ebookslot Chapter 192 Half a Footprint
Chapter 192 Half a Footprint
Chapter 192 Half a Footprint
Lin Qi looked up and carefully examined the stone door. Rather than a stone door, it was more like a huge wall stretching across his face.
It is carved with two lifelike giant snakes, their bodies coiled together, and their eyes inlaid with gems that shimmer with a ghostly green light.
He stood in front of the stone gate, stretched out his palm, and gently placed it on the cool stone surface.
Even through the heavy stone door, he could clearly feel the magical fluctuations emanating from behind it. It was an ancient and profound power, completely different from modern magic, like the heartbeat of a sleeping dragon, slow and powerful.
He closed his eyes, carefully discerning the nature of this magic: it was not a simple protective spell, but the power of the Founder's Contract, which was closely connected to the magical fabric of the entire Hogwarts Castle.
"So Slytherin used his power here."
Lin Qi murmured and withdrew his hand.
His fingers moved like shuttles, drawing invisible threads through the void. When the last gesture froze, the surrounding glimmer of light seemed to be compressed instantly, condensing at the tip of his index finger, transforming into a point of deep, ethereal light.
Lin Qi carefully pushed the dim light closer to the stone door.
But just as he was about to touch the stone door, the serpentine carving on it suddenly came to life. The snake's eyes, inlaid with eerie green gemstones, flashed with a warning light, and the stone snake's body slowly slithered across the doorway, emitting a soft, grinding sound. A powerful repulsive force surged from the stone door, forcing Lin Qi to take a half-step back.
Lynch immediately understood.
When Slytherin built the Chamber of Secrets, the extent to which its core was bound to the ancient covenant of Hogwarts Castle far exceeded his own expectations.
Any attempt to force a breakthrough will face a full-scale counterattack from the entire magical defense system of the ancient castle.
If it weren't for the other founder's contract he was bound to, things wouldn't have been as simple as just being pushed away.
"Truly a legendary wizard who has left his mark on the history of magic."
Lin Qi gently blew out the faint light from his fingertips, abandoning his plan to force his way in.
Now that the exact location of the Chamber of Secrets has been confirmed, forcibly entering is not only dangerous but could also alert the enemy. The real key may not lie in entering the Chamber itself, but in finding the person who can open it—the so-called "successor" of the Slytherin will who wrote the words in blood on the wall.
Lin Qi turned around, and the light above his head began to intensify, his self-light sweeping across every inch of space outside the stone gate like a comb.
At first, all he could see were the wide, scaly traces left by the serpent monster as it slithered along. However, he made a discovery in an inconspicuous corner.
It was a small footprint, covered by the basilisk's marks until only half of it remained.
Lynch crouched down and examined the footprint closely: it was shallow and small, resembling that of a lower-grade student. The tread pattern on the sole was blurred, but it was still recognizable as the style of Hogwarts' standard student shoes.
Lynch took out a piece of parchment and a shorthand pen from the inside pocket of his trench coat, quickly sketched the outline of the footprints, and marked the approximate dimensions next to them.
He then stood up and systematically inspected the rest of the foyer area, his gaze sweeping over every rock wall and corner.
After confirming that no further discoveries were made, Lynch opened his right palm, and a Galleon appeared out of thin air, slowly rotating an inch above his palm.
With a very slight flick of his wrist, the Galleon instantly split in two, becoming two identical coins.
Lin Qi clasped his hands together, picked up one of the coins, and walked straight toward the huge stone door.
He found a small, natural depression in the ground in front of the door.
Lynch bent down and steadily pressed the Galleon into the coin with his fingertips. The moment the coin was embedded, a fleeting glimmer of light flashed across its surface before disappearing completely, blending into the surrounding ground.
Then, Lynch took a step forward.
His feet didn't land on solid ground, but rather on an invisible support, as if stepping on solidified air. Then came the second step, and he was now firmly standing in the void, as if standing on an invisible staircase, looking down at the massive stone gate and the winding trails of the serpent monster below.
Lin Qi spread his palms out and swept them horizontally across the ground below.
An invisible force swept over, as if a giant hand were stroking the sand table.
All the footprints he left when he stood and walked had vanished without a trace, leaving only the basilisk's crawling tracks and that mysterious little footprint.
After completing all this, Lynch did not return the way he came.
He stood there, his eyes slightly closed, and a gray mist silently spread from beneath his feet, spreading outwards like a flowing veil, gradually filling the entire cave. Wherever the mist reached, not only the outline of the space, but also the slightest air movement, every bump and crack in the stone wall, were clearly reflected in his perception.
He moved slowly, and the gray mist followed.
Finally, he stopped in front of the rock wall on one side of the cave—the air here carried a subtle, almost imperceptible disturbance, quite different from the stagnant air inside the cave.
He bent down, his gaze falling on several boulders at the base of the rock face. These stones were covered in a thick layer of dust, almost blending into the rock face.
Lin Qi reached out and felt the subtle movement of the air, then waved his hand to move the stone away.
A rough, unadorned cave entrance, devoid of any magical disguise, was suddenly revealed before him.
Lynch snapped his fingers, and the mist that filled the cave began to dissipate.
Then he went inside without hesitation.
The rough steps meander upwards beneath your feet. Although the entire passageway is not meticulously crafted, it is wide enough that you do not feel cramped while walking through it.
Lynch's footsteps echoed in the corridor. He walked for more than half an hour before he felt a very slight breeze carrying the sweet scent of plants brush against his cheek.
He continued onward, and in the distance, an exit, shrouded in vines and faintly illuminated by moonlight, gradually emerged from the darkness.
Lynch parted the vines and walked steadily out, finding himself standing at the foot of a hillside deep in the Forbidden Forest.
He looked back and saw that the exit was hidden in the shadow of a crevice in the rock.
The next moment, his figure began to twist and shrink under the moonlight, eventually transforming into a black raven, which silently flapped its wings and disappeared into the deep night.
Crows flew over the treetops, circling and rising into the sky.
It circled briefly in the air and quickly estimated the approximate distance. This secret exit, located at the foot of the hill, was about four miles away from his stone house.
He continued onward, and in the distance, an exit, shrouded in vines and faintly illuminated by moonlight, gradually emerged from the darkness.
Lynch parted the vines and walked steadily out, finding himself standing at the foot of a hillside deep in the Forbidden Forest.
+m+++
He looked back and saw that the exit was hidden in the shadow of a crevice in the rock.
The next moment, his figure began to twist and shrink under the moonlight, eventually transforming into a black raven, which silently flapped its wings and disappeared into the deep night.
Crows flew over the treetops, circling and rising into the sky.
It circled briefly in the air and quickly estimated the approximate distance. This secret exit, located at the foot of the hill, was about four miles away from his stone house.
Lin Qi noted down the location and distance information, and then the crow's figure shot towards the distant stone house like an arrow.
Soon, the parchment with the outline of half a footprint was in Lin Qi's hands.
By the light of the fireplace, Lynch examined the footprints on the paper.
"The Weasleys—are somehow connected to the Slytherin lineage."
"interesting."