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To prove himself, Old Man Bai took Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu to another room.

The door to this room remained shut year-round; Zheng Fa and the others had never entered it before.

The room was small, perhaps a dozen square meters. Tall bookshelves lined the walls, their books arranged in utter disorder. Several half-open books lay scattered across the floor and chairs as well.

One glance was enough to tell that this messy study belonged to that lazy old man.

The only thing that did not fit the room's general style was the desk in the corner by the window. Apart from a thick stack of paper and a pen holder stuffed full of pens, there was nothing else on it.

Most remarkable of all, that stack of draft paper was piled with astonishing neatness, like a slab of tofu sliced smooth and clean.

"Is this your new book?" Tang Lingwu had spotted the unusual pile of drafts as well.

Old Man Bai unexpectedly grew modest. "Just a little wish of mine. I've been writing it for years."

Turning to Zheng Fa, he said, "I really don't have that much time. I agreed to write this book for someone before I retired, and now I've been retired for five or six years and still haven't finished it."

"The publisher really has called to hurry me up. I wasn't bragging..." Under the suspicious gazes of Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu, he muttered, "At most, I bragged one or two... five, six, seven, eight sentences."

Zheng Fa looked at the distinctly different desk and nodded. "You really do value this book."

"Value it? Not exactly. Like I said before, what rank am I in mathematics?" Old Man Bai stroked the draft papers on the desk, then thought for a moment and asked Zheng Fa, "Do you know why I've always been unwilling to teach you?"

"Because I learn slowly?"

"Uh, being dumb is one reason too." Old Man Bai had always been blunt when it came to looking down on Zheng Fa's intelligence.

"Because I'm taking the college entrance exam now?" Zheng Fa guessed again.

"That's one reason too, but the main reason is that you aren't the sort of person who does mathematics."

Zheng Fa froze, not quite understanding why the old man would say that.

"I'm not saying there's something wrong with your character, kid. It's that doing mathematics shouldn't be too goal-oriented. And you..." Old Man Bai glanced at Zheng Fa. "Do you want to learn topology? Or do you want to learn it for those strange diagrams?"

Zheng Fa frowned.

"What's wrong with being practical?" Tang Lingwu muttered.

"What is mathematics?" Old Man Bai suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

"At its root, mathematics studies things that do not exist." Old Man Bai spoke to the two of them. "Do imaginary numbers exist? Do even natural numbers exist in nature? Can you find the points, lines, and planes of geometry in the natural world?"

Zheng Fa said nothing. He still did not understand what the old man was getting at, but Old Man Bai seemed to have rediscovered the feeling of being a university teacher.

"Mathematics, in essence, is a set of abstract axiomatic systems that do not exist. To some extent, you can regard it as a purposeless set of game rules invented by mankind. It just so happens that these rules can explain certain things in this world," he said in an unbroken stream.

"So many theoretical mathematicians look down on applied mathematicians. We agreed to become the mother of all sciences together, so why have you made yourselves so pliant, like some..." Seeing the young faces of Zheng Fa and Tang Lingwu, Old Man Bai, carried away by his speech, forcibly swallowed the vulgar word at his lips and replaced it with another. "A fallen woman."

Seeing that Zheng Fa still did not understand, Old Man Bai explained more plainly. "If you're learning topology for those diagrams, then let me ask you: have you considered whether topology can truly decode all of them?"

Zheng Fa nodded.

"That is the treachery of science. You can be right ten thousand times and still not be certain that you are right. But if you are wrong once, then you are truly wrong. At that point, would you still want to learn topology from me?"

Zheng Fa understood what he meant. After winding around so many bends, the old man was still advising him not to neglect the root in pursuit of the branches.

"I want to learn. Even if I learn slowly, I still want to learn," Zheng Fa said slowly. Even without these Talisman Diagrams, he was deeply interested in this world's knowledge.

"Then my suggestion is that you study properly with me." Seeing his resolute expression and judging that he was not lying, Old Man Bai looked somewhat gratified. Rarely offering Zheng Fa comfort, he said, "It's fine to be slow. You haven't even fully mastered high school knowledge yet. Topology is a second-year undergraduate course at Capital University. At the very least, you need the knowledge foundation of a first-year university student before you can truly get started. Being slow now is perfectly normal."

Old Man Bai meant well, but Zheng Fa still refused.

"But I still want you to help me analyze those diagrams."

Zheng Fa had thought it through clearly. He was interested in mathematics, but only as a tool.

Just like Old Man Bai's brain.

"I really don't have the time!"

Zheng Fa turned to Tang Lingwu at his side and pointed at her. "I remember you said she has already learned university courses?"

"Hm?"

"Since I have to start from high school, wouldn't it be enough for me to learn from her?"

There was no problem that could not be solved by borrowing a brain. If one was not enough, then borrow another.

Tang Lingwu blanked for a moment and pointed at herself. "Me?"

"I'll teach you martial arts, and you teach me mathematics. Deal?"

Tang Lingwu looked at Old Man Bai hesitantly.

Old Man Bai frowned, but did not deny Tang Lingwu's ability. "That is one way. If there's something you can't teach him, bring it to me and ask. Actually, teaching him would greatly deepen your own understanding of those points of knowledge, but it would take up your time..."

"I'll teach him! I want to learn martial arts!"

"Didn't you say you didn't want to?" Old Man Bai snorted.

Tang Lingwu said nothing, only pressed her lips together and smiled.

Zheng Fa grinned as he pulled out those notebooks of drafts. "Then which one do we start with today?"

Old Man Bai went blank.

He pointed at Tang Lingwu. "She became your teacher, and she gets to practice martial arts."

"Yes."

"She won't scold you in the future, and I can't scold you either. Not only will you no longer get scolded, you'll even have a pretty young girl as your teacher, plus me working for you."

Zheng Fa grinned. "Seems like it."

"And I not only have to work for you, I've also lost the joy of scolding you?"

This chain of reasoning was so flawless that Old Man Bai's expression turned despairing.

"At least you learned a lesson." Zheng Fa patted Old Man Bai on the shoulder. "Next time, don't make a fuss about dropping out at the slightest provocation."

Since he needed to teach Tang Lingwu martial arts, Old Man Bai's home was too cramped for it.

The group came to the small clearing where Old Man Bai had previously witnessed Zheng Fa begin practicing the Pine Crane Stance.

Old Man Bai continued practicing the Pine Crane Stance miserably nearby, though his expression was much more serious than before.

Zheng Fa stood before Tang Lingwu, guiding her stance. They stood very close; the tips of their noses were tickled by each other's hair, and a faint, delicate fragrance drifted from the young girl.

He was not affected by it. He quickly collected himself, then discovered a difference in this world—after cultivating the Spirit Crane Body, whenever he circulated the inner force within him in the Xuanwei Realm, he could sense a force in the void responding to him.

But this world had no such thing!

That difference could not help giving Zheng Fa some ideas.

"Zheng Fa, you... smell so good!"

Hm?

Tang Lingwu seemed to feel that her words had sounded overly lecherous, and her eyes darted about.

Zheng Fa's serious gaze settled on her, probing as though he wished to see another old acquaintance in her face:

...Gao Yuan, is that you?

"Zheng Fa! I found something strange!" When Gao Yuan saw Zheng Fa, he jogged all the way over, sticking his head in front of Zheng Fa as though he wanted to whisper something to him.

"Stop. Stay away from me." Zheng Fa closed his eyes.

"?"

"I'm not used to you suddenly becoming so ugly."

Gao Yuan touched his face, which was full of confusion. He quickly put aside his puzzlement and whispered, "I haven't changed. Seventh Young Master has changed!"

"Changed? What did he change into?" Zheng Fa became curious as well.

"Changed into..." Gao Yuan seemed unable to describe it well. He scratched his head. "Changed into someone a little like me."

...What a coincidence. I know someone else who became a little like you.