“Sir?”
Fang Yingqiu's heart tightened as she watched.
Subconsciously, she rushed forward, pulled a small porcelain bottle from her robes, uncorked it, and sprinkled the pale yellow medicinal powder onto the blistered skin on the back of the old man's hand.
The old man looked up. Seeing a strange face, he was momentarily stunned, his eyes filled with confusion.
The moment she saw his face clearly, Fang Yingqiu froze as well. It wasn't because he was ugly—on the contrary, though his face was aged, it carried an aura of righteousness. The only thing that sent a shiver down her spine was that he had four eyes!
Yet, strangely enough, she did not find him terrifying. In fact, she even felt he was quite warm and amiable.
The old man adjusted the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, looked at Fang Yingqiu, and asked, “Young comrade, I haven't seen you around the research institute. How did you get in here?”
Fang Yingqiu panicked slightly.
But she quickly calmed herself down.
This was not the first time she had heard the unfamiliar term “young comrade.” Previously, on the Sky Curtain, Chen Zhi had also been addressed as “young comrade” by the senior who taught him the Guide to Prosperity.
Presumably, it was a friendly form of address.
“Junior Fang Yingqiu greets you, elder. I am not of this world. Fortunately, the Divine Lady bestowed a blessing upon me, allowing me to travel to this realm, where I chanced upon you.”
“I see,” the old man said, seemingly struck by a sudden realization. He asked with concern, “Then, young comrade, can you still go back?”
Fang Yingqiu nodded. “Yes, elder. The Divine Lady wished for me to see how mortals can turn stone into gold. Once I comprehend the profound mysteries within, I will be able to return.”
“How mortals turn stone into gold?” the old man repeated. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he said with certainty, “What your Divine Lady spoke of must be chemistry!”
“Sir, what is chemistry?”
Fang Yingqiu was utterly bewildered.
“Young comrade, come with me.” The old man led her to the long table covered in glassware.
He pointed to the objects on the table.
“This is chemistry.”
Fang Yingqiu said, “Sir, just now I saw you merely pour two cups of strange water together, only to be burned by a bizarre fire. It is best to avoid such dangerous things.”
The old man smiled and shook his head. “Young comrade, in the study of chemistry, getting hurt from failed experiments is a common occurrence. But we cannot simply give up just because we encounter a minor setback.”
“As the saying goes, failure is the mother of success.”
As he spoke, he began to manipulate the vessels and some stones on the table with his burned hand.
“In your land, how much is ice worth during the height of summer?”
The sudden shift in topic caught Fang Yingqiu off guard. Dazed, she replied, “Ice is difficult to store, so it has always been a luxury reserved for royalty and nobility. Naturally, it is worth a thousand gold pieces.”
“Mhm. Give me a moment, and I will show you the mortal way of turning stone into gold.”
The old man added some white powder to a cup of water.
Fang Yingqiu watched unblinkingly, yet she could not fathom what the old man was doing.
An unknown amount of time passed.
“It is done.” The old man gestured for her to look inside a larger vessel. “See what that is.”
“Is this... ice?!” Fang Yingqiu held her breath.
“Yes.”
The old man looked at her wide, staring eyes. “Mortals possess no immortal arts or divine powers, yet we can use saltpeter and other substances to create ice in the heat of summer. Is that not turning stone into gold?”
“The study of chemistry is truly miraculous!”
Fang Yingqiu exclaimed in awe.
“Chemistry is far more than just this. Right now, I am also crossing the river by feeling the stones, gathering experience from my failures.” The old man picked up a chemistry book from the table and handed it to her. “Young comrade, if you are interested in chemistry, this book contains the results of my experiments over the years. Perhaps it will be of use to you.”
Back in Yecheng, Fang Yingqiu looked at the chemistry book in her arms, her expression somewhat dazed.
“Fang Yingqiu.”
“After this experience, what have you realized?” The Divine Lady's cool voice suddenly echoed in her ears.
Gradually coming to her senses, Fang Yingqiu bowed three times toward the Divine Lady, her eyes brimming with tears as she choked out, “This junior bows in gratitude to the Divine Lady for imparting this knowledge. Before, I was blinded by a single leaf, utterly unaware that mortals possessed such wisdom. In the future, I will dedicate myself to studying the way of chemistry and spread its teachings far and wide.”
“I will not fail your benevolence, Divine Lady!”
Just making ice alone could benefit millions of people across the world. If she could grasp the true essence of that chemistry book, how immense would the merit be? It was simply immeasurable!
Even if she ended up maimed, or transformed into someone with an unusual appearance like that elder, she would still learn chemistry!
This was the only opportunity to clear the tarnished name of the Daoist sect!
“Very well.”
The Divine Lady glanced at Fang Yingqiu, then swept her gaze over everyone present, slowly speaking, “Today's three questions have all been answered. I am highly pleased.”
“For the next three years, the six domestic animals of Yecheng shall flourish and multiply.”
Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
The flourishing of the six domestic animals meant that horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs, and chickens would all multiply and thrive.
What... what an incredible blessing this was?!
Only after a long while...
...did Cheng Ji snap out of this immense pleasant surprise. Just as he was about to bow and thank the Divine Lady, he saw her figure vanish into the wisteria flower gate, and the gate itself disappeared along with her.
【Cheng Ji Shock Value +100】
【Ye Qingqing Shock Value +100】
【Fang Yingqiu Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 3,212,000】
Once the shock subsided, the crowd knelt and bowed toward the sky to pay respects to the Divine Lady.
Afterward, Cheng Ji rose and walked over to Fang Yingqiu, solemnly clasping his hands in a respectful salute. “Daoist Master Xuan Jing, may I request that you remain at Yecheng Academy to teach the students the way of chemistry?”
Flattered and surprised, Fang Yingqiu quickly helped him up. “Governor Cheng, you are too polite. This humble Daoist has the exact same intention.”
The academy was divided into the Southern and Northern Academies. Previously, a rule had been established that female teachers would instruct female students, while male teachers would instruct male students.
Consequently...
...upon hearing that the academy would invite Daoist Master Xuan Jing to teach chemistry, only the female students were delighted, while the male students were left with crestfallen faces.
The miraculous ability of chemistry to turn stone into gold, as seen on the Sky Curtain, was still fresh in their minds. Who wouldn't yearn to study such knowledge?
Not to mention the male students, even the male instructors were itching with intense curiosity about chemistry.
They walked over. “Governor, we believe that dividing the academy into Southern and Northern Academies is, after all, somewhat inappropriate...”
Cheng Ji: “...”
In the beginning, they were the ones clamoring for separate academies.
Now, they were also the ones claiming it was inappropriate.
“We shall discuss this matter later.”
...
Yun Shu returned to her residence in Xindu through a real teleportation portal and splayed herself out across the bed.
“Playing the Divine Lady is so damn exhausting!”
Naturally, she lacked the ability to transport people across time. This entire show relied entirely on dream-weaving and her acting skills.
The little fox lay beside Yun Shu, panting like a dog from exhaustion. It complained bitterly, “Host, please don't make me play multiple roles all by myself next time. It really takes a toll on a System.”
Yun Shu patted the little fox's head. “It couldn't be helped. The Dream-Entering Bell can only construct dreams; it can't give them physical items. If we wanted to hand those books over to them in a completely logical way, we needed you to act as an NPC in the dreamscape.”
“Alright, we've rested for ten minutes. That's enough.” With a quick kip-up, she sat up on the bed. “System, we need to take advantage of this dark and windy night to go do something big.”
“Host, I'm so tired. I want to sleep.” The little fox rolled around on the bed, acting spoiled and refusing to budge.
“Then rest at home.”
Seeing Yun Shu turn and leave, the little fox panicked.
“H-Host... don't leave me behind...”
In truth, the System didn't need rest at all. It simply wanted Yun Shu to rest a bit more at home.
Its host worked too hard.
Sigh.
Rate on N.U.
