Chapter 145: Black Powder

"Refining saltpeter?"

Chen Miaoyi asked, glancing into the bucket, where the soil indeed contained some whitish substances.

Xu Mo nodded. "That's right. In a moment, we just need to mix this soil with plant ash, then rinse it repeatedly with water until everything soluble in the soil dissolves. After that, we pour the rinsing water into a pot and boil it..."

"Ah?" Chen Miaoyi was immediately startled. "Husband, this soil smells so foul. Why on earth are you boiling it?"

Xu Mo sighed helplessly. "I have no other choice. If there were a saltpeter mine around, would I be boiling this? Don't interrupt, let me finish..."

He continued, "Once it boils down and there isn't much water left, we'll filter it through gauze, then keep boiling it until white crystals form around the rim of the pot. Those are the saltpeter we need."

"But it doesn't end there. Because these white crystals still contain moisture, we have to wrap them tightly in gauze and bury them in plant ash to absorb the moisture. Only then is the process complete!"

Chen Miaoyi listened to Xu Mo's lengthy explanation without really understanding what it was all about.

"Husband, what are you going to use this saltpeter for anyway?" Chen Miaoyi asked.

"To make black powder!" Xu Mo replied.

"Black powder?" Chen Miaoyi asked doubtfully. "Husband, it's not like ordinary gunpowder isn't sold in town. Why go to all this trouble to make it yourself?"

Xu Mo shook his head. "Black powder is completely different from ordinary gunpowder. You'll see once I've made it."

Chen Miaoyi said, "Husband, no matter what you're busy with, you should at least eat breakfast first."

"You go ahead and eat," Xu Mo insisted. "I'll eat as soon as I finish this up."

With that, Xu Mo buried his head back into digging the soil.

Knowing Xu Mo's stubborn temper and that she couldn't persuade him otherwise at the moment, Chen Miaoyi could only let him be.

The idea of making black powder had originated from the recent battle against the bandits.

Xu Mo had pondered deeply over the past few days, believing that if his side possessed powerful weapons, the villagers might not have suffered any casualties.

Additionally, with the number of refugees increasing near the village lately, Xu Mo was making black powder to ensure the village's safety.

Should the refugees gather in even greater numbers and launch a sudden attack on Gushan Village, weapons made from black powder would surely come in handy.

After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Xu Mo had dug out a full bucket of saltpeter-bearing soil, then returned to the house quite satisfied.

After breakfast, Xu Mo called for Qin Mutou, and the two of them set to work behind the house.

They were busy for the better part of the day, not even taking time for lunch.

During this time, Chen Miaoyi tried to help several times, but Xu Mo refused, giving the excuse that he didn't want her to smell foul.

Xu Hui also came by once, but happened to catch the two of them boiling a large pot of foul-smelling liquid. She was driven away by the stench instantly and never showed up again.

After the *Shen* hour in the afternoon, Xu Mo finally produced the saltpeter to his satisfaction.

Looking at the dry, white crystals before him, Qin Mutou asked, "Master, what use are these white things?"

Xu Mo didn't feel like explaining just yet. "Don't ask for now, you'll see in a moment."

He then instructed, "Mutou, go get the charcoal and sulfur I bought. I'm going to start compounding the black powder!"

Qin Mutou nodded immediately and ran off to fetch the materials.

Compounding black powder required three raw materials: charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter.

Charcoal and sulfur were easy to buy on the market, but saltpeter was extremely difficult to acquire, which was why Xu Mo had to make it himself.

While Qin Mutou went to fetch the items, Xu Mo found a wooden basin.

"Master, here!"

Before long, Qin Mutou came back carrying two cloth bags—one containing sulfur, and the other charcoal that had already been ground into powder.

The recipe ratio for black powder was seventy-five percent saltpeter, ten percent sulfur, and fifteen percent charcoal.

Xu Mo found a small bowl, mixed the three raw materials together proportionally, stirred them evenly, and then added water to begin grinding.

As he ground the mixture, Xu Mo warned Qin Mutou, "Mutou, remember this: you must never use iron utensils for this step, or it might blow people to pieces."

Skeptical, Qin Mutou asked, "Master, can this really blow people to pieces?"

Xu Mo sneered. "Don't believe me? Later on, I'll let you witness the power of black powder!"

Without another word, Xu Mo resumed his grinding.

Once the black powder was ground into a thin mud, Xu Mo fetched a fine sieve and diligently sieved the wet black powder into small granules.

Finally, Xu Mo placed these small granules in a cool, shaded place. Once they air-dried, they would become highly destructive black powder.

That very evening, Xu Mo found some ordinary gunpowder and, with Chen Miaoyi's assistance, made a long fuse.

Making a fuse was relatively simple: he just needed to wrap a small amount of gunpowder in paper, roll the paper into a long strip, and twist it tight.

The next morning, as soon as he woke up, Xu Mo eagerly went to check on the black powder.

He found that after a night's time, the black powder was completely dry.

Overjoyed, Xu Mo quickly fetched a small jar and poured the black powder into it.

Once it was full, Xu Mo inserted the fuse into the black powder and simply sealed the opening to finish the job.

Holding his homemade improvised bomb, Xu Mo inspected it repeatedly and exclaimed with excitement, "Not bad at all! Now all that's left is to test its power!"

After breakfast, Xu Mo called Chen Miaoyi, Xu Hui, and Qin Mutou, and the four of them headed out to the distant mountains.

Arriving at a relatively flat terrain, Xu Mo stopped in his tracks. "Right here!"

Looking around, Xu Mo quickly selected a boulder about half the height of a person.

He first had Qin Mutou dig a hole beneath the boulder, then buried the improvised bomb shallowly, leaving only the fuse exposed.

After that, Xu Mo shouted, "Everyone, back away farther!"

Hearing this, Chen Miaoyi, Xu Hui, and Qin Mutou retreated a few steps.

Shaking his head, Xu Mo said, "Not enough, not enough! Back up even farther!"

The three of them retreated a few more paces.

Still feeling it was far from enough, Xu Mo herded the three of them back much further, making them hide behind a tree to prevent any flying rock fragments from injuring them.

After warning the three not to run around, Xu Mo returned to the fuse and began striking a fire flint.

Almost immediately, the fuse caught fire...

Seeing this, Xu Mo turned on his heel and bolted, running wildly back toward Chen Miaoyi and the others.

Just as Xu Mo reached the group, before he could even turn around, a tremendous explosion echoed from the direction of the boulder.

"Boom!"

All four of them, including Xu Mo, were startled.

Immediately afterward, shattered rock fragments came hurtling through the air; some dropped near them, some flew over their heads, and some struck the tree trunk...