"Xiaowang, why does saltwater produce such a toxic substance after being processed this way?"

In the courtyard.

Facing Old Su's question, Xu Yun immediately felt a sense of solemnity.

It had finally happened.

This was the situation he had anticipated beforehand, and it was the purpose of his visit today.

In fact, not only Old Su, but anyone from ancient times who witnessed the previous scene would undoubtedly feel puzzled.

Xu Yun then took a deep breath, and instead of directly explaining the concept, he asked:

"Sir, have you ever read the 'Essential Hundred One Rituals of the Abhidharma of the Sarvastivada School' translated by Master Sanzang Yijing?"

Mentioning Master Sanzang, many people might think of Xuanzang's bald head in Water Margin.

However, in reality, Master Sanzang, like Professor Lucas previously introduced, is a kind of "title."

It refers to a master in Buddhism skilled in the Tripitaka, and Yijing was one of the lesser-known ones.

But at the moment, the founder of the Shenxiao Sect, Lin Lingsu, was still in his rising fame phase, quite a distance from the historical peak period of Buddhism repression.

Moreover, since the Tang and Song periods didn't span long, Old Su had heard of this work by Yijing:

"Indeed."

"Then do you remember a sentence from the book?"

"Which sentence?"

"When Ayu and Anilu scrutinized the water with a divine eye, they clearly observed in the..."

Before Xu Yun finished his words, Old Su instinctively continued:

"...saw countless beings within the water."

Xu Yun nodded, secretly relieved.

It was good that Old Su knew this sentence.

He then gathered his thoughts and continued:

"Sir, have you ever considered...

that in the world we reside in, whether it's the air, objects, or even the blood in the human body, there are also countless beings?

Or to put it simply.....

all visible matter is actually composed of tiny particles?"

"Particles?"

Old Su, hearing this, was first stunned.

He seemed somewhat confused.

But soon, he understood Xu Yun's meaning.

In an instant, Old Su felt a tingling sensation climbing from his tailbone straight to his head.

He instinctively lowered his head to look at his arm.

Due to the decline of blood and energy with age, the veins on his hands were visibly prominent.

As a distinguished physician, Old Su naturally understood.

In these veins flowed the blood of the human body.

But according to Xu Yun...

Could it be that in this blood, there are also myriad beings?

Or particles?

This... how could this be possible?

This concept already touched upon one's worldview, and Old Su instinctively wanted to refute it.

But recalling Xu Yun's previous actions, he merely opened his mouth and did not speak.

Seeing Old Su as if he had countless things to say but didn't know how to start, Xu Yun couldn't help but feel empathetic.

Currently, it is the year 1100 AD, over five hundred years before the microscopic world would be discovered by genuine scientific instruments.

And even further from the time when microscopic theory would be systematically compiled, at least seven or eight hundred years away.

Therefore, he understood very well.

The impact of what he said to Old Su had been nothing short of earth-shattering.

Of course.

With the opening of a Buddhist verse, the impact of this topic had already been minimized.

In later generations, when discussing the microscopic world, many would often cite another Buddhist verse:

"In a bowl of water, the Buddha perceives 84,000 creatures."

However, this sentence would only be recorded by the Duti lawyer in "Vinaya Daily Digest" in the Ming Dynasty, so for now, Xu Yun could only quote from the "Essential Hundred One Rituals of the Abhidharma of the Sarvastivada School."

This book title contained more characters, which was quite nice.

Then Xu Yun observed Old Su, and when he saw him recovering from the shock, he continued:

"Sir, according to the notes of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect, all things in the world are made up of even smaller particles.

These particles are called molecules, and molecules are made up of atoms, which are the smallest things in the world.

Thus, it can also be said that everything in the world is composed of atoms."

Old Su repeated:

"Atom? Molecule?"

Xu Yun nodded and pointed to the remaining coarse salt solution in front of them:

"For example, saline water is composed of sodium chloride molecules and water molecules.

It contains chlorine, sodium, oxygen, and hydrogen atoms.

When chlorine atoms combine with hydrogen atoms, they form hydrogen chloride gas, which dissolves in water to form what we see as hydrochloric acid."

To be honest.

Looking through the eyes of future generations, Xu Yun's explanation wasn't particularly rigorous.

In later times, the hierarchy of matter from largest to smallest would look something like this:

The entire universe could be broken down into galaxy clusters and galaxies.

Galaxies could be broken down into planets, which could be broken down into molecules and atoms.

Molecules could be broken down into atoms.

Atoms could be broken down into atomic nuclei and electrons.

Atomic nuclei could be broken down into protons and neutrons.

Protons and neutrons could (theoretically) be broken down into quarks.

In current theory and technology, the focus has reached the quark level, with 62 "fundamental" particles such as quarks, leptons, and gluons, among which photons are somewhat more special.

Therefore, Xu Yun's correct statement should be 'Sodium chloride is an ionic compound, formed by a sodium ion and a chloride ion through an ionic bond'.

For instance, when mentioning chemical properties, it's more accurate to describe sodium, chlorine, hydrogen, and oxygen as elements.

However, for Old Su as a beginner, the urgent matter is to establish a micro-level understanding as soon as possible, so the subdivision of substances is not that important:

Explaining ions, protons, and atomic numbers to him doesn't really have much significance.

Sometimes using academic imprecision to facilitate the understanding of knowledge can actually be a good thing.

Saying this, Xu Yun pretended to grab a handful of air and said to Old Su:

"Actually, it's not just solutions. For example, in our air, there are gas molecules formed by oxygen atoms and carbon atoms.

These are the things that cannot be seen or touched.

When these particles are inhaled into the human body, some of them provide the energy necessary for our survival."

Old Su also grabbed a handful of air, looked at his empty palm, and suddenly thought of something.

He turned to Xu Yun and recited:

"A rod one foot long, halved each day, inexhaustible through the ages?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yun was initially stunned, then his eyes widened in shock, and he gasped.

Goodness.

How terrifyingly fast Old Su's rate of acceptance is!

If Old Su were born in later times, he would probably be a super, super genius too.

A rod one foot long, halved each day, inexhaustible through the ages.

This phrase comes from 'Zhuangzi: All Under Heaven'.

Actually.

The original meaning of this phrase is Zhuangzi mocking Hui Shi, saying he likes to create strange theories through sophistry.

But the understanding of this phrase in later generations gradually deviated, seeing it as a query into the ultimate origin of the world:

A one-foot-long stick, if half is taken away each day, is it not endless?

It's also worth mentioning.

The later generations here don't refer to the 21st century, but to the feudal dynasty period, roughly from the early Tang to the late Ming.

It's very clear.

This phrase involves a certain concept of microelements—especially in this current context, the meaning of Old Su quoting it is self-explanatory.

Separated by nearly a thousand years... or rather, by a complete scientific theoretical system, this was already the most suitable sentence that Old Su could find.

It's like a middle school student who only knows basic algorithms, trying to leap into learning Maxwell's Equations.

The two are clearly separated by insurmountable barriers, yet that middle school student somehow found a generalized solution to a linear set.

Then Old Su tapped Xu Yun's experiment table with his finger, the stone table making a dull sound:

"Xiaowang, according to what you say, is this stone table also composed of molecules?"

Xu Yun nodded, affirming:

"That's correct, its molecules are called calcium carbonate and silicon dioxide, consisting of calcium atoms, carbon atoms, oxygen atoms, and silicon atoms."

Old Su blinked, noticing a term, and asked curiously:

"Xiaowang, if I recall correctly...

In the three examples you mentioned, it seems that the term oxygen atom was mentioned?"

Xu Yun, already accustomed to Old Su's acuity, nodded again succinctly:

"That's right, oxygen and carbon atoms are among the most common atoms in nature, so they naturally appear more frequently."

Old Su nodded slightly, and just as Xu Yun thought he was about to ask more about particle structure, the topic suddenly shifted:

"Xiaowang, then according to you, is Zheng Ru's illness also caused by molecules or atoms?"

Xu Yun was unexpectedly stunned for a few seconds, then after regaining his composure and a moment of silence:

"Zhonghou's illness... Although it can also be said to be related to atoms, the more accurate term would be...

bacterial infection."

"Bacteria?"

Xu Yun took a deep breath and explained:

"Master, do you remember the phrase I mentioned earlier? In the air, there are also countless living beings.

This is not an exaggeration; in fact, there are numerous tiny organisms in the air that are difficult to see with the naked eye.

In the journals of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow sect, they are referred to as microorganisms.

Some of these microorganisms benefit the human body, some are neutral, while others are extremely harmful.

For example, Zhonghou's illness is a severe condition caused by Escherichia coli, saprophytic staphylococci, and gram-positive bacteria, leading to bacteremia and sepsis.

When these microorganisms entered Zhonghou's body, they infused his blood with a large number of toxins.

These toxins circulated throughout the body from the wound, which led to his severe coma."

Similar to earlier discussions on the micro-particle structure of matter.

Xu Yun's explanation of microorganisms was also somewhat generalized:

He temporarily omitted the key distinguishing point of cellular structure, directly categorizing the properties of bacteria and viruses together, with the purpose of helping Old Su understand.

Perhaps due to the foundational discussion of material microparticles earlier.

After Xu Yun made these statements that contradicted the views of this era, Old Su's reaction was not so startled.

After all, he is a quasi-authoritative doctor, and his understanding of the concept of 'microorganisms' somewhat aligns relatively.

After all, traditional Chinese medicine often describes many illnesses starting with 'feeling', such as the commonly heard 'evil/negative/turbid energy entering the body', etc.

Traditional Chinese medicine considers any factor causing a malfunction in the normal operation of the body's functions as 'evil'.

Wind-cold is cold evil, and phthisis is infectious evil.

In fact, the character for 'epidemic' already explains a lot.

However, to avoid conflict, let's keep it conservative.

Not to call it a micro concept, at the very least, it can be considered a judgment on the source of disease, which should not be objectionable, right?

This is a relatively primitive understanding, so Old Su found it quite easy to understand the explanation of 'microorganisms'.

However, understanding does not equate to accepting this concept. Old Su's nature clearly isn't one that accepts things without skeptical thinking.

He contemplated for a while and then asked:

"Whether atoms or microorganisms.

These things are undoubtedly invisible to the mortal eye. How did you come to know of their existence?"

Xu Yun was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled:

"Master, have you ever heard of a microscope?"

............

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