Li Wei's Exploration

"For example, you were once close friends with the first Dark Lord, Grindelwald, even proposing a dangerous idea—"

As soon as Li Wei uttered that name, Dumbledore's expression shifted subtly—a minute change that, of course, did not escape Li Wei's constant observation.

He stopped himself, not uttering the slogan aloud, deciding to spare old Dumbledore some dignity.

Dumbledore stood frozen for a moment.

He hadn't expected that after so long, someone would still mention that name.

Soon, he realized he had lost his composure.

"I didn't expect you to know even this. Your network of information is far more extensive than I imagined."

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

"I think this is a good start. It allows us to be open with each other and confront our past."

"Continue," he said.

His voice remained gentle, yet it had somehow acquired an unyielding power.

Li Wei's azure eyes met Dumbledore's obsidian gaze, and he continued.

"In my opinion, the outside world has completely misunderstood you. You are by no means someone who craves power.

Because if you had chosen to cooperate with Grindelwald back then, the entire wizarding world would have been yours for the taking.

But it was precisely that sense of control that made you feel danger, causing you to shy away from power as if it were a plague."

"Professor, you are undoubtedly a great man."

"But if I may be frank, you are also someone who overcorrects.

The painful lessons you learned have caused you to subconsciously confine yourself when facing certain situations, just like...

You personally mentored the second Dark Lord, Tom Riddle, which is why you remain highly vigilant towards all talented wizards, especially those—from Slytherin."

"."

"."

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

"I did not expect this," he said.

His aged voice was also hoarse.

But unlike Li Wei, he didn't rush to speak further.

A brief silence fell between them.

On the surface of the still-warm hot chocolate before each of them, tiny ripples appeared.

At some point.

Their gazes had drifted away from each other.

"Whether it's the matter of the Basilisk or your analysis of me, Li Wei, your insight into things always amazes me," Dumbledore's voice rang out again, his expression returning to normal.

"I apologize, Professor, for speaking some arrogant words."

Li Wei also reflected—he had gotten a bit carried away by Dumbledore's words earlier.

Was it because, deep down, he also felt that his avoidance of war was undignified? That's why Dumbledore's unexpected attack had struck such a raw nerve?

Li Wei suddenly felt that perhaps, in his long hours of practicing spells, he had neglected the existence of his 'self'.

"You did say some rather harsh things to me. I haven't heard such sharp criticism in decades, old as I am.

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

Their eyes met again. Dumbledore suddenly winked playfully, his face showing no hint of the previous unpleasantness, as if it had already passed.

Li Wei had no reason to refuse.

Even though he was already starting to forget why he was sitting here in the first place.

Neither the matter of the Basilisk nor the discussion about improving magic power seemed to have made any progress.

With a sigh building within him, Li Wei began.

"You should have investigated my student days, so let's start from after I graduated.

There isn't much to tell, really. For most of my days, I was practicing spells."

Li Wei downed the hot chocolate in his cup in one gulp, continuing under Dumbledore's pleased gaze.

"After graduating from school, I refused recruitment from both the Death Eaters and the Ministry of Magic. Because of this, the Death Eaters have been trying to find me.

To ensure my safety, I lived in the homes of various Muggles, researching magic alone, and occasionally going out to trade for necessary magical items.

During the two years when the Dark Lord was most rampant, I was like a rat hiding in a sewer, constantly evading, while continuing my dedicated magic research in Muggle houses.

At the time, I wasn't powerful enough to contend with those veteran Death Eaters—of course, that's just an excuse for the selfish, and it's pointless to dwell on it."

"After the Dark Lord's downfall, the situation became much safer."

Because of certain needs, my Galleons were rarely enough, so I began to rob dark wizards irregularly to solve this problem, which also served to verify what I had learned.

As my skills continuously improved, the things I needed became increasingly uncommon, and the people I targeted naturally grew stronger. Occasionally, I would also rob some underground auctions.

Their resources were even more abundant, and one successful raid could satisfy my needs for a long time. Gradually, I started to act less frequently.

Speaking of which, some of the big figures behind the black markets still have warrants out for me, but because my whereabouts are unpredictable and the intervals between my actions are long, they can't guard against me no matter what."

"So that's how it is."

Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this.

He had heard some rumors about certain markets.

The reason he could laugh was that he knew the backgrounds of those black markets were indeed not clean—or rather, extremely dirty.

Wild dark wizards were basically beings who would do anything, including cheating and deception.

What was even more detestable was that their targets were often children who couldn't resist.

Although Li Wei's methods were somewhat improper, they could still be considered as fighting evil with evil.

Dumbledore wouldn't dwell on these past events—in fact, he was glad Li Wei was willing to tell him about them.

This showed that they were becoming increasingly open with each other.

"Starting from the second year after graduation, I vaguely realized something—relying solely on my own understanding and continuing to work behind closed doors, while I could still improve for a while, would eventually lead to a bottleneck.

Also, with the downfall of the mysterious person, wizarding society became much more peaceful. I began to consciously select and nurture some gifted wizards as students.

Qiao Weili was the first student I took in—his talent in magic far surpassed mine. After all, he was originally auctioned off because of it.

I assigned him study tasks every day and guided him during my breaks—he always learned quickly and well.

In the seventh year after graduation, on a normal morning, I suddenly had a strong premonition.

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

I spent three months verifying this. Apart from the Dark Arts, I integrated all the magic I had learned.

I found nothing.

Afterward, I began to travel the world with Qiao Weili, searching for dark creatures that I had only read about in books.

Along the way, I would also visit wizards in some countries, attempting to exchange knowledge.

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

And those who were willing to be open often had varying levels of skill, making it rare to gain any substantial knowledge."