Chapter 5 (1/2)

A Riddle To Be Solved

In 15 minutes, two bailiffs entered with the things Xu Qian requested.

The trio surveyed the items, then turned to look at Xu Qian.

Governor Chen’s deep voice boomed. “The things you requested are here. I expect a satisfactory answer.”

There was less indignance in his tone.

During the wait, the fourth-ranked court official had processed the prisoner’s words and saw the sense in them. However, further clarification was needed on certain parts of the case—what happened to the silver taels that fell into the river?

Governor Chen had no clue about the whereabouts of the missing silvers.

“If my contribution to the case proves fruitful, can you appeal to the Emperor for an absolution of the Xu family?”

Dafeng placed heavy emphasis on the male lineage—a father’s crime can be absolved by a son’s merit.

“Naturally,” Governor Chen said.

Xu Qian nodded and knelt before the assortment of items: a candle, salt, a porcelain cup and some metal wire.

He planned to perform a high school chemistry experiment, sodium metal extraction.

The ancient world lacked two things for the extraction to work, electricity and the heat source.

However, Xu Qian knew this world had a specialized occupation who could perform such feats.

The sixth-ranked sorcerer of the Imperial Astronomer specialized in alchemy.

The role of an alchemist was well-known throughout Dafeng. They were responsible for new inventions that made life easier for the common folk.

While the material that fell into the river might not be pure sodium, Xu Qian wanted to introduce an alternative explanation for the river explosion.

The initial phase of an investigation often required a bold hypothesis and strong reasoning, followed by rigorous testing and evidence collection.

A murder case from his past life resurfaced in his mind. He and his fellow detectives had missed many nights of sleep to pour through the case file and evidence locker.

They had gone through the details again and again—switching up the variables and forming new hypotheses.

An alchemist could cause an explosion even if the cart was not loaded with sodium metal.

That was good enough.

Xu Qian only wanted to point the investigators in the right direction.

With the right theory in mind, they should be able to apprehend the true mastermind.

Persistent efforts in tracking down the elusive monster would only bring failure and if or when they realized their mistake, Xu Qian would have been long gone.

Xu Qian dissolved the coarse salt in water and after a simple filtration, he poured the salt water into the porcelain cup.

Then, he heated the cup over the candle flame. He stirred the contents with a bamboo toothpick.

After some time, the water turned into steam and what was left was a crystalline solid, sodium chloride.

This was a purification step to obtain sodium chloride crystals.

Governor Chen, the middle-aged man and the beautiful young woman gathered around Xu Qian.

Xu Qian raised his head and gave the young woman in yellow a smile. “The lady is a disciple of the Imperial Astronomers?”

He took note of the Feng Shui compass at her waist—a specialized instrument used by those associated with the Imperial Astronomers.

The young woman made a sound of agreement and smiled. “My mentor is the Principal Imperial Astronomer.”

Her oval-shaped face was as fair and flawless as a peeled egg.

‘The disciple of the Principal Imperial Astronomer… Well, I guess I can overlook the disappointing chest area…’ Xu Qian said in a gentle tone, “Can I trouble the lady to melt these crystals?”

The melting of sodium chloride is 800 degree Celcius.

The young woman pursed her lips. “Only an alchemist has the ability to control fire, I’m at the rank of a Feng Shui sorcerer.

“I have a magic tool given by my master,” the young woman said as she held out the Feng Shui compass. Her fingers danced across the instrument and the word ‘fire’ glowed.

“Stand back!”