Yuck~ The Filthy, Ramshackle Leaky Cauldron

After ten hours of torment, surrounded by the smell of Muggles and the roar of engines, Chu Yao and Professor Snape, whose face had grown as dark as ink, finally set foot on the ground at London International Airport.

Snape looked as though he had just brewed a cauldron of Potions that had exploded. The oppressive air radiating from beneath his black robes made the bustling crowd around him unconsciously detour around him.

Almost immediately, without any intention of asking Chu Yao's opinion, he grabbed her arm the moment she found her footing.

"Whoosh—!"

A terribly unpleasant squeezing sensation pressed in from all sides. Chu Yao felt as though she had been stuffed into an extremely narrow rubber tube. Everything blurred before her eyes, and the wind howled in her ears.

When she felt solid ground beneath her feet again, she was standing in a filthy, narrow alley, facing a grimy pub that looked ready to collapse, its sign indistinct.

The Leaky Cauldron.

But inside, Chu Yao was celebrating. Her immense spiritual sense kept her from feeling even the slightest discomfort.

Wow! Apparition! Minus points for the experience!

One-star review! It's nowhere near as good as flying on a sword!

But...

Is this the legendary Leaky Cauldron?

That exterior... it really lives up to its name... what a dump!

Snape let go, his expression still grim, though getting off the plane seemed to have improved his mood just the tiniest bit (perhaps only 0.1%).

He noticed that Chu Yao showed none of the fear or discomfort an ordinary young witch or wizard felt after experiencing Apparition for the first time. She only looked calm, as if she already understood it.

He raised one eyebrow, greatly surprised, though his voice carried the weariness of the flight and his habitual sarcasm. "It seems your elders have mentioned this... place to you?"

Chu Yao nodded without batting an eye, her tone certain. "Of course."

Did that old fellow Chu Kuangren mention it?

I don't think so? Whatever!

He's not here anyway, so if I say he did, he did!

Books and movies count as indirect teachings from my "elders," too!

Since Chu Yao said she knew, Snape couldn't be bothered to waste any more words explaining. He pulled his black robes tightly around himself and pushed open the creaking wooden door, going in first.

Chu Yao hurried after him.

As soon as she stepped inside, an indescribable, complex smell—a mixture of old dust, cheap alcohol, food scraps, and... possibly the body odor of certain wizards who didn't pay much attention to personal hygiene—struck Chu Yao's sensitive nose like a solid fist.

Holy crap! I knew the Leaky Cauldron was dark and dirty, but... how can it be this dark and dirty?!

That smell... yuck~!

It's even more pungent than the biogas pool on the back mountain of our sect!

Are hygiene standards in the Wizarding World in the negatives?!

She felt that if she stayed another second, she would lose her dignity, and her stomach was already churning.

With no other choice, she subconsciously raised a hand and brushed it ever so lightly over her nose. A [Freshening Spell], the most basic of spells from the world of cultivation, took shape in an instant and acted upon her.

However, she had overlooked two crucial points: first, she was a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, and her spiritual power was far purer than that of the wizards in this world; second, the effects of spells from the world of cultivation... could sometimes be rather "overbearing."

In an instant...

An invisible, fresh ripple spread out from Chu Yao like a wave of water, expanding at tremendous speed!

Wherever it passed, it was as though an invisible hand wielding the most effective cleaning products and air fresheners had instantly purified every trace of the filth, grease, dust, and nauseating smell that had accumulated over hundreds of years!

Author's note: Thanks to my dear readers for the bookmarks, likes, check-ins, comments, flowers, gold coins, and memberships. Love you all, finger hearts ♥