Since Xu Yun was speaking in standard Chinese at the end, the name 'Li Feiyu' sounded extremely awkward and strange to Newton.
"Donkey Fat Fish?"
In the room, Newton mumbled as he repeated the name, then furrowed his brows and asked:
"Judging by your appearance... are you from the East?"
Xu Yun nodded slightly, not finding this surprising:
"That's right, my ancestors came from the Eastern Land."
In Huaxia's long civilization history, exchanges with other nations were almost never interrupted.
For example, the famous Silk Road.
In 119 BC, Emperor Wu of Han sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, starting from the capital city of Chang'an, through Central Asia and various West Asian countries, finally reaching Rome, thus opening the Silk Road.
Upon reaching Rome, silk was unanimously admired by Caesar and the princes and nobles, becoming a symbol of power and status.
Since then, trade caravans organized by the official or civil sectors gradually formed an industrial transport chain between Asia and Europe.
These caravans might not have been particularly large in scale, but their frequency was quite substantial, with instances where caravans returned after several dynasties had passed.
Over time, some local merchants simply settled in Europe.
For example, in the 13th century, there was a settlement of local merchants in Naples, Italy.
At that time, about a hundred Huaxia people settled there, began to proliferate, and eventually in the 15th century nearly perished in a plague, leaving no further historical records.
Due to the above reasons, although many Europeans had not seen Eastern people, the concept of black hair, black eyes, and yellow skin equaling Eastern people proliferated.
After all, Europe is a small place, unlike the vast land of the homeland; even in the early '90s, some remote areas still viewed foreigners as evil spirits.
So, Newton knowing that Xu Yun was from the East wasn't something particularly strange — of course, his knowledge of the East ended there.
He had no idea how many countries existed in the East or what dynasty it currently was.
And precisely because of this...
Newton couldn't help but become curious about Xu Yun's background:
In this era, meeting a live Eastern person was only slightly easier than meeting a foreign Bat Lady — at this time, if you took a trip to Northern Europe, you might even stumble upon a broke Bat Lady.
Returning his gaze to the original spot.
Seeing the slightly curious look on Newton's face, Xu Yun adjusted his breath and recited the prepared introduction:
"That's right, as you can see, I am a descendant of an Eastern person. My ancestors came from a sect called Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect..."
Newton suddenly interrupted him, repeating with some doubt:
"sect?" (I looked it up, there is indeed the term sect in Early Modern English, but it somewhat resembles a gang)
"That's right, sect."
Xu Yun nodded to indicate there was no mistake with the term, then explained:
"The concept of a sect is somewhat similar to the University of Cambridge; my ancestors worked there and were dispatched to Europe several decades ago..."
Seeing Newton's face showing a thoughtful expression, Xu Yun continued:
"Initially, my grandfather settled in Amsterdam, and usually had some trade interactions with London here — for instance, such as cotton, like the material of my shoes.
However, due to the plague this time, I accidentally lost contact with my family while leaving the city, and in panic, I saw apples in the orchard and boldly intruded... "
Newton's face remained unchanged upon hearing this, but his eyes flashed with a light of realization.
He didn't have too much doubt about Xu Yun's story and even made some logical assumptions himself.
Firstly, Amsterdam is now Europe's most important port and trade city, gathering merchants and gang organizations from all over.
According to current developmental trends, Amsterdam might develop further in the future — indeed, it became the world's financial and cultural center in the 17th century.
But by the 21st century, Amsterdam's halo gradually faded, and even developed an indescribable supply chain.
Developing this industry isn't surprising, but being able to issue invoices to reimburse it is tmd outrageous...
Ah, you ask why I know this?
It's an old hand firecracker brilliant from a group chat called Seventh Group who told me!
Ahem...
Returning to the topic.
In short, based on this point, Xu Yun's background is still plausible.
After all, although his clothes looked somewhat odd, from the fabric one can see that his family must be well-off.
The second reason for Newton's belief is the spreading pattern of the current epidemic, which is highly suspected to originate from the Netherlands:
In 1663-1664, a plague outbreak in Amsterdam resulted in over 50,000 deaths.
The merchant ships transporting cotton from Amsterdam to the United Kingdom might have brought the plague virus into London, afflicting the dock areas and St. Giles' District first.
Thus, in terms of the travel route, Xu Yun's situation aligns with existing circumstances:
A wealthy Eastern family's eldest or second son fleeing to London to take refuge one or two years ago and losing contact with his family due to unfamiliar routes while evacuating from London again recently...
Thinking this, Newton couldn't help but squint his eyes:
"Feiyu... Fat Fish, right? I personally sympathize with your plight, but what are your plans next?"
When saying this, Newton's mind was turning quickly.
In Xu Yun's earlier words, he admitted 'boldly intruding' into Newton's estate, which directly eliminated Newton's main concern about disputations.
Moreover, now that Xu Yun had recovered his mobility, Newton had already gained absolute control over the situation.
Of course.
Young Mr. Niu did not know that Xu Yun's latter sentence was deliberately said for him to hear — after all, Mr. Niu's character was almost universally known in the future physics community; whether to pander to him or to step on his toes was very simple.
Therefore, in response to Newton's query, Xu Yun had just the right trace of embarrassment on his face:
"Mr. Newton, I am currently separated from my family and have nowhere to go, could I stay at your esteemed place temporarily?
Please rest assured, my parents are fairly wealthy, and you will not be shortchanged — if need be, we can sign an agreement, and if there is anything at your home that requires assistance, please feel free to call upon me."
Opposite Xu Yun.
Upon hearing the words 'fairly wealthy,' a flicker of light immediately crossed Newton's eyes.