The Silly Alchemist

"Well yeah, Ye Lanyu has been doing pretty good these past weeks, she doesn't have to persevere the way Cousin Zhiqing does. She can't anyway." The seventh princess came to her defense, yet her words ultimately seemed like a double-edged sword.

"Pfft, who are you to judge me, mind your own business!"

"I test the waters before I jump, things that other people can do doesn't mean I can. If I judge my worth based on what others have achieved, it might bring about the opposite effect," the seventh princess reasoned.

"Right, everyone's physique and specialities are different, no point pushing yourself to achieve what others have done, " Ye Lang nodded. "Alright, you girls keep up the good work, I'm off to deal with my stuff."

"Well leave then, don't come bugging me!" Ye Lanyu scoffed.

"…" Ye Lang did not bother to rebuke her statement as he decisively stood up and left. After all, there was much to do.

And that was how a day started there. Every day seemed to mirror the last, while time sped through the routines as they played over and over, and in a blink of an eye, it was dusk again.

Around this time every day, Zhen Xiaoyan would be seen preparing dinner. Her role was noticeably lighter than the others in the alchemy team, compared to the heavy lifters Ye Lang and Little Zero. That meant she would always have enough time to prep the meals after she was done with her daily tasks.

It could be Ye Lang's intentional arrangement, for he believed that everything should be in a neat and orderly fashion, and that naturally included their daily meals. His idea was that since it was going to be a long process, it was only right to maintain the upkeep of the body.

At that moment, Zhen Xiaoyan placed the dishes into special food containers and set them right before the seats that the team would individually sit at. She then sat and waited for the rest to gather around.

The desk was by the little lake, and every time she could just lay idly by on the long table, watching the gorgeous sunset as it gradually set.

The wait was never a boring activity, it was more of joy. Mild, cosy joy!

And the person that would be the first to show was usually not the one she was yearning the most for!

"Xiaoyan, I'll go take a shower first, then I'll come back down and wait with ya!" The seventh princess stopped by after her cultivation. She would usually leave an identical message that Zhen Xiaoyan had heard a thousand times now.

"Alright!" Zhen Xiaoyan nodded, the same nod she gave every single day. At that point of day, the first to return was always the seventh princess or Ye Lanyu, and their time of return was usually very close to one another. Once either of them returned, the other would follow suit promptly after.

"Xiaoyan, what's for dinner tonight?"

Ye Lanyu predictably came by just moments after. She took a good peek of the food that was served, and went ahead to the shower!

A while after, all three of them waited together!

The fourth to wait, which was also the fourth to return was Ye Zhiqing. Even though she was well associated with admirable perseverance and tenacity, when it was time for dinner, she would still make it back on time to have it with the rest.

As for the little princess who was cultivating with Ye Zhiqing, immediately after the training finished she sprinted towards Ye Lang. Naturally, if he was still occupied she would sit quietly by the corner as she waited.

At that point of the evening, Ye Lang would notice that the little princess had stopped by his spot, and would allocate a cosy little corner for her, topped with an alchemy formation to keep her from harm.

There had been countless mishaps during Ye Lang's alchemy experimentation processes, and some of it with terrifying magnitude! And from experience he had built a defense mechanism so sturdy it kept him from harm every time he experimented, and naturally the same went for little Zero and Zhen Xiaoyan.

Nevertheless, whenever an accident happened the girls would instantly flock towards him almost in unison to make sure he was unscathed, every single time without fail.

And every time their words of consolation would be along the lines of "Well thank god it's in here and nobody can hear it from the outside. Otherwise, the Ye family members, especially Long Anqi would stop by every chance she can get!"

They were also certain that if the townsfolk even knew remotely about his experiments, he would constantly be the talk of the town as folks make daily guesses of his actions, unlike right now.

"Girls, if Ye Lang can be coaching us and guiding us through, what level do you think he is?"

While chitchatting, Ye Zhiqing brought up a topic that nobody had considered. They all had the impression that Ye Lang was capable of achieving anything, but they never wondered what he had already achieved, on himself at least.

They were already on the verge of Tian level, yet Ye Lang can still coach them, which meant he should himself have achieved Tian level!

What left everyone slightly bewildered was the idea that Ye Lang was well accustomed with both martial arts and magic, which would make him a double Tian level cultivator!

"This sure is a question I'd really want to know the answer to, why don't we try asking him when he comes back," Ye Lanyu added from curiosity. It was something she had contemplated before, just never in detail.

"Well actually, this "answer" doesn't matter now, does it? When he's ready, he'll tell us," the seventh princess reasoned. After all, it really did not matter to her what Ye Lang was capable of, other than just being himself.

"It'd be weird if he actually tells us, this could mean nothing to him. And we all know how he reacts to things he doesn't care about. He wouldn't tell if we never ask," Ye Lanyu disgruntledly explained.

In regards to this particular trait of his, she found it rather frustrating that many a time there were significant events and revelations that Ye Lang somehow did not find important and thus kept it from the others.

And when the incident actually happens, it was then that everyone figured out that Ye Lang had known all along!

As dusk gradually faded off the horizon, the skies were the most picturesque as night and day exchanged hands. Right at that moment, they watched as Ye Lang came rushing. Without a proper introduction, he made himself comfy by the couch as he gazed upon the setting sun.

He appeared to have returned in much urgency just to witness the mesmerising scenery as it unfolded, along with his team!

The girls had gotten used to his bizarre antics by now, after all it was hardly a rarity. As long as he maintained a grasp of time, he would still make it back for dinner right before the sun fully sets.

"Shall we begin?!" Ye Lang proclaimed.

"Okay!" Zhen Xiaoyan stood up and promptly began removing the lids off the lunchboxes. Steam oozed out of the packed meals as if they were fresh out of the oven!

"Brother, I have a question for you," Ye Lanyu took to ask just as they were about to start.

"What is it?" Ye Lang was picking his teeth with a toothpick as he replied.

"What are your true capabilities? Have you attained Tian Level yet?" Ye Lanyu was frank.

"Nope." Ye Lang shook his head.

"You're clearly lying, you obviously could help us achieve such levels, so why wouldn't you do it yourself?" Ye Zhiqing added right at that moment. Her question was clear cut.

This is who Ye Zhiqing really was, and with her understanding of Ye Lang's personality, she knew he wouldn't like it if she beat around the bush, she knew he despised that!