Chapter 36: The True Function of the Elder Wand

"Calm down, Harry, calm down," Harry kept cheering himself up. "Who was the first person to walk out of this maze? Whether it's a teleportation spell or a recall spell, it must be researched by someone who has come here and returned; it can't be something imagined out of thin air by someone who has never been here once, right?"

"Then if it were easy to walk out of here, why would he study a recall spell?" Zhang Qiu said dejectedly. "That person might have just walked out because of good luck."

"Let's change our thinking," Harry said unyieldingly. "That person who invented the recall spell must have come here to explore often, right? If we can find the exit, rest station, or even a little information he left behind, that would be fine."

"Then do you know who he is? Anyway, I don't know. I saw the four words 'call of relatives and friends' in the notes on learning secret texts."

"That's good, having a clue is fine. What is the collective name for those seven spells?"

"Xuanjun Seven Chapters Secret Scripture," Zhang Qiu answered Harry's question powerlessly. She was already on the verge of collapse.

"Xuanjun, oh, that's your Master." Another line of thought was extinguished. Harry paced back and forth dejectedly, but he kept reminding himself to cheer up and consider a way out.

"That's right, there's no need to explore the mysterious Heavenly Dynasty Wizarding World," Harry thought. British wizards might have explored this area too. Deng Buliduo was very likely to have.

"Let's go, let's see if Deng Buliduo left us anything." Harry took Zhang Qiu's hand and walked forward firmly.

He saw the back of a girl. She was hopping and skipping toward the distance. No matter how hard he tried to catch up with her, the distance between the two was increasing.

"Phew, phew." Harry gasped for breath. "Who is this girl? And why would she appear here, appear in a place related to Deng Buliduo?"

"In the entire Illusion Realm, is there only this one girl related to Deng Buliduo?" Harry said suspiciously. He tried a few more times, but it seemed there was only this little bit of information.

To be precise, in the Illusion Realm, the only thing related to Deng Buliduo was "a girl constantly moving away."

"In the Illusion Realm, thoughts are the bond connecting everything," Zhang Qiu analyzed actively after having a new clue. "What is Deng Buliduo's deepest desire?"

"Nawei said he saw Deng Buliduo standing in front of the Mirror of Erised with wool socks," Harry suddenly remembered something. "Why did he have wool socks? What did he see in the mirror?"

"Nawei saw himself wielding a sword to kill the enemy, so he took a wooden stick; Ron saw himself winning a trophy, so he took a vase," Harry analyzed. "They took these little things to better fit the scene in the dream. What do wool socks mean?"

"Family affection," he suddenly realized. "Deng Buliduo's deepest desire is family affection. That girl—oh right, it's a girl, so it's not his mother or grandmother; it's either his daughter or his sister."

"Deng Buliduo didn't get married," Zhang Qiu reminded.

"That's his sister, but why would she appear in the Illusion Realm?" Harry said hesitantly. "It's as if Deng Buliduo came to the Illusion Realm and only hurriedly saw his sister before leaving."

"Wait, Deng Buliduo didn't get married?" Harry paused. "Powerful wizards don't want to get married?"

"What do you mean by 'all'? I have several Mistresses!" Zhang Qiu said with dissatisfaction. "It's a very strange thing that Deng Buliduo didn't get married, especially with his strength..."

"Anti'e Ke Peifulier," Harry muttered. "Powerful, didn't get married, walked to the end alone."

"Illusion Realm is just the Heavenly Dynasty's way of calling it. The real name of this place is 'Otherworld'!" Harry's logic jumped to a strange point very quickly. "That is, the paradise where souls temporarily reside before reincarnation in Celtic mythology."

As soon as the words fell, the mist around them seemed to dissipate a part. Harry could see the continuous mountains and rushing rivers in the distance, and the night sky above was as bright as day.

"Celtic mythology?" Zhang Qiu asked puzzled.

"Teacher Clara told me that the Celts believed in the existence of the Otherworld, and there are various magical creatures like elves, giants, monsters, etc., and the souls of people who have died but have not yet reincarnated," he said. "I always thought that was just a story imagined by Muggles, but I didn't expect it to be true in the Wizarding World."

"Consciousness is a reflection of the material world, after all." Zhang Qiu added.

"In Celtic mythology, the way for the living to enter the Otherworld is to cross a small bridge, and where did the three brothers meet Death?" Harry gestured and said, "It was when crossing the river! They cast magic to cross the river, and then met Death!"

"Well, you're still thinking about that fairy tale."

"That's not a fairy tale; Beedle boldly metaphorized reality. The Peifulier three brothers very likely were the ones who entered the Otherworld alive and then luckily left," Harry raised his cloak. "So the Invisibility Cloak can play a role here, because this is a prop they developed to explore the Otherworld!"

"How do you say that?"

"This way, the problem I didn't understand is very clear. The true function of the Elder Wand is not to be invincible, but to be able to release magic in this Otherworld," Harry clapped his hands. "And from another angle, if it's a duel in the Otherworld, the Elder Wand is of course invincible!"

"That's really the case."

"Three Deathly Hallows: the Elder Wand can cast magic here, the Invisibility Cloak can be used to avoid enemies, and the Resurrection Stone—the function of the Resurrection Stone is to recall the souls of dead relatives and friends," Harry pointed to the ground. "This also includes the living who enter the Otherworld. The recall of relatives and friends refers to using the Resurrection Stone for recall!"

"Yeah, can you tell me?"

"The good news is that Deng Buliduo knows where the Resurrection Stone is," Harry continued. "That girl, he must have used the Resurrection Stone to see his sister, so he left traces here."

"Then what's the bad news?"

"Deng Buliduo might not necessarily know we are here; he might not have much research on the Otherworld," Harry was a bit discouraged again. "And he doesn't know what the effect of your spell is. Perhaps he will write to ask your Master, and if so, we still have a glimmer of opportunity to wait for rescue."

"Hey, that's it."

"However, Anti'e Ke Peifulier must have studied this place very deeply. I think he must have left an exit, supply station, or at least some information here," Harry said, and suddenly remembered something again. "This is the Otherworld, I can go see my parents. Their souls should still be staying here—Deng Buliduo's sister is still here."

"You've said this several times."

"Zhang Qiu, why do I feel your tone is a bit strange?" Harry finally couldn't help but ask such a sentence.

"That's not it." She looked absent-minded. Harry felt it might be because she was neither knowledgeable nor interested in these historical secrets of the British Wizarding World.

"Forget it, let's go. I'll take you to see my parents," Harry walked forward happily. In his mind, the scene he saw for the first time in the Mirror of Erised appeared.

In the blink of an eye, he found himself in a forest covered with fallen leaves, and his parents were smiling and waving at him.

Harry's father wasn't very tall. He was wearing the clothes he was wearing when he died. His dirty hair was messy and sticking up, and his glasses were a bit crooked. His mother's expression was very happy. Her green eyes were exactly the same as Harry's. She looked at Harry's face longingly, as if she could never look enough.

But when Harry wanted to talk to them, James shook his head gently, and the two smiled and retreated into the forest, disappearing.

"Let's go see someone else." Harry could read the meaning of that shake from his parents. They didn't actually want him to linger in this Otherworld, but he still wanted to take this opportunity to see his family members who had left the world before he could meet them.

"Why don't you look at Marx."

"Oh, Marx." Harry's head started to ache again. "He is very great, I mean, but let's forget about meeting him. Before I truly understand all his theories, let's forget it."

"How fresh."

"Uh, let's go find the traces left by Anti'e Ke. Maybe there's a way to leave, so we don't have to trouble Deng Buliduo," Harry closed his eyes and walked slowly forward, imagining his ancestor, that mysterious and arrogant man.

When he opened his eyes, what came into view was a uniquely shaped small hut. The two ends of the roof were high and upturned, which looked very interesting.

A bed was placed on the left side of the door, and the head and foot of the bed almost touched the walls on both sides. And on the right side was a table, with some materials and a cauldron on it. Not far from the cauldron, another table was placed with some strange devices. Harry's first reaction was that these were chemical experimental equipment, but he soon realized that these were actually alchemy tools.

A fireplace was set at the top of the hut, and a small pot was placed on the fire. The pot was empty, and the fire wasn't lit. Beside the fireplace was a table with a plate of roast pork knuckle and potatoes, which should have been half-eaten, because a bone was placed on the edge of the plate.

Although Anti'e Ke was a person who lived in the 12th century, at least eight hundred years ago, these foods were still well-preserved, as if they had just been cooked not long ago.

Both of them were a bit hungry, but they didn't dare to eat these foods. Zhang Qiu found a notebook of Anti'e Ke by the bed, while Harry was surprised to notice that there was a small foot wearing shoes and socks on the cauldron on the table. ===== CHAPTER 37 =====