The most shameless alchemist in history

"What a despicable person!" Nono had always looked down on this kind of person, her expression revealing undisguised contempt.

"Yes, so in my impression, the so-called nobles are probably like this kind of people. On the surface, they are well-dressed, say a lot of nice things, and do a lot of good deeds, but behind the scenes they do dirty things that can't be seen. After coming to Maple City and meeting more people, I am more and more convinced of this."

Dure nodded. He mentioned the two people in the village simply to give an example.

“You’re not wrong. So-called nobles are probably well-dressed, full of lies, but they’ll stab you in the back. But that only applies to the majority. There are also some nobles who are kind-hearted and work hard for the country.” Nono agreed with Dure to some extent.

"A part" Du Lei seemed to understand that Nono was implying something.

“Of course, for example, Mr. Winster. Do you think he’s the kind of person who’s full of bad intentions?” Nono gave another example.

"You mean Professor Winster is of noble birth?" Dure asked, somewhat surprised.

“Yeah, what’s wrong? Are you surprised?” Nono winked at Dure.

"Why are you bringing this up out of the blue? This is already the sixth item up for auction. What, the item you want hasn't appeared yet?" Du Lei suddenly realized that he seemed to be being led by the nose by Nuonuo, which made him more or less unhappy.

He immediately changed the subject and asked Nono about the important matter. More than half an hour had passed since the auction began. Although Du Lei was not a connoisseur, he knew from the burning eyes of the people around him, the frenzied bidding, and the skyrocketing prices that left him speechless, that those items were very valuable.

Moreover, he also understood a principle: the best things are always yet to come. The gemstone necklace that just ended fetched a price of eight thousand silver coins, which was already an astronomical price in Du Lei's eyes, but so far Nono has not made a move, which means that what she wants is worth more than eight thousand silver coins.

237 Unveiling the Mystery

Dure has always been a thrifty person, which is understandable. The hot spring village was originally a poor, desolate place. It was only because of the hot springs that its situation has improved slightly in recent years, and it has been able to attract some tourists.

In the early years, before the hot spring resources were developed, people couldn't even afford to eat, let alone silver coins. Under such circumstances, it was difficult not to live a frugal life. Du Lei was a wise man who planned early on to leave the hot spring village and venture out into the outside world, saving money for this purpose.

He didn't have many ways to make money. In the village, he could only work for the local rich man, Hart, earning one or two silver coins. He could also work as a guide for mercenaries who came into the mountains to earn some extra money. As for outside the village, he could only hunt or collect medicinal herbs and sell them to merchants in town.

Even under such tight circumstances, he managed to save up thirty silver coins over the years, which he used as travel expenses to Maple City. After descending the mountain, he encountered the Gray Falcon incident and, through his cooperation with Snow Shadow, swindled a considerable amount of silver coins from a merchant named Seta.

However, he gave all the ill-gotten gains he obtained from Seta to Grey Falcon and his mother. By the time he arrived in Maple City, his purse was empty. Fortunately, there were no places to spend money in the academy, so he used crystal cards instead. To be honest, Dure had never seen much money.

But right now, at this auction where celebrities and tycoons gather, these gentlemen are spending lavishly, with each bid adding hundreds of silver coins—enough for an ordinary family to live on for a whole year. This left Du Lei feeling somewhat bewildered, as if a hand had lifted him from one world to another.

He wasn't panicked or afraid; he just knew he needed an adjustment period. The world was vast, even larger than he had imagined. He looked at Nono sitting next to him. They were about the same age, but everything that was crazy at the auction seemed perfectly normal to her.

She remained calm and composed, even participating in this crazy feast. Although Du Lei had been tormented by Nuonuo before and verbally expressed no liking for her, he knew in his heart that he really envied her, and even sitting next to her gave him a fleeting sense of inferiority.

But Dure knew very well that he would never back down. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen the hot spring village to venture out into the world. He longed to know just how big the world was and what kind of scenery it had. What he had glimpsed now was only the tip of the iceberg, which was not enough for him.

What he wants is to stand atop a majestic iceberg and look down upon the earth, or even shatter the entire iceberg.

"Hey, what are you spacing out for again?" Nono noticed Du Lei's absent-minded look and waved her hand in front of him.

"Oh, really?" Du Lei snapped out of his daze and immediately forced a smile, trying to hide his true feelings.

"That's really suspicious. He's been acting all distracted since just now, and he even said he wasn't interested in that vixen." Nono looked Du Lei up and down and came to a conclusion that made her very unhappy, but Du Lei, the person in question, was completely baffled.

"Ha, you vixen!" Du Lei had no idea what Nono was talking about, and the auction continued amidst the noise and commotion.

"It's that woman on the auction stage. You men all like that kind of woman, right? Striking seductive poses, and certain things..." Nono looked down at herself, her eyes filled with resentment. When she looked at Miki on the auction stage, her eyes turned to jealousy.

"That's not it at all, what are you thinking? I was just wondering what exactly you wanted to bid on." Du Lei originally thought that Nono had seen through his thoughts, which made him quite embarrassed. However, seeing Nono's expression, he realized that she only cared about the auctioneer, which relieved him.

"The things I want to bid on should be appearing by now, right?" Nono didn't answer directly, but instead gestured for Du Lei to look at the auction stage.

By this time, nearly an hour had passed since the auction began. After a series of auctions, the atmosphere had become heated, and the guests' emotions were rising. After a cane was auctioned off, a staff member came over from behind the curtain carrying a tray covered with a black cloth.

The black cloth added to the air of mystery, and hundreds of eyes below the stage were fixed on the tray.

“The guests’ enthusiasm is truly inspiring for Miki. So, the next item for auction, which is the one Miki is holding, can you guess what it is? Let Miki give you a hint: it’s metal, about this size, and it’s a product of the steam age.”

As the auctioneer, Miki took the tray from the staff member next to her, but she was in no hurry to open it. Instead, she slowly gestured with her hands to indicate the size of the items on the tray and gave some simple introductions.

"Micky, if I guess right, will you go on a date with me? I bet it'll be the bracelet, right?" a young customer shouted.

"It should be a ring. I heard there are some nice rings at this auction. I wonder if it's the one I'm thinking of," some people speculated.

"Stop guessing, everyone. It's definitely a metal plate, a metal plate unearthed from some ruin." Someone else suggested its significance.

Many guests were participating in the excitement. At this moment, Du Lei noticed that Nono, who had been acting as if it was none of her business, was clenching her fists, straightening up, and nervously looking at the tray in Miki's hand. This made Du Lei a little curious. What could make her care so much?

"None of these are right. Now it's time to reveal the mystery. Please hold your breath and open your eyes wide. The item to be auctioned today is a pocket watch." As the auctioneer, Miki had a perfect grasp of the atmosphere and rhythm. After some build-up, she unveiled the black cloth on the tray.

What was presented to hundreds of pairs of eyes was a silver pocket watch. It lay quietly on the tray, unremarkable, and even broken, with the second hand no longer moving. This surprised the guests who had been full of expectations, as it was different from what they had imagined.

Although the jade auction house advertised extensively for this auction, only a portion of the items were revealed, with most being shown in silhouette. Only true celebrities and the elite could get information that certain items might appear at the auction, but it remained uncertain.

This mere pocket watch was clearly not the grand finale item, and it was even insignificant compared to the previous jewelry. Even Du Lei was somewhat surprised, but what surprised him even more was Nono's reaction when she saw the pocket watch, even though she had been very composed.

Tears silently streamed down her face.

Is 238 important?

Dure was no stranger to pocket watches. Back in Hot Spring Village, Hart, as the village's richest man, owned a gold pocket watch. Of course, according to the villagers, Hart's pocket watch was actually copper-plated, not pure gold; he just took it out to show off.

Whether it's pure gold or copper-plated, it's a rare item in Hot Spring Village. It was once a symbol of wealth and was admired by children like Du Lei. They even launched a "stolen" pocket watch operation, but ultimately failed to carry it out.

Pocket watches are rare in the village of Hot Springs, but Dure knows that in the outside world, with the booming development of steam technology, many fields, including the watchmaking industry, have experienced explosive growth. He has seen many people wearing pocket watches on trains alone.

He had every reason to believe that before long, such things would no longer be a symbol of the so-called rich, but would become more and more common. He remembered that when he was still on the train, Bai Ye asked him what his vision of the future was like, but Du Lei did not answer at that time.

Bai Ye told him that in the future, the sky and the sea would be connected, and humans would be able to communicate across vast distances instead of by letter. Even the most distant places could be reached in an instant. He described an incredible and desirable world.

He just couldn't understand why the pocket watch on the auction stage would elicit such an expression from Nono. In his memory, no matter what happened, she always had endless things to say and remained calm, as if nothing in this world could defeat her.

Dure was concerned about Nono's emotional changes, but the other guests at the auction house didn't care at all. They had been expecting Miki to bring out something valuable, but in the end, they found it was just an unremarkable pocket watch, which immediately caused an uproar.

"Hey, Miki, are you sure you're not kidding us? This pocket watch looks so ordinary, there are no fancy decorations. It's neither an antique nor a rare item. What on earth is your jade auction house up to? Are you trying to fool us?"

One customer was very dissatisfied. It wasn't that he was being difficult; in fact, as a seasoned collector, he had a keen eye and immediately recognized that the pocket watch on the tray was just an ordinary item. In his opinion, the auction house was simply insulting people by putting such a thing up for auction.

“That’s right, that’s right. We all came here because of the reputation of the jade auction house. If we are disappointed this time, I will never patronize your jade auction house’s auction again.” Some guests echoed this sentiment. After exchanging words, they all concluded that the pocket watch was nothing special.

As the audience began to murmur and express their dissatisfaction, the atmosphere that had been carefully built up vanished in an instant. Although some young people in the audience spoke up for Miki, their voices were quickly drowned out by the wave of condemnation.

"Distinguished guests, please don't be impatient. You are all honored guests of our jade auction house. How could Miki dare to neglect you? Just as this gentleman said, this pocket watch itself is indeed very ordinary. Both the material and the workmanship are unremarkable, and it is also an old one."

Miki seemed to have anticipated this scene. She smiled slightly, showing no sign of nervousness. Moreover, she took the initiative to find fault with the auction item. From her perspective, this seemed very strange, at least that's what Dure thought.

“But besides materials and workmanship, shouldn’t we also consider the history of something when judging its value?” After a self-reflective statement, Miki made a turn, and Dure could never have smiled in the face of so much criticism.

"What history can a broken pocket watch possibly have? I do know a few very valuable pocket watches with a lot of history, but they are all the work of masters, and cannot be compared with this kind of roadside stall stuff." A middle-aged man wearing a brown hat sitting in the front row scoffed.

He was the first person to stand up and refute this earlier. He wore black-rimmed glasses and looked like an extremely shrewd expert.

“Of course, the craftsmanship and materials of a pocket watch are important, but isn’t it also important who wears it, or who has worn it before?” Micky calmly and composedly defused the question.

"Then tell me who wore it. I know the whereabouts of all the jewelry worn by famous historical figures, but I've never heard of anyone wearing such a shabby pocket watch." The middle-aged man remained unconvinced, showing his considerable knowledge.

People in the audience immediately chimed in, saying that those who could attend auctions of this caliber had clearly done their homework. Amid the commotion, Nuonuo remained silent, staring intently at the pocket watch on the stage, a state that lasted for several minutes.

"Teacher Nuonuo, are you alright?" Du Lei asked, worried about her looking so distraught.

"What did you say?" Nono seemed not to have heard him clearly and turned to look at him.

"You don't look well. Do you want to go and rest?" Du Lei knew she wouldn't leave at this point, so he said this to ask her what was wrong.

"It's okay, I'm fine." Nono shook her head, gently wiping her cheeks; the tears she had shed earlier had already dried.

"Is that thing important to you?" Du Lei asked abruptly.

"What do you mean?" Nono's demeanor was completely different from before, calm yet somewhat sad.

"That pocket watch." Du Lei went straight to the point, without beating around the bush.

"As you can see, it's just an ordinary silver pocket watch, plain in material and workmanship, nothing special," Nono said calmly, seemingly without any emotional reaction, though she sniffed slightly.

“Whether it’s made or not doesn’t matter. What matters is what it means to you.” Du Lei shook his head. He wasn’t so easily fooled. Nono didn’t directly shake her head in denial, which was basically equivalent to her agreeing with his previous statement.

“Whether it has any meaning or not, or whether it ever had any meaning, none of that matters anymore. Let’s go.” Nono suddenly stood up, intending to leave.

"What? Gone?" Du Lei looked at her in disbelief.

239 The moonlight is beautiful

Nono's reaction was far beyond Dure's expectations, because early this morning Nono had repeatedly told him to get some rest and to make sure he was clean. Later, she even took him to buy a formal suit. Everything she did was for tonight's auction.

In fact, after entering the auction, Nono did get an auction number. She even asked Du Lei to hold the number so that they could gain an advantage in the upcoming auction. At that time, her expression made it clear that she was ready to "go all out," and Du Lei was prepared to accompany her to the end.

However, when that ordinary pocket watch appeared, Nono, who had been full of anticipation, suddenly became dejected. Her fighting spirit vanished, and after examining the pocket watch for a few minutes, she actually decided to leave, which was really too strange.

"Hey, Nono, wait a minute, Nono." Du Lei initially thought she was joking. Anyway, she was usually unpredictable, and he couldn't tell when she was telling the truth or joking. But before he could come to his senses, she actually got up and left.

"What's going on? Didn't you come here to buy that pocket watch? Why did you leave when it was time to make your move? This isn't like you at all. Nono, what's wrong with you? Stop!" Du Lei chased after him all the way to the front gate.

At this moment, the auctioneer, Miki, was still keeping everyone in suspense, but she had begun to consciously steer the conversation toward the history of pocket watches. However, firstly, Dure had already left his seat and was getting further and further away from it, and secondly, he was worried about Nono's condition and his mind was no longer on the auction stage.

After chasing them to the main gate, he couldn't hear what was being said on the auction stage. He could only hear gasps of surprise coming from behind him. It seemed that they had seen something extraordinary to be reacting like this. Normally, Du Lei would definitely be very curious, but he couldn't care less now.

"I'm so sorry." Nono had already walked out of the main entrance and was speaking to Du Lei with her back to him in the corridor.

"What?" This was the first time Du Lei had ever heard such words from her, and he couldn't believe his ears for a moment.

"I know I shouldn't have come here, I shouldn't have caused you trouble. I did many things I shouldn't have done, without considering other people's feelings, just acting recklessly. I'm really sorry for that." Nuonuo lowered her head, her fingernails digging into her flesh.

Her voice trembled slightly, indicating that she had suffered a heavy blow, which stunned Du Lei, who had caught up with her.

"It's alright." If Du Lei was a little angry because Nono had tricked him into coming here and kept mysteriously refusing to tell him the purpose of his visit, then seeing Nono now, all his resentment vanished.

“It doesn’t matter,” Nono repeated the words Durei had said.

“That’s right, I wanted to come, so I came; I wanted to do, so I did. Why do you have to think about so many things and tie your hands and feet? If you do that, are you still Nuonuo?” Although Du Lei didn’t know what she had been through, he could vaguely understand her feelings at a certain moment.

"But so many things are in the past, and even if we wanted to do them, we no longer have the chance," Nuonuo said, her body trembling. She almost shouted these words, even though she tried her best to control her emotions and suppress her voice.

"That pocket watch belongs to your relative, doesn't it?" Du Lei asked slowly after standing calmly for two minutes.

"How did you know?" Nono hadn't told him anything. She looked up at him blankly.

"It's easy to guess what happened. He rushed over excitedly because the auction was for his own family's belongings, wanting to buy them. But after seeing them, he was overcome with sadness and gave up the idea of ​​buying them, choosing to leave instead," Du Lei sighed softly.

If he was completely confused at first, after seeing Nono's series of reactions, even he, as dense as he was, could guess the general idea.

“That pocket watch belonged to my father,” Nono finally said after a long silence.

"Is he no longer here?" Dure knew it was a bit presumptuous to ask, but Nono's expression had already given the answer.

“He left when I was six years old.” Nono nodded, her voice still slightly choked with emotion.

"Is that so? Your mother must have had a very hard time," Du Lei said softly, unable to find many words of comfort.