Actor

Thinking of this, Chen Wu hesitated no longer. He flicked his hand backward and unslung the scabbard from his back.

The cloth wrapped around the scabbard fell away with a rustle, and the scabbard, along with the precious sword, spun through the air from his back to his front. With sharp eyes and quick hands, Chen Wu reached out and gripped the hilt.

Shing—

Chen Wu tapped his feet lightly, lunging forward at high speed, and the sword was drawn from its sheath.

Hum—

The sword let out a resonant chime. Chen Wu swung the blade, passing the bewildered carriage driver, and thrust straight toward Qiao Weisheng's left chest. On that satin vest was embroidered a copper coin pattern—the exact spot Qiao Weisheng had pointed out that day.

Qiao Weisheng remained fixated on the fierce battle between Guo Xuchu and the others, seemingly unaware of the sword tip closing in on him. It appeared the assassination was about to be a complete success.

"You scoundrel!"

The brocade-robed man nearby reacted, his fingers forming a sword-hand, and he struck straight at Chen Wu's forehead—a classic move to "besiege Wei to rescue Zhao."

At this moment, they were locked in a narrow encounter. Chen Wu hardened his heart, his thrusting hand never wavering, though he tilted his head slightly to avoid the lethal strike.

"Ah—"

The blade pierced through flesh. Qiao Weisheng let out a loud cry, his face contorted in agony, beads of sweat the size of beans covering his forehead.

The brocade-robed man's finger-strike landed as well, hitting Chen Wu's right shoulder like a thunderbolt, as if he had been electrocuted. A sensation of alternating cold and heat erupted from Chen Wu's shoulder, wreaking havoc on the meridians of his right arm and making it impossible to hold the hilt any longer.

Relying solely on the pull of his internal energy, Chen Wu released his right hand, switched to his left to grip the hilt, stepped out in a tactical formation, pulled the sword free, and retreated, flipping onto the eaves of a nearby building.

Damn it, this Qiao Weisheng fellow, his acting skills are way too good! He deserves an Oscar!

"Don't you run!"

Seeing Chen Wu attempting to flee, the brocade-robed man gave chase. With a single movement, he vaulted onto the eaves, moving even faster than Chen Wu.

Damn it all, do you have to be so dedicated?

Seeing he couldn't outrun his opponent, Chen Wu grew desperate. His internal energy boiled in his dantian, and he gritted his teeth against the pain, temporarily suppressing the rampaging energy in his right arm. Though his right hand couldn't move with full dexterity, it could still perform simple actions.

Chen Wu reached his right hand into his pocket and pulled out the Dezhang Year Two Model he had already loaded.

My good sir, the times have changed!

The moment the brocade-robed man reached the eaves and saw the muzzle of Chen Wu's gun pointed at him, his expression changed in terror. He immediately retreated, jumping back from the eaves onto the carriage, moving even faster than he had when he first leaped up.

"Ah—"

Qiao Weisheng, lying on the carriage, let out another timely, agonizing cry, even spitting up two mouthfuls of blood. Seeing this, the brocade-robed man turned his attention back to tending to Qiao Weisheng, as if Chen Wu and his Dezhang Year Two Model had ceased to exist.

Chen Wu was only too happy to be forgotten. He immediately took to his heels, leaping across several rooftops to slip away from the scene of the assassination.

"The Star-Pulling Sword of Guo Xuchu is truly extraordinary. I have learned much today!"

Seeing Chen Wu retreat, Old Jin also feinted a move, leaped out of the fray, and fled across the rooftops in another direction.

Guo Xuchu did not pursue. In an instant, he returned to Qiao Weisheng's side, his fingers darting out to press the vital acupoints on Qiao Weisheng's left chest to stop the bleeding.

Chen Wu had only just crossed a few streets of rooftops when the foreign internal energy he had been forcibly suppressing in his right arm could no longer be contained, erupting like a volcano. Suddenly, it wasn't just his right arm; he felt his entire body besieged by alternating cold and heat, an unbearable torment.

Clatter—

Chen Wu staggered on the eaves, lost his balance, and tumbled off, crashing into a courtyard below.

The fall left Chen Wu dazed and seeing stars. In his delirium, he heard a crisp, familiar voice.

"Chen Wu, you've delivered yourself right to my doorstep! Are you in such a hurry for me to collect your corpse?"

Who was the owner of this voice?

With one final shred of doubt, Chen Wu lost consciousness completely.

Under the dim light of a kerosene lamp, a pair of Emei Piercers lay side by side on a table. The light reflected off the polished, gleaming surfaces of the weapons, making the shadows appear particularly ominous and shifting.

A slender hand reached toward the Emei Piercers, but hesitated, wavering in indecision.

As if finally making up their mind, the owner of the hand took several deep breaths. Their internal energy surged rapidly, rising from the dantian all the way to their mouth.

Then, they picked up one of the Emei Piercers and brought it to their lips, crunching it down like a snack—crunch, crunch—swallowing the weapon piece by piece.

As the pulverized shards of the Emei Piercer entered their stomach, the meridians in their gut began to move in rhythm. Their abdomen swelled and contracted, the agitation of the muscles and meridians producing a dull, vibrating sound.

The already chewed-up Emei Piercer was further shattered and broken down in the stomach, turning into microscopic particles of metal and iron, which were then completely dissolved into liquid by the stomach acid.

"Huh—I did it!" a familiar voice exclaimed.

The person let out a low growl, calmed their excitement, and hurriedly picked up the second Emei Piercer, ready to bring it to their mouth.

The surface of the Emei Piercer was polished smooth, and in the dim light of the kerosene lamp, it reflected the silhouette of the person holding it.

It was Chen Wu himself!

Chen Wu opened his eyes abruptly. What met his gaze was not an Emei Piercer, but a pristine white ceiling.

"You're awake."

Chen Wu turned his head and saw a fair, clean face—it was Wang Zhenyi, whom he had met just two days ago.

The last time he saw her, she had been on the road, covered in dust. Today, she wore a gold-woven mamian skirt paired with a high-collared, plain-colored long gown, giving her an air of grace and composure.

"Don't move, just keep lying there." Wang Zhenyi stopped Chen Wu from getting up, instead placing a cushion under him so he could sit up slightly.

Only then did Chen Wu feel a sense of utter weakness throughout his body, his meridians in such a chaotic tangle that it felt as though he were being sliced by knives and axes.

"You certainly have a cat's nine lives!" Wang Zhenyi brought over a bowl of water, stirred it gently with a spoon, and then carefully brought a spoonful to Chen Wu's lips. "To be struck by the Yin-Yang Chaos Finger and only suffer minor injuries, without having your meridians shattered to pieces—it's a miracle."

Sugar-salt water!

Chen Wu smacked his lips after the warm liquid entered his mouth and said, "Many thanks, Miss."

Wang Zhenyi replied, "You've done quite the deed. Do you have any idea that the whole city is looking for you? Qiao Weisheng's assassination is already the front-page headline of every major newspaper."

"Are you implying that I was the one who did it?"

"If not you, then who? The Crown Prince's Mansion attendant stated clearly that he struck the assassin with one finger." Seeing Chen Wu playing dumb, Wang Zhenyi couldn't help but roll her eyes. "The Yin-Yang Chaos Finger is rare enough as it is; it is impossible for a second person in Jincheng Prefecture to have been struck by it right now."

"Are you planning to turn me in, Miss?"

"I was planning to. The bounty from the Constabulary Office is quite substantial."

"And now?"

"The money from the Jincheng Industry Promotion Gazette is enough; I have no need for the bounty now."

"Many thanks, Miss." Feeling her goodwill, Chen Wu thanked her once more.

"You lot from the Yongjiu School are truly skilled at creating a massive stir. To assassinate Qiao Weisheng right under the nose of Guo Xuchu—you are about to become famous throughout the world!"

"I would rather not have this fame." Chen Wu was caught between laughter and tears.

"Then why did you go to assassinate him?" Wang Zhenyi was clearly dissatisfied with Chen Wu's act of feigning innocence after reaping the benefits, and she shoved the last spoonful of sugar-salt water into his mouth with force.

Chen Wu swallowed the liquid, speechless. He couldn't exactly say that Chen Gawa had taken the contract and that it had nothing to do with him, could he?

"What about Qiao Weisheng?" Chen Wu changed the subject.

"His life or death remains uncertain for now; there are too many rumors. Some say he's dead, others say he isn't." Wang Zhenyi picked up a piece of flatbread and said while eating, "You should stay here and lay low for the next two days. The people from the Constabulary Office won't be able to search this place."

"Where is this?"

"The residence of the naval General Fubo, Shui Ziyi. In Jincheng Prefecture, it's known as the Shui Family Garden." Wang Zhenyi said, "Though, he is the former General Fubo; he has retired now."

Damn, that retired naval general! This is his home?

Chen Wu looked around. The layout of the room was somewhat reminiscent of later eras, with white-washed walls and glass panes set into the wooden windows. However, the interior was sparsely furnished, containing only a table, a cabinet, and the iron-framed bed Chen Wu was lying on.

"This is the guest wing of the Shui Family Garden. I am also staying here temporarily. No one usually disturbs us, so you can rest easy and recover."

"How did you manage to stay here?" Chen Wu asked.

"Senior Brother Shui is a fellow disciple of mine. Isn't it perfectly normal for me to stay at his place while visiting Jincheng Prefecture?"

What? A retired old naval general and a young girl are fellow disciples of the same martial arts sect?

"Are you saying you belong to the same martial arts school?" Chen Wu probed.

"Why is your mind filled only with fighting and killing?" Wang Zhenyi pressed her hand to her forehead. "Senior Brother Shui and I both studied mathematics under the same teacher. It was only later that he went to the Sea-Pacifying Palace and became a naval general."

Mathematics? I never would have guessed this girl was a mathematician.

"Might I ask, Miss, what kind of mathematical problems do you study?"

"Why do you ask? You wouldn't understand it anyway."

What is that supposed to mean? How high could the level of mathematics be for a "person of the past"? I'm a man who has studied advanced calculus!

"Just curious! If you don't want to say, then forget it."

"The general and periodic solutions to the Three-Body Problem—have you heard of them?"

Three... the Three-Body Problem? Is the level of mathematics in Dashun really this advanced?

"The Dashun Academy of Sciences studies this?"

Chen Wu felt frustrated; even he hadn't calculated the periodic solutions to the Three-Body Problem, and he only vaguely knew that there was no general solution.

"It's perfectly normal! The Dashun Navy uses the astronomical almanacs and lunar phase charts produced by the Academy of Sciences to calculate longitude. To produce those, one must calculate the moon's orbit. Calculating the moon's orbit is essentially a Three-Body Problem, isn't it?"

"The astronomical almanac and lunar phase charts are calculated and published in a new edition every year."

Chen Wu had considered himself quite the academic star in the past, but today, having met a true genius, he felt a sense of reverence, and his voice involuntarily lowered: "Might I ask, Miss, under which great master did you and General Shui study mathematics?"

"The Department of Astronomy and Mathematics at the Dashun Academy of Sciences, under Teacher Euler," Wang Zhenyi said calmly. "I am his last disciple, having entered late. By the time I was studying under Teacher Euler, Senior Brother Shui was already General Fubo."

Eu... Euler? It couldn't be that Euler, could it?

Chen Wu suddenly became alert, no longer daring to underestimate the people of Dashun.

"This Teacher Euler you speak of, is he a Westerner? Is his hometown in Switzerland?"

"You know of Teacher Euler?" Wang Zhenyi became excited, then suddenly smiled slyly. "How would someone from the countryside like you know of Teacher Euler's reputation?"

Recalling the days of being tortured by various Euler's formulas and theorems while studying university mathematics, Chen Wu looked at Wang Zhenyi in a new light.

"Ahem, doesn't that just show how famous Mr. Euler is? Even someone from the countryside like me knows him."

"You are a truly strange person. You don't know the Sea-Pacifying Palace, yet you know Teacher Euler."

"I heard of him by chance," Chen Wu said evasively.

"Whatever. You are always so mysterious." Wang Zhenyi shook her head. "I have to attend a banquet for Old Madam Shui in a moment. You should rest first."

With that, Wang Zhenyi opened the door and walked out, leaving the room in sudden silence.

"It's so quiet, isn't it?"

In a silent chamber, Qiao Weisheng, who had been declared dead to the outside world, suddenly spoke, as if talking to himself.