Seeking Truth with a Sword

Chapter 415 - 366: Motorcycle

In mid-autumn, an article titled "Spiritual Energy Locomotive Soon to Undergo Trial Run" rapidly spread throughout the Yu Country.

According to the article, Dr. Su Feng’s team from the Academic Palace had developed a mechanical vehicle powered by Spiritual Energy. This vehicle was reportedly able to pull a load many times heavier than itself and travel long distances at speeds comparable to galloping horses.

And today was the day of the Spiritual Energy Locomotive’s trial run.

West of Chang’an, at the Ba Bridge Inn.

As a major thoroughfare for entering and exiting Chang’an City, the inn was practically a marketplace. The road, wide enough for ten carriages, was flanked by densely packed buildings. These included inns and lodges for merchants to rest, as well as places for leisure such as amusement grounds and tea houses. Of course, the most numerous structures were warehouses for storing and transferring goods.

"Distinguished guests, iced sweet rice wine."

The portly innkeeper cautiously pushed open the door to the third-floor private room, gently placing the wooden food box on the table.

The young men and women chatting casually in the room were dressed in splendid clothes and adorned with gold and silver jewelry, clearly from wealthy or noble families. Young masters and ladies from Chang’an’s official families who ventured out for leisure would typically bring guards and attendants—at least a few, and often more than a dozen. Those who came without attendants, like this group, were likely Academic Palace Disciples.

"Thank you, Innkeeper," Li Ang said as he lifted the lid of the food box. He took out ceramic bowls of sweet rice wine and distributed them among his companions.

Seeing the innkeeper still standing there, Li Ang casually asked, "Is there anything else?"

The innkeeper snapped back to attention. "Ah, no, nothing. It’s just that the weather is quite hot. Would you distinguished guests require a cooling basin?"

The "cooling basin" in question involved placing a large block of ice between two nested copper basins, which would emit cool air to lower the room temperature.

"No need to trouble yourself. This will suffice," Li Ang replied, shaking his head. He casually took out a Cooling Wind Charm and affixed it to the table. A refreshing breeze immediately filled the room.

They really are Academic Palace Disciples, the innkeeper thought. A basin of ice costs a mere two hundred wen, but a Cooling Wind Charm, which can only be inscribed by a High Order Talisman Master from the Rain Listening Realm, is priced at two hundred strings of coins! To think that someone who could casually spend two hundred strings of coins for a moment of coolness, without even blinking, would still enjoy iced sweet rice wine, a common street refreshment!

The innkeeper exited the private room, gently closing the door behind him. He smacked his lips, a mix of anxiety and anticipation flickering across his face. This young master... he looks so much like the statues in the Medicine King Temple. Could he truly be that world-renowned figure?

The innkeeper slapped his forehead. He quickly whispered to a server to borrow a portrait of the Little Medicine King God from a neighboring house. If the one in the private room really is Mr. Li, I absolutely must keep the bowls he used for the sweet rice wine today! Items used by the Little Medicine King God are said to bless children and expectant mothers!

"Hehe, Risheng, you’ve become quite the saint, haven’t you? People are even clamoring for your bowls," Yang Yu teased. "In the future, don’t throw away any broken pots, pans, brushes, or inkstones from your house. Keep them, and I’ll bring people over to collect them."

"Oh, get lost," Li Ang retorted, rolling his eyes.

Due to advancements in public sanitation concepts in recent years, coupled with the widespread use of new drugs such as penicillin, allicin, and artemisinin, the child mortality rate had drastically declined. Consequently, an increasing number of Medicine King Temples, spontaneously built by the common people in various State Mansions, were appearing. Li Ang himself wished that fewer temples would be built, in favor of constructing more sick houses and training more Doctors.

"Here it comes," He Fanshuang said, sipping her sweet rice wine and looking out the window.

A cacophony of firecrackers erupted, accompanied by the clamor of gongs and drums, as a massive steel creation slowly rounded the street corner. It stood two men tall and was nearly ten meters (approximately thirty-three feet) long. Its main body was a cylindrical boiler, topped with a smokestack. Behind the boiler was a steam engine designed to convert steam power into mechanical energy. This engine comprised complex parts like the steam chamber, cylinder, and piston, all connected to twelve driving wheels on the vehicle’s underside—six on each side. The wheels were interconnected by coupling rods.

"Haotian above," Li Wei gasped, nearly choking on a small ice cube in his sweet rice wine. "Is this the Spiritual Energy Locomotive? It’s enormous! How much steel did it take? How much money must it have cost?"

Steel? Steel was just a small part of the cost. The Spiritual Energy Machine core alone cost the Academic Palace six hundred thousand strings of coins, Li Ang thought silently. Despite having mentally prepared himself, the sight of the beast-like steel behemoth appearing before him still filled him with uncontrollable excitement.

"Everyone, be careful!" shouted Ou Zhiyuan, an Instructor of Natural Science from the Academic Palace, who was walking beside the Spiritual Energy Locomotive. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he addressed his colleagues.

The Spiritual Energy Locomotive was incredibly heavy. It would easily sink into the rammed-earth roads, and even flagstone or cement pavements could not bear its weight. Thus, it had to be levitated by more than a dozen Telekinesis Masters from the Academic Palace, working in unison to guide it through the streets. A large crowd of Chang’an citizens, eager to witness the spectacle, followed behind. From the windows on both sides of the market street, a sea of heads craned for a better view.

CLANG!

With a dull thud, the front section of the Spiritual Energy Locomotive was lowered onto the iron rails laid along the bank of the Ba River.

"All aboard the carriages!" Ou Zhiyuan shouted. The Telekinesis Masters pushed the Spiritual Energy Locomotive forward a short distance. Then, they brought over six iron-clad carriages equipped with wheels, linking them together in pairs using couplers.

Several teams of porters began moving goods such as grain, oil, cloth, tea, and wine from the warehouses into the carriages. They even led a few blindfolded oxen and horses into the carriages.

"Are they testing its load capacity?" Ji Linglang asked from the tavern above, her brow furrowed.

"Yes. The Spiritual Energy Locomotive is quite costly. If it can’t outperform a convoy of horse-drawn carriages, it’s pointless," Li Ang explained. "Besides comparing load capacity with carriage convoys, we also have to compare speed."

Just as he said, on the official road not far from the Spiritual Energy Locomotive, three horse-drawn carriages and three fine steeds stood ready. They would serve as the control group for comparison.

"Whew..." With all preparations complete, Dr. Su Feng stood at the front of the locomotive. He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and then, slowly but firmly, pulled the lever.

HUM!

The Divine Evil Cloud Talisman patterns on the surface of the Spiritual Energy Machine shimmered with a brilliant light. Intense heat rapidly generated within the boiler. Water, upon heating, vaporized, and the expanding steam powerfully drove the pistons. Through connecting rods and rocker arms, the locomotive’s wheels began to turn.

CLANK! CLANK!

With rhythmic clanking, the heavy locomotive gradually began to move forward. The onlooking citizens couldn’t help but cry out in amazement as they watched the massive machine advance. However, mingled with the astonishment were also sounds of derision. The horse-drawn carriages and steeds, which had started at the same time, had already galloped far ahead, leaving the locomotive far behind.

Even from the high buildings, many court Ministers who had come to observe the ceremony also frowned. Such a slow speed wouldn’t just struggle to compete with horses; it couldn’t even outpace a mule.

Yet, the mockery did not last long. The clanking of the locomotive grew increasingly rapid. Billows of pale white steam spouted from the smokestack. The locomotive gained speed, dragging the heavy carriages behind it as it surged forward along the rails, swiftly surpassing all the horse-drawn carriages.