Deception and Ambush

The group split up and searched the house in teams of three.

Matthew took two guards to search the basement.

When they reached it, Matthew found it pitch-black. There wasn't a single lamp.

One of the guards lit an oil lamp he had brought. Its dim glow illuminated a little of the basement.

The basement was a cramped, gloomy room with sparse furnishings. It had been cleared out, with only a few tables left in the corner.

Jack followed Matthew downstairs. Folding his arms and leaning against the doorframe, he explained, "House Whyte used to store food down here. We've only just moved back into the ancestral home, so we haven't started using it yet."

Jack watched Matthew's back with a faint smile. There was a trace of mockery in it that was hard to spot. He was confident these Investigators wouldn't find anything.

After the Old White Mutant left, Jack had begun moving everything out of the basement. By the time Matthew and the others arrived to search it, he had long since finished.

Matthew ran a finger over the tables stacked in the corner. "These don't look like tables that haven't been used lately. There isn't a speck of dust on them."

Jack's smile faltered, freezing stiffly on his face.

Then he said as if nothing were wrong, "That's thanks to hardworking Rodrigo. He's a good steward."

Matthew paid him no mind. He had found his answer. When he touched the tabletop, the Metal Disc in his mind glimmered. A faint red light appeared and was absorbed by the disc. It was the same energy as the Old White Mutant's.

Combined with what he had sensed when he had secretly visited this house before, Matthew was certain Jack had been doing something hidden in the basement. He had to be connected to Old White's mutation!

Matthew could also sense Jack's inexplicable hostility toward him. If he took that thought a step further, the Old White Mutant's attack on 56 Riverside Street might not have been a coincidence at all. Jack could have directed it. He might even have hired the two wizards Matthew had encountered outside Whitestone Manor.

Half an hour later, they regrouped in the reception room.

"Any leads?" Link asked.

Matthew shook his head. He did not tell Link what he had found; it involved the secret of the Metal Disc in his mind.

"I found a few of Old White's notes on practicing the Meditation Method," Anna said, "but they're all from more than ten years ago."

"He was stuck at Level 3 Wizard Apprentice for over a decade. He may have stopped practicing the Meditation Method long ago." Link nodded. "I didn't find anything either. Let's take a look at Old White's grave."

Matthew and the others followed Jack to the White Family Cemetery. They dug up Old White's grave and opened the coffin, only to find it empty. There were no marks inside it, either. Link believed Old White's body had never been buried in the coffin, and they found no clues at the gravesite.

After working all night without finding any leads, everyone was tired. Link had no choice but to send them home to rest. They agreed to look at Lady Alsha's autopsy report together the next day.

When Matthew returned to his lodgings, he first went to see the injured Chris.

He checked Chris's wound. Chris had taken a Hemostatic Agent and bandaged it himself, and his injury was now under control.

Matthew took out Skele-Gro and a Flesh Replenishing Agent from his pocket and said to Chris:

"Drink this Red Potion now, then drink this Transparent Potion the day after tomorrow.

Take the Transparent Potion three times a day, one-third of the bottle each time."

"Lord Matthew, thank you!" Chris said gratefully.

"Get some good rest," Matthew said gently. "It should heal within three days."

Back in his room, Matthew immediately pulled out a Dark Green Potion and poured it down his throat. A faintly stinging sensation lingered in his mouth and esophagus before turning into a nauseating taste. It was awful.

His whole face scrunched up. Something seemed to writhe beneath his skin. His eyes, nose, mouth, and ears began to melt, and his face kept changing shape.

Then his bones began to shift as well, strange sounds coming from all over his body.

A moment later, Matthew had become a gaunt red-haired man with sinister eyes.

This was Gellman, the false identity he had used while stirring up trouble in the Hogwarts World.

Tonight, Gellman was expanding his operations into another world!

Space twisted, and the figure in the room vanished on the spot.

No. 18, Municipal Square Street. A room on the top floor of the White Ancestral Home.

Space warped, and a gaunt red-haired man with sinister eyes appeared in the room.

Matthew, now disguised, had returned to the White Ancestral Home.

Jack was dangerous. From what Matthew had learned, Old White had been a Noble Wizard whose fighting ability had greatly declined. Yet Mutated Old White had been a formidable opponent. Without the Basilisk's venom, Matthew would have had great difficulty dealing with him.

If Jack was allowed to keep causing trouble, he might create a monster even more terrifying than the Old White Mutant. Matthew had no intention of leaving such a hostile enemy alive.

Link had found no clues, so Matthew decided to handle the matter himself.

He flicked his wand and cast an Illusionary Body Spell to conceal himself, followed by a Muting Spell to silence his footsteps.

His right hand moved beneath his wizard's robe, casting Detection Magic. An invisible wave spread from his hand and swept through the White Ancestral Home.

Through the Detection Magic, Matthew sensed that Jack had gone to sleep in a room on the second floor.

He did not intend to kill Jack outright. He needed him alive so he could uncover the secret of Old White's mutation from Jack's mind.

Jack was only a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice, but Matthew wanted to be certain. He took the Basilisk Eye from his pocket.

With the help of the Muting Spell, Matthew reached the second-floor room without a sound and stood beside Jack's bed. Jack was already asleep.

He held up the Basilisk Eye, aimed it at Jack's face, and called softly,

"Jack White."

Jack heard someone call his name in his sleep and jolted awake. "Who?"

He quickly scanned the room, but there was nothing in front of him. He wondered if he had had a nightmare.

Matthew canceled the Illusionary Body Spell and suddenly appeared before Jack.

At the sight of the stranger who had appeared out of nowhere, Jack was stunned. "Who are you...?"

Before Jack could finish, his eyes met the Basilisk Eye. His shocked expression froze on his face, and he sat rigid and motionless on the bed.

In the new year, I wish everyone a lucky Year of the Dragon, good health, success in all things, prosperity, and good fortune!