Chapter 62: Equality of All Beings

Zheng Fa had a headache.

He had ample reason to suspect the green-clad girl before him was a calculator reincarnated.

She was simply too good at calculating!

Beyond basic arithmetic, she had mastered Tianyuan Shu—a form of mathematics in this world akin to solving polynomials.

What startled Zheng Fa further was that the girl demonstrated a technique called Zhui Shu, remarkably similar to his understanding of limits.

Any problem requiring calculation within the Gaokao curriculum, no matter how complex, she could solve accurately and swiftly.

Her only weakness was perhaps proof and reasoning.

She couldn't even understand why proof was necessary.

From her, Zheng Fa caught a glimpse of the mathematical culture of the Xuanwei Realm: prioritizing utility over logic.

"Any more?" The girl set down the problem she had just solved, raised her eyes, her face brimming with delight and satisfaction.

Zheng Fa realized: the harder, the more absurd, the more deliberately unsolvable the problem, the more excited this woman became!

"None!"

Zheng Fa firmly denied it, otherwise he feared this insatiable girl would keep playing this twisted game of composing and solving problems for a whole year.

"Not a single one?"

"Not a single one!"

The girl stared at his forehead, her eyes filled with suspicion.

Zheng Fa suspected she might want to pry open his skull to check if there was truly nothing inside.

"Zhang Shijie? How did you get here?"

A woman's voice broke the silence; Zheng Fa turned his head and saw Seventh Young Master standing behind a red-clad girl—the speaker was the red-clad girl.

"Zheng Fa, this is my sister!"

Seventh Young Master introduced her.

"Young Lady!" Zheng Fa rose to his feet and bowed, glancing at the green-clad girl beside him—so her surname was Zhang.

She hadn't even introduced herself upon arrival, nor considered whether she should be allowed into the room.

As if, apart from those problems, nothing else mattered.

"I asked your servants for directions to find you," Zhang Shijie replied after a moment's thought, glancing at Zheng Fa and adding: "Zheng Fa seems quite well-known in your household—I asked one person and found him immediately."

"I'm not asking how you got here—I'm asking why a Jin Dan would personally…"

The Young Lady waved her hand, stepping beside Zhang Shijie, her expression puzzled.

Hearing this, Zheng Fa was also startled—this girl was a Jin Dan?

Though he knew little of the Cultivation World, from the Young Lady's surprise, confusion, and faint respect, he deduced that Jin Dan must be extremely powerful—at least a major figure before the Zhao household.

Hence the Young Lady's shock at seeing Zhang Shijie in his courtyard.

Zhang Shijie seemed to finally understand, nodded, then asked: "If I come personally, will my Jin Dan core shatter?"

"…."

Zheng Fa swore he saw the Young Lady's face freeze in stunned silence.

"I… he's my brother's servant. If you wish to see him, just summon him. You coming like this makes the Zhao household seem disrespectful to you."

Seventh Young Master snorted.

Zheng Fa understood the Young Lady's meaning—the vast gulf between a True Person of Jin Dan and a servant.

One word could make him obediently submit.

He didn't feel offended; this was likely the view of most people in this world.

"Didn't I come to your house too?"

"?"

A flicker of confusion appeared on the Young Lady's face.

"Where I go, whom I wish to meet—it's all a matter of whim. What does this person's status have to do with it?" Zhang Shijie glanced at the three of them: "To me, there's no difference."

"…."

In the small courtyard, three of the four people fell silent simultaneously.

The Young Lady's face flushed crimson.

Seventh Young Master clenched his teeth.

Zheng Fa… held back a laugh.

What is this, equality of all beings!

Earlier, when the Young Lady said Zhang Shijie was a Jin Dan cultivator, Zheng Fa had thought her quite approachable.

Now it seemed…

She might as well have said: in my eyes, the Zhao household, and the Zhao household's servant, are the same.

There was an arrogance here—friendship, to her, never considered who the other person was.

What approachable? No one could be more disdainful of social hierarchy than this woman.

The Young Lady's face paled and flushed in turns, speechless.

"Zhao Shimei," Zhang Shijie suddenly said to her: "As cultivators, we should not cling to useless things. You… hold on to too much."

The Young Lady froze, as Zhang Shijie continued: "With your talent and diligence, you shouldn't have taken ten years just to reach Foundation Establishment. If you still don't awaken, you'll be dragged down."

The Young Lady stared blankly, finally understanding why Zhang Shijie had spoken so bluntly.

A mixture of bitter smile and gratitude appeared on her face: "Zhang Shijie, you are a true cultivator—became Jin Dan in a hundred years. I…"

Zhang Shijie had only spoken to offer this one piece of advice; hearing her response, she merely nodded, said no more, and turned her gaze to Seventh Young Master beside her.

Before the Jin Dan True Person, Seventh Young Master couldn't help but show a hint of tension.

"This is my younger brother, Zhao Jingfan!" the Young Lady hurriedly introduced. "I had originally planned to take him to find Shijie Zhang later to thank her for traveling all the way to Jingzhou to teach us."

Having finished speaking, she patted the Seventh Young Master's back and said, "Why don't you thank Shijie Zhang? She is willing to guide you in talisman arts; it is a blessing from three lifetimes!"

So this Shijie Zhang had come to teach the Seventh Young Master talisman arts?

"No need, I don't like these things," Shijie Zhang said, pointing at Zheng Fa's head. "And if you must offer thanks, seeing him is already a gift that satisfies me."

Zheng Fa touched the back of his own head, feeling that Shijie Zhang was pointing at the problem inside his brain.

If he thought even more terrifyingly, she was pointing at his brain itself.

Could this be the retribution for my love of collecting brains?

The Young Lady and the Seventh Young Master stared blankly at Zheng Fa, the emotions in their eyes making Zheng Fa feel a sense of familiarity:

That same look Wang Chen had given when he and Tang Lingwu went downstairs together—

Why him?

"If you want me to teach you the Dao of Talismans, I must first see your current level." Although she told the Seventh Young Master not to thank her, Shijie Zhang did not refuse to teach him.

On the contrary, she seemed to be a decisive person who acted immediately; she began teaching the Seventh Young Master right there in Zheng Fa's courtyard, even testing him directly.

Zheng Fa was quite interested as well; he did not mind the Young Lady hiring another teacher, because he was not certain that everything written in Old Bai's notebook was correct.

The role of modern mathematics, or rather topology, in the Dao of Talismans had always been his speculation.

But he also knew clearly that mathematics could rely purely on theoretical deduction, whereas talisman arts in this world were real and existing; without having undergone practice, Zheng Fa could hardly say that what he taught the Seventh Young Master would definitely be useful.

He also had many ununderstood confusions regarding the Dao of Talismans in this world.

Just like science, solving problems still requires connection to reality.

Whether Old Bai's methods were correct, and the many confusions regarding talisman diagrams, all required witnessing true talisman arts.

Hearing that Shijie Zhang was going to test him, the Seventh Young Master's face inevitably became a bit nervous.

At this moment, the Young Lady on the side spoke up: "This younger brother of mine used to be fond of playing and learned nothing; if his level in the Dao of Talismans is not up to your standards, Shijie Zhang, please do not disdain him."

Zheng Fa sighed inwardly; he believed the Young Lady's advance belittling was well-intentioned, even to protect the Seventh Young Master.

But...

Zheng Fa looked at the Seventh Young Master; sure enough, a few shades of dimness flashed across his face, he bit his lower lip lightly, and the whole person looked even more tense.

Shijie Zhang nodded lightly.

"To understand the Dao of Talismans, one must understand the Yang Yuanfu; the first question is, what exactly is a Yang Yuanfu? Do you know?" she asked the Seventh Young Master.

The Seventh Young Master shook his head blankly, his face showing obvious shame.

Shijie Zhang's face showed neither joy nor sorrow; she did not seem disappointed.

She extended her right index finger and gently traced in the empty air.

A golden talisman script appeared out of nowhere, then suddenly scattered into three streams of light, drilling into the foreheads of the other three people.

"The Yang Yuanfu is simply a type of talisman diagram," Shijie Zhang's clear, cold voice came: "And in my eyes, talisman diagrams are this heaven and earth!"

The golden light transformed from the talisman script was somewhat dazzling; when it approached Zheng Fa's forehead, it made him involuntarily close his eyes.

By the time he opened his eyes again.

The world before his eyes... shattered.