As Zhong Shenxiu examined the evidence, Robin stood obediently to the side. Truthfully, she was utterly curious about what her master was doing, why he was peering here and there, as if searching for something—hadn’t he said there was no need to search anymore?

Zhong Shenxiu, already forming a hypothesis, glanced at the dutifully waiting Robin. Knowing her curiosity, he quickly called out, "Robin, come here for a moment."

Robin didn't know why Zhong Shenxiu was calling her, but she obediently walked over.

At that moment, Zhong Shenxiu picked up a stone from the ground—a stone that had been cleanly sliced in half by a sharp blade.

"Robin, what can you discern from this?" Zhong Shenxiu handed the stone to Robin.

Robin took the stone and examined it repeatedly, but no matter how she looked, it appeared to be just an ordinary rock! Could this thing possibly be used for artifact refinement?

Robin couldn't comprehend it, so she could only shake her head and reply, "Master, Robin cannot understand. I only know this is an ordinary stone!"

Zhong Shenxiu knew Robin had obviously jumped to the wrong conclusion and quickly prompted her, "What clues can you gather from this stone?"

Clues? Question marks immediately popped up in Robin’s mind. With this query, she meticulously scrutinized the stone again!

After looking for a long time, Robin could only make out one detail: "Master, this must have been split by something!"

"Anything else? Can you see anything more?" Zhong Shenxiu looked at Robin with an air of profound wisdom.

Robin shook her head; she could only perceive things on that surface level!

Zhong Shenxiu sighed inwardly. He thought to himself that this little lass still had so much to learn!

He quickly retrieved the stone from Robin's hand and pointed to the fractured surface, saying, "You are correct; this stone was split in two, but not by 'something,' but by a sword. Judging by the direction of the stone's cross-section, this sword must have been 2.3 centimeters thick; and judging by the smoothness, we can infer the acceleration of this person’s sword swing, which in turn allows us to deduce this person’s strength. This individual’s strength should be that of a Great Swordsman, and a Great Swordsman much stronger than the average!"

Listening to Zhong Shenxiu’s explanation, Robin looked at the stone with surprise. She had never imagined that such a small piece of rock could convey so much information! Unconsciously, her admiration for Zhong Shenxiu deepened!

Zhong Shenxiu clearly intended to teach Robin some methods of deduction, so he pointed to the messy patch of ground and asked, "Robin, look here. What information can you gather from this?"

Robin knew this was Zhong Shenxiu guiding her. In order not to disappoint her master, she observed and analyzed very diligently, but after staring for a long time, she still couldn't make sense of anything.

Her experience was too limited; her thinking hadn't reached that level yet!

The study of deduction wasn't something that could be mastered simply by being clever or having a strong memory; it demanded an extremely strong capacity for inverse thinking!

Zhong Shenxiu chuckled and analyzed the situation for Robin again: "Look at this terrain. Compared to the surroundings, it has clearly undergone a change. Judging by the freshness of the soil, this was not naturally formed, but occurred later, and very recently. Think about what could cause such an effect?"

Zhong Shenxiu stared at Robin, not continuing, hoping she could arrive at the answer he was about to deliver.

Robin stared blankly at Zhong Shenxiu, absorbing his words. Unconsciously, she felt as if she had grasped something, yet couldn't articulate it. It was a marvelous sensation, as if a key had unlocked her entire brain, bringing sudden enlightenment.

"It was... caused by magic...!?" Robin’s reply lacked certainty and her tone was somewhat weak.

"Exactly, it was caused by magic, and specifically, Earth element magic!" Zhong Shenxiu smiled gently.

It seemed Robin was indeed a malleable talent; what she currently lacked was only good guidance and a massive accumulation of experience!

Receiving Zhong Shenxiu’s affirming answer, Robin also smiled. She hadn't expected to guess correctly, and she felt a budding interest in the "Study of Deduction"!

Seeing that Robin seemed interested, as if forgetting her previous frustration, Zhong Shenxiu began teaching her how to observe and how to reason!

One taught diligently, the other learned earnestly, and with theory linked to practice, Robin gradually grasped a few tricks.

However, although she had grasped a little, she was still very, very far from Zhong Shenxiu’s standard requirement! The current Robin could only perceive some obvious surface details! She still couldn't deduce anything deeper!

But this was temporary. It was believed that as long as Robin followed Zhong Shenxiu, she would surely become as meticulous in observation and agile in thought as he was—though that, of course, was a story for later!

Time slipped by, and several hours passed unnoticed.

Seeing that he had already instilled a significant amount of knowledge in Robin, Zhong Shenxiu decided she needed time to digest it, so he stopped teaching for the moment.

"Robin, we should go back now." Zhong Shenxiu called to Robin, who was currently squatting on the ground, examining things closely.

Robin murmured an "Oh," stood up, but still glanced back regretfully. It seemed her current interest in deduction was more than just simple curiosity!

On the way back, Robin seemed lost in thought, following Zhong Shenxiu absentmindedly. Zhong Shenxiu, perhaps deliberately avoiding disturbing her contemplation, also remained silent, and the two walked back to the newly purchased house in quietude.

"Ah, I understand now!" As soon as they entered the door, Robin, who had been deeply pondering the problem, suddenly exclaimed.

Zhong Shenxiu looked at her with slight amusement, wondering what thought had provoked such a strong reaction!

Seeing Zhong Shenxiu look at her, Robin immediately realized her lapse in composure and stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to say!

Zhong Shenxiu didn't press for details, instead heading into the room to prepare lunch!

Their lunch was simple: plain rice with two side dishes. Though not lavish, Robin ate with evident enjoyment!

After the meal, just as Robin was about to wash the dishes, Zhong Shenxiu stopped her.

"Robin, I will be entering seclusion now. It might be as short as a week, or as long as two months!"

Robin stared at Zhong Shenxiu in surprise. She had heard him explain the meaning of 'seclusion' before, and she understood it very clearly!

Robin couldn't quite grasp why her master would enter seclusion at this moment. Shouldn't he have started by performing the Yi Jing Xi Sui on her first?

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