The Silly Alchemist

That wasn’t supposed to happen. She never spoke like that.

Edward was a little confused, giving a forced grin as a response to Ye Lang’s praise. He didn’t expect this at all.

In his memory, Kesha was quiet, gentle and introverted. This was something only an aggressive girl would say.

He soon understood why when he saw the girl standing next to Kesha.

She must be the one who taught Kesha! It matched her personality!

“There will be two tests, both very simple. The first is to pass all of the IQ questions we set, the other is to beat everyone else. You may choose to do both or just one!” said Kesha gently, showing two fingers.

“Let me remind you all that this doesn’t mean the winner will definitely succeed. The people who failed might not necessarily lose their chance! Everything is determined by your performance!!” added Kesha.

Smart! She was very smart indeed!

If that were the case, even if Edward lost, he still could be her husband. Most importantly, this implied she was picking a husband, a person she loved. It meant she liked the person not for his skill, but his morals.

Thank god she had her eyes on someone. If not, with these rules, it could be useless even if Ye Lang were to defeat everyone. In the end, she might choose someone he’d defeated.

But the person Kesha wanted to choose was Edward. Ye Lang’s intentions will align with hers. She was exactly looking for a reason to eliminate everyone, including Ye Lang!

“I choose to beat everyone!” Ye Lang was the first to speak. If it were before, he’d definitely choose to solve problems, not all this violent killing. It was too uncivilised.

In Ye Lang’s words, he was a civilised prodigal son. He could always pass this job to someone else.

The people here mostly chose to fight because they wanted Kesha to see their dashing, heroic side.

Although we say wisdom is more important than fighting skills, but to trick a lady, no wait, to attract a lady, showing off your fighting skills would usually be more useful than wisdom.

However, when everyone went out for the battle, Ye Lang sat down to have a cup of tea. He didn’t make a move to leave at all, at least not for now.

“Calm down, stay where you are!”

Edward was about to exit but Ye Lang’s voice echoed in his ears. He stopped, stunned.

The distance between Ye Lang and him was huge. If Ye Lang was shouting at him, it was normal but Ye Lang’s voice was very, very soft.

Did he imagine it?

“Don’t question yourself. It’s really me talking to you, but only you’ll be able to hear it. Don’t answer because other people can hear you talking! It’s not your time to shine yet. Come after I deal with some of the people!”

“Don’t ask me why I’m not going now, you’re so stupid. Isn’t it better to let the rest kill each other first? There’ll be fewer opponents! This is also to test your wisdom!”

Ye Lang was still drinking his tea, but his voice rang in Edward’s years. Edward was still in confusion. He couldn’t understand how Ye Lang did it.

In reality, it was simple. It was one of the skills Ye Lang learned in the martial arts treasury. A technique often used when he was at the lake— Secret Sound Reverberation!

It was true. They could save a lot of trouble and let other people spend a little more of their energy. While Ye Lang was right, Edward felt like this was cheating.

“Don’t worry, I’ll let you show off your brilliance. I’ll leave a few people who are about the same skill level for you. I trust your battles will be very thrilling to watch!”

“Don’t say no! A person’s energy is limited. Look at them. Us sitting here doesn’t mean we’re cowards, nor are we deceitful. This is strategy. Don’t do something brave but stupid!”

Ye Lang’s words shook Edward awake. He understood he should put his energy into the most useful places, so before that could happen, he had to have patience!

At the same time, Edward was curious. Why was Ye Lang so smart so suddenly? Why were his words and thought processes so logical?

As usual, Ye Lang will never be clueless during key moments like this. Or at least, he wouldn’t be clueless enough for it to have consequences…

“Everyone sitting here must know what the rest are thinking! Let’s all be straightforward then. We’ll battle in groups, that’ll save everyone’s time too,” said Johnny, who was still in the hall, with a grin.

“Alright, we’re all smart people here. We all know to not cooperate, but only let the other person attack us,” voiced another person.

“Then we’ll just go with the flow. We don’t need to draw lots!” said another.

The few here were the smartest and strongest there. These were the people Ye Lang had to deal with. Among them, most were aristocrats, including Edward and Ye Lang and only 2 commoners.

No matter commoner or aristocrat, anyone who knew to stay behind must be someone capable!

“Hey, you can’t do that!” voiced Ye Lang suddenly in objection.

“Mr Ye, why not?” asked Johnny humbly.

“Don’t forget, what are we all here for? We’re here for matchmaking. If you divide into teams, who will Lady Kesha have to watch? You, you or you…” Ye Lang pointed at them all one by one.

“About that…” Johnny wanted to say something, but Ye Lang cut him off.

“Didn’t Lady Kesha say she wouldn’t necessarily pick the winner? We aren’t competing purely based on our fighting skills, she’ll also look at our fighting etiquette, our human morals! That is why this will not be suitable!!”

“Of course, I wouldn’t mind for either. I’ve always been excellent, outstanding as ever. Even in the dark night, I’ll be as bright as a glimmering firefly. With my magnificence, I’ll definitely be noticed by Lady Kesha. She’ll definitely fall in love with me!” declared Ye Lang, with a hair flip.

“…” This bastard is a little too cocky. We’ll find a chance to hit him later.

That was how Ye Lang provoked everyone there. Exactly what he wanted. It was best if they all came to attack him, that way he could deal with everyone who was a threat to Edward.

He didn’t agree to divide themselves into groups because of Edward. If they did, then Edward might not be in the same group as him, and Ye Lang wouldn’t be able to control the outcome.