Doctor Li thought for a moment and said, “The symptoms are caused by long-term consumption of all sorts of strange things. Although there are signs of poisoning, the situation is not severe and not fatal. As for how he went insane, I can’t make an estimate. However… when I entered, I smelled a strong sulfur odor here.”

“Sulfur odor? What is that?” Qin Fang asked, confused.

Doctor Li explained, “Given the situation here, this is a Taoist temple, and there is a dan furnace in this room. Coupled with the sulfur smell, I boldly suspect that sulfur is used for alchemical purposes. In the Shennong Bencao Jing, it is recorded that sulfur is a medicinal ingredient that can alter the properties of medicines. However, excessive sulfur can be toxic. What I mentioned earlier about this person being poisoned is likely due to inhaling too much sulfur.”

“Is that so?” Qin Fang responded.

Doctor Li continued, “The odor is coming from that direction, and the scent hasn’t dissipated yet. It seems there is still sulfur over there. General, let’s go take a look.”

“Hmm,” Qin Fang nodded.

Following the scent, Doctor Li led the way to another room.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. “So much sulfur and saltpeter!”

Qin Fang asked, “What are the yellow stones and white stones?”

Doctor Li laughed heartily. “General, you may not know, but the white ones are saltpeter, and the yellow ones are sulfur. Both sulfur and saltpeter can be used as medicinal ingredients to improve properties. I never expected there to be so much sulfur and saltpeter here; this is indeed a joyous surprise.”

Qin Fang remarked, “Not just this room; other rooms also contain sulfur and saltpeter.”

Upon hearing this, Doctor Li was even more delighted. “But how can there be so much sulfur and saltpeter here? Logically speaking, the possibility of transporting it from the foot of the mountain is low. If they were for alchemical purposes, why would they bring sulfur and saltpeter up such a high mountain? It would be better to refine the medicines down at the foot of the mountain.”

Suddenly, a thought struck Qin Fang: “Could it be that there are sulfur and saltpeter nearby?”

Doctor Li considered this possibility as well.

Qin Fang called out, “Captain Lu!”

“General?” Captain Lu entered from outside.

Qin Fang instructed, “Issue an order for all soldiers to search the mountain for these two types of stones. This yellow one is called sulfur, and this white one is saltpeter. Doctor Li mentioned that this can be used as medicine, so be careful. However, inhaling too much of this yellow one is toxic, so watch out.”

Lieutenant Lu replied, “Understood.”

Doctor Li took out a piece of paper and wrote a prescription. “General, this is the medicine for that patient. We need to send someone down the mountain to fetch it.”

Qin Fang handed the prescription to one of the soldiers. “Go get the medicine.”

The soldier responded, “Yes.”

For the moment, Qin Fang had no intention of taking the person away.

He didn’t know the other party’s background or identity, so it was safer to keep them locked up here.

However, this tiger was a danger.

Right now, the tiger wouldn’t eat the wild boar leg.

After some thought, Qin Fang said to Doctor Li, “Doctor Li, let’s withdraw from here for now. Once the tiger is down, we’ll take control of this place. It’s too dangerous to leave the tiger here.”

Upon hearing this, Doctor Li asked, “General, do you intend to subdue the tiger?”

Qin Fang’s face turned a bit red, feeling awkward. “The previous sleeping powder and tranquilizer still have some left. After we leave, we’ll use the sleeping gas to subdue the tiger.” After all, even though it was a lowly method, he was quite skilled at using it.

Doctor Li didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. If it could be done without a single soldier being harmed, why not use it?

So, Qin Fang ordered them to ignite the tranquilizer within the Taoist temple, and then they all withdrew from the temple.

Seeing them leave, the tiger showed no reaction and returned to its own room to lie down comfortably.

After about half an hour, Qin Fang went in to check, and the tiger had indeed fallen for it.

Qin Fang ordered, “Someone, make a cage to confine the tiger, but do not harm it. In the evening, bring fresh meat to it. Oh, and put it in the same room as the chained man.”

The soldier replied, “Yes.”

After the cage for the tiger was completed, the tiger had still not woken up, and the sky had turned dark.

Qin Fang left some soldiers to guard the area and protect Doctor Li, and he headed down the mountain.

By the time Qin Fang returned to the general’s residence, it was completely dark.

“The general is back!”

A loud call came from the entrance of the residence, sounding heavier than usual.

If it were a smaller residence, everyone would probably hear it.

Qin Fang paused. “Uncle Hong is in good spirits today.”

Uncle Hong chuckled. “Not at all, it’s the lady’s instruction. If you return, you have to call out loudly. You didn’t come back for dinner, so the lady came to check a few times.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Fang hurried inside.

Although Uncle Hong’s shout didn’t reach Yang Haiyan, the patrolling guards in the residence heard it and quickly reported to Yang Haiyan, “Madam, the general has returned; we just heard Uncle Hong’s call.”

Yang Haiyan had already eaten dinner and was taking a walk with Qin Siya to digest, but upon hearing that Qin Fang was back, she let Qin Siya return to the courtyard and instructed the servants to serve the warmed dishes.

She then went to welcome Qin Fang.

However, just as Yang Haiyan stepped out of the courtyard, she saw Qin Fang coming back.

She took a few steps forward. “Why did you come back so late? Didn’t you tell anyone to send a message?”

Knowing she was worried because he had gone to Beast Mountain, he felt a sense of guilt. “Yanyan, it was quite busy today. I was on the mountaintop, and all the soldiers in the camp were called to search the mountain, so I didn’t have time to come by. I’m sorry to make you worry.”

Hearing his explanation, Yang Haiyan could understand.

When busy, one often neglects such things. “As long as you’re fine, that’s all that matters to me.”

Qin Fang took her hand. “Don’t worry, I will remember that.”

The two entered the courtyard.

Qin Fang hadn’t eaten enough at noon, and the climb had consumed a lot of energy, so now his stomach was growling.

Upon smelling the aroma of food, his stomach rumbled.

He had become accustomed to being shameless in front of her, but he still wanted to maintain some image: “The cake and cookies at noon were eaten by someone, so I didn’t get enough to eat.”

Yang Haiyan, hearing this, was quick to respond, “Who is so excessive as to steal the husband’s food?”

As she spoke, she served him a bowl of soup. “First drink some soup to ease your hunger.”

The soup was chicken soup, very delicious and simmered slowly over low heat.

Qin Fang took a sip and then drank several more gulps until his stomach felt better. Then he said, “It wasn’t really stolen; something happened at Beast Mountain today…”

He then recounted the situation at Beast Mountain.

Upon hearing this, Yang Haiyan immediately called out, “Granny Lian!”

Granny Lian responded from the entrance, “Madam?”

Yang Haiyan said, “Granny Lian, send someone to Captains Lu’s house and Yang’s house to inform them that they are busy at the moment and are fine, so that Madam Lu and Madam Yang won’t worry.”

Mama Lian replied, “Understood.”

Qin Fang realized, “I completely forgot about that.” Men are indeed less attentive to certain matters.

Yang Haiyan said, “My husband is a person of great affairs; how could he pay attention to the trifles like I do as a small woman?”

Qin Fang quickly responded, “No, Yanyan is the smartest person; I can’t compare to Yanyan.”

Yang Haiyan’s lips curled upward.

This man really knows how to flatter. However, she said, “You mentioned you found sulfur and saltpeter in that Taoist temple?”

Yang Haiyan had worked hard during her studies, and after her grandmother passed away, as an orphan, she had no other path except for studying.

Thus, she devoted herself to her studies and achieved excellent results.

Even after more than ten years, while she had forgotten some knowledge, she still remembered some, like medicinal herbs.

Gunpowder was first discovered by the Chinese during the Western Han dynasty.

Moreover, sulfur and saltpeter are important materials for making gunpowder.

However, the Qi Kingdom did not yet have gunpowder.

What’s a bit strange is that the Qi Kingdom already had firecrackers, so how could they not have gunpowder?

The firecrackers in the Qi Kingdom were akin to Chinese fireworks, but the manufacturing principle of firecrackers is similar to that of gunpowder, except the quantities of materials are smaller, and the explosive power is also less than that of gunpowder.

So, if the Qi Kingdom already had firecrackers, why would they not have gunpowder?

Yang Haiyan couldn’t understand this question.

However, she asked, “My husband, do you know what firecrackers are made of?”

Qin Fang was taken aback. “I don’t know.”

He felt a bit embarrassed.

Was his wife trying to quiz him?

Surely not; she knew he lacked talent.

He had only attempted to compose poetry once.

Yang Haiyan subtly hinted, “I’ve read in the records that firecrackers are made from sulfur and saltpeter.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Fang still didn’t fully grasp Yang Haiyan’s meaning.

Seeing his confusion, Yang Haiyan clarified further, “So, my husband, I have an idea. Since our Qi Kingdom has sulfur and saltpeter, why don’t we make large firecrackers? When fighting against the enemy, we could directly use a big explosion to blast them away, wouldn’t that be quicker? I just don’t understand why the court hasn’t made large firecrackers.”

Qin Fang first froze upon hearing this, then he set down his bowl and held Yang Haiyan’s shoulders: “Yanyan, you are just too smart, too smart…”

He happily kissed her on the cheek and then rushed out. “Yanyan, I’m going to get busy. I won’t come back tonight, so you should sleep early and don’t wait for me.”

“Hubby…” Yang Haiyan chased after him, but the man had already run far away.

Yang Haiyan shook her head helplessly.

This man…

But she soon smiled.

As long as he understood her meaning, that was enough.

Although Qin Fang didn’t realize that Yang Haiyan was intentionally reminding him, he indeed began to think.

Why didn’t the court make large firecrackers to deal with the enemy?

It was because they lacked sufficient sulfur and saltpeter.

Why did the Prince Liang build the Taoist temple on the mountaintop?

Because there were sulfur and saltpeter there.

If the Taoist temple were built at the foot of the mountain, transporting sulfur and saltpeter from the mountain would surely attract attention.

Once the court learned of the existence of sulfur and saltpeter, they would undoubtedly come to seize it.

The Prince Liang did not want to hand over sulfur and saltpeter to the court.

Of course, this was just Qin Fang’s speculation.

But what mattered was that he felt his conjecture was correct; there must be plenty of sulfur and saltpeter near that Taoist temple.