The most shameless alchemist in history

"I don't know his past identity or what he did, but in my heart, he was just an ordinary man—quiet, rarely speaking, often suffering losses, yet always grinning. I don't know how I was attracted to him in the first place; maybe it was the feeling of reliability."

Linda recalled how she fell in love with Grey Falcon's father. At that time, she was a flower girl in the town, and he was the town's blacksmith. Every day, she would walk along the street to pick flowers in the flower garden and pass by his blacksmith shop. Every day, she would hear the "clang clang" of the blacksmith's hammer and her singing.

She remembered that in the beginning, the two of them didn't have much interaction. At most, they would make brief eye contact when passing by, and then he would stop forging and grin at her. He wasn't handsome, but he gave people a solid sense of security. And so a long time passed.

Until one day, her only father passed away due to illness, leaving her weak-willed and helpless. Many thugs in town took the opportunity to bully her. At this time, she was at a loss and didn't know what to do. But that man stood up and properly handled all the funeral arrangements for her.

The thugs who bullied her disappeared. She asked him what she wanted in return, and he said he didn't want anything, just that she could smile every day like before. So she married him, amidst the gossip of the townspeople, marrying that taciturn man.

The wedding was not grand, but they were very happy after marriage. Just as he had said before, she was indeed smiling happily every day. Their child was born naturally and was very healthy. They named him Grey Falcon. If everything goes well, the three of them will live happily ever after.

But the good times didn't last long. When Grey Falcon was five years old, one night, the taciturn man walked out of the house with something tightly wrapped in cloth. She noticed that his expression was different from usual, so she called out to him and asked where he was going. Grey Falcon also woke up, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

He said he had something to do and would come back after he finished. He would then stop caring about the trivialities of the outside world and live peacefully with her and their child. She asked him when he would come back, and he remained silent for a long time before saying that this time was very dangerous and he might never be able to come back.

He was hesitant and in pain. She knew he didn't want to leave, but she also believed he must have his reasons for doing so. In the end, he gave her a word of advice, telling her that Gray Falcon was born with powerful magical abilities and asking her to send Gray Falcon away. After leaving those words, he turned and left without looking back.

Five years later, he never returned.

056 went out to run errands

The snow was still falling softly outside the window, and the room was brightly lit. Compared to the previous situation where they had to rely on newspapers to cover the windows and couldn't stop the cold wind from blowing in, two movable wooden boards had now been nailed to the windows. These were repairs that Du Lei and Grey Falcon had made during the day.

Although the craftsmanship wasn't particularly skillful, it at least brought a bit of light and warmth to the dilapidated room. The newly bought candles were still burning. Normally, the young lady would never have been willing to light two candles at the same time, as it would have been too wasteful. But Dure bought a whole box of candles and put them in a corner.

“I see. But why won’t Lady Linda listen to him and keep her distance from Grey Falcon? Although the magic energy has been temporarily suppressed, if this continues, you will definitely not be able to withstand the erosion of the magic energy. At that time, it will be really difficult to reverse the situation.” Dure sighed.

He had already learned about Grey Falcon's father from Linda. Based on Dure's intuition, he could tell that Grey Falcon's father was no ordinary person, but a reclusive figure in Snow Eagle Town. He carefully recalled the five years that had passed and realized that it was precisely when that man came to Hot Spring Village.

He remembered that the man had casually mentioned to him that there was a "mountain guardian" in the town at the foot of the mountain. At the time, he didn't think much of it, assuming that it was just someone like Kru in the village. But later he gradually realized that the man's words had a deeper meaning. Now, he saw Linda and the Grey Falcon family in Snow Eagle Town.

Especially after learning about Grey Falcon's father from Linda, Dure found it hard not to connect Grey Falcon's taciturn father with the "mountain guardian" the man had mentioned. Of course, this was just his guess, without any real evidence, and Linda was unaware of this.

“Grey Falcon is so young. His father has already left. If I leave him too, how will he live? Even if I am affected a little, it doesn’t matter. Besides, I have to wait here for his father to come back.” Linda shook her head and looked down at Grey Falcon.

At this moment, the latter was happily tidying up, humming the nursery rhymes she often sang to him. Seeing his happy appearance, even though Linda was not fully recovered, she felt sincerely gratified. For her, her child was everything, and as for herself, she was insignificant.

“But if we don’t suppress Grey Falcon’s magic, Mrs. Linda, it will be difficult for your body to hold out until spring. Leaving Grey Falcon now is only a temporary separation, and we will meet again in the future. But if you insist on keeping him by your side, I’m afraid you will never see him again.”

Dure calmly tried to persuade Linda. Having grown up as an orphan in the hot spring village, it was difficult for him to understand Linda's feelings for Grey Falcon. However, he still looked at her with pity. Under these circumstances, he explained the pros and cons to Linda, hoping to persuade her.

"Will I never see my lovely little falcon again?" Linda pondered Durei's words for a moment, and suddenly her nose felt a little sore. She covered her nose and sobbed softly. Fortunately, because the wind was strong downstairs, Grey Falcon could not hear the sobbing from upstairs and continued to do his own thing.

"Yes, so Mrs. Linda, you have to make a choice: whether to let Grey Falcon leave your side temporarily, or wait until he discovers one day that he is the one who killed you and is in unbearable pain," Dure told Linda about the possible consequences and a series of chain reactions.

"No, I don't want that. I absolutely can't let Little Falcon know." Linda shook her head heavily. As a mother, she could endure any hardship, but on this point, the thought of the painful expression on Little Falcon's face when he learned the truth years later made her clutch her chest and feel heartache.

“Let him leave for now. Once he’s older and can control his magical energy more freely, he won’t cause you any more harm, Madam. Besides, someone like Gray Falcon will leave here sooner or later. Snow Eagle Town is too small for him. Eagles should soar through the sky, right?”

Dure continued to persuade Linda, saying that he was a calm person, and calm people are always able to make the best choices and judgments.

“I understand. Where should Little Falcon go next? Can we entrust him to…” After thinking for a moment, Linda finally nodded, but she was still worried about Gray Falcon’s future. Soon she thought of the boy in front of her, and a ray of light shone in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I can’t fulfill this request. Grey Falcon and I are going down different paths. Let’s give him more trust. He will definitely make a name for himself. And deep down, he must also want to find his father.” Dure knew what Linda meant.

He gently shook his head. Although refusing her request was a heartless thing, Dureh wouldn't let it affect his feelings. He hadn't planned to bring anyone with him. Linda's eyes dimmed, and she was slightly disappointed, but she still nodded.

“Mr. Dure has already done a great service. I understand. I will no longer stop Little Falcon. I will let him leave after spring.” Linda looked at Dure gratefully. She was a reasonable person and knew that Dure had already helped her family, which was on the verge of collapse, too much.

"I will leave behind a potion that can suppress Grey Falcon's magical power for the next three months, so he can stay at home with you for three more months. It may be a little hard to part with him from a sentimental point of view, but please believe me, my lady, a short separation is for a better reunion. He will grow into a man."

Dure comforted Linda again, knowing that the more righteous a person is, the more reluctant they are to part with someone, yet she cannot express that longing, which is more agonizing for her than for others.

"Mr. Dure has done so much for my son and me, I really don't know how to thank you enough," Linda sincerely thanked Dure.

“He can’t repay me now, but one day, perhaps Grey Falcon will be of great help to me. Well, Madam, you should rest now. I’ll go downstairs first. Grey Falcon and I have some things to take care of tonight.” Du Lei smiled, turned around, blew out the candle, and went downstairs.

By this time, Grey Falcon had finished tidying up inside and out, and was full of energy, a stark contrast to his previous dejected appearance.

"Hey, Du Lei, you've really got some skills. You solved a problem that even the town doctor couldn't handle. Why don't you stay and be the doctor, and I'll be your assistant? We'll definitely make a fortune working together," Gray Falcon said with a grin, approaching him as if they were old friends.

“To become a doctor, you have to go to medical school and get your medical badge. Okay, now's not the time to talk about that. Let's go.” Du Lei pointed to the door; the snow was still falling outside.

"Where are you going so late?" Grey Falcon asked, somewhat bewildered.

“Of course we’re going to find that Lord Seta. What, don’t you want to rescue your partner, Dogo?” Dure asked rhetorically.

057 Bring out the best products.

Although winter is almost over and spring will arrive in another half month, perhaps because the harsh winter is unwilling to retreat in this way, it is launching a fierce counterattack in the last few days. After two short days of clear weather, the following days are filled with heavy snow, and the wind and snow are getting more and more intense each day.

Especially at night, the biting wind whips against your face like awls hitting a frozen face, making it seem as if a crack might appear at any moment. Even someone like Du Lei, who grew up in the snow-covered mountains, couldn't help but shrink his neck in the wind and snow, his body covered in snowflakes.

Grey Falcon was much younger than Dure and dressed very lightly, but he felt no cold at all and excitedly led the way. Happiness had come too suddenly for him. If Dure had said from the beginning that he would help him find Dogo, he would have thought that the guy was just talking big.

But after Dure cured his mother Linda, he gained Dure's trust. Dure had every reason to believe that if he could do one miracle, he could do another. Following Dure's advice, he went to a nearby casino and found the middleman Cassel, who was gambling.

"Hey, Grey Falcon, what do you want from me so late? Let me tell you, those three silver coins are my commission, it's the rule in our line of work, understand? So don't think that just because you're pitiful, I'll give the silver coins back to you. Hey, who's this guy next to you?" Cassel came out reluctantly.

In fact, he had lost all his money by evening and was just watching the excitement from the sidelines, hoping to run into an acquaintance and borrow some money to turn things around. However, after waiting for a long time, he did not see any acquaintances. Instead, he saw Gray Falcon. He assumed that Gray Falcon had come to ask for money and refused to entertain him with a stern face.

"I'm a friend of Grey Falcon. You must be Mr. Cassel, right? I heard you have connections in the snow eagle trade. I'd like to ask you to help me get in touch with Mr. Seta." Dure took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Cassel. When he entered the casino and saw Cassel's lingering gaze, he knew he was a gambler.

"Want to meet Master Seta? I have a long-standing relationship with Master Seta. You know, Master Seta is a very important figure in town. He doesn't just meet with anyone. He definitely wouldn't want to associate with kids like you. But if I ask for an audience, he will definitely see me."

Kassel scrutinized Dure from head to toe. He looked like a poor lad, not a wealthy man at all. This immediately dampened Kassel's interest, and he gave Dure a disapproving look. When he talked about Seta, he deliberately inflated his own worth, since that was his capital.

“Of course I know that, so I came here to ask you for a favor, Mr. Kassel. If you are willing to help,” Dure said, leaning over and stuffing something into Kassel’s hand. Gray Falcon, standing nearby, became a little anxious. He saw that Dure was stuffing silver coins into his hand and tried to stop him.

"Durey, don't believe this guy's nonsense." Grey Falcon knew Cassel all too well. They had dealt with him more than once, and every time Cassel had taken advantage of him. He never suffered any loss. Giving Cassel silver coins was like feeding bread to a dog.

"Hahaha, you're the sensible one, kid. Here's what I'll do: I can introduce you to Master Seta, but as you know, it's so late, so we have to get the best stuff. Otherwise, Master Seta will be very angry, and you won't be able to handle the consequences of his anger."

Kassel accepted the silver coins, his face instantly lighting up with a smile. He carefully weighed them; there were at least three silver coins. In other words, he hadn't done anything yet, but he'd already earned the commission he'd swindled from Gray Falcon last time. This kid was so generous; he'd definitely misjudged him—there was money to be made.

"Good stuff, Snow Shadow?" Du Lei smiled without saying a word. He looked up at the sky, where snowflakes were falling softly. He whistled softly, and soon a white dot appeared in the sky, approaching rapidly. At first glance, it looked like a snowflake, but its speed was incredibly fast, many times faster than the surrounding snowflakes.

"This is Snow Eagle Dure. You also have a Snow Eagle? Why didn't you say so earlier? And its speed, and its eyes! My God, this is a rare and fierce Snow Eagle. I have never seen a Snow Eagle with such sharp eyes before!" Gray Falcon's eyes widened.

In his line of sight, he saw a snow eagle, pure white without a single blemish, land on Dure's outstretched arm. Its gaze was fierce and sharp. The Grey Falcon's Dogo was already considered purebred, but compared to Dure's snow shadow, its aura was far inferior.

"If this snow eagle were coated with a layer of gold powder, it would be an absolutely perfect snow eagle, and it could fetch an astronomical price. Not bad, not bad, you really have some talent." Kassel had been a middleman in the snow eagle trade for a long time and had seen many snow eagles. He immediately recognized that this was a top-quality one.

"Apply gold powder?" Dure frowned, not quite understanding what Kassel meant by that.

“Du Lei, those merchants, in order to hype up the Snow Eagle, insisted that only Snow Eagles with golden feathers are the best. But Snow Eagles don’t have golden feathers; the golden ones are just the pupils. But those foreign merchants don’t know anything about it, so they believe that and pass off inferior goods as superior ones,” Gray Falcon explained.

He glared angrily at Cassel, still unable to forgive Cassel's actions, including his previous attempt to gild Dogo.

“I see. If it’s just about making it gold, then it’s fine. Xueying, you can cooperate with him.” After thinking for a moment, Du Lei nodded and gave a word of advice to Xueying, who was perched on his arm. Xueying’s eyes were set with gold pupils and its belly made a low gurgling sound.

“This physique, these lines, these eyes, these claws, perfect, absolutely perfect, hahaha, Master Seta will be overjoyed to see such a top-quality specimen. I’ve never seen such a perfect snow eagle before. It’s sure to fetch a good price. Kid, come with me.” Cassel was overjoyed.

He examined it carefully. Based on his experience, he could easily judge the value of this snow eagle. If he could accomplish this, not only would his commission be substantial, but Seta would also remember his name. It would be entirely beneficial to him.

"Durey, what are you planning? It's a very important partner to you, how could you abandon it?" Gray Falcon followed behind Durey. Although he trusted Durey a lot, he couldn't understand Durey's actions.

"Don't ask any more questions, just follow behind. Let me go and meet Master Seta." Dure shook his head, signaling Grey Falcon not to press the matter. Amidst the swirling snow, he followed Cassel to wrap up the snow shadow.

058 Young people are straightforward.

Lord Seta is a big shot from Frost City, the capital of the Snow Kingdom. You should know that although Snow Eagle Town is small, the price of Snow Eagles is not small at all. In previous years, there have been at least seven or eight groups of people involved in the acquisition of Snow Eagles, and they have fought each other in secret, resulting in several bloody incidents every year.

But since Lord Seta arrived in Snowhawk Town this year, he has arbitrarily monopolized the Snowhawk trade, leaving many merchants who came from afar empty-handed. They have joined forces to deal with Lord Seta, and the people of Snowhawk Town are happy to watch this dogfight between outsiders.

However, the expected fierce battle did not occur. Instead, all the Snow Eagle merchants except for Seta slunk away. There were many different opinions about their departure, but the only certainty was that Lord Seta was indeed extremely powerful and influential, and was by no means an ordinary merchant.

"We've bought enough Snow Eagles. Let's set off back to Frost City tomorrow. It wouldn't be good to keep that lord waiting. The consequences of his anger are something that not only I, but the entire Snow Kingdom, can't bear. But I really don't understand what he needs so many Snow Eagles for. It's really strange."

Seta looked out the window. He had already made plans to return to Frost City. Although he had a monopoly on the snow eagle trade in Snowea Town, he himself had no interest in snow eagles. He wasn't even in it to make money. He had only come to this remote town to buy them after receiving orders.

"Master Seta, there is a man named Cassel outside who is looking for you." Just then, someone knocked on the door. A mercenary entered. Seta had hired him at a high price to protect him. There were more than a dozen such mercenaries, each of whom was quite skilled.

"Is Kassel the middleman who deals in snow eagles? What are you doing looking for me so late? I'm not seeing you." Seta waved his hand. Through the window, he could see snowflakes falling softly. Even inside the house, he could feel a chill. He didn't want to go out at this hour.

“Then I’ll make him leave now.” The mercenary nodded and immediately turned around, intending to turn away Cassel, who had come to visit.

"Wait a minute, I'm leaving tomorrow anyway, so I'll go see him. Although he's a greedy and despicable fellow, he's done a lot for me these past few days, so seeing him won't hurt." After thinking it over, Seta decided to go see Cassel and immediately walked out of the room.

As he left the room, a servant draped a fur coat over his shoulders. Under the protection of the mercenaries, Seta quickly arrived at the alley next to the inn, the place where he and Cassel made their deals. Almost every time Cassel brought people here, the transaction was completed here.

“Master Seta, I’m so sorry to bother you so late.” Kassel was pacing anxiously back and forth in the alley. Although he had assured Dure and Grey Falcon that he would be able to see Seta, he wasn’t sure if Seta would actually come out in this cold and snowy weather.

If he hadn't met Seta in the end, he would have lost face in front of those two guys, which wouldn't have been a good outcome. Fortunately, Seta's appearance dispelled his doubts. Despite the freezing weather, he still went over to him with great enthusiasm, and they seemed to be quite familiar with each other.

"Enough with the nonsense. What brings you here so late? I'm leaving Snowhawk Town tomorrow, so I don't have time for idle chatter." Seta sneezed. Even his precious body couldn't withstand the wind and snow. He impatiently urged Cassel to explain his purpose.

"Oh, Master Seta, you're leaving tomorrow? What a pity. But on another level, we've come at just the right time. Master Seta, I've found you a top-quality golden snow eagle and brought it over specially. I'm sure you'll love it."

Kassel immediately pushed out the silent Dure behind him. Dure was holding a cage and his face was covered with a black cloth, just like when Grey Falcon brought Dogo earlier. Seta frowned and glanced at the cage. From his angle, it was difficult to see anything.

“Golden Snowhawks? Although we’ve collected quite a few this time, over twenty, their quality isn’t very good. I hope you won’t disappoint me this time.” Seta approached with some skepticism, and at his signal, the mercenary behind him took the cage from Durei’s hands.

And as soon as the cage was opened, Seta glanced inside, chin in hand, when a pair of sharp eyes appeared from within. A pair of claws suddenly shot out from the cage's gaps, catching the mercenary off guard and instantly tearing him open with a large gash, drawing blood.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! You beast, how dare you grab me!" The wounded mercenary saw the blood on his wrist and was so enraged that he was about to smash the cage.

"Stop! Such eyes, such wildness, and golden feathers—perfect, simply perfect! I never expected to encounter such a fine snow eagle before leaving. That lord will surely be delighted to see it. Name your price, how many silver coins do you intend to sell it for?" Seta reprimanded the mercenary.

He stared intently at the snow eagle in the cage that had just injured someone. Although he was a novice when it came to snow eagles, none of the more than twenty he had acquired this time had such sharp eyes and such a strong sense of aggression as this snow eagle in front of him. This made Seta overjoyed.

"In silver coins, it's eight," Kassel said, seeing Seta's satisfied expression and smiling eyes. He was about to give a number.

“It is my honor to do business with Master Seta. Making friends with Master Seta is more valuable than the mere Snow Eagle.” Dure, who had remained silent, interrupted Kassel, speaking with a smile. Snowflakes fell on his hair, turning it white, and his back remained ramrod straight.

"You're quite the smooth talker, kid. Here's a hundred silver coins for you. By the way, kid, what's your name?" Seta was in a particularly good mood. He knew what Kassel meant by "eighty" silver coins, but he took the initiative to raise the price to one hundred, showing his generosity.

“My name is Dure. I’ve long heard that Lord Seta is a generous man and a big shot in Frost City. It’s a great honor for me to be able to deal with Lord Seta today. I’ll hand it over to you, Lord Seta.” Dure took the money bag from the reluctant mercenary.

“Doing business with me, Seta, will never leave you at a loss. You're a good young man, straightforward enough. Alright, take the money and hurry up and leave. I'm going back to Frost City tomorrow.” Seta waved his hand and immediately turned back to the inn with the mercenary. There were bright red bloodstains on the snow.

This was left behind by Snow Eagle when he scratched the mercenary; the money bag in Du Lei's hand was heavy.

059 I have a favor to ask.

When Grey Falcon followed Dure to find Seta, seeing Dure's confident demeanor, Grey Falcon assumed he had some good way to deal with Seta, so he had high expectations. However, when he actually met Seta, he found that Dure was just flattering Seta the whole time.

In the end, Dure not only failed to teach Seta a lesson, but also sold his snow eagle named "Snow Shadow" to Seta at a high price. Gray Falcon always hoped that something would turn around, but Seta's figure disappeared into the snowstorm, which left him completely bewildered.

"Hey, Dure, what are you doing? Didn't you say you'd help me rescue Dogo? But I haven't even seen Dogo yet, and you've sold your Snow Eagle to Seta. What are you thinking? Is money that important to you?" Gray Falcon couldn't understand Dure's actions.