Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 20 Vampires

Overturned Alley.

Murphy was dressed in a black robe, with a cloak over his head and a hood on his head, looking as if he wanted everyone to know he was a villain.

He didn't actually want to act so childish, but he just couldn't help it.

Dark wizards and stuff, that's so cool!

If he weren't so incredibly stupid, he would have loved to create some cold air around him, emphasizing his ruthlessness.

However, when he actually arrived at Knockdown Alley, he discovered that it was indeed full of strangely dressed people.

For example, there was that old witch who looked like she had just crawled out of a garbage dump. Her hat was crooked and covered with oysters and barnacles. Her hair, which was curly like seaweed, had a purulent green color, like poison, whether from dyeing or some kind of magic potion, making people keep their distance.

And then there was the hunchbacked sorcerer with a huge, bulbous nose. Several enormous insects were crawling on his bald head and hunchback, seemingly sucking his blood, yet he looked quite pleased with himself, as if he were floating on air.

There was another tall, thin wizard standing on the street, wearing a tattered cloak, holding a birdcage in one hand. Inside, a wicked bird kept opening its beak, trying to make a sound, but it seemed to be under a silent spell.

In his other hand, however, he was holding a sickle.

He stood silently on the side of the street, motionless, looking from a distance like a terrifying scarecrow.

Faced with these monsters and demons, Murphy could only admit defeat and feel secretly ashamed.

I was being conservative.

In comparison, her own attire was quite ordinary, even appearing overly plain.

It's like you finally overcome your shyness and cosplay a character you wouldn't have dared to try before, but when you get to the anime convention, wow, there are cross-dressing masters everywhere, and your little bit of sense of accomplishment from breaking through your own limits instantly becomes meaningless.

However, this is also good, with so many eye-catching bags, there's no fear of being targeted.

Murphy strolled around Knockturn Alley and found several places where he could open a shop. The rent was very cheap, ranging from two hundred to five hundred gallons. Murphy immediately rented one of the larger shops and decided to have someone do some simple renovations in a few days.

Then Murphy found a shop selling potion ingredients called "Toad Cellar".

Murphy inquired and found out that they only sold unconventional potion ingredients, such as human bone powder, fingernails, cobra venom glands, and witch's menstrual blood.

But after paying several gallons for consultation, Murphy still managed to get a name from the shop owner, Harima: Lisandro Foley.

It is said that he can get any material Murphy wants.

At the "Song of the Sirens" tavern, Murphy met Lisandro.

It was a pale-skinned young man playing cards with another wizard, who soon lost. The notary standing nearby returned their wands, and Lisandro laughed as he pocketed the Galleons that the other man had staked on the table.

"I'll take a turn." Murphy shoved the loser aside, who grumbled, but Murphy pulled out a wand, and the loser stepped aside.

He handed the wand to the notary and sat down.

But Lisandro stood up. "I don't play with strangers."

As he spoke, he prepared to tidy up the playing cards on the table.

Murphy reached out and pressed him down. "Halimah said you were hospitable, and I thought she meant it."

He placed twenty Galleons on the table, saying, "Let's play a round. If you win, I won't take a penny; if you lose, you can keep these. How about it? Or are you too scared?"

"Frederick, this kid called you a coward." The bartender at the tavern seemed to be an acquaintance of Frederick's and made a sarcastic remark.

"Go to hell, go sell your pig piss!" Lisandro cursed, but then sat down again. "You've got guts, kid. I'll play a game with you. If you lose, you've got to settle things. If you win, you'll pay me double!"

"Kid, I advise you not to gamble with him, this guy is crazy," the bartender advised.

"Thanks," Murphy smiled, then looked at Lisandro, "How do we play?"

"Simple," Lisandro said, gathering up the deck, shuffling it twice, dividing it into two piles, and placing them on the table.

"Each person chooses a bunch of cards, shuffles them, and then draws three cards. Whoever has the highest card wins. You can choose first."

Murphy understood that under this rule, Lisandro, who shuffled the cards first, might know part of the order of the two piles of cards. No matter which pile he chose, he could use some tricks to pull out the big cards from his pile.

Since he didn't know the original order of the cards, he could only rely on luck.

"That's not fair. You just shuffled the cards, so you might know the order, or you might have marked the cards. You'll always be able to draw the cards you want."

"There's no such thing as absolute fairness, kid. Are you going to bet or not?"

"I want to gamble, but I want to find a fairer way. Instead of us drawing the cards ourselves, someone else will deal them. This will prevent us from cheating."

Lisandro glared at him. "Who do you want to choose?"

Murphy looked around the pub, pointed at the man who had lost the bet, and said, "You're the one."

The only guy who just lost to Lisandro is definitely not one of his accomplices.

"Alright!" Lisandro surprisingly agreed, reaching for a deck of cards and scattering them in front of him. "Then let him deal the cards!"

After saying that, he pointed at the man and said, "You, Vasco, right? Get over here!"

The man approached cautiously, somewhat bewildered, but Lisandro stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "I agree to what you just mentioned on behalf of the master."

After saying that, he suddenly grabbed Vasco's neck and bit down on him.

Murphy was shocked and reached for the wand, but Vasco, who had been bitten, did not struggle. Instead, he let out a strange groan.

A moment later, Lisandro raised his head, wiped his mouth, and released Vasco, who collapsed to the ground and slowly got up after a long while.

Lisandro glanced at Murphy with a mocking expression, then tapped the table. "Deal the cards!"

Vasco's eyes were ashen as he stiffly walked to the card table. One hand moved slowly over the cards Lisandro had laid out. Suddenly, as if sensing a signal, he lowered his arm and pulled out a card, then began searching through the deck again.

Lisandro was also staring intently at Vasco, his eyes gradually turning crimson.

Looking at Vasco, two small, snake-bite-like holes on his neck were bleeding.

Grass!

vampire!

Lisandro is a damn vampire!

He has turned Vasco into his blood slave and is using the superior vampire's natural control over his blood slave to make him draw cards for him!

Merlin's rotten cow!

It's just a game of cards, is it really worth it?!

Soon, after drawing all three cards, Lisandro breathed a sigh of relief, as controlling Vasco's actions had also been quite difficult for him.

"Your turn!"

Murphy frowned, but under the other man's gaze, he had no choice but to lay out his cards just like him.

By this time, Vasco had returned to normal. He came over to Murphy, and without even looking, grabbed three cards from the top of the deck.

As Lisandro just said, Vasco seems to need something from the "master" behind Lisandro, and judging from his lack of resistance to becoming a blood slave, what he might be seeking is to become a blood slave.

After all, vampires are truly long-lived compared to ordinary wizards.

This guy is now on Lisandro's side.

"Let's reveal the cards!"

(End of this chapter)