The Silly Alchemist

“You can’t say that, not even casually!” said the bossy Princess Longji. “I don’t like to hear that you were against me, even if it was because you were ignorant, or you were stupid, you can’t say that!”

“I wasn’t against you, I just didn’t know you were Princess Longji...” Ye Lang didn’t seem to understand, but fortunately, there was Coldblood Five to hold him back.

“Little idiot, stop. Princess Longji doesn’t like to fight against you, she doesn’t like it, even if you mentioned it in passing,” Coldblood Five was smart enough this time. It sounded like what she felt herself.

Didn’t she just feel this way a few moments ago? They were almost on opposite sides, and it wasn’t what she wanted at all!

“Oh...” grunted Ye Lang.

“Hey hey, can you all let me speak!” the Emperor realised his conversations with Ye Lang were often interrupted- either by Ye Lang’s lack of ability to concentrate or Princess Longji.

“I’m sorry, please continue!” said Ye Lang politely.

“Ye Lang, since we’re a family, can you let me have the magic cube instead? I’ll pay you double!” offered the emperor. He wanted the magic cube, and this was the reason why he wanted Ye Lang to stay.

“Oh, so you wanted to talk about this. No!! And we’re not family!!” denied Ye Lang.

“...” The emperor frowned. This was a tough nut to crack.

“What are you both talking about? What magic cube?” asked Princess Longji curiously.

“It’s the Pirate King Jack’s cube. This guy spent 300,000 gold coins on it to bid against the eighth prince at the auction,” he said, exasperated.

“You spent 300,000 on a magic cube? You prodigal son, you haven’t changed! But my father is willing to buy it for double the price, so it must be something good. Looks like you’ll make a profit again!” she laughed.

“Hmmph!” huffed Ye Lang, upset.

“Alright, alright. Father, why do you want the magic cube? It’s not just for Jack’s treasures, is it? That’s not worth your time, nor is it worth abandoning your ego to negotiate with our little brother like that!” she said directly. At this point, only a few people were left in the room. And they were all the emperor’s family members.

Anything could be said now, no precautions needed!

And that was why the emperor gave the answer too, “You all know that House Long has a few precious heirlooms. You know of the Vermilion Vest, the Vermilion Sword and their powers. However, you might not know that there’s another treasure which far surpasses both, and it’s the lost Vermilion Bird Blood Jade!!”

“Vermilion Bird Blood Jade?” frowned Princess Longji. She seemed to have heard of it, but she wasn’t sure. The others too, while some had never even heard of it.

“According to historical records, the blood of the Vermilion Bird is fused within this blood jade, and it is as clear as all the high-end jades we know of. However, it is blood-red! And apparently, since it was formed with Vermilion Bird blood, it has extremely powerful healing properties, it’s a magical item many people have dreamt of!

“At the same time, legend has it that there are mysterious symbols etched on the piece of jade, which will allow the owner to have immense Fire-type powers. Anyone can evoke this property and it wouldn’t harm them! Unfortunately, no one knows how to use it!!”

“Then again, as a booster for Fire-types, it is still very powerful- it contains the Vermilion Bird blood after all!”

The emperor had basically described the importance of this piece of blood jade. It wasn’t just national treasure, it had mysterious powers! Although it might only be a legend.

Everyone was in shock. They all had a very odd look to them, other than Princess Longji and Coldblood Five.

If the emperor had said this, then it would have been logical, it wouldn’t have been this shocking. However, these words weren’t from the emperor, they were from Ye Lang’s lips!!

Everyone was surprised Ye Lang could describe the blood jade so clearly as if he were describing something he owned, especially the emperor. Princess Longji and Coldblood Five were not, because one knew Ye Lang would know about weird things like these, while the other thought this was something very normal.

Although Ye Lang was a clueless person, as for his alchemy abilities, to Coldblood Five, he had far surpassed any regular alchemist!

“According to historical records, the Vermilion Bird Blood Jade has never appeared in the last thousand years, and that is coincidentally the time when the pirate king was the most active. Were you all robbed?!!” added Ye Lang.

“...”

So was this kid sharp or clueless? He could guess this much just from his historical knowledge. He seemed to have known about the pirate king’s treasures from reading books too, and that this cube was the key to the treasures.

Anqi’s son is not just any boy after all!

“You’re right. The blood jade was brought away by the pirate king, he didn’t rob us!” said the emperor.

“Hey, so the rumours are true?” said Ye Lang suddenly, staring at the emperor with rapt attention.

“...You know about that too?” said the emperor, speechless.

“What rumour?”

“I read in the diary of one of the pirate king’s crew that the pirate king was no ordinary pirate but an exiled aristocrat. It’s because he held the majesty and manners of a member of the higher class, and he was very much educated!” Ye Lang continued, “‘Do not fear hooligans, fear the educated hooligans! Looks like this Chinese saying could be applied to pirates too!!”

“Aristocrat? If he could take the blood jade, that would mean he was not just an aristocrat. And the reason why he became a pirate definitely wouldn’t be simple anymore!” frowned Princess Longji, looking at the emperor.

“Cough cough, this is all history, let’s not talk about them. So Ye Lang, now that you know about this, can you give me the magic cube? You’ll be compensated!!” asked the emperor.

“No!” Ye Lang rejected the offer again. What had their heirloom story got to do with him?

“Father, let me deal with this. This little troublemaker would never give you the thing if you do it this way!!” Princess Longji shook her head. This was a very important matter to the kingdom, she had to intervene now.