Key point?
Song Qing’s mind raced, analyzing this success in light of their previous failures.
The earlier steps hadn’t changed, so the real difference must be in the final step: the lightning strike!
What was different about this lightning strike compared to the last time?
A few faint arcs of electricity flashed in his mind, and Song Qing’s body jolted. He exclaimed excitedly, “I understand now! I understand!
“Xu Ningyan, you truly are an extraordinary alchemical genius.
“Although you haven’t witnessed our previous failures, you knew all along, didn’t you? You knew the real reason for our failures from the start.”
No, I only know that your thoughts are gradually becoming more deranged… Xu Qi An smiled without speaking.
“What’s the key? Brother Song, what did you understand?”
“Brother Song, oh come on, stop keeping us in suspense. Tell us quickly, this alchemy is becoming an obsession for me.”
The white-robed alchemists asked urgently.
Song Qing coughed, looking around at his junior disciples, and said solemnly, “It’s the intensity of the lightning strike.”
After speaking, he looked to Xu Qi An for confirmation.
Xu Qi An nodded with a smile and suggested, “I call it voltage.”
The voltage for producing sodium metal should be controlled between 6 to 15 volts.
Voltage?!
Song Qing was stunned. This was another term he had never heard before. He knew about electricity, but what was voltage?
Instinctively, he felt that this was an extraordinary piece of knowledge, as profound as the essence of all things written in that blue book.
A white-robed alchemist stepped forward, cupping his hands towards Xu Qi An, “Please enlighten us, what is voltage?”
“Please teach us,” the other white-robed alchemists said in unison, also cupping their hands.
Chu Caiwei, standing to the side, was incredibly envious. She loved the feeling of being a teacher, instructing disciples. Unfortunately, as just a feng shui master, she wasn’t qualified to teach disciples yet.
Voltage, also called electric potential difference, is a physical quantity that measures the energy difference produced by unit charge in an electrostatic field due to different electric potentials… Of course, you wouldn’t understand any of this if I said it. Xu Qi An coughed, his expression serious:
“Electricity is like water flow, it moves towards lower points.”
Xu Qi An raised his teacup and poured out the water inside. “Pouring this cup on anyone wouldn’t matter, but if it were a waterfall, a person caught in it would have their bones broken by the force of the water, and might even lose their life. Electricity is the same, and I call this phenomenon voltage.”
He used this simple example to explain voltage.
The white-robed members of the Court of Judicial Astronomy frowned, deep in thought. They hadn’t fully grasped Xu Qi An’s words.
Although they were alchemists who could manipulate lightning, this didn’t mean they understood the essence of electricity.
Song Qing suddenly seemed to understand something and said excitedly, “So, lightning strikes trees during thunderstorms because the trees are at a low point? The same principle applies when it strikes people. Also, if it’s just a weak electric current, we’d feel numb at most, but if we were hit by heavenly lightning, we’d perish.
“The truth is, the voltage of heavenly lightning is so strong that it exceeds the limits of what mortals can bear, like a waterfall. While a weak current is like a cup of water, which can be endured.”
Hearing Song Qing’s words, the white-robed alchemists had a sudden revelation. They felt as if they had grasped a fundamental truth and looked to Xu Qi An for confirmation.
Uh, is that the principle? Isn’t the reason trees are struck by lightning due to the conductivity of rainwater? My middle school teacher didn’t explain this clearly… Xu Qi An wasn’t sure himself, but he smiled and said, “The student shows promise.”
“Is this also written in that alchemy secret manual?” a young white-robed alchemist asked, his face full of curiosity.
“Yes, only I have seen and studied that alchemy secret manual. The content in the notes I had sent to the Court of Judicial Astronomy is just a drop in the ocean.” After a pause, Xu Qi An said solemnly:
“That ancient alchemy manual not only contains knowledge but also many unheard-of alchemical techniques.”
Unheard-of alchemical techniques… Everyone’s breathing immediately grew heavier.
Xu Qi An smiled and made a promise that set the white-robed alchemists abuzz: “I’ve decided to share the alchemy secret manual with the Court of Judicial Astronomy.”
Whoosh!
Nearly twenty alchemists erupted in excitement.
“The blue book I gave to the Court of Judicial Astronomy was a thank-you gift for saving me. Guiding you to perfect the fake silver alchemy technique, as well as just now teaching you about voltage – these weren’t free,” Xu Qi An spoke eloquently:
“Of course, this includes the subsequent alchemy secret manual as well.
“Never forget, the principle of alchemy is equivalent exchange!”
Song Qing nodded, agreeing with Xu Ningyan’s reasoning, and asked on behalf of his junior disciples:
“How much silver do you want?”
“How crude!” Xu Qi An said solemnly, “How can alchemy be measured in silver?”
What’s free is the most expensive… he silently added in his heart.
…
In a side hall of the Langle County yamen.
Xu Lingyin, holding her sleeping younger sister in her arms, was crying while clutching a handkerchief.
Seeing the beautiful young woman in tears, the constables’ hearts were breaking. They hadn’t expected Xu Ningyan to have such a pretty sister.
Even Constable Wang, who had been to the courtesans’ quarters, was stunned by the young beauty.
The atmosphere in the side hall was somewhat depressing, with the constables looking glum and dispirited.
Constable Wang poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Xu Lingyin. This young beauty had been crying for half the day, her tears never stopping. Women truly were made of water.
“Miss Xu, don’t worry. The Hundred-Household will find a way to rescue Ningyan.”
The other constables also offered words of comfort, cursing Young Master Zhou.
My brother has a good relationship with his colleagues… Xu Lingyin was somewhat surprised. The constables’ indignant expressions didn’t seem feigned.
Seeming to notice her surprise, Constable Wang smiled and said, “Ningyan is a person worthy of respect.”
Respect? Xu Lingyin was taken aback. She sniffled and asked in a soft voice, “Constable Wang, can you tell me about my elder brother?”
Constable Wang was silent for a moment, unconsciously lowering his voice: “To be honest, for people like us, who among us has clean hands?
“It’s already considerate not to take advantage of ordinary people. As for those rich merchants, isn’t it only natural to extract some benefits from them?
“But your brother won’t do that. Whether it’s commoners or rich merchants, he never extorts or blackmails them. A while back, considering the Xu family’s recent misfortune, I decided to take him along to make some money…” At this point, Constable Wang’s expression was strange, a mix of embarrassment, shame, and admiration:
“He agreed with a smile, and afterward I gave him five taels of silver, but he secretly returned it to the person later.
“You could say he’s sensible, but doesn’t he understand the principle that water too clear has no fish? Yet if you say he’s not sensible, he’s quite good at getting along with everyone and maintaining good relationships all around. He’s quite smooth. That’s why everyone feels bad when he’s in trouble.”
Xu Lingyin listened intently, her brother’s image in her heart growing taller, brighter, and more magnificent.
She had always admired Xu Xinnian since childhood, because “all trades are low, only studying is high,” and because her mother always instilled in her that Second Brother was the only scholar in the Xu family, the future pillar.
This admiration reached its peak this year when Xu Xinnian passed the autumn imperial examinations and became a recommended scholar.
But with the subsequent tax silver case and the whole family’s imprisonment, when they were in despair and helplessness, her elder brother had carved out a path of survival for the whole family in that desperate situation.
Xu Lingyin shifted her attention back to her elder brother, developing some curiosity about him.
It wasn’t until today that she realized how reliable this elder brother was, just as he had rescued them from despair in prison a month ago.
And at that time, the feeling certainly wasn’t as profound as this time.
The moment she saw her elder brother save their sister, in Xu Lingyin’s heart, her elder brother’s image became equal to that of her second brother.
Now, hearing Constable Wang’s reflections, an image of a principled, upright person naturally emerged, rising layer by layer, already surpassing the second brother she had always admired.
At this moment, the light at the entrance of the side hall shifted, and Xu Pingzhi and his son finally returned to the Langle County yamen. Seeing their sister (daughter) safe and sound, the father and son were greatly relieved.
Xu Lingyin looked up, her face streaming with tears, and said in a mournful voice, “Father, you must save elder brother. If the elder brother doesn’t come back, your daughter won’t live either.”