Chapter 91

While Du Yin was still in a daze, Xue Jin'an had already given the correct answer and followed the other party's solution process, going through all the subsequent steps as well.

There were two other tables of guests on the first floor of the restaurant, all dressed as scholars. They listened blankly, while some of the quick-witted ones had already figured out the source of the question from the familiar data. They couldn't help but gasp and exclaim in disbelief, "The Ten-Perfect Young Master's Question Book?!"

His classmates were also surprised when they heard his words. Nowadays, even if the students in the capital had not done this book of questions that was said to be difficult for all students, they must have heard of it and knew exactly how difficult it was.

Regardless of the controversy surrounding the "Perfect Prince," the difficulty of this problem set is universally acknowledged. It is even considered a problem set for proving the way of mathematics because of its extreme difficulty. Whether you are a big name in the field or an unknown person, as long as you can solve this set of problems within the specified time, you will undoubtedly be the second most important person in the field of mathematics. The first place naturally belongs to the "Perfect Prince."

They could hardly believe that one day they would see someone who could barely be called a teenager so easily solve a problem verbally. Even if the solution came from someone else, it was precisely because of this that the teenager's talent in mathematics was even more remarkable.

Everyone stared intently at Du Yin's expression, trying to discern something from his face.

When Du Yin heard Xue Jin'an's steps, he immediately forgot everything else and hurriedly searched for the papers in his hand. He quickly found the place the other party mentioned and realized that he had really made a mistake. Then, following the other party's words, he quickly calculated the steps. The shock on his face was impossible to hide.

Absolutely correct! Not a single mistake! It even simplified some unnecessary steps, making the entire problem-solving process more enjoyable!

"You—" Du Yin looked down at the paper in his hand, then looked up at the expressionless boy in front of him, his eyes filled with confusion and doubt about life.

The other scholars in the restaurant also saw the answer in Du Yin's changing expression. Some held their heads in disbelief, some counted on their fingers trying to verify the points, and most of them had the same questioning look as Du Yin.

Xue Jin'an couldn't understand Du Yin's overly complicated gaze, assuming that the other was looking at him as if waiting for his comments, so he paused and added, "The method is a bit clumsy, so it's understandable that it's wrong."

Du Yin was essentially using high school and junior high school knowledge to solve advanced mathematics problems. The answer could be derived smoothly, but the steps were too complicated. The more complicated the steps, the easier it was to make mistakes, especially small ones hidden among the dense numbers. It was as difficult as not being able to reconcile accounts by five cents.

Xue Jin'an felt that his evaluation was impartial and fair, without any intention of mocking or looking down on anyone. In fact, it even indirectly affirmed that the other party's use of such primitive and traditional methods to solve problems was a commendable spirit of dedication that fully demonstrated their love for mathematics... Anyway, he felt that what he said was correct.

However, when Du Yin heard these words, they became: "You're not very bright. Your problem-solving methods are so stupid. It's normal for you to make some mistakes."

Crack—Du Yin seemed to hear something shatter inside his chest, the sound so crisp.

He began to doubt that his talent in mathematics might not be ordinary, but rather nonexistent.

He might really be an idiot.

Seeing that he did not respond, Xue Jin'an assumed that the conversation was over and did not speak again. Fulu went to settle the accounts with the shopkeeper. Seeing that there was no danger, Fuling lowered her guard and stood silently behind Xue Jin'an like a shadow.

Only Cui Zui patted Du Yin on the shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Upon seeing his familiar expression, Cui Zui knew he was questioning his existence and comforted him with great experience, saying, "Brother, I understand you."

"To be honest, I've been through something like this before. Are you wondering how my master did it? As someone who's been there, I'd better not. I can only tell you that I used to plan to take the imperial examinations and become an official. But after meeting my master, I realized my limitations and abandoned my literary pursuits for martial arts." Cui Zui still remembers his archery skills, where he could shoot arrow after arrow without missing a beat. He could memorize everything just by glancing at the book, making him the ultimate photographic memory that Cui Pengfei could barely teach.

This is a perfect gentleman, personally chosen by his grandfather as the reincarnation of the God of Literature, with no weaknesses except for his terrible writing! Even his characters, which should be so rigid as to make people frown, have formed a unique beauty that no one else can replicate due to their excessive regularity.

Of course, the main reason why Cui Zui abandoned literature for martial arts was that he actually preferred martial arts. He couldn't let go of his resentment before because he was unwilling to accept that so many mediocre people could achieve their goals while he couldn't. But after meeting his master and being shocked by the strength of a true master, he let go of his resentment and made his choice according to his heart.

All things in the world are fleeting, and he should not compare himself with the mediocre. He should follow in the footsteps of the strong and climb to the peak, for that is the value of his life.

Cui Zui said matter-of-factly, “Don’t compare yourself to my master, that’s suicide. You have to believe me, it’s not that you’re too stupid, it’s that my master is too smart.”

Du Yin was in a daze: "Am I also going to abandon my literary pursuits and take up a military career?"

Cui Zui politely declined, saying, "Going into martial arts might be too much for you." He could even trip and fall down the stairs; clearly, this wasn't his forte.

Du Yin was so devastated that he lost all color in his face and revealed a smile that was uglier than crying.

Fu Lu had already settled the bill with the shopkeeper, then turned to Xue Jin'an and asked, "Master?"

"Let's go." Xue Jin'an nodded and walked out.

Du Yin was about to bow respectfully to see him off when Cui Zui patted his shoulder and stopped him, saying, "My master doesn't care about these formalities."

"Brother, don't underestimate yourself. Success will come eventually. I think we'll meet again in the future." Cui Zui patted Du Yin on the shoulder again, then jogged out of the restaurant to catch up with Xue Jin'an.

Du Yin stared blankly as they disappeared, only snapping out of his daze when his friend called his name from the second floor. Just as he was about to go back upstairs to his private room, he suddenly remembered that he didn't know the young master's identity. He immediately slapped his forehead in annoyance and started chasing after them.

However, in just that short time, when he looked around at the entrance of the alley, he couldn't see anyone at all.

Du Yin slowly widened his eyes, his pupils momentarily losing focus.

Could it be that I've actually encountered a ghost in broad daylight?! Du Yin was completely dazed.

Fortunately, his two friends, Liu Gu and Tian Chengmin, were worried that something might have happened to him, so they came downstairs to follow him out, confirming that the existence of that mathematical genius young master was real. Du Yin breathed a sigh of relief, although he was surprised that the group of people were moving so fast, and wondered if something had happened.

He looked up at the horizon, suppressing the vague worries in his heart, and couldn't help but sigh, "Truly, the new generation surpasses the old, and new people replace the old in this ever-changing world!"

Among this group, Tian Chengmin was the hard-working type. He often lamented that he was not as good as others, especially when facing Tan Lingyue, who was not yet of age but had the most talent. He jokingly said, "Now you know how I feel."

“A young talent, a great blessing for the nation,” Liu Gu said, coughing.

In reality, Xue Jin'an and his companions were not traveling very fast. However, Cui Zui was still concerned about Xue Jin'an's knowledge of these strange routes and begged to try again. Xue Jin'an granted his request, directly locating the North Gate of the capital as their destination. Then, guided by the map, they turned a corner and entered a house.

"What kind of crazy route is this?" Cui Zui complained, but his body was very honest. Without being told, he used his lightness skill to jump over the courtyard wall, opened the small door to let people in, and then closed the door properly.

It was fortunate that the house was abandoned; otherwise, they would have had to pass through someone else's house right under their noses.

Afterwards, they passed through desolate bushes, crossed a graveyard, turned into a cave, walked for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, climbed out from a deserted well, and looked up to see the base of the capital city wall. After walking about ten more steps, they saw the south gate and the huge crowd of people queuing to enter and leave the city.

Cui Zui was greatly shocked. He couldn't help but look back at the road he had come from, and said in bewilderment, "Wait, who would normally walk on this road? This is so strange!"

"He's a beggar, isn't he?" Fu Lu pursed his lips as he said this.

He wasn't just making things up. Although he hadn't encountered anyone along the way, he had seen some traces in the cave. He guessed that a little beggar had stayed there before. But now it was winter, and the ground was cold. Even people wearing thick cotton clothes couldn't stay in there, let alone a little beggar who was barely clothed.

As mentioned before, most of those who became eunuchs in the palace came from poor backgrounds, and Fu Lu was no exception. He had begged in the capital before and knew some of the behaviors and signs of beggars. He was quite lucky; not long after entering the palace, he was assigned to Zhaoyang Palace and became the master's personal eunuch. Even after Consort Zhen's incident, he endured two years of hardship with his master, but he has now made it through.

Fu Lu had nothing to be ashamed of about the past, but he simply felt that describing the beggars' lives too clearly was like reopening old wounds, even if the other party wasn't there and couldn't hear him.

Another point is that beggars also fight over territory. The hole looked quite hidden, and there were some marks left inside, so it seemed to have been claimed as someone's territory. It wouldn't be appropriate to just say it out loud.

Xue Jin'an and Cui Zui weren't particularly interested in these things either, so they just nodded when they heard him say that and didn't ask any further questions.

After experiencing these magical paths firsthand, Cui Zui found them even more interesting and couldn't resist wanting to go again, but unfortunately, Xue Jin'an ruthlessly refused.

He touched his nose somewhat awkwardly.

It was still early, and Xue Jin'an showed no intention of returning to the palace immediately. Cui Zui simply acted as his tour guide, leading him around the capital. Cui Zui didn't have a map and wasn't very familiar with the roads in the capital, but he had traveled and learned about many shops for the sake of Jiu Tian Yi's business, so he knew the places worth visiting in the capital best.

Cui Zui enthusiastically led Xue Jin'an through all the famous shops in the city. Xue Jin'an just looked around and wasn't really interested in many things, but Cui Zui was only interested in spending money on his master and wished he could buy everything that his master's eyes glanced at.