After dinner, an owl arrived with a letter for Qin Yu.
He fetched some bread from the kitchen cupboard, broke it into small pieces, and fed them to Trigger, his tireless snowy owl—who seemed to be growing larger by the day. Only after the owl had eaten its fill and soared away did Qin Yu retire to his attic room and open the reply from Hogwarts.
The moment he saw the egg-sized, black stone enclosed with the letter, he was utterly stunned.
A stone? Seriously?
For a wild second, his mind ran off in all directions:
Could it be that old Dumbledore's figured out I'm the chosen one, blessed by the Divine Choice System, and now he wants to entrust me with the Philosopher's Stone? No way, no way—how could I, of all people, be worthy of something like that… But if I did sell it, how many Galleons would it fetch? Maybe my dream of staying home and living off my wife could come true ahead of schedule!
Of course, reality was far less dramatic.
After reading the letter, Qin Yu realized this wasn't the legendary Philosopher's Stone at all. It was something called the Eye of Truth.
"…I came across this during my youth while traveling in the far north, at a ruin beneath the brightest auroras. According to the inscriptions left behind, it's called the 'Eye of Truth.' Its purpose is to help the bearer see reality…"
So, it really pays to travel if you want to stumble on magical treasures, just like Dumbledore!
But I've already promised my wife—wait, no, my little sister—that I won't go off adventuring on a whim. This is… awkward.
Naturally, Dumbledore had sent the stone for a reason.
The letter focused on Qin Yu's questions about "mental cultivation." Dumbledore affirmed that his approach was correct, but warned of significant risks—namely, that any sort of spiritual training could lead to mental instability.
It was an obvious truth, but worth repeating: many mental problems stem from either overactive or underactive minds, blurring the line between reality and illusion.
In the Muggle world, such issues are usually treated with medication to suppress mental activity.
But in the magical world, there are other solutions—hence, the Eye of Truth.
"…Although it's said to let one see reality, my own experiments show its true function is to strengthen the presence of 'reality' in the bearer's mind, while weakening delusion and fantasy. The key, however, is that you must possess a heart capable of distinguishing the real from the false. Only then can the stone help you anchor yourself—using reality to overwhelm illusion…"
It was a bit abstract, but after some thought, Qin Yu got the gist: the stone was merely an aid. Ultimately, it was his own willpower that mattered most.
So, what Dumbledore's really given me is a mild, magical sedative… He still thinks I'm a nutcase, huh?
Grumbling aside, the letter and the stone left Qin Yu feeling genuinely grateful.
Warm, thoughtful, and so very Dumbledore.
He'd only asked a question, and Dumbledore had responded with a detailed answer, a solution, and even a magical item.
What a good man, that old Dumbledore!
Qin Yu mentally handed Dumbledore a "good person" card.
Now, a new question loomed: his path of exploration was correct, but not without risks—should he keep going?
The answer was obvious: of course!
If not for his recent trip to Diagon Alley, Qin Yu might have hesitated. But after what he'd discovered, regardless of whether Swenton's fate was as dire as Hermione suspected—devil's possession or not—there was no denying the old man was in danger.
He's a brother who'd banged his head on the ground alongside mine. If I don't look out for him, who will?
Besides, if we really did die on the same day, month, and year, how many years would I be losing out on?
Qin Yu couldn't help but grumble inwardly.
So, no matter what, he had to at least try to contact Swenton and figure out what was really going on. Doing something was always better than nothing.
With his mind made up, Qin Yu stopped overthinking. Step one: use the mental cultivation technique he'd developed to "condense" his spirit, meeting the requirements for communicating with the alchemical longsword.
He carefully held the black stone, feeling its coolness seep not just into his palm, but deep into his mind.
This really is a treasure… Did Dumbledore say I had to return it? I haven't done anything to deserve this, you know!
Delighted, but determined not to get distracted, Qin Yu began his mental training with the rare magical item.
As before, he slipped easily into a meditative state. Drawing on his experience from two days ago, he planted a sense of "self" within his mind.
Sunlight and shadow, wind and rain, thunder and storm—all emanated from his heart.
Fortunately, the gentle chill of the Eye of Truth kept his mind from running wild, gradually soothing him until the raging thunder became nothing but a soft breeze and gentle drizzle.
…
The next day dawned bright and sunny.
Hermione couldn't help but notice that Qin Yu seemed a little different.
Or rather, it was the previous two days when he'd been acting oddly—wiping his mouth on her, holding her hand and talking about wives and such. Definitely not normal.
Today, he'd reverted to his usual, proper self. Strangely, Hermione found herself missing the weirdness.
Not that she wanted to hear any more strange things from him—or to say any herself.
Just thinking about what she'd blurted out in the bookstore yesterday made Hermione wish she could sew Qin Yu's mouth shut, just to keep him from ever bringing it up again.
Thankfully, he seemed perfectly well-behaved today.
So, after her parents left, Hermione boldly propped her pink-socked feet on Qin Yu's lap, lying back on one end of the sofa to read the book she'd bought yesterday.
Of course, her feet were anything but well-behaved. They'd wiggle whenever she hit an interesting bit, or poke at his waist with her toes whenever she got bored of reading and wanted to stir up a little trouble.
With the stone tucked in his pocket, Qin Yu sat as calm as still water—utterly unshakable.
Hmph. A mere little witch? She can't ruffle my state of mind at all!
"I'm so tired~ I need a break~" Hermione yawned, pulling her feet back and flipping herself around. Then, with practiced ease, she slid under Qin Yu's arm, draped her upper body across his lap, wrapped her arms around his waist, and pressed her cheek against him, settling in for a cozy, fake nap.
Qin Yu smacked his lips and sighed, exasperated. Has this stone already reached its limit?
With that, he set his book aside and reached out to gently pinch the little witch's delicate nose—a fitting punishment for disturbing his peaceful state of mind.
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