Chapter 490: Darc Fermat Demon Conjecture (4k)
The old man slightly raised his head and looked at him, not angry: “If it’s an unjust act, it ends when you’re hung upside down. When people are restrained, they are most likely to panic; the sins hidden in their hearts will eventually be exposed. No one would take someone who has committed a capital sin off the cross.”
The three adventurers listened and their eyes flickered. The mage archer couldn’t help but ask, “Is there really no solution?”
The old man slowly said, “It’s never too late to turn back from the brink of a cliff.”
The mage archer’s expression froze, and after a while he said, “Thank you for your guidance, Master.”
Then she suddenly stood up, leading her two companions away quickly.
The old man shook his head slightly and muttered to himself, “What can be done, what can be done.”
It really seemed like that.
…
“Stop saying what can be done, it’s our turn next!”
Diana hurriedly sat down, placing Eevee on the table.
Eevee looked curiously at the tarot cards right in front of it.
The old man carefully examined this guest and asked, “Who is doing the divination?”
“Eve!”
Eevee immediately raised its paw.
The old man looked suspiciously at it.
Diana smiled and nodded.
Next to her, Trina, Aurora, and several mana golems gathered around.
The old man then turned to Eevee and said, “Little thing, what do you want to divine?”
“Eve eve!” Eevee exclaimed excitedly.
The old man’s lips twitched slightly. Seeing that Darc and the others had no intention of translating, he sorted the tarot cards on the table, picking out a few and laying them out.
A “Wand.”
A “Pentacle.”
A “Cup.”
A “Sword.”
“Authority, wealth, emotion, and conflict. Which one do you choose?”
Eevee glanced at them and pressed its paw onto “Sword.”
But Diana immediately grabbed its little foot and moved it to “Cup.”
“Eve!”
Diana’s lips curved into a smile.
Once this paw was pressed, it could not be retracted.
In the words of a seer, everything was destined.
The old man collected the four small arcana cards, shuffled them, and said, “The ‘Wand’ represents elemental fire, symbolizing vigor, energy, and creation. The ‘Pentacle’ represents elemental earth, symbolizing wealth, material possessions, and enjoyment.
The ‘Cup’ represents elemental water, symbolizing emotion, relationships, love, and inspiration. The ‘Sword’ represents elemental wind, symbolizing thought, wisdom, communication, and conflict. Since you have chosen the ‘Cup,’ it means there is some confusion about emotions that needs to be divined.”
“Eve—”
Eevee’s ears drooped.
Diana was full of interest.
The Eevee peeking out of Aurora’s arms waved its ribbon antennae incessantly.
The old man surveyed the area and, seeing no objections, began setting up the ritual.
He still used tarot cards to form a magic circle on the table—but it was clearly different from the previous ones.
Whether intentional or not, he finally arranged the cards into a shape resembling a heart.
Then he pointed at six spots within the circle and flipped over six cards, all of which were “Cups.”
The six “Cups” actually floated up from the tarot deck after his fingers touched them, forming a hexagram in an instant.
Seeing that Diana and the others were distracted, the old man spoke up, “Both of you, pick a card each and place them on the hexagram.”
“Do both of us?” Diana blinked.
The old man smiled, “Together.”
So Diana stared intently at the tarot cards on the table.
All the other tarot cards except the six “Cups” were face down, making it impossible to tell which card it was.
Selecting the card symbolizing “union,” the “Lovers,” wasn’t easy.
As she pondered, Eevee had already stretched out a paw and quickly picked one, placing it on the hexagram.
Diana clicked her tongue and also randomly picked one.
The old man overlapped the two cards and pressed down.
The hexagram instantly shattered, turning into a mist that enveloped the two cards.
The old man whispered, “Emotions are the most greedy, changeable, and convoluted. My divination merely shows a premonition, but the future remains uncertain.”
Diana fixedly stared at the mist, blinking.
The old man reached in and revealed the two cards.
The images on the cards immediately surfaced.
One was “Lovers.”
The other was “Death.”
A man and woman became lovers under the witness of angels, but a poisonous snake coiled around the forbidden tree.
The Death riding a white horse, clad in armor, declared unstoppable power. Some had fallen, some accepted the harsh reality, some tried to avoid it, and some fought futilely.
“How should we interpret this?” Diana asked blankly.
The old man frowned slightly and said after a while, “The ‘Lovers’ is the best interpretation of emotions. But becoming lovers is just a phase on the emotional journey. Behind the ‘Lovers’ lies the forbidden tree and the venomous snake.
Even if one stands out among many choices, they might succumb to temptation, argue, and break up.
The ‘Death’ symbolizes the end, but after the end comes a new beginning. Death signifies rebirth. As the saying goes, ‘Out of the depths, life arises.’ Only after experiencing separation and union will emotions become more steadfast.”
“So…” Diana asked, “Is this good or bad?”
The old man replied, “It depends on you.”
“Eve?” Eevee looked puzzled.
“Huh?” Diana couldn’t help but doubt.
After all this talk, it came back to the same point.
If everything depended on oneself, why come for a divination?
But that was what divination was all about.
The old man just smiled at Diana and began to rearrange the tarot cards, then looked at the others and asked, “Does anyone else want to divinate?”
But perhaps because Diana drew “Death,” everyone’s interest dropped significantly, and no one wanted to continue divining.
The old man didn’t seem to be in a hurry. After putting away the tarot cards, he looked at Darc and casually said, “So, does this young friend have any interest in chatting with me, this old man?”
…
Although the old man’s demeanor was very natural, his sudden approach to Darc still made Trina feel wary.
But before Trina could show her aura, Darc stopped her.
Darc took a keen interest in this elderly man with youthful looks and asked Diana to move aside.
Diana picked up Eevee and obediently left her seat.
Darc sat down, placed the mana book flat on the table, and opened his mouth, “Sir, what is your surname?”
The old man smiled slightly and said, “Aaron Reed.”
Darc raised his eyebrows, thinking whether he had heard this name before.
Aaron Reed smiled and said, “You should know me. I am Ignatz Cooper’s teacher.”
“Ignatz Cooper?” Darc furrowed his brows, pondering where he had heard this name.
Aaron Reed observed his expression and felt a sense of unease: “You don’t know Cooper?”
“Cooper, oh, Cooper—” Darc thought hard, then slapped his hand, “Yes, Cooper!”
Aaron Reed breathed a sigh of relief, “You remember.”
But Darc shook his head seriously.
A fleeting stiffness flashed across Aaron Reed’s face, “You truly don’t know Cooper? Ignatz Cooper of the Knowledge Deity Sect?”
“Knowledge… Deity Sect—” Darc pretended to understand, “Ah, it’s him. You are his teacher, so you must be one of the elders of the Knowledge Deity Sect?”
Aaron Reed nodded, “One of the thirteen elders.”
Darc couldn’t help but laugh, “Since the party involved is here, how does your sect plan to compensate for Ignatz Cooper attacking me?”
Aaron Reed showed a wry smile, “That wasn’t by our instruction.”
Darc said, “I know, it was his personal action. All large organizations will blame individuals when something happens.”
Aaron Reed quickly said, “Absolutely not. Our church has no intention of getting involved in disputes. We maintain a friendly attitude towards the Duke’s Mansion and you.”
Darc smiled, “Friendly enough to worship?”
Aaron Reed immediately showed an embarrassed smile and said, “That’s a matter of mutual willingness. We merely express our intentions.”
Darc nodded, “I’m willing to believe you on this. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting here in front of me.”
“Cough.” Aaron Reed coughed lightly and said, “Since Young Master Demon has no intention, we won’t force it. This time, I just want to ask if Ignatz Cooper is well. If possible, I’m willing to pay a price to get him back.”
Aaron Reed was clearly a pragmatic member of the Knowledge Deity Sect.
His purpose was simple: to bring his troublesome student back.
Though simple, achieving it wasn’t easy.
There was no real intersection between the Knowledge Deity Sect and the Demon family, making it difficult even to pass messages through connections.
Encountering Young Master Demon in the Eugenie Trade Circle was truly fortunate.
But Young Master Demon didn’t seem easy to talk to.
…
“Ignatz Cooper…”
Darc tapped the table with his fingertips, pretending to think.
He knew nothing about Ignatz Cooper’s current situation.
He couldn’t answer Aaron Reed’s question.
Ever since meeting Cooper in the underground cold storage, Darc had handed him over to “Scorpio” Chris entirely.
He hadn’t expected Chris to still be holding him.
It had been a month, right?
Perhaps Ignatz Cooper was already dead.
Thinking this, Darc glanced at Trina.
Trina also shook her head slightly, showing she wasn’t paying attention.
She rarely interfered with the matters handled by “Scorpion.”
Thus, Darc thought and said, “No need for ransom. Since you claim to be the Knowledge Deity Sect, I have a few questions. If you can answer them, I’ll release Ignatz Cooper.”
“An examination by solving problems?” Aaron Reed fell into deep thought.
Originally, problem-solving was his forte, but there were countless unsolvable problems in this world.
If Darc specifically picked a few to challenge him, even with vast knowledge, he wouldn’t be able to solve them.
Seeing his hesitation, Darc smiled, “Of course, if you can prove my questions are unsolvable, I’ll still release Ignatz Cooper.”
“Agree, Aaron.”
In the corner of the tavern, an old grandmother with gray hair suddenly stood up.
This old grandmother looked younger than Aaron Reed, with only the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes visible.
Darc glanced over and noticed her slightly pointed ears, indicating she had part longevity bloodline.
He said gently, “Are you also from the Knowledge Deity Sect?”
“One of the thirteen elders, Aviva Julius.”
The old grandmother walked over and sat beside Reed.
Her brows concealed a hint of arrogance and prejudice.
She seemed very confident in her knowledge.
She stared at Darc and said, “A child’s question can’t possibly stump us two.”
The appearance of Aviva Julius clearly reassured Aaron Reed, suggesting she had unique abilities.
…
Darc openly sized up the old grandmother and suddenly said, “Half-fairy?”
The old grandmother’s brows jumped, revealing a surprised look, “Few people can see I’m half-imp at first glance.”
In fact, most people would assume she was half-elf upon seeing her ears and face.
Compared to the elusive, nearly mythical imps, the elf race was much more common and widely known.
Darc smiled, “Nothing, I’m just familiar with imps. Since there are two of you, I’ll ask two questions. How about that?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Aviva Julius said confidently.
“Julius…” Aaron Reed quickly signaled her.
But age didn’t change the fact that women were still women.
Julius ignored him completely.
Darc couldn’t help but smile, finding this pair quite fitting.
He said, “Alright, let’s start. Do you need paper and pen to record?”
“No.” Julius responded immediately.
“Good.” Darc nodded, “First question, listen carefully.”
Reed and Julius immediately focused.
The surrounding noise naturally lowered, and people on the second floor of the tavern had long noticed the dispute and were secretly listening.
Some curious people had even taken out paper and pens to record the questions posed by the noble young master.
Darc glanced around and said, “Assume \( n \) is an integer. Let the product of \( n \) Xs be denoted as \( x^n \). Then, when \( n > 2 \), does \( x^n + y^n = z^n \) have positive integer solutions? If so, how do you prove it? If not, how do you prove it?”
“Wait, what is \( x \) to the power of \( n \)?” Julius frowned subconsciously.
Darc slowly explained, “This involves the definition of powers…”
