The Ancestral Legacy Begins in the Wild West

Chapter 159 Before the Day of Cooperative Execution

"To be honest," Zhang Chang'an said calmly, "Your understanding of me, Marquis, is indeed beyond my expectations. Madame Montmorency is indeed one of my old friends, but she is not among those who have made accusations against me."

Perhaps he was deceived by someone like me, and felt he had lost face. It was other nobles of lower rank who brought charges against me. I'm probably still alive today because of that.

As he spoke, he suddenly sighed: "However, your investigation is clearly not comprehensive enough."

His eyes suddenly sharpened slightly: "After I came to the West, I secretly learned alchemy."

The warden's eyebrows twitched.

"Of course, you can't learn it," Zhang Chang'an said. "I have alchemy skills, which is the cultivation method of the East, so I can't go down the other path."

As he spoke, he looked up and said, "You're probably familiar with this situation: once a person has gone down a certain path, they can no longer take another one."

The warden remained silent, which was common knowledge among alchemists.

Other spiritual paths may not pay much attention to this, but among the various traditional professions in the West, they are undoubtedly researchers.

Therefore, many of them would spontaneously attempt to pursue other skills, trying to explore the mysteries of other professions while practicing alchemy.

However, they will soon discover that a person's energy and talent are limited, and once they have mastered one thing, it is difficult to get started with another.

As researchers, they do have some advantages over other professions, being better able to pursue multiple fields of study, but that's only superficial.

He himself is the best example. Alchemy has reached such a level that other paths are practically closed off for him.

This proves that Zhang Chang'an's words are true.

"So I'm writing this for you, and aside from some theories that most people here probably also have, you won't be able to learn it," Zhang Chang'an said calmly.

"Then what is your value?" The warden was not discouraged. Instead, he asked decisively, "Although you are a practitioner of Eastern magic, I believe you are not particularly powerful. Otherwise, you would not have been captured."

Zhang Chang'an stood in front of the table and waved his hand. "You can keep me here. I'll teach you slowly, and you can try at your own pace. Or I can directly participate in your experiments to assist you with the parts of alchemy that you're not good at."

"However, alchemy and alchemy excel in different areas, and I know you've noticed that. For example, alchemy is better at influencing the human body."

Zhang Chang'an decisively stated the second key point he discovered while reading the book.

In the Great Celestial Empire, there is indeed no shortage of stories about alchemy or turning stone into gold. However, the main direction of alchemy practice is still internal and external alchemy. From the perspective of alchemy, the ultimate goal is to transform the human body.

Alchemy is different. As the name suggests, their initial main research focus was on metal transformation and the alchemy of scrap iron.

As for things like elixirs of immortality and androids made of alchemy, those only came about later with the legend of the Philosopher's Stone, and even after artistic embellishment in modern times.

Therefore, alchemy focuses more on influencing the human body, while alchemy is a technique for altering inorganic matter or the structure of matter itself.

And those words were indeed straightforward, hitting the warden's nail on the head.

He looked at the quick-witted and persuasive Easterner in front of him, who was indeed adept at understanding people's hearts, and began to think seriously.

As he suspected, Zhang Chang'an's alchemy skills were indeed not particularly high. The fact that he was arrested by ordinary guards before he even knew about the problems inside the Bastille suggests that his abilities were definitely not top-tier.

And although his skill level is not high, he already possesses it, so he cannot easily learn alchemy. Even if he could learn it, his progress would not be able to surpass his own in a short period of time.

Therefore, it seems that even if he were kept alive, a half-baked Eastern sorcerer would not pose much of a threat to me.

The key point is that such a seemingly harmless person can provide him with a completely new direction.

"You're a smart man, and you're right, I do need assistance with human body research."

While I have the ability to melt you down like that prisoner from a few nights ago, I'm not really good at human transmutation.

At least we can't do what you did, without using formations or high-value materials, to exert such subtle influence on the human body.

"But the problem is—a person like you," the warden had just coldly praised him, but his tone turned cold and hard again, "doesn't seem like someone who would be coerced by power."

"You're willing to risk your life for commoners, for guards, but you won't do anything for nobles. Now you suddenly say you want to help me with research, do you think I believe you? What would someone like you do for such a thing?"

To the warden's surprise, Zhang Chang'an did not hesitate for long on this issue.

"To survive," he said.

The warden's overall expression remained unchanged, but from some subtle facial expressions, it was clear that he had not anticipated Zhang Chang'an's answer.

Zhang Chang'an stated earnestly, "I don't like cooperating with nobles. That's the truth. But if I can't even save my own life, then I'll never have the chance to treat any commoner again."

He paused.

"The execution day is approaching, so this isn't cooperation. I'm trading my life for a chance."

As expected, the warden fell silent after hearing his words.

He sat back down in his chair, his fingers resting on the edge of the table. His grey-blue eyes, devoid of emotion in the dim light, clearly showed he was carefully considering his words.

Is Zhang Chang'an a formidable opponent for him now?

Judging from Zhang Chang'an's current state of carefully considering his words and seeking cooperation, he is clearly not a simple person, nor even an adversary.

He did it very naturally, but the warden could still clearly sense Zhang Chang'an's ease and control.

He seemed to have anticipated this conversation, and even had a good idea of ​​what they were talking about.

but----

"You win." The warden finally said, leaning back in his chair, his voice returning to its usual coldness.

"I'm giving you this opportunity. Starting today, come to my lab every evening to learn the basics of alchemy and participate in my research."

He paused for a moment.

"But remember, there are four days until your execution. These four days are your trial period. You must learn the basics of alchemy during this time and help my research achieve a breakthrough."

"If you succeed in four days, I will cancel your execution."

He didn't finish his sentence, but whether he said the rest or not was irrelevant.

Zhang Chang'an understood his thoughts and nodded silently.

He knew what this meant: he needed to learn a completely new technical system within four days and also help this top French alchemist achieve results. The conditions were almost absurdly demanding.

But at least he took the first step. He made a deal with the warden, securing a chance to live—a chance to learn alchemy.

>