The Desire for Immortality

As for Dobby, Barton did not think too much about it.

Or rather, compared to his own thoughts, he respected Li Wei's opinion more.

Even if he sympathized with one of his own kind and wished to continue interacting with Dobby, as long as Li Wei did not permit it, he still would not do so.

Even though he and Li Wei had no contractual relationship.

After completing his task, Barton quietly returned to the office. Only after Hermione and the others had left did he reveal himself and recount everything that had happened to Li Wei without omitting a single word.

"A house-elf who could circumvent a contract through self-harm? Lucius was connected to the Basilisk?"

Li Wei disliked hearing the name Lucius Malfoy. During the war Voldemort had stirred up, he had evaded Death Eater searches many times, and Lucius had been one of them.

However, that name gradually reminded him who Dobby was.

A house-elf frequently abused by Lucius—something that was almost commonplace among pure-blood families. Unlike ordinary house-elves, this one understood right and wrong.

When Harry had "defeated" Voldemort shortly after being born, the Death Eaters had been thrown into panic. Indirectly, Harry had improved the treatment of house-elves in all pure-blood families by quite a bit.

Hearing that Harry Potter, "The Chosen One," might be in danger, Dobby had decisively appeared to warn him. He was also one of the few house-elves who regarded "freedom" as his highest ideal and yearned for it.

With Harry's help, he would successfully gain freedom from Lucius in the future, and he seemed to play a crucial role somewhere later on.

"Master, he seems to intend to have further contact with me—"

Barton quietly asked for Li Wei's opinion.

"Do as you wish. If you want to interact with him, then do so. If you don't, refuse. It won't affect anything."

Li Wei heard the deeper meaning in Barton's words and waved a hand.

He was merely a house-elf. Li Wei was not low enough to scheme over Barton's friendship as well.

"Yes."

Having received Li Wei's approval, Barton left in peace.

Li Wei sat before his desk, thinking quietly.

Thanks to the obvious marker that was Moaning Myrtle, he had already found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

After confirming that the Chamber had not yet been opened and the Basilisk within could not emerge, he did not rush to take the next step.

The thing Lucius had thrown into the school was most likely a Horcrux.

Without resolving the effects brought by the Horcrux, simply destroying the Basilisk would not solve the problem at its root. Instead, it would leave endless future trouble behind.

A Horcrux.

An evil object containing a fragment of Voldemort's soul, functioning much like a lich's phylactery.

As long as every Horcrux was not destroyed, Voldemort's soul would never truly die. That was also what Dumbledore feared most.

Over the next few years, Dumbledore's focus would be on destroying every Horcrux and eliminating Voldemort completely.

"Making Horcruxes..."

Li Wei sighed softly.

It reminded him of his ultimate goal—immortality.

Making Horcruxes was also one of the alternatives in Li Wei's plan for eternal life.

By splitting his soul, he could extend his lifespan.

But this method held too many unknown drawbacks, and its known flaws were also fatal. So long as Li Wei had another choice, he would never do it.

Splitting the soul caused immense damage to it, and both body and mind would suffer extremely severe effects.

Voldemort was someone who possessed both intelligence and talent, someone Li Wei believed had every chance of surpassing the Four Founders. Yet after splitting his soul, his mind had become somewhat abnormal.

His appearance had become uglier as his soul was repeatedly divided, but the effects on his mind were even more terrifying.

Otherwise, no normal person would do something as absurd as dividing their soul countless times, then scattering those critically important Horcruxes everywhere.

The restricted section at Hogwarts contained introductions to Horcruxes. Moste Potente Potions detailed this evil magical artifact, but did not give a specific method for making one.

Li Wei picked up his pen and wrote two lines.

[Known methods of immortality]

[Philosopher's Stone] [Horcruxes]

As well as his own age: [32 years old]

Both methods of immortality were extremely demanding.

Throughout the entire history of the wizarding world, only Nicolas Flamel had successfully created the Philosopher's Stone capable of brewing an immortality potion. Li Wei did not believe his talent in alchemy could rival Nicolas Flamel's.

Besides, he did not even know the formula yet. Thinking about this now seemed a little self-humiliating.

Then what about Horcruxes?

Although Li Wei knew that making a Horcrux required murder, it was obvious that simple killing would not work.

If it required using evil means to torture someone's soul, Li Wei would not mind doing so to certain death-row prisoners who had escaped, if necessary.

So was there some way to trade with Voldemort for the method of making Horcruxes without drawing anyone else's attention?

Although Li Wei believed he could live for at least three hundred years and did not need to worry about his lifespan yet, opportunities like this were rare indeed.

Once Voldemort was completely dead, he would probably have to seek out Horace Slughorn if he wanted to obtain the method for making Horcruxes. That man was slipperier than an eel.

Furthermore, Li Wei had once declined an invitation to Slughorn's Slug Club. They barely knew each other, and establishing a connection later would be harder than reaching the heavens.

While hiding from the Death Eaters during the war, Li Wei had once encountered him in a Muggle's house. Slughorn had not even dared to speak and had immediately fled.

For a moment, Li Wei somewhat regretted telling Dumbledore about the Basilisk.

Once Dumbledore decided to act, the entire incident would be resolved swiftly and cleanly. Li Wei would have no chance at all to find an opportunity.

But what right did he have to choose otherwise?

If he did not tell Dumbledore now, then once the matter was resolved and Dumbledore learned everything, Li Wei's position would become rather awkward.

In the end, he was still not strong enough.

Li Wei flicked his hand, and the paper before him swiftly ignited and vanished. The flames briefly painted his face red.

The Hogwarts headmaster's office.

Dumbledore's figure suddenly appeared within the office.

"Caw—"

"A letter for me? Thank you for the reminder, Fawkes."

Dumbledore accepted the letter from his pet.

"Li Wei?" he asked, somewhat puzzled.

They were both in the school. Was there really a need for Li Wei to communicate this way?

He opened the letter and scanned its contents. The body that had just sat down gradually straightened, and his expression became subtle.

He had just left the Ministry of Magic and, on the way, had gone to take a look at Li Wei's students.

Not only Li Wei, but also his twenty-four students seemed extremely dangerous to Dumbledore.

Most of them were no less capable than outstanding Hogwarts graduates, and they were far more skilled and seasoned.

More frighteningly, these people gathered together every day to study how they could acquire greater power.

Dumbledore had once gone through such a time himself.

He knew what sort of sparks and strength could emerge when two like-minded people came together.

And Li Wei had twenty-four such people.

But this brief inspection had made Dumbledore realize that things had changed.

Those people had truly all stopped their Dark Arts research and turned their efforts elsewhere.

Dumbledore could sense the power of curses from them—Li Wei had most likely reached some sort of agreement with them.

With vicious curses or an oath?

Dumbledore could not determine it.

But the contents of this letter made him lean more toward the latter.

"The Chamber of Secrets left behind by Slytherin."

Dumbledore looked at the letter in his hand and recalled something long ago.

During that incident, a Hogwarts student had lost her precious life, while Hagrid had been "caught" red-handed by Voldemort, then known as Tom Riddle.

The headmaster at the time, Armando Dippet, had not listened to Hagrid's defense and directly declared him guilty.

And Hogwarts had gained another ghost—Moaning Myrtle.

If Slytherin had an heir, then without question, that person would have been Tom.

So it had been Tom who opened the Chamber of Secrets back then, and Hagrid truly had been innocent.

Dumbledore set down the letter and walked out of his office.