A Taste of Autumn

It was already deep autumn.

The weather was turning cool, and the fox fur on Tushan Youyou was becoming lush. When she took on a human form, the clothes she wore were also gradually becoming thicker.

The old spirit tree had lived for so many years, but still followed the cycle of the four seasons and the natural order of things. The autumn wind blew, and its leaves rustled as they fell.

A withered yellow spirit tree leaf spun in the wind and landed on the swing under the tree. The swing swayed slightly in the autumn breeze, and the leaf was quickly flung off. It rose again with the gentle wind, rising and falling until it landed on the round table under the tree.

A snow-white beauty with peerless looks sat at the table, with many books stacked on it. Her book, as white as the moon, was covered in dense numbers, letters, and equations. Her slender, beautiful right hand rested on the book, her long fingers turning a pen. Her left hand propped up her chin, placed on the table. She frowned, unable to solve the equation in the book.

The leaf landed on the table, disturbing her thoughts. Annoyed, she picked up the leaf and angrily threw it away.

The leaf flew up again and landed on the increasingly barren grassland, tumbling over the yellowing grass.

Rolling forward, it was suddenly trampled into the grass by a large foot.

The owner of the big foot walked towards the white-clad beauty holding several books. He smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Can't solve it again?"

The sight of a peerless fox demon sitting there seriously solving problems was just like a beautiful senior student diligently studying while sitting on the campus lawn.

Qin Ran had an extremely strong sense of déjà vu.

"How does your brain work? How can you come up with these things? Calculus, integrals, how can humans think of these?" Tushan Youyou frowned and questioned whether Qin Ran was even human.

Qin Ran sat down opposite her and put the books in his hand on the table. He smiled and replied, "I didn't think these things up either. I'm also a learner; I'm just teaching you what I've learned.

"But these things are difficult, yet very useful, aren't they?"

"Eh!" Tushan Youyou had to admit that in the field of formations, mathematics was indeed useful. She exclaimed, "Formations used to be ethereal, uncertain, and could only be comprehended through some abstruse words relying on talent. But your advanced math and probability theory have materialized formations, made them tangible..."

"No wonder you could attain such high attainments in formations at such a young age."

"That's the charm of math!" Qin Ran said feelingly.

Nothing could be more reliable than math...even in the cultivation world.

After sighing feelingly, Tushan Youyou glanced at the books Qin Ran had placed on the table. Realizing something, her beautiful eyebrows furrowed again, her face full of disgust. "What's this?"

"The homework I assigned to those menial disciples yesterday. I just collected them," Qin Ran separated four books and slid them towards Tushan Youyou. "Hurry up and mark them. I need to hand them out tomorrow."

As expected!

Slap!

Tushan Youyou slammed her pen on the table and demanded, "Chasing the Wind wants me to teach him, and now there are a few more menial disciples you want me to teach too! You know teaching is difficult so you avoid it yourself and push everything to me."

"To teach that guy..." she pointed at Chasing the Wind sleeping on the cat tree, "My hair has fallen out completely! I've grown so many more wrinkles! Do you know how much cultivation it takes to recover from that?"

Chasing the Wind, who was mentioned on the cat tree, was suddenly shocked awake from his dream. He looked back at the old spirit tree, at the two people glaring at each other, his big cat face full of confusion.

What's going on? Why is there suddenly killing intent?!

...But it didn't seem to have anything to do with him. He was just a harmless little kitty.

He licked his belly fur a couple of times and lay down again, still puzzled.

"Cough!" Qin Ran was also a little embarrassed.

He knew that supervising kids on homework was every parent's nightmare, which was why he had wisely pushed Chasing the Wind to Tushan Youyou from the start.

Chasing the Wind still wasn't trained, and now he was making Tushan Youyou share the task of teaching the newcomers...he was going a bit overboard!

...Luckily he had thick enough skin.

He avoided the issue and simply pointed at the equation Tushan Youyou couldn't solve. "What about this one? Let me see?"

Tushan Youyou was angry but not completely furious. At his words, she directly circled all the questions she didn't understand and demanded Qin Ran explain all of them to her right there.

"Ah, this question is very simple. You just need to substitute this formula with a, and the whole equation becomes easy..." Like complex formations, they can all be simplified this way. Formations are the same - many look complicated but their overall logical structure is the same as simpler formations. Sometimes you need to be more flexible..."

"Oh, this one is also very simple. Look, if you take this and invert both sides at the same time..."

"Mm, this one is also very simple..."

In short, the demoness couldn't comprehend no matter how hard she thought about the questions Qin Ran found simple.

If Long Qiqi was here, she would find this scene extremely familiar.

In Dan Peak, some people like Li Shiyin and Chasing the Wind weren't clever enough when learning but had maxed out talents in cultivation. Others like Qin Ran weren't that gifted in cultivation but maxed out talents in learning and theory. Only Long Qiqi neither had Qin Ran's knowledge reserves and learning talents, nor Chasing the Wind's cultivation talents.

So Qin Ran looked at Li Shiyin's cultivation and praised her as a learning god, while Tushan Youyou watched Qin Ran refine pills, set up formations, and solve questions, crying out that he was a learning god. Only Long Qiqi called Li Shiyin and Chasing the Wind learning gods when watching them cultivate, and called Qin Ran a learning god when watching him solve questions too.

Alas, pitiful Qiqi.

Qin Ran explained the questions to Tushan Youyou. In exchange, Tushan Youyou very reluctantly took the arithmetic books of the menial disciples.

After dealing with Tushan Youyou, Qin Ran picked up the other three alchemy books and got up, preparing to hand over the alchemy book tasks to Long Qiqi. But at this moment, Tushan Youyou suddenly spoke up and asked him, "Sometimes I really don't understand you."

"What?" Qin Ran turned back to look at Tushan Youyou.

Tushan Youyou looked at Qin Ran's solution process on the paper and said slowly:

"You're a timid and cautious person who always thinks of self-preservation first - that I know. You're knowledgeable and proficient in alchemy, formations, and mystic arts - that I know. You're sinister, ruthless, plan far ahead, and are always in the manipulator's position - that I know.

"But do you know what you're doing now? You're getting involved now! Are you trying to revive Dan Peak? Reform the Chief Alchemy Hall? Shine and devote yourself wholeheartedly for Dao Sword Sect? Tell me, are you that kind of person?"

"You really understand me well." Qin Ran smiled and picked up the books. Tushan Youyou's words made him turn and look at the entirety of Dan Peak. But he only left one sentence as he walked towards the research building, "I've lived here for twenty-three years."

Qin Ran was very clear that the current Dao Sword Sect only appeared stable and harmonious on the surface, but was already as fragile as thin ice. Boundless Sword Sect and Zhican Valley had already joined forces, two sects against one...They hadn't attacked yet only because they were worried about suffering great losses.

But they could launch a full-scale offensive anytime.

He did cherish his life and was preparing a backup plan. But...that didn't prevent him from doing something for Dao Sword Sect while preparing an escape route.

At this time, the autumn wind was bleak. Qin Ran's not very tall figure disappeared from Tushan Youyou's line of sight. She suddenly didn't know if it was her who didn't understand humans, or her who didn't understand Qin Ran.