Wool's Orphanage was not particularly close to the Leaky Cauldron; one could even say it was quite a distance away.
However, both Tom and Livid were short of cash.
So, they had no choice but to walk all the way toward the neighborhood where the Leaky Cauldron was located.
By this time, they had stripped off their matching orphanage robes and changed into somewhat worn jackets.
Tom even wore a rather oversized newsboy cap.
Of course, these were all old clothes donated to the orphanage; they certainly had no money to buy clothes.
"I think we probably should have asked Mrs. Cole for some money, and then taken a carriage or something."
After walking for a little over an hour, Tom felt quite exhausted.
Livid glared at Tom. "Did you forget that we sneaked out this morning? And the person who suggested sneaking out quietly in the first place seemed to be you."
"Hmph... I just didn't feel like explaining that much to her." Tom couldn't help bending over to rub his legs. "Besides, didn't you object?"
"My not objecting certainly had my reasons," Livid said, suddenly resting a hand on Tom's shoulder. "Don't look back, keep walking."
"What is it?" Tom asked, bewildered.
"Didn't you notice that someone is following us?" Livid said calmly.
"What? Who is it?"
"Don't look back, Tom... We're going this way." With that, Livid suddenly led Tom turning into a side alley.
Looking utterly confused, Tom followed Livid and hid around a corner in the alley.
"Tell me, who on earth is following us?" Tom asked doubtfully.
"I guess they're human traffickers," Livid said. "After all, a pretty little boy like you could definitely fetch a good price."
Tom said angrily, "How do you know they aren't after you? You're so 'pretty' that that old cat even arranged a room for you!"
"Shh..." Livid signaled for silence.
At that exact moment, a man and a woman hurried into the mouth of the alley.
The man looked tall and robust, dressed like a laborer. The woman had her face tightly wrapped in a scarf.
"Where did they go?" the man asked in a rough voice.
"I just saw them turn in here," the woman's voice sounded very hoarse.
"This alley is a dead end. As long as they came in, they're definitely still in here!" The man walked further inside while casting sinister glances around.
The woman followed closely behind him. She took out a filthy handkerchief and a brown glass bottle, sprinkling something from the bottle onto the handkerchief as she walked.
Tom secretly glanced at the man through a gap in the wall and couldn't help frowning slightly.
"I say, there seemed to be police patrolling not far ahead just now. Why didn't we look for them? Even if we just walked past the police, those two traffickers wouldn't have dared to follow us! Why on earth did we have to turn into this dead end?"
Livid looked at Tom in utter shock. "Good god! When Tom encounters danger, he actually wants to look for police?! Where is that Tom who would smash someone's nose with a rusty fire iron at the drop of a hat?"
Tom glared furiously at Livid. "I just wasn't sure if my magic could control him; he's too strong... You don't think I was scared of him, do you?"
"It's fine, I understand, Tom. After all, you're still young..." Livid patted Tom's shoulder in consolation.
"I said! I'm not scared of him at all!" Veins bulged on Tom's neck.
"Oh right, right, right... Of course, the great Mr. Riddle wouldn't be afraid of an ordinary person. So... I'll leave the woman to you to handle, and I'll take the man."
"Asshole! Can't you understand human speech?"
Tom was about to be driven crazy by Livid. Leaving the woman to him while he dealt with the man—wasn't that still implying that he was afraid of the man?
"Tom, why are you so angry? I was in full agreement with your point of view!"
"You! Bastard!"
The two boys' argument grew louder and louder, immediately catching the attention of the man and woman.
"Aha! You little brats, so this is where you were hiding!" the man shouted excitedly.
This was a secluded dead end. For these two brats to hide here was simply walking right into a trap.
"Hehe, come with us, I'll take you to get something good to eat."
The woman said with a beaming smile, looking at Livid and Tom as if they were two nuggets of gold.
Two good-looking little boys with no adults following them! This was simply free money!
The greedy gazes of these two people made Tom feel sick and angry. The anger that Livid had been stoking this whole time instantly exploded.
"Get lost! You two filthy scum!"
Tom rushed out in a fury.
"Boom!"
The man and woman were instantly sent flying backward, as if they had been struck by an invisible carriage!
Livid watched from behind with his eyes shining brightly.
Emotions really were the key factor in enhancing magic power! It was worth spending all those words to anger Tom.
Tom also stared at his own hands in amazement, seemingly utterly shocked that he had actually been able to unleash magic of this magnitude just now.
Following that, he looked at Livid, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.
At this moment, the two people had just tumbled to the ground. The woman had passed out cold on the spot, while the man was struggling to climb back up.
He looked at Tom in terror, then struggled to run toward the mouth of the alley, as if a devil were right behind him.
But the next second, his entire body was frozen! He stood in place, unmoving like a statue.
Livid slowly walked out from behind Tom.
"You mustn't let your guard down in battle, Tom."
Looking at the man who had silently turned into a statue, Tom's eyes cleared up once again.
The confidence that had surged from his extraordinary performance just now was also suppressed back down by Livid.
*No... I still can't beat Livid yet... I still can't turn on him!*
"We should go. We've already wasted a lot of time," Tom urged.
"Wait a second, Tom, we're not done yet." As Livid spoke, he walked up in front of the man.
He extended his right hand and snapped his fingers in front of the man, instantly releasing the petrification on the man's head.
However, his body remained frozen like a statue, completely unable to move!
"You... Demon! Demon! Spare my life! Don't eat me! I don't want to die yet!" The man was scared out of his wits, tears and snot flying.
Tom had just sent him flying from a distance, and now his body had been turned into a statue...
Such a supernatural phenomenon—if it hadn't scared him out of his mind on the spot, it was only because he was bold.
"Shut up, or I'll turn you into a statue for the rest of your life!" Livid said coldly.
The man immediately clamped his mouth shut. While he was petrified just now, all his senses had actually still been active.
That feeling of being able to feel everything yet not being able to move even a tiny bit was simply too terrifying!
He didn't want to try it a second time at all, let alone being unable to move for the rest of his life!
Livid asked expressionlessly, "Tell me, where is your lair? Who is your boss? How many children do you still have in your hands? And... where is your money hidden?"
Tom had a sudden flash of insight. "So you're planning to rob robbers!"
"I'm going to save people. This is doing a good deed and accumulating virtue!"
"My ass! If you want to save people, why are you asking where the money is? You clearly just want to rob robbers!"
"Tom... Do you ever pay attention to the occasion when you speak?"