Chapter 695 The Riddle of the Sphinx
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Rui Chen 3499
Cedric looked at the Sphinx and asked in a low voice: "Ma'am, we need to answer questions before we can get through here, right?"
"A polite and handsome young man." Sphinx smiled, "I am willing to talk to the polite young man a few more words. This is the reward you deserve."
"You need to answer five questions correctly to get five key fragments. If you can answer five questions correctly in a row, I will reveal an additional secret to you."
"Excuse me, is there a limit on the number of people?" Cedric asked tentatively, "Does it have to be answered by the same person? If it is close to the answer, can you give us some hints?"
Sphinx shook his head slightly, "Of course it doesn't need to be answered by the same person. This is a completely different Triwizard Tournament, and the team is the core of this competition."
"As for the prompts, if you are close to the correct answer, I can give you a chance to supplement the answer...how about it? Are you ready to accept my question?"
Cedric glanced back and received the looks of his classmates, "Please wait a moment, madam. We need to greet your question with the fullest attitude."
"Of course it's no problem!" Sphinx's smile did not fade away, "I see equality in your eyes. You are different from many wizards."
Cedric didn't know how to answer the question, so he could only smile shyly and retreat among the warriors of Hogwarts.
"Why don't you say a few more nice words and use a beauty trick to fool him?" George immediately came up with a bad idea.
"Impossible!" Draco raised his eyebrows, "You want to be clever at this time? I thought Gryffindor would be thinking about how to kill that Sphinx!"
"You'd better keep your voice down!" Hermione interjected, "The Sphinx's hearing is also very sensitive. She can hear bad things about her from such a close place!"
Neville breathed out, "Let's go back to the basics. If we can answer five questions correctly, the Sphinx will tell us an additional secret."
"I think this secret may be about the way to clear the seventh floor... You can imagine, what secret is more important than this?"
"Yes, you guessed it right!" Sphinx's voice came from behind, "A very suitable method for you...to quickly pass the seventh floor!"
Draco and George curled their lips when they heard the Sphinx's voice. They had realized that the Sphinx could indeed hear them.
"Brainstorming is important, but you must identify at least two people who are responsible for answering questions." Cedric said, "I recommend Zhang Qiu and Hermione."
"We can provide them with ideas, and they will ultimately make the final answer. What do you think?"
In a simple vote, Cedric's decision was unanimously approved.
Cedric looked at Hermione and Zhang Qiu with a hint of apology on his face, "You don't need to be under too much pressure. It's okay even if you can't answer all the questions right at once."
Everyone returned to the Sphinx, looking ready.
Sphinx stretched out his paws with interest, gently combed his hair, and asked casually:
"I have never existed, but I will always exist; no one can see me, and no one will ever see me; but I am the confidence of all living things... What is this?"
Hermione frowned, her eyes rolling, as if she was thinking quickly about the answer to this question.
Soon, she replied very firmly: "It's tomorrow!"
"The response is very fast." Sphinx nodded with satisfaction and waved out a key fragment. "The next step is the second riddle."
"Alive but not breathing through the nose, wearing armor but making no sound, never thirsty but always drinking water, able to move but as cold as a corpse... what is this?"
"Fish!" Zhang Qiu's reaction was also very quick.
"Two outstanding girls." Sphinx scratched his chin with his claws and threw out another key fragment, "The third riddle."
"It is so small that people always lose it inadvertently; it is so powerful that it can crush rocks, kill kings, and destroy castles... What is it?"
"It's time!" Hermione and Zhang Qiu said in unison.
"Maybe something more complicated?" Sphinx suddenly put down his paws and squatted in a cautious posture, "The fourth riddle."
"There are seven cats in each of the seven houses. Each cat eats seven mice, and each mouse eats seven ears of wheat. Each ear of wheat can produce seven grains of barley. How much quantity did I say?"
"Six hundred and seven things before nineteen thousand!"
The Sphinx's eyes widened when he answered in unison again, and his tail, which was still wagging occasionally, now drooped.
It threw out another key fragment and asked the last question, "There are four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening. What is this?"
"Of course it's a human!" Hermione and Zhang Qiu looked at each other and smiled, quickly answering the last question.
In the blink of an eye, all five questions have been asked.
The two answered questions so fast, even one question faster than the last, that the others were stunned.
They thought they were about to face a major test, but they didn't expect it to be so easy.
When the last problem was solved, their bodies turned over again and finally stood steadily on the ground.
Hermione swayed from side to side, and Harry and Ron immediately noticed something was wrong and quickly worked together to support her...
The audience on the viewing platform was also in an uproar. They passed the level and did not expect that the fourth question was obviously very difficult. How did the two children answer the question correctly so quickly?
Lupine looked at Sirius who was covering his mouth and laughing, and couldn't help but asked curiously: "What's wrong with you? Why are you always laughing?"
"Ahem..." Sirius waved his hand, moved closer to Lupine and lowered his voice, "Those riddles are not difficult...there are many in Muggle books!"
"You also know Hermione's identity. She was already very smart when she was studying in the Muggle world. She must have read those riddles."
"It's a pity that Sphinx has probably never been exposed to Muggle books, so he finds these puzzles very difficult!"
Lupine nodded in realization, "It's actually like this! Fortunately, Hermione and the others have read the related riddles!"
Sphinx stood up weakly and opened the door, "What an interesting kid, you can go through!"
"And that secret!" Fred realized and asked immediately.
"Yes, there is another secret that should be revealed to you." The solution to the fourth question made Sphinx a little discouraged.
"A polite and handsome young man." Sphinx smiled, "I am willing to talk to the polite young man a few more words. This is the reward you deserve."
"You need to answer five questions correctly to get five key fragments. If you can answer five questions correctly in a row, I will reveal an additional secret to you."
"Excuse me, is there a limit on the number of people?" Cedric asked tentatively, "Does it have to be answered by the same person? If it is close to the answer, can you give us some hints?"
Sphinx shook his head slightly, "Of course it doesn't need to be answered by the same person. This is a completely different Triwizard Tournament, and the team is the core of this competition."
"As for the prompts, if you are close to the correct answer, I can give you a chance to supplement the answer...how about it? Are you ready to accept my question?"
Cedric glanced back and received the looks of his classmates, "Please wait a moment, madam. We need to greet your question with the fullest attitude."
"Of course it's no problem!" Sphinx's smile did not fade away, "I see equality in your eyes. You are different from many wizards."
Cedric didn't know how to answer the question, so he could only smile shyly and retreat among the warriors of Hogwarts.
"Why don't you say a few more nice words and use a beauty trick to fool him?" George immediately came up with a bad idea.
"Impossible!" Draco raised his eyebrows, "You want to be clever at this time? I thought Gryffindor would be thinking about how to kill that Sphinx!"
"You'd better keep your voice down!" Hermione interjected, "The Sphinx's hearing is also very sensitive. She can hear bad things about her from such a close place!"
Neville breathed out, "Let's go back to the basics. If we can answer five questions correctly, the Sphinx will tell us an additional secret."
"I think this secret may be about the way to clear the seventh floor... You can imagine, what secret is more important than this?"
"Yes, you guessed it right!" Sphinx's voice came from behind, "A very suitable method for you...to quickly pass the seventh floor!"
Draco and George curled their lips when they heard the Sphinx's voice. They had realized that the Sphinx could indeed hear them.
"Brainstorming is important, but you must identify at least two people who are responsible for answering questions." Cedric said, "I recommend Zhang Qiu and Hermione."
"We can provide them with ideas, and they will ultimately make the final answer. What do you think?"
In a simple vote, Cedric's decision was unanimously approved.
Cedric looked at Hermione and Zhang Qiu with a hint of apology on his face, "You don't need to be under too much pressure. It's okay even if you can't answer all the questions right at once."
Everyone returned to the Sphinx, looking ready.
Sphinx stretched out his paws with interest, gently combed his hair, and asked casually:
"I have never existed, but I will always exist; no one can see me, and no one will ever see me; but I am the confidence of all living things... What is this?"
Hermione frowned, her eyes rolling, as if she was thinking quickly about the answer to this question.
Soon, she replied very firmly: "It's tomorrow!"
"The response is very fast." Sphinx nodded with satisfaction and waved out a key fragment. "The next step is the second riddle."
"Alive but not breathing through the nose, wearing armor but making no sound, never thirsty but always drinking water, able to move but as cold as a corpse... what is this?"
"Fish!" Zhang Qiu's reaction was also very quick.
"Two outstanding girls." Sphinx scratched his chin with his claws and threw out another key fragment, "The third riddle."
"It is so small that people always lose it inadvertently; it is so powerful that it can crush rocks, kill kings, and destroy castles... What is it?"
"It's time!" Hermione and Zhang Qiu said in unison.
"Maybe something more complicated?" Sphinx suddenly put down his paws and squatted in a cautious posture, "The fourth riddle."
"There are seven cats in each of the seven houses. Each cat eats seven mice, and each mouse eats seven ears of wheat. Each ear of wheat can produce seven grains of barley. How much quantity did I say?"
"Six hundred and seven things before nineteen thousand!"
The Sphinx's eyes widened when he answered in unison again, and his tail, which was still wagging occasionally, now drooped.
It threw out another key fragment and asked the last question, "There are four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening. What is this?"
"Of course it's a human!" Hermione and Zhang Qiu looked at each other and smiled, quickly answering the last question.
In the blink of an eye, all five questions have been asked.
The two answered questions so fast, even one question faster than the last, that the others were stunned.
They thought they were about to face a major test, but they didn't expect it to be so easy.
When the last problem was solved, their bodies turned over again and finally stood steadily on the ground.
Hermione swayed from side to side, and Harry and Ron immediately noticed something was wrong and quickly worked together to support her...
The audience on the viewing platform was also in an uproar. They passed the level and did not expect that the fourth question was obviously very difficult. How did the two children answer the question correctly so quickly?
Lupine looked at Sirius who was covering his mouth and laughing, and couldn't help but asked curiously: "What's wrong with you? Why are you always laughing?"
"Ahem..." Sirius waved his hand, moved closer to Lupine and lowered his voice, "Those riddles are not difficult...there are many in Muggle books!"
"You also know Hermione's identity. She was already very smart when she was studying in the Muggle world. She must have read those riddles."
"It's a pity that Sphinx has probably never been exposed to Muggle books, so he finds these puzzles very difficult!"
Lupine nodded in realization, "It's actually like this! Fortunately, Hermione and the others have read the related riddles!"
Sphinx stood up weakly and opened the door, "What an interesting kid, you can go through!"
"And that secret!" Fred realized and asked immediately.
"Yes, there is another secret that should be revealed to you." The solution to the fourth question made Sphinx a little discouraged.
