The Silly Alchemist

Chaos (2)

At least Ye Lang was running in a fixed direction now. However, many people wanted to stop him in this area too. There were palace guards scattered everywhere.

There were so many people chasing after her, and they were embarrassed to admit that they couldn't catch a mere gentle maiden!

They would've been less frustrated if the lady knew a little magic. If she were an expert, then it would make sense to not be able to catch her easily.

The weirdest thing was, this lady didn't seem like she had any special skills. She was like a regular person, and she didn't do anything that looked remotely magical. She was just very, very good at running?!

Was this lady's zodiac animal a rabbit?! The guards were puzzled!

Sometimes, they could surround her but she'd slip through a crack…

At that was how the little chase grew into a dramatic battle-like chase scene. Even the emperor was alerted. He didn't understand what was going on, but when he did, he was shocked.

It's that nuisance of a maiden again! Why hasn't she left? Why is she causing trouble in my palace?

Also, what are we paying all you guards for? You can't even catch a young girl- who doesn't even have magical powers! She's just running and you all can barely capture her- if we had a break-in by someone just a little more skilled, wouldn't you all be in deep trouble by now?

The spirit girl could run for a very long time because first, as a reanimated spirit, it had unlimited energy. Second, Ye Lang was perceptive enough to make decisions quickly. Third, and most importantly, he was a lucky man.

"..."

"Hey hey you idiot! You're going the wrong way! You'll be going back again!" shouted Coldblood Five.

"Oh, alright," Ye Lang turned the other way.

At that point, there was already a crowd of guards waiting for the spirit girl. But she'd just turned in the opposite direction!

…

"Hey, there's an alley here, not bad!" Ye Lang ran into a secluded alley- instead of down the main path where another crowd of people was waiting for him.

…

Luck. Luck helped Ye Lang coincidentally slip through every crack in the palace defence very easily. No one could catch them and this was incredibly infuriating for everyone involved.

How was he so lucky? Coldblood Five suspected Ye Lang had once seen the plan of this palace to be able to find safe routes.

In reality, of course, Ye Lang was too lazy to plan beforehand. Situations like these weren't unusual to him at all. And if he did need some escape routes, he'd be able to find them easily. Let's not forget he'd always been able to slip out of the Ye family home, although it was heavily guarded.

"Stay where you are! Don't run! That's the…"

Ye Lang was approaching something, and that made all the guards panic. If he reached it, all of them would be in deep trouble. And his crimes would be blamed on them.

That was because someone of a high position lived there, someone even the emperor himself feared...

"Hey, granny, we meet again!" greeted the spirit girl when she saw the empress dowager, protected by guards when she arrived in a yard.

"..." Silence.

The empress dowager didn't expect them to meet so soon. The rest were even more confused. Why did this lady call her 'granny', did they know each other?

"What are you all doing? Who are you protecting her from?" asked the spirit girl, confused.

Who else? This is all because of you! The drama had triggered suspicions that this girl was dangerous.

"I don't know either. There seems to be a situation outside, but I'm not sure. Come, fair maiden, come to me!" waved the empress dowager, gesturing for the spirit girl to come closer, so she could be safer too.

Empress dowager didn't know that the cause of all their problems was this maiden!

"Oh, I'll protect you!" Ye Lang had a good feeling about the empress dowager, offering to protect her. He didn't know they were protecting her from himself!

When the spirit girl was about to approach, the empress dowager's bodyguards stopped her... They still couldn't be sure if this girl was a threat.

"Let her in!" instructed the empress dowager. The hesitant guards immediately leapt aside to let them in. Looks like many people were afraid of the empress dowager.

The spirit girl ran next to her, then got into a fighting stance.

"..."

"Fair maiden… I don't need you to protect me, I have enough guards! Tell me, how did you come here, alone?" she asked curiously. Theoretically, if the girl wanted to visit, someone would've escorted her. Then again, no one would even agree to let her come.

"I ruined a plant in the garden, then your granddaughter demanded compensation. I offered to compensate and then she refused, so I left! Then, it seemed like she wasn't willing to let me leave, and then she started chasing me, even getting a whole group of people to run after me, so I ran- that's how I arrived here," explained Ye Lang very quickly.

"..." the empress dowager fell silent. She had a thought, so she had to confirm, "You mentioned a group of people who were they?"

"I don't know, I didn't have time to check. However, they wear the same uniform as your bodyguards here!" said the spirit girl, pointing at the bodyguards.

"..."

Everyone fell silent again. Now, they were very sure that the chaos outside was all started by her. And here she was, offering to protect the empress dowager.

What were they supposed to say?!

At this point, the rest of the guards arrived. They surrounded the area as if to protect the empress dowager, checking to make sure it was safe.

"Your Majesty, was there a…" enquired one guard.

"I know, I know. Leave us, everything's fine now!" waved the empress dowager.

"But…" the guards didn't seem to notice the spirit girl behind her.

"Grandma! Grandma! Are you alright? There's a cruel woman… Ah! Be careful! She's right next to you…" panted the little princess, who'd just arrived. She very quickly noticed the spirit girl.

And at this moment, the rest of the guards noticed the spirit girl. She was right next to the empress dowager! Everyone was on guard now, for this lady might be a threat!