Lin Yuan's Christmas Gift

In the common room, Harry and Ron were excitedly testing the magical cloak, their laughter and exclamations echoing in the spacious room.

And on a single sofa in the farthest corner of the room.

Lin Yuan merely glanced calmly at the so-called "invisibility cloak" before looking away.

In his Divine Soul vision, the cloak's true nature was laid bare.

[Item Name: Peverell Family Heirloom Magical Artifact (Degraded Version)]

[Core Laws: Light Refraction, Spatial Distortion, Perception Confusion.]

[Analysis: By weaving in a material called "Thestral tail feather" treated with special Alchemy, combined with profound Illusion Charm and Ancient Runes, a miniature domain is created that can perfectly guide surrounding light and Magic Power, achieving "dual invisibility of sight and magic." Its essence is not disappearance, but "deception."]

[Evaluation: Ingenious conception, superb craftsmanship. However, the energy core is unstable, and prolonged use will cause a slight assimilation effect on the user's soul. It has some reference value for studying the "Law of Space" and "Perception Interference."]

"Deathly Hallows... a nice toy."

Lin Yuan gave a flat assessment in his mind, then continued to flip through the Advanced Charm Theory Mathematical Modeling in his hands.

Christmas, this mortal festival filled with religious and secular colors, was merely a temporal node given special meaning by humans in Lin Yuan's eyes.

He had no family to miss, nor friends to bless.

Since arriving in this world, he had long grown accustomed to solitude.

Solitude was the crown of the strong.

However, at this moment.

A gray, somewhat tired-looking owl squeezed through a gap in the window, flapping its wings.

It circled the room once, precisely ignoring Harry and Ron, who were excited about gifts, and landed directly on the coffee table in front of Lin Yuan.

Tied to its leg was a neatly wrapped, not-too-large parcel in dark blue wrapping paper.

This scene made Harry and Ron, who were roughhousing, stop and look over curiously.

Lin Yuan... would get a Christmas present too?

This was even more unbelievable than Professor Snape suddenly announcing he was giving Gryffindor a hundred points.

A barely perceptible hint of surprise flashed in Lin Yuan's eyes.

He reached out, and the owl obediently handed him the parcel. Then, it affectionately rubbed its head against his fingers, as if sensing a presence that instinctively drew it closer.

The parcel was light, impeccably wrapped, with neat corners and a perfectly tied bow, exuding a certain academic rigor.

Lin Yuan's Divine Soul swept over the parcel.

[No malicious energy residue.]

[No curses or tracking spells attached.]

[Gift Contents: A knowledge carrier made of paper, ink, and cardboard.]

He slowly unwrapped it with the meticulousness of a precise experiment.

A brand-new book appeared before him.

The cover was a deep night blue, like the purest starry sky above Hogwarts.

On it, in elegant gold-spencer font, was a line of text—

An Examination of Oriental Magical Creatures: From Qilin to Zouwu

Lin Yuan's movements paused for half a second.

For the first time, a genuine trace of surprise appeared in his eyes.

He slowly opened the book's title page.

A line of handwriting, delicate yet firm, with a touch of girlish seriousness that allowed no errors, met his gaze:

"Lin Yuan, Merry Christmas!

I saw this book at Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley and thought you might be interested. I hope you like it.

-- Hermione Granger."

The ink of the writing was still fresh, carrying a pleasant fragrance of knowledge and paper.

The entire common room was so quiet that the crackling of firewood in the fireplace could be heard.

Harry and Ron's mouths hung open, and they exchanged bewildered glances, their faces screaming "unbelievable."

Hermione... sent Lin Yuan a gift? And such a seemingly profound book? When did they become so close?

However, Lin Yuan paid no attention to their gazes.

His fingertips lightly brushed over the beautiful handwriting.

An unfamiliar emotion, one he had never experienced before, swept over his Dao heart—a heart that had long been sealed tight by vast knowledge and solitude—like the gentlest breeze of spring.

Warmth.

In his resource-depleted, treacherous world of the last dharma, knowledge was power, a weapon, a secret that had to be guarded and fought for with one's life.

Interactions between people are filled with calculation and exchange.

A "gift," especially one so pure, given without expectation of return, simply out of a desire to "share," was something he had never encountered before.

This was a pure goodwill, unmarred by any impurities.

It was a sincere communication based on "observation" and "understanding."

That girl named Hermione Granger noticed his familiarity with Eastern knowledge systems, and so, in the way she was best at and most sincere—giving knowledge—she expressed a form of friendliness.

This was a clumsy yet endearing way of communicating, befitting a "top student."

Lin Yuan slowly closed the book and shut his eyes.

Within his sea of consciousness, the Dao heart seed, poised and waiting for the first wisp of "Spiritual Energy" to ignite it, trembled slightly under the touch of this pure, mortal goodwill, as if sprouting its first invisible tender shoot.

A new, tiny "thread of karma" was quietly established.

One end of this thread was connected to him, and the other end was connected to the brown-haired girl named Hermione Granger, who was miles away and perhaps feeling a little uneasy at this moment.

This karma was not something he had sought.

Rather, it was a mortal who had proactively poured the first drop of sweet spring water onto his dusty "Dao seed."

"This is somewhat interesting."

Lin Yuan opened his eyes, a faint smile, understood by no one, curving the corners of his lips.

He casually flipped open the book.

The author of the book was a British wizard named "Augustus Worm," who, judging by his writings, clearly approached the study of Eastern magical creatures with a characteristic Western arrogance and assumption.

"[Qilin]: A rare... hybrid magical creature... gentle in nature... Magical Classification: XXXX (Harmless/Tameable)..."

Lin Yuan's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"False. According to the fragmented records in the Compendium of Strange Beasts from the Mountains and Seas, the Qilin is a beast of auspicious omen, the embodiment of the Law of 'Benevolence' between heaven and earth. It does not appear unless a king who embodies the Dao is about to ascend the throne. How can the mere word 'tameable' describe it? To view it as an ordinary creature is ignorance of the 'Dao'."

He continued reading.

"[Zouwu]: A giant creature... like a cat... capable of traveling a thousand miles in a day. Temperament... unknown. Danger Level: Unknown..."

"Even more preposterous. The Zouwu is a beast of 'Trustworthiness,' not a spirit of slaughter. Its 'traveling a thousand miles in a day' is not physical speed, but a superficial application of the Law of Space; it can cross mountains and rivers in a single step. To classify it as 'unknown danger' is simply an insult to the word 'Trustworthiness'."

Lin Yuan turned the pages one by one. Every word in the book, in his eyes, was filled with fallacy and presumptuous speculation.

Yet, he read with extraordinary seriousness.

Because he knew the book's value lay not in the correctness of its content.

But in the sentiment behind its gifting.

This was Hermione Granger, attempting to understand him, to approach him.

Lin Yuan solemnly closed the book. Instead of placing it casually like other books, he carefully put it into his bag.

"Lin Yuan," Ron could no longer contain his curiosity and leaned in, lowering his voice to ask, "Is that... a gift from Hermione? Are you guys..."

"Just an ordinary Christmas gift from a friend."

Lin Yuan replied calmly, using the word "friend" proactively for the first time.

Ron's eyes widened even further.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Harry, who had just recovered from the excitement of the Invisibility Cloak, looked at Lin Yuan's calm profile, a complex emotion welling up in his heart.

Lin Yuan, this enigmatic classmate who seemed not to belong to this world, also appeared to be forging some kind of... connection with this world in his own way, a connection Harry couldn't quite understand.