The Suddenly Appearing Girl

"Give me a hand..."

Hermione's position was anything but proper right now. She was sprawled on top of Li Mu, like some lovesick girl with improper designs on him. What was more, she could clearly feel the firm muscles beneath her, as well as the waves of masculine warmth radiating from Li Mu's skin. It made her heart race wildly, pounding like a drum in her chest until she could barely breathe.

She struggled desperately to get up on her own, but her panic and the robe tangled around her kept her from rising for quite some time. Harry and Ron had reflexively sprinted far ahead and were helpless to assist her now.

Li Mu smiled helplessly. Did that count as getting lucky?... Filch and Mrs. Norris were already hurrying over at the sound, so they did not have much time. Li Mu exerted force through his waist and kicked off with both feet. As though he had completely cast off the laws of physics, his body strangely sprang directly from the ground into a standing position.

That should have counted as a move called Carp Leaping. Except while Li Mu performed it, he also lifted Hermione, who had been hanging onto him, into his arms in a princess carry.

"Li..." Hermione's cheeks turned even redder. She had only felt the world spin around her, and before she could recover, she was already lying across Li Mu's arms.

"Don't talk. We need to hurry," Li Mu said. Hermione could feel his breath as he spoke, warm and carrying a faint herbal fragrance.

Then Li Mu started running. His footsteps made no sound, yet he was unbelievably fast. Hermione could no longer react to anything else. Within her field of vision, the corridors, stone walls, and paintings of every kind on either side all flew wildly backward. She could clearly feel the two arms beneath her, hard and powerful as steel... Li Mu usually looked so refined and gentle. She had never imagined his muscles would be so solid, or that he could run so fast...

The group raced down the corridor, passing classroom after classroom as the scenery around them seemed to stretch and whip past their ears. Hermione and Li Mu had initially been at the back, but gradually they actually left Harry and Ron behind.

Listening to the wind rush past her ears, Hermione felt even more flustered. Leaning against Li Mu's chest, she felt they had already run a long way and whispered, "All right, Li Mu... put me down. I can run by myself."

This time, Li Mu did not insist. He gave a quiet hum and set Hermione down. Then he said, "Don't relax. They're still behind us."

Sure enough, faint meowing still drifted from behind them. Filch's favorite thing was tormenting students who broke the rules. Now that he had finally caught such a large group, he would not let them off easily.

Hermione said nothing. She gritted her teeth and started running. Behind them, Harry and Ron were also giving it everything they had. They did not know how long they ran or how many turns they took. By the end, everyone was gasping for breath.

Then Li Mu grabbed Hermione's hand and stopped.

Harry and Ron nearly crashed into his back. They stopped as well, leaning against the wall and wiping the sweat from their foreheads.

"I think we shook him off..." Harry said, panting heavily. Ron gave a muffled response, his face so red it looked ready to bleed.

Hermione was in even worse shape. She could barely stand upright, bent over and gulping down air, yet she still remembered to ask, "Hah... Li, why... hah... why did you stop?"

"Shh..." Li Mu raised a finger to his lips and whispered, "There's someone ahead."

Harry and the others were already utterly impressed by Li Mu. Not only did he have good eyesight, stamina, and speed, but his hearing was far sharper than an ordinary person's as well. At his words, they all held their breath, scarcely daring to make a sound.

There really was someone. Fine, fragmented footsteps sounded around a bend in the corridor ahead. The person stepped very lightly, but in the silent night, anyone who truly calmed down and listened carefully could still hear them.

Ron, Harry, and even Hermione felt their minds go blank. Their bodies began to tremble slightly as well. The person ahead was not Filch, but they might be another teacher from the school. There was a wolf in front and a tiger behind them—what were they supposed to do?...

The footsteps drew closer and closer, then suddenly stopped.

Then, all at once, a ball of light rose before them.

The ball of light gave off a dim yellow glow. It was not bright, but it was enough to illuminate the figures of Li Mu and the other three. Along with its appearance came a clear, warbling shout: "Who's there!"

The person was a girl.

As the ball of light rose, Li Mu and the others could see her clearly. The girl stood at the corner of the corridor, with black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin. Her small frame contained an immense presence.

"...Hinata?"

It was Hinata!

What was Hinata doing here in the middle of the night?

The question flashed through their minds and vanished as Hinata spoke first. Looking at the group, who were panting heavily with flushed faces, she asked in surprise but in a soft voice, "What are you doing here?"

As she spoke, Hinata's little face also reddened, and she still had that shy disposition.

With a soft pop, the flare-like ball of light went out, and the surroundings returned to boundless darkness. In the dark, Hinata's large, crystalline eyes seemed to gleam as she watched Li Mu and the others, confusion flowing through her gaze.

A moment later, the confusion in her eyes turned to alarm.

Li Mu and the others stiffened as well.

Because they all heard Filch's voice. Though he had deliberately lowered it, their heightened senses still caught every word: "The little troublemakers are nearby, aren't they, my dear? Have another good sniff. They can't get away."

Along with his voice came a series of light footsteps. They could hear clearly that both the voice and footsteps were coming from upstairs, and were steadily drawing nearer.

Filch had caught up with them so quickly!

"Damn it! Mrs. Norris," Hermione complained quietly.

Mrs. Norris had led Filch over. As long as that cat was around, it would be hard for them to escape Filch's pursuit. Cats primarily tracked their targets by scent. No matter how fast they ran, as long as their scent had not faded along the way, Filch could follow them.

Hinata immediately understood their situation and called softly in a lowered voice, "We need to go. Follow me."

This was clearly not the time to discuss anything else. Harry and the others had already been thrown into a panic by Filch's pursuit. Seeing Hinata turn around and take the lead in retreating, they hurriedly broke into a run and began racing after her. Li Mu gave the Japanese girl a deep look, sighed, and followed after them.

Filch had apparently heard the sound of them running, because the footsteps behind them abruptly sped up. This made the group of five flee even faster. Then they finally realized something—not only did Mrs. Norris have an exceptionally keen sense of smell, but Mr. Filch, who had fought countless cat-and-mouse battles with students over the years, had truly honed his own stamina and speed. His body was definitely not as old and frail as it looked.

They passed through several more corridors in succession, yet they could still faintly hear Filch's footsteps closing in, like a ghost that could not be shaken off.