Tower Jumper, The One To Win Him Over Is You

Skycrest Tower in Lyndaria is the tallest tower in the Nine Provinces Realm. Octagonal, thirteen stories high, reaching 85.5 meters, standing at its summit truly gives you the feeling of 'scaling the heights and gazing down on all the mountains.'

But the summit is usually closed to the public, so the people of Shangjing are deeply curious about the so-called madman who jumps from the top every few days and somehow never gets caught by the authorities. Whenever he comes to jump, crowds gather to watch.

Serena prided herself on having good eyesight, but standing at the base of the tower, she couldn't see anything—just a vague black dot, unsure if it was a person or the corner of the tower.

"Who is that?" After waiting a while and still not seeing anyone jump, Serena poked Prince Nolan in the chest.

"You'll know when he jumps down." Prince Nolan had been particularly uncooperative these days. Whatever Serena asked, he refused to answer, always making her figure it out herself. It made Serena so mad she wanted to bite him.

Seeing Serena grinding her teeth in frustration, Prince Nolan was quite pleased.

Let you act calm, let you pretend nothing interests you, let you show no curiosity—I'll drive you crazy!

Hmph... Serena turned her head away in pride, refusing to bow to tyranny. No matter what, she'd know once the person jumped. So what if she knew? She deliberately acted unbothered—just to annoy him!

Serena wasn't in a hurry, but the crowd was. Seeing the man hesitate for so long, some impatient onlookers began shouting, "Jump! Jump! Hurry up and jump!"

"Are you jumping or not? If not, I'm leaving."

"Yeah, hurry up! If you don't jump soon, I'll miss the market!"

"Jump, jump, just jump already!"

......

After a long wait with no one jumping, the crowd started sighing and groaning so loudly that Serena had to grab Prince Nolan's hand to cover her ears. She didn't want her eardrums shattered.

The person on the tower seemed completely unaffected by the commotion below. No matter how much the crowd urged, he still didn't jump. Serena really couldn't figure out why Prince Nolan was waiting for him.

There are madmen everywhere, but this one is so unusual that even Prince Nolan broke character and came to watch?

Serena thought, this person must be some kind of martial arts expert. Otherwise, jumping from a tower over eighty meters high would leave anyone as a pile of mush. Was Prince Nolan trying to recruit him?

Serena glanced up, using her eyes to silently ask Prince Nolan if he was planning to recruit this tower-jumper.

After all, there's a fine line between madness and genius. If you could tame a madman like this, he'd surely be a rare talent.

Unfortunately, it seemed their brainwaves weren't in sync. Prince Nolan didn't get what Serena meant. Seeing her looking at him, he let go of her hand and leaned close to her ear: "He's waiting for the wind."

He'll only jump when the wind rises.

"Waiting for the wind? Does he want to ride the wind?" The noisy environment made conversation impossible, so Serena simply wrapped her arms around Prince Nolan's neck, hanging onto him in public just to whisper in his ear.

Everyone was waiting for the man atop the tower to jump, so no one paid attention to Serena and Nolan's unusual closeness. Prince Nolan simply hugged her tighter, pressing her close to himself.

"He's jumping." Prince Nolan turned, holding Serena as they joined the crowd moving toward the spot where the man was about to land.

Whoosh...

Serena saw a black dot leap from above, growing larger as it fell. She finally understood—

This so-called tower-jumping madman was actually a research fanatic. Didn't anyone notice the huge kite strapped to his back? He wasn't trying to kill himself—he was using the tower and the wind to test his glider, seeing if he could fly. But why did he look so familiar?

"Have I seen him before?" The speed of his fall was so fast that Serena only caught a glimpse of his face.

"Zuo An, the assassin. Tell me, have you seen him before?" Prince Nolan dragged Serena forward, using hidden strength to push through the crowd until they reached the front.

Bang—just in time to see Zuo An crash to the ground, his kite shattering on impact and burying him beneath it.

The crash was so loud that Serena winced in sympathy, instinctively shrinking back.

"Is he dead? Is he dead?"

"He should be dead this time, right? He's jumped so many times and never died. If he survives today, will he jump again next time?"

......

Even a top martial artist would be seriously hurt by a fall like that. Serena hesitated, wondering if she should step forward to help. After all, Zuo An had once shown her mercy and even revealed a major secret to her.

"Don't go. He'll be fine." Serena's brow twitched, and Prince Nolan immediately knew what she was thinking, quickly pulling her back.

If Serena acted now, their cover would be blown. Their identities would be exposed, but it couldn't be for nothing.

Just as Prince Nolan finished speaking, a squad of officers approached. Serena worried for Zuo An—assassins never want to be in the spotlight—but to her shock, the officers knelt on one knee before him: "Young master, are you alright?"

"Get lost." Zuo An snapped coldly.

Good, his voice was strong—clearly, Zuo An hadn't suffered any serious harm from the fall.

But Serena was even more confused now. What was going on? Wasn't Zuo An supposed to be an assassin? How did he suddenly become a Lyndarian young master? His status seemed anything but ordinary.

"Let's go. We'll talk about it back at the inn." Prince Nolan saw that the excitement was over and, with the officers arriving, it wasn't the right time to get chummy with Zuo An. He pulled Serena away.

They checked into the best inn in the capital. The manager and staff were so attentive that Serena was baffled—until Prince Nolan explained, "I'm the real owner behind this place."

"Uh... You're not running this inn just to make money, are you?" Nolan's reach was impressive, and Serena was genuinely impressed.

Inns and taverns were full of all sorts of people and the latest gossip. Building such a lavish inn meant regular folks couldn't afford it—it was clearly meant for gathering intelligence.

"Half and half." Nolan admitted, "I didn't open the inn just for profit, but I can't keep running a losing business forever."

The business of the top estate in the realm spanned all Nine Provinces. While everyone else looked down on merchants, Prince Nolan started out as a traveling trader, building his own power from scratch.

It wasn't that he had exceptional foresight—years ago, this was the only path open to him, starting out in a lowly, overlooked trade.

"You really are a master strategist." Serena gave Prince Nolan a thumbs-up.

This man was terrifying. While others were still playing in the mud as kids, he'd already started plotting for power. To think he'd open the best inn in Lyndaria's capital—if the Emperor found out, he'd probably cough up blood.

"I call it long-term planning." Prince Nolan corrected her sternly. He was much older than Serena and refused to be labeled as 'old.'

"Same difference." Serena poured two cups of tea, handing one to Prince Nolan. "So, what's the deal with Zuo An? Isn't he an assassin? Why did the Lyndarian officers call him 'young master'? And did you bring me to Lyndaria just to find Zuo An? Are you trying to recruit him?"

If that was the case, Serena was happy to help. She could offer a couple of strategies. Judging by Zuo An's behavior, he was a mechanical fanatic. It wouldn't be hard for Prince Nolan to win over someone like that.

"It's true we came to Lyndaria for Zuo An, but it's not me who needs to win him over—it's you." With the assassin most familiar with the trade protecting her, Serena's safety would finally be assured...