Chapter 423: The Second Journey, Another Free Fall
"The Killing Curse?" Vico frowned slightly. "Tell me exactly what happened."
Jeans immediately recounted everything he had seen and heard during the Triwizard Tournament, his description so vivid and incisive it made one feel as if they were there.
Aaron's mouth twitched as he listened. Even if he had used a Pensieve and viewed it from a third-person perspective, he might not have seen it so clearly.
"That's too risky." Lisanna looked at Aaron seriously. "You dared to take Lord Voldemort's Killing Curse head-on. How many lives do you have?"
"Two." Aaron weakly held up two fingers. "I wouldn't risk my life. I have a Potion that can revive someone who died within an hour."
Lisanna's expression froze, then she sharply tapped Aaron's forehead. "That's still not allowed. By then, you'd be a corpse. Who would give you the Potion to save you?"
"There are still people," Aaron whispered. His memories could be transferred to his thought-form at any time, and before he died, his thought-form would temporarily instruct all the Shadow Ninjas to reveal their location.
However, by then he would have obtained the divine power of immortality, so there would naturally be no need to resort to such a drastic measure.
"Still talking back," Lisanna said, huffing. "Do you think you've become so capable that we can't control you anymore?"
"No, that's not it. I wouldn't take risks without absolute certainty."
"I believe that, at least," Vico nodded. "But it was still too impulsive. There's always a 'what if'…"
"No 'what if'," Aaron said with great confidence. "I can guarantee I won't die."
Vico and Lisanna exchanged glances and said no more.
They understood their son; he never boasted.
"Alright! We pretty much understand." Vico said, looking composed.
Several question marks appeared in Aaron's mind. How could he not believe it?
"The fact is, you blocked the Killing Curse for a girl," Lisanna said with a smile. "Was the girl not moved to tears, offering herself to you or anything?"
Aaron blinked, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"No, I'm sorry to disappoint you."
"It's alright, there's always a tomorrow.
I'm sure your heroic image when you saved her will remain in her mind for a long time." Lisanna stated with certainty. "Jeans, collect all information on the Delacour family and prepare a brief for me."
"No problem, Madam. I can have it done within three days."
"And Luna Lovegood."
"Alright."
Aaron instantly felt numb all over, thinking that he would have to be more careful when talking to girls in the future, otherwise he might inexplicably end up on his mother's matchmaking list.
The family of three enjoyed a rare, happy dinner together.
Vico and Lisanna knew what Aaron was about to face. Besides nagging him about his lifelong matters, they tacitly avoided mentioning it, not wanting to add unnecessary pressure.
After two hours, Abate recovered his energy and quickly ran to Aaron for treatment.
Feeling the soreness in his body gradually disappear, Aaron also breathed a sigh of relief and lay lazily on the bed in his bedroom.
"We've definitely taken a loss today, but there's always a tomorrow. The two of us will eventually be able to defeat him. Then we'll get our revenge for all the grievances and hatred."
Abate nodded seriously, raising his right paw high to show his support for this attitude… More than a week later, Aaron brought Abate to the family's most important Chamber of Secrets.
The third crystal emitted a brilliant light, as if urging him to depart quickly.
The family members were all waiting for him there, but their expressions varied: some were relieved, some excited, and some worried.
"I don't know how long this trip will take. Take good care of yourself." Vico patted Aaron's shoulder, then gave him the necessary funds and enough dry rations for three days.
"If you stay long enough, you can find me a daughter-in-law." Lisanna wiped away tears and draped a cloak over Aaron.
"Can we change the subject?" Aaron said, exasperated.
Lisanna shook her head. "You're not young anymore; you should be considering these things. Besides, if you get married and have children, you can come back and won't have to risk your life anymore."
"That would be too stifling for me," Aaron said with a wry smile.
Abate came closer, looking at him reluctantly, then slipped a Phoenix tear into Aaron's pocket.
"This is the second trip; I should be able to bring more things, right?" Aaron hinted meaningfully.
"Yes," Vico nodded, then changed the subject. "But Abate still can't come. Its identity is too special."
A faint hint of disappointment flashed in Abate's eyes, then he waved his paw dismissively.
Even without him, his master would still return safely.
"Then can I bring more magic items?"
"Haven't you already brought those guns? What else do you need?" Vico teased. "One can be greedy, but not insatiably so!"
Aaron's mouth twitched, and he gave him an internationally friendly gesture.
Insatiably greedy? Compared to his father, who, as soon as he became patriarch, replaced his entire set of magicequipment, he was far from deserving those four words.
"Young Master, this is for you." Jeans handed over a small bottle of Felix Felicis. "At least it guarantees a safe landing."
"Heh heh! Guarantee?
The last time I drank this stuff, I almost landed in a box. A free fall from thousands of meters almost killed me."
Jeans's expression remained unchanged, and he said calmly, "Young Master, why do you think extreme training is on your curriculum?
Last time, it was definitely not Felix Felicis's problem, or rather, if Young Master hadn't drunk Felix Felicis to boost his luck, the landing might have been even more dangerous."
Aaron was speechless for a moment, feeling there was some truth to this, yet also feeling something was not quite right.
Taking a deep breath, Aaron took the Felix Felicis and gulped it down.
Whether the landing was dangerous wasn't important; he was confident he could handle these small troubles.
But the world he was going to was still very important. If it was like the last time, with long journeys and two major battles, he could accept it, but if he was assigned a dangerous world, that would be tragic.
Professor Trelawney's prophecy said this would be a short trip, and he would return quickly.
It could be a Novice Village (newbie village), easy to clear, but it could also be a BOSS lair, where he would be slapped to death by a powerful enemy soon after arriving.
"Ancestors, please bless me with an easier one!" Aaron prayed devoutly.
As his voice fell, the giant tree's branches and leaves swayed slightly.
Though subtle, everyone present noticed it.
"This… is it that understanding?" Aaron felt a sudden surge of happiness. "I like it, it's too human-like."
"Don't get too happy too soon," Vico immediately poured cold water on him, his expression complex. "This time might be easier, but that means the next time… won't be good."
Hearing this, Aaron swallowed with difficulty, feeling like crying without tears.
He finally understood what Professor Trelawney meant by a particularly long journey; it was all his own doing.
"It doesn't matter," Lisanna said nonchalantly, even subtly excited. "As long as you get married and have children before the next trip, you can perfectly avoid it."
Aaron's heart grew increasingly bitter. It seemed he had found a way to break the prophecy, but he was utterly unwilling.
"I'm leaving now. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be back soon." Aaron said, then made a small cut on his finger.
A drop of fresh blood flew out and was absorbed by the giant tree.
Immediately, a wooden door appeared, and a blue tunnel emerged before everyone's eyes.
Abate instinctively touched his head. The last time his master left, he also wanted to go, and then he hit that tree. This time, he didn't dare to try again.
"Wait," Vico suddenly called out to Aaron. "You know the precautions, right?"
"Clear, couldn't be clearer. I hope this time there won't be a free fall, no strange old men, and no powerful magical beasts." Aaron chuckled and strode into the portal.
At the same time, the thought-form in the Divine Roar Palace also seemed to sense something, its body dissolving into points of light, and half of its magic returning to the main body… Ah! Ah! Ah!
"I believed your nonsense!"
Aaron cursed loudly in mid-air, the strong wind making his lips tremble and his teeth chatter.
Another free fall, but he didn't take any measures, just clutched his wand tightly.
Once a stranger, twice familiar.
Besides being angry, he was also somewhat prepared.
But this time, he felt his preparations were somewhat superfluous; shock absorption, deceleration, and softening the ground were completely unnecessary.
Because below was a blue sea, and he felt the scent of the sea breeze when he was still hundreds of meters from the surface, in addition to a lush forest.
The scene was beautiful, and in his world, it would be considered a holiday resort.
But with him, a person shouting loudly in mid-air, the picture gained a strange sense of incongruity.
Bang!
Water splashed everywhere.
Aaron didn't use a water-repelling charm. He wouldn't easily use magic until he understood the normal state of this world or confirmed there was no one around.
He submerged for a while with inertia before starting to float up.
Pffft!
Aaron's head emerged from the sea, and he took deep breaths, taking a while to recover before swimming towards the shore.
Walking onto the beach, he was soaked from head to toe. The sticky feeling was very uncomfortable, so he immediately took off his cloak and jacket.
"Damn it, next time I'll definitely prepare a swimsuit," Aaron cursed inwardly, then scanned his surroundings.
The first thing he saw was the boundless sea. As for whether he was currently on a giant island or the edge of a landmass, he didn't know.
If it was the edge of a landmass, finding a human town would provide a temporary place to stay.
But if it was on an island, he would have to hope it wasn't uninhabited, otherwise, he might have to endure a period of wilderness survival before finding humans or other intelligent life.