Li Wei's Exploration

"For example, you were once close friends with Grindelwald, the first Dark Lord, and even put forward a dangerous proposition—"

Almost as soon as Li Wei spoke that name, Dumbledore's expression changed subtly—and of course, that slight change did not escape Li Wei's constant observation.

He stopped there and did not speak the slogan aloud, leaving the old man some dignity.

Dumbledore stood there in a daze for a moment.

He had not expected anyone to mention that name after so long.

He quickly realized he had lost his composure.

"I didn't expect you to know even such things. Your sources of information are broader than I imagined."

Dumbledore lowered his head and sighed, then candidly admitted it.

"I think this is a good start. It will allow both of us to be honest with each other and face the past."

"Go on."

His voice remained gentle, yet at some point it had gained an undeniable force.

Azure pupils met eyes black as jade, and Li Wei continued.

"In my view, the outside world has completely misunderstood you. You were never someone obsessed with power.

"Back then, if you had chosen to cooperate with Grindelwald, the entire wizarding world would have been within your grasp.

"But it was precisely that sense of control that made you recognize the danger, causing you to shun power as if it were venomous snakes and beasts."

"Professor, you are undoubtedly a great man."

"But forgive me for saying this: you are also someone who has overcorrected.

"The painful lessons of the past made you instinctively confine yourself whenever you face certain matters, as if—

"You once personally taught the Second Dark Lord, Tom Riddle. That is why, from then on, you have remained highly wary of every exceptionally talented wizard, especially those—born into Slytherin."

"..."

"..."

This time, it was Dumbledore's turn to fall silent.

"I didn't expect..."

His aged voice was hoarse as well.

But unlike Li Wei, he did not rush to continue.

A brief silence fell between them.

The surfaces of the still-warm hot cocoa before them trembled faintly, sending ripples outward.

At some point,

their gazes had already drifted away from each other.

"Whether it was the Basilisk matter or your analysis of me, Li Wei, your insight into things has always amazed me."

Dumbledore's voice rang out again at some point, and his expression had returned to normal along with it.

"I said some arrogant things without permission. I apologize, Professor."

Li Wei reflected as well—Dumbledore's words had stirred his emotions too much just now.

Was it because, deep down, he too believed that avoiding war was something shameful? Was that why Dumbledore's unexpected attack had pierced him so easily?

Li Wei suddenly felt that perhaps, during his long periods of spell practice, he had somewhat neglected the existence of the 'self.'

"You did indeed say some excessive things to me. I have not heard such sharp criticism in decades, this old man that I am.

"But I accept your apology, so long as—you also tell me some things about your past."

Their eyes met again. Dumbledore suddenly blinked playfully, with no trace of anything wrong on his face, as though the unpleasantness from before had already passed.

Li Wei had completely run out of reasons to refuse.

Although he had already somewhat forgotten why he had sat down here in the first place.

Whether it was the Basilisk matter or the discussion about improving magical power, neither seemed to have made any progress.

With the urge to sigh rising within him, Li Wei spoke.

"You should have investigated my student days as well, so I'll start with what happened after I graduated.

"Actually, there was nothing particularly remarkable. For most of my days, I practiced spells."

Li Wei drained the hot cocoa in his cup in one gulp, then continued beneath Dumbledore's pleased gaze.

"After graduating, I refused recruitment offers from both the Death Eaters and the Ministry of Magic. Because of that, the Death Eaters kept trying to find my whereabouts.

"To ensure my safety, I moved between the homes of various Muggles, researching magic alone and occasionally going out to trade for magical items I needed.

"During the two years when Voldemort was at his most rampant, I hid everywhere like a filthy sewer rat while continuing to devote myself to studying magic in Muggle homes.

"At the time, I was not powerful enough to contend with those veteran Death Eaters—though of course, that was merely an excuse for my selfishness. There was no point in saying more."

"After Voldemort fell, things became much safer.

"Because of certain needs, I was usually short on Galleons. I began periodically robbing Dark wizards to solve that problem, and it also happened to test what I had learned.

"As my skills steadily improved, the things I needed became rarer and rarer. Naturally, those I targeted grew stronger as well. Occasionally, I even robbed underground auctions.

"They had far deeper reserves, and one raid could satisfy my needs for a long time. Gradually, I acted less often.

"Come to think of it, the powerful figures behind some black markets still have bounties on me to this day. But because my movements are unpredictable and the intervals between each appearance are so long, they cannot guard against me even if they want to."

"So that was how it was."

Dumbledore could not help chuckling when he heard this.

He had also heard a little about what had happened to some of those markets.

And the reason he could laugh was that he knew those black markets truly had no clean origins—or rather, they were utterly filthy.

Independent Dark wizards were, for the most part, people capable of every kind of fraud, theft, and evil.

What was even more detestable was that their targets were often children with no ability to resist.

Li Wei's actions might have been somewhat improper, but at least he had fought evil with evil.

Dumbledore would not dwell on matters that had happened in the past—on the contrary, he was glad that Li Wei was willing to tell him these things.

It showed that they were becoming increasingly honest with each other.

"Beginning in my second year after graduation, I had already vaguely realized something—if I continued to work behind closed doors relying solely on my own understanding, I could still improve for a while, but eventually I would reach a bottleneck.

"Because Voldemort had fallen, wizarding society had become much more stable. I began deliberately selecting and training spiritually gifted wizards as students.

"Qiao Weili was the first student I took in—his talent for magic far surpassed mine. After all, that was why he had been auctioned off in the first place.

"Every day, I assigned him study tasks and guided him during breaks—he always learned quickly and well.

"In my seventh year after graduation, on an ordinary morning, I suddenly had a powerful premonition.

"I could no longer improve myself through any form of learning.

"I spent three months verifying it. Aside from the Dark Arts, I organized every kind of magic I had learned.

"I found nothing.

"Afterward, I began traveling the world with Qiao Weili, seeking to verify the dark creatures I had seen only in books.

"Along the way, I also visited wizards in various countries and tried to exchange knowledge and learn from them.

"Unfortunately, they often regarded knowledge as their most precious wealth and were extremely exclusionary, unwilling to communicate with an outsider like me.

"And those willing to open themselves up often varied greatly in ability, leaving very little to gain."