The Blue Book

The people from the Ministry of Justice quickly departed, taking Xu Qi'an with them now that he had been labeled a criminal.

Only then did the gray-haired old man withdraw his Qi. Without so much as glancing at Xu Pingzhi, he took Young Master Zhou by the arm. "Young master, this old servant will take you home to have your wounds dressed first."

Young Master Zhou walked out with him, shouting, "I want that brat dead."

"All right, all right. This old servant will take care of it." The old man wore a kindly smile.

"No, I'll go myself."

"As you wish, young master."

The two left the county yamen with their attendants. Once they had disappeared from sight, Xu Pingzhi suddenly began gulping for air like a man who had nearly drowned.

His whole body was drenched in sweat.

"I will take my complaint to the emperor!" Xu Pingzhi said, enunciating every word.

"You won't be able to see His Majesty. The imperial palace is a forbidden place. How could a hundred-man commander of the Imperial Saber Guard enter? You don't have the authority to submit a memorial, either." County Magistrate Zhu sighed. "Let it go."

"No, I can't. I can't." Xu Pingzhi's face alternated between savagery and despair.

County Magistrate Zhu thought for a moment. "The only thing you can do now is find Cijiu. He's a juren of Cloud Deer Academy. He might have a way."

Though Cloud Deer Academy was heavily suppressed in official circles and had almost no room to survive, those who lived there were not scholars too weak to truss a chicken.

They were disciples of a sage.

Not only were they skilled at convincing people with reason, they were even more skilled at convincing people with reason.

That was why Xu Xinnian had been able to escape exile back then, only to be stripped of his scholarly rank and entered into the lowborn register.

The Star-Gazing Tower!

Head Constable Wang rode to the tallest building in the capital. No soldiers stood guard around it, but on drawing close, one would discover that there were no commoners anywhere near the Star-Gazing Tower.

The Bureau of Astronomy was a place steeped in legend. The director observed the stars and determined the calendar; he was an exiled immortal who could communicate with immortals in heaven.

The works of the Bureau of Astronomy's Alchemists were widely circulated among the people and brought them great benefit. Compared with other systems, the Warlocks of the Bureau of Astronomy were the immortals most readily accepted by the common people.

No one dared approach the place where immortals lived.

Several times, Head Constable Wang wanted to rein in his horse and turn back, but each time he held himself back.

Under immense mental pressure, he stopped before the Star-Plucking Tower and tied his reins to the carved railing beside the stone steps with trembling hands.

Steeling himself, he climbed the stone steps.

The Star-Gazing Tower's foundation was a full six meters high, taller than the roofs of ordinary homes.

Nervously, Head Constable Wang reached the first floor of the Star-Plucking Tower. It was well lit, with sunlight streaming through rows of holes in the walls and dust floating in the beams.

Head Constable Wang saw rows of medicine cabinets and young people in white sitting together in circles, heatedly discussing something.

He saw someone studying hard with a book in hand, someone sleeping facedown on a table, and someone boiling medicinal herbs.

People often said that the immortals of the Bureau of Astronomy were all master physicians who saved lives and tended the wounded without charging a penny. Head Constable Wang believed it now.

"Who are you?"

A white-robed man noticed Head Constable Wang and came over, looking him up and down.

No soldiers guarded the area around the Bureau of Astronomy, but very few commoners dared approach it without restraint. Only some who were gravely ill and knew they had no hope of survival came here to try their luck.

Head Constable Wang felt somewhat ill at ease. His throat bobbed, and he stammered, "I-I'm the head constable of the Changle County yamen."

So?

The white-robed man looked at him without speaking.

The man's eyes were bright and piercing, as if they could see into a person's heart. Head Constable Wang felt enormous pressure and nearly gave up on his little brother Xu Qi'an and turned to leave.

"I-I've come to see Miss Caiwei," Head Constable Wang said.

"Senior Sister Caiwei?" The white-robed man looked Head Constable Wang over again. Seeing that he was empty-handed, he thought, You came to see Senior Sister Caiwei without even bringing any food?

"What is it?"

Head Constable Wang took a book with a dark blue cover from his robes. "A friend asked me to bring this book to Miss Caiwei, along with a message: Xu Qi'an is in trouble. Save him quickly."

The white-robed man took it and casually leafed through a few pages. The writing was as twisted as chicken claws, utterly unfit for polite company.

He lost interest and held the book in his hand. "Senior Sister Caiwei isn't here. She went out to play. You can wait here, come back later, or leave the book with me and I'll pass it on."

"Sorry to trouble you, sir." Head Constable Wang fled.

"Senior Brother, what was that about?"

A white-robed man nearby asked, watching Head Constable Wang's hastily departing figure.

"A constable said he was looking for Senior Sister Caiwei. It seems urgent. Take this book up to the seventh floor, give it to Senior Brother Song, and ask what he thinks."

Song Qing was the foremost among the sixth-rank Alchemists and the director's fourth disciple. In the Bureau of Astronomy, everyone could call themselves the director's disciple to outsiders.

But in truth, the director had personally taught only six disciples, known as the Six Disciples of the Bureau of Astronomy.

The other disciples were taught by these six on their master's behalf. Well, Chu Caiwei was the youngest disciple and had not yet completed her own training, so she was not qualified to teach her junior brothers and sisters for the time being.

Song Qing had only recently returned to the capital. After hearing the full story of the tax silver case, he had taken over the refining of the counterfeit silver under the eager expectations of his junior brothers and sisters.

The white-robed Alchemists, who were living in bliss under the blessing of the 996 schedule, had nearly wept for joy.

"Another failure. Senior Brother Song, even you can't do it?"

"Nonsense. How could Senior Brother Song fail? Creating and developing a new Alchemy technique requires countless failures to learn from."

"As long as Senior Brother Song grasps its secrets, our Bureau of Astronomy will have another skill at its command."

Song Qing, who had worked himself to the bone for twelve consecutive shichen, waved a hand. "Everyone, be quiet. I want some peace."

Though he had not slept all night, Song Qing's eyes were still bright and lively, and he was even somewhat excited. As an Alchemy fanatic, he accepted every challenge in the field.

It isn't the amount of salt. After reviewing the results several times, I can probably conclude that the flame's temperature must be high enough to melt the salt, but not let it boil. The key lies in the lightning, Song Qing mused.

He had already realized the key to the problem, but without a concept of voltage, he could only keep trying, controlling the strength of the Thunder Method.

"To refine counterfeit silver from simple salt, the person who created this Alchemy technique must be a heaven-sent genius," Song Qing said with emotion. If he could befriend this talent, his life-creation plan might make a tremendous breakthrough.

Just then, a white-robed disciple climbed the stairs to the seventh floor-the place where Alchemists congregated.

White robes were the uniform of the Bureau of Astronomy's disciples. At first glance, they looked no different from one another; the distinction was on the chest. Alchemists had a furnace embroidered there.

The disciple who had come to the seventh floor had medicinal herbs embroidered on his chest. This meant he was a ninth-rank Warlock-a Physician.

Also known as a Healer.

"Senior Brother, a constable came looking for Senior Sister Caiwei just now. He also brought a message: Xu Qi'an is in trouble. Save him quickly."

The disciple with medicinal herbs embroidered on his chest said, "I thought it might be something urgent, a friend of Senior Sister Caiwei asking for help, so I came up especially to let you know."

Xu Qi'an. The name sounded familiar to Song Qing, but he couldn't place it.

"Did he say anything else?"

The disciple with medicinal herbs embroidered on his chest handed over the dark blue-covered book. "He only left this book."

"This handwriting is hideous enough to reach the heavens." Song Qing took it and opened the first page, only to have his eyes seared by the twisted, chicken-claw-like writing.

There was just one line of preface on the first page. He focused and read it carefully:

Equivalent exchange, the immutable principle of Alchemy - Edward Elric.

P.S. What do you mean, short? How can a scholar's work be called short? It's concise!!