Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The last time Li Nianfan came by, he did not take his time to properly stroll around. He could do it much more leisurely now.
Moreover, the Xia Kingdom Palace had obviously been renovated. It was much more luxurious.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Then, he saw Zhou Yunwu rushing over. He instantly smiled when he saw Li Nianfan. He saluted and said, “Greetings from Yunwu to Mr. Li.”
Li Nianfan also saluted, “King Zhou.”
Zhou Yunwu genuinely said, “Previously, the Xia Kingdom was a disaster and I couldn’t properly show you around, Mr. Li. I always felt guilty about that. Now that you’re here, I have to show you proper hospitality.”
Then, Zhou Yunwu showed Li Nianfan around the palace. He had a friendly attitude. The workers and maids of the palace all glanced at them weirdly. They wondered who they were.
They knew that King Zhou would never bow down to anyone. He had the aura of a king. He came up with the theory of being an elite even as an ordinary person. He had never acted like that before.
Humble. That was the word. He had never acted humble before!
They went to the back of the palace, then went for a stroll around the jail to gain knowledge. Then, they went to the back garden. They leisurely strolled around the entire Xia Kingdom Palace.
Zhou Yunwu introduced various things as they walked while he explained all the happenings of the Xia Kingdom. He mainly talked about the happy citizens and the positive state of the country.
He was a king but he felt as if he was a reporter. Li Nianfan said, “Nice job.” Zhou Yunwu was instantly overjoyed by that.
Everyone went to the back garden. The garden was filled with flowers. There were pavilions and terraces there. There was also a small bridge with a flowy river underneath. A few huge Koi fishes leaped and swam around.
Li Nianfan was enjoying the view. He smiled at Dragin and said, “Dragin, look. It’s your kind.”
Dragin rolled her eyes in response. Nanan was chuckling at the side.
Meng Junliang looked at Zhou Yunwu behind him. He had to step forward and ask quietly, “King, aren’t you facing a lot of issues recently? Why are you only reporting the positive things but not the worries?”
“Mr. Li has already helped us enough. How can I ask him to help us with everything?” Zhou Yunwu shook his head and continued. “Since the expert gave me the important task, I have to be responsible for it! I have to do as the expert wishes. I can’t talk about issues every time I speak.”
Meng Junliang went silent.
He understood what he meant.
Zhou Yunwu said, “Mr. Li, we’ve been walking a lot. Let’s sit down and rest. I’ll have someone make some tea.”
“Alright,” nodded Li Nianfan.
Nanan was impatient at the side. She said, “Brother Nianfan, I want to go out and look around.”
Nanan and Dragin were not a tad bit interested in what Zhou Yunwu and Li Nianfan were talking about. They were already bored.
Li Nianfan could tell. He smiled and said, “Go. Stay out of trouble.”
Zhou Yunwu hurriedly called for a maid. He said with seriousness, “Take the two ladies out for a good spin. Remember, don’t mistreat them in any way!”
Everyone sat down. Zhou Yunwu gulped. He asked excitedly, “Sir, what do you think of the Xia Kingdom now?”
“The citizens are peaceful and happy. The country’s successful and bustling. It’s very good.”
Li Nianfan smiled but he paused to say, “However…something’s lacking.”
Zhou Yunwu and Meng Junliang were both dumbfounded. They looked confused.
The Xia Kingdom was indeed facing an issue, but they were still considered the best city in the Immortal Realm. How could something be lacking?
Zhou Yunwu said with a serious face, “Please, teach me, Mr. Li.”
“Ha, it’s not something serious. It’s just that it lacks entertainment.” Li Nianfan smiled. “When superficial things have been perfected in life, only entertainment could make it a more satisfying life.”
He was half-joking but it was also a fact.
Entertainment could rule the world sometimes.
“Entertainment?” Meng Junliang and Zhou Yunwu fell into deep thought. They were both smart, so they noticed the meaning behind his statement.
Meng Junliang had to ask, “But…how should we improve on entertainment?”
“With this, poker cards!” Li Nianfan once again took out the poker cards.
The cards were freshly made so Li Nianfan loved taking them out. It was one of his rare entertainment projects.
Li Nianfan smirked harder when he saw how confused Zhou Yunwu and Meng Junliang looked. “Say less. Let me teach you both how to play. Fancy a round?”
“I dare not request it but it hast at each moment been mine own wish.”
Instantly, a Human Sovereign, an army advisor, and a Deluxe Merit Saint gathered around to play poker…
Outside of the back garden.
A bunch of chancellors waited there. They were mostly old men. They looked inside bafflingly.
Suddenly, a palace maid walked out from the back garden.
They immediately surrounded her. They were anxious from curiosity.
“How is it? What’s the king doing in there with the army advisor?”
That palace maid flinched. She said in a trembling voice, “They are…killing it at poker in there.”
“Killing poker?” Everyone was stunned. They looked at each other with confusion and shock.
“Who’s Poker? I want to kill him too just by hearing his name.”
“How can the king do such a tedious task himself? Who’s this Poker? We should be the ones to kill him.”
“I know!” An old chancellor suddenly looked like he realized something. He started to deduce, “Wasn’t the king going to greet an important guest? That’s most probably it. Poker must be the name of that important guest!”
“That makes a lot of sense now.”
“Makes sense, most probably the case.”
“Good job, kill that disturber!”
The chancellors brushed their beards and smiled proudly. The king had gone off the bootlicker route. That was worth celebrating.
“You’re all mistaken.” That palace maid shivered at the side. She almost teared up. She said meekly, “Poker’s a type of game. The king and the guest are ‘killing it’ at the game.”
“Game? They’re playing a game?”
“What a lousy choice! The Xia Kingdom’s going through such a crucial time that will affect the future of our country, and he chooses to play poker?”
“He lost his mind to games!”
The chancellors looked miserable. They were in pain and they wanted to risk their lives by going in to stop the king.
“Sigh, the king’s important guest is truly…going to affect the future of the Xia Kingdom!”
An old chancellor suddenly sighed. He could not stop shaking his head. He sighed and said, “I did some questioning on the way. Do you guys know that the king wasn’t acting like a king at all? He was mindful of whatever that important guest had to say, and was extremely humble. Most workers even thought he was the fake king, an imposter!”
“Really? He must be cursed or under a spell! The king isn’t behaving like a king. That would be the doom of the Xia Kingdom!”
“What about the army advisor? What’s the army advisor doing? Is he under a spell, too?”
“The army advisor? Don’t even mention him!”
A general walked over with grief on his face. He said with a teary face, “Not long ago, the army advisor brought that important guest to the General Training Class. They…they…boohoo…”
Everyone was out of it. “They what? Spit it out!”
“They mocked the training of our General Training Class. General Lin spoke out of defense. Guess what? The army advisor ordered him to apologize!”
“What? Really?!”
“Mistake. That’s a mistake!”
“That person will be the downfall of our Xia Kingdom!”
The chancellors teared up. Some of them were weeping from being emotional, they felt miserable.
“This can’t go on any longer. Everyone, please, follow me to talk some sense into them!”
“That’s right. This can’t go on. Let’s go together. So what if we die?!”
Everyone agreed and walked towards the back garden.
Clang!
A row of soldiers pulled out their swords at the same time. Their swords were shiny and sharp.
“The king’s greeting a guest. Trespassers will be killed!”
‘This…’
“Well, we can wait. It appears that this can go on, we don’t have to rush.”
“True, so true!”
…
“Pair of threes.”
“Nope.”
“Pass.”
Li Nianfan placed his final card. “A four. Sorry, I win again.”
“Again, again!” Zhou Yunwu felt extremely aggrieved. He could not accept that he always lost in such a lousy way.
He had to look at Meng Junliang. “Army advisor, why do I feel like your mind’s somewhere else?”
“Oh, sorry. I’m thinking of something. I’ve lost focus.” Meng Junliang had a frown the whole time he was staring at the cards. He felt like he missed out on an important factor but he did not know what it was.
‘What is it exactly?’
He was dumbfounded. He watched Li Nianfan shuffle the cards and distribute them. Then, he picked up the cards and stared at the numbers on the cards in a daze.
Zhou Yunwu teased, “Army advisor, you’re the starter of this round. What are you going blank for? Don’t tell me you haven’t memorized all the numbers on the cards?”
‘Numbers?
‘Oh yeah, numbers!’
Meng Junliang jolted as if he was woken up from a dream. He stared at the numbers on the poker cards with wide eyes.
He recalled Li Nianfan’s teaching of the tutorial of the game.
‘This is one, this is two, this is three…’
“This—this is…”
He started to tremble to his core. He had goosebumps all over. He almost scratched his scalp off.
Bam!
He stood up all of a sudden. The chair that he sat on flew away and fell over.
“Simplified numbers! Of course, to calculate our population, food, and everything else. Why don’t we calculate them with simplified numbers? It’s clear and easy to understand. Even elders and children can easily identify them!”
It was as if he was introduced to a whole new world. His lips were trembling and he was flushed. He said in a trembling voice, “Why didn’t I think of it? Why didn’t I think of that before?! A legendary idea, this is a legendary touch!”
His voice was hoarse and high-pitched. Zhou Yunwu was also astounded at that idea. He felt his heart thump.
Bam!
The chair that Zhou Yunwu sat on also flew away. He stuttered, “Army…Army advisor, you… What did you say? Come again?”
Meng Junliang said in an excited tone, “King, these are simplified numbers. If we apply this method to our calculations, it’ll be much more simple and easier!”
“Yeah, simplified numbers. This is a blessing for the Xia Kingdom!” Zhou Yunwu could not help being emotional. He felt as if a huge opportunity was waving at him. He hurriedly took a deep breath and faced Li Nianfan. He bowed with the utmost respect, he was extremely devoted and genuine. He thanked him, “Thank you so much, Mr. Li. You have blessed the people again!”
Meng Junliang also placed his hand on his waist and bowed deeply. “Sir, I see that we aren’t just playing games. You’re clearly trying to give us advice! Pardon me for being slow-minded. I just realized it now. I truly am embarrassed about that! Thanks for everything you’ve taught me, Mr. Li!”
‘What are you embarrassed about? I’m the one that’s embarrassed!
‘I just wanted to play poker in peace.’
Li Nianfan bafflingly looked at the two trouble-minded humans. He moved his lips but no words came out. In the end, he could only say, “Nicely done, my beloved students! As long as you get it!”
‘Fine. Since he already bowed and thanked me, I can only pretend to be cool in this awkward situation.’
Zhou Yunwu said with respect, “Mr. Li, you’re truly talented. You can think of such an idea. You invented a new numbering system. We have to pass it on for generations.”
Meng Junliang also suggested, “Mr. Li, the numbers should have a name. Why don’t we name it after you?”
“No!” Li Nianfan immediately raised his hand to stop him. “Call it Arabian numbers. It’s nice and catchy.”
“Arabian…numbers?”
Meng Junliang and Zhou Yunwu were stunned. Then, they nodded at the same time. “Good name. It sounds deep and mysterious but also catchy. So good, Mr. Li! Even the names you come up with are unique.”
“Alright, settle down.” Li Nianfan waved it off. He felt like the two humans were jokers. He had to laugh, “You think that’s all for Arabian numbers?”
“There’s more?” Zhou Yunwu was intrigued. He said with respect, “Please, teach me, Mr. Li.”
“Sit. Sit down, let’s learn it slowly.”
Li Nianfan gestured for them to sit. Then, he said, “Daji, take out our pen and paper.”
He started writing.
“Let me teach you basic addition and subtraction. Look carefully at this. One plus one equals two.”
“One plus one equals two?” Meng Junliang frowned and fell deep into thought. He was confused. “Why so? I don’t get it.”
“This is a symbol, it’s for calculation conveniences…”
“I see. One plus one equals two. I finally learned it.”
…
“Next, let me teach you the Nine-Nine Multiplication Table. Memorize it with me.”
…
After an hour, the cheeks of Meng Junliang and Zhou Yunwu were numb because their jaws were on the floor for the entire hour.
As Li Nianfan ended his lecture, their minds were blown. They felt as if a magical door opened for them.
“Eureka, revelation! Mr. Li, your explanations are the words of a Saint!”
Zhou Yunwu was extremely emotional. His entire body was shivering. The method taught by Li Nianfan was enough to change the Xia Kingdom entirely. It was a blessing for the people!
“Indescribable. That’s indescribable!” Meng Junliang did not know what to do. In the end, his legs gave in. He knelt to the ground and said, “Only being on all fours can express my admiration towards you, Mr. Li!”
‘He can’t be blamed for acting like that.
‘As the saying goes, ‘having heard the way in the morning, one may die content in the evening’.’
Meng Junliang was an educated man. He always looked for knowledge. Li Nianfan showed him a whole new field of knowledge. If it was not for Li Nianfan, he would have never heard of such a thing. He owed Li Nianfan for the blessing!
He was behaving like that because he got too emotional. He was worshipping the knowledge that Li Nianfan showed him.
Li Nianfan helped Meng Junliang up. He smiled and said, “Alright, settle down. This is just a new field of study. Call it Mathematics from now on. It’s important. Let the kids learn it. Focus on practicing!”
Meng Junliang and Zhou Yunwu nodded with seriousness at the same time. “For sure. For sure!”
