Chapter 776: Abundantly Sufficient

Wang Shuyang and Heibaizi's eyes lit up. Seeing Zu An, they excitedly jogged over. "Mr. Zu, we've finally found you!"

The Crown Princess was bewildered.

What exactly is going on? Am I dreaming?

At this point, Junior Sister Qi Yaoguang couldn't help but interject, "What are you all doing? One after another... he's destined for romance, but not *that* kind of romance!" She had always imagined Zu An's life would be entangled with many women. Why were there no women around, but instead, men whose eyes lit up at the sight of him?

Zu An was stunned by the young girl. How could such a sweet and adorable girl make such a suggestive remark in such a casual tone? More importantly, did "chrysanthemum" mean the same thing in this world?

Heibaizi ignored him, rushing to grab Zu An's hand. "Mr. Zu, my apprentice and I have replayed our last game dozens of times, and I finally understand where I lost! Come, let's play another round now. I won't lose so easily this time."

The Crown Princess was starting to doubt her perceptions. If she remembered correctly, Heibaizi was known as the Chess Saint. No one in the capital was rumored to have ever beaten him; he usually walked around with his nose in the air. Yet, from his words, it seemed he had lost to Zu An?

At this moment, Qi Yaoguang also uttered a sound of surprise, curiously examining Zu An. She voiced the Crown Princess's unspoken question: "You beat Heibaizi?"

Zu An humbly replied, "Just luck, merely luck."

Heibaizi, standing nearby, sighed with emotion. "It was no mere luck. After replaying the game, I realized that every move Mr. Zu made contained dozens of killing blows. No matter how I responded, I was step by step forced into his trap. His profound chess skill truly leaves me in awe."

Hearing this, the Crown Princess's face flushed slightly. Earlier, at the Eastern Palace, she had seen Zu An teaching the Crown Prince to play some sort of Five-in-a-Row game, which she found quite crude and simplistic. She had even blamed him for leading the Prince astray, believing him to be uneducated. She never imagined his true chess ability would be so remarkable. Even Heibaizi admitted inferiority?

The Crown Princess came from a prestigious family. Unlike some young ladies who favored rebellious poor boys, she actually preferred men who aligned with traditional values. A refined gentleman, accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, was her ideal partner. Zu An's appearance was certainly suitable, but she had always disliked his typical roguish demeanor, which seemed to stem from a common background.

Yet, she never expected his profound mastery of Go. Among the four arts, chess (Go) was considered the most challenging. If he was so skilled at the most difficult one, how could he be lacking in the others? She suddenly recalled that when she had her subordinates gather information on Zu An, it seemed he was renowned in Brightmoon City for his musical compositions and poetry. At the time, she hadn't paid much attention, simply dismissing it as him using such skills to charm courtesans, which she found rather undignified.

But now, she suddenly realized he was a truly great scholar, one who simply chose not to outwardly display this side of himself, instead using a wild and unrestrained image as a disguise.

Why would he do that? Ah, right. He had obtained the immortality technique, the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture," which led the Emperor to send people to bring him to the capital. He was also resented by Prince Qi's faction. Caught between the two largest powers in the capital, he could be crushed at any moment. Perhaps he deliberately presented himself this way to protect himself.

A wave of pity washed over her as she thought of this. She remembered the intelligence reports mentioning that Zu An appeared to be an orphan, whose only living relative, his uncle, had also died young. He then became a live-in son-in-law to the Chu family, where he endured endless disdain. Just as he was finally gaining a foothold in the Chu family, the incident with the "Phoenix Nirvana Scripture" occurred, leading the Chu family to abandon him without hesitation. Now, alone and friendless in the capital, he had no one to rely on but himself for everything. How pathetic.

From now on, I must do my best to look after him... Suddenly, the Crown Prince's image flashed in her mind, and she felt a surge of annoyance. Compared to Zu An, the Crown Prince was a complete opposite—nothing more than a good-for-nothing who just ate and waited to die.

As her thoughts spiraled, outside, Qi Yaoguang, also curious, pulled Zu An aside to ask, "Even though Heibaizi can't beat me, his chess skills are decent. Since you managed to beat him, how about we play a game?"

Heibaizi's face turned as dark as a black chess piece. As the esteemed Chess Saint, he was utterly dominated by this woman, and the frustrating part was that it wasn't due to her superior skill. Thinking of this made him feel extremely aggrieved.

Zu An awkwardly replied, "Some other day, perhaps."

Qi Yaoguang smiled. "Alright, some other day it is. It's a deal."

At this point, Wang Shuyang, who was standing nearby, could no longer hold back. He pushed Heibaizi and Qi Yaoguang aside. "You're all wasting time with trivial pursuits. Don't interrupt me when I'm discussing serious matters."

Heibaizi snorted. "Who says what we're doing isn't serious?" Although somewhat indignant, he knew that Wang Shuyang was genuinely concerned for the nation and its people, so his voice trailed off, making it difficult to argue further.

Wang Shuyang then pulled Zu An closer and said, "Mr. Zu, regarding the concept of hybrid rice you just mentioned, I've thought it over carefully and there's a major problem. Rice flowers are hermaphroditic, meaning they self-pollinate. To hybridize them, one would have to remove the stamens from each rice flower, but the flowers are so tiny that it's practically impossible to do."

Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. This was something he happened to know. Back then, there were many online posts slandering Elder Yuan's contributions, leading to heated debates between opposing sides. As a keyboard warrior, he had participated in some of those discussions and had read up on the topic, so he was familiar with the very problem Wang Shuyang was describing.

"That's simple," Zu An replied. "You can find naturally male-sterile rice plants in the wild. Their stamens are defective, but their pistils are fine, so they can be used for cross-pollination with other rice plants."

Wang Shuyang's eyes gleamed. He couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration. "Brilliant! A single word from you is worth ten years of study. Mr. Zu, please allow me to bow to you once more." With that, he respectfully bowed to Zu An again.

The other disciples standing nearby were equally astonished. Although they didn't know much about agriculture, they understood the immense impact such a development would have on the world if it truly materialized. Crucially, he showed no intention of keeping such valuable knowledge to himself, even though anyone else would surely have used it for personal gain. Realizing this, they all, almost in unison, bowed to Zu An, including Jiang Luofu.

"What are you all doing? Please, stand up, stand up!" Zu An felt a headache coming on. It seemed he had overplayed his hand.

Inside the wooden house, the Crown Princess watched the scene in shock. She then glanced at the Libationer beside her and decided to test him. "Lord Libationer, aren't you displeased that they are showing such deference to a young man?"

The Libationer calmly replied, "I have always taught them the principle, 'Among three people, there must be a teacher for me.' It seems they haven't forgotten it. Seeing this, I am filled with joy; why would I be angry?"

The Crown Princess secretly chuckled. If that was truly the case, then why had he just thrown Yin Shi down the mountain?

Outside, Wang Shuyang seized the opportunity to ask, "By the way, Mr. Zu, I have a few more questions..."

Zu An's head began to throb. He only knew the general concepts, not the technical details. He quickly interjected: "These things require your own gradual exploration. As the saying goes, 'everyone has their own destiny,' and this world also has its inherent operating rules. If you rashly try to change too quickly, you might face a backlash from the world's rules, which would be undesirable."

"Oh?" The Libationer inside the wooden house let out a soft exclamation. A sharp glint appeared in his eyes, and his gaze out the window grew deeper.

The Crown Princess beside him was secretly startled. She had initially found those words a bit baffling, but to her surprise, even the Libationer was moved. It must mean her understanding was not deep enough to grasp them. So, Zu An's insight was truly profound! She had indeed underestimated him before. From now on, she couldn't treat him the same way.

Outside, the others also showed expressions of shock. These individuals were direct disciples of the Libationer, already possessing considerable skill. With this brief guidance, they all seemed to have gained some subtle enlightenment.

Zu An thought to himself, *No way. I just casually threw out some lines I read in online novels. And you actually believed them?*

Jiang Luofu saw Qi Yaoguang nodding continuously beside her and couldn't help but chuckle. "Junior Sister, do you understand what he's saying?"

Qi Yaoguang lowered her voice and replied, "No, I don't."

"If you don't understand, why are you nodding?" Jiang Luofu asked, puzzled.

Qi Yaoguang explained, "Everyone else is nodding. If I said I didn't understand, wouldn't that prove I'm stupid? It would be so embarrassing."

Jiang Luofu was speechless. *You make a very good point; I can't even argue with that.*

She lightly coughed. "Brothers, let's not delay Ah Zu any longer. I want to recommend him to join the academy as a teacher. Master said we need approval from more than half of our fellow disciples, so I still need to visit Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Brother."

At this, the others immediately exclaimed: "Why bother visiting them? Our agreement alone already makes up more than half!" "What a joke! It would be an honor for our academy if a great talent like Mr. Zu is willing to join us." "Not only is he qualified to teach students, but he's more than capable of teaching us teachers too."

Inside the wooden house, the Crown Princess was already somewhat numb from all the shock. Seeing these people, whom she had expected to be very difficult to persuade, agree so easily, she instead showed an expression that suggested it was only natural. She gazed with a complicated expression at the man outside. Was this really the same person she had known?