Xiulote looked up at the sky, trying hard to recall the faint snippets from movies and books. Drawing on the chemical content learned from textbooks, he speculated about the composition of the soil and the final products, considering how to remove unwanted impurities and how to derive the desired raw materials from the mixed soil.
The young man kept thinking, constantly experimenting. He refined the operational processes, observing each product from the treatments. The fragments of memory, like scattered and missing puzzle pieces, were difficultly pieced together into an effective complete process.
Moreno sighed inwardly. With his head in the clouds, under the command of His Highness, he treated the soil in various ways to extract something called "burning salt."
Time slowly passed and the old sun headed for its return.
Finally, the clear "saltwater" appeared in front of Xiulote, who took an exhilarating deep breath. The youth couldn’t help but look up at the sky; the setting sun was already brilliant, on the eve of the old day’s close. He dispatched a guard back to the Capital City to inform his grandfather that he would not return tonight, as he was busy with urgent matters.
The sky gradually darkened, and the samurai lit bonfires around the perimeter. They silently guarded the priest, His Highness, with solemn gazes watching the operation under the "Divine Revelation," as if witnessing a mysterious and sublime sacrificial rite.
Moreno toiled hard. The bonfire roared, the "saltwater" boiled and rolled, bringing searing steam, and there was a pungent smell in the air. His ferocious face was covered in beads of sweat, mentally cursing His Highness a hundred times, yet his hands obediently followed His Highness’s commands. Many commands constantly changed, and the same ones were repeated several times, all at His Highness’s whim, with no certainty.
Xiulote looked at the product again. After pondering for a moment, he decided he would rather be busier with two more attempts to ensure the effectiveness of the procedures. Thus, the gloomy salt mine director began the process again, until the youth nodded in satisfaction.
Unknowingly, the sunset fell in the west, and darkness enveloped the land.
In the dim salt fields, only the burning bonfires marched through the shadows. The dignified young man meditated deeply, the salt mine director bowed his head busily, the elite samurai stood solemnly guard, and the overseers and salt workers gathered in the distance, frowning with distressed faces, not daring to leave. Willingly or not, everyone together witnessed the opportunity for a revolutionary era.
After a long while, the high concentration "saltwater" finally cooled completely, and layers of white ice-like solids gradually precipitated from the solution. Under the guidance of His Highness, the salt mine director carefully removed the white ice solids’ crystals, peeled off the outer layer, gathered them together, and then dried them again. These crystals were so beautiful, crystalline, and transparent.
Xiulote held his breath, personally lit the fire igniter, and ignited a small amount of dried white ice crystals.
In an instant, dazzling flames burst forth in the dark, emitting a thick plume of purple-blue smoke. Everyone recoiled in horror, fearfully watching the burning "salt." Only the young man, head raised, couldn’t help but laugh out loud!
"This is saltpeter! Saltpeter from the soil of salt flats, charcoal found everywhere, sulfur from the volcanoes of the east and west, the era of gunpowder is right before us!"
Xiulote laughed heartily as he gazed at the starry sky, which was already full of stars. Under the brilliant starlight, the curtain of the era slowly opened, and after a long darkness, dawn was not too far in the future.
And the future tomorrow, will be a brand new era. In the flames of the new era, the powerful Mexica people will possess the strength to thoroughly change everything!