The Silly Alchemist

Grand Marshal Li cleared his throat. “Ahem, alright, let’s not talk about that first, alright? Little Ye Lang, can you show us the box that you bought?”

“Tigress, give him the box.” The prodigal son answered generously as he didn’t really care much. Although he was the one who bought it, he didn't mind giving the box to someone else nor would he ask for anything in return. 

His exact words were:  why would a prodigal son care?

Grand Marshal Li took the box eagerly. Everyone else held their breath, excited to find out what was in the box as well. As he opened it, everyone was disappointed. There was another box inside that box.  

Everyone started to think. Could this be the kind of box where there is a box inside a box with another box in it and it has to be opened repeatedly until a note eventually appears?

But to think about it, how big could the size of the note be if the box just contained a note? The box was obviously too large to only contain a note. 

It turned out that the box wasn’t that kind of box and everyone felt relieved. However, there was another problem. It required some special procedures to open the box, and the procedures could be very challenging. 

“What is this nonsense? There must be something wrong with Ban! Who the hell creates a box to lock their own notes? How are we going to read the notes now?” yelled Grand Marshal Li furiously. 

Indeed, this box was not just an ordinary box. Ban spent a lot of effort into creating this box which had gimmicks and booby traps, therefore a deep knowledge of alchemy was needed to crack the codes. This was one of his methods to ensure the one who received his notes was The One. He did not want his notes to be exposed to those who were ignorant and unknowledgeable. In order to gain access to his notes, you must have alchemy skills which he approved of.  

And this was why this box existed - as a test to examine the skills of the people. 

As for this, it was relatively easy for the people to figure out that they needed the empire’s most powerful alchemist to crack the codes. Lucky for them, these alchemists were all located nearby. They were then called upon immediately. 

Everyone’s attention seemed to have been attracted by the box and had forgotten about the birthday of the two kids. Fortunately, both the birthday kids were generous and weren't petty. They’d been playing together and having fun on their own anyway.

Well, they were kids, after all. The less attention from the adults the better, which meant they could do whatever they want and enjoy themselves. 

“... Are you saying you can’t crack the code now?” frowned the emperor in surprise.  

“Yes, Your Majesty. This box requires a very complicated procedure to be opened. I’m afraid if a mistake were made halfway through the process, it’d trigger traps inside the box and the notes will be destroyed. Therefore, we will need some time to figure this out,” replied the alchemists. 

“I see, you’re right. This is a box created by Ban, opening it wouldn’t be a piece of cake. You guys can take your time to crack the codes, I’m sure you’re all more eager to find out what’s in the notes than I am,” said the Emperor. 

No doubt, the things that were inside the box were what all alchemists wanted to see. They were more anxious than anyone else as they wanted to know Ban’s point of view and thoughts on alchemy.

“Hahaha…” The alchemists began to laugh. Their laughter was a little silly, but most people found it cute when they giggled.

“Your majesty, out of curiosity, may I ask, where did you get this box?” asked the alchemists curiously after they were done laughing. 

“Oh you have to thank our birthday boy for this, our little prince of Ye family. You guys should go ahead and wish him a happy birthday.” The emperor pointed to where the thirteenth prince was. He was playing some game with the seventh princess. 

“???” The alchemists had no clue what this had to do with the prodigal son at first, but they soon came to the realization that it must have been the legendary prodigal son, he must’ve bought the box from somewhere. They’d heard since a long time ago that his luck had always been amazing.  

Speaking of it, this was indeed a very lucky and fortunate thing. In fact, this box had appeared in auction houses and grocery stores every now and then in the past few hundred years. However, the price of the box was unreasonable as it was too expensive for anyone to afford. 

According to Ban, the box wasn’t just for professional alchemists, he also wished for a destined person to get it. And before that, no one would disclose any message that was related to the box. 

However, as soon as someone got their hands on the box, they would announce it to the whole world immediately, as if to prevent it from being buried and kept away by the destined person.  

Though, it was also a good thing that they announced it publicly. Otherwise, this box would certainly be left in Tigress’ space pouch, and it would be difficult for it to be seen in this world again. 

To thank the little prodigal son for his “hard work”, the alchemists went up to him to wish him a happy birthday. Soon enough, it seemed like they wanted to give him something as a birthday present. 

The thing is, they were all in a hurry and rushed over to the place as soon as they were called. They had not prepared anything else, let alone a birthday present. But it did not take long for someone to come up with a good idea. 

“Little Ye, I wish you a very happy birthday. I don’t really have anything to give you, so I’ll just give you this book as your birthday present.” One of the alchemists took out a book for the prodigal son, and since the book was coming from an alchemist, there was no doubt that the book was related to alchemy. 

Books were sources of knowledge. Although giving books as presents were not something special, books were still timeless gifts and no one would say that it was inappropriate for the occasion. Books were great gifts for everyone!

Soon, the rest started giving him books too. They would always carry books and alchemy notes around with them. When they saw everyone giving the same thing, they hesitated for a moment.

These people were all top alchemists from the mainland. Although they were just books, they were very valuable and a few were almost impossible to get. 

Although the prodigal son had no idea why all these people were suddenly giving him books, he still accepted all the gifts with no trace of gratitude. 

“The box… Can I see it…?” The prodigal son caught sight of the box in the hands of the alchemist, and there was a hint of confusion in his eyes. 

At this point, everyone seemed to comprehend that he was doubting whether it was the same box as the one before by the confused look on the prodigal son’s face. 

If it were a request from someone else, the alchemists would definitely refuse. But since they knew that the original owner of the box was the prodigal son, who was standing right in front of them, they hesitated and handed the box to him, at the same time reminding him to be careful. 

“What is this?” The little prodigal son glanced at the box and then pointed at the alchemy formation on top of the box. 

“This is a defensive alchemy formation, they interlock with the alchemy rings on the sides so it covers the entire box. This protects the integrity of the box, and also ensures that the box is not opened by other means. This is the first time in my life seeing this type of alchemy arrangement. We’ll still need to study and investigate to find out what it really is.” The alchemist answered professionally. 

“Oh…” The prodigal son replied as he stared at the box.