The Silly Alchemist

“Alright, it’s decided! Let’s see if Tigress will join me next year,”

After several days of research, Ye Lang had planned his route, and based on it, he decided to travel and visit the mainland’s most exotic and fun locations. Naturally, he planned to spend a long time on his travels, as expected by everyone else.

According to his plans, it would take him roughly five to six years on hiking, which didn’t even include the time spent on leisure.

Wasn’t this a bit too excessive?

Of course it was. If the Ye family were to find out about his plans, they would definitely cancel them. Or at the very least, they’d force him to come home every now and then during his travels.

But that’d render Ye Lang’s travel meaningless, he might as well follow the Soaring Sky Empire’s designated tourist route!

But that’s tomorrow’s problem, whatever happens, he’ll go with the flow!

Hence, Ye Lang decided it was best not to tell them for now…

“Ye Lang!” Ye Lanyu suddenly appeared behind Ye Lang.

“Oh! What’s up?” replied Ye Lang as he quickly slid the map into his ring, worried he might just have been exposed.

“What’re you hiding?” Ye Lanyu was curious.

“Nothing…” replied Ye Lang with a whistle, trying to be casual and nonchalant. With such an act, it really seemed as if he wasn’t hiding anything.

“Don’t lie to me! If you clench your bottom, I’ll know what’s up! So don’t lie to me!” Ye Lanyu snapped.

“Oh really?” Ye Lang looked at Ye Lanyu, and clenched his bottom!

“Is this brat for real…”

“So, do you know what’s on my mind right now?”

“Is there an itch on your bottom? Do you want a beating?!” Ye Lanyu smacked Ye Lang.

“You’re lying, I don’t have an itch on my bottom, but I do want to run!” Ye Lang roared with laughter, delighted with the fact that his sister couldn’t figure out what was on his mind.

“......” Ye Lanyu was dumbfounded, her brother was back with his antics.

Ye Lang had almost told her his plans. 

He said he wanted to run. No… did he mean he wanted to escape?

As soon as Ye Lang finished his sentence, he quickly dashed to the exit, and out of the library.

“Hey you brat! Don’t you run away!” shouted Ye Lanyu as she chased after him.

“No way! You’re gonna ask me about my travels again!” replied Ye Lang, who confessed without duress.

Ye Lanyu stopped running, suddenly silent.

“I’ve found out about it already, you can stop running now,” said Ye Lanyu, who then remained silent.

“Oh, how did you know I plan to leave home for a few years?” asked Ye Lang, caught off-guard.

“......”

“I didn’t know about it earlier, but now I do! You little brat, how dare you leave home for a few years!” seethed Ye Lanyu as she grabbed onto Ye Lang’s nape.

“Don’t you want me to have fun? I promise I’ll write you letters, please let me go...” begged Ye Lang pitifully, hoping to dissipate some of his sister’s anger.

“No way. I’ll only let you go on one term - that I go with you.” Ye Lanyu remained firm on her stance, as it was a matter of principle.

“Hell no. You do all kinds of weird things, it’s gonna be troublesome for me,” Ye Lang objected, also citing the matter of principle. Ever since he was little, he hardly wanted to shop with Ye Lanyu, much less travel with her.

“So you do remember that incident. Don’t worry about it, I won’t do it again. Even if I want to do it again, it won’t suit you now,” laughed Ye Lanyu as she pulled Ye Lang’s arm.

“I don’t trust you!”

“......”

“Hmph, if you don’t agree to my terms, I’ll never let you leave! And if you do, I’ll let the whole world know about this, and they’ll all look for you! Let’s see how you’d enjoy your holiday,” sneered Ye Lanyu, while she glared threateningly.

“......”

“Fine, if you have the time, I’ll let you join me on my travels every now and then,” Ye Lang submitted, afraid of his sister and her threats. He knew she was capable of doing the craziest things.

“Hmm, how did I not think of that? You may be leaving home, but I could still join you every now and then… alright, it’s set!” smiled Ye Lanyu as she thought about the suggestion.

“That’s because you’re dumb!” 

Slap! Ye Lanyu hit her brother’s head.

“Ouch…”

“Don’t call me dumb! As long as I’m alive, don’t even think of calling me names!” warned Ye Lanyu, as she pinched Ye Lang’s cheek.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m your elder sister!”

“......”

Even if it was a dumb excuse, it served as a powerful one!

“Hey sis, why are you here?” asked Ye Lang, who felt that her visit was oddly-timed. Ye Lanyu hardly looked for him during this time of the day.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Little seven and I were looking for you, the emperor must have encountered an issue he couldn’t solve because he summoned you,” said Ye Lanyu while tapping her temple.

“I don’t wanna go!” said Ye Lang. The mention of the emperor and his issues gave him a headache. Whatever problem the emperor faced, why couldn’t the emperor solve it on his own? Ye Lang had a feeling this problem was especially troublesome.

Furthermore, even if he helped solve the problem, would it arise again in the future? That was also a possibility.

“Don’t worry about it. They’re just looking for a specialist to look into the matter, it’s not that the issue itself is difficult to solve. And if they’re lying to us, we’ll just walk away,” reassured Ye Lanyu, who clearly understood Ye Lang’s reluctance.

Ye Lang nodded in response.

“Okay, let’s go then. Oh, by the way, where’s Little Seven?”

“Don’t worry about her, she’ll head there on her own,” replied Ye Lanyu hastily while pulling Ye Lang with her.

“Oh… alright then,” replied Ye Lang, who simply followed his sister.

Until now, the two ladies hardly ever met eye to eye. It didn’t matter who reached Ye Lang first. If it was the seventh princess who had found Ye Lang first, she too, like Ye Lanyu, would bring him to the emperor without waiting for the other to arrive first.

“Hey Ye Lanyu! Stay right there!” shouted Seventh Princess, as she saw Ye Lanyu whisk Ye Lang out of the library. The princess quickened her pace, who hoped to catch up with them.

…

At the Royal Palace’s study room, the emperor briefed Ye Lang on the day’s matters. The small crowd in the study consisted of the few people the emperor had absolute trust in, which included Ye Lang’s father - Ye Chengtian.

“Your Majesty, is that all?” asked Ye Lang after listening to the emperor’s explanation, while furrowing his brows.

“Yes, that is all to the matter. None of us here are comfortable with the issue at hand, that is why we decided you were the most suitable,” nodded the emperor, whose reply had a serious tone to it.

“What do you mean by uncomfortable? Everyone here already knows the solution, so what is there to be afraid of?”

“You don’t understand, this issue has many implications, but it’s largely due to the obstruction of our current situation. At least if they find out that we consulted you to solve the issue, it’s not a problem for us. Look at us, we are unable to do anything about it on our own!” explained the emperor, who, ironically, didn’t explain the main reason for the issue.

This is because they had assumed that the effort to explain the reason of the issue to Ye Lang would be too troublesome, and they also assumed knowledge of the reason would be irrelevant and unimportant to solving the issue!

“If so, why don’t can’t you talk to someone else? You didn’t have to consult me,” replied Ye Lang, who didn’t want to involve himself in the issue. But he did sense something odd.

“We consulted you is because we know you would have a rational explanation. You could help us with it, indirectly or directly, and they wouldn’t suspect a thing,” explained the emperor, as he laughed.

“All of you politicians are good for nothing!” said Ye Lang bluntly, while waiting for the others to finish laughing.

“Cough, you may leave now. It doesn’t matter how it's done, as long as there is a result,” said the emperor after laughing. He waved a hand to allow Ye Lang to leave the room.

“I get it! I’ll let this pass, but if something like this happens again in the future, I won’t help you!” ranted Ye Lang as he exited the room, without a care for formality and courtesy.

“Brother, what did they ask you to do?”

As soon as Ye Lang exited the room, Ye Lanyu and the seventh princess immediately asked Ye Lang about the problem at hand. Prior to that, they were waiting outside the study room. They were told by the servants that only Ye Lang could be briefed on the problem, but the three of them were allowed to work together to solve the issue.

“They allowed me to release certain individuals, execute certain individuals, and imprison certain individuals. It’s actually very simple,” explained Ye Lang, who shrugged his shoulders.

“Execute? How could they ask you to do such a thing? Father’s really lost it this time,” Ye Lanyu and the seventh princess exclaimed at the same time. Of course, the ‘father’ they were referring to were two different people.

“After all, I’m not the one doing the killing, that’s their job. I’m just the middleman in all of this. Sure, I might feel a little uncomfortable with the executions, but only for a short while. The ones being executed aren’t good people anyway,” explained Ye Lang calmly.

“You don’t have to do this, you can let someone else do it,” said Ye Lanyu.

“The fact that they assigned me this means there isn’t anyone else who can solve such a problem,” Ye Lang shook his head as he said. After all, he understood he was their best pick for the problem.

“You don’t have to do this. They won’t do anything to you, I’ll make sure of that!” reassured Ye Lanyu. When it came to her brother, she was very protective of him.

And that was the unconditional and undying love she had for Ye Lang!