Harry Runs Away
"However, your principal only borrowed an entrance, not the Map of Mountains and Seas itself. It can only open one area, but even the old Celestial Master doesn't know which area it is. By the way, you can ask your father. After all, the Map of Mountains and Seas was your Su Family's most treasured possession back then, and it was later handed over to the imperial court and has been passed down to this day. It is currently kept at the headquarters of Beijing Special Affairs Bureau in the capital. I don't believe that your Su Family didn't leave a backup plan back then. So, you can ask him for the specific details. Also, please ask him if he is doing well recently, but don't mention me."
"So, according to your stepmother, our first challenge is facing mythical beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas of Mountains and Seas?" After reading the letter, Ka-jie handed it to Hermione and Ginny, who were eager to see what it contained.
"Maybe. Nobody knows exactly what's inside, but if it really is one of those rare and exotic beasts I'm talking about, we probably won't be able to defeat it..."
As Su Yu spoke, he opened the food box. After seeing the food inside, he tapped Kurama's head, as if to say, "Look at your worthless food, this is the real good stuff!"
Kurama slapped Su Yu's fingers in dissatisfaction, looked up and saw the food box in front of Su Yu. Her eyes lit up, and she jumped onto the table. The longevity lock shook wildly, waiting for Su Yu to serve her the food.
"Merlin's beard! What is all this? Why can't I understand anything? What is the Classic of Mountains and Seas? And what are these strange and exotic beasts you're talking about?"
Hermione and Ginny looked up, somewhat puzzled, after reading the letter.
"Among the books that Butler Carson found for you was the Classic of Classic of Mountains and Seas, but you didn't notice it. Later, I picked it up and took a look, so that's how Ka-jie learned about it," Daphne said slowly, stirring her coffee gently with a spoon.
"And what about that book? Where is it now?"
"I'm not too sure either. Ask Fa-jie; she took that book in the end."
"Don't look at me! I haven't read that Classic of Classic of Mountains and Seas. I only remember that the corner of my bed was a little uneven that day, and I saw a book on Cassandra's bedside table. I asked her about it, and she said she had already finished reading it, so I took it to use as a mat. It's all Su Yu's fault..."
Which bed?
"The one in my dorm room."
Hermione and Ginny rushed to Fa-jie's bedroom and pulled the Classic of Mountains and Seas from the corner of her bed, but the book was slightly Transfiguration from being pressed down by the bed.
"Thank goodness, it's still readable." Hermione gently blew the dust off the books and began to flip through them.
The opening lines are written in large characters.
What the earth contains
Between the Six Directions
Within the four seas
Shine on it with the sun and moon
Passed by the stars
Recorded by the four seasons
In short, it depends on Tai Sui.
Born of the gods
Its objects are strangely shaped
Whether they die young or live long
Only a sage can understand its way.
What are all these?
"I don't understand either... Why are they all in Chinese characters? Isn't there a translation?" Hermione placed the book in front of Su Yu and Kurama, who were eating heartily, and looked at Su Yu with expectant eyes.
"Don't look for me. Although I understand Chinese, I don't understand classical Chinese..." Kurama spoke first, then turned his head away and continued eating while still holding a roast duck in his mouth.
"I can't help it, I can't exactly translate classical Chinese for you, can I?" Su Yu raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Why not? Can't classical Chinese be translated?" Ginny, somewhat confused.
"Hmm... to give you an analogy, do you know what idioms are? The idioms at East University are like a simple compressed file. Any East University Tokyo University can understand them, but in English, they require a lot of explanation. Classical Chinese is even more like that because it's purely compressed. If I were to translate them for you, don't be fooled by how small this book looks. I might not even finish translating it by the end of the first exam..."
"What do Ka-jie and Daphne think?" Hermione persisted, not giving up.
"You mean the two of us? We just thought the illustrations were nice. We were just looking at the pictures; we didn't know anything about the actual content. Occasionally Su Yu would chime in, saying things like, 'This and this are delicious,' or 'What's the use of that and that?'" Daphne finished the last bit of coffee in her cup and revealed the truth.
"I need to make a phone call to my dad, so I won't stay here any longer..." Seeing that things weren't going well, Su Yu quickly made an excuse, got up, and left, going into the private lounge.
When Hermione and Ginny returned to the Gryffindor Common Room and told Harry and the Weasley twins what had happened, the three of them were even more confused. What on earth was this "Classic of Mountains and Seas"?
The Weasley twins exclaimed that the East University's encryption system was truly amazing; it was all text, yet combined in such a way that others couldn't understand it, but they themselves could...
As for Neville, he came home very late every night, and sometimes he didn't come home at all. Nobody knew where he went, and he wouldn't say when asked. He was shrouded in mystery. Hermione just hoped that he wouldn't forget that he had to participate in the competition tomorrow.
As for Su Yu, no one knows what he talked about with his father when he got back, but they talked for quite a long time. When he came out and returned to his dormitory, Ka-jie and Fa-jie were already asleep on his bed. Su Yu tiptoed to wash up, then moved the fast-sleeping Kurama to the foot of the bed. He then slipped in, hugged the two girls, and fell into a deep sleep. It was so comfortable to have Kurama Fox as a foot warmer!
The next morning, the day of the competition, Hermione, with dark circles under her eyes, followed Ginny out of the Gryffindor Common Room and into the hall. She listlessly sat down next to Su Yu, leaning on his shoulder, seemingly still half asleep.
Su Yu touched her forehead and, finding that Hermione didn't have any fever or cold symptoms, held her hand and told her to rest a little longer.
"Oh my god, Hermione, what's wrong with you? How about some of the white fungus and lotus seed porridge I specially had the Egg Beater cook this morning? It's very nutritious." Daphne asked Hermione with some concern, looking at her who looked like a wilted eggplant.
"I'm fine, Daphne. I was just teaching that Sobbing Rubber Man the Summoning Charm until 2:30 last night, and then I bumped into him packing his bags to run away first thing this morning. I'm exhausted..."
"Huh? Sobbing... no... Harry's planning to run away?" Daphne seemed a little shocked. Was this kid under that much pressure?
"Finally, I analyzed it with him. Where could he run to? To Sirius's house? He seemed to feel ashamed to run to his house, but if he ran to the the Dursleys, he thought about it and decided to face everything. He'd rather die than go back to the the Dursleys. So this Sobbing Rubber Man is now putting his luggage back in its place. Merlin's beard, what a terrible day..."
Goyle and Crabbe were stuffing as much food as possible into their Undetectable Extension Bag, because they had heard that they would be staying in the secret realm for about a week, and would have to cook by fire in the wild.