and said through clenched teeth: "Beg me, and I'll tell you!"
Chapter 45 Huo Clan Blood Relatives
Hodu looked at the stubborn kid and couldn't help shaking his head slightly.
Having already fallen into this plight, he still didn't know when to rein it in.
Immediately after, he reached his hand inside his suit.
When he took it out again, a revolver had already appeared in his palm.
"Muggle weapon!"
The boy only took one look, and his expression changed abruptly, crying out involuntarily, "The Ministry of Punishments strictly forbids Muggle weapons from appearing in the Magical World. How dare you bring this thing in?"
Hearing this, Hodu immediately understood.
So Muggles were called Bai Ding in the Magical World—quite fitting indeed.
Without saying much more, he pressed the muzzle of the gun directly against the boy's forehead.
The boy, who had looked arrogant just a moment ago, instantly froze, panic written all over his face.
"Wait, wait a minute!" he hastily spoke up, "We are relatives!"
Seeing that Hodu had no intention of putting away the gun, the boy quickly added, "Is your surname Huo?"
A flash of surprise swept across the depths of Hodu's eyes.
Someone casually guessing the surname Huo might luck out and get it right, but the other party was clearly not probing based purely on luck.
Seeing his expression, the boy secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
At least he hadn't guessed wrong.
"My surname is also Huo, and my name is Huo Yunqi."
The boy spoke at a rapid pace, as if worried that being a second slow would lead to disaster, "That jade pendant from before is something everyone in our family has. It's used to distinguish the closeness of bloodlines and also to tell apart status and hierarchy. When encountering members of the Huo Family, the pendant will heat up, and the closer it is to the main lineage and direct descendants, the higher the temperature."
"Its temperature just now was the same as what I felt from my uncles and elders in the second branch. So you must be a member of the Huo Family, and your blood relation is probably about the same as the second branch's. Whether it's the main branch or a branch lineage in our Huo Family, everyone has this pendant, so logically, it's impossible to mistake it."
Huo Yunqi finished this long string of words almost in one breath.
Hodu understood.
He hadn't expected that the place where his problem was exposed would actually be that jade pendant.
As for terms like main branch, branch lineage, direct descendants, and collateral branches, hearing them made his head swell, and he couldn't sort out the relationships for the moment.
However, it seemed that these were rules that had been passed down in the Huo Family for a long time.
He had just entered the Magical World on this side, yet he bumped into a relative so quickly—it was somewhat unexpected.
"Then what kind of relative am I to you, after all?" Hoduasked.
The muzzle of the gun was still pressed against Huo Yunqi's forehead, not moving away by even a fraction, despite confirming their blood relation.
Huo Yunqi thought for a moment and immediately replied, "I know the people from the second and fourth branches, so you can only be from the third branch. The third branch is said to have only one bloodline left, and that person should be you."
Speaking up to this point, his tone suddenly hesitated: "According to seniority, you are my uncle. But you don't look that old!"
This sentence grew lighter and lighter toward the end, and even he himself started to feel that something was amiss.
After all, when that child of the third branch was born back then, he was already two or three years old, and he had some impression of it.
Hodu's gaze flickered slightly.
Things had reached this point, and they basically matched up.
"Which branch do you belong to?" he continued to ask.
Although he had guessed their identities and relationships to a T, he still hadn't fully figured out the specific closeness or distance of their kinship.
"I am naturally a person of the first branch!" Huo Yunqipuffed out his chest, and his previous fear seemed to be suppressed once more by this identity, "My grandfather is the current head of the Huo Family, as well as the patriarch of the Huo Clan. If you really are the person left behind by the third branch, then your father and my grandfather are biological brothers, and my grandfather is your eldest uncle!"
Hodu was a bit confused by what he said, but he finally sorted out this layer of relationship.
Only another doubt popped up accordingly.
"Patriarch?" he frowned and asked, "Are there many people with the surname Huo? Can a single family have so many Wizards?"
"Of course there are many!"
Mentioning the Huo Clan, Huo Yunqi instantly perked up, his face full of pride: "Our Huo Clan has been passed down for thousands of years, unbroken from ancient times to the present. We are one of the five great clans under heaven!"
The girl at the side finally chimed in softly: "Since you really are relatives, can you let us out first before chatting slowly?"
"Don't rush." Hodu raised his hand to signal her to shut up first, then looked at Huo Yunqi, "Since I am your uncle, why were you so arrogant just now?"
Huo Yunqi immediately snorted.
"I am a person of the first branch, and besides, you—"
Halfway through his words, as if he suddenly thought of something, the arrogance on his face rapidly faded, and the rest of his words were forcefully swallowed back down.
Hodu looked at him, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up.
The unfinished part was often the most important.
Click!
His finger flicked the hammer at the back of the revolver, the crisp metallic sound exceptionally clear at this moment.
"And besides what about me?"
Huo Yunqi shivered all over, finally unable to withstand the pressure, and shouted, "Besides, your third branch was long ago expelled from the Huo Family! Strictly speaking, we aren't relatives at all!"
Hodu's brows knitted together.
"Expelled?"
He stared at Huo Yunqi, his voice sinking a few degrees: "My father—was he killed by your Huo Family?"
Hannah had never mentioned anything about his father in this lifetime, but Hodu had long guessed that that person was probably no longer around.
Of course, it was also possible that he had abandoned his wife and left, except that he couldn't feel much resentment from Hannah.
And this question was also equivalent to completely admitting his identity.
Huo Yunqi, however, looked as if he had heard something incredible, staring at him with wide eyes, a mix of panic and excitement: "How is that possible! Expulsion just means crossing the name off the family genealogy, it doesn't mean killing someone! Your father's death has nothing to do with us. Every holiday and festival, my grandfather even goes to sweep your father's grave!"
Fearing that Hodu would misunderstand, he hurriedly continued to explain: "However, I don't know much about the adults' matters, and I'm not clear on why he was expelled. Anyway, this matter has never been mentioned in our family."
Hodu observed his expression and felt that these words didn't seem to be made up on the spot.
He nodded and muttered in a low voice, "So expulsion means that. Since everything has been made clear, do I still need to silence you?"
Huo Yunqi's eyes instantly widened.
"S-Silence me?"
Hodu shook the revolver in his hand, his tone very casual: "After all, you saw me carrying a Muggle weapon. Who knows whether you'll go and report me after you go out?"
"I won't say anything!" Huo Yunqi hastily expressed his stance, "You are my uncle, I absolutely couldn't possibly report you!"
The muzzle was still pressed against his forehead, and he was so anxious that his face turned flush red.
Huo Yunqi had watched Muggle movies before and knew that as long as the trigger was pulled, a person's head would blow open like a watermelon.
Hodu deliberately put on a puzzled expression: "Huh? Didn't you just say that strictly speaking I'm not your uncle?"
"No, you are!" Huo Yunqi immediately changed his tune, shouting even more resolutely than before: "You are my biological uncle! The family not recognizing you is the family's affair, but I definitely recognize you. Even if my grandfather came over personally, he couldn't change this!"
He sure recognized him fast this time.
"Is that so?" Hodu smiled with a completely harmless expression. "It seems blood is thicker than water after all."
As he spoke, the revolver in his hand returned to its original appearance.
"Look at how scared you are. Haven't you learned Transfiguration? All get up now, my good nephew."
Following a thought from Hodu, the soil pressing down on the two split open from the middle.
Their bodies rose accordingly, and Hodu even reached out to steady Huo Yunqi, casually patting the dirt off his legs with an attitude as affectionate as a truly good uncle.
Immediately afterward, his hand landed on the fan nearby, and with a hard tug, he took it down from its original place.
"You..."
Huo Yunqi was both angry and afraid, wanting to flare up but not daring to actually say it out.
The methods Hodu had just displayed already made him understand that the two students could simply not be opponents.
Hodu ignored his reaction and only casually flipped through the fan in his hand.
After the fan surface unfolded, landscapes were painted on it, and a red seal was left beside it.
He swept over the items on the two people with Spirit Treasure Perception, confirming that neither of them had wands.
Yet this fan was specifically detected to have the aura of a magical item.
Hodu looked at it for a moment, and an extra guess involuntarily arose in his heart.
Could this thing actually be a wand, just made into the shape of a fan?