The old man instantly fell into deep thought. After a moment, he spoke.
"Yes. I can see why this would need to be secret. If such a thing could be created, it would change secret messages completely."
Skymender nodded. "Do you believe it's feasible?"
The old man shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I just record the movement of the stars. If you want to talk about inventing a new substance, talk to old Lee. He is the expert in that field."
Skymender nodded. "That will work."
The old man led him to a different area of the building before bowing and taking his leave. Looking around, this place was much different than the entrance.
It was clean and tidy, with only two people visible. One was young, while the other was old.
"Hello." Skymender said.
Both people turned around. One was an old man, and the other was a young woman.
They bowed upon seeing Skymender.
"I assume you are old Lee?"
The old man nodded. "Yes. That is me. Who do I have the honor of meeting?"
"Skymender. Ninth child of the Sky barony."
Both bowed towards Skymender once again. "Greetings, Sir Skymender."
Skymender waved his hand and began to explain to them what he had told the old man from before.
They nodded before speaking. "It is feasible, though it would not be easy. We hadn't really thought about that. Secret messages are usually sent out in a code language, which is much easier than creating an entirely new substance that can be seen through by a certain pair of glasses."
Skymender nodded. He knew that it was going to be difficult, but this substance was the best way for him.
Old Lee continued to speak. "If you want to research here, we have no problem with that. We can even teach you whatever you want to learn. In return, I only ask that you provide a donation to the research center. It doesn't have to be now, but when you're older."
Skymender nodded. "I agree."
Old Lee sighed with relief. "It's hard to find a reasonable noble nowadays. We have many materials in the basement, though I don't believe that any of them will be able to do what you desire without change. How much do you know about this field of research?"
Skymender showed him the three books that he had been studying nonstop. He had basically memorized everything already.
"You've started reading those?"
"I've memorized most of the information in them."
Old Lee looked up and down at him suspiciously. He was only nine years old after all.
"Then I guess you've been studying since you were a kid."
"Technically right. I was indeed a kid three days ago."
Old Lee continued to show suspicion. He began to ask Skymender questions.
Skymender answered almost all of them correctly. Although he had indeed incorrectly answered a few, Old Lee's eyes shined.
"This is my apprentice, Tara. She is going to take over this field of research when she becomes a master of it."
Skymender nodded, though he did not understand why he was being introduced to her.
Old Lee coughed. "Anyway, in the basement, you'll find everything you need. If you ever need help, guidance, or even suggestions, please ask."
Skymender thanked him and began to walk down a nearby flight of stairs. There were multiple basements in the large building. The one Skymender went down was naturally the one involving the creation and research of substance.
The basement, like above, was neat. There were bookshelves with books, counters with materials, and even a few elegantly designed pedestals with clearly valuable materials placed on them.
Li Youcai and Skymender looked around when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
They turned around to see Tara.
"I've come to give you guidance on where to start learning."
She pointed at a bookshelf. "There are three good books there, in rows 1, 3, and 3. Book 4 on row one, book 3 and 7 on row three."
She then pointed to another bookshelf. "After thoroughly studying those three, look for four more books. book 1 on row 1, book 2 on row 3, book 9 on row 4, and book 7 on row 6."
She then turned around. "If you can thoroughly understand the content in all of those, come see us and we can help you go even deeper, if that's your wish."
Skymender nodded as she left. He took her suggestions, taking the three books mentioned on the first bookshelf and the four following it on the second bookshelf.
He then began to study. In this environment, he felt as if he could study even faster.
Li Youcai began to browse around as Skymender had no need for him to constantly stand by. A few times throughout the day, either Old Lee or his apprentice Tara came to see if they needed anything.
Skymender politely rejected them every time.
At the end of the day, he left, and in the next morning, he came back. He seemed to forget about any sort of plans or plots as he fell deep into learning.
Before he knew it, it had been a month since he first arrived at the imperial capital.
The books he had been shown were much more advanced than the first three he had been given by Li Youcai. After all, the first three were the basics. Still, he had thoroughly learned the contents in all of the books that had been pointed out to him.
He came in on this day and asked Old Lee to show him around the lab. He was given an in depth tour. Old Lee had begun to respect him after seeing him study so hard.
Although Skymender had known a lot of the information he was told from the books, it was always different seeing it in person.
Old Lee was clearly enthusiastic, showing him every small piece of every tool. He also showed long standing theories of further advancements for tools such as the telescope that he had been trying to further research for years.