"Come in," Huckleton said, and then the door was pushed open, and the woman Howl had met once before walked in.
She carefully held two ancient books, one with a very complete thread binding and an outer cover of neatly cut and fitted sheepskin. The other looked like various drafts stitched together.
It seemed to be enveloped in an invisible bubble, ensuring its safety.
The woman looked at Howl in surprise, then watched as Howl calmly took the two books and began to flip through them directly.
"The Non-Existent Number"
Hippasus, the first to discover the existence of the square root of 2, whose discovery shook Pythagoras's Pythagorean theorem, causing the first mathematical crisis.
He himself was expelled from the sect by Pythagoras, and many years later, he was thrown into the sea and killed by other followers of Pythagoras.
Therefore, he had always been extremely curious about this suddenly appearing Hippasus classic.
He carefully turned the pages with their fragmented text, reading slowly.
"I have been reborn."
?
"They threw me into the sea. Just as I was about to lose consciousness and go to the Underworld, I saw a person walking towards me in the vast ocean. When I woke up again, I was resurrected.
Hailbo from Miletus saved me, using that magic called Horcrux to nail my soul to reality. No wonder, no wonder I heard roars from the Underworld during that lethargy.
This time, I must bring this non-existent number into reality.
Pythagoras, I will prove you wrong. When that day comes, I will use this number to personally send you down to repent at Socrates's knees!"
Such heavy resentment.
"Speaking of which, this body is too broken and frail."
As he spoke, the next page contained only a pile of broken lines.
What is this? A portrait?
Thinking, Howl began to try and restore the portrait.
In a short while, he followed the remaining traces and managed to restore the outline, and at the same time, his entire body froze in place.
"This is..."
Loreton noticed his unusual behavior, leaned over, and glanced.
"Isn't this Diogenes?" He laughed, "Don't mess around; you'll ruin this unique copy that has been preserved for thousands of years!"
Howl turned his head, staring at him blankly.
The Diogenes in Loreton's mouth was none other than the fellow who lived like a dog in the Old Town!
Howl suddenly remembered their conversation in the alley; at that time, the man accompanied by dogs made no secret of his dislike for Pythagoras.
At the same time, he also thought of the old ghost of Ravenclaw in Hogwarts School. That was Ravenclaw's daughter, and it had been a thousand years.
If you add Horcrux, then it seems... worth verifying!
The next moment, his figure twisted sharply, disappearing from the office.
When he opened his eyes again, he was already in the Old Town and immediately saw the fellow sharing food with his companion dogs.
"Hippasus!" Howl whispered.
The man immediately turned his head, then scratched his matted hair: "Hmm, this name hasn't been used for a long time, it's a bit blurry. Friend, is something wrong?"
"You've lived for over two thousand years?" Howl looked at him. "Horcrux?"
Hippasus shook his head: "You're thinking too much; I'm just a ghost."
"I think I've seen ghosts," Howl said.
"I just have a bit more flesh and blood than them," he laughed, pulling off his arm, revealing a shining, translucent arm.
That was precisely the appearance of a ghost, with constantly flowing spirituality enveloped by a materialized body, forming a bizarre sight.
Howl directly took out his wand and aimed it at Hippasus to investigate.
However, there was nothing unusual.
Just an ordinary ghost, no different from those at Hogwarts, and even... not as peculiar as Peeves.
"This is the side effect of the Horcrux." Saying that, he burst into laughter, looking up at the sun in the sky: "If you think I've lived for two thousand years and want some experience of longevity, then my experience is—"
"No, I have no intention of asking about longevity or anything like that." Howl waved his hand: "I don't care at all. Even the sun will have its day of extinction, and the universe will eventually move towards heat death. Rather than longevity, I'd rather be a fleeting meteor in the long river of time."
Hippasus looked at him in surprise, then turned his head and asked with a smile, "Athens Academy shouldn't be open yet, how did you get inside?"
"Athens Academy?! I didn't go there. Why are you saying such things without reason?" Howl looked at him suspiciously, at this old ghost clad in flesh.
Spasos's eyebrows raised slightly, looking somewhat surprised, then he said, "Then how do you know me? I thought they told you."
"They?"
"The people in Athens Academy, they are a group of ghosts, hahahaha. Because of the Horcrux, I have more flesh and blood than them. Plus, I didn't want to be in the same place as Pythagoras, so I left the Academy a thousand years ago. Although I lost the Academy's protection, my thoughts gradually became muddled and sluggish, but ultimately, I was freer. As for now, I am the guide for Athens Academy, but the Academy is not yet open."
"Guide?"
"Yes, I remember I already gave out a ticket."
"Koch Snowflake?"
Hippasus nodded, giving an affirmative answer, then waved his hand: "Alright, friend, the Q&A session is over, you should leave."
However, despite his words, his own figure became erratic. In the blink of an eye, he and the two yellow dogs he was relying on vanished, like mist scattered by the wind.
Howl looked at the empty alley, suddenly wondering... Hailbo, that kind of guy, couldn't still be alive, could he?
After all, that guy was the creator of the Horcrux!
"Forget it..." He shook his head.
Huckleton was so fixated on Athens Academy, but who would have thought that this homeless man on the street would be a ghost from thousands of years ago, the guide for Athens Academy.
"Let nature take its course," he turned around.
"With this time, I might as well think about the dueling tournament for the spring and summer semester."
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