Chapter 0008: The Old Man and Arithmetic

At that moment, a crisp knocking sound came from outside the house. "Dog, if you don't open the door, I'll tear this broken door down," a deep and loud voice boomed, causing a slight pain in the ears. Such a loud noise naturally pulled Luo Yu out of his thoughts. Frowning, he opened the door and was surprised to find it was one of the stewards from the estate. He asked, "Steward Wang, what brings you here?" At this moment, Luo Yu's voice was somewhat stiff; he had just comprehended the innate Nine Palace Formation and had not yet had the chance to appreciate its subtle changes when he was interrupted. Anyone in his position would not have a good expression.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, there is only one day left until Luo's birthday.

A moment passed in the blink of an eye, and the old man slowly set down the pen in his hand, wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, let out a long sigh, and looked up to see a slightly thin boy with an ordinary appearance standing there, frowning slightly as he looked at him. Startled for a moment, he raised his voice and said, "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The old man's voice was slightly hoarse, but there was no malice in it. It seemed he was somewhat satisfied with Luo Yu's earlier performance, knowing that Luo Yu had not come over to disturb him presumptuously.

"Not going," Luo Yu replied without a second thought. What kind of good job is this? If something were to be lost, it would be blamed on him, and he could never afford to compensate for that. Luo Yu never engaged in self-destructive actions, thus he outright refused.

Hmph! You little rascal, you are somewhat sensible. This is the token for entering and exiting the warehouse. Tonight, you will go and count the gifts sent by those guests. Remember not to forget the time; I have other matters to attend to, so I will leave first. This Manager Wang skillfully took out a black iron token from his body and handed it to Luo Yu before quickly leaving, as if afraid that Luo Yu might change his mind.

The expression was exceptionally focused, with his face occasionally revealing looks of confusion, joy, and difficulty. In the end, it seemed he had grasped something, as a spark of enlightenment flickered in his eyes, and he began to dance with joy, exclaiming, "Yes, this is it! It is indeed so! My three years of relentless study have not been in vain; this is the early innate Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams formation, the original embryo of the innate, famously known in the study of Yi as the Nine Numbers of the Luo Book. Its origins are ancient, and in ancient times, people referred to it as the 'Luo Book.' The author of this book has actually comprehended this timeless masterpiece and recorded it within this text; he is undoubtedly a rare genius in the world." At this moment, Luo Yu was filled with excitement: "With this Luo Book chess technique, combined with the method of calculation, all formations under heaven can be broken! Haha, I can also decipher Uncle Fengzi's 'Longzhong Dui.' However, I have only just begun to scratch the surface of the innate Nine Palaces formation."

The guard took the token and examined it carefully for a moment. After confirming its authenticity, he returned it to Luo Yu and said: "From now on, you must wear this token on your person when entering and exiting. Keep it close and protect it well. If it gets stolen and any issues arise, your life will be in jeopardy. Now, you may enter." After realizing that Luo Yu was not a person of high status within the residence, he seemed disinclined to engage further, adopting a condescending attitude.

Oh, registering? You can do arithmetic, which academy did you study at? The old man, hearing Luo Yu say he was here to register and do accounts, couldn't help but ask curiously, I haven't attended any academy, but I have self-studied arithmetic for a while, so I should be able to manage. When Luo Yu said this, his face involuntarily turned slightly red, but it was soon replaced by a surge of confidence. The Nine Palace Array is an innate numerology, which inherently contains a lot of arithmetic; I also studied some of it when I was young, so I shouldn't be too bad at this.

After having lunch in the afternoon, Luo Yu quietly left the backyard and came alone to the attic of the warehouse located to the west of the Luo residence. It was a tall three-story building, with exquisite carvings of floral patterns and auspicious beast designs on the roof and beams, exuding an air of grandeur and nobility. After a brief glance, Luo Yu quickly walked inside.

At this moment, Luo Yu glanced at the token in his hand, and after finding no issues, he turned around and returned to his room. Subsequently, he lost the desire to read. Although he was young, he had endured considerable hardships, and his mental fortitude far surpassed that of his peers. He did not believe that this steward Wang would be so kind as to offer him benefits; however, he could not think of anything amiss and could only take it one step at a time.

As soon as he arrived at the door, he was stopped by a guard. The guard coldly scrutinized Luo Yu with his sharp eyes. Although Luo Yu's clothing was rather unremarkable, even somewhat tattered, and his physique appeared slightly frail, not resembling a person of power from the mansion, there was an aura of heroism about him that gave an elusive impression. "Who are you? This is the Luo residence, a restricted area. Unauthorized individuals are not allowed to enter," the guard said, placing one hand on the hilt of his sword and questioning in a cold voice.

It seems that I was too proud in the past; the extraordinary individuals of ancient times were no less talented than those of today. Luo Yu reflected and felt that he still needed to strive and should not be arrogant or complacent

The old man initially felt a slight disappointment in Luo Yu, who was self-studying. However, upon seeing the confident expression on Luo Yu's face, he couldn't help but remind him: "These accounts are numerous, and if you make even one mistake, the consequences are beyond what you can bear. Here, this paper contains the various goods entering and leaving the mansion for the day. It took me two hours to sort it out. Now, you come and calculate it again. If you can't finish it within three hours, just leave."

"You brat, don't be ungrateful; this is an order from above. Whether you go or not is not up to you. If you dare to refuse and they hold you accountable, you will certainly suffer a beating. You wouldn't want your mother to worry about you, would you?" As Wang, the manager, spoke, his voice gradually lowered, seemingly losing the earlier domineering tone. In reality, he was reflecting on the words of Chief Steward Gao, who had instructed him to ensure that Luo Yu agreed to take the position in the storeroom; otherwise, his own position as manager would be at risk. With these thoughts, he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. If Luo Yu stubbornly refused, he would have no way to handle it, so he dared not pressure Luo Yu too much.

I am appointed by Chief Steward Feng to serve in the warehouse, responsible for registering the gifts received during the grand birthday celebration. This is my token.

The peculiar appearance of the old man might frighten some naive children, but although Luo Yu was young, he had experienced much in life, having even encountered the dead, which naturally made him bolder than most. After a brief moment of surprise, he returned to his usual demeanor, watching the old man continuously writing something on the table. Although he was curious, he did not dare to rudely interrupt, so he could only wait quietly by the side.

Luo Yu regarded these as if they were invisible, and after taking the token, he stepped inside. The space within the warehouse was quite large, divided into many small rooms, each marked with a wooden sign, such as Fruit House, Grain Store, Jewelry Pavilion, Curios Room, and so on. There were eight rooms on each floor, and at the entrance stood a frail old man with graying hair and a face as tender and red as that of a baby, writing something with a pen.

Luo Yu immediately replied: "The young man has come at the command of Chief Steward Gao to register some birthday gifts. I am unsure where to work, so I thought it would be presumptuous to ask you, sir."

After listening, Luo Yu slowly took the list, feeling somewhat nervous, as he was still a child. He stared at the paper for a moment, and a strange expression suddenly appeared on his face. The paper actually contained the results that the old man had just calculated. Did he not fear that he would use this result to deceive him, or was this an erroneous result? Was the old man trying to test him? Luo Yu couldn't help but think to himself. He looked up at the old man and saw him sitting in the corner by the door, intently focused on a ledger, his expression serious, revealing nothing at all.

This Wang steward seemed somewhat unaccustomed to Luo Yu's expression. Upon hearing this, he was taken aback and then shouted sternly: "Tomorrow is the master's birthday, and everyone in the residence is exhausted. You still have the mood to read here. A notice just came down from above stating that the storeroom is short of an accountant. You, having studied for a couple of days, are being sent to fill this vacancy. This is a good job, and if you do it well, there will be rewards."

"Alright, I promise you, but this matter must not be known to my mother; otherwise, I would rather face punishment than go. " Luo Yu replied through gritted teeth, as he was indeed afraid that her mother would worry about him. Moreover, he had always been careful and prudent in his actions, so he believed that as long as he was a bit more attentive and did not make mistakes, everything would be fine.

The way of Go, the more I study it, the more I feel that my foundation is shallow and my knowledge is limited. The more I research, the more I realize that the essence of Go is profound and its mysteries are endless

At this moment, Luo Yu was intently reading the book "The Deceptive Ways of Go." After a short while, he set the book down, took a sheet of white paper from the drawer and laid it flat on the table. He then took a pen, dipped it in ink, and began to draw slowly on the paper.