Chapter 70: Quarrel

For a long while.

Dengbulido inhaled, and said, "Dali, regarding the evil aura on Professor Sineipu, thank you for the reminder; I have known about this for a long time."

"His left arm does indeed carry an evil aura; he picked it up inadvertently in his early years."

Sineipu said nothing, but his expression grew somewhat grim.

"Is that so?"

Dali showed a look of surprise.

In fact, he was not surprised at all; when he saw Dengbulido's expression, he knew Dengbulido had already known about this, and that the evil aura on Sineipu's body was probably not a serious issue.

"Nevertheless, you have still demonstrated your talent; that is remarkable."

"Then, aside from that, have you discovered anything else?"

Dengbulido said earnestly.

"Nothing for now."

Dali shook his head.

"Alright, you have performed your task excellently, my little Law Enforcement Officer. Now, go back and rest; if you find anything, remember to come find me at any time."

"Oh, by the way, if you notice a change in the password of my office, you can try saying the names of some candies; it will always work."

Dengbulido smiled and winked at Dali.

"Alright, thank you, Professor."

Dali nodded, glanced at Sineipu, then left Dengbulido's office.

After Dali had completely left.

Sineipu, his face looking ill, said, "Do you believe his words?"

"As you can see, he indeed has talent in this area," Dengbulido said.

"That doesn't prove anything; if he researches some records, he can discover my past and thus guess that there would be a Black Magic Mark on my arm," Sineipu said directly.

"We can't rule out that possibility, but when he was in Gulingge, he was able, by intuition, to spot that man in black, and at the edge of the Forbidden Forest he sensed an evil incursion; all this shows he has talent in this regard."

"Sineipu, we must not look at Dali with prejudice."

"Even though he comes from a Muggle family."

"And don't forget, his aunt is also a very outstanding wizard."

Sineipu's expression stiffened; his lips twitched as if to speak, but he ultimately said nothing.

A long time passed.

"She is different from them!"

Sineipu dropped that sentence and strode away.

Dengbulido watched Sineipu's back and let out a soft sigh.

On the other side.

When Dali passed the spot of the tapestry, he once again surveyed the bare wall, yet still found nothing.

He noted the location, intending to come back later for a thorough check.

On his way back to the common room, Dali ran into the sneaking-out Harry and Luoen.

"What are you doing?"

Dali looked at the two with surprise.

They had just been hiding behind a statue like thieves, but Dali spotted them at a glance.

"Oh, thank the heavens you're okay."

Luoen, seeing Dali, finally let out a sigh of relief.

"We thought you had been beaten by senior Slytherin students and were about to go out looking for you," Harry explained.

After school they had been waiting for Dali in the Gryffindor common room.

However, tonight Dali did not return at the usual seven‑eight o'clock, and now it was nearly midnight with no sign of him, which made Harry and Luoen very worried.

They had to run out to look for Dali.

They thought Dali had been knocked down by senior Slytherin students, perhaps even dumped into an empty classroom.

"I'm fine; I just ran into some trouble on the way back and stopped by Professor Dengbulido's office."

Dali explained.

"Did something happen?"

Harry asked anxiously.

"Nothing major, just …"

Dali was about to speak when his brow furrowed and he looked toward another statue not far away.

There, it seemed, there was another person.

"Who's there?"

Dali frowned and walked over slowly.

Harry and Luoen's faces turned pale instantly.

They had run out now, but that was a clear violation of school rules; if discovered, the trouble would be serious.

After all, they had just been punished for a brawl a few days ago, and now they were sneaking out at night again; if Professor McGonagall found out, she would surely skin them alive.

"It's me."

A voice came, and immediately Hermione, with a head of curls, stepped forward.

"Hermione!"

Luoen whispered in alarm.

Hiding behind that statue was Hermione.

"Why did you also come out?"

Dali had a slight headache.

Could it be that they're also here to find him?

"I saw Harry and Luoen staying up late at night, feeling that they were preparing to do something bad, so I kept watching them. Then I saw them slip out late at night; I originally wanted to stop them, but I didn't have time," Hermione said, glancing at Harry and Luoen.

"Oh, Hermione, do you just love meddling in other people's business?"

Luoen said, unable to stand it any longer.

"What do you mean meddling? You have just been punished, you must not make any more mistakes, otherwise you'll really be expelled," Hermione said, her face flushing red, looking very angry, "I'm doing this for your own good."

"For our own good? Who asked you to interfere?" Luoen retorted bluntly.

Harry frowned and said, "Dali hasn't come back this late; shouldn't we go out to look for him? What if he was injured by senior students from Slytherin House?"

"I've already told you, you can report this to Professor McGonagall; she'll handle it, but you just won't listen," Hermione said angrily.

"If Professor McGonagall could keep things under control, that incident on the playground wouldn't have happened," Luoen said.

Dali: "..."

These three brats started arguing over such a trivial matter, Dali felt a bit helpless.

"Alright, let's go back and..."

Dali had just begun to urge the three to go back when his ears twitched, and he looked toward the corner of the hallway.

"Meow!"

A soft cat meow came, and Dali thought it was his own big orange cat.

But what caught his eye was not his orange cat at all, but a gaunt, ash‑gray cat.

Mrs. Lorise, Administrator Feiqi's cat!

Harry, Luoen, and Hermione also followed Dali's gaze and saw the cat.

Their expressions froze instantly, terrified and speechless.

"Let me see who is staying up at night, wandering outside."

Administrator Feiqi's voice came from the other end of the hallway, tinged with excitement and urgency, making the air around them seem to solidify.