With its eyes covered by the rings, the Basilisk lost its greatest asset and was completely powerless against the now enormous Norbert.
Norbert didn't use Dragonfire; he only used his sharp teeth and claws to toy with the Basilisk.
It would occasionally swoop down from the sky, grab the Basilisk whole, and then slam it to the ground.
They repeated this process repeatedly, finding it endlessly enjoyable.
Despite its fierce resistance, the Basilisk was no match for Norbert, who was flying in the sky.
Seeing Silan enter, Norbert threw the Basilisk down and fluttered his wings to land beside him.
"Master, you've arrived."
Norbert respectfully prostrated himself on the ground and bowed his head to Silan.
"What are you doing?" Silan asked.
"I just wanted to say hello," Norbert explained softly, "And then I accidentally got carried away playing with it..."
It rarely encounters playmates of similar size.
Noticing that Silan had entered, the Basilisk immediately twisted its body and rushed over, crying out in great distress.
"Master... you must stand up for me, Master!"
"I was immediately overwhelmed and beaten by it the moment I walked in!"
"This is so tragic, Master..."
Silan glanced at the Basilisk's body and said with a sneer, "Next time you're playing the victim, remember to scrape your scales a little more."
As a seasoned veteran who has always pretended to be innocent and clever, Silan is well-versed in this art.
Pretending to be pitiful in front of him is as ridiculous as telling Dumbledore that you can eat a lot of candy, or telling Voldemort that you're good at Avada Kedavra.
The Basilisk stiffened and awkwardly flicked its tongue.
This new owner isn't easy to fool.
"Weren't you quite tough before?" Silan glanced at him and asked with a hint of amusement, "How come you've become a spineless coward now?"
I haven't even started disciplining you yet, why are you already backing down?
The Basilisk lay low on the ground and said in an extremely obsequious voice, "A snake's bones are naturally soft."
"Heh, that makes sense." Silan chuckled.
"Haha," the Basilisk chuckled ingratiatingly.
"But..."
Silan changed the subject, sneering, "You smooth talker, I'll give you an electric shock too."
After saying that, Silan snapped his fingers.
The Basilisk was once again covered in electric current, which charred and curled its newly recovered scales.
"Ahhhhhh!"
The Basilisk rolled on the ground in agony, begging for mercy.
"I'm wrong, Master..."
"I know I was wrong! Please forgive me, my great master!"
Norbert stood there, eyes wide, ramrod straight, silently warning himself that he must be obedient from now on...
Silan patted the Basilisk's head and said simply and decisively.
"I have some questions for you. I ask, you answer. Is that clear enough?"
"Rest assured, Master, I will tell you everything I know, and I will open my soul and mind to you!"
The Basilisk frantically in alarm.
"When you were biting that Diary in the Great Hall, did you feel anything special or discover anything unusual?"
Silan asked the question that concerned her most.
"A peculiar feeling..." The Basilisk fell into thought, flicking its tongue as it said, "I just felt a sudden throbbing pain in my head, nothing else."
Headache?
Silan glanced instinctively at the Basilisk's head and frowned.
This is not a good sign.
After giving himself some Baruffio's Brain Elixir, Silan activated his Wizard's Eye and looked at the Basilisk's head.
Through the Wizard's Eye, Silan clearly saw two orbs of light, one large and one small, on the Basilisk's head.
The small light spot is the crystal nucleus that was implanted last time.
The large orb of light was still imperceptible.
After checking inside and out several times, Silan found nothing unusual and had no choice but to give up for the time being.
Tom Riddle may not be very strong, but he's definitely hard to kill.
Horcrux are also sinister things; they might not be completely dead.
"It seems the headband can't be removed; Norbert will have to keep an eye on the Basilisk."
Silan withdrew his gaze and thought to himself.
"What was Slytherin's purpose in establishing the Chamber of Secrets and keeping you here?" Silan asked again.
"Could it really be about killing Muggle and Half-blood wizards to purify the school?"
He had always had doubts about this.
Since Slytherin created the Chamber of Secrets and left the Basilisk, only one student has been killed.
If his goal is truly to purify the school, then this method is incredibly foolish.
"Of course not," the Basilisk obediently replied.
"Slytherin left the Chamber of Secrets to find his successor and inherit the treasures he left behind."
"And I am the vessel of this secret treasure."
Upon hearing the word "treasure" again, Silan subconsciously narrowed her eyes.
Did Slytherin leave behind the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk to pass down a secret treasure?
Was it his property, or a powerful magical artifact?
Filled with doubt, Silan asked directly, "What exactly is this secret treasure?"
"That's what Slytherin is most proud of..."
The Basilisk's voice suddenly turned low, as if its thoughts had broken through a distant time and space, returning to the time when it was just born.
At that time, Slytherin had just nurtured it and carefully modified its soul.
It was given the lifelong mission of guarding the secret treasure.
"Slytherin's secret treasure is the knowledge he left behind," the Basilisk said slowly.
"Because of the witch hunts of the Middle Ages, Slytherin do not trust Muggle-born wizard."
He stubbornly believed that even if Muggle-born wizard and Half-blood wizards learned magic, there was a high probability that they would side with the Muggle World and help them fight against wizards. Therefore, he did not agree with Hogwarts admitting students other than Pure-blood, which caused him to have great disagreements with others.
"Before Slytherin left Hogwarts, he built the Chamber of Secrets and imprinted his magical knowledge into my soul."
He hoped his successor would open the Chamber of Secrets, pass the test, inherit his knowledge, and become even more powerful.
Silan listened quietly and nodded.
That's a plausible explanation.
Knowledge is power; this is not just an empty phrase in the Wizarding World.
The more profound the magical knowledge, the more valuable it is; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a secret treasure.
Slytherin himself advocated elite education and refused to teach students from Muggle or Half-blood families, which led him to leave. However, he still wanted to pass on his knowledge, so he had no choice but to come up with this method.
However, the criteria for selecting heirs are a bit too high.
The mere requirement of speaking in Parseltongue is enough to deter countless people.
"Tom Riddle, you should know who he is," Silan suddenly asked with interest. "Is he the heir?"
"I know him..."
"He Parseltongue and is certainly qualified to be the successor, but he hasn't fully passed the test yet."
The Basilisk cautiously asked, "The first test is..."
I don't care about these things.
Silan waved to him, took two steps closer, gently patted his head, and ran her fingers along the patterns on his scales.
"I just want to know, do I also have to pass the test?"
He spoke softly and gently, but the threat in his words was very clear.
The Basilisk hesitated for a moment.
Although Slytherin did not state that there could only be one heir, one had to undergo tests and gain its approval to become the heir.
But clearly, his new owner had little patience.
Just as he was hesitating, the Basilisk suddenly felt a tightness on its head and immediately shook its head spinelessly.
"You!"
"Of course you don't need it!"
"My great master, your power is like the sun in the sky, dazzlingly bright; your wisdom is like the air, omnipresent; your..."
"Alright." Silan patted it.
I have no idea where this Basilisk got all these little words from, they come in such a complete set.
The Basilisk breathed a sigh of relief.
Looks like I won't get electrocuted.
As for Silan skipping the test...
Since Slytherin didn't say anything, the Basilisk thought, "Let's just pretend the test didn't exist."
While the Basilisk was still in a daze, it heard Silan's voice again.
"So, how can one acquire that knowledge?"