The Ancestral Legacy Begins in the Wild West

Chapter 191 Paris is a hotbed of passion

"The scholars and nobles of Paris are not necessarily ignorant. It's just that this is a woman's story, and perhaps not many people will record it."

Even on the day of their execution, countless Roman women donned black veils and robes and took to the streets to mourn them, spreading the recipe for the elixir far and wide throughout Rome.

Looking at the colorless and odorless liquid in his flask, Zhang Chang'an calmly said, "French alchemy is indeed powerful. If you hadn't changed the formula, those wealthy merchants and nobles could have been saved."

But precisely because of this, Parisians have always been arrogant, both towards women and towards ordinary history. Therefore, they would rather resort to underhanded tactics than painstakingly examine the genealogies of noble families throughout Paris.

He shrugged and said, "I'm different. I'm locked up here, I have plenty of time, and I have a whole bunch of fellow vagrants and strangers who are just as bored as I am."

Isabella decisively switched the sword to her left hand, then picked up the beaker on the table and held it up to the light for a glance.

His gaze toward Zhang Chang'an became even more complicated.

Zhang Chang'an waved his hand casually: "Although I've learned some basic alchemy, my main job is as an alchemist, which means I make medicine. Your improved formula contains many ingredients from Eastern herbs, so it's not difficult for me to replicate it."

But don't worry, the alchemists in Paris won't be able to replicate it anytime soon, let alone create an antidote.

Isabella listened to his words, but she did not lower her guard at all because of his handsome appearance or gentle attitude. Instead, she decisively took half a step back.

"You're a dangerous guy." She crossed her arms and said with extreme vigilance, "You're so good at reading people's minds, no wonder so many poor people are so concerned about you."

Zhang Chang'an calmly shook his head, thinking to himself, "Can you blame me? This character setting was all given to me by Lord Lan. As for the formula and history of this immortal elixir—I'm not that knowledgeable. Wasn't that all told to me by the family genealogy?"

Of course, he has now become quite accustomed to Lan Gong's way of doing things: "To be honest, I may not be a purely good person. But compared to nobles, I am indeed more willing to help those who are being oppressed."

He wiped the water off his hands on his trousers, then turned around to face Isabella.

"I come from the East. Here in France, there are many more people like this. Aren't you one of them?"

Upon hearing this, Isabella remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "I don't like your personality and the way you talk."

Her expression showed a hint of annoyance and resentment: "I feel like you've already guessed everything, but you're still waiting for me to speak."

Seeing her reaction, Zhang Chang'an couldn't help but smile: "Miss Iris, you're a smart person."

As he spoke, he poured the liquid from the beaker into the waste container, then turned it upside down on the shelf. He turned around, leaned against the edge of the table, and crossed his arms. "I won't repeat what those guys behind you were up to. You were being chased by Rançois before you came in, right?"

Isabella's deep blue eyes stared straight at Zhang Chang'an.

"Yes." Her tone was crisp and decisive: "After those people pinned the blame for the assassination of Mara on me, that guy started hunting me down like a madman. Besides my situation, everything else outside is more chaotic than ever."

"De Lamothe and his gang saw my predicament. Even if I could get my hands on Mara's body, or any other evidence, it would still be very difficult to clear my name."

Besides, cleaning it wouldn't make a difference. Given the current level of attention, nobles and wealthy merchants anywhere in France would be on high alert, and our business would be doomed no matter what.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chang'an couldn't help but smile again: "You really believe I can handle such a complicated situation?"

Isabella's expression froze for a moment. Her brows furrowed, her lips pursed, and a strange resentment welled up in her blue eyes.

Zhang Chang'an immediately stopped laughing and raised a hand to reassure her. "Okay, I won't keep you in suspense any longer." His tone became much more serious: "There is indeed a way to resolve this situation. However, if we're going to do it, we have to do it thoroughly."

Isabella's expression also turned serious as she listened to Zhang Chang'an continue: "I know that your goal is not just to poison more noblemen or wealthy merchants. Your organization, the Free Iris, has helped many people in Paris, both men and women."

Besides helping noble ladies and young women break free from their shackles, you also used their connections to share a considerable amount of funds and opportunities with some lower-class men and women who had helped you.

It's precisely because of this approach that some people who are helping you believe you're on the same page as them, which is why I was able to locate you so quickly.

"But have you ever considered that this level is far from enough?"

Isabella remained silent, but her expression showed neither sudden enlightenment nor confusion; she knew what Zhang Chang'an was talking about. She just hadn't dared to think about it in those ways before.

Zhang Chang'an's gaze shifted from her face, then rose, looking through the narrow window high up in the laboratory at the city of Paris.

The window was small, and the shadow of the iron bars lay across the glass, cutting the night outside into strips.

There was a layer of dark orange light on the distant horizon, reflected from the city lights, blurry and indistinct, like a layer of ash that hadn't burned through on charcoal.

"Whether it's women or the poor, the reason there is so much suffering is simply because of the people at the top."

He turned his gaze from the window to Isabella's face: "France is a land of passion. Reims has a strong religious atmosphere, Lyon is where industry is emerging. Bordeaux connects to the East, and there's also shipping."

People lived and grew up here, and new ideas began to sprout here long ago. Revolutionary thoughts and anger had been buried in people's hearts for a very long time.

Isabella's gaze did not leave his face.

She knew this situation all too well. She had grown up in Reims and had seen the women kneeling and praying under the bell tower of the monastery, kneeling until their knees bled but refusing to get up, because the priest said they were born sinful.

At the docks of Bordeaux, merchant ships from the East unloaded porcelain, silk, and tea, filling the entire street, but the workers unloading the goods couldn't even get a decent meal.

Whether it was the suffering of a noblewoman like her or the suffering of commoners, the vast majority of these sufferings stemmed from the royal family and the upper classes, from the so-called rules of the old era.

Zhang Chang'an's voice hadn't stopped: "If we want to truly solve all these problems, there's only one path: to dismantle them. That is, revolution."

Isabella's fingers tightened slightly. She knew all this, but she also understood that such a thing was easier said than done.

She understood the depth of the French aristocracy better than most people. She grew up in that environment.

Those family ledgers recorded the land, mines, and workshops accumulated over hundreds of years, as well as the hereditary titles and official positions that had been passed down since the time of Charlemagne.

These are the very people who possess incredibly mature alchemy technology that can be used for both public and military purposes.

In addition, she was well aware of the situation outside: the Jacobins and Girondins were tearing each other apart in the National Convention, and new slogans, banners, and lists of executions appeared on the streets every day.

The people are filled with anger, chanting slogans and waving flags, but they can't even clearly articulate what they want.

Even knowing the difficulties ahead, she didn't speak, but instead focused her gaze on Zhang Chang'an's face once more.

This person possessed a strange quality that he noticed from the very first meeting. He was unassuming and incredibly gentle, unlike any traditional leader, yet he inexplicably drew attention to himself and made his words travel further.

It was this very quality that kept Isabella from thinking about the difficulties of the revolution.

Isabella's gaze never left him. She wasn't even aware that she had been watching him the whole time.

"Even the most ignorant poor people who have no idea what the new era is, or even the Jacobins, with their extremely radical methods, are all potential catalysts for changing the current situation. All we need is a catalyst."

Zhang Chang'an paused for a moment. "In contrast, the royal family's only reliance is alchemy technology."

Upon hearing this, Isabella suddenly turned to look at the surrounding instruments, flasks, bottles and jars on the shelves, and the dense experimental data on the walls.

"So," she realized something, "you did this for—"

Zhang Chang'an neither confirmed nor denied this: "In just this short time, I cannot bring the technology here to anyone in Paris. However, this is the only place where I can find opportunities."

"The royal family and nobles are too powerful to control. Only when they thoroughly enrage the people and their technology itself malfunctions will our goal have any chance of success."

Zhang Chang'an made no attempt to keep everyone in suspense and immediately added, "And it's not entirely impossible to find opportunities to achieve these things."

You only found out after you got here, right? Their experiments are conducted on the human body.

Isabella nodded. This fact was a secret to most of the prisoners and even the guards here, but it wasn't hard for her, who was used to infiltrating, observing, and investigating all sorts of secrets.

"Almost every day, there are secret test subjects being transported out."

Zhang Chang'an nodded: "Here, a large number of captured poor people and prisoners are being subjected to alchemical experiments. Even human alchemy—"

Think about why Corday and Rançois became so radical. Some of their methods have achieved a degree of mind control and manipulation.

Isabella narrowed her eyes slightly.

"So," she said, "we need to expose these things?"

Zhang Chang'an nodded. He turned around, pulled a report from the pile of documents on the table, held it in his hand, flipped through a couple of pages, and stopped on one of them.

The paper was densely covered with the experimental numbers and details of countless experimental subjects.

"I've found the opportunity." Zhang Chang'an held up the report and waved it at her.

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