The Ancestral Legacy Begins in the Wild West

"(You have blended the precision and sophistication of London with the radical and unrefined nature of the East. The knowledge born from the convergence of two distinct steam technology lineages in your understanding.)"

After that, when dealing with technical problems, your knowledge might try to solve the problem on its own, giving you a sudden flash of inspiration and leading you to a solution.

Zhang Chang'an stared at the line of text for a moment, and his slightly bitter expression due to exhaustion immediately relaxed: "You've directly taught me a new skill? Speaking of which... isn't that enough now?"

He put down the tweezers and stretched his stiff neck, but before he could bring up the family tree page, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.

The newcomer's shoes slid across the ground as he swayed lazily with each step. The door was quickly opened, and a young man swaggered in.

He was in his early twenties, thin, wearing a faded, mouse-colored kimono, with an old sword hanging at his waist, its scabbard covered in dents and scratches.

This person was unusually not wearing a topknot; his hair was simply tied haphazardly at the back of his head, with stray hairs brushing against his face, making him appear even more nonchalant.

Zhang Chang'an was initially a little flustered, but after glancing up at it, he lowered his head again and continued fiddling with the parts in his hands. Of course, these were no longer the filters from before; they were the shop's legitimate business.

He knew this person. To be precise, it was Tie Zhougong who knew him.

According to the ancestral memories fused into his mind, this person is named Ju Qinglan, and is a well-known know-it-all in this area.

His main job was as an information broker, but he was actually more like a lazy street hustler. He did errands, delivered messages, carried goods to maintain appearances, and dabbled in everything.

Perhaps it is precisely because of the many people and things he has come into contact with that he is able to sell information.

But his reputation was surprisingly good. Because although he seemed carefree and irresponsible, he was actually quite reliable. It was for this reason that Tie Zhougong and he were the kind of acquaintances who could nod to each other when they met and sit down for a cup of tea.

"Is Tiezhou-san busy?" Ju Qinglan plopped down on the stool opposite the counter, crossed her legs, and swung her feet back and forth, the soles of her worn-out straw sandals wobbling.

Zhang Chang'an merely raised his eyelids to glance at him, without saying a word.

Ju Qinglan chuckled twice, then pulled a small cloth bag from her bosom and tossed it onto the counter.

"Here you go, those sealing rings you asked for last time. I searched three blocks before I found them, and the shop owner even haggled with me for ages."

Zhang Chang'an opened the cloth bag, glanced at it, and after confirming the specifications, finally stopped what he was doing: "Why are you so free today? Don't you have anything else to do?"

Ju Qinglan shook her head helplessly upon hearing this and said, "You heard about what happened last night, right? Over at the Three Bridges?"

"What is it?"

"A machine shop here seized some items from the pro-imperial faction, and the shogunate's guards clashed with them. The two sides started fighting."

Then the Shinsengumi arrived, including Hijikata Toshizo, Saito Hajime, and several captains. Even Sakamoto Ryoma from the Sojō faction was there; he came later to mediate.

Zhang Chang'an could have guessed it was about this, so he wasn't surprised.

However, Xiao Ju immediately followed up, "But that's not the point. The point is, besides Ryoma, someone else has actually appeared on the Zunrang faction's side!"

Zhang Chang'an raised an eyebrow; he was somewhat surprised by this.

After all, he was there on the scene, and he also heard the Shinsengumi members' post-incident recounting of the events. There was nothing he didn't know: "Were there any other people last night...?"

His mind raced, and he suddenly realized something rather strange.

Seeing his reaction, Xiao Ju gave him a look that said, "You really are interested: I heard he's a very capable person. Before anyone from the Zunrang faction could even break into the warehouse, he went in alone. He was incredibly fast and could even scale walls."

When the guards came in, the inside was already filled with corpses.

Zhang Chang'an quickly controlled his expression.

He was reluctant to admit it, but he wasn't entirely unaffected when he merged with the Jack the Ripper persona. Perhaps because he had acquired the assassin's skills, his emotions were much more stable than before, but he still almost lost control just now.

"broken……"

Xiao Ju hadn't finished speaking when she added, "It's said that the person was carrying a straight-bladed steam-powered longsword, had an exoskeleton, and carried a new type of firearm. Most importantly, he wore a demon-like iron mask!"

Whether it's to make it easier for him to sell information for a higher price or not, Ju Qinglan's storytelling ability is quite good; her tone and pacing are just right, and her descriptions are vivid and engaging.

"More than a dozen guards with knives and muskets in the warehouse couldn't stop him. He took away a lot of parts and even cut down several others."

I heard that he was laughing as he did it, and now everyone on the street is comparing him to those people from the Zunrang Sect who were killed before. He's getting much more attention than those guys. People call him... the Steam Ghost!

The title "Four Great Assassins of the Zunrang Faction" is quite classic. This group used a variety of methods to promote reform, including assassination.

These four are the best among them, using the slogan of "Heaven's Punishment," and each of them has an impressive record.

That's right, the character Kenshin Himura in Rurouni Kenshin was modeled after one of them.

"Oh no, I've become a legend in Chengdu." Zhang Chang'an tried to control his expression while scratching his head, attempting to ease the awkwardness.

He had long heard that people from island nations were flamboyant.

But he didn't expect the people of Kyoto to be so free during this period of change. He went out once and even got a title.

However, he ultimately managed to suppress his complicated feelings: "So... what does this have to do with you having nothing to do?"

Xiao Ju helplessly shrugged: "After something like this happened, everyone's definitely talking about it. There were a lot of people at the warehouse last night. If you want to know about it, you can just ask around on the street. So of course I have nothing to do."

After finishing this story, Xiao Ju didn't stay with him for long.

He reminded him that this matter was causing quite a stir, and that anything related to steam machinery would likely be investigated. He then told him to cooperate if he encountered any problems before leaving the store.

The workshop fell silent again. Zhang Chang'an looked down at the half-assembled sludge removal device in his hand, his feelings quite complicated.

"We've received attention so early? That's a little troublesome." He turned and pulled out the design draft, looked at the remaining blank areas, and shook his head helplessly: "But we still have to keep going."

He put down the design draft and then summoned the family tree again.

"The patriarch's accumulated price has reached the mixed-color tier: 99.99%. You can try to advance to a new tier. Please select a breakthrough direction."

[Mechanic]: Breakthroughs are achieved primarily through the Mechanic's legacy, requiring the creation of a mechanical device of a specific level.

[Assassin]: Breakthrough is achieved by inheriting the assassin's legacy, and requires completing assassination missions under specific conditions.

[Warrior]:..."