Chapter 39: Hospitality in Knockdown Alley

It's like that when investigating a case. I can't see a few people and just chat for a while to get the truth I want. Sometimes, even eyewitnesses can become very unreliable, and they tend to bring their own imagination into play when stating the facts.

And all he wants to do is eliminate those imaginations. Sometimes, Xing Ze feels like he is knitting a sweater, and sometimes, he feels like he is playing with a puzzle.

But more often than not, he felt like he was just spinning around blindly, like a cat chasing its own tail.

"He really can't understand me." John rubbed his beard, "I was in there just now..."

He hesitated, and Xing Ze looked at John curiously, "What's wrong?"

"I know the way I threatened Donnie reminded him of some kind of animal."

"Um?"

"Hound." John breathed out, "The kind that bites into flesh and won't let go when it tastes blood."

"It's a very interesting metaphor." I'm a local, so they don't want to get close to me."

Perhaps he was hurt by the poke, and John looked away uneasily, "Shut up, what on earth did I do before?"

"Magic Maintenance Department."

"That's stupid." John cursed, "Those bastards like to give him strange people.

"To the east of them..."

Xing Ze was interrupted by a child who ran over, the child he had seen in the bar.

"Candy please, sir?"

Xing Ze saw him carrying a straw basket with a dirty cloth on top and some shiny red candies on top. He was begging to refuse when John, who was nearby, shouted first: "Get out of here, I'm a loser." You little bastard, get out!”

The child hurriedly put away the box and ran into the alley next to it.

"Just one child." Xing Ze advised, "He can handle it."

"Look at my left leg. Yes, it's the potion shop with belladonna hanging at the door. Did I see it?"

"Two men, one should be a wizard and the other should not be."

"That kid is fooling around with them, stop staring at them." John whispered, "Those red candies are a new kind of hallucinogen. They have been popular in Knockturn Alley for a while."

Xing Ze nodded, looked back and asked, "Does he think I have more than one source of information?"

"What time is it, kid?"

Xing Ze looked at the mechanical leg watch, "It's more than two o'clock."

"It's quite late, come with him."

They walked through Toad Street and turned at the east intersection. Xing Ze glanced at the road sign at the corner. The paint on the top of the sign had fallen off, so he couldn't tell where it was.

"Oh, hell, it's really unlucky." John bent down and picked up a small stone from the ground, and threw it at the raven where the road sign was, but he missed. The raven quacked back a few times, as if he was mocking.

"Don't worry about that bird." Xing Ze kicked away a stone that John wanted to pick up. "Where is my informant?"

"Hey boy, crows are very unlucky and he doesn't want to be unlucky."

"He doesn't understand why they, who are red wizards, are so superstitious."

John waved his legs towards the raven in an attempt to drive it away. "That's not superstitious. Crows will summon bad things. That's based on practice. Continue walking, go to the end, and then turn left. Red tent.”

"Won't I come?"

"Wait until he gets rid of that beast first."

Xing Ze casually waved his leg, and the raven spread its wings and filled the sky.

"Then...how did I do it?"

"They are wizards, J, if I remember correctly. Why don't you do something serious? At least make him feel that he doesn't have money for red wine."

The tent covered in stains was lying next to a pile of scraps. Its original color was no longer visible, and only the touch of red on top proved its original color.

In principle, the garbage station does not belong to Knockturn Alley. It is half in the Muggle world and half in the wizarding world. An invisible magic wall separates that place.

The mixed smell in the air was replaced by a more familiar stench, and without the obstruction of the building, the sky became bright again.

John asked Xing Ze to wait at the entrance of the garbage station, and he walked inside himself.

A red cloud in the sky covered the sun, and Xing Ze felt in a daze that he had reached Knockturn Alley, and a raven sent a warning in the air.

"Wait!" he yelled at John.

A bolt of magic shot out from the tent, and John, who was alerted, dodged it. He rolled on the ground in a panic, his clothes and pants stained with a disgusting brown liquid of unknown origin.

The magic was a small blasting spell. It exploded not far from the door, and the splash of mud and garbage obscured the view.

Xing Ze immediately put on armor to protect himself, and then rushed into the garbage station facing the explosion. He saw two people coming out of the tent, one wearing wizard robes and the other wearing ordinary clothes.

The wizard obviously had some skills and wanted to perform Apparition, but was interrupted by John's magic ray. As a result, he had no choice but to flee for his life.

"That bastard in the robe belongs to him." John gritted his teeth and said those words, then he apparated and chased after the wizard.

As for the man wearing ordinary clothes and as strong as an ox, he quickly took out a leg gun from his waist.

"I must be kidding him." Xing Ze showed helplessness, used Apparition to avoid the first round of shooting, and then hid behind a pile of garbage. He chanted a spell and cast a deflection spell in front of him. At that time, he heard the footsteps of the man getting closer and closer.

"Come out, damn wizard, get out of here."

"I fired a squib by mistake." Xing Ze looked at his red poplar wand, "I must feel ashamed."

After saying that, he put away the wand and rushed out immediately when the figure appeared. He was very fast, and the man was knocked to the ground before he could fire two shots.

Two bullets, one shot at his eyes, were deflected by the deflection spell to a ceramic toilet. The other was shot at close range, it broke the deflection spell, but it was not affected. The bullet passed by Xing Ze's leg and arm, leaving only a shallow wound.

He knocked the man's gun away with his injured leg, and then punched him again, with almost 50% of the force, and his leg was immediately covered with the man's nosebleed.

"Fuck my mother, fuck my mother." The man cursed continuously.

Xing Ze looked at the blood on his leg and suddenly realized something. He quickly stood up and walked back a few steps. "Stand up." He said to the man while unbuttoning his leg.

The man was very confused. He struggled to get up from the ground. Looking at Xing Ze's posture, he turned red. He felt funny but angry, and said sternly: "Damn bastard, I dare to look down on him, he wants to twist my head."

His first punch was mediocre. Xing Ze dodged sideways, and then quickly punched him in the armpit. The man screamed and could have thrown a hook punch, but Xing Ze ducked and dodged it. He was hit hard in the stomach again.

He couldn't bear it, his legs softened and he knelt on the ground. Xing Ze exhaled a long breath and punched him in the face again. Like a collapsed high-rise building, the man fell heavily to the ground.

Thanks to Xuemeng丶Xiao, book friend 20180216112427949, Qin Yue Yeyu, and Zhengtai Zou Yong for their recommendations.