Chapter 5: Silver That Burns in Water

A quarter of an hour later, two yamen runners entered the hall, carefully arranging the requested items before the officials.

The three men studied the apparatus, then turned their gaze toward Xu Qi An.

Prefect Chen’s voice carried new weight:
“Everything you requested is here. You must provide this official with a satisfactory answer.”

His tone had shifted. During that brief interval, the fourth-rank official had wrestled with Xu Qi An’s deductions, forced to admit their logic. Yet mysteries lingered—most notably, the undeniable fact that the tax silver had fallen into the river. What secret lay behind it? He could not fathom.

Xu Qi An bowed slightly.
“If this humble one helps Your Honor solve this case, could you petition His Majesty to absolve my Xu family of guilt?”

In Great Feng, father-son inheritance was paramount; a son bore his father’s guilt or redeemed his crimes.

“Naturally,” Prefect Chen nodded.

Xu Qi An crouched before the apparatus. Before him lay candles, salt, a porcelain cup, and iron wire.

What he intended was simple—extract sodium metal, armed with high school chemistry knowledge.

In ancient times, such a feat was impossible: electricity and sodium chloride’s high melting point were insurmountable obstacles. But in this world, one profession could achieve it.

The Court of Astronomical Affairs’ sixth-rank Technician: Alchemist.

Alchemists were renowned in Great Feng, their inventions woven into daily life.

Xu Qi An wasn’t certain the exploding tax silver was sodium metal, but certainty was not required. What mattered was opening a line of thought to explain the phenomenon. Bold hypotheses and rigorous reasoning were the foundation of investigation. Evidence would follow.

He recalled a murder case from his previous life, where detectives had brainstormed endlessly, forming hypotheses from clues, only to overturn them and reason anew.

The silver might not be sodium—but an alchemist could produce it. That was enough.

Finding the correct direction was his duty. Once the path was clear, officials could follow clues step by step to uncover the mastermind. If they clung to superstition, the case would remain unsolved.

He dissolved coarse salt in water, stirred, then filtered it through paper into the porcelain cup.

Heating it over a candle, he stirred constantly until the saltwater dried, leaving crystals of sodium chloride—purified salt.

Prefect Chen, the middle-aged man, and the stunning young woman in yellow watched intently.

Xu Qi An smiled at her.
“You’re a disciple of the Court of Astronomical Affairs, aren’t you, My Lady?”

He had noticed the feng shui compass at her waist, a tool unique to disciples of the Court.

She confirmed with a bright smile.
“My master is the Chief Astronomer of the Court.”

Her oval face was radiant, flawless as polished jade.

Xu Qi An softened his tone.
“Would you please melt these crystals for me, Elder Sister?”

The melting point of sodium chloride was near 800°C.

She pouted.
“Fire control is an ability only alchemists have. I’m just a feng shui master.”

Then she added, “But my master gave me a magical tool.”

She drew the compass, her jade-like fingers manipulating it. The character for “fire” lit up.

“Step back!”

Xu Qi An retreated. A blinding flame engulfed the porcelain cup.

“Stop!” he cried, quickly inserting two iron wires.
“Electrify… no, thunder magic! Control the voltage carefully… this step is difficult, it may fail many times.”

She rotated the compass, lighting the character for “thunder.” Arcs of electricity danced, striking the wires.

“Sizzle…” The molten sodium chloride reacted violently.

“Stop!”

Xu Qi An leaned in. At the cup’s mouth, a lump of silvery metal had formed, fringed with crystals and impurities.

It had succeeded on the first attempt. The voltage was perfect. Xu Qi An’s heart leapt.

Electrolysis required 6–15 volts. He had braced for repeated failures, yet fortune favored him.

Prefect Chen and the middle-aged man peered closer. The lump gleamed like silver.

Prefect Chen’s pupils contracted, shock flooding his heart.

Li Yuchun clenched his fists, mind struck as if by lightning.

Xu Qi An presented the lump.
“This substance is far lighter than silver, though its appearance is nearly identical. Could it not pass for the real thing? Please weigh it yourselves.”

Prefect Chen accepted it. The luster dulled, becoming indistinguishable from silver.

The middle-aged man weighed it, eyes shining.
“Indeed, much lighter. If this was transported, everything makes sense. Miss Caiwei, you try it.”

The young woman weighed it, then looked at Xu Qi An strangely.
“You… are you an alchemist?”

“No,” he replied softly. “I’m merely a conveyor of chemistry knowledge.”

Prefect Chen frowned.
“No, it’s not right. Even if silver was replaced, how could it explode in water without supernatural creatures?”

Xu Qi An answered with action. He dropped the sodium into a brush-washing bowl.

Light flared, smoke billowed.

“Boom!”

Cracks spread across the porcelain.

“This… this…” Prefect Chen stammered.

“This fake silver explodes upon contact with water,” Xu Qi An explained calmly.

The middle-aged man muttered, “From the start, we were misled. The mastermind used explosion and strange wind to feign supernatural mischief, diverting our investigation. No wonder qi-observing techniques found nothing.”

Xu Qi An added, “After the silver fell, soldiers recovered only a thousand taels. Those were likely genuine pieces placed atop to deceive.”

Everything aligned. The anomalies dissolved.

“Xu Qi An!” The middle-aged man’s eyes gleamed with approval. “Good, very good.”

He noticed Xu Qi An’s crooked collar and straightened it himself. Xu Qi An was overwhelmed by the honor.

Prefect Chen’s brow furrowed.
“If the silver was fake, where is the real silver?”

The young woman’s expression grew grave.
“The tax silver passed through many hands. To assign blame, countless officials would be imprisoned. Recovering it would be like searching for a needle in the sea. This exceeds our authority—we must report to His Majesty.”

Prefect Chen nodded.

The middle-aged man countered.
“If it were fake from the start, it would have been discovered. It must have been switched recently.”

Prefect Chen’s eyes lit up. The scope narrowed.

“Prepare a sedan chair, quickly!” Prefect Chen rushed out.

The middle-aged man followed.

Xu Qi An called after him.
“Prefect, please don’t forget your promise to this humble one.”

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