The Silly Alchemist

"You just need to cover the chicken with mud. If you don't like the mud touching your chicken, you can wrap it in lotus leaves first," said Li Yue. This was what Ye Lang taught her.

"Where's the chicken?" Zhao Yarou realised she didn't have the main ingredient despite having received instructions. Ye Lang seemed to have said he'd provide her with a chicken.

However, Ye Lang said something that made everyone want to slap him.

"Hunt your own."

"…"

"Didn't you say you'd give me one just now?" asked Zhao Yarou.

"That was just now. I've changed my mind," said Ye Lang. I wouldn't have said that if I'd known it was you.

"Fine, if that's what you say. Get me a chicken." Looks like Zhao Yarou was in an exceptionally good mood today to be tolerating such rudeness from Ye Lang.

Many people were surprised. Why was she so calm today? They were shocked at how well she was taking the rude kid's remarks.

However, everyone was already treating the kid like he was already dead. His death was certain.

She was in a good mood now but that could change at any moment.

He should prepare to meet Death soon.

The most important thing now was to go get her a chicken or they'd be meeting Death too…

"This is delicious, who thought of cooking chicken this way?" asked Zhao Yarou when she finished her chicken. She thought it had a very unique taste.

This was a whole chicken Zhao Yarou cooked for herself! Today was a special day! Everyone stared at her fair, soft hands splotched with mud, oddly emotional.

Once he saw her finish, he immediately said, "Since you're done, then we should get going. Farewell, Your Majesty. Oh, and help us extinguish that fire. Li Yue, let's go…"

Zhao Yarou was stunned and before she could speak, she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw him carry Li Yue. Based on her understanding of Li Yue, she would never let anyone carry her, especially not a man.

"Captain Li Yue, are you really that weak?" asked Zhao Yarou. She could sense Li Yue was indeed quite weak, this wasn't a display of intimacy.

"Yeah, I'll be fine in a few days." Li Yue nodded, her face turning red with embarrassment. She hadn't expected Ye Lang to pick her up in front of everyone.

At that moment, she hadn't said anything either because she'd gotten too used to it.

In a swift motion, he placed her on the back of the horse then guided it with its reins. They walked slowly towards a valley.

Zhao Yarou thought this looked as beautiful as a painting. Li Yue's sickly weakness had instead added beauty to the scene, she almost envied the girl who had someone caring for her like this.

Not just Zhao Yarou, everyone had the same feeling. It was touching to see them like this.

Just a little bit though. How often does one feel shaken to their core in their lifetime anyway? Even feeling a little shaken or touched was enough.

"I see you care for her well. You like her?" asked Zhao Yarou. She'd walked up to walk with him, shoulder to shoulder.

"That's none of your business. Why are you following us?" Ye Lang did not answer her question. His brows were furrowed as if he hated her tagging along.

"No one's following you, we're just taking the same path," said Zhao Yarou mildly.

"Oh, then I'll let you walk first." Ye Lang stopped in his tracks to let her pass first.

"You… I want to rest now…" she said coldly. There was anger behind the word 'you'.

Yep, that was bloodlust. This kid is dead!

Hey, why is she suppressing it? She hasn't ever suppressed her anger like this before.

"So, does this mean you've decided to follow me?" Ye Lang asked calmly, directly ignoring her bubbling anger.

"Yep. Everything under the sky is mine. You're in my empire. I'll tag along if I want to, you can't stop me," said Zhao Yarou, looking at Ye Lang. There was something different in her look though, an inexplicable emotion.

"I could care less," said Ye Lang.

Wait…. Why does this feel so familiar…

And just like that, Ye Lang continued trekking ahead with Zhao Yarou tagging along. Li Yue and the rest were very confused and very scared of her odd behaviour.

The only person who did not feel a thing was probably Ye Lang.

The journey was a silent one. The entire troop forged ahead slowly, closing in on a mysterious region of the forest where few people visited. There were many stories of people going missing here.

No one had planned to be here- at least not Ye Lang. Unfortunately, Ye Lang had been leading the troop and based on his past experiences, he did have a tendency to lose his way.

This bunch was the strangest combination too, a group no one would've expected. Fate just had to bring them together.

It was definitely a coincidence for Ye Lang and Zhao Yarou to meet. She'd been trekking randomly and planned to return after a bit of hunting.

However, perhaps she was in a very good mood after a few days of hunting for her to decide to tag along…

"Fuck, rabbit!" cried Ye Lang, breaking the silence.

"It's just a rabbit," said Zhao Yarou sarcastically.

"Look at it, then talk…" Everyone looked towards where he was pointing at.

"Fuck, the… rabbit."

There were similar gasps and cries as their expressions turned into horror.

They'd seen a rabbit, yes, but this was a white rabbit fifty times larger than what it was supposed to be. At the same time, there was bloodlust in its eyes. It bared rows and rows of sharp teeth.

"That's not a rabbit, that's a magical beast," said Zhao Yarou calmly.

"Called the Feral Rabbit, Level 9 magical beast, it's rare, twenty points." Li Yue listed out its details from a small alchemy item the organisers provided for participants to do quick identifications.