In the early morning mist, the rooster crowed, and a carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the clinic.
Bai Li lifted the curtain and jumped out of the carriage, stretching lazily.
She looked around but didn’t see the thin figure who usually swept the ground at this time.
Strange, she thought.
He was here sweeping yesterday.
Where is he today? Still sleeping?
At the same time, Liang Mao’er, carrying Liang Gou’er on his back, slowly hopped out of the carriage and headed into the clinic.
Despite Liang Gou’er’s large frame, he seemed weightless on Liang Mao’er’s back.
Liang Mao’er, with his honest smile, bid farewell to the young master and Bai Li, the princess. “Young Master, Princess, thank you for your hospitality. I’ll take my brother back to sleep now.”
The young master waved his hand with a smile. “Go ahead.”
As Liang Mao’er returned to the apprentice quarters, Bai Li tiptoed and peeked inside, still not seeing Chen Ji. “Strange, where did that black-hearted guy go?”
Chen Ji wasn’t at the clinic.
He was walking along the bluestone road toward the East Market.
As he walked, Wu Yun, the black cat, leaped gracefully along the rooftops beside him.
The cat moved like a spirit silently guarding Chen Ji.
The East Market was already bustling.
Goods from all over were being traded, and muscular workers carried sacks back and forth.
Chen Ji found a breakfast stall and sat at a small wooden table outside.
Wu Yun jumped lightly into his arms, hiding inside his clothes, only poking her head out from the collar.
“Chen Ji, buns!” the cat seemed to say.
Chen Ji smiled and waved to the waiter. “Two baskets of meat buns and a bowl of hot soy milk, please!”
“Coming right up! Just a moment, sir!”
When the buns arrived, Chen Ji held one in his right hand, taking big bites, while his left hand held another bun for Wu Yun to nibble on.
He ate slowly, waiting patiently.
Just as he finished his second bun, a middle-aged customer entered the neighboring grocery store. “Boss, how much for the saltpeter?”
The boss, sitting with his legs crossed, replied, “Three hundred coins per dou. We can deliver it within three miles… What do you need saltpeter for?”
The customer smiled. “I make matches. We use saltpeter every day. I usually buy from Old Li, but for some reason, his shop didn’t open this morning. Boss, three hundred coins is a bit steep. Can you lower the price?”
The boss, cracking melon seeds, replied indifferently, “Take it or leave it.”
The customer’s face darkened, and he turned to leave. “What kind of business is this? There are plenty of saltpeter sellers in the East Market. I don’t have to buy from you!”
The boss, still cracking seeds, didn’t care. “Then go somewhere else.”
Chen Ji watched the customer leave.
Immediately, a young man dressed as a boat tracker in the breakfast stall put down his chopsticks and followed the customer, keeping a distance of about ten steps.
The young man’s right hand had thick calluses, a sign of someone who had wielded weapons for years.
Chen Ji understood: the Golden Pig had made his move.
This Golden Pig was smarter and more low-key than expected.
Knowing that the Jing Dynasty coveted firearms, he had quietly set up shop in Luo City, placing spies disguised as merchants to track anyone buying saltpeter.
The Golden Pig lurked in the shadows of Luo City like a spider, weaving a web while the Jing Dynasty’s military intelligence relaxed its guard.
The firearms handed over by Consort Yun must have been stolen from the imperial workshops with inside help.
If the Golden Pig was as clever as he seemed, he was likely already inventorying the stock and tracking the stolen goods.
Would Consort Yun and the Liu family withstand his investigation?
The Jing Dynasty’s military intelligence and the Liu family had finally met their match.
Chen Ji kept his head down, eating his buns.
He and Wu Yun finished two baskets before leaving.
Both let out a satisfied burp. “So satisfying!”
Chen Ji wandered through the East Market.
Passing a sugar shop, he quickly glanced around.
The shopkeeper was genuinely selling brown and white sugar.
Servants of nobles bought sugar, but no one was tailing them.
After observing for a while, he approached the stall. “Boss, how much for brown and white sugar?”
The boss smiled. “Brown sugar is eighty coins per jin. The white sugar is ten taels of silver per jin.”
Chen Ji was stunned.
The white sugar was ridiculously expensive! But he quickly understood: in this era, most people used brown sugar.
The method to make white sugar was a closely guarded secret, known only to a few.
Only the wealthy could afford this “elegant” white sugar, a true luxury.
Chen Ji wondered if he should try making white sugar himself.
But he quickly dismissed the idea.
The method of using yellow mud to bleach sugar, as recorded in Tiangong Kaiwu, had been lost in his time.
No one had successfully replicated it.
Chen Ji took out a small piece of silver. “Boss, I’ll take one liang of white sugar, just one liang.”
He carried the sugar in a paper bag and bought a bamboo tube of strong liquor.
Now, he had all the materials to make gunpowder.
Chen Ji walked through the crowd, no longer looking like an outsider but like a local youth out for the market.
That night, the young master and Bai Li seemed to have grown tired of their antics and didn’t sneak out.
Chen Ji waited until everyone was asleep before taking the bamboo tube of saltpeter to the main hall.
Making gunpowder wasn’t as simple as mixing saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal in the right proportions.
The first step was purifying the materials.
This was why Chen Ji believed his gunpowder would be more powerful than the Jing Dynasty’s.
Their chemical knowledge was limited, and they likely didn’t know how to purify the materials properly.
Chen Ji set up a larger ceramic bowl over an oil lamp.
Wu Yun sat on the counter, tilting her head and meowing curiously. “Chen Ji, what are you doing?”
Chen Ji prepared the materials as he answered. “Just making some tools for self-defense before I become a proper official. Wu Yun, you’ve got sharp ears. If you hear anyone coming, let me know.”
He knew there were powerful officials in this world who could dodge gunpowder explosions with their speed.
But he didn’t need to deal with them.
His gunpowder would be enough.
Just as he was about to pour the saltpeter into the bowl, a crow flew into the main hall! Chen Ji and Wu Yun froze, exchanging confused glances.
Wu Yun meowed. “Should I catch it? Kill it to keep it quiet?”
The crow cawed mockingly, pointing its wing at Wu Yun.
The cat, annoyed, leaped to catch it, but the crow was faster.
The two black figures darted around the hall, Wu Yun’s movements almost too quick to follow.
Yet, she couldn’t even touch a feather of the crow.
This crow had clearly been trained by Old Yao for years.
It was practically a spirit!
Just as Chen Ji was about to call Wu Yun back, an old voice rang out. “What’s all this racket in the middle of the night?”
Chen Ji stiffened and slowly turned to see Old Yao. “Master…”
Old Yao glanced at Chen Ji, then walked to the counter, examining the oil lamp, bamboo tube, and ceramic bowl.
He frowned. “Why did you bring a kitchen bowl here?”
Chen Ji replied, “Oh, I just used it to drink some water.”
“Is that so…”
As Chen Ji breathed a sigh of relief, Old Yao took out six copper coins from his sleeve and tossed them onto the table.
The coins clinked as they landed.
Chen Ji’s heart skipped a beat.
Though Old Yao couldn’t tell what he was doing, the old man could divine the truth through fortune-telling.
Old Yao muttered as he interpreted the coins.
Chen Ji waited nervously, unsure what the old man would uncover.
After a moment, Old Yao shook his head. “Strange, I can’t see anything.”
He then went to the window, opened it, and gazed at the stars, muttering, “Great is the Qian Yuan, the source of all things, ruling the heavens…”
Suddenly, Old Yao turned back to Chen Ji. “What is this thing, so fierce and domineering?”
Chen Ji was stunned.
Did the old man really divine something?
Old Yao stared at Chen Ji. “I didn’t know you had such skills. What are you making this for? Planning a rebellion?”
Chen Ji quickly denied it. “No, no!”
Old Yao continued, “Do you know that if this gets out, you’ll be dead? Not even I can protect you. The entire Jing Dynasty won’t tolerate you.”
Chen Ji remained silent.
He wasn’t sure where Old Yao stood.
If the old man reported him, he’d have to flee.
It was a shame; he’d just started to settle into the clinic.
Chen Ji looked up. “Master, I didn’t mean to…”
Old Yao cut him off. “Hush money. Six taels.”
Chen Ji: “?”
The main hall was dim, with a cool autumn breeze blowing through the window, making the oil lamp’s flame flicker.
The light danced on Chen Ji’s face.
“So all that talk was just for hush money?” Chen Ji said, his voice steady.
“Not entirely,” Old Yao replied calmly. “I’m not doing this for money. I’m saving your life.”
Chen Ji sighed. “Do you know how much six taels can buy?”
Old Yao stroked his beard. “Yes. It can buy you setting up a ladder for Princess Bai Li.”
Chen Ji: “…”
So the old man knew everything.
No wonder the amount matched the toll fees!
Old Yao sneered. “This is my clinic. When the young master and princess pass through, they pay the toll. What’s wrong with that?”
Chen Ji argued, “But I did the work! I set up the ladder for them!”
Old Yao turned and brought out a bamboo recliner, placing it in the corridor between the main hall and the backyard. “I’ll keep watch here. I’m doing work too. Pay me six taels, and you can do what you need. With me here, no one will find out.”
The large bamboo recliner looked like a toy in the hands of the 92-year-old man.
Chen Ji: “... Is this even allowed?!”
Old Yao didn’t care.
He simply held out his hand. “The silver peanuts.”
Chen Ji reluctantly took out six silver peanuts from his sleeve and slapped them into Old Yao’s hand.
The old man happily tucked them away and lay down on the recliner, humming a tune. “The law-abiding worry day and night, while the strong live carefree…”
Chen Ji stared at him, unsure how to handle the old man.
Finally, he gritted his teeth. “Master, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Once you take the money, you’re an accomplice!”
Old Yao chuckled. “Threatening me? You’re still too young. Let’s see what you can make.”
Chen Ji said nothing more.
He added water to the ceramic bowl and placed it over the oil lamp, heating it slowly until it reached about 75 degrees.
Without a thermometer, Chen Ji relied on observation.
When bubbles started forming at 80 degrees, he moved the lamp away and let the water cool for five minutes.
He then added saltpeter and wood ash in an 8:1 ratio, stirring with a bamboo stick for fifteen minutes before filtering it through paper.
Old Yao, now standing nearby, watched intently.
Chen Ji ignored him and boiled the saltpeter water again until only a third remained.
He removed the lamp and waited for the thick liquid to cool.
When the temperature dropped below body heat, Chen Ji dipped a bamboo stick into the liquid and touched it to the counter.
The drop instantly crystallized into a transparent solid, like turning water into ice!
Old Yao’s eyes widened in amazement.
Chen Ji let out a long breath.
It was done!
End of Chapter.