A Less-Than-Ideal Start (Part One)

Since Xu Yun had spoken standard Chinese at the end, the three words "Li Feiyu" sounded extremely awkward and strange to Newton.

"Donkey Fat Fish?"

Inside the room, Newton muttered the name to himself once more. Then his brow furrowed as he asked,

"Judging by your appearance, you're from the East?"

Xu Yun nodded lightly, unsurprised by this.

"That's right. My ancestors came from the Eastern lands."

Throughout Huaxia's long history of civilization, exchanges between the homeland and other nations had almost never ceased.

For example, the famous Silk Road.

In 119 BC, Emperor Wu of Han sent Zhang Qian on a mission to the Western Regions. Starting from the capital of Chang'an, he traveled through Central Asia and the nations of West Asia before eventually reaching Rome, opening up the Silk Road.

After arriving in Rome, silk was eagerly sought after by Caesar the Great and the nobility alike, becoming a symbol of power and status.

From then on, official and private Asia-Europe merchant caravans gradually formed an industrial transport network.

These caravans might not have been particularly large, but their frequency was far from low. There were even cases where a caravan returned from its journey only to find that two dynasties had already passed.

As time went on, some Huaxia merchants simply settled down in Europe.

For instance, in the 13th century, Naples in Italy once had a settlement of Huaxia merchants.

At the time, more than a hundred Huaxia people settled there and began raising families. In the end, they were nearly wiped out by a plague in the 15th century, after which they vanished from historical records.

For these reasons, although many Europeans had never seen an Easterner, the idea that black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin equaled an Easterner had still spread.

After all, Europe was small, unlike the vast Huaxia homeland. Even in the early 1990s, people in some remote areas still regarded foreigners as evil spirits.

So it was not particularly strange that Newton knew Xu Yun came from the East—though his understanding of the East went no further than that.

How many nations lay in the East, or what dynasty it was currently under, Newton knew absolutely nothing about.

And precisely because of that,

Newton could not help becoming curious about Xu Yun's origins.

In this era, seeing a living, breathing Easterner was only slightly easier than seeing a foreign batgirl—if you took a stroll through Northern Europe at this time, you might even come across a poor batgirl.

Back to the matter at hand.

Seeing the faint curiosity in Newton's eyes, Xu Yun adjusted his breathing and gave the introduction he had prepared beforehand.

"That's right. As you can see, I am descended from an Easterner. My ancestors came from a sect called the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect."

Newton suddenly interrupted him and repeated the word with some uncertainty.

"Sect?" (I checked. Early modern English did have the word "sect," though its meaning was somewhat similar to a gang.)

"That's right, sect."

Xu Yun nodded, indicating that the word was correct, then explained,

"The concept of a sect is somewhat similar to Cambridge University. My ancestors were employees there, and they were sent to Europe several decades ago."

Seeing Newton fall into thought, Xu Yun continued.

"My grandfather settled in Amsterdam back then and had some trade dealings with London—cotton, for example. My shoes are made from cotton.

"But because of the plague this time, my family and I were accidentally separated while leaving the city. In my panic, I saw apples in the orchard and rashly entered."

Newton's expression did not change upon hearing this, but a flash of understanding flickered through his eyes.

He did not harbor much suspicion toward Xu Yun's story. In fact, he even came up with some plausible explanations himself.

For one thing, Amsterdam was currently Europe's most important port and trading city, gathering merchants and gang organizations from all over.

Judging by current trends, Amsterdam might develop even further in the future—and indeed, it did. By the 17th century, Amsterdam would even become the world's financial and cultural center for a time.

However, by the 21st Century, Amsterdam's glory had gradually faded, and it had even developed an unspeakable industrial chain.

Developing that industry was one thing, but being able to issue invoices so you could claim reimbursement for it was fucking absurd.

Ah, you ask how I know?

An old driver named Yanhuo Cuican from Group Seven told me!

Ahem.

Back to the point.

In short, based on this alone, Xu Yun's background held up.

After all, although his clothes looked somewhat strange, the material made it clear that his family circumstances were far from ordinary.

The second reason Newton believed him was the spread pattern of the current epidemic. At present, the source was strongly suspected to be the Netherlands.

From 1663 to 1664, Amsterdam suffered an outbreak of bubonic plague, killing more than fifty thousand people.

Merchant ships carrying cotton from Amsterdam to Britain may have brought the plague into London. As a result, the docklands on London's outskirts and St Giles Parish were the first to suffer.

Therefore, from the perspective of his route and travels, Xu Yun also fit the current circumstances.

He was the eldest or second son of a wealthy Eastern family that had fled to London for refuge one or two years earlier, only to lose contact with his family because he was unfamiliar with the route when they evacuated London for a second time not long ago.

At this thought, Newton's eyes narrowed involuntarily.

"Feiyu. Fat Fish, was it? I personally sympathize with what happened to you, but what do you plan to do next?"

As he spoke, Newton's mind turned rapidly.

Xu Yun had admitted earlier that he had "rashly entered" Newton's estate, so the troublesome issue Newton had worried about simply did not exist.

Moreover, Xu Yun had already regained his ability to move. It could be said that Newton now held absolute initiative.

Of course.

The young Old Master Newton did not know that Xu Yun had deliberately said the latter half of that sentence for him to hear—after all, Old Master Newton's personality was practically common knowledge among physicists in later generations. Whether one wanted to cater to his temperament or deliberately step on his landmines, it was easy enough.

Thus, facing Newton's question, a hint of restrained awkwardness appeared on Xu Yun's face.

"Mr. Newton, I have been separated from my family and have nowhere to go. I wonder if I might stay here temporarily?

"Please rest assured, my parents are fairly wealthy and will certainly not treat you poorly. If necessary, we can sign an agreement. And if there is anything around the house that needs doing, feel free to put me to work."

Across from Xu Yun.

At the four words "fairly wealthy," a glimmer immediately flashed through Newton's eyes.