They took us for easy prey?
By this point, Zhang Xiao had pretty much figured everything out. There was a clear pattern to the pure-bloods' actions.
The first time, during the election for "leader" at the opening feast he had slept through, the pure-bloods had tacitly accepted his elevated status out of reverence for Galleons.
After all, half-blood and Muggle-born wizards struggled to acquire substantial wealth on their own. The glass ceiling was invisible, but it certainly existed.
That situation would not really change until after the war, when the pure-blood forces had been all but swept away.
Once the pure-bloods learned of his existence, their families began a second round of probing, trying to draw him into the pure-blood camp.
Unfortunately, his choice had been completely unexpected, forcing the pure-bloods to make a third attempt.
If he was powerful, they would accept him. If he was their equal, they would isolate him. If he was weak... he was easy prey, ripe for slaughter.
But the pure-bloods had overlooked one thing. They were judging the East through their own ingrained assumptions, believing there would be no consequences they could not stomach.
The situation was actually quite complicated, which was why Dumbledore had stepped in. But once he discovered that Zhang Xiao's family was beyond anything he had imagined, he immediately handed the matter back to them.
"Son, do you feel there are too many things tangled up in this to handle it easily?" Zhang Chengdao asked casually.
Zhang Xiao murmured an agreement. According to the ideas and education he had received, the first step was certainly to establish who was an enemy and who was a friend, unite the majority, win over one faction, and strike at another.
But he really did not want to waste his time on something so meaningless. He had come to learn, not to help reform the wizarding world.
"You don't need to worry about this anymore. Just keep doing things your own way. If anything happens, the Daoist Order will back you up.
"The solution is actually pretty simple. Cut straight through the mess. Overwhelming strength beats any number of tricks. We'll bring some people over from home, wipe out one family, and the rest will fall into line."
Zhang Chengdao sounded casual, but his words brimmed with icy killing intent.
Wipe out a whole family, just like that?
Zhang Xiao sucked in a sharp breath and hurriedly asked:
"Dad, how does the Daoist Order stack up against the wizarding world? Would we come off worse in a head-on fight?"
Zhang Chengdao declared proudly:
"Within Huaxia, our Daoist Order is invincible!"
"What about abroad?"
"About fifty-fifty. Our Daoist Order uses established forms, but those wizards have all sorts of bizarre spells. Unless they shout the incantation, you often have no idea what they're using."
Invincible at home, fifty-fifty abroad? How did that work? Zhang Xiao remembered what Dumbledore had said: no matter how someone tried to sneak into Huaxia, they would be discovered and driven out.
Did that mean the Daoist Order possessed some sort of inherent advantage within Huaxia?
He hurriedly asked.
Zhang Chengdao chuckled.
"I know the answer, but I'm not telling. Once you receive your talisman investiture, you'll understand. It does count as a secret, after all."
Then he encouraged him:
"Keep at it! Your dad received his talisman investiture at sixteen and was hailed as a genius of the Daoist Order. Your talent is good too, so you'd better not take longer than I did."
Zhang Xiao was desperately curious, but no amount of pestering could make his father talk. In the end, he had no choice but to end the call.
Talisman investiture... how could it be that easy? In the Mystic Order, receiving talisman investiture meant you were qualified to venture out into the world. It was more a form of recognition, somewhat like the wizarding world's final examinations. (Note 1)
The next day, the Slytherin students who still had no idea what had happened, along with the young wizards from the other three houses, were stunned.
Of the four enormous Gem Hourglasses, the Emerald Hourglass-the one that always held the most-was completely empty. It was even in the negative!
Actually in the negative! Pale gold lettering floated above the Emerald Hourglass, conspicuous for all to see:
−250 points
Not one of the ten young wizards had escaped punishment. Each had lost 100 points.
Daphne's punishment was even more severe. Besides losing 200 points, she had withdrawn from school.
That was really just a face-saving way of putting it. To preserve the last shred of the Greengrass family's dignity, they had chosen withdrawal over expulsion.
Using lethally dangerous dark magic against a fellow student had crossed the school's bottom line.
As Professor Flitwick put it, Zhang had only protected himself thanks to his excellent Shield Charm. If that dark spell had struck him, he might well have died.
Once their surprise wore off, the other three houses began celebrating. Slytherin had effectively dropped out of the running for the House Cup ahead of time.
And when they learned that Slytherin had lost all those points because its students had tried to gang up on Zhang Xiao, only to land themselves in trouble instead, they immediately turned the incident into a laughingstock, inventing all sorts of jokes.
The Weasley twins also picked up this new way of mocking people. On the Quidditch Pitch, they roared at the Slytherins:
"Ten against one, and you still got taken out! Do you even know how to play? Do you?"
The Slytherins were furious and frustrated, yet they could not blame Zhang Xiao no matter how they looked at it. Surely they could not claim they were allowed to attack while he was forbidden to fight back?
A few days later, a new front-page headline in the Daily Prophet brought the whole affair to a climax.
In the enormous front-page photograph, the Shafiq family's manor had been reduced to rubble. A group of people of assorted heights and builds stood or squatted around it.
Their faces were covered with masks bought for a few pennies from street stalls: Ultraman, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, the Calabash Brothers, and even Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry.
Wizards lay scattered at their feet, all mainstays of the Shafiq family. They were not dead, but they certainly were not comfortable.
The battle had clearly been fierce-even the manor had been destroyed. Behind the attackers hung a huge, bright moon.
There was also an enormous banner, white lettering on a red background, looking positively festive:
"Learn respect. Learn reverence."
Zhang Xiao clapped a hand over his face. The photograph looked like an Akatsuki group poster.
I get the reasoning, but why the Shafiqs? Shouldn't it have been the Greengrasses?
The young wizards who had already been discharged from the hospital read the newspaper with pale faces, sneaking glances at Zhang Xiao as they did.
Several older students from the Shafiq family stood utterly motionless, as though struck by Petrificus Totalus.
My family really got wiped out? Why? All we did was secretly egg Daphne on and mock him a little! All we did was take the lead in organizing this!
Was this really necessary? Couldn't we just talk things over if there was a problem?
This direct, uncompromising way of handling things had truly frightened many people. As far as they knew, outside that era of chaos, a family's decline was always a lengthy process involving marriage alliances, gradual encroachment, and absorption.
Who just stormed straight up to someone's door like this?
Zhang Xiao read the report beneath the photograph:
"According to reports, the Shafiq family manor was subjected to a surprise attack by a group of unidentified individuals. By the time our reporter arrived, the fighting was over, having ended with every member of the Shafiq family brought down.
"The attackers did not leave. Instead, they unfurled a red banner proclaiming the purpose of their attack. Owing to the strange masks covering their faces, we have been unable to establish their identities..."
What followed was paragraph after paragraph of tedious drivel and mistaken speculation. Zhang Xiao tossed the newspaper aside.
He recalled the last few things his father had said to him several days earlier.
"Son, what do you want? An elevated position among the pure-bloods, like a retired emperor with a grand title but no real power?
"Or do you want to become their true leader?"
Zhang Xiao had thought about a great many things that night. When you had a hammer, everything looked like a nail. When you had enough confidence and strength...
"I want to change Slytherin!" (Note 2)
Note 1: The Daoist Order's talisman investiture here differs somewhat from its real-world counterpart. This will be explained later.
Note 2: Slytherin should not be a one-dimensional villain. It should be fascinating too.
Before you continue