Chapter 87: Nine O'Clock

These two Decrees both seem too basic!

And the second Decree actually includes the first Decree.

Since movement is impossible, running is even more impossible; in other words, this newly issued Decree merely expands the scope of the first one and does not constitute a qualitative change.

That is not exactly the same as some of Dali's recollections about the Trensost Brass Book.

Because, over such a long period, the Trensost Brass Book would certainly have discovered loopholes in the Decrees, and the way to patch them is actually simple: directly forbid the Appearance of any living being in the corridors, and violators are sentenced to death.

But the current situation is clearly not like that.

"What time is it now?" Dali asked.

"Eight forty, we only have twenty minutes left," Harry said with a grim face.

"Go back; twenty minutes is enough to reach Gryffindor Tower. Remember, no matter what happens or what you hear, do not leave the tower, understand?"

Dali said in a hurried tone.

"But..."

Harry still wanted to say something.

"Go back!"

Dali said coldly.

His words were full of authority, irresistible, and startled Hermione and Luoen standing nearby.

"Alright."

Harry paused for two seconds, then nodded.

The three of them gave Dali one last glance, then headed toward Gryffindor Tower.

They must return to the tower before nine o'clock, or else they won't be able to go back.

"If an error Appearance occurs en route, find a classroom and hide inside."

Dali instructed.

"Got it."

Harry replied.

Seeing the three leave, Dali's gaze fell again on the notice.

"It only forbids movement in the corridors, expanding from running to walking; it's a process of conceptually broadening the scope. So why set such a Decree?"

Dali pondered.

A half‑beat later.

"To cut off connections throughout the castle, that is, to prevent anyone from finding it!"

Dali's gaze tightened slightly.

Thinking from the Brass Book's perspective, Dali roughly understood the purpose of this Decree.

From running to walking, the next step is likely that no one may be in the corridors; thus everyone can only stay in their own zones, and the entire castle will be sliced into small pieces, preventing accidental discovery.

"It seems this activation is only a very primitive activation; at this level, the Decree is far from strict and contains many loopholes. To patch these loopholes, it will need a considerable amount of time."

"For example, flying in the corridors or crawling through the sewers can both evade the ban."

"However, the activation will keep accelerating, the Decrees will fill every loophole until an extremely tight set of statutes is formed and strictly enforced; by then, no one will be able to stop it."

Dali's gaze grew heavy; his time was running short.

Without any hesitation, Dali immediately set out, searching the castle for the Trensost Brass Book's location.

The book is probably now in some classroom or some broom closet, continuously activating and issuing new Decrees.

"Prohibiting activity in the corridors also means it is still within the castle, which reveals its own location. However, at this very primitive activation, its sphere of influence is quite limited and cannot leave Hogwarts Castle."

Dali walked as fast as possible down the corridors, checking every possible spot where the Brass Book might appear.

"Spiritual intuition will to some extent guide my direction, and with the Extraordinary Trait aggregation law, I might stumble upon it while walking. Yet this uncertainty is huge; I may find it in ten minutes, or in an hour, or even after days or months."

Dali now has no better method; he can only search classroom after classroom.

He hopes that a Mysticism‑based connection between them might unintentionally lead him to the Trensost Brass Book.

On the other side.

Harry, Hermione, and Luoen walked down the corridor, their faces all very grim.

"Dali, he's okay, right?"

Hermione asked with a sobbing tone.

"No, he's that powerful, he definitely won't be in trouble," Luoen hurriedly said.

"Harry, you agree, right?"

Harry said nothing, remaining silent.

"Harry, you should know Dali well; he does such dangerous things with confidence, right?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head.

"In fact, I don't understand him at all; actually, I always wished he would disappear from my life forever."

"Before meeting Ma Er Fu, he was the person I hated most, without exception."

"But I don't know when, he changed, and then he really seemed like... my... brother..."

Harry didn't know what he was saying; he just had some feelings he wanted to express, that's all.

Luoen and Hermione exchanged a glance; they completely didn't understand what Harry was saying.

This Halloween night was truly too eerie.

"Ah..."

Suddenly, a horrible scream echoed from somewhere in the castle, causing Dali to freeze instantly.

"Someone inadvertently violated the Decree!"

Dali's face was grim.

There were so many people in the castle; even if a Giant Monster incident occurred, Dengbulido demanded everyone return to their dorms, yet there were always a few who wouldn't obey, such as Dali and his group, and besides that, there were also teachers.

However, this scream was just the beginning.

Immediately after, several screams rang out, clearly indicating that a few more people had violated the ban and been punished.

"More and more people are violating the ban."

Dali's face was grim.

The longer time dragged on, the more troublesome it became to resolve this matter.

"Our castle has seen some accidents; everyone should stay in their rooms and not wander around the castle."

Suddenly, a loud voice rang throughout the entire Hogwarts Magic School; it was Professor Dengbulido's voice.

"They've discovered an anomaly."

Upon hearing this, Dali's gaze instantly narrowed.

But this is also good; with Dengbulido's reminder, we can avoid many innocent people getting hurt.

Dali prepared to continue searching for the Trensost Brass Book.

Suddenly, something came to his mind.

"Wait, why did the screams only appear now? The Decree was issued some time ago; logically, even if everyone was just walking and not running, the screams should have appeared much earlier!"

Dali seemed to have grasped some crucial information, his face full of excitement.

"In other words, the Decree's effective range is only now expanding; previously, the Trensost Brass Book's influence was quite limited and did not cover the entire castle."

"Then the first scream came from……"

"Ma Er Fu!"

Dali's expression froze.

"Is the Trensost Brass Book in the basement?"

Having figured this out, Dali immediately headed downstairs.

Thud……

The bell chimed, it was nine o'clock.