The Silly Alchemist

Little Zero asked Ye Lang about alchemy related topics and listened to the answers to them; Coldblood Seven started planning upon receiving information on Li Yue; Coldblood Five just stayed silent by Ye Lang's side the whole time, apparent that she wasn't listening to any of the discussions.

Suddenly, Coldblood Five disappeared. After a while, she returned by Ye Lang's side with such vigour it alarmed him. "It's time to eat! Come quickly!"

She laid out a few dishes on the table. Though simple, they were prepared with an air of elegance and sophistication.

"Eh? The food tastes different today? Did they change the chef?" Coldblood Seven asked as she took a bite. The food tasted several times better than the previous experiences she had here.

While Coldblood Five loved to cook, but she barely cooked for others. There was no one else who'd tasted her food besides Ye Lang. Coldblood Seven was riding on his luck this time to taste the food made by the world's greatest assassin.

"Oomph…" Ye Lang seemed to be saying something, but with all the food in his mouth, he could not speak.

"Eat your rice. Don't talk!" Coldblood Five snapped while giving him more food.

"You're so stingy Coldblood Five. We've known each other for so long but you've never given me food like that!" said an ambiguous Coldblood Seven.

"You want some?" Coldblood Five looked up, violence radiating off her being.

"…Nope!" Coldblood Seven lowered her head.

"…" Little Zero quietly ate her food. Amidst forking some food for herself, she also, abruptly and silently, forked some for Ye Lang.

Coldblood Seven saw it and decided to fork some for Ye Lang as well. She would be the odd one out for not doing so.

Ye Lang found it impossible to finish the food on his plate, so he kept on eating… "Alright, I'm leaving. Enjoy your meals! If you have any problems, come to Zhu's Soup House. I'll be there."

"Okay!" Little Zero nodded.

"Idiot, you're staying at Zhu's Soup House?" Coldblood Five asked.

Ye Lang nodded, saying, "Yes, I'll be staying there. It's better to pretend we don't know each other. Just send a message to notify me."

"I will use another identity to infiltrate the House and protect you incognito." Coldblood Five ignored Ye Lang's words. When she set her mind onto something, no one could change her thoughts.

"Fine! But we have to act as if we don't know each other." Ye Lang did not care. He believed that if Coldblood Five wanted to, no one could notice her presence.

"Okay. I will not appear unless it's an emergency." Coldblood Five nodded.

"If you're all going, so will I. Of course, I will be using another identity. I bet you won't recognise me even if you saw me!" Coldblood Seven smiled. She was prepared to play along with the rest and sneak into Zhu's Soup House.

"I…I will stay here and read some books while relaying messages," Little Zero suggested. She found herself rather useless.

"Alright, that will be it!" Ye Lang nodded. Coldblood Seven and Coldblood Five originally worked alone so he did not see a problem with them joining in the fray.

Zhu's Soup House was going to be a busy place!

"Oh yeah, idiot, your plan to trick - no, to pursue Li Yue seems difficult." Ye Lang and the others seemed to have forgotten about their purpose here. Luckily for them, Coldblood Seven still remembered about it and had been mulling over his plans.

"What's so hard about it?"

"… You were once her admirer too! Don't you understand the difficulty of your task?" Coldblood Seven said helplessly.

"Not really." Ye Lang shook his head.

"I knew it…." Coldblood Seven sighed. From her intel, Ye Lang's previous attempt seemed to be more of a comedy show rather than a pursuit of love.

It was over as soon as it started.

"Li Yue, daughter to Li Tianjun, twin sister to Li Yan and granddaughter of Grand Marshal Li, the patriarch of the Li family. She is the best candidate to become the next family head, the Tianji Armour Grand Marshal Li gave her is proof of that!"

Coldblood Seven continued, "Li Yue has displayed martial talents that greatly surpassed others since young, as well as being proficient in commanding soldiers. She is greatly valued by Grand Marshal Li and he seemingly has the intention to pass on his position to her!"

In this continent, it was not rare to see female commanders. As long sufficient capabilities were displayed, anyone could do so.

"She didn't let anyone down. Ever since she enlisted the army three years ago, she had already accomplished many combat feats, promoting her to a captain within this period. This is a rare talent indeed!"

"So she became a soldier… That's not right, I just saw her yesterday." Ye Lang cut in. If she was in the army, she should not be here!

"That's because she was transferred back here to become the captain of the city guards. This position is way better than others of the same rank, once more proving her superior abilities!"

The captain of Imperial City, in other words, was a "Capital Official" -which was significantly higher ranked than countryside officers.

"I see." Ye Lang said, not realising that if she were the captain of the Imperial City, his mission would become more troublesome.

"That's why it'll be hard to pursue her now!" Coldblood Seven pressed on, " It was said if you queue up the people who wanted her hand, the line will start from the City's East end and end at the City's West end. And that only includes the more qualified ones!"

"What's so hard about that, I can just cut the queue!" Ye Lang said straightforwardly.

"…" The three girls fell silent. Ye Lang was taking the mission too lightly.

"Even so, she might not accept your proposal! Amongst those she rejected, there were countless nobles and royalties. She even rejected princes from other countries!"

"I'll just continue pursuing her if I get rejected!" Ye Lang said, unconcerned.

You can't give up so easily if you're pursuing a girl! So what if I get rejected?

"That's right. Proceed even after she is annoyed! After all, it is your business, not hers, right?" Coldblood Seven laughed. It was not until recently that she found Ye Lang so interesting.

Ye Lang nodded. "Yeah! I won't give up! Also… You've been talking so much and yet you haven't taught me a single thing. I think I'll just rely on Athena. She seems smarter than you."