Dumbledore looked at the instant stiffness that had come over Lin Du. Rather than showing any anger, he wore a gentle smile, as if a small scheme had succeeded.
It was as though the sharp question just now had been no more than a breeze, gone as soon as it passed.
"Whether it was the Basilisk matter or that... penetrating analysis of me you just gave,"
Dumbledore's voice returned to its usual calm, as though the tense confrontation had never happened.
"Lin Du, your insight never fails to amaze me."
Lin Du took a deep breath, realizing that the sudden mention of "Horcruxes" had provoked him into overreacting.
He reined in his exposed emotions, his tone softening with a trace of self-reflection.
"I said some arrogant things without permission. I'm sorry, Professor."
"You certainly said some excessively harsh things to me," Dumbledore said with a smile, even giving a mischievous wink.
"I have not heard criticism that sharp in decades, this old man that I am. Still, I accept your apology, provided that—"
He drew out the final word. "You also tell me about some... things from your past. The parts missing from those investigation reports."
Their gazes met again. Nothing seemed amiss on Dumbledore's face, as though all unpleasantness had already vanished.
Lin Du had completely lost any reason to refuse.
With a helpless sigh, Lin Du began, "You must have investigated my student days as well, so I'll start with what happened after I graduated."
"After graduation, I first returned to the East, the source of my bloodline."
Dumbledore gave a slight nod. "A starting point for seeking one's roots. Very reasonable. So, what did you find?"
"I spent nearly a year pursuing traces of our own ancient heritage, as recorded in old texts. But the results... were disappointing."
"The spiritual energy of that land—or rather, its active magical environment—had withered to the brink of exhaustion."
Many exquisite methods had lost the foundation they depended upon, leaving behind only fragments of texts and stories passed down by word of mouth, impossible to distinguish between truth and falsehood.
Those hidden realms and blessed lands that might truly have contained secret treasures had either been buried by history or tightly sealed away. With my abilities and status at the time, it was difficult to reach their core.
I realized that I would not find the answers I wanted there."
Dumbledore listened quietly without interrupting.
Lin Du picked up the cup of green tea that had long since gone cold and drained it in one gulp.
"So I returned to Europe, moving like a ghost through magical libraries in different countries, ancient ruins, and places hidden within Muggle cities. Chao Feng,"
When he mentioned that name, an almost imperceptible warmth entered his voice. "It was my only traveling companion and research assistant."
"And the journey was never peaceful, was it?"
Dumbledore gently picked up the thread. "A lone wizard, clearly seeking precious knowledge, would look like a walking Galleon to certain people."
Lin Du tugged at the corner of his mouth. "There were indeed some shortsighted 'colleagues' from Knockturn Alley or similar places who thought they could get something out of me."
"And what became of them?"
Lin Du's tone remained utterly flat. "In the end, they became material for verifying certain magical theories of mine, or made a small contribution toward replenishing my scarce resources. That was fair, wasn't it?"
Dumbledore gave a quiet "Hmm," neither agreeing nor disagreeing, though he had clearly taken note of it.
"Continue with your travels. I would like to hear the more 'academic' parts."
"The Ancient Runes in the French Mithril mines, the families on the Nordic tundra that clung to outdated notions and were exceedingly hostile to outsiders..."
Lin Du spoke a little faster, with a trace of his old impatience. "Most of the gains were limited. Oh, and there were also the Bulgarian fire dragons."
"Ah, fire dragons." Dumbledore was clearly intrigued. "Extraordinary creatures. I presume you did not try to tame them?"
"Something worse than that."
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A flicker of embarrassment crossed Lin Du's face. "To study the source of their magical resistance, as well as the life Magic Power within dragon eggs... I 'borrowed' an egg."
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose high. "From their nest? Mr. Lin Du, I must say, that sounds—"
"—extremely reckless. I know." Lin Du cut him off, sounding somewhat annoyed with himself.
"Then I was hunted by that enraged pair of parents for a full two months, across three countries."
Any so-called animal breeding experiment prohibition laws were no more than parchment before fire dragons protecting their young.
During that time, though, my Disillusionment Charm and Space-concealing Magic improved by leaps and bounds."
"I can imagine the scene."
The corners of Dumbledore's mouth curved upward despite himself, and he even let out a soft chuckle. "In the end, how did you... settle the matter?"
"I put the egg back, completely unharmed, into a crack in the rocks near their territory. They found it, and only then did their anger finally subside." Lin Du let out a breath.
"That experience taught me that the risks of certain research paths truly needed to be reassessed."
"It seems your travels were full of lessons."
Dumbledore nodded and returned to the point. "Then after all those rich experiences, what made you decide to return to Britain two years ago?"
Lin Du's gaze became focused. "Because after going around in circles, I discovered that Britain still had the greatest concentration of truly systematic and in-depth documents and ruins, especially those concerning the nature of magic and its taboos. Everywhere else either had scraps and leftovers, or the barriers were simply too high."
Dumbledore listened quietly without interrupting.
"So, about two years ago, I made up my mind to bring Chao Feng back to Britain." Lin Du's voice carried a note of resolve.
"I needed a more systematic, more in-depth environment, and the Dark Magic literature and historical ruins here are the richest in the known world."
He lifted his teacup, his knuckles faintly whitening. "Chao Feng helped me greatly. It could sense Magical Fluctuations that ordinary people could not perceive, helping me avoid the deadliest traps in those dangerous ruins. We worked seamlessly together, and for a long time, everything was peaceful."
"Until last autumn, at a Celtic Ruins site in northern Wales." Lin Du's brows drew together slightly.
"There were records there of ancient rituals concerning Soul Splitting. While we were breaking a protective spell, we triggered a mechanism that even Chao Feng had been unable to fully warn me about."
He looked up at Dumbledore, a hint of self-mockery at the corners of his mouth. "It was the Ministry of Magic's Trace Monitoring Network. That ruin had somehow been marked with a Trace spell, and our Magical Fluctuations triggered the alarm. Although we withdrew in time, the Ministry of Magic still captured our distinctive magical signature."
Dumbledore nodded lightly. "Amelia Bones came to see me personally. She said the magical signature caught by the monitoring network was both ancient and dangerous, but the caster had clearly been extremely cautious and left no traces sufficient for pursuit."
"And then you appeared." Lin Du's gaze fell on the letter of appointment on the table. "A letter of appointment, a teaching post, a... respectable place for surveillance. You have always been so skilled at giving people choices, Headmaster."
He spread his hands toward Dumbledore, his expression helpless.
Dumbledore quietly listened to the entire account, his blue eyes shining with perceptive understanding.
He gently brushed aside layer after layer of leaves and went straight to the heart of the matter.
"A lonely and determined journey. Thank you for your honesty.
"But, Lin Du, what was the deepest force driving your determination to grasp the essence of magic? What did you truly want to... 'obtain' from magic?"
Lin Du froze.
He looked into Dumbledore's blue eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through the human heart, and knew that the other man had likely guessed most of it already.
After a moment of silence, Lin Du turned his head slightly. His voice was low, carrying an awkward reluctance.
"...Immortality."
The word floated lightly through the air, yet weighed as heavily as a mountain.
"I do not want to... helplessly decline into death before I have glimpsed magic's ultimate mysteries.
Magic is so vast, yet life is so short. That is the greatest injustice.
I study Dark Magic and seek the source of magic because my ultimate goal... is to find a way to break this shackle."
At last, he had spoken the ultimate goal buried deep within his heart.
A deeper silence fell over the office. Fawkes let out a nearly inaudible cry.
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