The Silly Alchemist

Defense Formation (1)

“Again? Again with the questions? How much time do you people have to waste?” said Ye Lang with a frown.

For Ye Lang, it was as if everytime he returned he was bound to be interrogated, and these questions seemed to be as pointless as they could get.

Naturally, if Long Anqi were to ask, as her son, he would surely be expected to reply to all her enquiries!

At that moment, it appeared that there were more than just his parents in attendance, all presumably awaiting the answers to mindless questions targeted at him as usual, which unsurprisingly left him rather displeased.

“Well someone here clearly has a lot of time on their hands, and it’s none of us sitting here. Why’d we interrogate you if you little rascal didn’t create a ruckus with everything you touch! Now answer me!” Long Anqi was blunt as she demanded, unaffected by Ye Lang’s dissatisfaction, maybe to avoid further criticism from the townsfolk in attendance.

Regardless, even if she had not taken action to clarify his actions, the townsfolk were not there to place blame on Ye Lang.They knew his personality well, and they could ask anyone else who’d been to Vast Moon Lake.

“Alright alright, go ahead, but make it quick. I don’t have much time for pointless questions!” Ye Lang made himself clear.

“……”

Pointless questions? Would it still be pointless when so many sat and waited for the answers he could offer?

Yet the kid had very distinct standards for what was worth his time, and these important questions were unquestionably not!

“What did you do at Vast Moon Lake?”

That was a crucial question to everyone, but it was immensely boring and dimwitted to Ye Lang.

“Ugh, stupid, stupid questions. You want answers? Seventh Brother is here to answer them all in my place, he knows everything you need to know about the Vast Moon Lake. Keep any other questions to yourself” Ye Lang finished his sentence and left towards his room, as sudden and abrupt as he appeared.

“…” The crowd was left in utter silence. They didn’t wait so long for the kid to leave so abruptly before answering any questions.

Well this sucks!

“Alright folks, I am well informed to answer any questions you have, and the things I don’t already know, there’s no chance you’re going to get a reply anyway. I’m ready to clear all your doubts now.”

Seventh Brother’s voice resonated through the hall. Public speaking was his top interest after all, it was an activity he welcomed with open arms.

Since the previous incident, Seventh Brother, who had gotten updates from Third Brother, had instinctively acted to shield Ye Lang from the meticulous interrogation and suspicion of the family while he pursued what he intended to do.

Originally, they knew Ye Lang was inapt with the handling of such matters, while people who knew him could accept his unyielding personality, friction was bound to occur between less acquainted townsfolk.

To avoid misunderstandings, they tried their best to distance Ye Lang from curious people.

Ye Lang originally tried his best to evade their interrogation in hopes of keeping his true intention under wraps, especially when he already gave ample explanation the first time. It had taken a lot of convincing for Seventh Brother and the rest to believe him.

Regardless, Seventh Brother was not as easily tricked as Ye Lang hoped. From the items tha Ye Lang had gathered, Seventh Brother knew for a fact that the ‘paradise on earth’ setup was not Ye Lang’s true intention.

But seeing how Ye Lang was not keen to tell, Seventh Brother decided to stop pestering him for answers, and chose to instead trust the process and believe it was for a good cause.

Such trust was rare amongst people these days. Most people would force Ye Lang to tell the truth!

On the other side of the courtyard, Ye Lang was strolling with the other teenage girls on their way back…

“Cousin Zhiqing, are you married?” Ye Lang dropped the question out of the blue.

“Huh? Uh…” Ye Zhiqing was taken aback by this question.She was preoccupied by other matters, which was what delayed her return in the first place. Coincidentally, she managed to tag along with the group, albeit often forgotten, and was instantly dumbfounded by his sudden question.

Nobody knew what he actually meant by the question. Ye Zhiqing didn’t.

“What? Ye Lang, do you LIKE cousin Zhiqing?” the seventh princess gently clung to his arm as she giggled.

“Absolutely, I like cousin Zhiqing a lot!” Ye Lang enthusiastically replied, along with a nod.

“…” Ye Zhiqing’s face went bright red, without a clue of what was happening, naturally with no expectation that Ye Lang would say things like that. To her, it was a confession seemingly out of nowhere.

If he were anyone else, the reaction would have been far more negative!

A few recent instances would be her previous pursuers, of which she would push back with both arms, yet this time it was Ye Lang and she held back her defiance simply because he was her cousin.

“What?” When did you start liking Cousin Zhiqing?” Ye Lanyu and the others were stunned, it never crossed their mind that Ye Lang would fall for Ye Zhiqing.

“It’s been a long time now!” Ye Lang bluntly replied.

“No way, since when did it…wait, Ye Lang, what do you mean when you say you like her?” The seventh princess appeared to have something to say as she was promptly reminded of a little something as she quickly asked.

Ye Lang said that he liked her, but it could mean just about anything, he might just mean a platonic fondness of his cousin, he might not even realise how his words would have been conveyed.

“Well liking means what it means, just like how I like all of you.” Ye Lang pointed at the seventh princess and the rest.

“Oh!”

The confusion was effectively cleared up. Ye Zhiqing finally realised he meant platonic love! Ye Zhiqing patted herself on the chest from relief.

“What’s with you guys? So cousin Zhiqing, are you getting married?” Ye Lang was baffled, yet was unfazed by their puzzling reactions.

“Me, well… No I’m not!” Ye Zhiqing nodded in response to Ye Lang’s question.

“Hey hey Ye Lang, why do you care if she’s married or not? How does that have anything to do with you? Are you finding her a husband?” The seventh princess continued with a question that was in the minds of Ye Lanyu and Zhen Xiaoyan.

“Obviously not!” Ye Lang quickly denied. “I don’t know a lot of people, where would I find a suitor for cousin Zhiqing? If I do have one I would’ve suggested him to my sister instead, she’s the one who must get married as soon as possible!”

“Shut up! Do you really want me gone?” Ye Lanyu kicked Ye Lang.

“Ugh…sis, I was thinking about your future… You’ve got to get married someday, no?” Ye Lang held his butt painfully.