Between Heaven and Earth

Some knowledge was such that, unless someone pointed it out, you might struggle through countless hardships and still never discover what it was. Yet once someone did, there was nothing so remarkable about it: the formula for gunpowder, for example.

Take the simplest mnemonic: "One saltpeter, two sulfur, three charcoal; add some sugar for a Tsar Bomba." Weighed on a copper scale from this era, with sixteen liang to a jin, the ratio of crude saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal came to 16:2:3.

The sugar increased the amount of gas produced during combustion. Exploded in an enclosed space, gunpowder mixed in this ratio was comparable to a miniature indoor nuclear bomb. Even operational officers like Cloud Goat and the Military Officer probably couldn't withstand it.

Sulfur could be found at the medical hall.

Charcoal was easy to make, too.

What was known as crude saltpeter, scientifically called potassium nitrate, was actually the white frost on the plaster of earthen walls. When people in ancient times made fireworks and firecrackers, they obtained crude saltpeter by "digging at the foot of walls."

Even now, Luo City had many houses built of both brick and earth. As Chen Ji recalled, wall frost was everywhere.

Rather than search for the Liu Family, the Jing Dynasty's Military Intelligence Directorate would have been better off looking for Chen Ji for the secret firearm formula they had gone to such lengths to find!

Even blueprints for all sorts of muzzle-loading guns were no great challenge to Chen Ji. A muzzle-loader consisted of a barrel, a powder chamber, and a rear socket. From small hand cannons to the great cannons mounted at city gates, Chen Ji knew a thing or two about them all...

But the most important thing was that, ever since Chen Ji came here, whenever he encountered people like Cloud Goat, Bright Rabbit, and the Military Officer, he had been at their mercy at every turn, simply because he had no ability to resist.

Now he did.

The next moment, someone interrupted Chen Ji's thoughts. "May I ask whether you three have any works to share? Why have you gone quiet?"

Liu Quxing and She Dengke looked at each other, at a loss. This was a literary gathering, after all, and it really was improper for them to come and mooch food and drink without any works of their own.

Chen Ji suddenly broke into a smile. "We only took the invitation the princely residence sent to the medical hall so we could mooch some food and drink. This isn't our forte, so please enjoy yourselves. We'll take our leave. Senior Brother She, Senior Brother Liu, Little Zhang, the shop assistant at the eatery across from the medical hall, said there's a place called Muxin Studio on neighboring Zhenghe Street that makes excellent knife-cut noodles. My treat."

With that, he turned and left, showing no embarrassment. Either he knew how or he didn't; there was no need to force it for the sake of face.

Everyone had their own specialty. You understood art, and so did I... My art might even be able to send yours to the grave.

Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao watched Chen Ji's back. He was calm and content, chatting and laughing with his friends, seemingly unaffected by the literary gathering and not taking what had just happened to heart.

He suddenly felt that Chen Ji hadn't been speaking in anger, but truly had never considered returning to the Chen Family.

But wasn't the Chen Family's grand and splendid doorway something everyone longed for? How could anyone willingly give it up?

At the gathering, Commandery Princess Bai Li looked at the heir. "Brother, did you invite him?"

"No," the heir said, shaking his head. "I don't remember sending an invitation to the medical hall either... But that doesn't matter!"

Commandery Princess Bai Li thought for a moment, then suddenly stood up. "It's boring here. I'm going out for a walk!"

The heir watched his sister walk away, wanting to speak but stopping himself. "You..."

On the way back.

"Senior Brother She, why did you stand up for me?" Chen Ji asked curiously.

She Dengke walked with his head lowered, making his tall, sturdy figure seem less imposing. He said in a low voice, "I almost got you killed yesterday. I'm sorry. I lost my head. We had two years of friendship, and I ruined it. I really deserve to die."

Chen Ji asked again, "Were you only trying to save Chunhua's life?"

"I had selfish reasons too. Chunhua said that if we succeeded, she'd ask Consort Jing to marry her to me, and the two of us could settle down together."

Liu Quxing sneered. "You believe everything Chunhua says? Your family's so poor. Would she give up the glory and riches of the princely residence to be with you?"

She Dengke retorted, "She's not that kind of person... Chen Ji, could you keep this from my brother and my father? If they find out, they'll beat me to death."

"Don't worry, I won't tell them," Chen Ji said with a smile.

Liu Quxing, walking beside them, was a little vexed. "I don't know what my father was thinking when he gave me this name. I really haven't lived up to it either. I'm supposed to be the Literary Star descended to earth, so how come I can't understand those classics? Now I'm even a little embarrassed to give my name when I introduce myself."

A farmer's son in the morning, standing in the Son of Heaven's hall by evening: that was the greatest dream of scholars in the Ning Dynasty.

But it wasn't Chen Ji's dream.

What was his dream? He had once dreamed of becoming a military attaché, but neither the Ning Dynasty nor the Jing Dynasty was worth risking his life for, so now he had no dream.

He had no one he wanted to protect, no place he wanted to protect. He could barely keep himself safe, and could only be swept along by the torrent of the times.

Today, the words "gunpowder" and "Sword Seed" held a fatal attraction for him.

With those two things placed on the scales, perhaps the scales of fate would tip in his favor.

As he pondered, someone called from behind him, "Chen Ji!"

Chen Ji turned to see Commandery Princess Bai Li catching up. She was still dressed in a crisp, heroic style, with the same white clothes and red ornaments as always.

Today, though, her hair was arranged in a cloud-shaped bun threaded with silver, with a fringe of beads beneath it that swayed as she walked.

Chen Ji asked in puzzlement, "Is something the matter, Commandery Princess?"

Bai Li gave no explanation. She simply waved a hand. "Come on, I'll treat you all to a meal on Zhenghe Street. We'll have those knife-cut noodles you mentioned!"

With that, Bai Li clasped her hands behind her back and led the way, bouncing along on her toes, looking immensely pleased with herself. Watching her, Chen Ji thought she looked like a free-roaming antelope.

The three fellow apprentices exchanged glances, and Chen Ji suddenly said, "You go ahead. I'll go back to the medical hall and call Liang Mao'er..."

Half an hour later, in the knife-cut noodle shop, Commandery Princess Bai Li rested her elbows on the table and propped up her chin, staring dumbfounded at the tall stack of bowls and plates in front of Liang Mao'er. "Five bowls, six bowls, seven bowls... Chen Ji, you're really shameless!"

Chen Ji smiled at Liang Mao'er. "Once you've eaten your fill tonight, don't eat so much tomorrow morning."

Liang Mao'er looked cautiously at Bai Li. "Commandery Princess... do I eat too much?"

Chen Ji said solemnly, "The Commandery Princess is chivalrous and kindhearted, and we're all people of the jianghu. How could she mind how much you eat?"

"It's fine, it's fine. A bowl of noodles only costs a few coins!" Bai Li pulled out her purse, her little face drawn. "But you really can eat... No wonder everyone else was drinking last night while you just sat there, head down, stuffing yourself."

Liang Mao'er explained awkwardly, "I don't know why, but I've eaten a lot since I was little. When my brother was ten, I was three, and I ate more than he did."

Bai Li let the matter go. Since she was treating them, she would do it generously.

After settling the bill, she turned to Chen Ji and asked curiously, "They said those things about you at the literary gathering earlier. Why weren't you angry at all?"

"There was nothing to be angry about."

"Then, since I spoke up for you, could you stop charging me a toll from now on?"

"No."

Bai Li grew angry. "I'll never speak up for you again! I'll let them curse you until your name stinks!"

Chen Ji smiled. "They can say whatever they like, but time will prove everything."

Beside them, Liu Quxing suddenly said, "Chen Ji, you can write poetry. I've seen it."

"Hm?" Chen Ji was taken aback.

Liu Quxing said quietly, "I saw you making excerpts on the back of a prescription while you were secretly studying in the middle of the night, so I took a peek while you were asleep to see what you'd copied. I ended up seeing half a line of poetry."

Bai Li was puzzled. "What did it say?"

"Between heaven and earth, a human life is like a traveler passing through."

When Bai Li heard the half-line recited, she felt as though she were walking alone through snow-covered mountains beneath a shroud of dusk, utterly lonely.

That day, Chen Ji had awakened at dusk. People had come and gone in the street, but his family hadn't come for him. That night, he had casually scribbled down a line of poetry, only for Liu Quxing to see it.

Bai Li slowly turned to Chen Ji. "This is your..."

Before she could finish, a head poked out from behind her and exclaimed, "Chen Ji, is that your poem? Since you can write, why didn't you say so at the literary gathering?"

Chen Ji was stunned too. The heir and the young monk were right behind them. The guest of honor at the literary gathering had somehow slipped out as well. Wasn't that a bit too casual!?

And something else was strange. Didn't this world have that line of poetry? The story behind the Double Ninth Festival was exactly the same.

Keeping a straight face, he shamelessly replied, "That half-line came to me by chance, but I don't have a complete poem. Besides, I'm not interested in this path. Poetry and books aren't my ambition."

The heir held it in for a long moment, then suddenly rubbed his hands with an embarrassed smile. "Well... don't you want to make money? Could you sell me that half-line?"

Chen Ji: Huh?

The heir explained, "Those three years at Eastern Grove Academy nearly drove me mad. Those literary men wrote a poem every day. They'd see a lotus and write one, then see the moonlight and write another, while I couldn't come up with a fart. I know quite a few of them call me a good-for-nothing heir behind my back. I've always wanted to write a poem to give them a shock, but I just can't do it... How about this? Your half-line is impressive enough. Sell it to me for ten liang of silver. I get face, and you get silver. What do you say?"

"Deal!"

There was no need to write poetry, but selling half a line... that was fine.