…
When Camer Strell returned home, it was completely dark.
After having dinner in the company of his family, he returned to his study and wrote the raw material formula and experience of crystal glass into his book "The Gate of Alchemy", which recorded his journey from apprentice to chief alchemist. At the same time, it also includes all the alchemy formulas summarized by Chishui City Alchemy Workshop over the years.
Kemo believes that with this book, he will leave his name in history, and even after thousands of years, those alchemists will deeply remember his name.
It wasn't until the candle flame was close to the base that Kemo put down his quill and prepared to undress for bed.
Suddenly, he remembered that there was a letter from the prince that had not been opened, and glanced at the candle that was only the length of his fingernail. He decided to use the last time to read the letter, and he would verbally reply to the messenger tomorrow. Enough for him to write dozens of words, but enough to read a worthless letter.
Opening the envelope, there were three thin sheets of paper in it. The first page was a common courtesy, introducing his title and territory. Kaimo didn't even bother to read it, so he skipped to the second page.
The content of the second page surprised him a little. It was neither a recruitment nor a reprimand, but a strange five-element formula. If you look carefully, each line of formula consists of three sentences.
Heh, it's a bit interesting, he smiled, no matter what the prince's purpose was, at least he would be able to make a fool of himself.
He scanned the first line of formulas.
The dry distillation of saltpeter produces nitric acid.
Saltpeter... dry distillation... acid, all alchemical terms. Wait, Kaimo was startled suddenly, isn't this one of the two-stone acid-making methods in the alchemy workshop
The acid liquid from the dry distillation of saltpeter must be collected in a special container, which looks no different from ordinary water vapor and is difficult to attract attention. But its corrosiveness is very strong, not only can ablate the skin, but even dissolve some metals.
This... is actually an alchemy formula? Could it be that there are also alchemists in Border Town
He quickly moved his gaze to the next line
If the first sentence surprised him, the second sentence was incredible.
It consists of a bunch of inexplicable symbols that are juxtaposed to form two equations. Kaimer frowned, he had never seen such an odd symbol.
Further down, the third sentence seems to be an explanation of the second sentence, including the names and meanings of those symbols. To be honest, he still couldn't figure it out after reading it. Those tongue-in-cheek words seemed to be coined words. It took many repetitions to connect the words with the symbols, but he still couldn't figure out the meaning of the whole sentence.
Just then, the flame of the candle shook twice and went out.
Heck! Kaimo cursed inwardly, took out a candle from the drawer without hesitation, and lit it again.
…
When the second candle was half burning, the hand of the chief alchemist holding the letter was shaking slightly.
The stationery, which seemed to have no content, took several times more time than usual.
The five-element formula on the second page of the stationery turned out to be all alchemy formulas!
If only this was the case, it was not unthinkable for an outstanding alchemist to sum up five formulas with his own power. However, these five formulas, except for the first acid-making method, all echoed each other. Certain coined words recur repeatedly, forming a seemingly balanced cycle.
Nitric acid and silver react to form silver nitrate, water and nitric oxide.
Silver nitrate reacts with iron to form ferrous nitrate and silver.
Silver nitrate reacts with copper to form copper nitrate and silver.
Copper nitrate reacts with iron to form ferrous nitrate and copper.
He also did the alchemical reaction of placing silver rods in acid. Some of the silver rods were obviously dissolved by the acid and disappeared. This is the characteristic of acid, which corrodes everything. It is credible but swears that because silver nitrate dissolves in water, it appears to disappear on the surface, but in fact silver only exists in another form, not annihilation.
how can that be
No... Kaimo shook his head. Obviously, the other party had expected his own thoughts. It was not accidental that these formulas echoed each other. He realized that the other party was giving him a chance to verify whether it was silver, iron or copper. They were all common minerals. If the alchemy is carried out according to the following formula, the silver can be replaced again to prove that it is not annihilated, but still exists in the acid solution.
Seeing the neatly arranged formulas on the paper, he felt that it became difficult for him to breathe. If these alchemy formulas can be established, the experience accumulated over the years, the efforts of colleagues, and the writing of "The Gate of Alchemy" It's all just a joke!
"You sleep with the child first, and I'll go to the alchemy workshop!"
Ignoring his wife's surprised eyes, Kaimo put on his *coat and rushed straight into the night.
When he arrived at the alchemy workshop, he immediately called three on-duty disciples and told him that he was going to conduct an alchemy experiment and let them light torches and candles, the more the better. The order was quickly executed, the long table that belonged to him was illuminated by the fire, and the disciples shuttled between the material room warehouse and the refining room, preparing test materials for the chief alchemist.
There are still a lot of acids from the dry distillation of saltpeter, and the verification can start directly from the second line of formula.
He took out some of the acid and poured it into a glass, followed by a silver rod. As the reaction started, the rod body was gradually corroded, accompanied by the emergence of air bubbles.
While waiting anxiously, Kaimo unfolded the third page of stationery.
There is only a short sentence above: I just did a little bit of work. If you want to know more answers, come to Border Town.
Damn it, writing this sentence means not writing it! If he could really verify what the letter said, he would go to see this little-known alchemist no matter what. Otherwise, you will have trouble sleeping and eating in the days to come.
When the bubbles stopped coming out, he took out the broken silver rod and put a small piece of copper into the cup.
An unbelievable thing happened. The surface of the copper plate quickly appeared a little bit of white, like the carapace of a ladybug. The white spot expanded and gradually covered the entire copper plate, and the acid in the cup also changed from colorless to blue. color.
Exactly as described in the letter!
The white precipitate is silver, and the newly formed substance copper nitrate is as soluble in water as silver nitrate, but its solution is blue.
Looking at the results in the cup, Kemo Stryll stayed where he was.
…
The next morning, when Chames came to the alchemy workshop, he was taken aback by the haggard chief alchemist with dark circles under his eyes.
"Did you not sleep last night?" He was greatly surprised. "For the second batch of crystal glass?"
Kaimo shook his head, pulled Chamis to the long table, and asked tiredly, "You used to be my most proud disciple. I want to ask, what do you think of alchemy?"
"Uh… just like you taught me," he noticed glasses on the table, several of which also contained solutions of different colors, one of which was sky blue, which was very eye-catching. Could this be the reason why the chief lord stayed up all night last night? Although Chamis was full of confusion, he still answered honestly, "I also feel the same way. The essence of alchemy is to find the truth of the world in disorder and chaos..."
"No no no, Chalmers, I was wrong," Kemer interrupted. "Everyone is wrong, not alchemy."
it's not true… ? Chamis felt that the other party was really strange. First, he alchemy all night long, and now he asked some inexplicable questions, but before he could ask further questions, the chief adult said to himself: "Alchemy is more orderly than you and I imagined. , it can even be said that it is as rigid as one plus one equals two, no matter how it changes, matter will not increase or disappear.”
"It won't increase or disappear? What are you talking about? Screening and combining some common raw materials to make incredible new things, isn't this what alchemists often do!" He asked inexplicably.
"Yeah, I thought so too, until the lord of Frontier Town wrote me a letter..." Kaimer Strell patted him on the shoulder, but the words in his mouth made Chamis tremble. "I'm going to leave here soon and go to Border Town to find the answer. Would you...Would you like me to go with me?" (. If you like this work, you are welcome to come and vote, your support is my greatest Power. Please come.)