The night was dark and windy, and the noisy insects began to disappear without any trace. Deep darkness surged in the night, creeping into a dead silence.
A little light fell from a distance, and when I walked in, I realized it was a man holding a torch and walking on his way.
Just when the tension in people's hearts had just subsided, several green fireballs suddenly appeared in the dark night, looking for torches.
"Ghost!"
A cry echoed through the silent night sky, and I don't know which coward made it.
Bang bang bang!
Several fires were lit, illuminating the surrounding area like daylight.
A huge banner was hung on two wooden poles, reading "The Royal Academy of the Ming Dynasty decrypted the will-o'-the-wisp phenomenon experiment."
The person holding the torch was Han Du. He glanced at the people in front of him. The horror, curiosity, understanding and other expressions on their faces appeared one by one in Han Du's eyes, making the smile on his face even stronger.
The people around were not only Lao Zhu, Queen Ma, and all the teachers and students of the academy, but also the princes and ministers, as well as some of the six ministers and ministers.
This is the backyard of the academy, which is planned to be used as a sports ground. The place is big enough to accommodate everyone.
The scene just now was too exciting for everyone. Even now, the crowd is still making noises, each other fiercely insisting on their own opinions.
The voices of Han Du and others slowly calmed down, and then they said loudly: "Everyone saw that the green flame just now is the will-o'-the-wisp that people often put on their lips. In fact, this is not a will-o'-the-wisp. Strictly speaking, it is a phosphorus fire. That’s right.”
Lao Zhu was much calmer than ordinary people. Even if he saw the green flames floating around, he was not moved at all.
When Han Du spoke, he interrupted and asked: "Phosphorus fire? Do you mean that this fire has nothing to do with ghosts?"
Han Du smiled at Lao Zhu and nodded: "Yes. In the past, the so-called will-o'-the-wisp fire was just the flame emitted when phosphorus burned. It was only because of its green color and the fact that this kind of flame usually appeared in cemeteries. Let people associate it with ghosts.”
"Then why does this kind of flame only appear in cemeteries and not elsewhere?" Zhu Biao became interested and asked with a smile.
Han Du then threw the torch into the bonfire and explained: "That's because there is more white phosphorus in people than in flowers, plants and trees."
I'm too lazy to explain to everyone what enrichment of elements is, so I just explain it by saying it's more.
"And the cemetery is a place where people are buried. As long as there are enough people buried, there will be more white phosphorus in this land. And white phosphorus is very easy to burn, and it can even be ignited just by the temperature of human hands. People were walking at night, either with lanterns or torches, and there was a small chance that the white phosphorus would be ignited by the light of the fire. Since then, the will-o’-the-wisps that people see have been formed.”
The reason why Han Du lit the torch just now was to ignite the white phosphorus that had been scattered on the ground in advance. In order to be as successful as possible, Han Du also took a huge torch.
Han Du had just copied the formation process of phosphorus fire on one side, and everyone present saw it with their own eyes.
"This is an academy, inside the capital. This has been a city since ancient times. It is impossible to bury many people. So how did you make the will-o'-the-wisp reappear just now?" Li Shanchang said, with his head full of white hair. As he stood, his expression gradually became serious, his black eyes reflected Han Du's figure in the firelight, and his tone became desolate and deep.
Han Du took out a bottle, which was half filled with water. There was something like white wax at the bottom of the bottle. With a slight smile in his eyes, he said: "Normally, there would be no phosphorus fire here, but thanks to Zhu Tan, he worked tirelessly and persistently to extract the precious white phosphorus from human urine. It was he who allowed us to master it. Understanding the secret of phosphorus fire allows us to see clearly the true face of will-o’-the-wisps that were previously regarded as mysterious and unpredictable.”
Everyone looked at Zhu Tan, making him feel like a light on his back.
Standing among the crowd, Zhu Tan blushed slightly and felt a little embarrassed when he heard Han Du praise him so much. Fortunately, no one noticed his embarrassment under the swaying firelight, which made people feel much better.
Lao Zhu glanced at Zhu Tan with satisfaction. He was becoming more and more fond of his son now. Even though Zhu Tan seems to have become a little taciturn now, in Lao Zhu's opinion, this is a sign of growth. A man should make great achievements and do great things, so there is no need to talk too much nonsense.
"In other words, as long as there is white phosphorus, anyone can make a will-o'-the-wisp?" Tang He confirmed to Han Du.
Han Du smiled and nodded, "That's true. There is still unignited white phosphorus in the place where we walked just now. If someone walks by with a torch now, it is possible that the white phosphorus will be ignited."
"I'll give it a try." Hearing what Han Du said, Tang He's original curiosity suddenly took over. He took a torch, lit it, and walked towards the land where Han Du had just walked.
Perhaps it was Tang He's good luck. As he walked to that piece of land, he lowered the torch in his hand, and sure enough, balls of green fire slowly appeared, floating and burning in the air, moving with Tang He.
Seeing that Tang He could also summon the will-o'-the-wisp, everyone else became interested. Now no one was afraid of the green flames. Instead, they all walked toward the land with torches as if they had discovered something new.
With good luck, the phosphorus fire will naturally ignite. I was unlucky enough to go there several times, but no phosphorus fire appeared at all.
After everyone had completely consumed the white phosphorus scattered in the land, everyone left with unsatisfied intentions under Han Du's persuasion.
The Ming Dynasty Royal Academy’s experiment to decipher the will-o’-the-wisp phenomenon came to a successful conclusion.
As the news spread, the Ming Royal Academy proved that will-o'-the-wisps had nothing to do with ghosts, but were just a phenomenon of burning phosphorus. Like a storm, in just one day, it became the talk of the people in the capital after dinner.
"I didn't expect that the will-o'-the-wisps were not caused by ghosts, but the appearance of something burning."
"Brother, what happened to the will-o'-the-wisp?"
"Don't you know, brother? The gentleman from the Royal Academy confirmed that the so-called will-o'-the-wisp is just the result of something called phosphorus being ignited, and has nothing to do with ghosts at all."
"Really? That's a good relationship. If you meet her in the future, you don't have to be afraid anymore, lest you scare yourself half to death."
"Hey, you can't say that. The gentlemen of the academy are all stars in the sky, and they have the blessing of God. Naturally, they are not afraid of any will-o'-the-wisps. But if we, the common people, encounter them, it's better to stay away."
"You have to avoid them, but at least after you know what the will-o'-the-wisp is, you won't be afraid anymore."
"That's true."
