Chapter 143: The Hesitant Fake Detective (Fourth Update)

For the students at Hogwarts, the petrification incident on Halloween night was merely an extra topic for after-class conversation. They failed to grasp the gravity of the situation.

After all, Mrs. Norris, though petrified, did not appear to be in any pain and would be cured before long. Perhaps some students were even secretly fantasizing about using this as an excuse to skip classes.

At least, the Weasley twins, those two jesters, had been broadcasting that sentiment.

Everyone was eagerly discussing the Chamber of Secrets, as if the school concealed some astonishing treasure, and the curiosity of every young mind had been thoroughly provoked.

They attempted to gather detailed information about the Chamber, but no books recorded the matter.

With no other options, the students decided to turn their attention to the teachers.

It seemed there was only one person in the entire school who was truly heartbroken: Filch, the Squib. Like an enraged grizzly bear, he lurked near the scene of the incident, glaring at every student as if they were the murderer. Many students found themselves thoroughly annoyed by him.

Among them, Harry received the lion's share of Filch's attention. That pathetic caretaker swore up and down that Harry was undoubtedly the one who had petrified his beloved Mrs. Norris.

Hermione spent these past few days practically living in the library, visiting even more frequently than usual. She wanted to unearth the secrets of the Chamber from the books. Unfortunately, the texts contained no such records, which led her to consider asking Jun Ma.

Yet Jun Ma was doing precisely the opposite these days, staying away from the library entirely. By now, he had already copied virtually every single book within its walls.

Finally, the curiosity-overloaded students received their answers from Professor Binns during their History of Magic class.

A legend concerning the Chamber of Secrets was unraveled, dragging up the history of the four founders who established the school.

The ultimate result was that the students became deeply suspicious of one another, with many convinced that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin, poised to eliminate all Muggle-born wizards.

Harry, Ron, and their friends, meanwhile, were firmly convinced that Draco was the true heir.

The commotion was so widespread that students found it impossible to concentrate in class.

Even during Jun Ma's Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, the healthy competitive atmosphere failed to revive their interest in dueling.

"Class is dismissed. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, stay behind; the rest of you may leave. Remember, next class I expect to see mastery over your Petrificus Totalus spells!"

Concluding the lesson, Jun Ma awarded ten points to Slytherin before addressing Harry and the others.

Once the rest of the students had departed, the classroom fell empty and quiet.

Jun Ma sat behind his desk, looking at the three little ones before him with a gentle smile. "You three seem rather busy digging into something lately? Well, any results?"

"Professor, do you know about the Chamber of Secrets too?" Harry asked expectantly. "Who do you think opened it?"

"Before I answer your question, Harry..." Jun Ma fixed his gaze on Harry's eyes. "I need you to tell me something!"

"What is it?"

"What exactly happened on the night of Halloween?" Jun Ma's eyes swept across the three of them repeatedly. "Clearly, you lied to me at the time! I've always believed we are friends. Many things can be shared!"

The three companions exchanged glances. After a moment, Harry spoke up, "Professor, you're right. But this whole thing is rather bizarre; it sounds as though I'm just raving..."

"I believe you. Just tell me whatever it is!"

"Well... at the time... we were leaving the Nearly Headless Nick's deathday party, heading back to the Great Hall," Harry recalled. "Just as we entered the corridor, I heard some strange noises—a low whispering... *Rip... tear... kill...* So we followed the sound and found Mrs. Norris!"

Jun Ma frowned. "Hermione, Ron, did you hear it too?"

"No!" Ron shook his head. "Only Harry heard it."

"If you are certain you heard such a voice..." Jun Ma's expression turned grave, "then whoever made that sound must be the culprit!"

"I think so too. Maybe it's a monster from the Chamber of Secrets!" Seeing that Jun Ma believed him, Harry hastily added, "Professor Binns told us that rumor has it a monster is hidden inside the Chamber, one that will kill all Muggle-born wizards!"

Jun Ma assumed a contemplative posture, then abruptly asked, "Harry, tell me, are you able to understand the language of certain animals?"

"Snakes!" A memory from his childhood flashed in Harry's mind, and the word slipped out in sudden astonishment. "I once communicated with a snake! I remember now, the voice I heard on Halloween night was speaking Parseltongue!"

"In other words... the Chamber of Secrets truly exists, and the creature inside is a serpent!" Jun Ma analyzed. "If that's the case, perhaps the students cannot be cleared of suspicion yet. Because as long as someone can open the Chamber and release that snake, even a first-year student could petrified Mrs. Norris!"

"It's Draco, it has to be him!" Ron said excitedly. "He's in Slytherin, his father used to be a Death Eater, and he despises Muggle-borns. Professor, you have to arrest him!"

"Very well, I will look into this matter. Headmaster Dumbledore has authorized me to do so," Jun Ma waved his hand with a smile. "So, little ones, don't worry. Trust in my abilities. Now, run along back, and remember not to neglect your practice."

"Alright..."

The three overly enthusiastic children reluctantly departed.

Jun Ma stood up, walked back to his office behind the classroom, pulled out a cigar, and clamped it between his teeth. A lighter materialized out of thin air, automatically igniting the tobacco.

Gazing out the window at the distant lake, Jun Ma exhaled a plume of smoke, pondering his next course of action.

Within this plane, the objective of increasing his strength had basically been achieved. All that remained was to plunder the entire plane. First, according to the system's rules, he needed to secure free and arbitrary access to enter and leave the plane at will. After that, he could begin a total conquest.

As long as he took the lead in dealing with Voldemort, the system mission would undoubtedly be accomplished.

The question now was how to handle Voldemort.

Because his soul had been fractured, that fellow's intellect had severely diminished; once all the Horcruxes were destroyed, dealing with him would naturally follow.

However, one particular Horcrux was rather special—it was inside Harry's body!

According to the established rules of the plane, only Voldemort could kill the soul fragment residing within Harry. Yet that presented a paradox: couldn't anyone else simply kill Harry?

If Harry were killed, there was a high probability that the piece of Voldemort's soul inside him would be destroyed as well.

This was because a portion of Voldemort's soul had actually fused with Harry's own soul! That was also what bestowed upon Harry certain of Voldemort's abilities.

"However..." Jun Ma hesitated slightly. It wasn't that he lacked the ruthlessness to kill someone who had no personal conflict with him, nor was it because of childhood fondness for this plane that his hand would falter when it came to slaying the protagonist, Harry.