The most shameless alchemist in history

"Father, Brother Du Lei clearly helped me, yet you treat him like this. This is really too much! I don't want to stay at home anymore; I'm going to run away!" Sherry began packing her things, intending to leave home, which gave the blacksmith a huge headache.

"My dear daughter, I didn't bully her at all. This is just a sign of our good relationship. We were just joking around." Seeing that things were not going well, the blacksmith put on a smiling face again, afraid that his daughter would really run away from home, and then he would be all alone.

“Who’s joking with you?” Dure was somewhat displeased and clearly disagreed with the blacksmith’s statement.

"Brother, I'm begging you, please, for the sake of this poor father." Although the blacksmith was unwilling, he still pleaded with Du Lei to speak on his behalf.

"Come on, Sherry, I was just messing around with the blacksmith, don't be angry." Although Du Lei was still resentful and held a grudge against the blacksmith for what he had just done, he decided to say a few good words for him when he saw Sherry's angry expression.

"Is it really just a joke?" Sherry asked immediately.

"That's right, that's right, we were really just messing around." The blacksmith nodded heavily.

"Yes, it was just for fun," Dure affirmed.

"Then Brother Du Lei, you won't leave again, right?" Sherry continued to ask, her face full of anticipation.

"Well, she probably won't be leaving for the time being," Du Lei nodded in response, unable to bear seeing her disappointed look.

"This is wonderful! Brother Du Lei, you must stay today no matter what. Father, go and cook immediately. We must treat Brother Du Lei well today!" Shirley smiled through her tears and immediately came over to grab Du Lei's arm, trying to persuade him to stay. It was really too difficult for her.

"Alright, alright, I'll cook. Shirley, just tell me what you want to eat, and I'll make it for you today." Seeing his daughter smile, the blacksmith finally breathed a sigh of relief. She was his only daughter, and she was his only reason for living.

Meanwhile, inside Maple Leaf Academy, Charlotte, having completed her registration, strolled calmly down the corridor when a tall, young female teacher approached her.

"Isn't this Professor Charlotte? Is the registration process completely finished? I heard that many outstanding students have applied this year. I'm really looking forward to it." The young female teacher stopped to greet Charlotte; they were colleagues at the academy.

"Teacher Deer's information network is truly impressive! Indeed, several outstanding students have emerged this year. I believe that given time, they will surely become outstanding talents in our academy, and they might even be able to represent our academy in the hunt," Charlotte said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, Ms. Charlotte, as the chief examiner for the entrance exam, you even personally participate in such a small matter as registration. You really are meticulous about everything." The female teacher, known as Ms. Deer, praised Charlotte, but this was only on the surface.

Because everyone knows in private that Charlotte took bribes, there is a lot of doubt about his character.

"As an educator, it's my job to be on the front lines, personally interacting with students who have enrolled, and making sure I don't miss any promising talents. How can I trust someone else to do this? By the way, Mr. Deer, are you free tonight? Would you like to have dinner together?"

Charlotte took the initiative to extend the invitation, knowing that the young female teacher in front of her was a well-known beauty in the academy.

"I have something to do tonight. Thank you for your kindness, Ms. Charlotte. Goodbye." Ms. Deer smiled apologetically and quickly said goodbye to Charlotte before leaving.

"Tch, so disrespectful? Wait till I become the dean someday, hehehe." Charlotte watched the departing figure of the deer teacher, very angry at her arrogant attitude, but soon he thought of the dean's throne and felt relieved. He was the man who would become the dean one day.

105 The Way to Treat Guests

As night fell, the bustling streets of the day suddenly became quiet. Looking out the window, there was no one else on the street except for a few students patrolling with torches, who were supposedly prevented from doing so by the academy.

Meanwhile, Du Lei was on the second floor of the blacksmith's shop, looking at a table full of dishes, his head drooping, with a sense of helplessness. After several days of hard work, he was starving and hadn't had a proper meal in a long time. At this moment, Shirley also came over after smelling the aroma.

"Oh, it looks so delicious! I can have a good meal today!" Sherry clasped her hands together, looking at the exquisite dishes with eyes full of anticipation that seemed to sparkle. Through the window, she could see not only the street in front of her but also the starry sky above.

"How about it? My cooking skills have improved, haven't they? Eat more, eat more, my precious daughter, hahaha, for the sake of my cooking skills, stay by my side forever." The blacksmith kept pushing the plates in front of Sherry, looking every bit the loving father.

"It's as if you made all these dishes. Is this how you entertain guests in your family? It's one thing to make guests cook for themselves, but to forcibly steal the credit from them? Don't you think that's going too far?" Du Lei shouted at the blacksmith's behavior.

The blacksmith had invited him to stay for dinner, and he had been looking forward to it. However, once he entered the kitchen, the blacksmith made him the head chef. The entire table of dishes was made by Du Lei, and the blacksmith was only responsible for helping to pick the vegetables.

"Hey, Du, don't say that. I was just helping out in the kitchen, serving dishes and such. I deserve credit too. Xue Li, eat more, eat more. How about it? This dinner is filled with my love. It must be especially delicious, right?" the blacksmith said with a smile.

"You have the nerve to say it's just serving dishes? Do you think you're showing love by serving dishes?" Du Lei scoffed at this, looking down on him from head to toe.

“This is a family tradition you wouldn’t understand,” the blacksmith waved his hand, his entire attention focused on his beloved daughter.

"Brother Du Lei's cooking is so delicious! I wish I could eat Brother Du Lei's cooking every day from now on!" Sherry praised it highly. Although the blacksmith took all the credit, Sherry still knew who was really responsible for the delicious dishes.

"Wait a minute, what's with all this 'everyday' stuff? Hey, Sherry, you absolutely mustn't have any scary thoughts. Don't let that poor kid's meager cooking skills buy you anything. These dishes are simply inedible! How can they be delicious? Let's not eat his cooking, let's eat what I make for you," the blacksmith thought carefully.

He suddenly thought of a terrible possibility, and the thought startled him. He immediately changed his tune and began to criticize the food.

"Hey uncle, you've changed your tune way too fast. You were just saying you made it, and now you're denying it." Du Lei was speechless at the blacksmith's actions. He was clearly a big, burly man, but in front of his daughter, he was a completely different person.

"What do you know? Hey, you poor bastard, are you trying to lure my Shirley with your cooking skills? I'm warning you, Shirley won't fall for it. I advise you to give up this ridiculous idea. Your cooking skills aren't that great either." The blacksmith looked at Du Lei warily.

"You were the one who said you wanted me to stay for dinner, but you can't cook yourself and you insisted that I do it. How come I'm the one who's suspicious now?" Du Lei protested loudly. This blacksmith was being far too unreasonable.

"Oh, is that so? I'm getting old, and my memory seems to be failing me." The blacksmith turned to look out the window.

"Stop pretending, okay? What else could it be?" Dure was completely defeated by him.

“Dad, you’re lying. Brother Du Lei’s cooking is really delicious, much better than yours,” Sherry said, standing by Du Lei’s side.

"Waaah, my lovely daughter, you can't be bought off just because of a meal!" The blacksmith cried, tears streaming down his face.

“The food Dad usually cooks is inedible. All he does all day is forge iron, and his cooking skills haven’t improved at all,” Shirley continued.

"By the way, Sherry, where is your mother? I haven't seen her," Du Lei suddenly noticed and asked with a puzzled look.

Sherry suddenly fell silent on the issue of "her mother," her head bowed and her eyes dim.

“Sherry’s mother left a long time ago, and it’s just the two of us who depend on each other for survival,” the blacksmith sighed.

"I see. I'm so sorry, I think I brought up something I shouldn't have." Du Lei was full of apologies.

"No, no, it's not Du Lei's fault. Oh, right, Dad, Du Lei is here to register. He's taking the Maple Leaf Academy test tomorrow." Sherry suddenly remembered this and brought it up immediately.

"Ha, this poor kid with such a shabby attitude, he actually thinks he can study at Maple Leaf Academy? Doesn't he know that the dropout rate here is very high?" The blacksmith scoffed at this, and judging from his tone, he seemed to know a lot about Maple Leaf Academy.

"Can I take that as a compliment? Regardless of whether I pass the test or not, I should at least try." This wasn't the first time Dure had been discouraged; he had been discouraged by Hassan before, so he wasn't angry when he heard similar words from the blacksmith again.

“By the way, Dad, aren’t you quite familiar with that Uncle Charlotte? Why don’t you help Brother Du Lei?” Sherry suddenly said.

"Charlotte, well, my relationship with that guy is so-so. If you really want to talk about helping him," the blacksmith scratched his chin and paused.

"No need," Du Lei shook his head.

“What?” Sherry didn’t understand what he meant.

"I mean, I don't need any help. I believe I can pass the test. If I really can't pass, it just means I'm not capable enough to study at Maple Leaf Academy, and I won't complain." Du Lei gently shook his head, declining Sherry's offer.

"I didn't realize you were so conscientious." The blacksmith gave Du Lei a new look.

“There are plenty of things you didn’t notice,” Du Lei retorted.

“But I know Charlotte’s personality very well. He’s a greedy and insatiable money-grubber. Someone like you, with no background and no way to give him any benefits, is useless no matter how capable you are. Am I right?” the blacksmith said with a smile.

"This..." Du Lei hesitated for a moment, realizing that the blacksmith had indeed guessed correctly.

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Sherry tilted her head, not quite understanding their conversation.

"Here's what we'll do. When you go to take the test tomorrow, tell Charlotte that something happened." Although the blacksmith had a lot of complaints about Dure, he decided to offer some help for the sake of his beloved daughter, Sherry.

But at that moment, a loud "boom" suddenly came from outside the window, and the whole house shook.

106, go out for a bit.

The commotion came suddenly. Du Lei instinctively looked out the window, and a commotion arose outside. The shops nearby, which had been dark, turned on their lights again. Clearly, everyone was startled by the loud noise and looked out the window to check the situation.

"Is that thunder? Why is it so loud?" Sherry asked, peering out the window. She wasn't particularly afraid of thunder.

"It's not thunder, it's coming from the back mountain of the academy. They've been really restless lately. Sherry, you just stay at home and don't go out. Remember, as long as you don't leave the house, nothing will happen, understand?" The blacksmith, who had been smiling just now, suddenly became serious.

He solemnly gave Sherry a word of advice, then looked out the window with worry. At the same time, he got up and started packing his things in the room.

“I understand, but Dad, are you going out again? Didn’t you say it’s dangerous outside?” Sherry was a little worried. She wasn’t surprised by the blacksmith’s reaction. He was much calmer than the average child, which meant this wasn’t the first time they’d encountered something like this.

"I'm just going out for a bit, I'll be back soon. Oh, and poor boy, I'm entrusting my precious daughter to you. You stay here and take good care of her. She absolutely cannot leave the house. If anything happens to Sherry, I'll hold you responsible," the blacksmith turned to Du Lei and instructed him.

"I understand, as long as you don't leave the gate, you can go without worry." Although Du Lei still had many doubts, he also sensed something unusual in the blacksmith's words. He nodded, indicating that he could leave the matter here to him.

"Alright, Sherry, you stay home with this poor boy. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." The blacksmith nodded. By this time, he had already packed up. Du Lei saw that he was carrying something on his back, a long strip wrapped in cloth, as he went down the stairs.

Before long, you could see the blacksmith walking down the quiet street from the window, quickly disappearing at the end of the street.

"He walks really fast, what a strange old man." Du Lei commented on the blacksmith as he watched him disappear.

“That’s just how Dad is. He’s withdrawn and spends all his time forging iron in front of the furnace. He rarely talks to anyone. Actually, he has a very good impression of you, Brother Du Lei. If it were anyone else, he would have kicked them out long ago.” Shirley leaned against the window until the blacksmith’s figure completely disappeared before she turned around.

"Then shouldn't I thank him?" Du Lei was stunned. He had a general feeling that the blacksmith was the kind of person who was very cold and unapproachable.

"No need for thanks. By the way, I heard that the entrance exam starts tomorrow. Brother Du Lei, why don't you stay at my house tonight? I have an extra room, and I'll go and tidy it up for you right away." Shirley immediately went to tidy up the room. Although she was young, she was very capable.

"No need to tidy up like that, just have a place to make do." Du Lei went over to help. He had been worried about where to rest tonight, but now the problem was perfectly solved, which was some consolation.

Soon, Sherry lit candles and tidied up the room next door. Although the room was small, with only a bed and a table, it was enough for Dure. It was much better than spending the night in a tent by the river the night before.

"That's fine. My humble abode is simple, so I'm sorry to trouble you, Brother Du Lei." After making the bed, Shirley prepared a candle next to it.

"Don't say that. It's enough to have shelter from the wind and rain. Besides, it's much better than my home." Du Lei was very satisfied and content.

"Do you live alone in Brother Du Lei's house?" Sherry asked, blinking her eyes.

"Pretty much. When I was little, I was raised by the villagers in turns. After I got a little older, I lived alone." Du Lei recalled his little house in the hot spring village. During blizzards, the house was drafty, and he would always hug his legs and shiver as a child.

“That must be really tough.” Sherry looked at Dure with sympathy. She had never seen her mother since she could remember and was raised by a father who was always looking at a lump of iron. She envied other children in this situation, let alone an orphan like Dure.

"Actually, it's not so bad. Whether things are good or bad, time is passing. As long as things get better from here on out, that's all that matters." Du Lei was quite open-minded. He had already made plans for his life back in the hot spring village, and Maple Leaf Academy would be the first step in those plans.

"Shirley believes that Brother Du Lei will definitely live a happy life in the future. Is Dad back so soon?" While Shirley was sending her blessings to Du Lei, there was a sudden "bang bang" knocking on the door downstairs. Her first thought was that the blacksmith had finished his work and come home.

"The uncle looked very serious when he left, as if he was going to do something very important, but he came back so early. Let's go and see him." Du Lei frowned as he recalled the blacksmith's hurried departure. Just to be on the safe side, he and Shirley went downstairs together.

“Dad used to go out suddenly in the middle of the night like this all the time, and then he would come back very quickly. Nothing will happen to him. Besides, a lot of people know him, so don’t worry, Brother Du Lei. So welcome back, Dad,” Shirley said with a smile as she walked to the door.

She had come to accept the blacksmith's sudden departures and returns as a normal part of life and didn't pay much attention to it. Just as she opened the door, a figure suddenly rushed in. Du Lei, who was walking behind, clearly saw that it was a woman who had put a knife to Shirley's neck.

"Don't make a sound!" The woman was injured, blood was dripping onto the ground, and her face was pale and looked terrible. She threatened Sherry.

"Don't worry, I won't make a sound. Are you hurt, sister?" Sherry remained calm and asked about the other's condition with concern.

"Sherry, what's going on? Who are you? Let Sherry go right now!" Du Lei followed from behind. He had already warned Sherry to be careful, but she opened the door first. By the time Du Lei came to his senses, Sherry was already in the other person's hands, which startled him.

Realizing something was wrong, Du Lei immediately reprimanded the other person and observed them closely, determining that the other person was about fourteen or fifteen years old and was seriously injured.

"Brother Du Lei, it's okay, sister, don't be nervous. Do you need help?" Shirley waved her hand and took the initiative to support the other person.

The moon hung lonely in the sky, and dark clouds obscured the stars; it looked like it was going to be a sleepless night.

107 Trespassing

Dure is a person who hates trouble, so when someone barges in, his first reaction is to figure out how to deal with the trouble, rather than bringing trouble into the house, especially when the other party is clearly threatening. But Sherry is very stubborn about this.

She insisted on bringing the person who had coerced her into the room, ignoring all of Du Lei's attempts to dissuade her. At that moment, hurried footsteps could be heard on the street, clearly indicating that someone was shouting and searching house to house. Soon, the door that had just been closed was knocked on again.

"Look, there's blood here. She must have hidden here. Open the door, open the door! Open the door quickly, or we'll break in!" Someone kept knocking on the door, making a lot of noise, which made Du Lei inside the house tense up.