The group dispersed, searching various parts of the massive estate in teams of three. Damian took two Guards to search the basement.
Upon arriving at the bottom of the stairs, Damian found the basement pitch black. There wasn't a single lamp lit.
The Guards lit the oil lamps they carried, which emitted a dim light, illuminating the basement slightly.
The basement's layout was brutally simple. It had been cleared out quite thoroughly, with only a few tables placed in the corner.
Jack followed Damian down the stairs. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned against the doorframe as he explained, "This used to be the basement the White family used to store food. We just moved back to the ancestral home and haven't started using it yet."
Jack stared at Damian's back, a hint of imperceptible mockery in his grin. He was entirely confident these Investigators wouldn't find anything.
The moment Old White's mutated form had left the house to attack the riverside, Jack had started moving things out of the basement. By the time Damian and the others came to search, he had long since finished transferring everything.
Damian ignored Jack's aristocratic Wizard tone. He walked over and touched the tables stacked in the corner with his finger.
"These tables don't look like they're rarely used," Damian said softly. "There isn't a speck of dust on them."
Jack's smile faltered, the arrogant curve of his lips freezing stiffly on his face.
Recovering quickly, he waved a hand nonchalantly. "That's all thanks to the industrious Rodrigo; he's a good butler."
Damian didn't mind; he had already found the answer because when he touched the tabletop, the metal disc in his mind shimmered. A faint red light emerged and was absorbed by the metal disc; this was the same energy found on Old White's mutant form.
Combining this with the scene he had perceived when he secretly visited this house before, Jack was definitely doing something unknown in the basement, and Old White's mutation was inextricably linked to him!
Furthermore, Damian could sense an inexplicable hostility from Jack. Making a bold but logical connection, Damian realized the abomination's attack on 56 Riverside Street was no accident.
Jack had orchestrated the hit. Even the two rogue Dark Wizards Damian had killed outside Madam Alsha's manor had likely been hired by the man standing behind him.
Half an hour later, the people met in the drawing room.
Link asked, "Any clues?"
Damian shook his head. He didn't tell Link the clues he had found, as it involved the secret of the metal disc in his mind.
Anna spoke up, holding a Meditation Method study notes. "I found a few of Old White's Meditation Method study notes, but they're all from over a decade ago."
"He's been stuck as a Third-Level Wizard Apprentice for over a decade; he might have stopped practicing the Meditation Method a long time ago," Link noted with a nod. "I didn't find any clues on my end either. Let's go check Old White's grave."
Damian and the operatives followed Jack out to the White family cemetery.
After digging up Old White's grave and opening the coffin, it was empty, with no traces inside. Link felt that Old White's body hadn't been buried with the coffin from the start. They didn't find any clues at Old White's grave either.
After a busy night without finding any clues, everyone was a bit exhausted. Link could only let everyone go home to rest first, and they agreed to check Lady Alsha's autopsy report together tomorrow.
After Damian returned to his residence, he first went to see the injured Chris.
He checked Chris's wounds. After Chris drank a hemostatic agent and bandaged the wounds himself, the injuries were now under control.
Damian pulled two distinct vials from his pocket—one containing the skele-gro, and another holding a Flesh-Replenishing Potion.
"Drink this red Potion first, then drink this transparent Potion the day after tomorrow. For the transparent one, three times a day, one-third of a bottle at a time."
Chris looked up, his face pale but profoundly grateful. "Lord Damian, thank you!"
"Rest well," Damian said gently. "Your arm should fully grow back within three days."
Back in his own room, Damian immediately took out a dark green Potion and poured it into his mouth. A slightly stinging sensation echoed in his mouth and esophagus, finally fermenting into a nauseating taste that was very unpleasant.
In an instant, his whole face wrinkled up. Something seemed to squirm under his skin; his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears began to melt, and his entire face was constantly deforming. Then, his bones also began to change, and a series of strange noises came from his whole body.
A moment later, Damian turned into a thin-faced, dark-eyed man with red hair. This was the fake identity he used when causing trouble in the Hogwarts World—Gelman.
Gelman was going to expand his new business in the other world tonight! The space twisted, and the figure in the room instantly vanished from the spot.
18 Municipal Square Street. The top-floor room of the White Ancestral Home.
After a twist in space, a thin-faced, dark-eyed man with red hair appeared in the room. The disguised Damian had returned to the White Ancestral Home.
Jack was a dangerous person. According to what he knew, Old White was only an aristocratic Wizard whose combat power had degraded significantly during his lifetime. The mutant Old White's strength could be said to be very troublesome; if not for the basilisks eye poison, it would have been very difficult for him to deal with Old White's mutant form.
If Damian allowed Jack cause trouble, he might eventually create a monster even more terrifying than Old White's mutant form. Damian had no intention of leaving a hostile, ambitious enemy alive to plot against him.
Since Link's official investigation had stalled, Damian decided to solve this problem personally.
He quickly waved his wand, casting a Disillusionment Charm to hide his form and a Silencing Charm to eliminate the sound of his footsteps.
Keeping his wand low, Damian cast a detection magic. An invisible wave emanated from his hand, sweeping through the White Ancestral Home.
Through the detection magic, Damian perceived that Jack had already gone to sleep in a room on the second floor.
He didn't plan to kill Jack directly; he needed a live captive. He wanted to dig out the secret of Old White's mutation from Jack's mind.
Although Jack was only a Second-Level Wizard Apprentice, Damian wasn't taking any chances. He reached into his robes and pulled out the basilisks eye from his pocket.
With the help of the Silencing Charm, Damian arrived at the second-floor room silently and stood before Jack's bed. Jack was already asleep at this time.
He held the basilisks eye, aiming it at Jack's face, and called out softly, "Jack White."
Jack, in his dreams, suddenly heard someone calling his name and woke up with a start. "Who's there?"
The awakened Jack quickly scanned the room, but there was nothing in front of him, making him wonder if he had just had a nightmare.
Damian silently canceled the Disillusionment Charm and suddenly appeared before Jack's eyes.
Seeing the sudden appearance of a strange figure, he was greatly shocked and said in utter astonishment: "You are...?"
Before Jack could finish his sentence, his eyes met the basilisks eye. His astonished expression instantly froze on his face, and he became paralyzed on the bed.
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