manynovel Chapter 139 Lifespan Ends, Time Comes for Mating
Chapter 139 Lifespan Ends, Time Comes for Mating
Chapter 140 Lifespan Ends, Time Comes for Mating
Now, the scarred man launched into a tirade of insults, leaving Bane utterly bewildered and unable to recover for quite some time.
Even Ferenczek trembled upon hearing this insult.
Why do you think that is? You should know that this fellow is also of centaur origin.
When Bain came to his senses, he pawed the ground with his front hooves and stomped his hind hooves. Veins bulged on his face, and every black hair on his body stood on end.
"How dare you insult centaurs?!"
Hearing this, the centaurs around them became agitated and all looked at Harry and the others.
Ron and Hermione's hearts leaped into their throats, gripping their wands tightly as they stood on either side of Harry. Nagini also bared her two fangs, glaring menacingly at Bane.
This was a harbinger of an impending conflict, but Harry remained calm. He suddenly drew his sword and roared, "Would you like to try my blade?"
Strangely enough, these centaurs, seeing only the hilt of the knife, all looked wary, as if they had seen the blade itself, and hesitated to move forward.
Now all that's left is for one of them to make the first move and stir up trouble, but then a faint voice, barely audible, comes from inside the four gauze curtains.
"Bain, is this how you treat your enthusiastic guests?"
"Mr. Harry Potter, the wizard savior, I hope you can forgive his rudeness."
Harry glanced at Bane and sneered, "Did you hear me, you black bastard? Learn to speak properly!"
Having said that, he bowed to the gauze curtain and said, "Madam, please rest assured, I will treat you right away!"
Hearing the leader's words, Bane could only suppress his resentment and step aside to let Harry pass.
Harry took a few steps straight ahead, then suddenly turned around and repeatedly bowed to Ferrenze to apologize.
"My words just now were directed at the person, not the clan. My brother is bare-chested and muscular, just like half of a Vajra; his fur is like clouds, glossy and smooth, he is a figure like a mythical beast or a divine lord, please don't take offense."
Upon hearing this, Bain's strange eyes nearly popped out. Ferenze, on the other hand, was completely bewildered.
"Cough, oh, it's okay."
"But as for being a god or something... let's forget about it. I wouldn't dare pretend to be a descendant of a god in front of Lady Chiron."
Harry was amazed, realizing that the leader of the Forbidden Forest centaurs was no ordinary man.
He stepped forward, about to lift the veil to go inside, when Bane called out again, "Wait!"
"Mrs. Chiron, Harry Potter is a male!"
Seeing this fellow trying to stop him again, Harry was already enraged, and a nameless fire rushed to his head.
He jumped to his feet, cursing, "You scoundrel! Are you deliberately trying to stop me from saving your life so you can climb the ranks? You've never even seen a doctor before, but you should at least know how to observe, listen, inquire, and palpate! How can you perform any treatments without even seeing the noodles?"
"Why are you putting on such strict rules about men and women? Put on some underwear first, cover up that filthy thing, and then you can talk!"
This barrage of insults and veiled taunts caused every horseman on the field to tremble and instinctively tighten their hind legs.
Bain was so badly criticized that his face turned black, but he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal. He was afraid of being labeled and left speechless.
Seeing that no one was making any more noise, Harry drew his wand, cast a cleaning spell, and wiped his hands clean. He then lifted the curtain and went straight into the delivery room.
Inside lay a red-maned mare with gentle features, writhing in pain on the felt. Two or three maids knelt around her, wiping her sweat, feeding her water, and casting spells—it was a truly dire situation.
"Hello, Mr. Harry Potter, just call me Chiron."
Harry cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Greetings, Madam. Let's set aside the formalities and get to the treatment first."
Having said that, he knelt down and took her pulse to inquire about the pregnancy, asking about the details of the joints before and after childbirth. Then he gently tapped and pressed on both sides of her abdomen, and in no time, he understood.
He rose, cupped his hands, and said, "Madam, please forgive me, but this horse is lying horizontally in the womb, its back facing backwards, blocking the birth canal tightly, so naturally it cannot come out."
Although Chiron didn't understand the terminology, he knew it meant the fetus was displaced, and immediately asked, "What should I do now? Can my child... survive?"
"Don't worry, madam. Just let me grasp this horse's mane, push its pelvis into the birth canal, and bend its legs like a bow. I'll make sure it flows smoothly into the moonlight!"
"In that case..." she took a deep breath, "Mr. Potter, please help me deliver the baby."
In his past life, this scarred man would have rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward to personally take Chiron's place. However, this time was different. He simply drew his wand and pointed it directly at Chiron's abdomen, while his other hand probed the area beneath his belly.
In just a few breaths, several centaur maids caught sight of the horse's rump. Its hooves kicked wildly, and its body gradually came into view. The maids then pulled fiercely, tearing it out head and mane.
Harry glanced at the wet colt, clasped his hands in a deep bow to Chiron, and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Madam, on the arrival of a fine son."
Chiron was panting heavily, and when he turned his head to see the newborn foal, his eyes still showed seven parts surprise and three parts doubt, as if he had not yet woken up from a dream.
"Is that all?"
"Is it over?"
Harry laughed loudly and said, "My lady, you must know that a great teacher produces a great student!"
Listen, dear reader: Harry's words are not unfounded. There was once a hero on Liangshan Marsh named Huangfu Duan, nicknamed Purple-Bearded Elder. This man possessed miraculous healing skills, specializing in treating livestock and horses; he was truly a reincarnation of Bole (a legendary Chinese physician) and Bian Que (a legendary physician).
At that time, Harry was commanding a fine cavalry unit, and a horse plague broke out in the army. It was Huangfu Duan who came to treat the horses. Harry had always respected talented people, and he invited them to eat fine silks and wine, slaughtering sheep and cattle to entertain them, for dozens of days in a row.
Seeing that Harry was generous and righteous, Huangfu Duan reciprocated wholeheartedly, and thus imparted to him all the wonderful skills he had learned in treating animals and the secrets of judging and training horses.
Chiron was stunned for a moment after hearing Harry's words, then laughed and said, "That's really surprising. Your teacher is actually a wizard who specializes in delivering centaurs."
As the two were talking, a horse-riding maidservant carried the foal out. Suddenly, a deafening cacophony of gongs and drums erupted outside the tent, cheers resounding throughout the area.
Chiron cast several healing spells and instantly stood up, stepping out of the tent with Harry.
Seeing that both mother and child were safe and sound, the horsemen cheered even louder. Ferenczek, though also happy, looked bewildered and muttered to himself.
"Why is this happening? The astrological signs clearly said to persevere..."
"The astrological signs are not wrong," Chiron said with a smile upon hearing Ferenczes's words. "You were the one observing the stars, and you've always maintained a rather mild attitude towards wizards, haven't you?"
Having said that, Chiron instructed his maids to prepare tea for the guests, and even pets like Banban and Crookshan were given a cup each.
Once everyone was seated, she poured tea for Harry, bowed slightly, and said, "Please allow me to express my gratitude to you once again, Mr. Potter."
Harry returned the greeting with a bow, "Madam, you flatter me! As the saying goes, saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. If I were to stand by and watch someone die, how could I be worthy of being called a hero of the martial world?"
Chiron paused for a moment, then shook his head and laughed, "Now I understand why you're called the savior."
"So, Mr. Savior, I heard you came to see Ferencze tonight? What do you need him for?"
Upon hearing this, Harry clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Oh dear! Madam, you've hit the nail on the head!"
He then recounted in detail the entire affair involving mandrake leaves.
Chiron listened without changing his expression. "Ah, if that's the case, then there's no need to rush to look at the stars."
Immediately, he summoned a centaur maid to fetch a dried mandrake, held it in his palm, and chanted incantations. In a short while, the withered grass came back to life, its tender leaves at the top glistening with dew.
When it had grown to its fullest extent, before it could even let out a shriek, Chiron plunging it into the ground. Then, with a flick of his finger, the mandrake, wrapped in clods of earth, floated into the air.
"Please keep this safe, Harry. You can pluck its leaves to use when the moon is full."
Harry took the mandrake with both hands and laughed, "Truly a fine method! I couldn't solve this problem for seven or eight days, but my wife resolved it with a mere gesture!"
Chiron simply smiled, then turned to Hermione and the others, "In return, I'm willing to answer one more question from each of you."
Nagini, who was sipping tea and spitting out his tongue, paused upon hearing this, then suddenly twisted, revealing his human form, and respectfully said:
"Thank you for your generosity, Lady Chiron. I wonder... is there truly no way to break the Blood Curse?"
"Blood Demon Curse..."
Chiron seemed lost in thought, repeating himself before looking up at the starry sky. After a long while, he whispered, "Not now, not in the future."
Nagini was taken aback. What kind of answer was that? Did he have to find a way to go back in time?
She couldn't figure it out, so she asked a few more questions, but Chiron, who was good at cryptic remarks, didn't answer and only gave a forced smile.
Seeing this, Nagini didn't press the matter, only saying that the curse was unsolvable. He sighed, then suddenly transformed into a giant python and went to drink tea.
"Well then, young lady," Chiron turned to Hermione, "do you have any questions for me?"
Hermione had already prepared her answer in her mind, and without thinking, she said, "I hope you can help me analyze a prophecy of a prophet."
After saying that, he repeated Trelawney's three prophetic statements.
Chiron took a sip of tea, then shook his head and said, "That's a really difficult question."
"You can no longer rely on the stars to interpret a prophet's prophecy."
"You see, prophecy is like a ruler with imprecise markings. If you use two such rulers to measure each other, the result will inevitably be chaotic."
Hermione looked disappointed upon hearing this, but couldn't help asking, "Then how about analyzing this using your experience in making prophecies?"
"I'm sorry, young lady, I can't figure it out. I can only tell you that sometimes breaking the rules isn't a good thing."
She drew a line on the muddy ground with her finger. "When a story begins, its ending is already predetermined. Whether it's good or bad, it will never deviate from this line."
"But what if someone with a lot of influence makes a special choice..." Then, she drew a branch off from this straight line, "and the story will be led in an unknown direction."
"This is my interpretation of the second prophecy, 'The true demon has been unleashed.'"
Hermione frowned slightly, fidgeting with her fingers in thought. Harry also sat cross-legged, sipping tea and pondering silently.
Ron was completely bewildered. Seeing that everyone was silent, he couldn't hold back any longer and grabbed the struggling rat, Spotted.
"Oh, Lady Chiron, my question is simple: I want to know what disease my rat has?"
"It's been listless a lot lately, and no medicine seems to help."
Chiron took the spotted thing and examined it carefully for a while, then said doubtfully, "It doesn't look sick to me, but just to be on the safe side, I'll ask Xingxing what he thinks."
She held the mouse in her hands and raised it into the air. After a while, she lowered her hands and shook her head, saying, "I'm sorry, young sir, your pet is not sick. It is perfectly healthy."
"And they are full of energy, fierce... even... far beyond your own."
Harry picked up the rat by the tail and shook it, saying suspiciously, "Madam, are you joking? This rat seems to be exhaling more than it's inhaling."
"Oh, Mr. Potter, don't be fooled by appearances."
When Ron heard her claim that the whole class was fine, the only remaining reason was that his time was up, and he felt a deep sense of loss.
"Alright, thank you, Lady Chiron."
After finishing these points and drinking all the tea, I took my leave.
After Harry and his group had walked a long way away, Ferenczer hesitated before stepping forward.
"Hmm...Lady Chiron?"
"Please speak, Ferencze."
"I want to know, are you really unable to analyze that prophecy?"
"Ah, my dear Ferencze, you should know that we are just observing the stars, just observing."
Chiron tilted his head back, finished the last of his tea, stood up, and shouted, "Destroy all traces of the centaurs' lives! We need a new home!"
Ferenczek's eyes widened. "Moving? Where are we going?"
"Just stay away from Harry Potter. I just repaid him for helping me deliver my baby."
After saying that, she glared at Ferenczer again, "Bane is right, don't bring such dangerous humans here again!"
"I was just terrified."
The thirty to fifty centaurs moved away as a whole tribe, and Harry and his party would also be leaving the Forbidden Forest.
Seeing Ron's sullen expression, Harry wanted to comfort him, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry, brother. As the saying goes, people live in the mortal world, while rats live in the heavens."
"This sage lived for thirteen years, which, if converted to human years, would be well over a hundred years old. For such a long-lived person to pass away is a joyous death, a death of perfect merit."
"Oh, thank you for your comfort, Harry," Ron said dejectedly. "When my brother handed it to me, he told me he probably didn't have many years left to live."
"But, I never expected that when this day actually came, I would feel so sad."
Hermione patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "Your brother should find Scabbers a girlfriend while he's still young, since pets generally don't live as long as humans."
"Having offspring is like their lives being continued."
Upon hearing this, Ron's eyes lit up.
"Yeah, I really should find Banban a girlfriend!"
Whether the rat understood human speech or not, it struggled fiercely and bit several marks on Ron's finger.
Ron, however, paid no heed and simply lifted Banban high in his arms, his eyes filled with affection.
"The Scabbers will always protect the Weasleys!"
"Right? Blemish?"
(End of this chapter)