Chapter 430: Establishing Authority

"Hey! Night‑roaming little wizard?" Pi Pi Gui's voice was shrill, and Bai Lang had already seen a trumpet and a big drum materialize in the creature's hands. "You bird‑thing, lost your memory?" Bai Lang said half in Chinese, half in English. Without a word he swooped down, and before Pi Pi Gui could beat the drum or blow the trumpet, he smashed a staff down on the head. The wind‑and‑thunder strike instantly turned Pi Pi Gui and the thing in his hand into a puddle of mush... Then Bai Lang whistled, turned, and fled like a gale.

Back in his own bed, Bai Lang felt extremely refreshed; from now on he decided it would be wise to interact more with Pi Pi Gui—after all, the creature's memory is poor and it can't be killed, so Bai Lang was certain that if he saw Pi Pi Gui tomorrow, he'd only have a vague impression. Harry Potter and his friends returned later than Bai Lang, and the next day when Bai Lang saw them, each of them clearly had something on their mind—by the way, Hermione Granger had come to school with him in the same dormitory, and now she was hanging out with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, forming a trio.

Bai Lang was actually a bit more familiar with Neville Longbottom and the explosive‑mad Seamus Finnigan, while his relationships with the others were fairly plain. Bai Lang felt somewhat out of place—Gryffindor's little lions cluster together, are enthusiastic, and often cause mischief, and besides sharing a penchant for trouble with them, Bai Lang is even less sociable and his temperament is probably harsher. Indeed, how could a lone tiger possibly mingle with lions?

Every morning he gets up to do breath‑strengthening drills and practice martial arts; Neville has seen it, Seamus has seen it, and even most Gryffindor students have seen it—some rise early, some suffer insomnia, some simply stay out all night, so they can watch Bai Lang inhale and practice at sunrise. There are also many first‑ and second‑year wizards from the Muggle world who want to learn "kung fu" from Bai Lang—their minds haven't fully shed Muggle thoughts, and they still remember the "kung fu" they saw in TV movies.

However, the only one who has persisted until now is Neville. Although Neville isn't from the Muggle world, he's quite enthusiastic about training this physical skill—perhaps he performs poorly in most courses, but at least in the "kung fu" he practices with his friend and in Magical Botany he shows very good results, making him feel he isn't a total waste.

Neville isn't a waste; Bai Lang thinks he is at least serious and persevering in martial practice—though his achievements aren't high, becoming a solid man is no problem, and if you judge purely by physical combat strength, professional wrestling is nothing. As for Bai Lang himself, he's keen to find Pi Pi Gui to play, of course with all sorts of pranks. Pi Pi Gui isn't scared at all; when Bai Lang comes, it dares to face him. When Bai Lang is at a disadvantage—being hit by Pi Pi Gui with a Big Poop Bomb using the Invisibility Penetration Method—there is so‑called "trick power," but it's a magical gadget, and that trick power is useless...

And Pi Pi Gui has been smashed into mush more than once; in fact, it's been smashed into mush even more often... Yet their contests are basically telepathic—each gives the other a glance, then they sneak off to find a place to duel... Bai Lang finds it quite amusing, and Pi Pi Gui also revels in it—the noisy ghost's energy is boundless.

Continuing his classes, Bai Lang came to understand the level of his magical talent—without exaggeration, he's on par with Neville. Whether it's Transfiguration Class or Spell Class, the two of them have about the same success rate, even less than the explosive‑mad Seamus—e. g., Bai Lang still hasn't managed to turn a matchstick into a full needle; he can only make half a needle. Still, Professor McGonagall, seeing that Bai Lang is practically a wandless caster, has let him get by until now.

Spell Class was the same; after much effort Bai Lang finally managed a wandless casting of the Levitation Spell, a progress even Neville couldn't match... In Potions Class, he and Seamus became the two least popular little wizards aside from Harry Potter; under Bai Lang's cover, Neville could barely make it through each lesson—while Bai Lang and Seamus each time shouted "Dawari Xi! I damn see this thing smoking!" then either kicked it away or made it explode, so even the furious Severus Snape had no choice but to place them right next to the doorway. "Mr. Bai! Mr. Finnigan! Five points deducted from each of you! For your brains that are like giants!"

Finally, whenever Potions Class started, Professor Snape would immediately dock each of them five points; he never made a mistake—because every time they exploded... Seamus was very upset, but Bai Lang was completely indifferent, wearing a nonchalant expression. He didn't even bother looking at the four house point tables in the hall—though senior Gryffindor students and Hermione volunteered to tutor him, Bai Lang simply declined. "Instead of getting the House Cup, give me a hundred galleons. Since there are no galleons, what good is this busted cup?"

Thus he became increasingly isolated, and Bai Lang enjoyed it. The Slytherin wizards could mock Harry Potter, could constantly provoke him, but so far none have dared to provoke Bai Lang—some have, but before they could cast a spell, Bai Lang rushed in and broke their limbs. Regardless of gender, Bai Lang's charge was just a grab and a twist, resulting in either dislocation or fracture.

Under magical healing, those injuries could be mended quickly, but after everyone watched Bai Lang smiling amid the wailing crowd, listening contentedly to the screams, no one dared to provoke him again. Bai Lang was punished with a full month of confinement and forced labor, yet privately several Slytherin wizards showed him goodwill—perhaps people are lowly creatures; you have to beat them to earn respect?

When Bai Lang broke those young wizards' bones, he did so cleanly and without hesitation; that display seemed to make Professor Snape say, "Just expel him; we can't educate a thug." He heard other professors object—those words were whispered to Bai Lang by the Slytherin Bulesi, clearly trying to curry favor. Bai Lang smiled, "Very well, thanks, Bulesi. So, want to come with me to find Pi Pi Gui for some fun?" he invited.

In the end they went to several places, and they watched Bai Lang and Pi Pi Gui each unleash their ultimate moves—Bai Lang was bombarded with a Big Poop Egg all over, while Pi Pi Gui was literally smashed into a puddle of mush... Bai Lang's grin, like that of a man‑eating tiger, left the students both fearful and awed—those were meticulously honed killing techniques, and every pure‑blood present could grasp the swift motions and the terrifying power on that wand; if any of them were in that spot, they'd be smashed to pieces and die.

So an interesting thing happened: when Bai Lang was moving around the campus, he wasn't only sometimes accompanied by Neville and Seamus, but also by one or two Slytherin wizards—such as the proud Bulesi Zhabini.

Sentenced to confinement and service, Bai Lang this time went to the fourth‑floor corridor—the area declared absolutely off‑limits... Under the watch of Mr. Fei Erqi, he had to clean the entire corridor and the rooms behind it with a mop and rag—and there was also a huge bucket of blood‑soaked cow bones and entrails, apparently for him to feed something.