Half an hour later, Andrews stepped out of the tavern first, carrying Wade's suitcase.
Wade followed shortly after, dressed from head to toe like a young gentleman.
He glanced at the sun outside and casually placed a top hat on his head.
When Andrews turned around and saw Wade's flashy outfit, he could not help frowning.
With his trained eye, he could naturally tell that these clothes were not Transfigured.
Every stitch seemed to radiate the shine of Galleons.
"Boss, dressed like that, you're practically asking to get robbed."
"Robbed? You know I'm not worried about that." Wade shrugged.
"But it's still troublesome," Andrews said.
"In truth, I'm dressing like this for your sake as well, Mr. Ivanov. If I didn't, how would people know that Andrews Ivanov has found himself a respectable job?" Wade said leisurely.
"Is that really important?" Andrews asked in confusion.
"Of course. Before today, you were just an ex-convict fresh out of prison, a poacher, a smuggler. Even Old Paul saw you as a hopeless wreck. But from today onward, things are completely different. If you want revenge, you first need a respectable identity… and now, I'll be the one giving you that identity," Wade said with a smile.
Andrews fell into thought.
At that moment, Wade noticed an old, worn Thestral carriage parked outside the tavern.
The two Thestrals pulling it were painfully thin.
In Wade's impression, Thestrals were always somewhat skeletal in appearance, but to be this emaciated was quite rare. It was enough to show just how difficult Andrews's life had been.
"This is your carriage?" Wade asked.
"Yes… I noticed you didn't seem to have any transportation. This is the carriage I used for… work," Andrews said awkwardly.
By "work," he naturally meant illegal poaching and smuggling.
In fact, those two Thestrals might not have been obtained through legitimate means either.
"You're very observant, Mr. Ivanov. Staying in a place like this has truly wasted your talents," Wade said with a smile.
Andrews neither agreed nor disagreed with the praise. "Boss, get in the carriage. Tell me the destination, and we can set off."
"The destination? I don't have one. I can only give you a direction…"
"A direction?"
"Yes, a direction. You just need to keep heading that way." As he spoke, Wade pulled a small compass from his pocket.
Andrews took it, only to discover strangely that the needle was not pointing north, but northeast.
"So we just travel in this direction?"
"Yes…"
"Then it seems you don't really need a guide," Andrews said.
"How could I not? Without a guide, where would I get a carriage to ride in?" Wade replied.
As he finished speaking, he noticed more people appearing on the streets. Quite a few were already casting curious glances their way.
Clearly, Andrews was somewhat well known in this town, though likely not for good reasons.
Once Wade saw they had attracted enough attention, he somehow produced a brand-new set of clothes from nowhere.
"I'll wait here for five minutes. Go change into these in the carriage, then throw away those rags you're wearing. If you can't even dress respectably, who would believe you've regained a respectable identity?" Wade tossed the clothes over.
Andrews hurriedly caught them. He had also noticed the curious looks from the passersby, and Wade's earlier words resurfaced in his mind.
So Wade had not been lying about helping him get revenge. In fact, he had already started making preparations.
For a moment, complicated emotions welled up inside Andrews.
"Understood, boss!" Andrews shouted loudly before climbing into the carriage.
Wade glanced at the people around them before turning back toward the tavern.
Old Paul was standing at the entrance, watching him.
"Mr. Paul, I hope you won't forget our agreement," Wade said, touching the brim of his hat.
Old Paul's wrinkled face broke into a broad smile. "Of course, Mr. Li."
Not long afterward, Andrews emerged from the carriage.
Clothes really did make the man. With a new outfit and his beard and hair properly trimmed, Andrews looked far more handsome now, resembling Tom Hardy.
He moved his arms awkwardly for a moment, though it was simply because he was unused to this style of clothing.
In truth, the outfit fit perfectly, as though it had been tailored specifically for him.
Clearly, it was a set of self-adjusting robes, the kind that was always extremely expensive.
Feeling the admiring looks from passersby, Andrews instinctively straightened his back, as though regaining a bit of the confidence he once had.
"Boss, please get in."
"Mm… and take this. Give your poor Thestrals a drink. Otherwise, I suspect they'll collapse halfway through the journey." Wade handed Andrews two bottles of nutrient potion.
Andrews accepted them and was about to feed the Thestrals when Wade suddenly leaned his head back out of the carriage door.
"May I make a few small modifications to your carriage? No offense intended… but the condition inside is rather terrible."
Andrews nodded. He had used this carriage for poaching and smuggling, so strange odors were only natural. It was not surprising that someone like Wade would find it unpleasant.
Still… he distinctly remembered cleaning it thoroughly that morning.
Perhaps rich people simply had more sensitive noses.
After feeding each Thestral a mouthful of nutrient potion, Andrews prepared to board the carriage.
But the moment the two Thestrals drank the potion, their bodies suddenly began trembling uncontrollably.
Andrews was startled. Surely the potion the boss had given him was not poisonous?
"Neeee.. Hiiiii! Heeee!!!"
At that moment, the two Thestrals raised their heads and let out loud neighs.
Andrews stared in shock at the pair, now visibly restored with vitality.
What kind of potion was this? It had actually revived two sickly Thestrals back to health… and they no longer looked as thin as before.
Damn… with such incredible effects, how valuable must this potion be? And the boss had casually let him feed it to two magical creatures?
Andrews looked again at the remaining bottles of nutrient potion in his hand and could not help swallowing.
"Mr. Ivanov, that nutrient solution is for magical creatures. Humans absolutely should not drink it," Wade's voice drifted out from inside the carriage.
"Ah… of course, of course. Why would I drink it? Though… do wizards count as magical creatures?" Andrews muttered as he slipped the potion back into his pocket, only then realizing how spacious the pockets of these clothes were.
Good heavens… even a casually gifted set of clothes had an Undetectable Extension Charm on the pockets? Truly the style of a great pure-blood family.
Andrews wasted no more time. Climbing onto the driver's seat, he snapped the reins, and the carriage shot into the sky, gradually disappearing into the clouds.
The moment the carriage left, the onlookers who had been secretly watching hurried over, asking who that wealthy-looking boy was.
"Oh… that young man comes from a pure-blood family. Rich and influential. Andrews got hired by him and finally turned his life around! Do you know what kind of job it is? Fourteen Galleons a week…"
"Sss… he really turned things around?"
"Damn it! Why did I run away last night? If I'd stayed, maybe the rich young master would've picked me instead of him!"
The crowd buzzed with discussion.
Before long, the news that Andrews Ivanov had struck it lucky and completely turned his fortunes around spread throughout the town.
Old Paul weighed the Galleons in his hand and returned to his tavern with a pleased smile.
…
With a Thestral carriage, the journey immediately became far more comfortable.
Inside the carriage, the once cluttered compartment had already been reorganized by Wade.
He had also expanded the entire interior with an Undetectable Extension Charm, making it five or six times larger than before. After that, he used Transfiguration to turn the useless junk into simple furniture.
Now, the inside of the carriage looked more like a proper room.
Since he no longer needed to travel by broom and now had someone acting as his driver, Wade finally had free time during the journey.
He took out the pile of broom fragments and began piecing them back together.
It was an extremely difficult task. The explosion had reduced most of the broom to ash, while the remaining parts had shattered into scraps.
Even so, Wade still managed to determine the source of the problem.
The issue lay with the sensing component.
The sensing component was a crucial part responsible for responding to the wizard's control.
It tightly connected the control assembly and the operating core. Once it malfunctioned, the broom could not only lose control, but also overload the operating core, causing fires and similar accidents.
That was exactly what had happened to Wade's broom. Under his modifications, the operating core had already been pushed to the brink of collapse.
"Oh dear… this is tragic. Half of the sensing component is gone…"
The broom Wade had purchased was no ordinary model. Every single component was extremely expensive.
Looking at the sensing component with only half remaining, Wade felt a pang of pain. There was no doubt this thing was ruined, but it had once been worth dozens of Galleons.
That alone could have paid Mr. Ivanov's wages for several weeks.
It could no longer be used in a broom, but… perhaps it still had some other use? Throwing it away would be too wasteful.
Wade stared at the half-destroyed sensing component for a long while before his eyes suddenly lit up.
"I've got it…"
Moments later, he enthusiastically threw himself into work once more.
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