Chapter 536 Puppet Patriarch

Chapter 536 Puppet Patriarch

After Nymphadora left, Sherin sat there alone, lost in thought for a while.

He had misjudged the power of Walpurgis. Fortunately, the battle at the Alchemy Conference this time gave him a wake-up call. It was time for him to send more people to investigate whether Walpurgis had any other external aid.

Moreover, Voldemort has begun to secretly recruit troops in the Ministry of Magic. It is known that Ludo Bagman has become a Death Eater, but it is not known whether there are other people in the Ministry of Magic who have joined Voldemort. This also needs to be carefully guarded against.

He said hello to the maids, changed into his going-out robes, and then Apparated away.

Hogsmeade Village, Miracle Alchemy Workshop.

Xie Lin kissed Furong on the pretty face and said belatedly "Merry Christmas". Although Furong was a little dissatisfied because she couldn't spend Christmas with Xie Lin, all this was quickly melted by Xie Lin's sweet words.

Shaylin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Thinking about the five girlfriends he would meet later and how they were ignored by him at Hogwarts during Christmas, he suddenly felt a little uneasy.

In the secret room below the Miracle Alchemy Workshop, the long-lost Gullit Peasgood and Venia Piersworth appeared there.

At the end of last semester, the two of them entered the archives of the Ministry of Magic for internship under the arrangement of Sherin and Amelia, and were ordered by Sherin to collect information about the city of Cliff Mountain. I think the two of them appeared at this moment, they must have made an important discovery.

Xie Ling sat quietly in a high-back chair, his hands resting on his chin, listening attentively to the two people's reports.

Gu Lie was the first to speak: "Sherin, we have followed your instructions and conducted several months of investigation in the archives of the Ministry of Magic. We have finally found out the key information about the city of Precipice Mountain."

Xie Lin raised his eyes slightly, his eyes were sharp, and his tone was calm with a hint of oppression: "Speak!"

Veniya nodded slightly, flipped open the document in her hand, and said clearly: "According to our investigation, the Cliff Mountain City is located on the top of a mountain in Bhutan. No one knows its exact location, and it is not recorded in any records."

She paused, then continued, "The only way to enter the Cliff Mountain City is to first pass through an unknown wizard village at the foot of the mountain, and then climb the ladder from there to find the final entrance."

"Unknown Wizard Village?" Xie Lin repeated in a low voice, with a thoughtful look on his face. An ancient wizard village that still doesn't even have a name, obviously doesn't want to have too much interaction with the outside world.

Gu Lie took over and explained, "Yes, this is a village inhabited by pure wizards. It has no name and is isolated from the outside world. The residents have lived there for generations, and few people in the outside world know of its existence. Its entrance is protected by powerful magic, and it cannot be reached directly by Apparition or Floo powder. The only way in is through a special door key."

Xie Ling's eyes darkened slightly, and his index finger slid slowly on the back of his palm, his tone unchanged: "What kind of door key?"

In his heart, he secretly thought that this place required a specific portkey to enter, which meant that it was extremely heavily guarded, similar to Azkaban and the Enchanted Gardens.

Venia took a deep breath and answered firmly, "From what we understand, its shape is similar to XZ's prayer wheel. To activate it, it must be turned in a specific way and triggered with the correct magic. Once successful, the holder will be sent to the nameless wizard village."

Xie Ling's fingertips stopped moving, he nodded slightly, and said in a low voice: "The prayer wheel... do you know where it is?"

Gu Lie replied calmly, "This portkey is extremely rare. We searched all the records in Great Britain and only found two."

"Two pieces? Where are they?" Xie Ling raised his eyes, his gaze as sharp as a knife.

Venia slowly uttered two names: "One is in the hands of Dumbledore, and the other is held by the Ministry of Magic."

Hearing this, Xie Lin raised his eyebrows slightly, raised a faint arc at the corner of his mouth, and revealed a bit of interest in his eyes: "Ministry of Magic?"

Guile nodded slightly and lowered his voice: "Yes, the portkey of the Ministry of Magic is hidden deep in the Department of Mysteries and is under strict protection."

Schelling's eyes were deep and his voice was as calm as water. "You have done a good job. This intelligence explains why Walpurgis targeted the Department of Mysteries."

"what do you mean……"

"You must have heard about it when you were interning at the Ministry of Magic. Within just a few months, there were two cases of illegal intrusion in the Department of Mysteries—" Sherin said in a deep voice.

He went on to say, "Sturges Podmore was probably a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He was controlled by Walpurgis with the Imperius Curse and tried to infiltrate the Department of Mysteries. He eventually failed and was arrested and sentenced to six months in Azkaban."

Gulie and Venia looked at each other in surprise. They didn't expect that there were so many stories behind a simple case of illegal invasion.

"This is not the end yet. You must have heard about the Unspoken Broderick Bode, right? As an Unspoken Broderick, he was arrested in the Department of Mysteries. If I'm not mistaken, he was also possessed..."

"Being able to control a Silent Man..." Thinking of this, Guile's face changed drastically, and he murmured, "So, the Ministry of Magic has been infiltrated by Walpurgis, and it's so serious that he can easily take away the soul of a Silent Man?"

"That's right," Xie Lin's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam, "The war has already begun, we don't have any more time to waste," he said seriously, "You two should also be careful, and protect yourselves when working in the Ministry of Magic. The defense bracelets I gave you must be worn at all times and are not allowed to be taken off at any time."

"Yes, we understand!" Gulie and Venia responded in unison.

Although the defensive magic on the defense bracelet was engraved by the Hohenheim family and is enough to resist the general Imperius Curse, it does not mean that it is foolproof. After all, the true strength of the enemy is still unknown, so it is better to be cautious in everything.

……

After Gulie and Venia saluted Xie Lin, they respectfully left the secret room, and the heavy stone door slowly closed.

The next moment, a slight "crackling" sound suddenly rang out, and Dobby appeared in the center of the secret room with two figures. A man in a black robe bowed, and beside him, a girl stood quietly, with an indifferent expression, like a sculpture without a trace of emotion.

Xie Lin's eyes slowly swept over them, and his voice was calm and majestic: "Selwyn, it seems that you have lived up to your trust."

Selwyn bowed his head and replied respectfully: "Master, I have completed my mission. This is Gardel Lestrange, from the Cyril branch of the French Lestrange family."

Xie Lin's eyes fell on the girl. Jia Deer stood quietly, her pale face without any extra expression, her light gray eyes were cold and distant, as if she was just a bystander, not a party to this transaction.

She looked no more than seventeen years old, with a slender and well-proportioned figure, but too thin, obviously due to long-term malnutrition. Her facial features were extremely delicate, with a sense of French nobility, but her overall beauty was ruined by her dry skin and dry hair.

She was wearing a simple and plain black dress. Although the fabric was not luxurious, it was well-cut and revealed her ingenuity. Then, Selwyn respectfully handed Jiadel's personal information to Sherin. Sherin took it and opened it to look carefully. The record on it was very detailed, and it could be said that it recorded her life in every detail.

As we all know, the Lestrange family in France had been extinct when Leta Lestrange died at the hands of Grindelwald, and Gardel was actually from another branch of the family - the Cyril bloodline.

As a branch family, they had fallen into poverty a century ago. Although Gardel had excellent grades in Beauxbatons, and was particularly good at studying literature, innovative magic, and alchemy, she was taciturn and unsocial, always looking like an icy beauty who kept people at a distance. As a result, she could not make a close friend at school, and was not liked by any professor.

After graduation, she was unable to find a job she dreamed of in France. She was rejected in nearly a hundred interviews. After many twists and turns, she was short of money and had no money to live on. She had no choice but to settle for a low-level job as a clothing cutter in a third-rate wizard clothing store. This also gave her rich experience in engraving alchemical runes and making wizard costumes.

Xie Lin closed the information in his hand and slowly said, "Jadeel, do you know why I asked Selwyn to bring you here?"

The girl raised her eyes slightly, met his gaze, and said in a cold and calm voice: "Maybe... it's because my last name is Lestrange."

The corners of Xie Lin's mouth slightly raised a faint arc, and he said lightly: "That's right. The Lestrange family of Great Britain is now leaderless and needs a head of the family."

Jiadaier's brows frowned slightly, her voice still cold: "So, you want me to be a puppet?"

Xie Lin smiled softly, leaned forward slightly, stared at Jia Deer's eyes with sharp eyes, and said calmly: "You are very smart. Indeed, I need you to become the nominal head of the Lestrange family and lead the family to submit to me."

Jia Daier was silent for a moment, then whispered: "I don't have the right to refuse, right?"

Selwyn sneered, "If you were worthless, why would the master bother to find you?"

Sherin waved his hand gently, and Selwyn immediately restrained his expression, bowed his head respectfully, and then Dobby Apparated away. Only Sherin and Gardel were left in the secret room. The air became extremely quiet, with only the sound of the candlelight flickering in his ears.

Xie Ling propped up his chin, and said calmly with an unquestionable tone: "I'll be frank. Your life in France is not satisfactory. If you are willing to agree to my conditions, even though you are a puppet head of the family, I can guarantee that you will have no worries about food and clothing from now on, and even live a life of wealth and glory."

Jiadel didn't say anything, but just stood there quietly, as if waiting for him to finish.

Xie Ling continued: "Although you must obey my orders at all times, I will also allow you a certain degree of freedom. You can do what you want as long as it does not affect my plan. This is your choice after all - tell me, are you willing to be a puppet or return to your miserable life?"

Jiadel's fingertips curled slightly, but her face remained calm, as if she had already accepted her fate. She slowly said, "I can agree. But there is one condition."

Xie Lin raised an eyebrow and motioned for her to continue.

Gardel lowered her eyes slightly, and said in a low but firm voice: "I need resources, resources for magic research... I can become the head of Lestrange, but I hope to continue to study magic instead of becoming a worthless pawn."

"I can give you money and resources, and to a degree that you can never imagine in your life. The question is -" Xie Lin said coldly: "What can you give me? What can I get from it?"

Xie Lin's words were like a sharp blade, pointing directly to the core of the problem. He was not giving alms, but a deal. Since Jiadel wanted more, he had to prove his worth.

In his opinion, giving her a life of plenty was a generous reward for her willingness to become a puppet head of the family. Moreover, Sherin didn't need her. Even without her, Sherin could still directly control the Lestrange family through the Imperius Curse. She had no right to ask for more.

Jiadel bit her lower lip, and a trace of struggle flashed across her calm and restrained face. She said in a low voice: "Dad once said... I have a talent that others don't have. But I have never told anyone."

She looked up at Xie Lin, with a hint of hesitation and caution in her eyes, as if she was weighing a dangerous secret. After a moment, she asked softly, "Do you... have any dark magic items?"

Xie Lin narrowed his eyes slightly, examined her for a moment, and then took out a silver object from his arms. The whole object was a cold silver-white color, and it was engraved with ancient curse runes. Once it came into contact with the target, it would turn into a sharp weapon to attack and inject the curse into the opponent's body, causing it to suffer unbearable pain or even death.

Jiadel took the silverware directly with her bare hands without any protective measures. This scene made Xie Lin frown. He originally thought that the girl would be attacked by the curse, but the silverware had no reaction and lay quietly in her hands, like an ordinary object.

And what happened next was the scene that shocked Xie Ling the most.

The moment Gardel's fingers touched the silverware - Sherin noticed it.

Her look began to change.

In her originally gentle grey eyes, a layer of black mist seemed to slowly emerge from the depths of her pupils, like some ancient and deep shadow awakening in her body.

Her expression changed from reserved and calm to a chilling indifference - not anger, not excitement, but a coldness that was completely stripped of emotion. She examined the object as if she were looking at a corpse.

Her breathing slowed down, and a very light smile slowly appeared at the corner of her mouth - the smile was strange and faint, but chilling.

"…It's been a long time."

She whispered, her tone carrying a completely different magnetism and gloom from before, as if another person had taken over her body.

Xie Lin looked at her calmly, and his magic eyes also caught the silver trembling violently. The originally cold magic tool seemed to sense the existence of some kind of "master" in Jiadel's hands, and began to deconstruct and change on its own. The sharp blade unfolded from the inside, and it was faintly shining with black light.

Xie Ling's magic eye immediately noticed the changes in the silverware - the power of the curse attached to the silverware was rapidly expanding, and it was 50% stronger than before!

Oh my god, what a heaven-defying talent this is.

His eyes darkened slightly, and his tone began to take on a hint of seriousness. It was obvious that Jiadel's talent was worthy of his serious consideration: "What kind of ability is this?"

Jiadel raised her head, her grey eyes were still calm, but underneath that calmness was a kind of secret ecstasy and pride. She said slowly: "'The Second Evil Soul'."

Her voice was soft, but every word was as sharp as a knife, carrying a hint of danger that could send chills down one's spine.

"I was born with two souls in one body. In addition to the current me, there is another 'her' living in me... She is the embodiment of darkness, pure evil, and a soul that specializes in black magic. When I switch with her, my magic power will undergo a qualitative change - all black magic will become stronger, and the essence of black magic items can be awakened by me, showing a power that exceeds the creator's preset."

She raised the corners of her mouth slightly, and at that moment, Xie Ling seemed to see the shadow of "another person" in her expression.

"In other words," Gardel concluded calmly, "I am a natural practitioner of the dark arts."