I See You Are Gifted

Xu Lu stared at Fu Yuanhe, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

Should he strike first, kill Fu Yuanhe, flee Jiangdu City, survive the Heavenly Palace's pursuit, and then bury himself in Secret Art cultivation until he reached mastery to return for revenge...

Fu Yuanhe's expression was calm, as if he had asked a perfectly ordinary question.

Xu Lu tried to keep himself calm; Fu Yuanhe didn't seem to be testing him.

Even the Great Heavenly Official of the Jiangdu Heavenly Palace couldn't detect his identity as a Secret Cultivator. Surely Fu Yuanhe's strength was still inferior to that Great Heavenly Official?

"Why do you ask?"

Xu Lu pondered for a moment, answering with a question.

Fu Yuanhe appeared simple most of the time, looking like a man obsessed with technology.

"There is a Degyue Establishment in Anren Ward. I heard someone say that Bai Zhantang once performed 'Qiang Jin Jiu' there."

Fu Yuanhe said with a serious face, "I thought, since he appeared in Anren Ward, he might come back. So, I bought a place in Anren Ward. I figured, if he went to Degyue Establishment, he might have come to your Bao'an Hall as well."

Fu Yuanhe's explanation was thorough and sounded reasonable...

"Sorry, I know of Degyue Establishment," Xu Lu spoke, adding in his mind: *I'm even the owner of Degyue Establishment.*

"But my Bao'an Hall only opened today, and I haven't hosted any guest named Bai Zhantang."

"Oh."

Fu Yuanhe gave a calm response, his emotions unreadable.

Afterward, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Of course, the awkwardness was only felt by Xu Lu; Fu Yuanhe didn't seem to notice it at all.

He sat down next to the injured person, not caring about the dirt on the ground, pulled out a book from his robe, and began reading intently.

When he reached an interesting part, he pulled out paper and a pen, lying on the ground to perform calculations.

Xu Lu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

In this situation, he couldn't kick them out, but he couldn't let them stay either.

Fortunately, dawn was approaching. Once it was light, the resident physician would arrive. At that time, after the injured person was treated, he could send them away.

Thinking this, Xu Lu couldn't help his curiosity. He craned his neck, peeking at Fu Yuanhe's pen.

Just one look, just one look.

Fu Yuanhe didn't even look up, his pen never stopping.

"You won't understand it," Fu Yuanhe suddenly spoke. "This is a very profound theory. I learned it not long ago from someone who supposedly learned it from Bai Zhantang."

Whether intentional or not, this was the second time he had mentioned Bai Zhantang's name.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to peek..." Xu Lu said with some embarrassment.

"It's fine if you want to look, but you don't have a foundation in Secret Studies. You won't understand it even if you look." Fu Yuanhe said indifferently.

Xu Lu's heart was in his throat. Talking to Fu Yuanhe was truly nerve-wracking.

Could Secret Studies be discussed so casually?

You might not be afraid of death, but I am.

"I'm telling you, this Bai Zhantang is truly extraordinary," Fu Yuanhe said with some excitement.

Xu Lu's face darkened. *I don't want to hear it...*

"He proposed this cycloid curve. I have carefully calculated it, and it indeed coincides with the Heavenly Mechanism." Fu Yuanhe continued, regardless of whether Xu Lu wanted to listen. "I discovered that many curves fit the logic of this cycloid. Look at our roof; from the side, it's a triangle, right?"

Xu Lu nodded. This world did indeed have the concept of a triangle.

"Actually, it's not. The side edges are not straight lines." Fu Yuanhe said excitedly. "Those two lines are actually two cycloid curves. Why design it that way? Because the cycloid has a characteristic; I call it the curve of fastest descent. Suppose there are two points, one above and one below. If an object falls from the top point to the bottom point with the same force, which path is the fastest?"

"The cycloid?" Xu Lu felt like a supporting character.

"Smart!" Fu Yuanhe said.

Xu Lu's face went black. Not only did he already know the answer, but even if he didn't, you've explained it so clearly—how could I not guess it?

"The cycloid is the curve that uses the shortest time. The logic behind it is very complex, so I won't say more. But knowing this conclusion, you can understand why our roofs are designed this way. With this kind of roof, during heavy rain, the rainwater can move from the top to the bottom at the fastest speed." Fu Yuanhe explained excitedly.

"So—why are you telling me this?" Xu Lu asked warily.

Secret Studies were called "Secret" for a reason; they were secret doctrines not allowed to be publicly spread.

"Sorry, sorry." Fu Yuanhe looked up, sounding a bit apologetic. "I have this bad habit. Every time I discover something new, I like to tell others."

*With a habit like that, how has the Heavenly Palace not beaten you to death yet?* Xu Lu grumbled internally.

"It's fine. Just treat it as if I'm talking nonsense. You wouldn't understand it anyway." Fu Yuanhe continued.

Xu Lu: "..."

"I'm telling you, the application of this cycloid is truly vast." Fu Yuanhe continued, completely ignoring whether Xu Lu wanted to hear or could understand. "Think about it. If you want to strike something, based on experience, you know the direct distance between two points is the shortest. But punching like that, while the distance is shortest, the time used might not be the shortest. If we follow the trajectory of the fastest descent to punch, could we shorten the time of the strike?"

Fu Yuanhe talked on and on.

Xu Lu was slightly stunned.

He had indeed never considered this problem. Could the theory of the cycloid be used in Secret Arts?

Consuming the same force to go from one point to another, the trajectory that uses the shortest time...

In an instant, Xu Lu also fell into thought.

He wasn't considering hitting people, but running away.

To simplify the problem: if a person's strength is fixed, then when fleeing from one location to another, what movement trajectory would use the shortest time?

Could this be transformed into a movement art for escaping?

My name is Xu Lu; how could I not be skilled at running?

Xu Lu thought continuously.

"Little brother, I see you are gifted. Are you interested in becoming my apprentice?"

As Xu Lu was thinking, he suddenly felt someone nudging him.

Looking closely, he saw Fu Yuanhe staring at him with bright eyes, his face full of expectation.

"Become your apprentice?"

Xu Lu subconsciously glanced at the apprentice Xiao Nian, who was still lying there.

Are you kidding me?

Becoming your apprentice—do I have a death wish?

"Uh, I don't think I even know what you do." Xu Lu asked after some thought. He really wanted to ask Fu Yuanhe: *Which eye of yours saw that I was gifted?*

*Have you changed professions to become a con artist?*

"Ah, I almost forgot. I haven't introduced myself." Fu Yuanhe slapped his forehead and said, "First, let me introduce myself. My name is Fu Yuanhe. I was originally part of Factory No. 37 of the Heavenly Palace's Secret Treasure Department. I've been fired now and am doing some independent research. If you become my apprentice, I can teach you Secret Studies knowledge. Then, perhaps you'll have a chance to pass the assessment of the Secret Treasure Department and join the factory..."