AUGUST 23, 2016 TAFFYGIRL13LEAVE A COMMENT
Yet another one of CC’s famous 9k chapters…it translated to 5447 English words this time >.> Luckily, it was a highly amusing chapter, and I really enjoyed translating it. With this, V5 has reached an end. I enjoyed this volume a lot; with it being in a semi-school setting that involved being both in school and out of school, I found the plot extremely interesting, mysterious, and fun to read.
V6 is back in school, but it’s a much more interesting twist on things, and quite a few new characters~ As before, I’ll update the Character Introductions page for new characters as they are introduced. Look forward to the new volume!
On a side note, I just started school yesterday. As of now, CC will remain 1-3 chapters a week, and there are no changes to this release rate. However, it’s possible that there will be, as I am taking 7 classes this semester and it may get hectic, mainly around exams. If there are any changes to the release frequency, I will make sure to announce it. Thanks for understanding.
Translated by: Taffy
Edited by: Frosty
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Quiz 51: The First Tea Infusion
The mist on the opposite bank of Scarlet Dragon Pool was getting thicker and thicker—a speedboat was currently rushing across the waters, with two students from Lin Xian and Qiao Shun Zhi sitting in it. There was no network signal on the mountain. If they were lucky, Zhou Lun Yu might already be waiting on the opposite wharf.
“Zhuge Meng Ming, I’ve wanted to ask you something for a while,” Qiao Shun Zhi asked Meng Ming after giving a rough explanation of the nasty situation the opposite bank was in.
“What?”
“In that showdown just now, why did your water surpass 2L? Even if it’s cheating…I’m pretty sure it’s impossible!”
Qiao Shun Zhi wasn’t the only one; everyone present at the square, including the teacher, just couldn’t imagine how only 2.5L of raw materials, including the 0.5L of unused benzene, could produce over 2L of water! Moreover, Meng Ming’s products included nearly 1L of nitric acid solution that couldn’t be used.
Meng Ming thought about it and said, “This trick…is one I understood back then, but if you ask me to explain…it’s a bit…” After a while, Meng Ming had forgotten how to say it. “Basically, it’s cheating! Little Qiao, you tell them about the method just now…” He let the knowledgeable Huang Qiao Yi explain.
Huang Qiao Yi thought back to the materials that had been placed on the table back during the competition: 1L nitric acid, 1L water, and sparse amounts of hydrobromic acid, benzene, silver nitrate, ammonium bicarbonate, and water all mixed in the reaction test tubes.
“Brother Meng Ming poured two beakers of substance into the 2L graduated cylinder, but they weren’t both pure water. The second beaker did indeed contain pure water, but the first beaker had the already abandoned nitric acid solution.”
“Nitric acid solution?!” Qiao Shun Zhi was extremely shocked. “Like that, wouldn’t the nitric acid and water mix together…? How could the product be pure water?!”
Huang Qiao Yi continued to explain, “It was based on the insolubility of water and benzene. Before and after we emptied the two beakers into the graduated cylinder, we created a very thin layer of separation to split it into top and bottom parts—altogether, there was a top, middle, and bottom layer.”
Pure benzene couldn’t be used as a separating layer because it wasn’t dense enough. Thus, they’d used the excess mixture of hydrobromic acid and benzene in a test tube, in addition to the rusty faucet, to create bromobenzene and mix it together with the benzene. That way, the separating layer would be much thicker. The nitric acid solution’s layer was denser, so it had naturally sunk to the bottom.
In other words, when the teacher was inspecting the product, the graduated cylinder had been filled with such substances—
Top layer: Water (1L)
Middle layer: Benzene + Bromobenzene (very thin)
Bottom layer: Nitric acid solution (1L)
Only the top layer was tested. Like this, over 2L of water was created!
Nobody had thought that the useless benzene could be so effective.
“A benzene and bromobenzene film…heavens, this requires you to be extremely, extremely careful when pouring in the second beaker of water.” Qiao Shun Zhi had broken into a cold sweat just from hearing it. “The slightest slip-up would cause the water to break the separating layer. It also cannot be left alone for long, or else the substances will mix together.”
“That’s why this was all handed over to Meng Ming,” Huang Qiao Yi said.
Only Meng Ming could do this: slowly emptying the water into the graduated cylinder without shaking as to keep the film layer intact.
Meng Ming cooly said, “Since that Sean dumped his own graduated cylinder’s water, I had perfect reason to also pour mine out. He couldn’t grab hold of the trick at all.”
……
There was a strange, awkward silence.
“I’m not very good at telling these kinds of stories…” [Huang Qiao Yi]
“Little Qiao doesn’t have any experience in cheating…” [Meng Ming]
“Alright, we need to quickly start moving!” Qiao Shun Zhi reminded. The boat had already reached the shore. Although he was wearing a mask, he was the first to take a step onto the northern shore wharf under cover of the mist.
Unfortunately, Zhou Lun Yu wasn’t waiting at the wharf. The scene amidst the fog shocked both Meng Ming and Huang Qiao Yi—
“Although our line of sight doesn’t stretch very far…don’t tell me this is all…?”
It was low tide at the moment. When they looked around, they could see expansive and densely packed plants growing next to the wharf, as if the medicinal plants covered an entire plain—these were Black Lantern! They had originally been deeply submerged underneath the water.
“That’s right, this is the famous tea,” Qiao Shun Zhi said. “Under no circumstances must you go down to retrieve it, the bottom of the lake is covered in silt. Past this wharf, most of the medicinal plants are gathered using red threads.”
“Which way did Zhou Lun Yu walk?” Meng Ming asked.
“The Yilan root is only located on the main peak of Mt. Qing Xiu. If I’m guessing correctly, he should’ve already collected it! We’ll go up and look. I know a path close by that passes over the third peak. From there, we can see the main peak and the second peak,” Qiao Shun Zhi replied. He had to guide the others. “The next peak and the main peak have a rope bridge connecting them. Going there requires us to go around a long way; however, the third peak is both closer and lower in altitude.”
“In other words, Zhou Lun Yu is going to the main peak’s path? We have to hurry up and check!”
“Yes, let’s go to the third peak.” Qiao Shun Zhi led the group into the fog. “Follow me, and, by all means, do not wander off!”
Winding around the wharf and to the second peak required passing through a jungle and continuously ascending the circular mountain path. One also had to continuously climb for an hour at the very least; however, if one went straight from the wharf to the third peak, it would only take a dozen minutes at most. According to Qiao Shun Zhi, there was only a thin mist at the top. When one raised their head, they’d only see empty space around them. The rope bridge hung between a cave on the second peak and the main peak.
As they urgently climbed, the terrain became more and more elevated. The fog also became thinner. Meng Ming and Huang Qiao Yi’s line of vision gradually cleared up as well. They were already on top of the layer of clouds. When they looked down, all of Scarlet Dragon Pool and Qing Xin was right in front of their eyes. The high altitude winds incessantly blew around them, and the air here was much fresher than the one at ground level. They could see the sun’s rays strike the main peak, illuminating it.
They were now about to climb over the third peak.
“The second peak is right behind the main peak! Once we pass through this place, we’ll be able to clearly see the second peak’s cave and the rope bridge,” Qiao Shun Zhi told everyone.
The path’s end, a relatively small area, was right in front of them. However, there were no obstructions in the vicinity. It seemed that if one wasn’t careful enough, they’d be blown down by the wind. This was the third peak. When standing here, the second and main peaks could both be seen off to the left!
“Quick! Little Qiao, we’ve arrived!”
The three of them swiftly walked over, looking up at the main and second peaks.
“Wow, that is indeed the highest peak!” Meng Ming looked at how high the main peak was and sighed in praise, “When we were at the bottom, we couldn’t see this place at all!”
“Ignoring that, can you guys see anything?” Qiao Shun Zhi couldn’t see clearly, so he could only ask them.
“That’s right, the rope bridge you mentioned…” Meng Ming slowly lowered his head, looking over at the area between the two peaks.
A rope bridge?
In the area between the two peaks, there was the distant sky and layers of clouds above, and the fog and forest underneath. Aside from that…there wasn’t anything else. No, at a higher elevation, there seemed to be something hanging down…
“That’s…!”
—It was the former rope bridge. The ropes had been completely cut, so the entire thing was now hanging down from the main peak’s side!
“The rope bridge….is broken!” Meng Ming said.
“What?!” Qiao Shun Zhi began to panic. “Then what about Zhou Lun Yu?! How is he?!”
The support on the side of the second peak’s cave was gone, the broken rope bridge was entirely on the main peak’s side. Thinking like this, Zhou Lun Yu couldn’t have…!
“There!” Huang Qiao Yi suddenly shouted. She pointed at the second peak’s cave. Zhou Lun Yu could be seen staying there, looking off at the distant main peak, seemingly in a difficult situation.
Following Huang Qiao Yi’s finger, Meng Ming also found the second peak’s cave; Zhou Lun Yu was standing right at the entrance. Meng Ming immediately said to Qiao Shun Zhi, “Don’t worry, we can see Zhou Lun Yu, he’s at the second peak’s cave! He seems to be doing something.”
“Hey! What are you doing over there?” Meng Ming raised his head and loudly shouted over.
Zhou Lun Yu immediately turned to look towards the sound. To his surprise, there were three people below currently shouting at him. He could only reply, “Can’t you see? The bridge is broken and the medicinal plants are over there! I need to go pick them!” Zhou Lun Yu pointed to the main peak’s cliff face.
Meng Ming scanned around the main peak. It looked like there were indeed many various mushroom-like plants growing along the rocky face.
It turned out that, because the bridge had snapped, Zhou Lun Yu had no way of crossing. Thus, he could only use his red threads from the cave to retrieve the medicinal plants! However, the distance was too great. There were around 90 meters between the cave and the Yilan root on the main peak. Although the red threads were long enough, their firing range wasn’t enough, so they couldn’t fly over.
“Hey—can you do it or not?!” Meng Ming asked.
“Can’t you see I’m trying to right now?! If someone was able to put up the bridge, then there has to be a way to stretch across!”
Zhou Lun Yu aimed again. However, the red threads were blown away by the wind this time.
“Phew…” Although he’d put in the effort, he’d already been trying for a few hours straight. It was obvious that Zhou Lun Yu was powerless!
He didn’t dare believe this, and thought to himself: If my predecessors were able to use red threads to put the bridge up, how had they reached across? Such a powerful wind…exactly what method did they use?
Meng Ming shouted again, “Don’t bother thinking nonsense alone, I’ll come help you!”
Help? Zhou Lun Yu found it strange. How could Meng Ming possibly help?
Seeing Zhou Lun Yu’s doubtful expression, Meng Ming continued, “Shoot the strings over to me, then I’ll toss them over to the main peak. It should be okay at this distance!”
Zhou Lun Yu suddenly understood—using the third peak?! That’s right, he could use this method to gather the plants! The third peak was less than 60 meters away from both the second peak’s cave and the main peak’s platform, which was a distance that the red threads could cover!
He immediately agreed, “Look closely, and catch it properly!”
Meng Ming also indicated that he was ready at any time. Zhou Lun Yu immediately tossed a coil downwards at the third peak.
…It fell through empty air.
“Oi! Why didn’t you catch it?!” [Zhou Lun Yu]
“Can’t see it!” [Meng Ming]
“You idiot, weren’t you able to see them?!”
“Everything behind it is sky, and it’s so far away. How could I possibly see it? Just shoot it over here!” Meng Ming stretched out a finger.
“You’re kidding! Such a small target!” …Alright, I’ll try it.” Zhou Lun Yu shot out another.
It hit! However, the red thread only struck Meng Ming’s finger and didn’t wrap around!
“Hey! Can’t you tie it here?!” [Meng Ming]
“The wind is too strong! Can’t you tie it yourself?!” [Zhou Lun Yu]
“I can’t see it at all! I can only wait for you to do it!”
“How can I do that?!”
Zhou Lun Yu couldn’t tie it? What to do…at such a far distance, it was very difficult for Zhou Lun Yu to perform such actions.
Meng Ming was suddenly struck by a brainwave. He immediately pulled out a pencil and carved it into an arrow shape. He then bore a small eye through the tail end of it!
This was—a needle!
As long as the red thread passed through, Meng Ming would be able to immediately twirl the needle and wind the red thread around it!
“Hey! Stick it into this hole!” Meng Ming said as he raised the needle in Zhou Lun Yu’s direction. He thought that completing this action required very fast reaction time; thus, he closed his eyes, prepared to use his hands to sense it.
“You must be joking! That hole of yours is too small!” Zhou Lun Yu was very depressed.
“What other idea do you have?! Just try it once! Or are you saying that you can’t do it at all?!” [Meng Ming]
It wasn’t impossible or anything. As long as it was within shooting range, he couldn’t possibly miss!
Zhou Lun Yu immediately cast out a red thread towards the needle’s eye. The wind suddenly grew stronger, causing the thread to miss again.
“—Oi, where are you shooting?!” [Meng Ming]
“I clearly aimed it correctly! Damn, let’s try again!” [Zhou Lun Yu]
Another red thread was cast out. The wind speed was perfect, and it headed straight towards the needle’s eye!
“It’s in!” Meng Ming felt something penetrate the hole! He immediately spun the needle, firmly capturing it.
“Alright!” Meng Ming opened his eyes and tightly tied the red threads onto the needle. He looked at the Yilan roots on the main peak and said, “Extend the thread a bit more, get ready!”
He was prepared to bet everything. Meng Ming sent this needle flying towards the peak, instantly embedding it deeply into the rock crevice where the Yilan roots were located!
Success! Zhou Lun Yu immediately pulled it taut, swinging it back and forth and all around so that the entire thread firmly wrapped around several Yilan roots. After some momentary Vacuum Blades, he agilely cut them off and reeled them in! —A single thread had been enough to complete the whole procedure.
“Alright, collected!” Zhou Lun Yu was beyond excited as the Yilan root reached his hand.
“Oi—why are you so excited?! It ended, right?! Don’t just stay in that cave the whole time, hurry up and get out here!” [Meng Ming]
“Stop shouting! I’ll come out immediately!” Zhou Lun Yu immediately retreated back into the second peak’s cave with his results in his arms, hurriedly heading down the mountain.
……
The strength of the wind on the mountain hadn’t diminished at all. Meng Ming’s group also prepared to get up and go back.
“Zhou Lun Yu requires an hour to get back from there, right…?”
“That’s right.”
“Crap. We were too excited just now, and forgot to tell him about the matter of the wild beasts…”
“……”
I still need to pass through such a troublesome path…
Zhou Lun Yu had to follow the original path and walk back to the wharf. He stepped up and continued to probe around. How do I walk down this kind of slope…?
Half an hour later, Zhou Lun Yu had only gone halfway. He held the Yilan root in his hand as he had some difficulty finding the path.
As Zhou Lun Yu advanced down the slope, he suddenly sensed some movement—a red thread at the peak suddenly seemed to have snapped under a weight!
A rock?!
Zhou Lun Yu woke with a start, and jumped a step forwards to dodge! A large rock smashed down onto the ground where Zhou Lun Yu had previously been standing, then tumbled down the slope.
“Who….?”
No one replied.
Just now, Zhou Lun Yu had already set up many defensive lines. If anyone came, he’d immediately be able to sense them!
Another rock came.
Zhou Lun Yu evaded once more. He felt that something was fishy: The enemy is above…a living animal. I must catch it first…
He temporarily put the Yilan root down, and silently wrapped large amounts of red threads around various locations in an attempt to search for the enemy’s tracks. His right hand was prepared to counterattack at any moment.
Soon, the enemy’s movements stirred the red threads once more!
There! Zhou Lun Yu waved his right hand, and a long whip quickly flew out towards its target!Let’s see where you try running off to… “Alternate Dimension Chains!”
In an instant, the chains firmly bound the enemy’s legs!
Whoa, it seems really heavy… Zhou Lun Yu wanted to pull it back, but he suddenly felt the other party’s extraordinary strength. Zhou Lun Yu couldn’t move it at all!
The chains continued to twist and turn as the opposite party struggled. At this rate, the threads would be forcefully snapped!
In this kind of fog…damn, I can only do this!
Zhou Lun Yu quickly made a decision.
He used all of his strength to wrap the chains around a few more times to firmly tie the enemy up, making it unable to move for a short period of time! Then, he opened his right hand and let go of the threads, rolled up the Yilan roots, and ran away.
Several people had been waiting on the boat for a long period of time, yet Zhou Lun Yu hadn’t returned.
“Strange, why hasn’t Zhou Lun Yu arrived yet? He didn’t encounter the wild beasts, right…?”
“I’ll go look for him.” Meng Ming stepped onto the wharf, but, before he’d walked more than a few steps into the fog, he suddenly noticed Zhou Lun Yu currently running over over to them with all his strength.
“Oi, why were you so slow?” Meng Ming asked.
“Met some trouble, hurry up and get on the boat so we can leave!” Zhou Lun Yu didn’t explain, and charged towards the boat with the Yilan root in hand.
“What…” Meng Ming had yet to respond before he suddenly saw a terrifying figure come chasing after Zhou Lun Yu. “Ahhhhh—!! What’s that?!” Meng Ming, who had just come ashore, immediately turned around to run back towards the wharf in fright as well.
“Quickly start the boat! There’s a monster!”
“OK!” The person on the boat said. “But this engine doesn’t start that quickly.”
Everyone there knew that—the wild beast was catching up.
Just as the motor was starting, Zhou Lun Yu and Meng Ming were about to get on the boat. However, the wild beast was following very closely behind. This boat couldn’t possibly launch within such a short amount of time!
“You, hurry up and stall it!” The two came to a stop next to the boat. Zhou Lun Yu had already run out of red threads, so he could only yell at Meng Ming to go against the monster.
The speed boat’s engine was still struggling to start up. The wild beast was getting closer and closer.
“What? If you just suddenly say that…I also…” In the critical moment, Meng Ming could only pull out some pencils.
“Wild beasts are afraid of fire! Light some flames!”
Meng Ming lit up a Flaming Arrow and shot it towards the wild beast. However, it seemed to remain uninjured…
“Can’t you make the fire any bigger?!” [Zhou Lun Yu]
“We’re in mist!” [Meng Ming]
The wild beast was almost there. Meng Ming hurriedly thought up another idea instead! He lit up two pencils and shot them towards the densely packed plants along the lakeside. These Black Lanterns quickly caught on fire. As they had grown so closely together, they turned into flames that immediately blocked the wild beast from advancing.
“This is the new Zhuge Style Cheating Technique—Great Flaming Wall,” Meng Ming explained.
“Great, my ass! The Black Lantern will be burned to ashes by you!”
“Better than losing our lives!”
The rhythmic vibration of the machine could be heard; the engine had finally started.
Huang Qiao Yi and Qiao Shun Zhi urgently called them over, “It’s time to run away, hurry up and get on! That fire is even more dangerous than that monster!”
The fire spawned by the burning Black Lanterns continued to grow; it had already spread throughout the entire northern shore. Amidst the smoke was a speed boat currently racing back towards the southern shore.
“The Scarlet Dragon…is angry?”
The sudden appearance of thick smoke coming from the northern shore of Scarlet Dragon Pool on top of Mt. Qing Xiu drew countless people’s attentions. The citizens were all looking in that direction.
“Crap, it’s going to come and burn our city!”
“Did someone insist on going to the pool to collect tea and angered the Scarlet Dragon in the process…?”
The mountain was suddenly ablaze, and nobody knew that it had been started by Zhuge Meng Ming.
“Now it’s okay, the medicinal plant was collected, too,” Meng Ming said in relief as he sat down on the speed boat.
“What exactly were you thinking? Setting off such a large fire will make everything think that the Scarlet Dragon is mad. The Black Lantern was also be completely destroyed by you,” Zhou Lun Yu sternly reprimanded.
“Didn’t we dispel that superstition ages ago…?” Meng Ming objected.
After a good while, the fire on the northern shore finally died down. After all, it was in the watery mist, and the Black Lantern plants were soon all burned into ashes.
The speed boat reached the southern shore, but everyone aboard felt that something was wrong…
“Where’s the wharf?”
The nearby wharf that been there previously…had disappeared!
“It’s this spot, right? How can it be gone?” Everyone searched around for a long time, but they couldn’t find where the wharf was located!
They suddenly heard a sound coming from the southern shore. “Hey—! How are you guys doing?”
It was Duan He. She had been waiting at the southern shore this whole time. She was currently standing on the steps as she shouted at everyone, “For some reason, the wharf was suddenly submerged underneath Scarlet Dragon Pool! The water…is currently rising. You guys need to hurry up and get here!”
Scarlet Dragon Pool’s water level was currently rising?!
They quickly stopped the boat next to the steps, and everyone waded through the water and made their way up onto the land.
“What exactly is going on…?” Duan He led them up the stairs as she asked, “Why did it catch fire? Did you really meet the Scarlet Dragon?”
“No…” Zhou Lun Yu immediately interjected. “It’s this guy…” He pointed at Meng Ming, while supporting Qiao Shun Zhi.
“Ah?” The more Duan He heard, the more confused she became.
Basically, it was hard to explain in a few words.
“Either way the plant was collected, so let’s go back!” They had finally escaped the danger, and they crossed the wharf to descend the mountain.
They slowly followed the path, and, after traveling around 100 meters…
The sound of water?
Everyone looked up at the mountain wall. That was…Mt. Qing Xiu’s waterfall!
The waterfall had actually started flowing!
It had only been two days since they’d arrived, and November hadn’t yet ended. However, the water levels in Scarlet Dragon Pool had suddenly risen, causing water to flow down the waterfall. What…exactly was the reason for this?!
—Scarlet Dragon Pool’s water levels would drop every seasonal month. However, not long after they’d fallen, they had risen once more?! What was the cause…?
Don’t tell me it’s because of our actions?!
Meng Ming recalled the chemistry experiment just now, and suddenly connected the entire phenomenon!
A sentence flashed through Meng Ming’s mind: In order to quell the Scarlet Dragon’s anger, the villagers have to remove all of the Black Lantern leaves blocking the mouths of teapots so that this body-relaxing and invigorating tea can be infused.
Black Lantern leaves? That meant…
“Ah…I think I understand!” Meng Ming came to a sudden realization.
“What do you understand?”
“Why at certain times, the water levels will drop and then rise back up later…it’s because…” He raised his head to look at Mt. Qing Xiu’s waterfall with its increasingly powerful water flow, and said—
“This Scarlet Dragon Pool’s northern shore is the bottom of the pool, and connects to the groundwater on top of the mountain! Moreover, that groundwater is warm like a hot spring…!”
“What…Meng Ming, you mean to say?”
“This mountain is a volcano?”
“Right.” Meng Ming explained to everyone—
It was previously said that there was a breeze that blew from the southern shore to the northern shore of Scarlet Dragon Pool. This caused an air draft to circulate, which was also the reason for its temperature difference. The opposite shore was very warm, so the air flowed towards there, forming the light wind.
He continued, “The Black Lantern only grows on the opposite shore because the bottom of that shore connects to the groundwater. That makes it a suitable environment for Black Lantern’s growth! They can continue growing densely, and gradually, the chinks connecting the pool to the groundwater will be covered and blocked. That’s why, every time the Black Lantern is extremely lush, the water levels will drop—this is when everyone can come and collect it.” This was the secret behind how the water levels would rise and fall; it was actually due to the Black Lantern’s growth. “As the Black Lantern is gathered more and cleared out, the chinks between the pool and the groundwater gradually become more unblocked. After enough Black Lantern is plucked, the groundwater will seep out again, and the water levels will rise once more!”
So it was like this.
“The reason the water levels suddenly rose just now was because you burned up all of the Black Lantern at once?”
“Correct.”
The mist on the northern shore was also there because of the connection to the warm groundwater.
It was like Meng Ming’s and Sean’s lab experiment showdown: Mt. Qing Xiu’s groundwater was like the lowest layer nitric acid in the graduated cylinder, the Scarlet Dragon Pool’s water was like the highest layer of pure water, and the Black Lantern was that middle separating film! —This was the chemistry explanation to Scarlet Dragon Pool’s phenomenon!
Mt. Qing Xiu’s waterfall had gushing water that flowed straight down the mountain. Meng Ming bent down and stuck his face close to the water flowing out of the waterfall.
“Are you not going to taste it?” This is Black Lantern tea,” he said.
What?!
“This is tea? Brother Meng Ming, aren’t you being too much…although Black Lantern does grow in this pool, wasn’t it said earlier that it needed hot water to infuse into tea?”
“The groundwater seeping out from the opposite shore is definitely hot water. It only becomes cold after reaching this end,” Meng Ming explained. “This tea is one that nobody has ever tasted before, the first infusion.”
The tea leaves could be soaked many times. The first tea infusion referred to tea leaves that had never been soaked before being boiled into tea water.
“Don’t tell me…” Duan He seemed to suddenly understand, and immediately lowered her head to try a taste. She then closed her eyes and quietly enjoyed it. “As expected!” She said, “I suddenly feel like…my muscles have been relaxed, my soul recuperated, my vital energy increased, and my blood circulation improved. My spirit seems to have recovered a bit as well!”
The words of the ancient people weren’t false. Only now did they come to know that one had to drink the first Black Lantern tea infusion in order to simultaneously enjoy both the body-relaxing and blood circulation effects at the same time!
If one wanted the effect of “improving one’s bad circulation,” they must boil living Black Lantern leaves into tea. Any plucked leaves would die.
Zhou Lun Yu said, “Since just now, I also understand. ‘In order to quell the Scarlet Dragon’s anger, the villagers have to remove all of the Black Lantern leaves blocking the mouths of teapots so that this body-relaxing and invigorating tea can be infused.’ This means that—” he pointed at Mt. Qing Xiu’s waterfall, “The teapot is the lake—the entire Scarlet Dragon Pool is a giant teapot!”
Meng Ming nodded.
So the explanation of ancient people’s words was like this! In the past, they’d all drunk Scarlet Dragon Pool water!
Huang Qiao Yi also immediately understood. “‘Villagers removing Black Lantern blocking the mouths of teapots’…the ‘Black Lantern’ here means the blocked Scarlet Dragon Pool and the groundwater’s Black Lantern.”
The tea leaves blocking the teapot mouths had already been burned away. The Scarlet Dragon Pool was the pot, and from the waterfall, the pot’s mouth, flowed an endless amount of body-relaxing and blood circulation improving first Black Lantern Tea!
So many years had passed, yet nobody had ever tried tasting the water flowing out of the waterfall.
“The water in Scarlet Dragon Pool is tea. These riddles were by chance solved by the fire you set off,” Zhou Lun Yu said. He looked at the entire waterfall. “However, does that mean the legend about the Scarlet Dragon burning the entire village…was talking about a volcano eruption?”
This waterfall indeed seemed like it had been formed during a volcanic eruption.
It was split into countless tributaries that all extended to the bottom of the mountain.
No matter what, the waterfall was currently flowing out what people had thirsted for for ages—the body-relaxing, invigorating and blood-circulation improving first tea infusion.
This tea was what suppressed the Scarlet Dragon’s anger, and the Qing Xin citizens’ main source of water that was closely related to their lifestyles. It split into many branches headed down the mountain, towards various families and households. The people living in Qing Xin could be accessed everywhere. All the doubts and suspicions had been resolved. The re-explained Black Lantern was bound to have solved the riddle of the Scarlet Dragon; the feeling of this first tea infusion and its effects trickled throughout the entire city, penetrating every citizen’s heart.
“So, Qiao Shun Zhi’s illness can be cured, then.”
Everyone was discussing things on their way back to Lin Xian.
“It definitely can,” Zhou Lun Yu said. “That’s not important, I just wanted to know the result of the lab experiment showdown.”
“Of course Meng Ming won,” the driving Huang Qiao Yi said. Meng Ming’s victory had been secured with Huang Qiao Yi’s help.
“Oh, did the opposite party throw the match?” Zhou Lun Yu still found it odd.
“Oi, it was strength. Strength. Heh!” Meng Ming was full of confidence.
“You call that thing you have strength? When we get back, let’s compete.”
“If you want to compete, go ahead,” Meng Ming said. “Strange, how come my interests are just not the same as the ones you guys have? I just want to know…exactly what shampoo Zhou Lun Yu uses!”
“Enough,” Duan He stopped him. “After drinking so much tea, you guys not only don’t want to go to the bathroom, but also still have so much energy left to make a ruckus…”
“It’s because we want to go to the bathroom that we’re making a ruckus as a distraction!”
“That tea is really amazing,” Huang Qiao Yi suddenly stomped on the accelerator. “I can drive for six hours in succession now.”
“Do you guys even remember that tomorrow is the day we’re supposed to hand in our weekend homework?” [Duan He]
“Oh? That seems to be the case! Little Qiao, did you finish the homework? The three of us are all counting on you!” [Meng Ming]
“Ah? Aiya, I forgot.” Huang Qiao Yi only just remembered, she’d been having too much fun.
“You must be kidding!!”
The accelerator was pressed even harder, and the car practically flew back towards Lin Xian.
AUGUST 23, 2016 TAFFYGIRL13LEAVE A COMMENT
Yet another one of CC’s famous 9k chapters…it translated to 5447 English words this time >.> Luckily, it was a highly amusing chapter, and I really enjoyed translating it. With this, V5 has reached an end. I enjoyed this volume a lot; with it being in a semi-school setting that involved being both in school and out of school, I found the plot extremely interesting, mysterious, and fun to read.
V6 is back in school, but it’s a much more interesting twist on things, and quite a few new characters~ As before, I’ll update the Character Introductions page for new characters as they are introduced. Look forward to the new volume!
On a side note, I just started school yesterday. As of now, CC will remain 1-3 chapters a week, and there are no changes to this release rate. However, it’s possible that there will be, as I am taking 7 classes this semester and it may get hectic, mainly around exams. If there are any changes to the release frequency, I will make sure to announce it. Thanks for understanding.
Translated by: Taffy
Edited by: Frosty
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Quiz 51: The First Tea Infusion
The mist on the opposite bank of Scarlet Dragon Pool was getting thicker and thicker—a speedboat was currently rushing across the waters, with two students from Lin Xian and Qiao Shun Zhi sitting in it. There was no network signal on the mountain. If they were lucky, Zhou Lun Yu might already be waiting on the opposite wharf.
“Zhuge Meng Ming, I’ve wanted to ask you something for a while,” Qiao Shun Zhi asked Meng Ming after giving a rough explanation of the nasty situation the opposite bank was in.
“What?”
“In that showdown just now, why did your water surpass 2L? Even if it’s cheating…I’m pretty sure it’s impossible!”
Qiao Shun Zhi wasn’t the only one; everyone present at the square, including the teacher, just couldn’t imagine how only 2.5L of raw materials, including the 0.5L of unused benzene, could produce over 2L of water! Moreover, Meng Ming’s products included nearly 1L of nitric acid solution that couldn’t be used.
Meng Ming thought about it and said, “This trick…is one I understood back then, but if you ask me to explain…it’s a bit…” After a while, Meng Ming had forgotten how to say it. “Basically, it’s cheating! Little Qiao, you tell them about the method just now…” He let the knowledgeable Huang Qiao Yi explain.
Huang Qiao Yi thought back to the materials that had been placed on the table back during the competition: 1L nitric acid, 1L water, and sparse amounts of hydrobromic acid, benzene, silver nitrate, ammonium bicarbonate, and water all mixed in the reaction test tubes.
“Brother Meng Ming poured two beakers of substance into the 2L graduated cylinder, but they weren’t both pure water. The second beaker did indeed contain pure water, but the first beaker had the already abandoned nitric acid solution.”
“Nitric acid solution?!” Qiao Shun Zhi was extremely shocked. “Like that, wouldn’t the nitric acid and water mix together…? How could the product be pure water?!”
Huang Qiao Yi continued to explain, “It was based on the insolubility of water and benzene. Before and after we emptied the two beakers into the graduated cylinder, we created a very thin layer of separation to split it into top and bottom parts—altogether, there was a top, middle, and bottom layer.”
Pure benzene couldn’t be used as a separating layer because it wasn’t dense enough. Thus, they’d used the excess mixture of hydrobromic acid and benzene in a test tube, in addition to the rusty faucet, to create bromobenzene and mix it together with the benzene. That way, the separating layer would be much thicker. The nitric acid solution’s layer was denser, so it had naturally sunk to the bottom.
In other words, when the teacher was inspecting the product, the graduated cylinder had been filled with such substances—
Top layer: Water (1L)
Middle layer: Benzene + Bromobenzene (very thin)
Bottom layer: Nitric acid solution (1L)
Only the top layer was tested. Like this, over 2L of water was created!
Nobody had thought that the useless benzene could be so effective.
“A benzene and bromobenzene film…heavens, this requires you to be extremely, extremely careful when pouring in the second beaker of water.” Qiao Shun Zhi had broken into a cold sweat just from hearing it. “The slightest slip-up would cause the water to break the separating layer. It also cannot be left alone for long, or else the substances will mix together.”
“That’s why this was all handed over to Meng Ming,” Huang Qiao Yi said.
Only Meng Ming could do this: slowly emptying the water into the graduated cylinder without shaking as to keep the film layer intact.
Meng Ming cooly said, “Since that Sean dumped his own graduated cylinder’s water, I had perfect reason to also pour mine out. He couldn’t grab hold of the trick at all.”
……
There was a strange, awkward silence.
“I’m not very good at telling these kinds of stories…” [Huang Qiao Yi]
“Little Qiao doesn’t have any experience in cheating…” [Meng Ming]
“Alright, we need to quickly start moving!” Qiao Shun Zhi reminded. The boat had already reached the shore. Although he was wearing a mask, he was the first to take a step onto the northern shore wharf under cover of the mist.
Unfortunately, Zhou Lun Yu wasn’t waiting at the wharf. The scene amidst the fog shocked both Meng Ming and Huang Qiao Yi—
“Although our line of sight doesn’t stretch very far…don’t tell me this is all…?”
It was low tide at the moment. When they looked around, they could see expansive and densely packed plants growing next to the wharf, as if the medicinal plants covered an entire plain—these were Black Lantern! They had originally been deeply submerged underneath the water.
“That’s right, this is the famous tea,” Qiao Shun Zhi said. “Under no circumstances must you go down to retrieve it, the bottom of the lake is covered in silt. Past this wharf, most of the medicinal plants are gathered using red threads.”
“Which way did Zhou Lun Yu walk?” Meng Ming asked.
“The Yilan root is only located on the main peak of Mt. Qing Xiu. If I’m guessing correctly, he should’ve already collected it! We’ll go up and look. I know a path close by that passes over the third peak. From there, we can see the main peak and the second peak,” Qiao Shun Zhi replied. He had to guide the others. “The next peak and the main peak have a rope bridge connecting them. Going there requires us to go around a long way; however, the third peak is both closer and lower in altitude.”
“In other words, Zhou Lun Yu is going to the main peak’s path? We have to hurry up and check!”
“Yes, let’s go to the third peak.” Qiao Shun Zhi led the group into the fog. “Follow me, and, by all means, do not wander off!”
Winding around the wharf and to the second peak required passing through a jungle and continuously ascending the circular mountain path. One also had to continuously climb for an hour at the very least; however, if one went straight from the wharf to the third peak, it would only take a dozen minutes at most. According to Qiao Shun Zhi, there was only a thin mist at the top. When one raised their head, they’d only see empty space around them. The rope bridge hung between a cave on the second peak and the main peak.
As they urgently climbed, the terrain became more and more elevated. The fog also became thinner. Meng Ming and Huang Qiao Yi’s line of vision gradually cleared up as well. They were already on top of the layer of clouds. When they looked down, all of Scarlet Dragon Pool and Qing Xin was right in front of their eyes. The high altitude winds incessantly blew around them, and the air here was much fresher than the one at ground level. They could see the sun’s rays strike the main peak, illuminating it.
They were now about to climb over the third peak.
“The second peak is right behind the main peak! Once we pass through this place, we’ll be able to clearly see the second peak’s cave and the rope bridge,” Qiao Shun Zhi told everyone.
The path’s end, a relatively small area, was right in front of them. However, there were no obstructions in the vicinity. It seemed that if one wasn’t careful enough, they’d be blown down by the wind. This was the third peak. When standing here, the second and main peaks could both be seen off to the left!
“Quick! Little Qiao, we’ve arrived!”
The three of them swiftly walked over, looking up at the main and second peaks.
“Wow, that is indeed the highest peak!” Meng Ming looked at how high the main peak was and sighed in praise, “When we were at the bottom, we couldn’t see this place at all!”
“Ignoring that, can you guys see anything?” Qiao Shun Zhi couldn’t see clearly, so he could only ask them.
“That’s right, the rope bridge you mentioned…” Meng Ming slowly lowered his head, looking over at the area between the two peaks.
A rope bridge?
In the area between the two peaks, there was the distant sky and layers of clouds above, and the fog and forest underneath. Aside from that…there wasn’t anything else. No, at a higher elevation, there seemed to be something hanging down…
“That’s…!”
—It was the former rope bridge. The ropes had been completely cut, so the entire thing was now hanging down from the main peak’s side!
“The rope bridge….is broken!” Meng Ming said.
“What?!” Qiao Shun Zhi began to panic. “Then what about Zhou Lun Yu?! How is he?!”
The support on the side of the second peak’s cave was gone, the broken rope bridge was entirely on the main peak’s side. Thinking like this, Zhou Lun Yu couldn’t have…!
“There!” Huang Qiao Yi suddenly shouted. She pointed at the second peak’s cave. Zhou Lun Yu could be seen staying there, looking off at the distant main peak, seemingly in a difficult situation.
Following Huang Qiao Yi’s finger, Meng Ming also found the second peak’s cave; Zhou Lun Yu was standing right at the entrance. Meng Ming immediately said to Qiao Shun Zhi, “Don’t worry, we can see Zhou Lun Yu, he’s at the second peak’s cave! He seems to be doing something.”
“Hey! What are you doing over there?” Meng Ming raised his head and loudly shouted over.
Zhou Lun Yu immediately turned to look towards the sound. To his surprise, there were three people below currently shouting at him. He could only reply, “Can’t you see? The bridge is broken and the medicinal plants are over there! I need to go pick them!” Zhou Lun Yu pointed to the main peak’s cliff face.
Meng Ming scanned around the main peak. It looked like there were indeed many various mushroom-like plants growing along the rocky face.
It turned out that, because the bridge had snapped, Zhou Lun Yu had no way of crossing. Thus, he could only use his red threads from the cave to retrieve the medicinal plants! However, the distance was too great. There were around 90 meters between the cave and the Yilan root on the main peak. Although the red threads were long enough, their firing range wasn’t enough, so they couldn’t fly over.
“Hey—can you do it or not?!” Meng Ming asked.
“Can’t you see I’m trying to right now?! If someone was able to put up the bridge, then there has to be a way to stretch across!”
Zhou Lun Yu aimed again. However, the red threads were blown away by the wind this time.
“Phew…” Although he’d put in the effort, he’d already been trying for a few hours straight. It was obvious that Zhou Lun Yu was powerless!
He didn’t dare believe this, and thought to himself: If my predecessors were able to use red threads to put the bridge up, how had they reached across? Such a powerful wind…exactly what method did they use?
Meng Ming shouted again, “Don’t bother thinking nonsense alone, I’ll come help you!”
Help? Zhou Lun Yu found it strange. How could Meng Ming possibly help?
Seeing Zhou Lun Yu’s doubtful expression, Meng Ming continued, “Shoot the strings over to me, then I’ll toss them over to the main peak. It should be okay at this distance!”
Zhou Lun Yu suddenly understood—using the third peak?! That’s right, he could use this method to gather the plants! The third peak was less than 60 meters away from both the second peak’s cave and the main peak’s platform, which was a distance that the red threads could cover!
He immediately agreed, “Look closely, and catch it properly!”
Meng Ming also indicated that he was ready at any time. Zhou Lun Yu immediately tossed a coil downwards at the third peak.
…It fell through empty air.
“Oi! Why didn’t you catch it?!” [Zhou Lun Yu]
“Can’t see it!” [Meng Ming]
“You idiot, weren’t you able to see them?!”
“Everything behind it is sky, and it’s so far away. How could I possibly see it? Just shoot it over here!” Meng Ming stretched out a finger.
“You’re kidding! Such a small target!” …Alright, I’ll try it.” Zhou Lun Yu shot out another.
It hit! However, the red thread only struck Meng Ming’s finger and didn’t wrap around!
“Hey! Can’t you tie it here?!” [Meng Ming]
“The wind is too strong! Can’t you tie it yourself?!” [Zhou Lun Yu]
“I can’t see it at all! I can only wait for you to do it!”
“How can I do that?!”
Zhou Lun Yu couldn’t tie it? What to do…at such a far distance, it was very difficult for Zhou Lun Yu to perform such actions.
Meng Ming was suddenly struck by a brainwave. He immediately pulled out a pencil and carved it into an arrow shape. He then bore a small eye through the tail end of it!
This was—a needle!
As long as the red thread passed through, Meng Ming would be able to immediately twirl the needle and wind the red thread around it!
“Hey! Stick it into this hole!” Meng Ming said as he raised the needle in Zhou Lun Yu’s direction. He thought that completing this action required very fast reaction time; thus, he closed his eyes, prepared to use his hands to sense it.
“You must be joking! That hole of yours is too small!” Zhou Lun Yu was very depressed.
“What other idea do you have?! Just try it once! Or are you saying that you can’t do it at all?!” [Meng Ming]
It wasn’t impossible or anything. As long as it was within shooting range, he couldn’t possibly miss!
Zhou Lun Yu immediately cast out a red thread towards the needle’s eye. The wind suddenly grew stronger, causing the thread to miss again.
“—Oi, where are you shooting?!” [Meng Ming]
“I clearly aimed it correctly! Damn, let’s try again!” [Zhou Lun Yu]
Another red thread was cast out. The wind speed was perfect, and it headed straight towards the needle’s eye!
“It’s in!” Meng Ming felt something penetrate the hole! He immediately spun the needle, firmly capturing it.
“Alright!” Meng Ming opened his eyes and tightly tied the red threads onto the needle. He looked at the Yilan roots on the main peak and said, “Extend the thread a bit more, get ready!”
He was prepared to bet everything. Meng Ming sent this needle flying towards the peak, instantly embedding it deeply into the rock crevice where the Yilan roots were located!
Success! Zhou Lun Yu immediately pulled it taut, swinging it back and forth and all around so that the entire thread firmly wrapped around several Yilan roots. After some momentary Vacuum Blades, he agilely cut them off and reeled them in! —A single thread had been enough to complete the whole procedure.
“Alright, collected!” Zhou Lun Yu was beyond excited as the Yilan root reached his hand.
“Oi—why are you so excited?! It ended, right?! Don’t just stay in that cave the whole time, hurry up and get out here!” [Meng Ming]
“Stop shouting! I’ll come out immediately!” Zhou Lun Yu immediately retreated back into the second peak’s cave with his results in his arms, hurriedly heading down the mountain.
……
The strength of the wind on the mountain hadn’t diminished at all. Meng Ming’s group also prepared to get up and go back.
“Zhou Lun Yu requires an hour to get back from there, right…?”
“That’s right.”
“Crap. We were too excited just now, and forgot to tell him about the matter of the wild beasts…”
“……”
I still need to pass through such a troublesome path…
Zhou Lun Yu had to follow the original path and walk back to the wharf. He stepped up and continued to probe around. How do I walk down this kind of slope…?
Half an hour later, Zhou Lun Yu had only gone halfway. He held the Yilan root in his hand as he had some difficulty finding the path.
As Zhou Lun Yu advanced down the slope, he suddenly sensed some movement—a red thread at the peak suddenly seemed to have snapped under a weight!
A rock?!
Zhou Lun Yu woke with a start, and jumped a step forwards to dodge! A large rock smashed down onto the ground where Zhou Lun Yu had previously been standing, then tumbled down the slope.
“Who….?”
No one replied.
Just now, Zhou Lun Yu had already set up many defensive lines. If anyone came, he’d immediately be able to sense them!
Another rock came.
Zhou Lun Yu evaded once more. He felt that something was fishy: The enemy is above…a living animal. I must catch it first…
He temporarily put the Yilan root down, and silently wrapped large amounts of red threads around various locations in an attempt to search for the enemy’s tracks. His right hand was prepared to counterattack at any moment.
Soon, the enemy’s movements stirred the red threads once more!
There! Zhou Lun Yu waved his right hand, and a long whip quickly flew out towards its target!Let’s see where you try running off to… “Alternate Dimension Chains!”
In an instant, the chains firmly bound the enemy’s legs!
Whoa, it seems really heavy… Zhou Lun Yu wanted to pull it back, but he suddenly felt the other party’s extraordinary strength. Zhou Lun Yu couldn’t move it at all!
The chains continued to twist and turn as the opposite party struggled. At this rate, the threads would be forcefully snapped!
In this kind of fog…damn, I can only do this!
Zhou Lun Yu quickly made a decision.
He used all of his strength to wrap the chains around a few more times to firmly tie the enemy up, making it unable to move for a short period of time! Then, he opened his right hand and let go of the threads, rolled up the Yilan roots, and ran away.
Several people had been waiting on the boat for a long period of time, yet Zhou Lun Yu hadn’t returned.
“Strange, why hasn’t Zhou Lun Yu arrived yet? He didn’t encounter the wild beasts, right…?”
“I’ll go look for him.” Meng Ming stepped onto the wharf, but, before he’d walked more than a few steps into the fog, he suddenly noticed Zhou Lun Yu currently running over over to them with all his strength.
“Oi, why were you so slow?” Meng Ming asked.
“Met some trouble, hurry up and get on the boat so we can leave!” Zhou Lun Yu didn’t explain, and charged towards the boat with the Yilan root in hand.
“What…” Meng Ming had yet to respond before he suddenly saw a terrifying figure come chasing after Zhou Lun Yu. “Ahhhhh—!! What’s that?!” Meng Ming, who had just come ashore, immediately turned around to run back towards the wharf in fright as well.
“Quickly start the boat! There’s a monster!”
“OK!” The person on the boat said. “But this engine doesn’t start that quickly.”
Everyone there knew that—the wild beast was catching up.
Just as the motor was starting, Zhou Lun Yu and Meng Ming were about to get on the boat. However, the wild beast was following very closely behind. This boat couldn’t possibly launch within such a short amount of time!
“You, hurry up and stall it!” The two came to a stop next to the boat. Zhou Lun Yu had already run out of red threads, so he could only yell at Meng Ming to go against the monster.
The speed boat’s engine was still struggling to start up. The wild beast was getting closer and closer.
“What? If you just suddenly say that…I also…” In the critical moment, Meng Ming could only pull out some pencils.
“Wild beasts are afraid of fire! Light some flames!”
Meng Ming lit up a Flaming Arrow and shot it towards the wild beast. However, it seemed to remain uninjured…
“Can’t you make the fire any bigger?!” [Zhou Lun Yu]
“We’re in mist!” [Meng Ming]
The wild beast was almost there. Meng Ming hurriedly thought up another idea instead! He lit up two pencils and shot them towards the densely packed plants along the lakeside. These Black Lanterns quickly caught on fire. As they had grown so closely together, they turned into flames that immediately blocked the wild beast from advancing.
“This is the new Zhuge Style Cheating Technique—Great Flaming Wall,” Meng Ming explained.
“Great, my ass! The Black Lantern will be burned to ashes by you!”
“Better than losing our lives!”
The rhythmic vibration of the machine could be heard; the engine had finally started.
Huang Qiao Yi and Qiao Shun Zhi urgently called them over, “It’s time to run away, hurry up and get on! That fire is even more dangerous than that monster!”
The fire spawned by the burning Black Lanterns continued to grow; it had already spread throughout the entire northern shore. Amidst the smoke was a speed boat currently racing back towards the southern shore.
“The Scarlet Dragon…is angry?”
The sudden appearance of thick smoke coming from the northern shore of Scarlet Dragon Pool on top of Mt. Qing Xiu drew countless people’s attentions. The citizens were all looking in that direction.
“Crap, it’s going to come and burn our city!”
“Did someone insist on going to the pool to collect tea and angered the Scarlet Dragon in the process…?”
The mountain was suddenly ablaze, and nobody knew that it had been started by Zhuge Meng Ming.
“Now it’s okay, the medicinal plant was collected, too,” Meng Ming said in relief as he sat down on the speed boat.
“What exactly were you thinking? Setting off such a large fire will make everything think that the Scarlet Dragon is mad. The Black Lantern was also be completely destroyed by you,” Zhou Lun Yu sternly reprimanded.
“Didn’t we dispel that superstition ages ago…?” Meng Ming objected.
After a good while, the fire on the northern shore finally died down. After all, it was in the watery mist, and the Black Lantern plants were soon all burned into ashes.
The speed boat reached the southern shore, but everyone aboard felt that something was wrong…
“Where’s the wharf?”
The nearby wharf that been there previously…had disappeared!
“It’s this spot, right? How can it be gone?” Everyone searched around for a long time, but they couldn’t find where the wharf was located!
They suddenly heard a sound coming from the southern shore. “Hey—! How are you guys doing?”
It was Duan He. She had been waiting at the southern shore this whole time. She was currently standing on the steps as she shouted at everyone, “For some reason, the wharf was suddenly submerged underneath Scarlet Dragon Pool! The water…is currently rising. You guys need to hurry up and get here!”
Scarlet Dragon Pool’s water level was currently rising?!
They quickly stopped the boat next to the steps, and everyone waded through the water and made their way up onto the land.
“What exactly is going on…?” Duan He led them up the stairs as she asked, “Why did it catch fire? Did you really meet the Scarlet Dragon?”
“No…” Zhou Lun Yu immediately interjected. “It’s this guy…” He pointed at Meng Ming, while supporting Qiao Shun Zhi.
“Ah?” The more Duan He heard, the more confused she became.
Basically, it was hard to explain in a few words.
“Either way the plant was collected, so let’s go back!” They had finally escaped the danger, and they crossed the wharf to descend the mountain.
They slowly followed the path, and, after traveling around 100 meters…
The sound of water?
Everyone looked up at the mountain wall. That was…Mt. Qing Xiu’s waterfall!
The waterfall had actually started flowing!
It had only been two days since they’d arrived, and November hadn’t yet ended. However, the water levels in Scarlet Dragon Pool had suddenly risen, causing water to flow down the waterfall. What…exactly was the reason for this?!
—Scarlet Dragon Pool’s water levels would drop every seasonal month. However, not long after they’d fallen, they had risen once more?! What was the cause…?
Don’t tell me it’s because of our actions?!
Meng Ming recalled the chemistry experiment just now, and suddenly connected the entire phenomenon!
A sentence flashed through Meng Ming’s mind: In order to quell the Scarlet Dragon’s anger, the villagers have to remove all of the Black Lantern leaves blocking the mouths of teapots so that this body-relaxing and invigorating tea can be infused.
Black Lantern leaves? That meant…
“Ah…I think I understand!” Meng Ming came to a sudden realization.
“What do you understand?”
“Why at certain times, the water levels will drop and then rise back up later…it’s because…” He raised his head to look at Mt. Qing Xiu’s waterfall with its increasingly powerful water flow, and said—
“This Scarlet Dragon Pool’s northern shore is the bottom of the pool, and connects to the groundwater on top of the mountain! Moreover, that groundwater is warm like a hot spring…!”
“What…Meng Ming, you mean to say?”
“This mountain is a volcano?”
“Right.” Meng Ming explained to everyone—
It was previously said that there was a breeze that blew from the southern shore to the northern shore of Scarlet Dragon Pool. This caused an air draft to circulate, which was also the reason for its temperature difference. The opposite shore was very warm, so the air flowed towards there, forming the light wind.
He continued, “The Black Lantern only grows on the opposite shore because the bottom of that shore connects to the groundwater. That makes it a suitable environment for Black Lantern’s growth! They can continue growing densely, and gradually, the chinks connecting the pool to the groundwater will be covered and blocked. That’s why, every time the Black Lantern is extremely lush, the water levels will drop—this is when everyone can come and collect it.” This was the secret behind how the water levels would rise and fall; it was actually due to the Black Lantern’s growth. “As the Black Lantern is gathered more and cleared out, the chinks between the pool and the groundwater gradually become more unblocked. After enough Black Lantern is plucked, the groundwater will seep out again, and the water levels will rise once more!”
So it was like this.
“The reason the water levels suddenly rose just now was because you burned up all of the Black Lantern at once?”
“Correct.”
The mist on the northern shore was also there because of the connection to the warm groundwater.
It was like Meng Ming’s and Sean’s lab experiment showdown: Mt. Qing Xiu’s groundwater was like the lowest layer nitric acid in the graduated cylinder, the Scarlet Dragon Pool’s water was like the highest layer of pure water, and the Black Lantern was that middle separating film! —This was the chemistry explanation to Scarlet Dragon Pool’s phenomenon!
Mt. Qing Xiu’s waterfall had gushing water that flowed straight down the mountain. Meng Ming bent down and stuck his face close to the water flowing out of the waterfall.
“Are you not going to taste it?” This is Black Lantern tea,” he said.
What?!
“This is tea? Brother Meng Ming, aren’t you being too much…although Black Lantern does grow in this pool, wasn’t it said earlier that it needed hot water to infuse into tea?”
“The groundwater seeping out from the opposite shore is definitely hot water. It only becomes cold after reaching this end,” Meng Ming explained. “This tea is one that nobody has ever tasted before, the first infusion.”
The tea leaves could be soaked many times. The first tea infusion referred to tea leaves that had never been soaked before being boiled into tea water.
“Don’t tell me…” Duan He seemed to suddenly understand, and immediately lowered her head to try a taste. She then closed her eyes and quietly enjoyed it. “As expected!” She said, “I suddenly feel like…my muscles have been relaxed, my soul recuperated, my vital energy increased, and my blood circulation improved. My spirit seems to have recovered a bit as well!”
The words of the ancient people weren’t false. Only now did they come to know that one had to drink the first Black Lantern tea infusion in order to simultaneously enjoy both the body-relaxing and blood circulation effects at the same time!
If one wanted the effect of “improving one’s bad circulation,” they must boil living Black Lantern leaves into tea. Any plucked leaves would die.
Zhou Lun Yu said, “Since just now, I also understand. ‘In order to quell the Scarlet Dragon’s anger, the villagers have to remove all of the Black Lantern leaves blocking the mouths of teapots so that this body-relaxing and invigorating tea can be infused.’ This means that—” he pointed at Mt. Qing Xiu’s waterfall, “The teapot is the lake—the entire Scarlet Dragon Pool is a giant teapot!”
Meng Ming nodded.
So the explanation of ancient people’s words was like this! In the past, they’d all drunk Scarlet Dragon Pool water!
Huang Qiao Yi also immediately understood. “‘Villagers removing Black Lantern blocking the mouths of teapots’…the ‘Black Lantern’ here means the blocked Scarlet Dragon Pool and the groundwater’s Black Lantern.”
The tea leaves blocking the teapot mouths had already been burned away. The Scarlet Dragon Pool was the pot, and from the waterfall, the pot’s mouth, flowed an endless amount of body-relaxing and blood circulation improving first Black Lantern Tea!
So many years had passed, yet nobody had ever tried tasting the water flowing out of the waterfall.
“The water in Scarlet Dragon Pool is tea. These riddles were by chance solved by the fire you set off,” Zhou Lun Yu said. He looked at the entire waterfall. “However, does that mean the legend about the Scarlet Dragon burning the entire village…was talking about a volcano eruption?”
This waterfall indeed seemed like it had been formed during a volcanic eruption.
It was split into countless tributaries that all extended to the bottom of the mountain.
No matter what, the waterfall was currently flowing out what people had thirsted for for ages—the body-relaxing, invigorating and blood-circulation improving first tea infusion.
This tea was what suppressed the Scarlet Dragon’s anger, and the Qing Xin citizens’ main source of water that was closely related to their lifestyles. It split into many branches headed down the mountain, towards various families and households. The people living in Qing Xin could be accessed everywhere. All the doubts and suspicions had been resolved. The re-explained Black Lantern was bound to have solved the riddle of the Scarlet Dragon; the feeling of this first tea infusion and its effects trickled throughout the entire city, penetrating every citizen’s heart.
“So, Qiao Shun Zhi’s illness can be cured, then.”
Everyone was discussing things on their way back to Lin Xian.
“It definitely can,” Zhou Lun Yu said. “That’s not important, I just wanted to know the result of the lab experiment showdown.”
“Of course Meng Ming won,” the driving Huang Qiao Yi said. Meng Ming’s victory had been secured with Huang Qiao Yi’s help.
“Oh, did the opposite party throw the match?” Zhou Lun Yu still found it odd.
“Oi, it was strength. Strength. Heh!” Meng Ming was full of confidence.
“You call that thing you have strength? When we get back, let’s compete.”
“If you want to compete, go ahead,” Meng Ming said. “Strange, how come my interests are just not the same as the ones you guys have? I just want to know…exactly what shampoo Zhou Lun Yu uses!”
“Enough,” Duan He stopped him. “After drinking so much tea, you guys not only don’t want to go to the bathroom, but also still have so much energy left to make a ruckus…”
“It’s because we want to go to the bathroom that we’re making a ruckus as a distraction!”
“That tea is really amazing,” Huang Qiao Yi suddenly stomped on the accelerator. “I can drive for six hours in succession now.”
“Do you guys even remember that tomorrow is the day we’re supposed to hand in our weekend homework?” [Duan He]
“Oh? That seems to be the case! Little Qiao, did you finish the homework? The three of us are all counting on you!” [Meng Ming]
“Ah? Aiya, I forgot.” Huang Qiao Yi only just remembered, she’d been having too much fun.
“You must be kidding!!”
The accelerator was pressed even harder, and the car practically flew back towards Lin Xian.
