"Hurry!"
The three of them dashed towards the bushes from which the dark shadow had emerged.
"Whoosh!"
Weilan hadn't even had time to push aside the obscuring bushes when he saw a dark human silhouette dart out from behind them and run towards the dense birch forest at the edge of the village.
Weilan's eyes widened—the person's first reaction was to flee, not to use magic to block them?
"Calm down, we're still underage, we can't use magic!"
Weilan reminded his companions while pulling out one of the eight bottles of clear water from his satchel, along with the Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks provided by the Weasley twins.
He bit off the stopper of the water bottle and poured all of its contents onto the fireworks. These specially made fireworks immediately began sparking at their tails, like mad beasts, surging forward.
Weilan used his damp palm to light three more fireworks.
The magical fireworks darted wildly through the narrow forest, exploding into various shapes of dazzling pyrotechnics upon hitting objects.
The robber ahead had to dodge left and right to avoid being affected by these fireworks. With occasional slips, the robber appeared quite disheveled.
However, no matter how frantic, the robber never used any magic to hinder his pursuers or increase his speed.
Weilan became even more certain that this robber might be a Squib or something.
The distance between the two groups was shrinking. The desperate robber ahead, seeing this, directly abandoned Old Ciwei, holding only the claw-shaped grasping tool, and ran forward frantically.
Weilan shot out another firework, and this time it finally hit the robber's wrist joint.
For a moment, sparks flew, and silver flowers bloomed.
In the brief white light, Weilan saw the dirty, tattered rags wrapped around the robber's body, and also saw that the robber's exposed skin was an abnormal greenish-blue.
The robber screamed, releasing his burning and aching greenish-blue right hand.
With a crisp clang, the claw-shaped tool the robber used to snatch owls dropped to the ground.
The robber wanted to turn back to pick up the dropped tool. Ron, acting decisively, threw a dungbomb at him.
A foul odor permeated the forest, making it almost impossible to keep one's eyes open.
Weilan, however, relying on the resistance provided by 【Silverlight Protection】, was almost immune to the interference of these foul smells and continued to advance, approaching the robber!
Seeing that Weilan was barely affected, the robber's figure swayed a few times before he made his final decision—
Run!
He turned his head and ran forward, disregarding everything else.
Weilan did not pursue him.
Firstly, they were unsure where the robber was escaping to, and it would be dangerous if they were led into the enemy's stronghold.
Secondly, with the tool the robber had discarded, they had already obtained useful clues. Returning to report to Pippin would certainly earn them the 25 Galleon reward for the clue.
As for the third reason...
Weilan wasn't sure if the greenish-blue skin he saw at the time was just his imagination. But he didn't dare to gamble that the other party had no problems whatsoever.
Weilan bent down and picked up the claw-shaped tool from the ground.
It had a cold metallic feel and was heavy in his hand.
It was late, and Weilan couldn't see clearly, so he could only feel the structure of the object through touch.
A large number of metal protrusions and indentations were arranged in some complex pattern, making Weilan involuntarily think of the intricate mechanical devices from before the age of electricity.
Weilan began to guess the origin of this thing:
Wizards were accustomed to using magic rather than tools. And Muggle technology now hardly manufactured such retro-structured metal machinery anymore.
Could it be... Goblin-made?
Weilan's heart skipped a beat.
After the stench of the dungbomb dissipated, Hermione and Ron successively arrived by Weilan's side.
Hermione was holding Old Ciwei in her arms. This old owl, after such a big ordeal, was completely unable to fly anymore and could only lie in Hermione's arms, letting out weak cries.
On the way to the village, Weilan handed the heavy mechanical tool to Hermione:
"Hermione, this is what the robber dropped. I suspect it's a Goblin creation. Feel it, do you have any ideas?"
Hermione handed Old Ciwei to Ron and reached out to take the tool.
After examining it thoroughly, she concluded:
"It must be Goblin-made. These metal structures are too complex. Many small metal parts simply cannot be processed by humans."
Led by Ron, they walked together to the village's designated Floo Powder teleportation spot.
By the light of the fireplace, Hermione and Weilan both marveled at the exquisite structure of the mechanical tool.
Various small and differently shaped metal parts fit together perfectly, without any redundant design, almost a natural metal forging craftsmanship.
"It's Goblin metal! This is something made by Goblins."
Hermione tapped the surface of the mechanism, and the metal produced a crisp, clean sound:
"Only Goblins possess this kind of metal forging craftsmanship."
Weilan was quite puzzled:
"But just now it was clearly a man. Although the light wasn't good, Goblins aren't that tall."
"Moreover, Goblins are mostly selfish. To borrow something from a Goblin, it would probably cost a lot to rent, wouldn't it?"
"Oh, who cares! That's a problem for Pippin to consider." Ron interrupted Weilan's thoughts and shook the sparkling powder in his hand at him, "Come on, let's go back and report to Pippin first."
Weilan still had a lot of Floo Powder left from what he bought for Ron last time. Ron grabbed a handful for everyone.
"Pippin's Potions!"
Weilan stood in front of the roaring fireplace and clearly stated his destination.
Then he sprinkled the Floo Powder into the fireplace. The red flames in the hearth suddenly shot up and turned into a strange emerald green.
Weilan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and stepped into the green flames.
A dizzying sensation.
After the dizziness stopped, Weilan opened his eyes and walked out of the fireplace.
At this point, the decor outside the fireplace had already changed to Pippin's Potions.
Hermione and Ron followed shortly after.
"You're back. Did you find anything?"
Pippin immediately came forward, his lips moving, his eyes full of anticipation.
"We met the person. Although it was dark and we couldn't see his exact appearance, through our encounter, we still learned a lot of information."
"First, the robber is a man, about 6 feet tall. He is very likely a Squib, as he used a tool, not magic, to ambush the owl, and he didn't use any magic during our pursuit."
"Most importantly, this person is likely involved with Goblins. We obtained the tool he used to ambush the owl."
Pippin's gaze quickly darted between Hermione and Ron, finally settling on the metal mechanical device in Hermione's hand:
"Is this it? Quick, let me see."
"Wait!" Weilan stopped Hermione and extended his hand to Pippin, "We've already found the important clue for you. Where's the reward you promised us?"
Pippin chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his hands together:
"Let me examine it first, then I'll settle the remaining reward with you."
Weilan wasn't falling for that. He crossed his arms and cautiously scrutinized the man:
"Cash on delivery. If we don't see the money, we won't give this to you."
"I'm telling you, this thing is genuine Goblin metal."
"Even if we can't cash it in here today, with a little more effort to find channels in the coming years, we can always sell it for a higher price."