Zhang Xiao looked calmly at Lucius and repeated his question:
"Have they found the Dark Lord?"
Lucius shook his head.
"I'm not sure. They're cautious-perhaps even overly cautious.
They only sent someone insignificant to contact me.
But I think... probably not."
He glanced at Malfoy, gritted his teeth, and held out his arm, slowly drawing back his sleeve.
He revealed a sinister black tattoo-a great snake emerging from a skull's mouth like a tongue.
The tattoo was like a branding iron. Malfoy and Narcissa hastily averted their eyes, as though the sight had burned them.
"The Dark Mark-once the Dark Lord returns, we'll be able to feel it."
Zhang Xiao stared at the ugly mark, suddenly recalling what Little Tom had told him.
Bone Reappearance and the Dark Mark were both products of reverse-engineering the Patronus Charm.
The Dark Mark in particular used pain and fear as anchors to construct a highly convenient network for the Death Eaters.
But such a network had to have a source, something that served as a beacon.
Who filled that role?
Tom Riddle-Voldemort.
Zhang Xiao sighed softly. The other Horcruxes were easy enough to deal with; even the one inside Harry posed little trouble.
He had long since asked his father about the problem Dumbledore had sacrificed himself to solve.
It was not quite effortless, but it was not especially difficult, either.
Wizards could never imagine how many methods the Daoist Order had for dealing with the soul and spirit, just as the Daoist Order could not understand how wizards accomplished so many wonders with a wave of a little wooden stick.
The only remaining problem was Nagini, the Horcrux that never left Voldemort's side.
And his parents had already tested things when he obtained the Diary. Horcruxes were highly independent.
Voldemort could not