**Reg looked at the item on the ground, slightly larger than a serpent's palm, wrapped in the skin of an unknown creature. It was probably a notebook.**
He shifted his gaze and sneered at the middle-aged wizard.
"What is this? It's mine in the first place. You think you can trade my stuff for your life? What a foolish dream."
The middle-aged wizard didn't react right away, dazed for a moment, but quickly started to struggle in fear.
"Master Wizard, you are a wizard! You can't do this! You can't do this!"
Reg shook his head, his sneer unchanged. "You know too little about wizards..."
Before he could finish, the ebony staff swung toward them, and with their horrified eyes watching, it struck both of them.
After the dull "thump-thump" sound, both men fell to the ground in agony.
Under the red glow of the staff, the "little things" wriggling beneath their skin immediately found their way and darted straight into their skulls.
After a faint sound of chewing, two snake slaves, one fat and one thin, appeared next to Reg.
At this point, the people behind the curtain had already fled, and the guards at the door had long since slipped away when things started to go wrong.
Only one small figure remained, hidden behind the curtain, cautiously watching inside. When the "middle-aged wizard" stood by Reg's side, the figure withdrew its gaze and collapsed to the ground, eyes blank, lost in thought.
Reg ignored it for the moment. He kicked the unremarkable wooden staff aside, bent down, and picked up the notebook from the ground.
The notebook was a standard size, wrapped in dyed black goat leather.
On the cover, there was a faint black triangular rune, slightly darker than the leather dye, visible only when Reg looked closely.
Opening the notebook, the faint reddish radiation field immediately came into view, unblocked by the goat leather.
Reg was slightly surprised and read the title of the notebook—**"Norton's Modern Biological Bloodline Studies Notes."**
The title was straightforward. This was a research notebook left by a wizard named Norton, focusing on modern biological bloodline studies.
The earlier sections of the notes recorded Norton's studies and thoughts on biological bloodlines.
The middle part detailed various experiments and research aimed at exploring the feasibility of artificial bloodline contamination.
Further along, Norton summarized his research and, in a highly condensed form, designed a spell model:
**"Blood Taint Touch"**
Unfortunately, this spell model was a failure. Apart from inducing uncontrollable bloodline contamination in ordinary people, it had no other use.
This might be one of the reasons Norton abandoned it.
The handwriting shifted noticeably further in, revealing thoughts written after the "middle-aged wizard" obtained the notes.
These thoughts were, of course, unrelated to spells and were merely bizarre, twisted practices that didn't even qualify as "tricks":
For instance, skinning someone alive, sewing pre-treated snake eyes onto them to give them a serpentine appearance.
Or cutting off the outer layer of the tongue, making a "core" from a curved knife, then attaching a hollowed-out snake tongue. After applying a drug, it would uncontrollably wiggle.
Even the red-feathered parrot that Reg had seen before was actually made by stuffing human flesh into a prepared parrot and attaching it to a tumor, the real source of sound being "ventriloquism."
Various strange ideas eventually turned into tools for the "middle-aged wizard" to gather wealth. Reg couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions:
This was, after all, the notebook of a formal wizard. Though it only recorded failed ideas, based on its radiation intensity, it had clearly been neglected for a long time.
But, using it to knock on the door of the wizarding world might not be impossible.
To an ordinary person, it was a precious "key," yet it was being used to gather yellow and white goods...
"Foolishness!"
Reg murmured to himself, closing the notebook and tucking it into his clothes.
He wouldn't bother to memorize such low-level tricks. Similarly, the failed first-level spell—Blood Taint Touch—wasn't worth his time.
Instead, the knowledge about bloodline studies in the notebook, as well as Norton's research design and methods, were still worth his careful study and note-taking.
Once he had everything memorized, destroying it later wouldn't be too late.
With three snake slaves in tow, Reg left the curtain. The surroundings had become sparse, and some people hid in the distant shadows, fearfully watching him as if he were a ghost.
Near him, only a small figure remained, crouched behind the curtain, looking at him from the side.
The small figure was the boy. He hurriedly stood up, saluted in thanks, then stared at him blankly, confusion written all over his face.
Reg looked at him and rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
"Saving someone feels good in the moment, but dealing with the aftermath is always a hassle, especially with the boy's modifications..."
Pity he was just an apprentice wizard, not some all-powerful wishing machine!
Reg ordered the snake slaves to pick up the white cloth and rewrap the boy. He asked, "Do you remember where your home is?"
The boy blinked, dazed, and shook his head.
"Sigh, I'm the fool here, asking such a question..."
Reg sighed, about to rub his temples again, when he saw a figure quietly sneaking up behind the boy.
The man looked about forty, with a scruffy face, a faint scar on his right cheek, wearing loose grey linen clothes, and holding a durable hand-piano.
He ignored Reg and focused on the boy's back, staring at him for a while.
Then, his body trembled slightly, and in a trembling voice, he whispered, "George."
The boy froze for a moment, then slowly turned around.
The man immediately recognized the boy's face. His pale eyes suddenly lit up, and he rushed forward, tightly hugging the boy.
"George, George! I finally found you!"
The boy didn't have time to see the man's face before he was embraced. His body immediately tensed, but then he smelled a familiar yet long-forgotten scent on the man and relaxed.
He clumsily returned the hug, wanting to say something, but uncontrollably hissed.
The man stiffened when he heard the sound, then immediately relaxed.
Tears flowed freely from his eyes, but his arms never let go, afraid his child would disappear again at any moment.
"Please, don't leave again, don't leave, okay?"
The boy, still dazed, nodded.
The man's companion arrived soon after, and even from a distance, they understood what had happened. Tears welled up in their eyes as they began playing their hand-piano.
The distant sound of the piano seemed to come from afar, and the man's story once again echoed in song, but this time, the story's man brought about a beautiful reunion.
By the time people awoke from the bard's dreamlike song, the red moon had set, and golden sunlight illuminated the empty square.
In the midst of the golden glow, the man still held the boy in his arms, his head lowered, eyes closed, murmuring softly:
"Thank you, thank you, Master Wizard..."
The mysterious wizard and his three servants had already disappeared without a trace.
Only the traces left behind in the curtain and the herbal recipe in the man's hand quietly echoed everything that had happened.