At the end of a run-down alley, in an old restaurant, there is a corner of the hall with dim orange light.

The dinner at the table was coming to an end, but no one had any intention of leaving immediately. Instead, all their eyes were on Zhao Rong's face.

Quietly waiting for the answer to this fun and profound strange paradox.

Zhao Rong faced the expectant or solemn gazes of Zhao Xifu, Zhu Yourong, Yu Huaijin, etc., and thought for a moment, "Is my answer really that important?"

He was saying his answers, not theirs.

Zhu Yourong and Yu Huaijin understood what he meant and looked at each other.

Zhao Rong, who was sitting in a slightly relaxed posture, suddenly straightened his back.

He supported his thighs with both hands, shrugged his shoulders, stared at the empty wine jug on the table, and said in a serious tone:

"It's just... you know that feeling. Sometimes when you encounter a difficult problem, you think and think, this is not right, that is not right, but you just keep going. In the process, you will always have a flash of inspiration from time to time, and a solution that makes you excited and happy will pop up in your mind."

After a pause, he said, "Although most of these sudden inspirations are not the real answers, the real answer is that you have been searching for her among the crowd for thousands of times. When you look back at the dimming lights, all your thoughts will come to you naturally. The answer will appear calmly in your mind, and you will also think calmly..."

"Oh, that's it." Zhao Rong looked at the empty wine jug, nodded, and imitated a certain indifferent tone.

Then, he looked up at the crowd with a smile, "At this point, the real answer is no longer important. I think the most joyful and precious things are the interesting methods that suddenly appear in the process. Even if they do not solve the problem after trying, they are interesting but useless. But who can say that they will not shine in some difficult problem in the future?"

Zhao Rong recalled the second debate between Confucianism and Taoism in Zhongnan Kingdom, the "debate on existence and non-existence" that caused Wen Ruo to lose. He remembered that the crude theory of "non-existence as the basis" proposed by Yuan Zi of Qing Dynasty inspired Zhao Rong's "theory of the unity of body and function" to defeat Tao Yuanran. Although this example may not be very appropriate...

At this time, the only people on the field who could follow Zhao Rong's train of thought and understand what he meant were Zhu Yourong, Huai Jin and a few others.

The master and his two daughters fell into deep thought.

Zhao Xifu waved his hand and said, "Don't talk nonsense, you scholars. I don't have any nonsense. I'll give you a saying: If you hear the truth in the morning, you can die in the evening. What I mean is, stop talking nonsense and hurry up. I'm in a hurry to die, and I need to understand some things before I die."

Zhao Rong couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth... I've heard that it's okay to die in the evening, but how can this be used?

But before he could complain, the shopkeeper suddenly turned around, looked at the back of the green-robed old servant sitting at the door and the dark alley, and said arrogantly:

"After dealing with it for so many years, I want to find out what it is like."

His words were incoherent and the people around him were confused for a moment.

Zhao Xifu turned around, facing Zhao Rong, and said seriously for the third time tonight: "Brat, let me ask you one last time, why...?"

Zhao Rong was a little curious: "Well, let's not talk about whether I know it or not. If I tell you, will you believe it? How do you know that I am definitely right?"

Zhao Xifu hummed and did not answer, just looked at the young scholar.

Zhao Rong looked at Zhu Yourong and Yu Huaijin who were silent. They looked hesitant and wanted to ask the same question, but were hesitant about what he had just said and wanted to think independently.

Zhao Rong nodded slightly, wanting to reject Zhao Xifu's request.

If Zhu Yourong and the other girl insisted on asking, he would most likely tell them the answer, but he had just met this shopkeeper surnamed Zhao tonight and was not familiar with him. Moreover, he had just been troubled by Zhao Xifu, who kept calling him a bad boy.

Zhao Rong felt that there was no point in wasting his breath on him, unless that nice girl, Sister Xia, spoke up.

At this time, Gui Hu said: Tell him everything you know. "

Zhao Rong frowned and asked quickly in his heart: "Why?"

“…”

The heart lake was extremely quiet and the sword spirit no longer spoke.

Zhao Rong was puzzled. He looked at Zhao Xifu, who was looking at him calmly. Gui Jinye had been silent all this time, but now he suddenly said something out of the blue...

However, Zhao Rong felt that the sword spirit, who was bound to him and shared weal and woe with him, would not harm him.

The next second, the young scholar nodded and spoke directly:

"Well, there are indeed some answers written in that miscellaneous book you asked me about, which I don't remember. I'll just tell you and you can just listen to it, but I can't guarantee that it's correct."

His tone was serious, leaving some room for maneuver.

Zhao Xifu suddenly stood up, picked up the empty wine jug, and walked towards the door.

When he arrived at the door, he looked at the night outside and closed the wooden door.

The shopkeeper stood under the bronze bell, his left back against the wooden door, one hand hanging down holding a crooked empty wine jug. He crossed his arms over his chest, looked at Zhao Rong and others, and nodded.

Indicate to continue.

Zhao Rong looked at the strange Zhao Xifu and the wine pot in his hand. As if he had thought of a possibility, he coughed lightly and said jokingly:

"I have the avenue, do you have wine?"

Zhao Xifu glanced at him and said nothing.

Zhao Rong blinked and said nothing.

The two looked at each other.

Zhao Rong was afraid that he would be considered a jerk for not taking advantage of an opportunity, but he was going to ask for it anyway, so he might as well try to ask for some wine. Maybe this was the reason that prompted him to ask...

It is said that in Xia Chong Zhai, apart from Bing Niang wine, the legendary three cups of wine, according to Fan Yushu, are what countless visitors dream of, but it seems that no one has ever gotten them.

Zhao Xifu glanced at him, as if he understood what the wine Zhao Rong was talking about.

"No." He said expressionlessly.

Zhao Rong: "Why?"

He paused again, "I know some of the rules of Xia Chong Zhai... Isn't the answer to this question interesting enough?"

“The rules have changed.”

Zhao Rong frowned slightly, "When did it happen?"

"just."

Zhao Rong: “…”

After a moment of silence, the young scholar said sincerely:

"Those three glasses of wine are fake, so what? It's really boring to say that there are no rules. But it's a business, and there's nothing wrong with creating a gimmick to increase popularity and attract people. It's not shameful to make money."

Zhao Xifu changed to a comfortable position with his back against the door. He remained expressionless in response to the provocation of the brat in front of him. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, "No."

Seeing that he was not fooled, Zhao Rong blinked and said softly: "It is said that a summer insect can talk about ice after drinking a cup; a well frog can talk about the sea after drinking a cup; a scholar can understand the truth after drinking a cup." He asked curiously: "Has anyone ever drunk three cups of wine?"

Zhao Xifu was silent for a moment, nodded and shook his head.

Without waiting for Zhao Rong to ask, he said calmly:

"An interesting guy came before and I poured him a glass of Well Frog Wine. As for Summer Insect Wine and Qushi Wine, so far, no one has been willing to let me pour them for him."

"Ahem, uncle..." Zhao Rong looked expectant.

The shopkeeper paused, glanced at the boy who suddenly spoke in a friendly tone, and grinned:

"no."

Damn, so ruthless. Zhao Rong sighed.

Zhao Xifu suddenly said: "But."

"But what?"

"Besides Xia Chong Jing Wa Qu Shi, I can give you other wine to drink."

Zhao Rong suddenly lost interest. Other wines? Then the only thing left is Bingniang wine?

At this time, Zhao Xifu said again:

"But whether you can drink it or not is not up to me."

He suddenly said something strange.

Zhao Rong's mouth twitched... Well, I understand. Whether you can drink it or not is not up to you, but depends on me, right? So the answer to this paradox must satisfy you, the shopkeeper, before you can drink it...

But as for this Bingniang wine, everyone has already drunk a glass. If you continue to give it to them and are unwilling to change for something else, it would be a bit stingy.

Thinking so, Zhao Rong didn't care.

Then, he looked around the field and said directly:

"If you cut off half of a one-foot-long stick every day, it will never run out. Do you think this is right or wrong?"

The meaning of this sentence is obvious. If you take half of a one-foot-short piece of wood today, half of the half tomorrow, and half of the half of the half the day after tomorrow, there will always be half left, so you will never be able to take enough.

Zhao Xifu and everyone else thought about it and nodded.

Zhao Rong did not comment, and then asked: "People in the mountains say that time is like flowing water, time is like a long river that keeps changing, and every moment is fleeting... Then what about the water in this long river of time? Can it also be divided infinitely?"

Zhu Yourong pinched the sleeves under her palms and looked at Zhao Rong without blinking. At this time, she whispered in approval:

"Of course, as long as you divide it carefully, you can keep dividing it. However, throughout the ages, no great cultivator has been able to possess such great magical powers, to be able to keep pace with the laws of heaven and earth, to manipulate yin and yang, and to keep dividing things. Even a speck of dust can do this, let alone dividing space and the mysterious water of time and yin and yang."

Zhao Xifu and others also nodded in succession, agreeing with her words.

The shopkeeper frowned and said, "What on earth do you want to say, little brat? You're beating around the bush."

Zhao Rong ignored him, smiled at Zhu Yourong, and continued: "Yes, but if that is true... then it is impossible for anything in this world to move. Even a powerful being who holds the sun, moon, and stars in his hands cannot move at all."

Everyone on the field frowned in confusion.

"Zi Yu, what you said..." Zhu Yourong couldn't help but speak out, but stopped talking.

Zhao Xifu crossed his arms and snorted coldly, adding, "It's ridiculous."

However, Zhao Rong turned a deaf ear to it and continued to talk to himself:

"Let's still use Yili as an example and invite it to come on stage. This time, we won't let it chase its childhood sweetheart, because it can't catch up anyway, haha.

“Imagine that if a chestnut wants to fly a certain distance, it must first fly half of that distance. And in order to fly half of that distance, it must first fly half of that distance. And in order to fly half of that distance, it must first fly half of that half of that distance…

"That is to say, if a kuri wants to fly a certain distance, it must first fly an infinite number of distances that are created by dividing that distance in half.

"No matter how short the distance is, as long as it needs to fly a certain distance, it will take a certain amount of time. These countless times add up... This means it will take an infinite number of years to cross any distance."

He smiled, "According to what you just nodded in agreement, it takes a long time for a kuri to cross even the shortest distance, so it can never move. Not only it, but you, me, and everyone else can never move."

“…”

“…”

Everyone on the field was shocked.

"This... is impossible..." Fan Yushu, who understood something, showed an expression of disbelief on his face.

Zhu Yourong opened her mouth slightly, and it was rare for her, who was always dignified and elegant, to show such a surprised and dazed look.

A certain shopkeeper's brows suddenly furrowed.

Zhao Rong's smile gradually faded.

He looked around, his face very serious:

"So all your previous responses were wrong. The real answer... is actually very simple."

He narrowed his eyes and said:

“First, the sum of ‘infinites’ does not necessarily equal infinity.

"Secondly, the water in the long river of time... that is, time, can only be divided into sufficiently small pieces, not infinitely small... and it is not absolutely continuous... so it cannot be divided infinitely. The same is true for space... Even the most powerful masters cannot do this."

Zhao Rong paused, "And the second point... is what this paradox really wants to reveal."

As soon as these words were spoken, the air in the field fell into deathly silence.

Zhu Yourong, Yu Huaijin and the others couldn't help but open their beautiful eyes wide.

Many people in the hall slowly shook their heads, either not understanding, or... not being able to believe it!

Zhao Rong said nothing more.

He was only responsible for giving 'his answer'. Whether Zhao Xifu and the others understood it at the moment, or how they understood it, had nothing to do with him.

Zhao Rong did not force it.

At this time, he was ready to stand up and say a few words, then leave with everyone with different expressions... If Zhu Yourong and Senior Yu had anything else they wanted to ask, they could wait until they left Xia Chong Zhai.

However, at this moment.

"you are right."

Zhao Xifu suddenly spoke.

Everyone turned to look, and saw that the unshaven bearded shopkeeper had closed his eyes and frowned slightly.

He leaned against the wooden door with his arms folded, the wine jug in his hand swaying back and forth, as if he couldn't hold it firmly and might drop it at any time.

Zhu Yourong, Yu Huaijin and others did not pay attention to the behavior of this strange man, but frowned, puzzled by his words and attitude at this time.

They didn't know why the shopkeeper, who had been so impatient and disbelieving before, changed his tone in just a few breaths.

Zhao Xifu, who had his arms crossed and his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes, walked in front of Zhao Rong, and without explaining anything, made a strange gesture.

He raised the black wine jug in his right hand.

Hanging on the empty wine glass in front of Zhao Rong.

The next second, the wrist twisted.

The wine jug is tilted.

In an instant, a stream of clear, crystal clear water flowed down from the wine jug that should have been empty.

Soon, under the gazes of everyone present, a glass of crystal clear wine was quietly placed in front of Zhao Rong...