Chapter 36: Boggart Fusion and the New Trick Quest
As Ron's words fell, Hermione's face instantly lost all color.
She looked as if she couldn't believe such words could come out of Ron's mouth; her eyes quickly reddened, she bit her lip, and in the end, without refuting a single thing, she turned and walked away quickly.
Hodu raised his hand and pressed his forehead.
Speaking too bluntly often stings more than anything else.
That was simply the atmosphere in Gryffindor House nowadays.
Hermione had indeed earned quite a few points for the House, but that hadn't made everyone feel all that grateful toward her.
She was out of tune with the people around her and usually spent her time alone.
Yet even if it was the truth, Ron shouldn't have taken things to that extreme.
Hodu tilted his head to glance at Ron; it was already Friday, and this guy hadn't considered what to do about his homework at all.
If Hermione ignored him, who else in all of Gryffindorwould lend him their homework to copy?
"Ron, what you said just now was really going too far."
Harry couldn't help chiming in either.
Hermione's reaction just now had explained everything; there was no need to explain how hurtful those words truly were.
"What I said was the truth to begin with!"
A trace of panic appeared on Ron's face, but his mouth still refused to back down.
Harry didn't argue with him any further, turning instead to look at Hodu: "Hodu, let's go see Hagrid together this afternoon. I haven't seen him in a long time."
Hodu didn't refuse; in truth, he was quite looking forward to it himself.
That morning, he had just received a letter from Hagrid, which said that the Boggart's powder was all prepared.
As long as he got the item, he could carry out the next fusion, and just thinking about it put him in a good mood.
In the afternoon, the three of them left the Castle and walked along the path leading to the Forbidden Forest.
Before long, Hagrid's hut appeared before them.
Hagrid was as enthusiastic as ever, serving them hot tea and bringing out some of his homemade Rock Cakes.
That stuff was as hard as a rock; Harry and Ron used almost every ounce of strength they had on their teeth, and the expressions on their faces looked quite painful.
Yet Hodu wasn't affected at all.
With a blank expression, he opened his mouth and bit down, directly biting off a piece of the Rock Cake.
Harry and Ron looked over at the same time, their eyes filled with disbelief.
"Hodu, the thing you wanted is right here."
Hagrid said, taking out a glass jar from the side.
The jar was filled with grayish-white powder and ashes.
"What on earth is this?" Harry asked curiously.
Hagrid proceeded to explain it to him.
Hodu took the glass jar into his hands, his mind already drifting to the fusion, itching to use up the Boggart right away.
And indeed, that was exactly what he did.
While Hagrid was chatting animatedly with Harry and Ron, Hodu quietly unscrewed the jar lid, extended three fingers, and pinched out a small pinch of ashes from inside.
Fusion!
That pinch of ash vanished from his hand in the blink of an eye, yet Hagrid and the other two nearby didn't notice the slightest abnormality.
[Fusion-compatible item discovered, analysis quest initiated.]
[Fusion Target: Boggart]
[Analysis Grade: Grade C]
[Analysis Progress: 1 / 2000]
[Extracted Trait: Self-Transformation]
[Self-Transformation: Allows oneself to transform into any appearance.]
[Note: Trait strength increases with analysis progress; upon completion of analysis, a ten-thousand-fold trait can be obtained.]
Staring at the system interface, a smile appeared on Hodu's face.
Just as he had guessed, after fusing the Boggart, he directly acquired transformation abilities.
Regrettably, this ability could currently only be applied to himself.
Next, he looked at the exclusive quest corresponding to the Boggart.
[Exclusive Quest: Trick]
[Use Self-Transformation to perform a trick on a Wizard. This quest can be completed repeatedly, with each success granting 1 progress point; progress points can only be used for fusing the Boggart.]
After reading it, Hodu understood.
Put simply, wasn't it just turning into weird shapes to scare people?
Yet as he stared at the quest description, his brow slowly furrowed.
This time, it was written far too meticulously, almost as if the system was specifically guarding against him exploiting loopholes.
Could the myriad things fusion system even upgrade on its own?
Thinking about it was useless; the quest was already set, and he couldn't change the conditions, so he could only find a way to complete it.
The quest target being limited to Wizards wasn't all that troublesome.
Originally, he could have relied on other means, such as the Burrowing Treasure Hunting trait.
The Slytherin House common room was right underneath Hogwarts, and once he got there, it would be very convenient to toy with Slytherin students however he pleased.
But this time he had to use Self-Transformation; meaning he had to actually appear in front of Wizards.
Because of that, things wouldn't be so easy.
Hodu rubbed his temples.
A Grade C analysis required a full two thousand progress points, only three thousand points fewer than Grade B.
If he only waited for the single point that automatically increased each day, it would take at least five years, and he certainly didn't have that kind of patience.
Perhaps he could use Apparition combined with Self-Transformation to specifically run around playing ghost and scaring people?
The idea quickly took shape in his mind, but even if he only scared one person at a time, two thousand times was no small project.
Hodu cupped his chin and thought for a moment, then thought of another question: if he scared several Wizards at once, would the system count it as multiple times?
Guessing blindly about this matter was useless; he would have to try it out himself to know.
He reined in his thoughts, continuing to chat idly with Hagrid and the others, holding hot tea in his hands while dealing with that rock-hard Rock Cake.
There was no need to rush over to his hometown for the time being.
Rushing over there now would mean it was already dark; it would be better to wait until tomorrow to go to the capital, picking an agent just like he did in Shanghai previously, so as to speed up the Dragon's fusion progress.
When it was almost time for dinner, Hodu, Harry, and Ronfinally left Hagrid's hut.
Not long after walking out, Ron asked again: "Hodu, are you actually going to sneak out tomorrow or not?"
He clearly still remembered this matter.
"Fine then." Hodu shrugged, "Since you guys don't want to find the secret passage yourselves and experience the joy of treasure hunting, I'll take you there after dinner. But I need to go to the restroom first."
The lie was one he had made up himself, so he had to patch it up somehow.
Of course, if Harry and Ron truly got to experience the joy of the secret passages, these two playful guys might end up burrowing inside them every single day hereafter.
What was even more troublesome was that they might casually blab about the secret passages to Hermione; naturally, Hodu couldn't help but worry that this matter would eventually implicate him.
That being the case, he might as well use these two roommates as the first test subjects for the exclusive quest.
Under the guise of going to the restroom, Hodu had actually cast Apparition and arrived at the Shanghai villa.
With the experience from the past few days, dealing with those two thousand catties of mutton was already very routine for him.
Hodu opened his mouth, revealing a neat row of teeth, and the mutton in the iron basin automatically lined up under the effect of the Accio, rushing into his mouth piece by piece, getting thoroughly broken down the moment it entered.
His Devouring Talent combined with Household Masteryallowed him to consume two thousand catties of mutton in less than ten minutes.
Soon enough, Hodu emerged from the restroom and walked toward the Great Hall together with Harry and Ron, who had been waiting for him all along.
Although his stomach hadn't needed food to fill it for a long time, he had never missed breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
If he skipped meals several times in a row, it would inevitably arouse suspicion from others.
Chapter 37: The Scare at the End of the Secret Passage
During dinner, Harry and Ron still didn't see Hermione.
Until they heard from Hermione's roommate that she had actually cried.
Both boys' expressions became a bit unnatural.
No matter how tough they talked just now, hearing that Hermione cried made them feel somewhat guilty inside.
Hodu, however, didn't react much.
After all, those words weren't said by him.
After leaving the Great Hall, Harry walked a distance and finally couldn't help saying: "Shouldn't we go and apologize to Hermione?"
"Why should we apologize? What I said was the truth in the first place!" Ron immediately retorted, though his tone didn't sound as righteous as before.
Harry didn't argue with him, but instead turned to look at Hodu: "Hodu, what do you think?"
Hodu's footsteps paused.
How did this matter end up being asked of him?
However, looking at Harry's serious expression, he nodded along: "I also think you guys should go apologize."
Just as Ron was about to speak, Hodu added another sentence: "After all, you guys haven't finished this week's homework yet, right?"
After saying that, he nodded very solemnly, as if he were just a passerby objectively offering advice, completely unrelated to the previous quarrel.
Harry and Ron's expressions changed at the same time.
Only then did they realize just how important Hermionewas to them.
Without Hermione's help, they probably wouldn't be able to smoothly complete this week's homework.
"Then we'll apologize tomorrow." Ron quickly changed his tune, "Isn't there a more important thing to do tonight?"
Harry thought about it and felt that being a day late didn't seem like a big deal, so he followed up by saying: "Yeah, going tomorrow is still in time."
The unease on the two's faces was quickly replaced by excitement, and Hermione, who had been crying just moments ago, was cast to the back of their minds in the blink of an eye.
Hodu couldn't help shaking his head at the sight.
But he didn't say much more, still leading these two guys who couldn't wait any longer to find a secret passage.
They first arrived at the third-floor corridor.
Hodu stopped in front of a wall, and Harry looked left and right, unable to help asking: "The secret passage is right here?"
This place was simply too ordinary.
Who would have thought that the road leading outside the school would be openly hidden behind the corridor wall?
Hodu didn't answer, only drawing his wand from his sleeve and tapping lightly on the wall surface.
Nothing happened.
Harry and Ron's originally expectant gazes instantly turned a bit strange.
"Cough." Hodu gave a dry cough and said with a calm expression, "It seems it's not here."
Actually, behind this wall indeed hid a secret passage leading to Hogsmeade Village.
It's just that he didn't know the password to open it, and bringing Harry and Ron over today was originally just to test whether this path needed a password.
The result was obvious: it did.
Hodu had no choice but to take the two and continue walking elsewhere.
The next few locations didn't give him any face either.
Either there was no reaction, or a password was needed, and the secret passages that could actually be opened directly were pitifully few.
Harry and Ron's looks at him gradually became weird.
That gaze seemed to be asking: "Are you even serious?"
Hodu could only pretend not to see it, walking all the way down the stairs to the basement level, and finally pushing open a dimly lit utility room next to the kitchen.
As soon as the door was opened, the dust accumulated inside was stirred up.
The room was piled in a messy clutter of sundries, looking however one viewed it as if no one had entered in a long time.
Hodu raised his hand to fan in front of his nose, wanting to drive away the dust that had drilled into his nasal cavity.
Harry was choked into coughing: "Cough cough... Hodu, are you sure it's here? This place looks like no one has ever come here at all."
He really couldn't figure out that if this truly was Hodu's usual secret passage for entering and exiting Hogsmeade Village, how could the area near the entrance be covered in dust, with even the sundries uncleared?
"Of course I'm sure." Hodu answered decisively, "It's right here."
Saying that, he took out his wand and softly chanted: "Lumos!"
A speck of light lit up at the tip of the wand, and the dim utility room was illuminated accordingly.
"Actually, I originally wanted to take you guys to find an unexplored secret passage, letting you experience the fun of exploration as well." Hodu explained with a straight face, "It's a pity we couldn't find the previous ones, and this path now is the one I usually use."
This of course was still a lie.
But Hodu had already made up his mind that this path would definitely open.
Even if something really went wrong with the entrance, he could directly force it open, or even recreate a secret passage leading to Hogsmeade Village.
He walked over to another wall, his gaze sweeping across the brick gaps, and quickly locked onto a slightly protruding wall brick.
The wand tapped twice on that brick.
A dull sound came out from behind the wall.
Following closely, the wall before their eyes slowly parted to both sides, revealing a pitch-black passage.
Hodu finally let out a sigh of relief in his heart, reaching out to point at the entrance: "Look, I told you it was here."
Harry and Ron's eyes lit up all at once.
The two were so excited they almost jumped up, eager to rush in without even caring who went first anymore.
"Ouch!"
Hodu suddenly cried out.
He covered his stomach with one hand, and his expression turned ugly along with it.
Harry quickly stopped: "What's wrong with you?"
"I ate something bad." Hodu said through clenched teeth, his tone sounding very urgent, "I need to go to the toilet."
He gestured with his chin toward the secret passage again: "You guys don't need to wait for me, I'll go find you guys later."
"Alright!"
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, clearly not expecting Hodu to temporarily withdraw after the secret passage was opened.
However, the two didn't suspect him because of this; Gryffindor's adventurous spirit had completely flared up.
Hodu clutched his stomach and left hurriedly, leaving Harry and Ron standing at the entrance.
Once out of the utility room, he immediately straightened his back, where was there any trace of pain left on his face?
Instead, the corners of his mouth curled into a malicious smile.
He seemed to have forgotten to remind Harry and Ron that sometimes some strange things would crawl into the secret passage.
Hodu first looked around in a circle, confirming that there was no one else nearby, and his figure vanished instantly.
The next moment, he had already appeared at the other end of the secret passage.
What magical creature should he turn into next?
Basilisk?
This thought only spun in his mind for a moment before being abandoned by Hodu.
He currently didn't have the ability to petrify people, and if Harry and they really discovered something was wrong, it was very likely to be exposed on the spot later.
Then change to another one.
Hodu quickly had an idea, and his body began to change accordingly.
His body swelled violently, and even the clothes he was wearing changed along with it.
A moment later, a huge, furry spider appeared at the end of the passage.
Its body almost blocked the entire passage, with six long legs distributed on both sides, each leg growing quite a few barbs.
On that ferocious face, eight pitch-black eyes were arranged on both sides, and two long, sharp mouthparts protruded from its mouth.
This wasn't a real Acromantula, because Hodu had never seen this creature with his own eyes.
He only completed the transformation relying on images he had seen in his past life, and made a bit of artistic processing on the original appearance to make it look even more frightening.
For example, those eight eyes were each the size of a fist, arranged in vertical columns, as black as lacking any luster.
Hodu instinctively manipulated the six long legs, but the movements appeared somewhat awkward.
This kind of transformation wasn't as skillful as other abilities, and casting it was quite crude, probably related to the progress point being only one.
But it wasn't a big problem.
He just stayed like that in the passage, quietly waiting for those two unlucky guys to deliver themselves to his door.
Not long after, a bright light appeared deep within the secret passage.
Hodu immediately knew they had arrived.
Harry and Ron were walking quickly forward along the passage.
The two were originally still immersed in the excitement of exploration, but Harry, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped his footsteps.
Ron behind him didn't have time to react, almost bumping into him, and could only stop along with him: "Why aren't you walking? Have we reached the place?"
As he spoke, he looked forward past the back of Harry's head.
This glance made Ron see a scene he would never forget in his lifetime.
A huge spider covered all over with fur lay across the end of the passage, its massive body almost completely occupying the path ahead.
Eight ink-black eyes held no warmth at all, staring straight at them.
In an instant, Harry and Ron both felt as if the blood in their bodies had turned cold.
Ron's legs went soft, almost falling down on the spot, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.
Chapter 38: The Large Spider in the Secret Passage
Harry was likewise badly frightened by what was before him, and the look behind his lenses was filled with terror.
Yet compared to Ron, whose legs were already turning to jelly, he was still somewhat composed, reaching out to grab the arm of Ron and inching backward little by little while trying to make as little noise as possible.
But Hodu had no intention of letting them quietly retreat.
Transforming into this appearance was originally meant to leave a deep enough impression on Harry and Ron so that they would completely abandon the idea of going to Hogsmeade Village.
Thus, with a slight movement of his six legs, his massive body pressed forward by a step.
"Run!"
Seeing the Acromantula move, Harry no longer had the luxury of observing, immediately taking that motion as an attack.
He yanked Ron and turned to sprint, his shouts echoing back and forth in the secret passage.
Hodu also gave chase right behind them.
After running for a stretch, the two could not help glancing back, only to discover that the large spider was not as fast as they had imagined.
Although it kept chasing, its speed could not even match theirs, and the distance between them was not closing rapidly.
Hodu had indeed thought of going easy on them at first, but once he actually started running, he discovered that after transforming into the Acromantula, he did not gain the speed an Acromantula was supposed to have, failing to even catch up to Harry and Ron.
Only then did he figure out that Mimetic Transfigurationtruly only altered physical appearances.
The physical attributes of the body itself would not change along with the transformation.
On the other side, Harry and Ron had run themselves into a thoroughly wretched state.
The two of them nearly tripped several times, and the face of Ron was even frighteningly pale; had Harry not kept pulling him along, he would have been left far behind long ago.
Not knowing how long they had fled, they finally rushed out of the secret passage.
Yet neither dared to stop, not even sparing the debris room another glance as they rushed straight to the stairs outside, barely managing to halt their footsteps there.
Harry supported his body as he panted, and Ron also turned his head, staring fixedly in the direction of the debris room.
After waiting for a moment and not seeing that giant spider chase them out, the two of them finally relaxed slightly.
"Th-That, what on earth is that thing?!"
The legs of Ron went weak, and he slumped directly onto the ground, speaking haltingly before he had even caught his breath.
"I do not know!" Harry rested both hands on his knees, his chest heaving violently, his eyes never moving away from the debris room. "If it runs out, we are leaving immediately!"
Fortunately, that spider did not actually chase them out of the secret passage; at least for the moment, there was no immediate danger.
"It scared me half to death; I thought we were going to die in there!" Thinking of that scene just now, Ron still felt a wave of tension tightening all over his body.
"What are the two of you doing here?"
A voice suddenly came from behind.
Harry and Ron hurriedly turned back, only to see that the person standing there was none other than Hodu.
"There is a big spider in the secret passage!" Ron hurried to scramble up and gesture wildly, looking as though he had seen a savior. "It is so huge, it is practically like a house!"
Upon hearing this, Hodu did not take it seriously at all, merely feeling that they were joking about something.
"It is true!" Harry hurriedly chimed in for Ron. "Did you not pass through that way earlier? Did you not run into it?"
Only then did Hodu show a bit of hesitation, barely believing them somewhat.
"I will go in and take a look."
"Do not go!" Harry and Ron cried out in unison to stop him.
Yet Hodu did not stop, walking straight toward the debris room. As he passed by the two of them, the corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly in secret.
Harry and Ron had no choice but to follow closely behind him.
Reaching the doorway, Hodu drew his wand.
"Lumos!"
As the spell fell, light lit up at the tip of his wand, flooding into the debris room and illuminating everything inside with crystal clarity.
Aside from piled-up miscellaneous items, there was nothing else in the room, let alone a large spider.
Even the previous entrance to the secret passage had already closed up again.
Seeing this outcome, the hanging hearts of Harry and Ronfinally settled completely.
"We really were not lying to you!" Worried that Hoduwould not believe them, Ron hurriedly added loudly.
"Maybe it sneaked in by itself," Hodu casually consoled them. "In dark secret passages like this, it is quite normal for strange things to happen."
Without even getting to visit Hogsmeade Village, the plan had already come to an end. The three of them had no choice but to return to their dormitory first.
Upon returning, Ron vividly recounted what he had just seen to Neville, using his hands and feet to gesture how big that spider was.
After listening, the face of Neville turned pale, clearly also badly frightened.
"Could it run out of the secret passage and eat people?" Harry felt more and more uneasy the more he thought about it. "We had better tell Professor McGonagall. That mouth could definitely snap us in half in one bite."
"Right, we have to tell Professor McGonagall!" Ronnodded immediately, goosebumps popping up on his arms again. "With this kind of thing hidden in Hogwarts, how am I supposed to sleep tonight?"
Finished speaking, the two of them looked toward Hodutogether, waiting to hear his thoughts.
Hodu spread his hands. "I have no objections. However, how do you plan to explain this to Professor McGonagall? Are you going to tell her straight out that you were planning to sneak off to Hogsmeade Village through the secret passage?"
Harry thought about it seriously and nodded, saying, "Then we will have to find an excuse first."
Before long, Harry and Ron hurriedly left the dormitory to find Professor McGonagall.
Hodu did not follow along.
Having never actually experienced that chase with the two of them just now, combined with his own past record of sneaking out, he used this excuse to tell Harry and Ron not to drag him into it. The two of them could understand this reason.
Once the dormitory quieted down again, Hodu lay down on his bed in a good mood, humming a little tune under his breath.
Now he wanted to see whether Harry and Ron would still dare to keep pestering him to go out together in the future.
Even if they found another secret passage, based on the cowardice of Ron alone, he probably would not dare to try it easily again.
Thinking of this, Hodu shifted his attention back to the exclusive quest of the Fusion Metamorph.
Pranks were not just about scaring people. As long as a certain action caused other people to produce negative emotions, in his view, it could count as a prank.
He opened the system to check the progress and found that the value had risen by two points. It seemed his previous judgment was indeed correct.
The quest calculation was not based on the prank action itself, but rather on the number of people affected by the prank.
Hodu stroked his chin and pondered. If he turned into the appearance of Lord Voldemort and strolled straight into Diagon Alley for a turn, the quest progress would definitely skyrocket. However, doing something like that would be far too wicked.
Of course, he was only thinking about it. Just to complete a quest, he would not go so far as to take things to such extremes.
Speaking of the person in the entire Hogwarts most worthy of being teased by him, that would only be the Slytherin Dean, Snape.
This quest was tantamount to handing him an excuse for free. The eyes of Hodu lit up, and the corners of his mouth slowly split into a grin.
So, what kind of prank should he prepare for Snape?
Transform into the mother of Harry, Lily Potter?
The moment this thought popped up, Hodu felt it was not very reliable.
Although Snape had never forgotten Lily, he was not the kind of person who would be fooled just upon seeing a similar appearance.
Furthermore, he did not even know what Lily Potter looked like in detail. If he really transformed and went over, he might end up getting hit with a hex the moment he showed his face.
Then what about transforming into Harry, standing in front of Snape, and telling him that Lily choosing James Potterover him back then was fundamentally an incomparably correct decision?
Hiss——
Thinking of that scene, Hodu could not help drawing a sharp breath of cold air.
If he did that, Snape might not necessarily suspect that the Harry in front of him was fake and would very likely believe it on the spot.
Afterward, he would probably be furious enough to explode. As for the real Harry, he likely would not fare any better afterward.
Still, this was indeed a train of thought.
He did not have to insist on turning into a Dark Artscreature to scare people.
Although the effect of doing that was direct, it might blow things up to the point where Hogwarts would be closed down, and the most likely outcome would still be drawing Dumbledore out to take action personally.
But if he turned into a Wizard everyone was familiar with and deliberately went to disrupt someone else's state of mind, not only would it be hard to trace, but the process also seemed rather interesting.
Chapter 39 Underground Treasure Retrieval
After about an hour or two, Harry and Ron finally came back from outside.
The two of them looked dejected, and one could tell at a glance that things hadn't worked out.
After Hodu asked, he realized that they had already told Professor McGonagall about discovering the secret passage, but their story was that they had stumbled upon it by accident.
Hearing that there was an Acromantula inside, Professor McGonagall naturally couldn't just pretend she hadn't heard.
She followed Harry and Ron to the entrance and personally checked inside again, but the secret passage was completely empty, without even a shadow of the Acromantula.
She didn't think the two students were making fun of her.
It was just that the Acromantula had truly vanished, and continuing to investigate wouldn't turn up anything, so she had to drop the matter for now.
Before leaving, Professor McGonagall even specifically reminded Snape, who was in charge of night patrol tonight.
Afterwards, Harry and Ron were thoroughly taunted by Snape.
"Accidental discovery? I think not. Perhaps they had long had their eyes on that secret passage, wanting to go in and do something that violated school rules. As a result, they misread something and frightened themselves half to death. Professor McGonagall, I suggest deducting points from Potter and Weasley, and giving them a few days of detention."
In the end, Professor McGonagall did not adopt his suggestion, but Harry and Ron still felt aggrieved.
Clearly what they said was all true, yet they had no way to produce evidence, looking just like they had been thoroughly suspected and could only stand there and take the blame.
"Since it can no longer be found inside, perhaps it has already left Hogwarts. That secret passage might have another exit, and it's normal that I didn't see it when I passed by the area earlier," Hodu spoke up to comfort them.
He didn't chat much with the two of them, and before long, he fell asleep.
Harry and Ron didn't last much longer either; tonight's ordeal had frightened them, and that seemingly endless energy they usually had also vanished.
This sleep lasted straight until waking up naturally.
When Hodu opened his eyes, a faint light had already appeared outside the window, and judging by the time, it was roughly five or six in the morning.
He immediately scrambled out of bed.
It was just daybreak in Britain right now, but back home it was already afternoon.
Hodu grabbed his money pouch, quietly left the room, went to the bathroom to change clothes first, and then cast Apparition.
This time, the location he locked onto was not Shanghai, but Beijing.
After steadying himself, Hodu glanced around his surroundings.
Shouts and hawking could be heard from time to time by the roadside, each voice louder than the last.
Compared to Shanghai, the atmosphere of daily life here was noticeably richer, with people on the street busy with their own affairs, and the crowds even denser than in Shanghai.
He didn't linger on the street; after asking for directions a few times in succession, he quickly found an agency company similar to the one in Shanghai.
Hodu paid them a sum of money, having them rent a house for him while also purchasing mutton.
After the matters were settled, he didn't stay long in Beijing, and in the blink of an eye, he returned to the villa in Shanghai.
Hodu took out the woven bag he had put away earlier from the money pouch and cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on it.
The originally ordinary bag's internal space instantly expanded to an exaggerated degree.
Immediately after, with a thought in his mind, the floor tiles beneath his feet cracked open.
The ground continuously sank downwards, soil and gravel descended, and a pit quickly appeared beneath his feet, with Hodu's body descending underground along with it.
When he reached a sufficiently deep position, he held open the mouth of the woven bag and stood there motionlessly, as if waiting for something to find its way over on its own.
At this moment, those treasures buried deep underground in Shanghai for many years were all wrapped up in soft soil.
They avoided the human traces originally existing underground and moved from all directions toward Hodu's location.
After waiting for a long time, the first to drill out of the soil layer was a somewhat decayed wooden box.
The box was filled with heavy gold bars, a brilliant golden expanse, and as soon as it approached the mouth of the woven bag, it was sucked directly inside by a force.
This was only the beginning.
Afterwards, the earthen walls all around were pushed open one after another, and all sorts of things flew out from the soil, plunging into the bag as if queuing up.
The woven bag swelled up bit by bit; who could have imagined that such an ordinary-looking bag could actually stuff in countless wealth.
At the very beginning, Hodu was quite excited.
But as time passed and more and more treasures flew in, he gradually lost feeling instead, and even his excitement became numb.
Until the very last item fell into the bag, he finally made this collection stop.
The soil beneath his feet immediately surged up, supporting his body as it rose all the way.
In the blink of an eye, Hodu returned to the villa once more.
Only, the excavated ground did not recover on its own, and the original tiles remained a mess.
Hodu casually waved his hand, a Restoring Charm fell, and the ground immediately returned to its original appearance, as if it had never been touched.
He lowered his head to look at the woven bag in his hand.
As long as he thrust his head into the bag's opening and added a Lumos, he could see the things inside piled together in a chaotic mess.
There was no help for this either.
All Hodu could do was use the Undetectable Extension Charm to expand the space inside the bag; as for how to specifically organize the interior, he had no way for the time being.
When all is said and done, this thing was still just a woven bag, at best a woven bag with outrageously large space.
It was completely different from Newt's magical briefcase.
The latter was an exquisite alchemy creation, not something that could be made by merely casting an Undetectable Extension Charm on its own.
If Hodu hadn't additionally cast a Levitation Charm on the woven bag, with so many things pressed inside, the bag probably couldn't even be lifted.
Hodu checked it over with Spirit Treasure Perception, and the gold bars alone numbered four hundred and twelve.
This number was already quite considerable.
Of course, these were merely treasures forgotten underground for various reasons.
That batch of truly valuable treasures had long been taken away back then.
Besides gold bars, there were also mixed in some antiques, famous paintings, firearms, bullets, and jewelry.
The most numerous, however, were boxes of silver dollars.
However, Hodu had long known that silver dollars weren't worth much nowadays, so he couldn't be bothered to take them out individually.
Firearms and bullets wouldn't be of much use in this era either; antiques and famous paintings could be kept, to be taken out and displayed later when he had his own house.
He immediately cast Accio.
Gold bar after gold bar flew out from the woven bag, landing successively into the money pouch, and in the blink of an eye, they were completely cleared out.
The remaining woven bag filled with sundries, however, was not so easy to handle.
Taking it back to Hogwarts would not do, taking it back to his own home also had the possibility of being discovered, and continuing to leave it in the villa provided even less guarantee that no one would sneak in.
Hodu thought for a moment and finally came up with a way.
The ground suddenly undulated like the surface of water, the woven bag slowly sank downwards, and the surrounding soil closed in accordingly, completely wrapping it underground.
Immediately following that, a Restoring Charm fell, the ground became level once again, and no abnormalities could be seen on the surface.
In this way, no one would ever know that a substantial fortune was still buried beneath this villa.
Hodu stayed in Shanghai until dusk.
Afterwards, he cast Self-Transformation, turning himself into a robust-looking man.
The man's skin was excessively pale, his upper body was clad in a black vest, his exposed arms had well-defined muscles, and his face wore a ferocious expression.
Just looking at this face, he didn't look like someone easy to mess with.
After the transformation was complete, Hodu's figure disappeared from the villa.
When he appeared again, he had already returned to Britain, except his landing spot was not Hogwarts, but some inconspicuous corner of London.
He subsequently walked into a gold shop, took out a gold bar, and was just preparing to inquire about the price.
"Sir, please take out the purchase voucher for the gold bar first."
The middle-aged man in the shop took the gold bar and flipped through it, obviously unable to find the serial number left by the gold bar manufacturer.
"This was left behind by my grandfather, where would there be any purchase voucher?" Hodu froze for a moment and immediately replied.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man directly handed the gold bar back to him with a cold expression.
"Sorry, we don't want to court trouble. Sir should go ask elsewhere."
Chapter 40: Exchanging Gold Bars for Money and Encountering the Black and White Duo
The owner of the gold shop refused to be flexible, and Hodu had no choice but to pack up the gold bars again and push open the door to find the next shop.
After asking several places in a row, the results were still much the same. Someone heard that he had no purchase receipt and was willing to buy them privately, but demanded that he bring his passport for registration. Of course Hodu could not agree, and could only leave empty-handed time after time.
Fortunately, after tossing and turning for so long, he had roughly figured out the market price of gold bars.
Nowadays, the price of gold in Britain was 240 pounds per ounce. That gold bar of his weighed a full 11 ounces, and a single bar was worth 2,640 pounds. Not to mention he still had 412 bars in his hands; if he sold them all, it would easily be over a million pounds.
Converted into the money back in his hometown, he could easily become a multi-millionaire. Even if he took all this money to buy a house, it would be enough to buy dozens of detached villas in Modu.
Thinking of this, Hodu's heart inevitably grew warm.
The problem was that he had to sell the gold bars first.
Several setbacks did not make Hodu give up. He did not believe that he couldn't even find a single shop willing to buy stolen goods, so he simply continued to wander around.
This time, what he encountered was a bald middle-aged man. The other party had a thick circle of black mustache on his lips. After hearing that Hodu had no purchase receipt, he couldn't even be bothered to ask where the gold bars came from, and directly quoted a price.
"215 pounds per ounce. I don't care where the items come from."
This price was about ten percent lower than the normal market rate.
Hodu narrowed his eyes and stared at the boss in front of him for a few seconds. Yet the bald man wore a care-free expression, completely unfazed by his gaze.
"Alright, but I only want cash."
With no purchase receipt and unable to even produce identification documents, these gold bars were goods that could not see the light of day in the other party's eyes. Being beaten down by ten percent, Hodu felt it was still acceptable.
"No problem."
The boss shrugged, obviously understanding very well why he made such a request.
Hodu immediately took out four gold bars from his pants pocket and neatly placed them on the tabletop.
After both sides agreed on the price, the boss had someone inspect the gold bars, checking back and forth to confirm whether the purity met the standard. This process was quite troublesome, and after quite a while, the bald man nodded in satisfaction.
He instructed the shop assistant to stay on the first floor to watch the shop, and himself went up the stairs inside the shop to the second floor, obviously preparing to get the money.
Before long, the boss reappeared with a stack of brand-new banknotes in his hand.
13,200 pounds.
A flash of joy swept across the depths of Hodu's eyes. Converted into the money back in his hometown, it was already 190,000, so at least he wouldn't have to worry about expenses for a short time.
He stuffed the banknotes into the pocket of his baggy cargo pants, then pushed open the door and left the gold shop.
After walking into a secluded alley, Hodu was just about to cast Apparition when a robust Hei Wa suddenly walked out from the front of the alley.
Hei Wa stared at him without saying a word, his wrist suddenly flicking, and a butterfly knife began to spin between his palms, the blade's light swaying with the movement.
Hodu glanced at him, then turned his head back to look toward the other end of the alley.
There stood another person as well, White Brother. The other party was holding a sharp dagger, blocking the exit together with Hei Wa from front and back, obviously teaming up specifically to block him.
The Black and White Duo.
The blade of that dagger was very sharp. If it really stabbed into someone's body, opening a bloody hole would not be difficult.
"Be honest! If you don't want an extra hole in your body, hand over all the money!" Hei Wa barked in a suppressed voice, while stepping closer to Hodu step by step.
Hodu stood in place without the slightest change in expression, just calmly watching the two of them close in.
If these two guys were holding guns, he might still be slightly wary. But now they were just two knives; it was looking down on him far too much.
He indeed hadn't learned any attacking magic yet, but he possessed the Tough Skin trait on his body.
By now, the progress points of the Tough Skin trait had long exceeded one thousand. Earlier in the villa, he had tried it with a kitchen knife; the blade couldn't even cut a bloody wound on his finger, and later he even forcefully chopped a few times, yet no trace was left on his skin.
Just relying on these two small knives, they wanted to scare him?
Hodu felt somewhat disdainful in his heart, but on the surface he put on a cooperative appearance, reaching his hand into the loose pocket of his cargo pants.
His hand did not touch those banknotes, but instead felt out a Galleon from his money pouch.
As soon as the Galleon left the money pouch, its form changed upon contact, turning into a revolver in the blink of an eye. The silver-bright long barrel and the redwood-colored grip carried quite a bit of intimidating aura when held in the hand.
Hei Wa and White Brother froze at the same time, their eyes staring straight at the gun, both of them dumbfounded.
"Whoever dares to move first, I will shoot first." Hoduraised the gun and said expressionlessly.
The two who had just been preparing to run away immediately stopped in their tracks, and their hands were also very skillfully raised above their heads. The knives in their hands immediately slipped from their grips and dropped to the ground.
Clack.
The crisp sound of the drop spread out. Hei Wa and White Brother seemed to be completely frightened by this, and expressions of panic quickly emerged on their faces. The gazes of the two fell onto Hodu's hand, obviously having already noticed that the revolver was in a cocked state.
"Don't kill me! I still have an eighty-year-old elderly mother at home, relying entirely on me alone to support her!" Hei Wa hurriedly begged for mercy, raising his hands even higher, his legs also slowly bending down, until finally he knelt directly on the ground.
Hodu shifted his gaze to White Brother.
Seeing that Hei Wa had knelt, White Brother immediately followed suit, his knees hitting the ground and his hands raised high.
"We know we were wrong! You can deal with us however you want, please don't kill me!"
Hodu shook his head disdainfully.
A couple of cowards.
The revolver in his hand was of course not real, but the result produced by mimicry Transfiguration.
After this period of exploration, Hodu had already discovered that mimicry Transfiguration was not only able to change his own body. However, this ability could not transform just anything randomly.
Take the clothes on his body for example; only items currently in contact could be affected. No matter how close the distance was, as long as he wasn't touching it, he couldn't make that object undergo changes.
"Who sent you here?" Hodu asked in a cold voice.
He raised the muzzle of the gun, aiming it at Hei Wa. Hei Wa trembled all over, as if he could already feel death approaching, his face instantly turning even uglier.
"N-No one! We just... saw that you stayed in the gold shop for a long time, so..."
Hei Wa stammered out his explanation.
Before he finished speaking, Hodu noticed an obvious patch of water on the ground beneath him, and immediately glanced over with disgust.
This answer was indeed beyond his expectations. He originally thought that the gold shop owner wanted to play a game of double-crossing, especially since the person who showed up right in front of him happened to be a Hei Wa.
"You guys just said you wanted to open a hole in my body?" Hodu suddenly smiled, his tone sounding as if he were just casually chatting.
"It wasn't me who said it, he said it!" White Brother reacted extremely quickly, immediately shifting the responsibility to Hei Wa, shaking his head like a rattle-drum.
"I... I..."
Hei Wa opened his mouth, stammering for a long time, but failed to utter a complete sentence.
Looking at the pathetic appearance of the two, Hoduinstantly lost interest. He disappointedly swayed the muzzle of the gun, pointing at the butterfly knife that had fallen to the ground.
"Pick up the knife."
Startled by his suddenly raised voice, Hei Wa shuddered and quickly reached out to pick back up the butterfly knife.
Hodu stared at him with a hint of coldness at the corner of his mouth.
"I'll give you a chance, make a hole in your own body, and I'll let you go."
Hei Wa's face immediately collapsed, looking like he was about to cry, and his hand holding the knife trembled uncontrollably.
Hodu turned his head and looked at White Brother, who was kneeling nearby watching the show.
"You're the same."
The two held the knives, but hesitated for a long time and didn't dare to make a move.
A trace of banter surfaced on Hodu's face, the muzzle of the gun gently swaying between the two of them.
"I'll count to three. If you guys don't move, I don't mind helping you open a hole in your foreheads with my own hands."