Master Song!

With Li Zhiwei leading the way.

Jiang Xiaobai and Zhang Xinnian soon arrived before a pavilion.

The pavilion stood in a secluded spot beside the water, with bamboo shadows swaying gently all around. Compared with the bustle near the essay rankings earlier, this place was noticeably quieter.

Upon reaching the door, Li Zhiwei first took a moment to compose herself, then raised her hand and knocked softly.

"Master, it's Zhiwei. May I see you?"

As Li Zhiwei's voice faded.

A slightly aged yet steady voice soon came from inside.

"Come in!"

Only then did Li Zhiwei slowly push open the door and lead Jiang Xiaobai inside.

As the door opened, the scene within came into view.

The pavilion's interior was furnished with extreme simplicity.

A broad desk stood beside the window, piled with account books, sheets of paper, and all manner of bamboo rulers and counting rods.

Behind the desk sat an elderly man, filling in squares with one hand while holding a writing brush in the other, continually writing on a sheet of paper.

His hair and beard were grizzled, but he looked remarkably vigorous.

His eyes, in particular, remained keen despite the slight cloudiness left by the passing years.

Jiang Xiaobai had paid little attention at first, but his expression shifted slightly after he glanced over the desk.

Everything listed on the old man's paper was, unmistakably, arithmetic.

However, this world clearly did not use the Arabic numerals familiar to him from his previous life.

Every number was written out in words, calculated step by step, then totaled at the end.

At a glance, it looked incredibly cumbersome.

Precisely because of this, the old man was so absorbed in his writing that he did not immediately look up even after they entered.

Seeing this, Li Zhiwei did not dare interrupt. She stood there for a moment, then turned toward Jiang Xiaobai and explained softly, "This is Master Song."

"Here at the Imperial College, Master Song's mastery of arithmetic is second to none."

"Besides teaching the students here, Master Song also serves as an administrative officer in the Ministry of Revenue, overseeing the state treasury!"

At this, Jiang Xiaobai's eyes flickered slightly.

The state treasury?

Then his position was no ordinary one.

Whatever else might be said, anyone entrusted with the state treasury certainly had His Majesty's confidence.

But why had Li Zhiwei brought him here?

Just as he wondered this, Li Zhiwei said, "Qin'er is Master Song's teaching assistant!"

"I see!"

Surprised, Jiang Xiaobai could not help taking another couple of looks at the contents of the paper.

Soon, he ran through the rows of figures and their additions and subtractions in his mind.

A moment later, Jiang Xiaobai said calmly, "There's no need to keep calculating. The total is three thousand seven hundred and sixty-three."

The moment he said this.

The brush in the old man's hand visibly paused.

Li Zhiwei, meanwhile, jumped in alarm.

She clearly had not expected Jiang Xiaobai to speak suddenly at a time like this.

And he had directly interrupted Master Song's calculations, at that.

This...

Wasn't this sheer recklessness?

Li Zhiwei's heart tightened, and she hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, Master!"

"He... he's just talking nonsense. Please don't take offense!"

Indeed.

As far as Li Zhiwei could see, Jiang Xiaobai had merely glanced at the paper a couple of times.

He might not even have seen everything written on it.

How could he possibly announce the total just like that?

At that moment, Master Song raised his head. His slightly aged eyes slowly settled on Jiang Xiaobai, and his brows drew together.

A trace of displeasure was plain on his face.

When calculating, he disliked nothing more than people casually interrupting him.

Especially an interruption like this, blurting out a number after barely looking at the figures.

Still, Master Song did not lose his temper on the spot. He merely gave Jiang Xiaobai a cold glance before lowering his head again, lifting his brush, and continuing to write.

Seeing this, Li Zhiwei finally felt a little relieved.

Jiang Xiaobai remained where he was. Seeing Master Song continue calculating, he merely shook his head gently and said nothing more.

The room fell quiet again.

Only the steady scratching of the brush against the paper remained.

Standing nearby, Li Zhiwei occasionally glanced at Jiang Xiaobai, a hint of helplessness in her clear eyes.

This fellow...

He had only just caused such a commotion outside.

Yet the moment he came in, he pulled this on her.

Just then, however, Master Song's hand, which had been writing without pause, gradually began to slow.

Finally, his brush stopped outright in midair.

Hmm?

Noticing something was amiss, Li Zhiwei glanced at the paper.

At that glance, her eyes instantly widened.

For the final number listed on the paper was none other than three thousand seven hundred and sixty-three!

For a moment, Li Zhiwei stood frozen.

She first looked at the result on the paper, then raised her head to look at Jiang Xiaobai.

Her expression brimmed with shock and disbelief that she could not suppress.

Indeed.

He had... actually been right?

But how was that possible?

Barely a moment had passed between Jiang Xiaobai entering the room and speaking.

He had not even sat down. He had merely stood to the side, casually glanced over the paper, and announced the total.

This...

Wasn't this far too outrageous?

At that moment, however, the most astonished person was clearly Master Song himself.

He lowered his head and stared at the result he had calculated with his own hand, his gaze visibly freezing for a moment.

Then Master Song slowly raised his head and looked at Jiang Xiaobai again.

This time, the displeasure in his eyes had vanished entirely, replaced by profound astonishment.

Not even half a cup of tea's worth of time had passed since Jiang Xiaobai entered.

He had merely taken a glance.

Just one glance!

And he had seen the final total straight away?

How could that be possible?

After all, what he had just been calculating was no simple sum that could be worked out offhand.

It was a set of accounts requiring successive additions before everything could be totaled.

An ordinary student might not be able to make sense of it even with an incense stick's worth of time, let alone a single glance.

Yet this young man before him... had simply announced the answer?

The room once again sank into a somewhat strange silence.

Only after a long while did Master Song slowly set down his brush. Then, looking straight at Jiang Xiaobai, he asked, "Did you calculate that just now?"

"Yes."

Jiang Xiaobai nodded.

"Have you studied arithmetic?"

Master Song asked again.

"A little, I suppose."

A little?

Could someone who had studied a little see the answer at a glance?

Master Song did not believe Jiang Xiaobai's claim.

"Young man, come here."

At these words.

Li Zhiwei's expression shifted slightly.

She knew very well that Master Song had always been exacting by nature and would not tolerate even a grain of falsehood.

Yet now, not only had he refrained from getting angry, he had even invited Jiang Xiaobai forward.

That alone showed... Master Song had truly taken an interest in Jiang Xiaobai.

At this thought, a little more wonder appeared in Li Zhiwei's clear eyes.

Jiang Xiaobai did not hesitate. He walked straight over.

Once he reached the desk, Master Song took out another sheet of paper and covered the final total as he said, "Work out the total for this..."

Jiang Xiaobai glanced at it and said, "Oh, this one's even easier. Two thousand eight..."