Chapter 98

Chapter 98 – The Interrogation (2) Translated by MagpieEdited by Ilesyt, Oberon

“Why did you order them to bring me back?” The man looked at Ye Lang and asked arrogantly.

“Tell me the truth. Since nobody else is here now, tell me.” Ye Lang tapped the table with his fingers, and said slowly.

“What are you talking about? I don't understand!” The man was confused.

“From your eyes, I see your desire to survive. And I see even more greed. I really don't understand why you are chosen as a spy by your country! Well, as long as you tell me what you know, I will let you go and give you a new identity, along with plenty of wealth!” Ye Lang slowly said. Upon hearing what he said, sentence by sentence, that man showed different facial expressions.

“I’m not… ” The man wanted to refute, but when he saw Ye Lang’s eyes, he finally lowered his head. “Well, I admit that I am such a person, but I didn't expect that you would see through me. I mean… It seems that you are not silly like the rumors say!”

“Of course I’m not silly, I just keep a low profile.” Ye Lang did not feel embarrassed and agreed with his praise for him.

“…”

I didn't realize that this brat wasn't modest at all. I didn't know about his wisdom either. Perhaps… Did he just pretend to be silly?

Anyway, it was right to give him this task. Unexpectedly, he achieved more than what was asked!

“What do you want to know?” The man asked.

“An easy question. Tell me, why did the spies from many countries come here together?” Ye Lang asked.

"I am not very clear about it, but I have heard my boss say that we work as bystanders, enjoying the situation. If possible, we can take the opportunity to get some benefits!” The man spilled what he knew, but what he said still could not explain everything clearly.

“What situation?” Ye Lang asked.

“I have no idea. I only know that one of your groups, and your people invited us to come here to enjoy the situation.” The man replied.

“What?!” The people in the dark room were shocked, because they had not thought that this turmoil was actually caused by one of their own.

And they were now wondering who in the end did so and for what?

“Alright, take him away!” Ye Lang felt that he could no longer get more information from him. So he let others take him away.

“Didn't you promise to set me free and give me plenty of wealth?” The man said while struggling.

“I did promise you, but it didn't mean that I would do that right now. That's not my business! Today is done. I want to go!” Ye Lang stood up.

“You… You’re too shameless…” [For the next paragraph you need to know that he said: You’re toothless/have no tooth, meaning he is shameless.]

"Who says I am toothless, I have a mouth full of good teeth!" Ye Lang opened his mouth, showing his perfect white teeth.

“…”

…

After finishing the task, Ye Lang went back to the study to tell them what he knew briefly, and then got ready to leave. Of course, the Emperor and the others wouldn't let him go unless they figured everything out.

“Ye Lang, how did you know that? Why did the man tell you?” This was the Emperor’s first question.

“That's easy. After the head of the first man was cut, he made a positive response with another eleven present, which showed that he was either loyal or wanted a talk with me alone… So I just tried.” Ye Lang said casually.

“So you just tried… I thought you were certain of it. That man was also strange, if you really killed him, that would’ve been really bad luck, right?” Princess Qi asked, standing on one side.

“Who knows what he thought. Though it seems that he thought money was more important than life!” Ye Lang was not clear about this, and only that man himself knows what he was thinking.

However, it didn't matter. Whatever!

“Then I wonder, why did you set those who should be put into prison free, but kept the others here?" This was the Emperor’s second question.

“What do you mean by saying those who should not be set free? You just asked me to do that at random. I thought those people were quite lofty, so I let them go. There are few lofty people!” This was the answer Ye Lang gave.

“…” The Emperor and the others became silent, thinking that they should have known that this brat didn't know who should be set free. He just did what he liked.

This question, in fact, was meaningless!

But later, everything became very different. Those who had been set free were killed one by one in spite of their integrity and loyalty to their countries. So there was mutual suspicion among them.

The reason was very simple. Although they told the truth, it was too ridiculous. That was why it was believed that they were lying to help Soaring Sky Empire spread false news, thereby betraying their own countries.

If they had stayed inside, perhaps after a period of time, their country would have made some offers to exchange for them, because they were rare talents.

But Ye Lang let them go back casually, so they were no longer trustworthy. Moreover, they were suspected of betraying their countries!

As for those who were put into the prison, they got the attention of their countries and were considered good spies!

Loyal people were executed, but those who were not faithful may come to power. This could also result in the decline of strength of their countries indirectly. To some degree, it was a way to reduce the strength of the other countries.

At that time, many people guessed this was the purpose Ye Lang had from the beginning.

“Did you take advantage of your alchemy to make the head that you showed to everyone?”

“Yes, I can copy a thing in a moment, a head or anything else.” Ye Lang nodded.

They were not surprised that he had all kinds of strange things, even the handwritten order… Yes, the handwritten order…

“One more question. How did you get the handwritten order, and a blank one at that?” This was a serious problem so he had to get a clear answer.

“I bought it.” Ye Lang gave a very surprising answer, but it was very reasonable. That was because he bought some strange things.

“…Where did you buy it?” The Emperor and the others were speechless.

“I bought it in Baker Street, where there are a lot of interesting things. I saw this blank handwritten order by accident and I bought it to fool others, and I made use of it this time.” Ye Lang replied. He spoke calmly and it seemed that he didn't know it was a serious problem.

“Is it a real one?” The Emperor asked seriously.

“No!” Ye Lang directly replied.

“…A counterfeit?” The Emperor and the others looked at it, and found something wrong. But they couldn't tell what was wrong.

“Don't you see it? Its imperial jade seal is complete!” Ye Lang said.

“Yes, it is. There is a small gap in the lower left corner of the real seal, but this one is complete.” They finally realized it, they had forgotten this detail.

Since they saw the seal every day, that became the reason why sometimes, they ignored some details.

No one dared to make a counterfeit of the seal, so no one paid attention to this!

“Who even dares to make an imperial jade seal!” The Emperor said in a deep voice. He would let the guilty man be held accountable for it.

“I don't know. It was the only one at that time. Even if you know who makes it, there is no way to find the guilty man.” Ye Lang waved his hand.

“Why?" The Emperor asked.

“Although it looks new, it was made two hundred years ago. It was made with a kind of special paper, which had disappeared as early as two hundred years ago.” Ye Lang said. He intended to add more, but someone cut in:

“It might have been made by the people in previous dynasties who used this kind of special paper.”

“Well, maybe, but on the paper the man who made this order left a signature and a date. I know you cannot see them, they were hidden in patterns. No one could do so except him…”

“The world’s best craftsman, Hong Ye. Year… Month… Day… ”

“…”

“The order Hong Ye made looks like a real one. He deserved the name! It is valuable. What Ye Lang wrote on it certainly ruined it!" Some people felt it a pity.

“Shit, my handwriting is more precious than his. It will be more valuable because of my handwriting!” Ye Lang shook his head, ignored the crowd, and left!

“…”

Ye Lang left, with the two girls following right after, but the Emperor and the others had to stay here to find out who invited the spies behind the scenes, and what his purpose was…

Although they were not sure of these points, it was certain that something would happen, so they planned to take action to defend their countries, but they had to do that secretly to avoid alerting the enemy.

However, now they were thinking about who should be put in charge of the defense. The man in charge must be faithful enough because it was likely that it was caused by someone among them.

How about putting Ye Lang in charge?!

They first mentioned Ye Lang, but they soon believed he was not appropriate for the job, since he wouldn’t be able to complete such a task.

And then, they thought about their children. In any time, their children were the most faithful. The Emperor also thought so.

Of course, the Emperor also excluded some and chose those children who would never betray him and would be able to complete the task…

Ye Lang was excluded. Ye Lanyu was also excluded, and so was Princess Qi!

Theese three were trustworthy, but they were unsuitable. They were too pure to fight against the evil. Perhaps the people together with Ye Lang would be purified gradually.

No matter what others said, the three had a good and close relationship since childhood, since the three had always been together. Although they quarreled very frequently, the three got closer and closer…