My extended fingertips retracted and I drew my hands together. Was I good enough at alchemy to pull what I was about to do off? I’d never know unless I tried. I clapped my hands and smacked the ground – but I didn’t bother adjusting the earth and rock around us. No, no… there were too many components I didn’t understand, too many variables… so I did something else.

Dihydrogen monoxide: an acid essential for life but directly responsible for a little less than four thousand deaths every year. That was what I’d be working with. In layman’s terms, I broke up the water beneath me and turned it into a cloudy mist. Once again, the Yu Yan had no sight to see with.