Draco stepped forward, cleared his throat, and shouted at the dark figure in a voice that wasn't too loud but was clear enough:
"Hey! You up ahead... Spider Bro? You've grown up no easy feat, haven't you? You must have cultivated for many years, right? I'm in a good mood today, so I've decided to let you go. Please move aside, okay? Let's keep to ourselves."
Hermione and Jackdaw were stunned, staring at Draco in disbelief as he... reasoned with the spider?
However, the enormous dark shadow moved.
It slowly moved a few steps in their direction, completely entering the range of the torchlight.
Now they could see its full appearance:
Its size is even more terrifying than it appears from a distance; its body is exceptionally thick, and its eight legs, covered in sharp spikes, support it on the ground like pillars.
Its body is predominantly a deep purple mixed with dark red, and its entire body is covered with jagged, sharp thorns that reflect a dangerous, cold light in the firelight.
Its legs are also covered with terrifying spikes in sections.
Its head has a distinct sharp protrusion, and a pair of huge orange-yellow compound eyes are exceptionally conspicuous in the firelight. Most terrifying of all are its exposed mouthparts and thick, frightening chelicerae!
"Humans... you killed my child." A deep, hoarse voice, like sandpaper being rubbed, came from the giant spider's mouth, filled with rage.
Faced with this overwhelmingly imposing behemoth, Draco not only did not back down, but instead crossed his arms and retorted:
"Hey, are you being reasonable? It pounced on us first and tried to bite us. Where were you when it attacked?"
"We are acting in self-defense, and you see that perfectly clearly, yet you still jump out to block our way. What, only your brat is allowed to kill, but we are not allowed to fight back?"
Hermione gripped her wand tightly, her palms sweating, but Jackdaw was completely bewildered.
However, both of them had the same feeling: neither of them expected Draco to try to reason with a giant monster.
The giant spider's compound eyes were fixed on Draco, and its chelicerae opened and closed faster, as if assessing the situation and suppressing its rage.
"Intruder... die..."
The giant spider roared angrily once more.
"Do you know who's standing in front of you?" Draco invoked his name again. "I am Draco, the very same Young Master Malfoy killed Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest!"
"You're hanging around in this Forbidden Forest, aren't you going to go out and ask around? Don't mess with me, understand?"
Hermione looked at Draco with some surprise, not expecting him to bring up "reputation" and "connections" at this moment, but it also sounded strangely... in line with his usual style.
She felt a mix of helplessness and amusement, her cheeks flushed. Every time this guy scared someone, he was so... handsome?
Jackdaw was completely dumbfounded; he had no idea that such a thing happened in the Forbidden Forest.
After hearing Draco's words, the giant spider visibly stopped moving, its spider eyes fixed on Draco.
Especially the arrogant expression on his face.
News wasn't completely cut off from the Forbidden Forest. Some intelligent and wondrous creatures weren't entirely unaware of the outside world; it had indeed heard the news!
There was a young Malfoy who personally ended Voldemort, whom even Goblin and dark wizards feared.
Draco astutely caught the giant spider's hesitation. He pressed his advantage, softening his tone slightly, but still maintaining a forceful edge:
"Besides, your spider race has such a strong reproductive ability, you have countless offspring."
"Is it worth sacrificing your hard-earned ability to speak to people for a kid who attacked first but was outmatched and killed?"
"Where there's life, there's hope."
"You agree with that, don't you?" he said, making the firelight on the tip of the staff flicker even brighter.
The giant spider remained silent for a good ten seconds.
Those terrifying compound eyes scanned back and forth between Draco, Hermione, and the wands and torches in their hands.
Finally, its massive body took a slight half-step back, and then, incredibly, it slowly turned around, moved its long, spiky legs, and Silencio disappeared into the dark forest on the other side of the road.
Only after the suffocating oppression had completely subsided did Hermione feel a chill run down her spine.
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Draco: " Merlin... you actually... made it go?"
This is even more surprising than defeating it outright.
Jackdaw's voice, filled with admiration, drifted over. " Mr. Malfoy... you... you are truly... impressive." He couldn't think of a more suitable word.
Draco tossed his hair triumphantly.
"See? This is the art of language, commonly known as 'verbal persuasion.' Avoid physical violence if possible."
"Once Laodeng becomes Minister for Magic, once he establishes that title, it'll probably save him a lot of trouble." He seemed to have already foreseen the "convenience" Lucius would have after taking power.
"You're just pretending!" Hermione chuckled at his words, then shook her head at his constant talk of family power.
"When you're traveling, you give yourself your own identity!"
Now Jackdaw was completely in awe, nodding repeatedly. " Young Master Malfoy, Young Master Malfoy is awesome!"
"Let's go," Draco said, raising the torch again. "Don't waste time. Find out the truth as soon as possible and get back."
They continued on their way.
The giant spider seemed to have "judged the situation" and left, and for the rest of their journey, they encountered no further disturbances or obstacles from any other spiders.
It seems the spider "parent" warned its offspring that a formidable threat had temporarily entered the area.
The forest path returned to silence, and with the occasional guidance from Jackdaw, the two humans and the ghost continued to venture deeper into the cave that concealed secrets and dangers.
"It seems that sometimes reasoning is more effective than chanting spells," Hermione murmured as she followed Draco.
"Of course," Draco turned around and gave her a confident smile, "But it depends on the person. It works when I say it, but it won't work when others do."
Listening to his arrogant and conceited words,
Hermione rolled her eyes dramatically, but couldn't help but let her lips curve into a sweet smile.
"You... you're never humble for a moment."
"But..."
She looked up at Draco and added:
"You're right,
"Only you can be so arrogant it makes people grit their teeth, yet you can actually manage to smooth over all the trouble."
Draco stopped, turned around, and stared at Hermione, the torchlight flickering on his golden hair.
He leaned close to Hermione's ear and said in a teasing and suggestive voice, "So, according to custom, shouldn't a hero be given a kiss as a token of gratitude?"