Chapter 48: The Making of a Cunning Merchant

After hearing Fang Xu’s bold and spirited words, the response was not as intense as he had anticipated. In fact, before Qiu Chuji could say anything, several guards standing by Fang Xu’s side hurriedly pulled him aside. Clearly, these guards feared that Fang Xu had lost his sense of the situation. At this moment, not only did Qiu Chuji lack funds, even the guards themselves had little left. The unavoidable expenses of lodging and food along the journey had depleted their resources, and now Fang Xu had promised to renovate the Quanzhen Taoist temple—this promise alone had already far exceeded their budget.

Yet Fang Xu was still so extravagant, offering to compensate Qiu Chuji for all his failed medicinal herbs! Did Fang Xu not realize the financial crisis within the palace at this moment? How could Fang Xu not know? He simply believed that when the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a way through; when the boat reaches the bridgehead, it will go straight ahead. If he himself was not worried, what reason did others have to worry?

After hearing Fang Xu’s words, the guards could not help but twitch at the corners of their mouths. Previously, a maid had joked that Fang Xu must have hit his head when he jumped into the well. The guards had not believed this; after all, could someone who had come up with the clever “Wolf is coming” trick really have lost his wits? He had even ensured no one discovered the secret behind it, so that anyone unaware would simply see it as a straightforward story. But those who understood, saw the deeper meaning, and so the guards had always regarded Fang Xu as a man of great ambition.

Now, however, the guards found themselves questioning their previous judgment, even wondering if they had overestimated him. Yet, what could they say? Fang Xu’s status was clear, and the guards knew their place. Since Fang Xu had spoken in such a manner, what was there left to worry about?

As for Fang Xu, he truly believed he had a solution. In his view, not only could he avoid spending a single coin, he might even earn some money to improve the palace’s meals. Qin Suwen, the girl, might be willing to scrimp and save, but Fang Xu could not bear to let her suffer; after all, she was now nurturing her health.

By evening, Fang Xu had already given instructions to the guards who would be heading down the mountain, and now he was simply waiting for dawn. In his eyes, this would not only be the dawn for the Quanzhen temple, but his own dawn as well. Perhaps some infamy would follow, but Fang Xu was not concerned; he had hardly been a good person in his previous life, often sacrificing everything for profit.

Moreover, Fang Xu’s target was not simply the common folk—he aimed more at the wealthy merchants, those whose riches overflowed. In his view, he was merely helping these merchants “slim down” a little.

“Is what you said really true?” Once Fang Xu and his companions had finished their discussion, Qiu Chuji asked anxiously. After all, Qiu Chuji still did not know Fang Xu’s true identity, and renovating the Quanzhen temple would require tremendous resources. Could Fang Xu really afford to pay for Qiu Chuji’s failures as well? This piqued Qiu Chuji’s curiosity.

Fang Xu understood Qiu Chuji’s doubts. After all, anyone can make empty promises; Qiu Chuji was lucky to encounter someone as sincere as Fang Xu.

“I always keep my word. And as for the renovation, that will be done as well.” Fang Xu looked at Qiu Chuji, seeing through his hidden thoughts.

“Good! In that case, let me try again!” With that, Qiu Chuji rolled up his sleeves and prepared to resume his work.

This time, persuaded by Fang Xu, Qiu Chuji refrained from adding sulfur and instead substituted a herb with similar properties, but superior efficacy. Due to its value, Qiu Chuji had always been reluctant to use it. Now that Fang Xu was paying, Qiu Chuji felt a little itch in his hands and could not resist trying it out.

Had Fang Xu known Qiu Chuji’s thoughts, he might have regretted his earlier words. Nevertheless, with all pressure off his mind, Qiu Chuji handled his work far more deftly than before, and Fang Xu’s lips curved into a slight smile.

For Fang Xu’s attention was not on Qiu Chuji’s alchemy, but on the earlier explosion. The furnace had indeed exploded, caused by the addition of sulfur which instantly generated a huge amount of energy needing to be released—hence the previous incident.

To Fang Xu, this was precisely the principle behind explosives. If not for the sturdy Eight Trigram alchemy furnace, both he and Qiu Chuji might have been in grave danger just now.

As Fang Xu pondered this, his gaze drifted toward the ruins Qiu Chuji had cleaned out earlier. Upon seeing the gray ashes, his expression suddenly changed.

“Do you have a fire striker?” Fang Xu asked the nearby guard, who was momentarily confused but still took out a fire striker from his pocket and handed it over.

Fang Xu moved carefully, clearly afraid of disturbing Qiu Chuji in the midst of his alchemy. Then, he took some ashes from beside Qiu Chuji, left the alchemy room, and the guards naturally followed him out, each bewildered by Fang Xu’s actions.

None could comprehend Fang Xu’s excitement at this moment. It was well known that the making of gunpowder had required countless failed experiments by Sun Simiao. If this really was gunpowder, then Qiu Chuji had succeeded on his very first try—a truly groundbreaking invention and discovery!

With this thought, how could Fang Xu not feel excited and nervous? Even his hand holding the fire striker trembled slightly. He gently shook off a bit of the gray ash, while the guards beside him looked utterly baffled.

Of course, they could not understand why Fang Xu was so excited about these gray ashes—wasn’t this behavior more than a little odd? Some even grew nervous, worrying that perhaps the explosion had made Fang Xu lose his wits.