The most shameless alchemist in history

407 Your Family

For the little boy living alone in the hot spring village, this was an absolutely dramatic day. He had only wanted to go out hunting for some food, but the food stored at home was running low, with only a few sweet potatoes left, which would be his food for the next three days.

If he doesn't find food within these three days, he won't be able to survive the rest of the year, because the harsh winter has only just begun and will last for more than two months. Although the villagers will occasionally give him some food.

But as the harsh winter approached, he noticed more and more that the adults in each household looked at him with disgust. There was even a rumor that nothing good had happened in the village since he came to Hot Spring Village, and that he was a plague god and a jinx.

As this story spread, the few families who used to occasionally give him some leftovers stopped giving him anything. Even the sweet potatoes he received were thrown to him by the old hunter when he helped him out, along with the bow.

He waited patiently in the mountains for almost two days, until his body was completely frozen. He finally managed to catch a fawn, but due to his momentary carelessness, the fawn escaped and he lost everything. Just when he was about to despair, the trap started moving again.

Maybe some blind rabbit fell into the trap? A rabbit could feed him for several days, the little boy thought. But when he dug open the trap, he found a dead body inside, which terrified him.

It wasn't that he was naive; rather, he believed he had killed the dead man. Filled with remorse, he planned to bury the body, but the man suddenly opened his eyes and came back to life. He had experienced so much that day that his heart almost couldn't take it.

What he found even more unbearable was yet to come. After he brought home the young man who looked to be in his early twenties, was slender and tall, had the same black hair as him, and looked quite presentable, the latter actually took advantage of his inattention and roasted and ate the sweet potato he had hidden!

"Tsk tsk, it smells so good! I haven't had such delicious sweet potatoes in years. Do you have any more? Can I have a few more?" The young man sucked on the sweet potato scraps left on his fingers. The ground was covered with the charred skin of the sweet potatoes, but he still looked like he hadn't had enough.

"Take this piece of clothing and wear it for now. It's a piece of clothing that the adults in the village don't want anymore. I don't have any other clothes here, so just try it on. Hmm, what's that smell? This is... my... sweet potato? You actually ate all my sweet potatoes?" The little boy walked over with a piece of clothing.

The young man's clothes had two large holes burned in them, making them unwearable. As the perpetrator, he couldn't just ignore it. Fortunately, the villagers took pity on him and used to give him old clothes to keep warm, which came in handy now.

Just as he took out the clothes to change the young man, he was stunned when he saw the mess on the ground.

"Burp, I've barely managed to eat about 70-80% full. I'm a very sociable person, not one of those who like to make things difficult or be hard to please. You don't need to give me any fancy food or anything. I'm not picky. A few roasted sweet potatoes will be enough for me. Is there anything else?" The young man patted his stomach and burped.

"Fish and meat? Where is there any fish and meat here? Just those few sweet potatoes, those few sweet potatoes..." The little boy saw the charred skin on the ground, with remnants of sweet potatoes still on it. He almost cried as he said this. That was his food for the next three days. It was gone just like that.

"What's wrong with those sweet potatoes? Hey, little brother, what's wrong with you? I just ate a few sweet potatoes, why do you act like I bullied you?" The young man couldn't understand why a few sweet potatoes could make the little boy in front of him hang his head and look so dejected.

"I'm not a little brother, my name is Du Lei!" The little boy dodged the young man's hand that was about to touch his head and stepped aside to correct him.

“Du Lei? Good, good, little Du Lei, little brother Du Lei…” The young man pondered the name for a moment.

"It's not Little Du Lei, nor is it Little Brother Du Lei, it's just Du Lei!" The little boy who called himself Du Lei was very insistent on the name issue.

"Alright, alright, so that's Du Lei. What, where are your parents? And where is this place? Is this your warehouse? It smells musty. You're not trying to hide the fact that your family almost buried me alive and are making me live in this lousy place, are you?"

The young man didn't bother arguing with Dure. He looked around and saw that the house was an abandoned warehouse, closed off from all sides with no windows, but cold winds were howling in from the roof. There were signs of patching everywhere, just as he had described it: dilapidated.

“I have no family, this is my home,” Dure Jr. answered truthfully.

"What? Are you kidding me? Everyone has a family. Don't let my wandering appearance fool you, I have a family too." The young man didn't quite believe Du Lei's words, thinking that the cunning kid was just trying to deceive him.

"Really? Anyway, I don't know. I've never met my family." The previously boisterous Dure suddenly quieted down. He walked to the fire and added some firewood. The flames crackled and burned, and being near the fire finally brought him some warmth.

"Living alone after losing your family? That must be very hard." The young man also stopped smiling, nodded slightly, and sighed.

"It's alright, it's not too hard or not. Hey, who are you? What are you doing in the mountains? Are you like those mercenaries, going to the North Mountain to search for treasure?" Little Du Lei shook his head; he didn't want anyone to pity him.

"Treasure hunting in Beishan? What's that all about?" The young man didn't answer Du Lei's question directly, showing great interest in Beishan.

"What? Didn't you come here for North Mountain? The old folks in the village all say that countless treasures of gold and silver are hidden on North Mountain. Every year, several groups of people go into the mountain to search for the treasure, but no one has ever come back alive." Little Du Lei said, shaking his head.

"Gold and silver treasures?" The young man chuckled upon hearing these words.

"Hey, what are you laughing at? What's so funny?" Little Dure glared at him, and he could hear the unfriendly tone in the laughter.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to mock you. What I meant was that what attracts those people to explore the North Mountain isn't gold or silver treasures, but something else entirely, who knows?" The young man quickly waved his hand, afraid that Xiao Dulei would misunderstand.

"What else? What could be more important than gold and silver?" Little Dure tilted his head, somewhat unable to comprehend it.

"Do you think that gold and silver are the most important things in the world?" the young man retorted.

“Of course! With gold and silver, we can buy lots of good food and won’t go hungry. We won’t have to lie in the cold snow for a day or two just to wait for prey, and we won’t be laughed at anymore,” Little Dure said earnestly.

"Since gold and silver treasures have so many benefits, why don't you go and search for them in the North Mountain?" the young man asked with a half-smile.

"I'd like to go and search, but I'm too weak to go that far. When I'm a little older, I'll go to Beishan to find out what's going on," Little Du Lei said confidently. This was something he had decided to do a long time ago.

"No way, you're really going to Beishan? Kid, let me remind you, there are many things in this world more important than gold and silver." The young man chuckled and shook his head. He placed his hands on the fire to warm them, his eyes reflecting the red flames.

"Something more important than gold and silver? What is it?" Little Dure asked curiously.

"For example, power, status, strength, there are so many, too many to list," the young man said softly, with a hint of melancholy in his voice.

"Are there really that many?" Little Dure tried to write them all down, even though he still didn't quite understand what they were.

“Of course, but no matter how many there are, none of them are more important than this one thing,” the young man said softly.

"What is it?" Little Dure immediately asked.

"Life, there is nothing more important in this world than your own life, understand?" the young man said firmly.

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408 will send you a treasure.

Hot Spring Village is a small mountain village. Here, any little thing, no matter how trivial, is known to the whole village. So when the orphan Du Lei, who had no parents, dug a living person out of the snow and brought him back, the news quickly spread throughout the village.

"Hey, have you heard? Yesterday, that kid Du Lei brought someone back. They say he dug someone out of the snow, and he's staying at Du Lei's house now." The next morning, the adults in the village were already talking about it, pointing and whispering about the warehouse not far away.

"I saw it! I just saw a young man. He even waved to me, but I didn't dare to respond. What's going on? Aren't the people buried in the snow all dead? How could a living person suddenly appear? Could it be that..." someone was suspicious.

"Ever since that kid Dure came to the village, nothing good has happened. Now another person has appeared. Who knows what strange things might happen next? In my opinion, that person absolutely cannot be allowed to live. We must find a way to get rid of him!" someone said with certainty.

Regardless of the various opinions, they were all filled with worry and doubt. No one had any goodwill towards the young man, and hostility was everywhere. Over the next three days, the young man personally experienced this. No matter what he did, he was met with disdain.

“That’s… Uncle Karu, right, Uncle…” The young man learned some things about the village from Little Dure. He had a good memory; once Little Dure mentioned something, he could remember the physical characteristics, names, and even the likes and dislikes of the villagers.

Even though he took the initiative to greet the villagers, they didn't welcome him, this outsider who had been dug out of the snow, and were full of hostility.

"How about that? You're just trying to be friendly, aren't you? They're completely ignoring you. Why did you even bother greeting them? Aren't you just making a fool of yourself?" Little Du Lei walked over from a distance carrying firewood. He had gone out to collect it because the weather was cold and dry, and the trees were all withered.

Finding food in the freezing cold is difficult, but there is plenty of firewood to be found in the nearby woods. With this firewood, he can at least ensure that he won't freeze while staying at home. The blazing fire is his only support during the long, cold nights.

"People are like that, you know, they'll get to know you after a while. They're not familiar with me yet, so of course they won't like me. But it'll get better after a while. I believe it won't be long before they warmly welcome me." The young man was quite confident and didn't get discouraged by the cold shoulder he received.

“It’s been three days already, and you’ve greeted them more than once or twice. I think you’re just asking for a beating. You have to run into them until you’re completely humiliated before you realize they don’t want to talk to you at all. By the way, what’s your name again? Say it again, I forgot.” Du Lei scoffed at the young man’s attitude.

He had lived in the village for several years and knew the villagers' character all too well. Expecting these villagers to give the young man a friendly look was like asking for the sun to rise in the west. The young man had told Du Lei his name two days ago, but Du Lei had forgotten it and was asking again now.

“It’s Xia Yi. Xia Yi, little brother Du Lei, remembering other people’s names is basic etiquette. If you can’t even remember other people’s names when you’re interacting with them, that can be very disheartening. But luckily, I’m magnanimous and won’t hold it against you.” The young man said his name again.

"Xia Yi? What a strange name. By the way, you still haven't told me what you've come to the snow mountain for. You're not also after the gold and silver treasures of the North Mountain, are you?" Xiao Du Lei looked at the young man who called himself Xia Yi with suspicion, and really couldn't figure out his purpose.

“Names are given by parents, what’s so strange about that? For example, your name is Du Lei, which was also given to you by your parents. Do you find that strange?” Xia Yi waved his hand with a grin. He was a very knowledgeable and talkative person, and he could always find something to talk about and keep going.

“Parents…” Du Lei’s expression darkened when he mentioned the word; it was somewhat unfamiliar to him.

"Um... I'm sorry, I don't think I should have brought this up." Xia Yi realized he had said the wrong thing and immediately apologized to Du Lei.

"It's alright, it's not a taboo subject. Anyway, I've never seen them. As for their names... I heard from the old folks in the village that when they found me, there was a note in the wooden bucket they put me in, with my name written on it." Du Lei seemed indifferent and unconcerned.

"Don't be too sad. They must have had their reasons for entrusting you to this village temporarily. They even left your name, which shows they care about you a lot," Xia Yi comforted Du Lei. He knew that no matter how strong Du Lei was, he was still just a child.

"Maybe so. By the way, did you just call me 'little brother' again? I've told you eight hundred times already, I'm not little at all!" Little Du Lei belatedly realized and began to protest Xia Yi's earlier address, as he was particularly concerned about that word.

"Okay, okay, not small at all." Xia Yi smiled, knowing that arguing with Xiao Du Lei was pointless, and went along with him.

"You still haven't told me what you're here for! You've dodged this topic so many times!" Little Dure protested loudly, recalling the incident.

"Well... it's nothing special, just going to take a look in the North Mountain." Xia Yi could only give a vague answer when he realized he couldn't hide the truth.

"Take a look? So you really are after the treasure of North Mountain, aren't you? Let me give you a piece of advice: I've seen many people go into North Mountain to look for treasure, but none of them have come back alive. Those people are much stronger than you; one of them could beat a skinny guy like you."

Little Du Lei looked Xia Yi up and down. He seemed weak and uncouth, probably unable to even kill a chicken.

"I already said it's not treasure." Xia Yi waved his hand, seemingly quite familiar with Beishan.

"If it's not treasure, then what is it?" Du Lei frowned, increasingly puzzled.

"Well... it's actually a rock." Xia Yi thought for a moment and decided to reveal some things to Du Lei.

"Stones? Isn't that obvious? I know there are stones on North Mountain, and not only North Mountain, but there are stones in the village too, a whole basketful of stones." Xiao Dulei said irritably. He originally thought Xia Yi would say something amazing, but he didn't expect to get such a useless answer.

"Don't underestimate that rock. It might not be what you imagine." Xia Yi seemed to have anticipated Du Lei's reaction. He shook his head slightly, not caring about Du Lei's offensive words. Who would argue with a child?

"Different? How could it be different? Don't try to fool me. I'm warning you, I've remembered the four sweet potatoes you ate from me." Du Lei recalled the night he brought Xia Yi back, when Xia Yi roasted and ate all the sweet potatoes, and felt heartbroken.

We have to leave him at least a bite!

“I said, Du Lei… Ah, young man, a real man shouldn’t be so stingy. Being petty will never amount to anything. It’s just a few sweet potatoes. How about this, I’ll give you this dagger as an apology for those sweet potatoes.” Xia Yi chuckled.

He took out a wooden dagger from his waist and handed it to Du Lei, since he was in the wrong for eating Du Lei's sweet potato earlier.

"A dagger? You think you can fool me with this piece of broken wood? I'm telling you, you're dreaming!" Little Du Lei glanced at the wooden dagger. Ordinary daggers, in order to look nice, would at least have some exquisite patterns carved on the blade. There was an old carpenter in the village whose craftsmanship was unparalleled.

At the very least, it would have a wooden handle or something. Du Lei had seen other kids brandishing wooden daggers outside, and he would occasionally feel a little envious. But the one Xia Yi handed him was just an ordinary piece of wood carved into the shape of a dagger.

Forget about exquisite patterns, there wasn't even a basic wooden handle grid, which infuriated Du Lei, who immediately threw it back.

"Hey, Du Lei, do you even know what you're talking about? This is a treasure, something many people would kill for. You still haven't taken it? I'll give you another chance to think about it." Xia Yi hadn't expected Du Lei to react this way, so he quickly chased after him, praising Du Lei's dagger to the skies.

"No means no, I don't want it no matter what you say. This piece of junk is supposed to be a treasure? You should just give me back my sweet potato, I only want my sweet potato!" Little Du Lei wasn't buying it, he grabbed Xia Yi and demanded the sweet potato.

"Well... Ah, the weather's really nice today. I'm going for a walk. See you later." Xia Yi felt dizzy as soon as he heard the word "sweet potato." He coughed and chuckled, then turned to leave.

“It’s going to snow heavily today, what’s so good about that? My sweet potatoes!” Du Lei grabbed him and wouldn’t let go, refusing to give up.

"Oh dear, is it going to snow? We need to bring in the laundry. I'll head out now." Xia Yi hurriedly tried to slip away.

"You only bring in the laundry when it rains, but this is snowing!" Du Lei glared at Xia Yi and wouldn't let him leave.

This put Xia Yi in a bit of a predicament. He began to regret how carelessly he had let this kid discover him while he was eating the sweet potato. Wouldn't it be wonderful if he had secretly eaten it and then claimed that a mouse had stolen it?

But I must say, those sweet potatoes were really delicious!

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409 will charge you tuition.

The man named Xia Yi, whom Xiao Du Lei dug out of the snow, stayed in the hot spring village for two months. At first, Xiao Du Lei only wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible because this guy ate all of his only food, which was four sweet potatoes, which made him so angry that he gritted his teeth.

Xia Yi refused to leave no matter what, and stubbornly stayed at Xiao Du Lei's house. At first, he complained that the warehouse was drafty and leaky, which almost drove Xiao Du Lei crazy. But gradually he found that the guy was not without merit, and had at least two redeeming qualities.

The first thing was that Xia Yi complained, but he borrowed a hammer and rivets from the villagers and found some wooden planks to patch up all the leaky and drafty parts of the warehouse. This allowed Xiao Dulei to finally get a good night's sleep without worrying about being woken up by the cold wind in the middle of the night.

The second highlight is related to the first, because the villagers did not welcome Xia Yi, an outsider, at first. Even if Xia Yi took the initiative to greet the villagers, they ignored him at all. Under such circumstances, who would lend him a hammer and rivets?

The only explanation for this is that the villagers' attitude towards him has changed, and a major reason for this change is that Xia Yi found a job in the village. In Du Lei's eyes, Xia Yi is a weak and refined man who can't lift a finger.

It would be impossible for him to work odd jobs in a blacksmith's shop or go hunting in the mountains, but Xia Yi knew one thing: reading and writing. And what Wenquan Village, a remote mountain village, lacked was an enlightenment teacher who could teach children to read and write.