The Silly Alchemist

The awkward silence was eventually broken.

“Ye Lang! You’re finally awake! I was so worried!” cried Tigress tearfully, nervous and excited at the same time. 

“Who are all of you?” asked Ye Lang, confused, while staring at four ladies hugging him. At this moment, he was completely unable to recognize the most important women in his life. 

“......” The four ladies fell silent as they let go of Ye Lang, staring with their pretty eyes.

“Master, do you not recognize us?”

“Son, don’t you remember?

……

The four ladies immediately asked him questions, about to call for the in-house royal doctor to see why he lost his memory. They were worried the electric shock might have damaged his memory.

“You...”

Ye Lang stared at the four ladies, suddenly feeling a pang of electric current across his brain, accompanied by flashbacks after flashbacks.    “Ah!” Ye Lang screamed in agony while clutching his head, then blacked out again. 

“Master, master……”

“Son……”

“Little brother……”

“Ye Lang……”

Four voices simultaneously echoed as they held him again. 

The royal doctor soon arrived and immediately treated Ye Lang after knowing what happened in an attempt to wake him up.

This time, Ye Lang responded to the royal doctor’s calls and slowly woke up. He opened his eyes, his vision slowly clearing up.

“You...” Ye Lang muttered as he stared at them. 

“Master, you don’t need to try recalling. It’s fine if you can’t remember who we are, you can always try later, “ Tigress immediately explained as she was afraid he would pass out again.

“Silly girl, how could I forget! I was just a little confused a moment ago,” Ye Lang reassured with a smile. He spoke gently but slowly, which was very different from how he used to talk.    Not only his speech patterns changed, but it also felt like Ye Lang was an entirely different person.

“You remember? Did you lose your memory?” asked Tigress on behalf of everyone.

“Of course not. You’re my faithful Tigress, my amazing mother, my naughty sister, and she is the beautiful and gentle seventh princess!” Ye Lang said with a smile, pointing and recognizing those around him. 

At this moment, nobody seemed to have noticed the difference in how Ye Lang addressed the seventh princess (he didn't call her 'wife').        Everyone was happy so Ye Lang did not lose his memory that they temporarily ignored his weird tone.

“This is amazing! I was so worried you’d forget me!” Tigress squealed, hugging Ye Lang- though still with a hint of fear.

“Silly girl, I would never forget you even if I forgot everybody else!” assured Ye Lang with a smile. His words were a trigger for the three other ladies there though.     “What did you say?!” The three other ladies immediately asked, especially Ye Lanyu and Long Anqi who both twisted his ear.     

“You little idiot! (Jerk!), I was unfortunate enough to have to give birth to (take care of) you!” Both of them shouted in anger into each of his ears.

“Sorry, my bad! I just wanted to say that I wouldn’t forget you all even if I’d forgotten who I was,” Ye Lang explained. 

“Hmph! I will let you go this time!” Both of them said simultaneously and hugged Ye Lang gently. Funny how they hugged him… It was virtually impossible for a thirteen-year-old boy to be hugged by so many people. 

“Ye Lang, do you remember why you wanted to go home?” The seventh princess curiously asked on behalf of everyone. 

“Eh, it was silly. I wanted to come back and inform Tigress to tell her I wanted to stay overnight at your palace because it was raining,” Ye Lang answered with a hint of shame. 

“......” An awkward silence. No one knew whether to laugh or to cry. If he could come back home then it wasn’t necessary for him to stay there overnight! Only Ye Lang could do something so foolish. 

A while later, Tigress asked, “Master, you didn't want me to worry?!” She felt what he was trying to imply, as she had been with him for many years. She was the only one who could understand him.

“Yeah,” admitted Ye Lang.

“Master… You’re so stupid!” exclaimed Tigress, though her heart exploded with warmth. Her worries evaporated.

“Yeah, I am stupid. I have done numerous stupid things. But this was a right stupid thing to do. If I wasn’t struck by the lightning, I wouldn’t have...” Ye Lang laughed and did not finish his sentence. 

Ye Lanyu angrily exclaimed, “You’re so dumb! How could you be happy to be struck by lightning?! Something is wrong, little brother, you're talking weird! You sound so different!” 

“Right! I thought it was weird too. Ye Lang’s words… There was something odd about it,” agreed Long Anqi.     “Yeah, I felt the same too,” the seventh princess agreed. 

If it were someone else, they wouldn’t have felt the change in Ye Lang, but these ladies were always around to care for him so they would notice something wrong about him quickly- if not immediately.   “It must be an illusion!” reassured Ye Lang. 

Tigress looked at Ye Lang, and exclaimed, “Master sounds... intelligent now!”

That was right. It was explained… He used to say silly things previously but now he gave nothing of that sort. He even said what he did was silly, which was unlikely for someone who was so idiotic.

“Little brother, did you get enlightened from the lightning or something?!” asked Ye Lanyu while she caressed his head. 

“.....” Ye Lang fell silent. She made sense. 

The thirteenth prince, Ye Lang. The one lucky enough to find a martial arts treasure in desperate times, lucky enough to be struck by a rare asteroid seen only once in a hundred years. Perhaps his dying wish was so desperate the universe then made him a powerful and wealthy prodigal son so he could spend his days squandering and being prodigal.