Reinforcements

Equivalent Exchange. The words struck Song Qing's mind like a bolt of lightning, as though something had hit his very soul.

The impact was like that of a poem destined to endure through the ages upon a scholar.

Equivalent Exchange was the unchanging principle of Alchemy!

"Yes, that's right. That's how it is," Song Qing murmured.

Whenever he succeeded in refining something, the corresponding raw materials would disappear or transform into something else.

This phenomenon had always existed, but few people paid it any attention. Or they noticed it but never gave it much thought, never considered it so deeply.

"When our teacher taught us Alchemy back then, he once said that its essence wasn't 'transmutation,' but conversion!"

"Equivalent Exchange. So that's what it means."

That single sentence, which grasped the guiding thread of it all, made the Alchemy fanatic tremble.

After calming his excitement, Song Qing began to ponder what the words "Edward Elric" meant.

Was it a name?

Who had a name that strange?

Was it a code, or some kind of secret term used in Alchemy?

He couldn't figure it out, and for a time, curiosity itched at him unbearably.

Song Qing took a deep breath and steadied himself, then eagerly turned to the next page. With professional care and patience, he read the twisted, ugly handwriting.

The first line read: Enter the world of Alchemy!

Was this teaching people how to enter the field of Alchemy?

How arrogant! Song Qing thought.

Alchemy had always been taught through personal instruction, passed from mouth to mouth. Those with exceptional aptitude could grasp the basics in half a year to a year, while the dull-witted could spend thirty to fifty years without achieving a thing.

To this day, the Bureau of Astronomy had no proper textbook.

But that line in the opening preface gave Song Qing enough patience.

"Section one: Changes and properties of matter. There are many examples in nature invisible to the naked eye. These examples make up matter. There are various interactions between substances, and changes are constantly taking place."

"I have classified these changes as chemical changes and physical changes."

As Song Qing read on, he fell into deep thought.

What was chemistry?

What was an atom?

What was he reading?

Why do I recognize every word, but can't understand them when they're put together?

Even the sages' classics have commentaries and annotations, so why is there nothing at all in yours?!

But Song Qing hadn't come away empty-handed. He keenly sensed that this was a heavenly book without equal in the world.

It expounded the world's true appearance and revealed the most fundamental structure of all things under heaven.

Song Qing's body trembled slightly. For an instant, he wanted to tear the book apart. These were mysteries only gods could know; mortals ought not to pry into them.

Yet deep in his heart, another force supported him: humanity's most primal thirst for knowledge.

The Alchemy Chamber was silent.

The white-robed disciples looked at one another, not daring to make a sound and disturb him. They were deeply worried by Senior Brother Song Qing's ever-changing expression.

"Senior Brother must be thinking about some unacceptable Alchemy again."

"Yes. Last year, he tried to refine a cat's flesh and blood into a tree, so its head could grow back after being chopped off. But the Director confined him for a month."

Song Qing was immersed in his own world, frightened and excited at once. As he read, his eyes suddenly lit up: he had found a detailed explanation of the Alchemy used to refine the tax silver.

Step one: First, filter the salt water to purify sodium chloride (refined salt).

Step two: Evaporate the salt water to precipitate crystals, then melt them at a high temperature of eight hundred degrees Celsius.

Step three: Attention! This step is the key to refining the tax silver. Success or failure hinges on it.

Song Qing's eyes shone. At last, at long last, he was going to solve the question that had troubled him and his junior brothers for so long.

This truly was a divine book.

Song Qing saw that he had reached the bottom of the page. He wet a fingertip with saliva and eagerly turned to the next one.

It was blank!

Song Qing: "???"

That was it?!

There was nothing after that?

What on earth was the third step? Why wasn't it recorded? Who had written this book? Anyone who wrote a book and broke it off like this deserved to be cut into a thousand pieces!

Song Qing spat out a mouthful of old blood.

Song Qing opened his mouth, having forgotten something, and asked in a low voice, "Who brought this book here?"

"I didn't notice."

"I didn't hear."

"I forgot."

The junior brothers' answers were unusually honest.

Song Qing immediately went downstairs and found the disciple who had received Head Constable Wang earlier, questioning him in detail about what had happened.

It was an exchange. That was the conclusion Song Qing reached after analyzing it.

"Senior Brother, what on earth is wrong?" the white-robed junior brothers asked, following him downstairs.

"What's wrong with the book?"

Song Qing's expression was incomparably grave as he swept his gaze over their faces. "Junior brothers, listen to me. This is an opportunity for the Bureau of Astronomy to rise swiftly. It's a chance that comes only once in a thousand years. Alchemy may usher in an unprecedented age of glory."

Sheep Pavilion.

Two carriages traveled slowly along the official road. Each carried one of the two great scholars, who had just finished trading colorful insults.

Xu Xinnian and his fellow students rode on horseback behind the carriages.

"I shouldn't have told the truth just now," Xu Xinnian said, somewhat regretful.

The two great scholars had been arguing with spittle flying, and they had looked ready to come to blows, when Xu Xinnian had bluntly said, "Actually, Teacher and Mr. Mubai only want to obtain a poem that will be passed down through the ages, don't you?"

Things had been very awkward.

Although he had stopped the two great scholars from fighting, Xu Xinnian also realized that telling the truth had been wrong.

Mother was right. I've never known how to speak properly. I need to change! Xu Xinnian reflected on himself for the nth time in his life.

He reached into his robes and felt the smooth, warm jade pendant. Happily gazing into the distance, Xu Xinnian was still in high spirits when a figure on a galloping horse appeared in his sight.

A moment later, the figure came into view. It was his father, Xu Pingzhi.

Xu Xinnian froze for a moment, then squeezed his horse's flanks and rode past the carriages to meet him.

"Father, what brings you here?" As soon as he spoke, Xu Xinnian's heart sank. His father's expression told him that things were bad, though he knew nothing about what had happened.

Xu Pingzhi told Xu Xinnian what had happened as quickly as he could.

Vice Minister Zhou's son had harassed his younger sister in the street and nearly trampled Lingyin to death with his horse. His eldest brother had been taken to the Ministry of Justice. Xu Xinnian's head grew hot, and his Qi and Blood surged in reverse.

"Nian'er, your eldest brother's life depends on you now."

"Don't worry, Father." Many thoughts flashed through Xu Xinnian's mind, and he quickly came up with an idea. He turned his horse around and forced the carriages to stop, calling out, "Teacher, Mr. Mubai, Cijiu has a request."

The curtains were lifted, and Zhang Shen and Li Mubai poked their heads out. "What is it?"

"My elder brother is in trouble. Please, Teacher and Mr. Mubai, help save him." Xu Xinnian repeated what his father had told him.

Zhang Shen stared at him and asked in a low voice, "Is it the gifted scholar who wrote, 'Fear not that no kindred spirit awaits you on the road ahead; who under heaven does not know your name'?"

His voice was grave and serious, as though this mattered greatly.

"It is!" Xu Xinnian nodded.

Zhang Shen was just about to speak when Li Mubai cut him off from the carriage beside him. "Cijiu, leave your elder brother's matter to me. You and your teacher should return to the academy first."

"Hmph!" Zhang Shen snorted coldly. "Outsiders should mind their own business. I will handle my student's affairs."

Xu Pingzhi was overjoyed. He hadn't expected his son to command so much respect.

"Teacher, Mr. Mubai, my elder brother was taken to the Ministry of Justice. Please hurry. If you're late, something may happen," Xu Xinnian said anxiously.

This was no time to bicker.

P.S. First, the Star-Plucking Tower in the previous chapter was a mistake. It should have been the Star-Gazing Tower. I've corrected it.

Second, in the Sheep Pavilion chapter, that poem, "Farewell to Dong Da," is a seven-character quatrain with only two couplets. Seven-character verse is a kind of seven-character regulated verse, but a seven-character regulated poem has four couplets. I won't change the earlier part; consider this a patch.

Third, thanks to the big shot "Poetry Cultivator" for the Alliance Leader tip.