Chapter 271: Knight Bus

Gold Galleons piled high in the vault, so much that even the goblins couldn’t resist sinking into them.

This is the kind of wealth a top-tier alchemist should accumulate, though young wizards are completely unaware of it.

Professor Snape stared heavily at Xiang Xiang Xien; he still remembered how recently he had come here, when the empty vault held only the Galleons he had just brought.

“Give me a… reasonable explanation.”

He uttered a few words.

The goblin had already retreated to the side on his own.

Yuanzeshang goblins are not allowed to let vaults remain out of their sight for long, but they cannot always adhere to principle.

“I… made some simple alchemical creations…”

Xiang Xiang Xien answered honestly.

“Hmph, crude…”

Professor Snape’s lips curled slightly, ready to sneer—then he stopped again.

“Galleons don’t fly into vaults because of simple alchemical creations. Tell me… the truth—”

His face darkened, his icy gaze sweeping over every corner of the underground vault.

Of course, there were only some Galleons here… though the quantity was immense, it still hadn’t reached the point where Severus Snape cared.

What he truly cared about was only…

“I opened a shop with Fred and George at 93 Diagon Alley.”

Xiang Xiang Xien replied.

Severus Snape was slightly surprised, but his expression remained unchanged, as if lost in thought.

“Then… I sold some notes.”

Xiang Xiang Xien continued, holding the vault storage record the goblin had given him.

He himself hadn’t expected the sales income from the Green Notes to be so high.

Snape looked at Xiang Xiang Xien, his gaze growing more complex.

Hundreds of miles beneath London, the occasional hum of small carts racing along tracks echoed—Severus Snape seemed to be staring at the young wizard before him, yet also piercing through him, gazing into distant emptiness.

The Green Notes, the Weasley and Green Magical Prank Shop… how interesting. They’d been buzzing through the Wizarding World lately, yet he’d known nothing… or rather, he’d heard, but never cared.

“But these aren’t the most important.”

Xiang Xiang Xien’s next sentence pulled Snape back from his daze; his temple veins bulged.

“What else are you hiding from me?!”

Xiang Xiang Xien somehow felt Snape’s aura this time was far stronger than ever before; his voice lowered:

“I made some simple alchemical creations.”

Compared to the vast, profound future of magical creature transfiguration, Xiang Xiang Xien didn’t feel he’d gone far—this was why he always believed he’d merely made simple creations.

“Speak—!”

“Fairy tale biscuits.”

Snape fell silent.

Countless pieces of information tangled in his mind—

Hermes, renowned as triple-great, the Chocolate Frog Card Committee’s acknowledged top candidate for the greatest wizard of the twenty-first century…

Winner of the groundbreaking contribution gold medal at the Udal International Alchemy Congress, special guest of the Century of Transfiguration (uninterviewed), alchemical legend who seized the authority of magical creatures.

He pulled an invitation from his bag, his expression shifting constantly, until he looked like a volcano about to erupt.

“Take your Galleons—go—”

Snape turned and left the vault.

Footsteps clicked sharply.

Only the cold wind of the underground vault accompanied his heartbeat.

He felt unprecedented irritation—he knew nothing at all. So in the end, what did he truly know?

This irritation persisted, unchanged even as Xiang Xiang Xien stepped out of the vault.

Soon, their figures vanished beyond the gates of Gringotts, appearing near King’s Cross Station.

Apparition allowed wizards to travel to places they knew well, but Severus Snape was unfamiliar with the area called Croydon.

So they could only reach it via special transportation.

The thought that Minerva McGonagall likely knew this place only deepened his irritation.

Inside King’s Cross Station, trains roared continuously as crowds hurried in and out; two figures in long robes always drew curious glances from passersby dressed in ordinary clothes.

They had stood there for over ten minutes; Snape said nothing, and Xiang Xiang Xien asked nothing.

It was precisely this attitude that made Snape feel an even deeper, indescribable complexity.

This fool had always held foolish trust in him—like in the vault, facing his questions, with not a single lie or concealment.

This feeling, once familiar and then vanished, filled him with unease; his thoughts churned like a Black Lake stirred by unseen hands, impossible to calm, impossible to find the true cause.

Suddenly, a brilliant light flashed from the street beside the station.

Xiang Xiang Xien confirmed his faint suspicion.

Wizards originally had many transportation options in the Muggle world, but after the Statute of Secrecy, their bizarre modes of travel were restricted.

When traveling to unfamiliar places, or when young wizards traveled, they often chose a special vehicle: the Knight Bus.

It was a bright purple three-story bus. It had just appeared as if out of nowhere, its windshield emblazoned in golden letters: Knight Bus.

Yet strangely, apart from the tall and small figures in robes, no one else seemed to see the vehicle.

At that moment, a purple-uniformed conductor leapt off the bus and shouted at the two.

“Welcome aboard the Knight Bus—emergency transport for wizards in distress. Simply extend your wand hand and step aboard, and we’ll take you anywhere you wish to go. I’m Stan Shunpike, your conductor today—oh—Professor Snape!”

He approached them with respectful fear.

This was Xiang Xiang Xien’s first time riding the Knight Bus; the last time he’d seen it was at the Alchemy Assembly, where he’d seen its blueprints.

“To—Croydon.”

Professor Snape ordered in his deep voice.

“Six sickles per person,”

Stan said, casting a curious glance at Xiang Xiang Xien,

“Pay seven and you get a mint candy…”

Some shiny objects were tossed into his hand; he happily placed a mint candy into Xiang Xiang Xien’s palm.

Xiang Xiang Xien was still examining the magical bus,

The interior was cluttered with mismatched chairs of all shapes and sizes.

When he received the mint candy, he wondered why they sold it—then he quickly understood.

The driver, Ern Plank, was an elderly wizard wearing thick glasses. He nodded to the few passengers, and the Knight Bus began “hugging the ground” as it flew.

Ern seemed to have no idea how to use the steering wheel. The Knight Bus kept lurching onto sidewalks,

Causing the little witch on Xiang Xiang Xien’s left to scream nonstop.

Fortunately, nothing was hit; streetlamps, mailboxes, and trash bins automatically leapt aside as the bus passed, then returned to their original positions after it went by.

Then the bus leapt again with a deafening *bang*; the little witch nearly flew upward, only to be yanked back down by the wizard beside her.

When the bus finally steadied for a moment, Xiang Xiang Xien quietly bit into the mint candy, feeling slightly soothed.

Thank you, dear readers—Lu is adjusting his state and working hard to update.