"Hannah Abbott..."
"Hufflepuff!"
"Oh!"
As soon as the Sorting Hat finished speaking, a huge cheer erupted from the Hufflepuff table. Amidst the cheers, Hannah Abbott, the Lord of the Iron Throne, walked toward them with a smile and took a seat at the long table.
As name after name was called, cheers rose one after another. When the name Hermione Granger was called, Ye Feng felt his robe being gently tugged.
"Don't be nervous, keep a calm mind. Just think of it as an ordinary, battered old hat."
Perhaps Ye Feng's comfort worked, or perhaps Hermione managed to calm herself down. In any case, as soon as Ye Feng finished speaking, Hermione took a deep breath, walked out, and sat down on the chair next to Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall.
Unlike the others, after Hermione put the hat on, the Sorting Hat fell silent for a long time. Ye Feng, whose Divine Sense was acutely sensitive, could sense Hermione's consciousness communicating with the Sorting Hat. When the communication between the two ceased, the Sorting Hat made its decision.
"Gryffindor!"
Ye Feng: !!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ
"What did I just... hear? It slipped up, it definitely slipped up! It just said Gryffindor!"
Although Ye Feng didn't speak in a booming voice, he hadn't intended to hide it either, so it was quite audible. Everyone nearby, including Dumbledore sitting at the very top, heard it—Dumbledore even raised an eyebrow when Ye Feng spoke.
Since Dumbledore heard it, the Deputy Headmistress and the Sorting Hat, being much closer, obviously heard it too. The very next second, before the Sorting Hat could even be lifted from Hermione's head, it loudly protested.
"No, I did not! You must have misheard. I have never said Gryffindor. The entire wizarding world knows that I, the Sorting Hat, am the most honest and never lie."
"Precisely because you never lie, you are the most likely to lie. Because once someone who never lies actually tells a lie, no one will ever believe they lied."
The Sorting Hat: "......"
"Damn, he makes a solid point. I actually have no rebuttal."
No one expected Ye Feng's single sentence to render the Sorting Hat utterly speechless. To avoid an awkward silence, Deputy Headmistress Minerva spoke up, "Perhaps the Sorting Hat mumbled and you misheard. After all, it's very old and quite tattered; a bit of mumbling is entirely normal."
"Alright, this topic is over. Next."
"Humph, no need to read the name, it's this little troublemaker! I want to see which house you get sorted into. Slytherin? Ravenclaw? Or perhaps... Azkaban!!!"
"Azkaban, he must be sent to Azkaban!!!"
The moment the Deputy Headmistress grabbed the Sorting Hat and placed it on Ye Feng's head, the hat began to shout at the top of its lungs. The moment the name Azkaban was uttered, the expressions of everyone present—except for a few truly clueless young wizards—changed drastically.
"Mr. Sorting Hat, are you quite sure you want to send me to Azkaban?" To everyone's surprise, upon hearing that the Sorting Hat wanted to sort him into Azkaban, Ye Feng showed neither panic nor anger; instead, he looked slightly expectant.
Yes, genuinely expectant.
Although Ye Feng had practiced immortality for ten years and his strength was so vast that he had never fully unleashed it—meaning even he didn't know how powerful he truly was—he had never actually laid eyes on genuine spirits, ghosts, or other incorporeal entities.
Of course, he had seen the souls of people when they passed away in his village, but those souls vanished into thin air almost immediately, as if slipping directly into another dimension upon leaving the body. Even with his considerable progress in cultivation, where his primordial spirit could roam freely in broad daylight, he still couldn't find where they went.
Therefore, if he had the opportunity to see real ghosts, or perhaps study things like Death Eaters and Dementors, he wouldn't mind at all. So when Ye Feng heard that the Sorting Hat intended to send him to Azkaban, he felt no worry whatsoever.
As for why the Sorting Hat wanted to send him to Azkaban, it wasn't because of his previous remark, nor could the Sorting Hat completely probe his thoughts. Earlier, he hadn't fully restrained his mind; after waiting a moment and realizing the Sorting Hat genuinely struggled to read his thoughts, he had intentionally dropped a tiny sliver of his mental defense.
The reason the Sorting Hat reacted so violently was likely because of one of Ye Feng's "tiny" thoughts that had startled it.
While he understood the reason and didn't particularly object to visiting Azkaban, Azkaban could be visited anytime, whereas Hogwarts could not be visited just whenever one pleased. Therefore, Ye Feng gave a light cough and argued, "Mr. Sorting Hat, could you tell me why you want to send me to Azkaban?"
"Because you're a demon! You actually wanted to rip my soul right out of my body!"
"Ah, so that was the reason. But it really is a misunderstanding! Allow me to make a clever defense!" In the midst of his thoughts, Ye Feng spoke right up: "Mr. Sorting Hat, you misunderstood. I had no intention of pulling your soul out of your body; I merely felt that your talents being used solely to sort little wizards into houses was somewhat wasteful—a case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut."
"Really? Let's hear it, then." Ye Feng's subtle yet firm flattery made the Sorting Hat feel instantly much better, and its tone softened accordingly. Seeing this, Ye Feng glanced up at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore caught the inquiry in Ye Feng's eyes and nodded, signaling that he could boldly voice whatever was on his mind. Receiving Dumbledore's "instruction," Ye Feng instantly felt completely reassured.
"Actually, my idea isn't to pull Mr. Sorting Hat's soul out, but rather to forge a brand-new 'body' for you and install it right on the main gates of Hogwarts."
Of course, Ye Feng certainly wouldn't mention that once this device was built, they would still need to pull the Sorting Hat's soul out of its current form and stuff it into the newly forged object.
"Just imagine having such a magical contraption."
"As long as any person or object passes through it, all hidden plots and malice will be detected. No matter how deeply hidden a Death Eater might be, the moment they pass through this door, they will be forced to reveal their true form."
"If such a miraculous item is truly forged, Hogwarts will be able to keep all dangers completely at bay. And Mr. Sorting Hat, since you can distinguish good from evil and see through human hearts, I believe no one is more suited for this position than you."
Having said this, Ye Feng paused slightly, tilting his head to look at the Sorting Hat with an expectant expression. After waiting about two seconds, he continued, "Mr. Sorting Hat, what do you think of this proposal?"
Perhaps the Sorting Hat was genuinely stunned by Ye Feng's astonishing proposition, because if such a magical instrument could truly be created, it would send a massive earthquake through the entire wizarding world, dragging every deeply hidden Death Eater out into the light.
Dumbledore, sitting in the seat of honor, had worn an inscrutable expression the moment Ye Feng proposed the idea. Once Ye Feng finished speaking, Dumbledore let out a soft sigh and said amiably, "Well, Mr. Ye Feng, what do you think this magical contraption should be called?"
Intent entirely on coaxing the Sorting Hat into agreement, Ye Feng completely missed Dumbledore's earlier expression change, so he immediately proclaimed, "I've decided to name this magnificent creation—the Security Scanner Gate!"
Dumbledore: "..."
"I really shouldn't hold expectations for you."
"Mr. Ye Feng, your proposal is wonderful. My advice is that you should never make another proposal again."
Having said that, Dumbledore felt he shouldn't stifle a student's exploratory spirit, so he paused slightly and explained further, "The Ministry of Magic has very strict usage restrictions regarding Muggle-world items. So, Mr. Ye Feng, your suggestion is brilliant, but the law forbids it."